ROSE of PEACE
Classification:
Magic
item;
Talismans of Mystic Power;
active in the Hyborian era (present since the distant past; see comments)
Creator: Primal Gods (aka "Elder Gods"; see comments);
IF the Rose of Peace is an incarnation of the Ebon Rose (see comments) , then it would have been created or re-created by Gaea
User/Possessors: Dreeme, Pau-Styss;
watched over by the Cult of Creation, notably its priestess, Noyo;
if the Rose of Peace is an incarnation of the Ebon Rose, then it has also been used by Ian McNee and Morgan Le Fay, at least
Group Membership (More of a collection): Cornerstones of Creation (Crown of Wisdom, Mirror of Beauty, Sword of Strength)
Aliases: The White Rose of Peace
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Pau-Styss' castle,
which floated over the
Eiglopohian mountains that separated Cimmeria from Vanaheim and
Aesgaard);
formerly an unidentified land (possibly on Earth or in another world or another dimension)
First Appearance: Conan the Barbarian I#128 (November, 1981)
Powers/Abilities/Functions: The full extent and nature
of the Rose's power is unrevealed. But those present in the land around it swiftly feel peace in their hearts.
Only those pure of heart can touch ithe Rose without a painful energy backlash.
The Rose grows from the ground
like a solitary flower, rather than as part of a bush. It stands
perhaps 6' tall in its normal state, and it is surrounded by a nimbus
of pink energy.
When a being pure of heart touches
the Rose of Peace, it shrinks to the size of a conventional flower;
plucking the rose apparently returns those who have come for it to the
place from which they traveled to the Rose's land;
It is one of four items of magic
power that collectively form the Cornerstones of Creation, which grant vast magical power to those pure of heart.
The Rose would presumably grant its holder some
power on its own.
History:
(Conan
the Barbarian I#128 (fb) - BTS) - In the distant past, the Primal Gods (also sometimes referred to as "Elder Gods"; see comments)
created four items, imbuing each of them with one of the four elements
of the cosmos' creation: The Sword of Strength, the Crown of Wisdom,
the Mirror of Beauty, and the Rose of Peace.
Throughout the ages, the sacred Cornerstones of Creation were jealously
guarded by the Cult of Creation. Knowledge of their Earthly hiding
places was known only to the hand-picked priestess of the gods.
Noyo was chosen as the Priestess of the Cult of Creation.
(Conan
the Barbarian#128 - BTS) - The demon lord sorcerer Pau-Styss
sought the power of the Cornerstones of Creation and kidnapped Laynnen
to force his wife, Noyo, to recover the
Cornerstones. She was joined on her quest by Laynnen's
childhood friend, Conan; her and Laynnen's son, Dreeme, also came
along.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130 - BTS) - Having already obtained the Sword of
Strength and the Crown of Wisdom, Noyo guided/aided, Conan in accessing the Mirror of Beauty, which transported them to an
unidentified location, which even Noyo did not know.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130) - Feeling
the peace throughout the land, they climbed high into the hills and
found the Rose. Dreeme and Noyo were overcome by the Rose's nature and
could not find words to express it. Seeking to complete their quest,
however, Conan approached the Rose, preparing to use the Sword of
Strength (which reverted to its sword-form from the staff-form it had
taken when he fought the Guardian of Beauty) to hack it down, but the
Rose's nimbus of energy released a painful jolt through the sword,
blocking its progress and making Conan's arm feel as if it were afire. 
Noyo explained that only a heart without the taint
of violence could pluck the Rose, but when she reached for the Rose,
her hand was similarly jolted back. Noyo was deeply disturbed that the
Rose had rejected her, the Priestess of Creation, but then Dreeme
rushed forward and touched the Rose, which then shrunk to the size of a
normal rose, allowing him to pluck it.
With the Rose plucked, Conan, Dreeme, and Noyo were
returned to the Khitain alley from which they had traveled there;
nonetheless, Noyo lamented that this quest had tainted her soul.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130 - BTS) - With the Cornerstones hidden in an unspecified location but accessible to her, Noyo led Conan and Dreeme to confront
Pau-Styss. However, the sorceror defeated Conan and then 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.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130 - BTS) - Noyo then revealed that she had recalled/appreciated
Laynnen's true nature as the child of the Elder Gods, and 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; he indicated that Dreeme could be
that chosen one, though he, Dreeme, and Noyo would have to work on
drawing out even the limited stain of violent thoughts on Dreeme's soul.
Comments: Created by J.M. DeMatteis and Gil
Kane.
Elder Gods and Cornerstones of Creation
- In the past, we have always considered the Elder Gods of
the Hyborian Age (never specifically named and sometimes referred
to as the Primal Gods and the Creation-Lords) to be distinct from the
true Elder Gods (Chthon, Gaea, Oshtur,
and Set; with others having long since perished) and to possibly be the major gods mentioned elsewhere in the Conan series: Crom,
Mitra, Asura, and possibly Set..."
- However, the Mystic Arcana series included the
Cornerstones of Creation and showed them to be associated with the
true Elder Gods. Between the two stories, the Sword of Strength from Conan I#128-130 would correspond to the Sword of Bone (associated with
Oshtur), used by Agamotto's Pale Horseman, with most recent incarnation being Cadaver; the Rose of Peace would correspond to the Ebon
Rose (associated with Gaea); the Crown
of Wisdom would correspond to the Serpent
Crown (associated with Set); and the Mirror of Beauty would correspond to the Black Mirror, which was a form or portion of the Darkhold
(associated with (and a reflection of) Chthon). It is NOT outright stated, however, that the
Cornerstones of Creation in Mystic Arcana were the same as those in the
Conan stories.
- Is the Rose of Peace an incarnation the Ebon Rose?
- There's
not much to contradict the two being the same, but both Ian McNee and
Morgan Le Fay held the Ebon Rose, and both of them are tainted by
violence.
- Connections/contradictions between the Crown of Wisdom and the Serpent
Crown are discussed in their respective profiles.
- Connections/contradictions between the Mirror of Beauty and the Black Mirror (a page of the Darkhold) are discussed in their respective profiles.
- Connections/contradictions between the Sword of Bone and the Sword of Strength are discussed in their respective profiles.
- Interestingly, the one image in Conan the Barbarian
I#130 that shows the Elder Gods as appearing to be 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, but he did tell me that he wasn't sure that would actually work out...
- This issue will likely remain
unrevealed...and
perhaps moot, depending on how the new Conan series fits in. It's
supposed to be a continuation of the older series, although they don't
necessarily plan to revisit much outside of classic Robert E. Howard
story themes. We shall see...
Some insight courtesy of creator David Sexton:
I
discovered the original Cornerstones of Creation on your Appendix website as I was
investigating magic in Marvel and the idea of the number 4 as a
repeated theme in Marvel. And, of course, the way that Tarot fits into
all that.
When
I saw the C of C on your site I connected it to Tarot and then the 4
Elder Gods. I knew that Gaea was Earth and Rose fit with her, that the
crown was the Serpent Crown, and that the Sword which signifies
intellect and the mind was Oshtur.
So
then I was like how would a mirror work with Cthon and I realized that
the Darkhold was the mirror of Chthon. A reflection of his twisted
vision for the world.
In Marvel Tarot, it appears as the Ace of Wands (see image on right--Snood; the Ace of Swords is the Sword of Bone, the Ace of Cups is the Serpent Crown, and the Ace of Pentacles is the Ebon Rose)
In the image of Ian McNee using the Cornerstones of Creation, the Black
Mirror is just a magical construct to symbolize the Mirror.
In my mind, the Darkhold itself is the Cornerstone. Possessing the Last
Chronicle of Chthon / Darkhold page allowed Ian to access the
Darkhold's power (as far as the Cornerstones of Creation is concerned).
The Serpent Crown. The Ebon Rose. The Sword of Bone. and the Darkhold. Those are the four Cornerstones
The Cornerstones of Creation received a mini-profile in the Talismans of Mystic Power of the Mystic Arcana handbook. It stated:
The Cornerstones of Creation refers to
a set of four unique artifacts of the ancient world. The Sword, the
Rose, the Crown, and the Mirror are related to air, earth, water, and
fire, respectively, and some ancient texts have connected them with
four entities known as "Elder Gods." Individually possessed of vast
power, some have theorized that if the four Cornerstones were gathered
together and used correctly, the very fabric of reality could be
altered. This is why the true names of the items have been obscurred
throughout history...
After re-re-re-re-reviewing all the stories and speaking to the
creator, it seems clear that the Handbook entry offers the best
solution...the Cornerstones' reality-altering power changed their
nature...or their natures were altered.
Khitai is the Hyborian equivalent of China. Read
the Blockbusters handbook's entry on the Great Cataclysm for more
information.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Rose of Peace may or may not be otherwise connected to:
- EBON ROSE - one of the Cornerstones of Creation gathered by Ian McNee in the modern era
but should be distinguished from:
- ROSE of PURITY
- Wasteland dim,
intelligent, turned Wasteland dimension into paradise, initially
sought by Defenders as pawns of Enchantress so she would
resurrect Valkyrie (Brunnehilde), they were unable to allow
themselves to take it from the residents of the Wasteland (Damask
& Zaffer)--Defenders I#107
- ROSE - see
FISK, RICHARD--Amazing Spider-Man I#253
- ROSE (Det. Sgt.
Blume) - allied with Richard
Fisk against Kingpin and Richard Fisk imposter (Alfredo), killed by
Alfredo when turned against him--Web of Spider-Man#84
- ROSE (Jacob
"Jake" Connover) -
agent of Fortunato, employed Delilah, pretended to identity of
Fisk + Blume to capitalize on their
reputations--Amazing Spider-Man I#414
- Rose (Phillip Hayes) - Jackpot (Sara Ehret & Spider-Man foe--Amazing Spider-Man Presents Jackpot#1
- Rose of "Earth-22519" - Law Enforcement Squad; crime-fighting counterpart of Fisk or another Rose--Fantastic Four III 2001 Annual
- ROSE ?? - civilian, scared off
when N'Gamo's agents planned to move against T'Challa--Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes II#2
- ROSE ?? -
telepath, worked with Charlie
to slaughter thirty telepaths —Marvel Graphic Novel:
Daredevil/
Black Widow: Abbatoir
- Rose O'Hara -
childhood companion of James
Howlett, unintentionally killed by him in early 20th century--Origin#1
- Rose, Lt. Bert - NYPD officer, Daredevil ally--Daredevil I#1
- Rose, Chuck - SHIELD agent, Professor Power ally--X-Factor I Annual#9
- Rose, Daniel - possibly the real name of Rockman--The Twelve#6
- Rose, Danielle - alleged grand-niece of Rockman--The Twelve#6
- Rose, Dr. Janice
of Earth-70105 - radiation specialist, worked with Bruce Banner to
examine the gamma radiation mutated Peter Parker--Bullet Points#4
- Rose Blossom - see Mortis/Lois London--Dazzler I#26
- Rose Kugel - Punisher (Frank Castle) ally, nicknamed Wild Rose--Punisher II#7
- other Rose characters, items, locations, etc.
The land of the Rose of Peace
The location of the land that
contained the Rose of Peace is unrevealed. It may be somewhere on
Earth, on another planet, or in another dimension.
The realm conveyed a sense of peace to those in it.
(Conan
the Barbarian#130) - Via accessing the Mirror of Beauty, Conan, Noyo,
and Dreeme were mystically transported to a realm that not even Noyo,
the Priestess of Creation, knew.
Peace swelled in their hearts as they stood and watched the gently rippling lake.
As they climbed high into the hills, they heard the breath-taking song
of the doves that danced in the air above.
They could feel the peace on the whispering winds and in every breath they took.
Therein they located the Rose of Peace, and after Dreeme plucked it,
they were mystically returned to where they had accessed the Mirror, an
alley in Khitai.
--Conan the Barbarian#130
Note:
If it is in another dimension, the Rose of Peace has yet another
connection to the Rose of Purity...both of which were created by
DeMatteis. The Rose of Purity transformed the Wasteland dimension/world into a paradise.
images: (without ads):
Conan the Barbarian#130, pg. 12, panel 2 (land of the Rose of Peace);
panel 4 (Rose, main);
panel 6 (zapping Conan);
pg. 13, panel 3 (Dreeme approaching the Rose);
(Dreeme plucking the shrunken rose)
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)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
First posted: 09/28/2019
Last updated: 04/10/2020
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