Friday 11 October 2024

King Osric, The Usurper

Great scene with Max von sydow as King Osric in Conan the Barbarian (198...


They were taken to the hall of King Osric, The Usurper, 
once a powerful Northman like my lord, 
but now old and sotted

These are the thieves you have requested, Sire. 
I thought there were three. 

Our companion, he died in 
the gardens. Lions ate him. 

Lions ate him? The lions ate him. 

Do you know what you've done? Why, Rexor himself has come before me, threatened me, a king. What daring! What outrageousness! What insolence! What arrogance! I salute you. 

Thulsa Doom. I've chafed 
for years at this demigod. 

Snakes, in my beautiful city. 
To the west, Nemedia, Aquilonia. 
To the south, Koth, Stygia, snakes
Everywhere these evil towers. 

You alone have stood up to their gods. 
And what are you? Thieves

You see this? They call it 
the "Fangs of the Serpent.” 
And this one was thrust into 
a father's heart by his very son. 

And my own daughter has fallen 
under this Thulsa Doom's spell. 
Is there a dagger such as this 
in her hand for me

She follows him as a slave, seeking for 
The Truth of her soul as if 
I could not give it to her! 

As we speak my daughter 
travels east to Thulsa Doom 
and his Mountain of Power. 
She is to be his

Steal my daughter back
Take all you can carry. 
There's more. Much more. 

Enough to become 
kings yourselves

There comes a time, Thief, when 
the jewels cease to sparkle, 
when the gold loses its luster, 
when the throne room 
becomes a prison, and 
all that is left is A Father's 
love for His Child. 

To the hell fires with Thulsa Doom. He's evil, a sorcerer who can summon demons. 
His followers' only purpose 
is to die in his service. 
There are thousands of them. 
This Mountain of Power where he lives 
is said to be impregnable. 

I have talked to Subotai and he agrees. 
Let's take what we have while we live
I have never had SO much as now. 
All my life I've been alone
Many times I face my death 
with no one to know

I would look into the huts and the tents 
of others in the coldest dark and 
I would see figures holding 
each other in the night. 
But I always passed by. 

You and I, we have warmth
That's so hard to find in this world. 

Please, let someone else 
pass by in the night. 

Let us take the world by the throat 
and make it give us what we desire. 


The children of Doom. Doom's children. They told my lord the way to the Mountain of Power. They told him to throw down his sword and return to the earth. Time enough for the earth in the grave. Once great men lived here. Giants, gods. Once, but long ago. It was here that I met my master. It was no accident. Nor is it mere chance that I am the teller of his tale. Hey! I'm a wizard, mind you. This place is kept by powerful gods and spirits of kings. Harm my flesh, and you will have to deal with the dead. Can you summon demons, Wizard? Yes! If I strike at you, I would summon a demon more ferocious than all in hell! The mounds have been here since the time of the Titans. Kings buried in them. Great kings. Domains once glittered like the light on a windy sea. Fire won't burn there. No fire at all. That's why I live down here in the wind. Do you care for these places? I sing to them. On nights when they wish I sing of the tales of battles, heroes, witches and women. Nobody bothers me down here. Not even Thulsa Doom. Do flowers grow around here? Flowers? Flowers. You've not come here as a pilgrim, have you? Oil the sword and feed the horse. Have you ever ridden one of those things before? No! Warrior! What are the flowers for? For a girl.

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