The Star of Khorala

"The Star of Khorala" is a short story by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Bantam Books in the paperback collection Conan the Swordsman in August 1978. Later paperback editions of the collection were issued by Ace Books (1987 and 1991). The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2002. The book has also been translated into Italian. It was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan (Tor Books, 2004).

Plot summary

In the wake of the events of "Shadows in Zamboula" and Conan the Raider Conan journeys to Ophir with the fabulous gem called the Star of Khorala, knowing it was formerly owned by the kingdom's queen, Marala, who will pay well to random it. Once in Ophir, however, he learns that Marala has fallen from grace and been imprisoned. Freeing the queen, he escorts her west toward Aquilonia where she has a hereditary fief on which she can begin life anew. But before they can reach their goal they are trapped in a ruin where they gem turns out to be the key to the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy. In the end Marala is restored to her ancestral estate; as the Aquilonian Countess Albiona she will later play a role in the events of the novel Conan the Conqueror.

References

• Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. p. 243. 
• The Star of Khorala title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database