dreeme-hyborian-elder_gods-grandchild-128-bestDREEME

Real Name: Dreeme

Identity/Class: Elderspawn magic-user;
    Hyborian era;
    Cimmerian citizen (Cimmerian & Khitain heritage)

Occupation: Child (playing and helping his parents)

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Conan, Elder Gods (see comments)

Enemies:  Pau-Styss and his hawk-men;
    while Dreeme didn't interact with the following, they would likely consider him complicit in the actions of Conan and Noyo: Guardian of Beauty, Warriors of Eternity, Zoroazztor

Known Relatives: Noyo (mother), Laynnen (father);
    Elder Gods (see comments; grandparents (creators of his father));

Aliases: None;
    Conan called him "Little one"

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    last seen leaving the castle of Pau-Styss (possibly in Khitai);
    at least formerly a cabin in the sparsely inhabited high hills of Cimmeria

First Appearance: Conan the Barbarian I#128 (November, 1981)dreeme-hyborian-elder_gods-grandchild-130-rose

Powers/Abilities: Dreeme has great potential for power and could theoretically be able to utilize the powers of the Cornerstones of Creation.

    However, when seen, he was a young boy with no special powers or abilities, and his experiences with Conan gave him a violent streak that rendered him impure and thus unable to utilize the Cornerstones.

    Prior to this, he was able to hold the Rose of Peace.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 3'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 38 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed (when his face was shown clearly, his eyes were colorless...but then, I'm colorblind...let me know if you see a color)
Hair: Black

History:
(Conan the Barbarian#128 (fb)) - Dreeme was born of the love of his parents, Laynnen (secretly a creation of the Elder Gods (see comments)) and Noyo (secretly a priestess of the same Elder Gods).dreeme-hyborian-elder_gods-grandchild-128-baby

(Conan the Barbarian#128) - Dreeme was with his mother by the hearth/fireplace when an exhausted Conan kicked in the door.

     As the frightened Dreeme clutched his mother's side, Conan collapsed.

(Conan the Barbarian#128 (fb) - BTS) - Laynnen returned home and recognized Conan as his old friend from Cimmeria.

(Conan the Barbarian#128) - Dreeme was silent as Laynnen was reunited with Conan, and as his mother served them dinner while reviewing his life since he and Conan had parted.

(Conan the Barbarian#128 - BTS) - When Conan sensed an approaching threat, Laynnen followed him outside but was carried off by hawk-men.

(Conan the Barbarian#128) - Dreeme rushed outside with his mother, who recognized the hand of her old enemy, Pau-Styss; Dreeme called out for his father, wondering where he was, and Noyo told him that his father had been swept into the lair of a black-hearted beast.

    As Dreeme's eyes glazed with tears, Pau-Styss projected his image before them, holding Laynnen's unconscious form and telling Noyo she knew what he wanted and that if she ever wished to see her husband again, she would get it for him.

(Conan the Barbarian#128 (fb) - BTS) - Dreeme listened inside their home as Noyo told Conan her true history as a priestess of the Elder Gods, explaining that Pau-Styss wished to gain the Cornerstones of Creation to overthrow the Elder Gods..

(Conan the Barbarian#128) - Conan convinced Noyo to help gather the Cornerstones, despite her fearing that, with them, Pau-Styss might put all of existence at risk.

     After noting that a universe without her beloved Laynnen would not be a universe worth living in, Noyo drew Dreeme to her side and then magically transported herself, Dreeme, and Conan to the jungles south of Kush.

    Presumably via Noyo's magic, they were able to pass by numerous dinosaurs undetected until they came to the immense Sword of Strength surrounded by a number of gravestones. After Noyo explained that the Sword was what gave man his courage, fortitude, fierceness, and pride, reanimated corpses climbed from the graves, and Noyo announced them as the Warriors of Eternity.

(Conan the Barbarian#129) - Dreeme watched silently as Conan -- guided by Noyo -- pulled from its hilt the Sword of Strength, which shrunk to fit his frame while imbuing him with power. Noyo explained to Dreeme that Conan had proven himself worthy to the Elder Gods, and that they had imbued Conan with their power. As Conan savagely slaughtered the Warriors of Eternity, however, the revulsed Noyo held Dreeme tightly, shielding him the violent display.dreeme-hyborian-elder_gods-grandchild-129-full

(Conan the Barbarian#129 (fb) - BTS) - Noyo transported Conan, Dreeme, and herself to Anshan, the capital of Iranistan, emerging in a back alley. She additionally masked their features (and either transformed their clothing or caused an illusion to make them appear consistent with local garb).

(Conan the Barbarian#129) - As they arrived at the mosque of the ancient wizard Zoroazztor, holder of the Crown of Wisdom. Nonetheless, Noyo urged Conan that Zoroazztor must be defeated by wits alone. Conan felt a sense of dread when the mosque's door swung open on its own, as if they had been expected, but Dreeme broke through Conan's concerns when he whispered, "Don't listen to mother, Conan, we'll get the Crown the same way we got the sword, right?" Amused, Conan told him, "We shall see..."

    Dreeme remained silent as Noyo was defeated by Zoroazztor in the chess-like Game, after which Conan set fire to Zoroazztor's ancient bookshelves, distracting the wizard so that he could claim the Crown.

    As Conan, Noyo, and Dreeme rushed to depart, Zoroazztor caused the door out of his mosque to vanish and then transported himself and his handmaidens away to parts unrevealed.

(Conan the Barbarian#130) - Shielding Dreeme behind her, Noyo mystically transported herself, Conan, Dreeme, and the Crown to Khitai; she placed the Crown in a realm between time and space so it could not try to seduce them again. Dreeme cried out to his exhausted mother as she nearly fainted, after which she reluctantly allowed Conan to carry her, while Dreeme ran behind.

     Within the village, Noyo cast a screen of illusion about them, notably to make Conan appear as a Khitain; Dreeme did not appear visually changed. Dreeme remained silent as Conan -- imbued with power and knowledge by Noyo via the Sword of Power (which had transformed into a staff for the battle) -- defeated the Guardian of Beauty, a requirement to obtain the Mirror of Beauty. After Conan struck the Mirror with the Sword-staff at Noyo's guidance, Dreeme, Conan, and Noyo were pulled through the mirror to an unknown location where they found the white Rose of Peace. After both Conan and Noyo failed to pluck the Rose -- as only a heart without the taint of violence could do so -- a smiling and bright-eyed Dreeme rushed forward and grabbed the Rose with his trembling hands. As the Rose shrank to the size of a normal rose at his touch, Dreeme plucked it, and then they were transported back to the alley in which they had encountered the Guardian.

dreeme-hyborian-elder_gods-grandchild-130-face     Though Noyo lamented that the Rose having rejected indicated that the quest had tainted her soul, Dreeme urged his mother that they should be thinking less of themselves and more of father. Agreeing, Noyo transported them to confront Pau-Styss in his base/fortress/etc. Dreeme stood behind Conan as Pau-Styss revealed Laynnen, whom he had transformed into an inert bird statue and now restored to his normal form, and then blasted back Noyo when she rushed to Laynnen's side. After Styss demanded the Cornerstones, Noyo granted the Sword of Strength to Conan and told him to slay Pau-Styss. After Styss instead defeated Conan via teleporting behind him and blasting him, Dreeme rushed forward, telling Conan to get up and kill Styss. Smashing Dreeme back with a swat of his hand, Styss told him to be still and asked if his parents hadn't taught him decent manners.

    Dreeme returned to his parents side, and Styss forced Noyo to bring forth the Cornerstones, which Styss transformed into their sidereal states and spoke the chants to claim their power. Ultimately, however, the power consumed him, leaving him a skeleton before that crumbled to dust. laynnen-elder_gods-dreem.jpg

    After Laynnen noted that this was how it had to ended, Dreeme realized his father had known what would happen. Noyo then explained that her memories of Laynnen's true nature had returned. Laynnen revealed how, upon learning Noyo's nature, he had understood that only the "chosen one," the one pure in heart, could tap into the Cornerstone's power without harm. Laynnen further indicated that Dreeme could be that chosen one, using the Cornerstone's power to redeem the dark and violent world. Dreeme argued that he wasn't pure, as he had wanted Conan to slay Pau-Styss and that he had wanted blood.

    Laynnen noted that there existed a stain on every soul, and that only by drawing it out could a man finally see it washed away. He told Dreeme that they had begun the process of drawing out, and that they would wash it away, together.

    Dreeme stood back by Noyo as Conan departed, voicing his disgust in what he perceived as nonsense.

Comments: Created by J.M. DeMatteis and Gil Kane.

   When we first posted the Cornerstones of Creation profile 2/19/2002, we made this comment: "The Elder Gods of the Hyborian Age (never specifically named and sometimes referred to as the Primal Gods and the Creation-Lords, but possibly the four Elder Gods mentioned elsewhere in the Conan series: Crom, Mitra, Asura, and Set..." although only three gods are depicted in a flashback; but there could have easily been one or more off panel).
    I had always considered the Elder Gods of the Hyborian era to be distinct from the true Elder Gods (Chthon, Gaea, Oshtur, and Set; with others having long since perished).
    However, the Mystic Arcana series included the Cornerstones of Creation and revealed them to be associated with the true Elder Gods; further, the Crown of Wisdom was shown to a form of the Serpent Crown (associated with Set); the Mirror of Beauty was shown to be a form of the Darkhold (associated with Chthon); the Rose of Peace was shown to be the Ebon Rose (associated with Gaea); and the Sword of Strength was shown to be a form of the Sword of Bone (associated with Oshtur), used by Cadaver.
    Interestingly, the one image in Conan the Barbarian I#130 that shows the Elder Gods (as they are apparently creating Laynnen) looks to at least three completely human-looking males. Is this just an image from Noyo's understanding of her masters? Did she lack understanding of their true forms/natures and just assume them to be human males who mystically combined their energies to generate a living being? Were these beings actually avatars of the Elder Gods, rather than the Elder Gods themselves? Or are there two different sets of Cornerstones of Creation? I know the author of Mystic Arcana, David Sexton, intended the Cornerstones in his stories to be the same ones from the Conan stories.
    Questions that will likely remain unrevealed...and perhaps moot, depending on how the new Conan series fits in. From the introductory information, it is supposed to be remaining true to the older stories/continuity from the 1970s-1990s, but ultimately that remains to be seen.

    If Laynnen is indeed a creation of Chthon, Gaea, Oshtur, and Set, his Known Relatives section is in need of massive expansion, making him the brother (sort of...maybe a half/quarter-sibling) of Agamotto, Demogorge, the N'Garai, Omm, the Serpent Men, most of the skyfathers/mothers of Earth's godly pantheons, and MANY, MANY others. For now, you can check out the known relatives section of those profiles.

    Khitai is the Hyborian equivalent of China; Kush is the equivalent of a large portion of Africa; you can probably figure out Iranistan. Read the Blockbusters handbook's entry on the Great Cataclysm for more information on the fates of Hyborian and pre-Cataclysmic nations.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Laynnen should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Conan the Barbarian I#128, pg. 8, panel "4" (mostly full; best picture);
          panel 5 (infant, with Noyo);
    #129, last panel (full body, surrounded by flames)
    #130, pg. 13, panel 3-4 (retrieving Rose of Peace);
       pg. 14, panel 1 (face)

Appearances:
 Conan the Barbarian#128 (November, 1981) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Gil Kane (artist), Louise Jones (editor)
 Conan the Barbarian#129 (December, 1981) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Gil Kane (pencils), Gil Kane & P. Craig Russell (?) (inks), Louise Jones (editor)
Conan the Barbarian#130 (January, 1982) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Gil Kane (artist), Louise Jones (editor)

First posted: 04/04/2019
Last updated: 04/04/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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