The Blade of the Slayer

"The Blade of the Slayer" is a short story by Richard L. Tierney in which his sword-and-sorcery hero Simon of Gitta encounters an ancient warrior--who in one version of the story is another notable recurring fantasy character. The story first appeared in Pulse-Pounding Adventure Stories #1, published in 1986; a significantly different version appeared in Tierney's collection The Scroll of Thoth (Chaosium, 1997).
==Synopsis==
Travelling between Persepolis to Susa on his way to Rome, Simon is set upon by vicious bandits. He escapes and takes refuge in a magus's lair in an ancient ruin--only to find that the sorcerer plans to turn him over to the bandits whom he is in league with. Simon survives by freeing an ancient warrior, known as "The Slayer," whom the sorcerer's order had kept magically imprisoned for ages. 
==Setting==
The story takes place in January of 32 A.D.,Sorcery Against Caesar, "About 'The Blade of the Slayer,'" by Robert M. Price (Pickman's Press, 2020). during the journey from Persia to Rome described in Tierney's story "The Seed of the Star-God." The ruins of the "First City" are in modern-day Iran.
==Behind the Mythos==
The identity of the Slayer is different in the two published versions of the story: In the Pulse-Pounding version, he's the biblical character Nimrod; in the Scroll of Thoth iteration, he's Karl Edward Wagner's immortal hero Kane, who was inspired by the figure of Cain in the book of Genesis. 
Tierney originally wrote the character as Kane, then changed him at Wagner's request; although Wagner liked the story, he thought he might write more Kane stories, and didn't want to feel bound by Tierney's continuity. "Since the tragic death of Karl Wagner, that problem has vanished," Scroll of Thoth editor Robert M. Price wrote, allowing the original version of the story to be published "as a tribute to Karl Edward Wagner."
==Publication History==
After its initial appearance in Pulse-Pounding Adventures, "The Blade of the Slayer" was reprinted in the Simon of Gitta collections The Scroll of Thoth and Sorcery Against Caesar (Pickman's Press, 2020). Both of the reprints feature Tierney's original conception in which the Slayer is Kane.
==References==
Category:Expanded Mythos Works
Category:Richard L. Tierney works