# VI: The Mountain of the Black Seers explained — Conan Stories

> Chapter companion for Conan Stories by Robert E. Howard.

## What happens

Khemsa confronts four Black Seers in a psychic battle, but they exploit his love for Gitara to defeat him. Conan and Yasmina encounter Khemsa, who attempts to hypnotize Conan but fails; Conan fights back. A crimson cloud heralds the arrival of the four wizards, who kill Gitara and defeat Khemsa. Conan and Yasmina escape, and Conan forces Yasmina to disguise herself as a hill-girl to avoid detection.

## Themes in this chapter

### Supernatural and Ancient Evil

The Black Seers embody ancient, forbidden sorcery, using psychic powers and a crimson cloud to manifest.

### Survival and Individualism

Conan's resistance to hypnotism and his pragmatic decisions (e.g., disguising Yasmina) highlight his survival instincts.

### Love and Sacrifice

Khemsa's love for Gitara both empowers and ultimately defeats him, as the Seers exploit it.

## Character check-ins

### Conan

Resists Khemsa's hypnotism due to his Cimmerian heritage, fights Khemsa, and helps Yasmina escape.

### Yasmina

Disguises as a hill-girl at Conan's insistence; experiences a shift in personality and feelings.

### Khemsa

Battles the four Black Seers but is defeated when they use Gitara against him.

### Gitara

Khemsa's lover; used as a pawn by the Black Seers and falls to her death.

## Key lines

> Rakhsha gave back with a stifled cry. He backed away, pushing the girl Gitara back with groping, fending hands. The crimson cloud balanced like a spinning top for an instant, whirling in a dazzling sheen on its point. Then without warning it was gone, vanished as a bubble vanishes when burst. There on the ledge stood four men.

Khemsa recoils in terror as a crimson cloud materializes into four Black Seers on the ledge.

_The supernatural arrival of the wizards marks a turning point in the psychic battle._

> But Conan was not a son of the East. Its traditions were meaningless to him; he was the product of an utterly alien atmosphere. Hypnotism was not even a myth in Cimmeria.

Conan's Cimmerian upbringing makes him immune to the hypnotic powers that affect Easterners.

_Highlights Conan's cultural and psychological resistance to sorcery._

> Conan displayed the gold coin. 'If you will give this woman your garments,' he said, 'I will give you this money.'

Conan bribes a hill-girl to exchange clothes with Yasmina for disguise.

_Demonstrates Conan's pragmatic and resourceful nature in evading pursuit._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/conan_stories_se/chapters/vi-the-mountain-of-the-black-seers
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/conan_stories_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/conan_stories_se/chapters