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<blockquote data-quote="gizmo33" data-source="post: 3553982" data-attributes="member: 30001">Violence in stories about Conan's life is not the same thing as assuming violence in the world.&nbsp; Conan sought out violence and found it, much like would happen in the real historical past (when pacifists existed as well).&nbsp; Conan stories are violent because Conan is - so I don't think there's much of a case there.And comparisons to the real historical past are relevant because it was the basis for Howard's Hyboria.&nbsp; I don't think he ever intended to create a world that was fundementally philosophically different from Earth.&nbsp; Especially since some Conan stories are just reworking of Wild West or Colonial era stories set in more modern periods.&nbsp; Mitra is a god in Hyboria, for example, who may have many traits similar to historical pacifist religions.As someone else pointed out, there's also plenty of room in Hyboria for groups of people.&nbsp; Of course they would have to be involved in politics to some degree as any other group would - which would mean fighting battles and such on occasion.&nbsp; I don't understand the basic logic that says that a group of creatures that's exceptionally intelligent and long-lived is somehow at a disadvantage in scheme of survival.&nbsp; I'm not even sure really that elves' appearance is particularly more strikingly different from an Aesir than someone from Stygia.&nbsp; Much like in the real world, it would probably be the case that regions near the elfin homeland would be peopled with half-elven types, and various ethnic groups in the area would show elven traits.&nbsp; I think the imagined reaction of humans to elves is largely based on the fact that they never existed in the real world - whereas in fantasy they do.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="gizmo33, post: 3553982, member: 30001"] Violence in stories about Conan's life is not the same thing as assuming violence in the world. Conan sought out violence and found it, much like would happen in the real historical past (when pacifists existed as well). Conan stories are violent because Conan is - so I don't think there's much of a case there. And comparisons to the real historical past are relevant because it was the basis for Howard's Hyboria. I don't think he ever intended to create a world that was fundementally philosophically different from Earth. Especially since some Conan stories are just reworking of Wild West or Colonial era stories set in more modern periods. Mitra is a god in Hyboria, for example, who may have many traits similar to historical pacifist religions. As someone else pointed out, there's also plenty of room in Hyboria for groups of people. Of course they would have to be involved in politics to some degree as any other group would - which would mean fighting battles and such on occasion. I don't understand the basic logic that says that a group of creatures that's exceptionally intelligent and long-lived is somehow at a disadvantage in scheme of survival. I'm not even sure really that elves' appearance is particularly more strikingly different from an Aesir than someone from Stygia. Much like in the real world, it would probably be the case that regions near the elfin homeland would be peopled with half-elven types, and various ethnic groups in the area would show elven traits. I think the imagined reaction of humans to elves is largely based on the fact that they never existed in the real world - whereas in fantasy they do. [/QUOTE]

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