A Witch Shall Be Born

A Witch Shall Be Born is one of the original novells by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian (a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian). The story concerns a witch replacing her twin sister as queen of a city state, which brings her into conflict with Conan who had been the captain of the queen's guard. Themes of paranoia, and the duality of the twin sisters, are paramount in this story but it also includes elements of the conflict between barbarism and civilization that is common to the entire Conan series. One very powerful scene stands out: Conan's crucifixion early in the story in the second chapter (The Tree of Death) is considered one of the most memorable scenes in the entire series!