Zenobia



Zenobia was a woman who aided Conan's escape in The Hour of the Dragon and is Conan's queen in The Return of Conan (Conan the Avenger).

Biography
Previous to the events of The Hour of the Dragon, Zenobia was a concubine of the Nemedian king, though she swore he had never touched her. When Conan made a state visit to the kingdom of Nemedia at the head of his knights, she immediately fell in love with the Cimmerian, wishing to be with him. Years later, when she discovered Conan had been imprisoned by Xaltotun and Tarascus, she offered her help and aided in his escape. For this, Conan married her, made her queen of Aquilonia and had a son with her (Conan II). A Khitan sorcerer later kidnapped her, forcing Conan to undertake a long journey to rescue her. After doing so, the two returned to Aquilonia and resumed their rule of the kingdom.

Physical Appearance
She is described in The Hour of the Dragon as "lithe" and "beautiful." She has long, luxurious black hair, dark eyes and a notably pale skin tone. Her eyes are particularly stunning. In the novel, she wore only jeweled breast plates and a "wisp of silk twisted about her loins".

Traits and skills
Along with attributes proper for a concubine like dancing and court etiquette, Zenobia shows a knowledge of weaponry and battle situations superior to what could have been expected from her type, with Conan noticing she knew how to choose a knife for fighting- also of horses(and men) She also seems to have a considerable skill with the bow and the arrow, being capable to score a kill on a would-be assassin of Conan in one of his adventures.

"He inspected the weapon the girl had given him, and smiled grimly. Whatever else she might be, she was proven by that dagger to be a person of practical intelligence. It was no slender stiletto, selected because of a jeweled hilt or gold guard, fitted only for dainty murder in milady's boudoir; it was a forthright poniard, a warrior's weapon, broad-bladed, fifteen inches in length, tapering to a diamond-sharp point." -- "The Hour of the Dragon"

Stories featuring Zenobia

 * The Hour of the Dragon
 * The Return of Conan