TORKAL MOH

Real Name: Torkal Moh

Identity/Class: Human (Phalkarian) (Hyborian Era)

Occupation: Baron

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Gwineer (slave), Pthassiass (worshipped), Xenic

Enemies: Conan, Lupalina, Stefanya

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Black Baron

Base of Operations: Ravengard, Border Kingdoms

First Appearance: Conan the Barbarian I#48 (March, 1975)
    {prima apparizione italiana: Conan e Ka-Zar#22 Editoriale Corno (7 gennaio 1976)}

Powers/Abilities: None. Being a knight he knew how to ride and how to use a sword.

History:

(Conan the Barbarian I#49 (fb) - BTS) - Torkal Moh, baron of Ravengard, worshipped a monster as a deity. The monster, Pthassiass, and the garden were the guardians of the Gifting Tree, a tree under which Torkal Moh kept his treasures. 
    The cruel Torkal Moh lived in a stronghold, with knights, soldiers and wenches. To feed the monster, Torkal Moh and his knights sometimes captured travelers, or people from nearby villages and used them as food for the monster. The luckiest among the trespassers were only robbed of their possessions.

(Conan the Barbarian I#48) - During a scouting ride, the baron and his knights met Conan the barbarian riding with the young woman Stefanya, seemingly carrying the corpse of Zoqquanor. Torkal Moh claimed the horse, blade and woman for himself, but the barbarian fought back and Xenic was the first knight to die under the barbarian's blade. Unfortunately, the knights were too many and the barbarian was felled. Torkal Moh had him tied to the ground and left, leaving the barbarian at the mercy of Ravengard's rats.

(Conan the Barbarian I#49) - Conan the barbarian, freed himself and found help in Lupalina the Wolf-Woman. Together they attacked a platoon of Ravengard soldiers, freeing the people of a village, which had rebelled against cruelty of the Black Baron.

(Conan the Barbarian I#49 - BTS) - Meanwhile Torkal Moh had placed the amulet worn by Conan on his Gifting Tree, protected by the garden of carnivore plants and by Pthassias, the Dweller in the Pool. He had Stefanya, the young woman, tortured, sure that no danger was imminent.

(Conan the Barbarian I#49) - Ravengard was a solid fortress, but Torkal Moh didn't defend it seriously. Conan, Lupalina and the rebels easily deceived the guards and invaded the castle. Torkal Moh was surprised by Conan in his chambers. He dueled with Conan and was wounded at the legs making it impossible for him to stand upright. Conan left him bleeding even though the baron, scared to be eaten by the rats, asked Conan to kill him, but Conan left to find Stefanya and the amulet of Merdoramon.

Profile by Spidermay.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Torkal Moh has no known connections to

• Moh, Asgardian troll @ X-Force/Cable Annual 1997
• any other character with a similar name

Gwineer

    Gwineer was one of the slaves living in the Castle of Ravengard.

    During the attack on the Castle of Ravengard, Gwineer tried to hide behind a curtain but she was spotted by Conan. She was forced to lead Conan and Stefanya to the Gifting Tree. In the garden she almost fainted due to the thick air, but the real danger was Pthassiass. The huge monster attacked Conan and Gwineer was captured by its prehensile tongue. The girl was gulped down by the monster, but her death was a good distraction for Conan, who deeply wounded the monster's throat.

--Conan the Barbarian I#49 (Conan the Barbarian I#49, 50

Pthassiass

    Pthassiass, the Dweller of the Pool, was a gigantic monster.

    It was amphibian, had a serpentyne body with very hard skin, one eye and a prehensile tongue.
    Pthassiass was feeded with meat, even human meat. His natural enemy was the garden around the Gifting Tree, Pthassiass avoided to touch the plants, venomous, corrosive and very dangerous for its skin.

(Conan the Barbarian I#50 (fb) - BTS) - Torkal Moh worshippend Pthassiass. He let the monster guard the Gifting Tree, a tree around which he placed the treasures of his raids. Pthassiass ate men and women sent to him by Torkal Moh.

(Conan the Barbarian I#49) - When Conan reached the Gifting Tree, Pthassiass assaulted him, Gwineer and Stefanya, seeing them as prey and food. Conan cut his prehensile tail a couple of times, dodging it, but his sword could not cut through his thick skin. The monster ate Gwineer, but Conan found a soft spot in the monster's skin under his throat and writing in pain after Conan cut it's throat the Dweller in the Pool fell into the garden. In a few minutes the carnivore plants ate it, leaving only its skeleton behind.

--Conan the Barbarian I#49 (Conan the Barbarian I#49, 50

The garden

    The garden of Ravengard was rather widespread, composed of green plants and yellow flowers, part of which were carnivores. The carnivore plants had prehensile appendixes, which could entangle their prey. These plants exuded a poisonous substance, also corrosive, which could open wounds in human skin and could bend steel. The poison had a far greater effect on Pthassiass' skin, who normally stayed away from the plants.

(Conan the Barbarian I#49) - The plants could be a match for non-armed men and women, but under Conan's sword they were easily cut down.

(Conan the Barbarian I#50) - During Conan's fight against Pthassiass, the carnivore plants managed to entangle Conan, but the bararian's savagery freed himself. Moments later, the huge mass of Pthassias fell into the garden's clutches. The plants sticked to the monster's wounded throat. The Dweller in the Pool moaned, then, after few minutes, the garden had devoured him, only leaving behind the monster's bones.

--Conan the Barbarian I#49 (Conan the Barbarian I#49, 50

Xenic

    Xenic was a typical unit of Ravengard cavalry.

    He wore light armor including a helmet and was armed with a sword and a shield. Other horsemen had a lance.
   The castle had also infantry units armed with the same equipment.

    Xenic was in the group, who met Conan and Stefanya. Seeing in the young girl an easy prey, Xenic rode after her when she dismounted from Conan's horse. He hadn't taken Conan into account, believing him an unworthy barbarian. He was the first to die under Conan's sword.

images: (without ads)
Conan the Barbarian I#48, p9, pan1 (Torkal Moh, ful body)
Conan the Barbarian I#48, p6, pan8 (Torkal Moh, head shot)
Conan the Barbarian I#50, p1, pan1 (Gwineer)
Conan the Barbarian I#49, p18, pan5 (Pthassiass defending the Gifting Tree)
Conan the Barbarian I#50, p5, pan8 (carnivore plants)
Conan the Barbarian I#48, p7, pan3 (Xenic)

Appearances:
Conan the Barbarian I#48 (March, 1975) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Dick Giordano / Dan Adkins (inks), Glynis Wein (colors)
Conan the Barbarian I#49 (April, 1975) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Dick Giordano (inks), Glynis Wein (colors)
Conan the Barbarian I#50 (May, 1975) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Dick Giordano (inks), Janice Cohen (colors)

Last updated: 12/25/10

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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