LARALEI

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human (Pre-Cataclysmic Era)

Occupation: Adventurer;
    previous occupation unrevealed

Group Membership: None known

Affiliations: Gasshga, Kull, Ridondo, unnamed former lover;
    unwitting pawn of Thulsa Doom

Enemies: The Devil-Condor, the Hooded Ones, Nor-Atz, a giant raven

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Formerly Torranna, in the nation of Grondar

First Appearance: Kull the Destroyer#22 (August, 1977)

Powers/Abilities: Laralei was skilled with a sword when she needed to be, though she was intermittently affected by a pathologic aversion to violence. She was a skilled climber, and she used a horse that would always show up when she called it, responding to her verbal commands.

    Laralei was unable to access memories of her past life, and she suffered from major mood swings. She recalled the name of her horse (though she didn't share it with the readers), though not her own name.

History:
(Kull the Destroyer#22 (fb) - BTS) - Laralei had a lover, a warrior, whom she lost to the life of violence and death. She vowed never again to love a warrior.

(Kull the Destroyer#29 (fb)) - Thulsa Doom sought to take the throne of the city of Torranna, and so he manipulated events to bring Kull to Torranna to lift the curse on the crown. Doom chose Laralei, emotionally distraught from the loss of her lover, as the catalyst, robbing her memory and setting up Kull to "rescue" her from his three Torrannian lackeys.

(Kull the Destroyer#22) - She was found by Kull, bound to a pole by the three Hooded Ones in preparation of being sacrificed to a giant raven they had summoned (or conjured forth). Kull slew the Raven, and Ridondo freed the girl from the pole while the Hooded Ones fled. The girl rushed to embrace Kull, but she then drew back, recalling her past vow. Later, she relaxed enough to frolic in the water with him, and Kull decided that she reminded him of the Laralei of legend, so she took that name since she couldn't recall her own. The Hooded Ones appeared again, this time summoning the Devil-Condor. Kull defended Laralei from the giant bird, but it instead stole Ridondo, carrying him off to...

(Kull the Destroyer#23) - Kull and Laralei followed the Devil-Condor's trail, encountering the hunchback Nor-Atz, who promised to help them, but instead drugged Laralei and sent Kull on a mission in which he hoped Laralei's protector would be slain by the Demon-Shade.

(Kull the Destroyer#24) - When Nor-Atz tried to force himself on Laralei, she was forced to draw her sword and kill him, despite her strong aversion to violence. Kull defeated the Demon-Shade and returned to Laralei. They found Nor-Atz's map, and followed it to break into the city of Torranna, where they encountered the wizard Korr-Lo-Zann. Though the wizard denied knowledge of Ridondo or the Devil-Condor, Kull and Laralei heard the cries of Ridondo and then followed them to two of the Hooded Ones, where they found a giant snake.

(Kull the Destroyer#25) - As Kull hacked away at the snake, Laralei figured out that the snake was connected to Ridondo's soul, and she stopped the barbarian king from killing his minstrel. Korr-Lo-Zann saved the nearly dead Ridondo and then introduced Kull and Laralei to Gar-Nak and Norra, other magic users in the city. Laralei was treated to a bath by some of the sorcerer's servants, and she received a new outfit, as well.

(Kull the Destroyer#26) - Laralei impressed Kull with her new outfit, and the two nearly had a romance at last, but Ridondo interrupted them. Laralei was later present as Kull accepted the offer to take the crown of Torranna, undertaking the quest to retrieve it from the monstrous extradimensional Gasshga. Laralei later regretted allowing herself to let Kull go without her, and so she convinced the wizards to send her to after him. However, she was transported directly to Gasshga's side, while Kull and Ridondo were still some distance away.

(Kull the Destroyer#27) - Gasshga was quite smitten with the smaller Laralei, grabbing her in his hand and taking her to his palace. He left her side only briefly to slay a giant lizard that attempted to invade his chambers, after which he regaled her with tales of his past while he drank himself to sleep. Once he was out, Laralei stole his dagger and slipped away. However, when Kull and Ridondo arrived, intending to slay Gasshga, Laralei returned, trying to use the dagger to slay what she saw as a harmless ogre. Kull easily disarmed her, but the struggle awakened the drunken, and then enraged Gasshga.

(Kull the Destroyer#28) - At Laralei's urging, Kull only stole the crown from Gasshga and then led the others to flee from the ogre, but it pursued them and fell into the lava-filled moat while trying to slay Kull. Laralei returned to Torranna alongside Kull and Ridondo, but she was disgusted by Kull's involvement in the death of Gasshga, and she condemned him and left his side. She rethought and returned minutes later, but found him in the arms of Norra. Later, while Kull prepared to take the crown, Laralei put on her old outfit, called her horse, and left Torranna and Kull behind. Kull learned that Gar-Nak, Korr-Lo-Zann, and Norra were actually the Hooded Ones, and that they were the pawns of Thulsa Doom.

Comments: Created by Don Glut, Ernie Chan, and V. Montaño.

    The only Laralei of legend I could find was Lorelei - a siren of German legend who lured boatmen in the Rhine to destruction. The German legend would have to have been created like 18 - 19,000 years after the time of Kull, but the repeating cycle of mythology is a well established phenomenon. There may well have been a legend or Lorelei or Laralei some 20, 000 years ago, too.

According to Don Glut Laralei represents the same person as Graylin, from issue #15 of Dagar the Invincible, also written by Don Glut.
--Per Degaton

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Laralei is named for:

But she has no known connection to:

images:
Kull the Destroyer#22, p10, panel 2
    p1

Appearances:
Kull the Destroyer#22-23 (August-October, 1977) - Don Glut (writer), Ernie Chan (pencils), Yong Montano (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Kull the Destroyer#24 (December, 1977) - Don Glut (writer), Ernie Chan (pencils), Dino Castrillo (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Kull the Destroyer#25-26 (February-April, 1977) - Don Glut (writer), Ernie Chan (pencils), Rudy Nebres (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Kull the Destroyer#27 (June, 1977) - Don Glut (writer), Ernie Chan (pencils), Ricardo Villamonte (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Kull the Destroyer#28 (August, 1977) - Don Glut (writer), Ernie Chan (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)

Last updated: 08/31/04

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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