By This Axe I Rule!

"By This Axe I Rule!"
Short story by Robert E. Howard
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Sword & Sorcery
Publication
Published in	King Kull
Publication type	Paperback
Publication date	1967
Series	Kull

"By This Axe I Rule!" is a fantasy short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, the last of his Kull stories, set in his fictional Thurian Age. It was first published in the Lancer Books paperback King Kull in 1967.^[1]

This story was rejected by the pulp magazines Argosy and Adventure in 1929,^[2] after which Howard rewrote it as the Conan story "The Phoenix on the Sword", substituting a new secondary plot and adding elements of supernatural horror. The main shared elements of the two stories are the conspiracy and the king's defeat of it. The Conan story was published in December 1932.

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Plot summary

An alliance of jealous nobles and outlaws plan on assassinating King Kull, having sown dissent among the citizens before subverting an officer of the royal guard into removing his men so their assassins have access to the King's chamber. The king is aware of the discontent, though not of their specific conspiracy. Meanwhile, Kull laments on how the laws of Valusia hamper his rule, and never allow him to govern as he wants. A young nobleman visits him and ask to marry a slave girl, but Kull is advised that this is impossible under an ancient law, engraved on a tablet crafted by hallowed lawmakers many centuries ago. Saddened, the nobleman is sent away with regrets.

Later, Kull has an encounter with the man's love interest, crying in the woods, and tries in vain to console her. The girl is a slave owned by one of the conspirators seeking to murder Kull, and overheard her master mention his plan with one of the fellow conspirators - whereupon she hastens to tell her lover.

That night, the conspirators - four leaders and sixteen robbers - sneak into the palace and enter Kull's private chambers. However, Kull awakens, realizes something is wrong, and manages to arm himself. Seizing an antique battle axe, which had hung on the wall for decades, he fights furiously, one against many, killing a large portion of the attackers. Still, he is nearly killed by the conspirators' leader when needing to wipe blood from his eyes. In the nick of time, the young noble arrives with his retainers, killing the assassin and saving Kull's life.

Though severely wounded, Kull is determined to reward fittingly the young lovers who saved his life. There and then he smashes with his axe the Tablets of the Law, proclaiming "I am the law!", "I am king, state, and law!" and "By this ax I rule!", before allowing the couple to happily marry.

Adaptations

The first comic book appearance of King Kull was in "Kull the Conqueror" (1971) published by Marvel Comics. The first issue was in part an adaptation of "By This Axe I Rule!", and issue #11 (1973) was more specifically based on that story and had the same title. The 1997 movie Kull the Conqueror starring Kevin Sorbo was partly based on "By This Axe I Rule!".

References

^ Howard Works, retrieved 2 January 2008
^ REHupa: REH Fiction Timeline Archived 2007-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2 January 2008

External links

v t e Robert E. Howard's Kull
Works	"By This Axe I Rule!" "Exile of Atlantis" "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" "The Shadow Kingdom" King Kull
Characters	Kull Thulsa Doom Serpent Men
Adaptations	Kull the Conqueror

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

Books	Conan (books)
Original works by Robert E. Howard	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" The Hour of the Dragon "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in the Moonlight" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Slithering Shadow" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border"
Non-Howard works (some based on non- Conan Howard works)	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" "Black Tears" The Blood-Stained God "The Castle of Terror" "The City of Skulls" Conan and the Amazon Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza Conan and the Emerald Lotus Conan and the Gods of the Mountain Conan and the Grim Grey God Conan and the Manhunters Conan and the Mists of Doom Conan and the Shaman's Curse Conan and the Sorcerer Conan and the Spider God Conan and the Treasure of Python Conan at the Demon's Gate Conan, Lord of the Black River Conan of the Isles Conan of the Red Brotherhood Conan of Venarium Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Bold Conan the Buccaneer Conan the Champion Conan the Defender Conan the Defiant Conan the Destroyer Conan the Fearless Conan the Formidable Conan the Free Lance Conan the Gladiator Conan the Great Conan the Guardian Conan the Hero Conan the Hunter Conan the Indomitable Conan the Invincible Conan the Liberator Conan the Magnificent Conan the Marauder Conan the Mercenary Conan the Outcast Conan the Raider Conan the Rebel Conan the Relentless Conan the Renegade Conan the Rogue Conan the Savage Conan the Triumphant Conan the Unconquered Conan the Valiant Conan the Valorous Conan the Victorious Conan the Warlord "The Curse of the Monolith" "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" The Flame Knife "The Gem in the Tower" "Hawks over Shem" "The Ivory Goddess" "The Lair of the Ice Worm" "Legions of the Dead" "Moon of Blood" "The People of the Summit" "Red Moon of Zembabwei" The Return of Conan The Road of Kings "The Road of the Eagles" "Shadows in the Dark" "Shadows in the Skull" "The Star of Khorala" The Sword of Skelos "The Thing in the Crypt" "The Witch of the Mists"
Collections	Black Colossus The Bloody Crown of Conan The Coming of Conan The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian The Complete Chronicles of Conan Conan The Conan Chronicles (Howard, et al) The Conan Chronicles (Jordan) The Conan Chronicles, 1 The Conan Chronicles 2 The Conan Chronicles, 2 The Conan Chronicles II Conan of Aquilonia Conan of Cimmeria Conan the Adventurer Conan the Avenger Conan the Barbarian (1954) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Freebooter Conan the Swordsman Conan the Usurper Conan the Wanderer Conan the Warrior The Conquering Sword of Conan The Devil in Iron The Essential Conan The Further Chronicles of Conan Jewels of Gwahlur King Conan The People of the Black Circle The Pool of the Black One Queen of the Black Coast Red Nails Rogues in the House Sagas of Conan The Sword of Conan Tales of Conan The Tower of the Elephant The Treasure of Tranicos
Scholarship	The Blade of Conan The Conan Grimoire The Conan Reader The Conan Swordbook The Spell of Conan

Authors

Creator	Robert E. Howard
Later authors	Poul Anderson Leonard Carpenter Lin Carter L. Sprague de Camp Roland J. Green John C. Hocking Robert Jordan Sean A. Moore Björn Nyberg Andrew J. Offutt Steve Perry John Maddox Roberts Michael A. Stackpole Roy Thomas Harry Turtledove Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

Films

Related films	Red Sonja (1985) Kull the Conqueror (1997) Red Sonja (2024)

Television

Comics

Games

Tabletop	Unchained! Against Darkness! Role-Playing Game (1985) GURPS The Roleplaying Game (2004) Collectible Card Game Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of
Video	Hall of Volta The Mysteries of Time The Cimmerian Conan (2004) Conan (2007) Age of Conan Rise of the Godslayer Exiles
Other	Hyborian War

Setting

Characters	Bêlit Conan the Barbarian Kulan Gath Red Sonja Serpent Men Thulsa Doom Valeria
Chronology	Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age Conan chronologies

Related articles
"The Shadow of the Vulture" Red Sonja Cerebus the Aardvark Conan the Librarian The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular

This page was last edited on 8 October 2022, at 11:44

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