PAU-STYSS
Real Name: Pau-Styss
Identity/Class: Human magic-user;
Hyborian
era;
Occupation: Sorcerer
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Hawk-Things;
multiple unidentified "netherspawn"
Enemies: Conan,
Dreeme,
Elder Gods (see comments), Laynnen,
Noyo;
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Demon Lord, Lord of Demons, Lord
Pau-Styss (as he sometimes referred to himself)
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
last seen in his own castle,
which floated over the
Eiglopohian mountains that separated Cimmeria from Vanaheim and
Aesgaard)
First Appearance: Conan the Barbarian I#128 (November, 1981)
Powers/Abilities: Pau-Styss is a sorcerer of
extensive power.
He can extend his life to a span
of over 500 years (he was an adult 500 years before the main story),
aging slowly over time.
He can project mystic blasts, able
to stun even a powerful warrior such as Conan, travel among various
extradimensional realms, and distantly manipulate objects (opening doors, etc.)
He can transform himself into
mist, vanishing and then reforming a short distance away. He can
transform others into animal (at least bird) hybrids; transform others
into inanimate objects and back again;
He can mystically detect others'
presence (perhaps only magical beings); project an image/vocal
recording of himself across distances.
He was experienced with
crystallomancy, experiencing viewing distant activities and/or
projecting images and showing past events through a mystic crystal.
He likely had other, as yet unseen, abilities.
Styss considered himself an
experienced swordsman, but at least in his senior years, he was no
match for Conan.
He controlled the hawk-things.
Height: Unrevealed (perhaps 6'1")
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 180 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed (perhaps brown)
Hair: White (including beard; bald on top; black eyebrows)
History:
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 (fb) - BTS) - Khitain wizard Pau-Styss became
wrinkled with age.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to use the power of the Cornerstones of
Creation (the Crown
of Wisdom, Mirror of Beauty, Rose of Peace, and Sword of
Strength; see comments)
to overthrow the Elder Gods (see comments), Pau-Styss attempted to
force their location from the Khitain princess Noyo, priestess to the
Elder Gods. He waged a long war on Noyo "upon the subtle
(mystic?) planes."
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 (fb)) <500 years before the main story> - As
victory was within Pau-Styss' grasp, Noyo invoked her heavenly masters,
cloaked herself in mystic wind, and vanished from Pau-Styss' detection.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 (fb) - BTS) - Pau-Styss made many pacts with
netherspawns to ensure that he would one day have the means to force
Noyo's cooperation in recovering the Cornerstones. He considered the
risk to his immortal soul to have been worth it.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 (fb) - BTS) - Nearly 500 years later, Noyo, compelled to join together with the Cimmerian Laynnen (secretly a
child of the
Elder Gods; Noyo apparently had known
this on some level, but her memories were somehow suppressed) returned to human form, which
allowed Pau-Styss to again detect her.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 (fb) - BTS) - Noyo told Laynnen that after she
spurned a wizard, he cursed her to wander the world in the form of a
living wind.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 (fb) - BTS) - Pau-Styss sent his hawk-things to
capture Laynnen to force Noyo to assemble the Cornerstones of Creation
for him.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 - BTS) - Despite the presence of Laynnen's visiting
old friend Conan, the hawk-things captured and flew off with Laynne,
transporting him to Pau-Styss' castle where he was imprisoned in a
hanging cage.
Noyo recognized the hand of Pau-Styss in this, and
she told Dreeme (her and Laynnen's son) that his father had been swept
into the lair of a
black-hearted beast.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 ) - Soon after, Pau-Styss projected
his image before
them, holding Laynnen's unconscious form and telling Noyo she must have
known he would eventually find her somehow. Pau-Styss then told 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) - Noyo told Conan her true history.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128) - As Pau-Styss considered that the risk to his
immortal soul had been worth it to finally being to force Noyo to do
his bidding, Laynnen
warned him that Noyo would never be his. Styss
explained to Laynnen that he had no interest in Noyo's love, after
which he revealed the true circumstances of his encounters with Noyo,
as well as discussing the Cornerstones.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130 (fb) - BTS) - Upon hearing Noyo's true nature,
Laynnen appreciated his own true nature as a child of the Elder Gods.
However, he also realized that they would not triumph over evil by
dissuading but by encouraging Styss to use the Cornerstones as only the chosen one,
the one pure in heart, could tap into the Cornerstones without harm;
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 - BTS) - Though Noyo initially considered
that retrieving the Cornerstones of
Creation for Pau-Styss might put all of existence at risk, with some
gentle guidance from Conan, she realized that a universe without her
beloved Laynnen would not be a universe worth living in.
Noyo then
mystically transported herself, Conan, and Dreeme to the jungles south
of Kush to the Sword of Strength, where they were confronted by the
Warriors of Eternity.
(Conan
the Barbarian#129) - Pau-Styss cursed Noyo as a witch for magically
throwing darkness across his sphere of sight, preventing him from
observing her efforts, but he nonetheless felt that he would ultimately
gain the Cornerstones, along with limitless power, ultimate knowledge,
and the secrets of the universe. Laynnen told him he was a fool or a
madman, or
perhaps both. Laynnen continued, asking if Pau-Styss had pondered the
dangers, not just to world but to his own immortal soul, if Noyo
managed to secure the Cornerstones of Creation for him.
When Laynnen
urged Pau-Styss to give up this insanity "before you bi--";
Pau-Styss silenced Laynnen before he could finish, noting Laynnen to be
a balladeer, not a philosopher, as he transformed Laynnen into a bird
(with Laynnen's head). Pau-Styss then taunted Laynnen, telling him, "So
sing, sweet bird -- raise your voice in golden song." Laynnen
indeed
began a mournful song that echoed over the land, a song of loss and
pain and of dreams gone astray.
(Conan
the Barbarian#129 - BTS) - With Conan having retrieved the Sword of
Strength, Noyo transported herself, Conan, and Dreeme to Iranistan in
hopes of
gaining the Crown of Wisdom from Zoroazztor.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130) - Pau-Styss informed Laynnen that despite Noyo's
shielding her whereabouts from his all-seeing crystal, he sensed that
her quest drew nearer to fruition.
Pau-Styss advised that this was good
news for both of them, but as the Laynnen bird continued to flap about,
Pau-Styss wondered if he disliked his new form or just needed to
stretch his newly-acquired wings.
Stating, "Here
minstrel, let my magics liberate you!"
Pau-Styss
magically opened the door to Laynnen's cage. After Laynnen immediately
took
off for the window, only to find it barred, Pau-Styss noted that he was
not foolish enough to permit his escape.
Styss further mocked Laynnen's
screech, noting it to be far from his usual melodious lilt, after which
he mocked Laynnen efforts to turn on him and scratch his eyes out;
noting that this behavior hardened his heart to stone, he did the same
to Laynnen, transforming him into an unliving stone statue, in which
form Styss considered that he would
remain until Styss became lord of creation.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130 - BTS) - After
retrieving the last of the Cornerstones of Creation with Conan and
Dreeme's aid, Noyo transported herself and her allies to Pau-Styss'
castle.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130) - When Conan demanded to know where Laynnen was,
Pau-Styss hurled the small man-bird statue into the air, where it
transformed back into Laynnen's normal form before crashing back to the
ground.
When
Noyo rushed
toward her husband, Pau-Styss blasted her back, noting he did not see
the Cornerstones of Creation; Noyo assured Styss that the
Cornerstones were hidden but would be his once Laynnen was free.
As the
weakened Laynnen noted Pau-Styss' black heart and the
Cornerstone's power, Noyo appreciated that their love had no use if
Pau-Styss controlled creation. Laynnen weakly tried to explain that she
had misunderstood him, but Noyo paid him no heed and told Conan that
while her
sorcerous energies were at their end, he could use the Sword
of Strength to slay Pau-Styss.
Noting that it had been too long since he had
faced a swordsman of any worth, Pau-Styss welcomed the challenge.
However, when the vengeful Conan outfought Pau-Styss with the Sword,
Styss
turned into mist, reformed behind Conan and then struck him down with
an
energy blast. 
When Dreeme angrily charged forward, urging Conan to get
up and kill the evil sorcerer, Styss, the sorcerer swatted down the
youth and then forced Noyo to bring forth the Cornerstones.
Pau-Styss
then transformed the Cornerstones into their sidereal states and spoke
the unintelligible chants
to claim their power.
Initially seeming to swell in power, Styss let
out an exultant roar that seemed to echo from the heavens, shook the
room.
Ultimately, however -- as he was impure and not the chosen one --
his cheeks flushed and then grew sallow, before the power consumed him,
leaving him a skeleton before that crumbled to dust.
Comments: Created by J.M. DeMatteis and Gil
Kane.
Elder Gods
- 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. I would
guess that the new series is going to be a fresh start, working from
Robert E. Howard's material, but not necessarily tied to previous run
of Conan stories from the 1970s-1990s. Perhaps the older stories will
be part of the reality that existed before the recreation of the
Multiverse in Secret Wars, while the new stories will be part of that
existing thereafter...
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.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Pau-Styss the Demon Lord should be distinguished from:
- demon lords - masters of Stonecold--Nightstalkers#7
- other "Pau," "Styss," or demon lord characters
The hawk-things have no connections to:
- Hawk God of Reality-691 - worshipped on Arcturus, at least, circa 2000 AD--Marvel Presents#10
- other Hawk characters, etc.
castle
Pau-Styss dwells in a grey,
polished stone castle, floating high over the towering Eiglopohian
mountains
that separate Cimmeria from her enemies in Vanaheim and Aesgaard.
Styss' throne is within the castle's high-reaching
donjon (The
fortified main tower of a castle).
Styss' hawk-things also dwell within his castle.
The castle also contains his mystic crystal globe.
(Conan the Barbarian
I#128) - Seeking
to force Noyo to assemble the Cornerstones of Creation, Pau-Styss had
his hawk-things abduct Noyo's husband, Laynnen, from their home in
Cimmeria and bring him to his castle.
Laynnen was imprisoned in a cage suspended
from the ceiling.
(Conan
the Barbarian I#129) - When Laynnen warned Styss of the threat to his
immortal soul in seeking the Cornerstones, Styss transformed him into a
bird.
(Conan
the Barbarian I#130) - Styss let the Laynnen-bird free, taunting it
with barred windows, and then transformed it into a statue.
Noyo eventually traveled to Styss' castle with her
and Laynnen's son, Dreeme, and their ally, Conan.
After Styss struck down Conan, he forced Noyo to
summon the Cornerstones, but their Cornerstones' energies consumed his
impure form.
Despite Styss' death, his castle continued to float
in the sky.
--Conan the Barbarian
I#128 (129-130
hawk-things
With leathery wings and beaks, the
hawk-things flew through the air, wielding swords and speaking in
shrill, hawk-like screeches.
It apparently took two of the hawk-things to carry
an adult male into the air and fly. They followed Styss' orders, but
otherwise just crowded around him.
(Conan the Barbarian I#128) - Seeking
to force Noyo to assemble the Cornerstones of Creation, Pau-Styss had
his hawk-things abduct Noyo's husband, Laynnen, from their home in
Cimmeria and bring him to his castle.
The hawk-things stood around as Pau-Styss informed
Laynnen of Noyo's true nature and his true quest.
(Conan
the Barbarian I#129) - The hawk-things stood by Pau-Styss as he
transformed Laynnen into a bird.
(Conan
the Barbarian I#130) - The hawk-things witnessed as Styss transformed
the Laynnen-bird into a statue.
They were present as Styss accessed the
Cornerstone's power, only to be destroyed by it.
The hawk-things' subsequent fate are unrevealed.
--Conan the Barbarian
I#128 (129-130
Note: It
is unrevealed whether the hawk-things were humans mutated by Styss;
extradimensional beings summoned by him; some other naturally existing
race on Earth (perhaps some Elderspawn, children of one of the spawn of
the Elder Gods or some other Elder Race); Styss' magical creations; or
something else altogether.
images: (without ads)
Conan the
Barbarian#128, pg. 10, panel 1-4 (hawk-things confronting and abducting
Laynnen);
pg. 13, panel 1 (castle - details);
panel 2 (seated on throne,
flanked by hawk-things; pale coloring);
pg. 14, panel 1 (standing behind
orb/crystal);
#129, pg. 12, panel 3 (castle, full, distant);
#130, pg. 5, panel 7 (face; with Laynnen bird
statue);
pg. 17, panel 5 (conducting ceremony);
pg. 18, panel 1 (full; mostly);
panel 3 (face, detail,
green color);
pg. 19, panel 3 (face, being consumed);
panel 4 (skeleton)
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: 04/17/2019
Last updated: 04/17/2019
Any Additions/Corrections? please let
me know.
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