Elder Days

At the time ape-like humans served the Serpent-Men, a Pictish shaman discovered on cave paintings or carvings that reptilians, including the Serpent-Men and the Man-Serpents, could not say nor stand to hear the phrase, "Ka nama kaa lajerama".^[12] The humans weaponized this phrase to overthrow their Serpent-Men masters and slaughter the Man-Serpents. After centuries of fighting, the humans erroneously believed to have annihilated both of the serpent races.^[12]

From the time of the war against the Serpent-Men, these words became engraved in the souls of all men,^[13] and its knowledge was passed down among the Picts.

The Pre-Cataclysmic Age

During the Pre-Cataclysmic Age, the Picts lived on the Pictish Isles,^[14] a chain of islands in the Western Ocean,^[1] west of the Thuria and of Atlantis. Along with the Atlanteans and the Lemurians, they were the barbarians of their age. The crumbling Thurian civilizations employed barbarian mercenaries (Picts, Atlanteans and Lemurians) as their armies, and consequently, their generals, their statesmen and often their kings were barbarians.^[15]

19,500 BC

One thousand years before Kull, the Picts became the allies of Valusia.^[16]

18,500 BC

That alliance kept on going at least until the rule of Kull.^[16]

The Great Cataclysm

When the Great Cataclysm occurred, the Pictish Isles were heaved up to form the mountain peaks of a new continent.^[17] Its inhabitants perished, but a significant colony of them already established along the mountains of Valusia's southern frontier were virtually unharmed.^[18][19]

The Atlanteans and the Picts of the mainland fought in the west of the continent. The powerful Pictish nation outnumbered the Atlanteans, who were hurled back into a state of savagery while the evolution of the Picts stopped. Five hundred years after the Cataclysm, both kingdoms vanished. The Lesser Cataclysm achieved their ruin begun by their tribal wars.^[18]

By 16,500 BC, the Picts still dwelt in the area south of Cimmeria, but were later repelled by the Hyborians.^[20]

The Picts then remained as scattered clans of cave-dwelling savages with primitive speech, living in the southwest.^[18]

1500 years after the Lesser Cataclysm, the Picts apparently defied the laws of nature, neither by progressing or retrogressing, but by remaining savages.^[21]

The Age of Acheron

By 13,000 BC, the Picts were separated from the Zingg Settlements and from the Bossonians by the Black River.^[22]

The Hyborian Age

Picts invaded the Valley of Zingg and merged with its nameless tribe of agricultural dwellers. The mixed race was in turn absorbed by a conquering tribe of Hybori, and the resulting kingdom became Zingara.^[21]

The Picts that remained in the Pictish Wilderness were confronted by their eastern neighbors, the inhabitants of the Bossonian Marches, which was inhabited by descendants of an aboriginal race mixed with Hyborians.^[21]

9,500 BC

The ever-more powerful Picts (as well as the Nordheimr and the Bossonians) would cause incessant bickering with their Cimmerian neighbors.^[23]

Around that time, the Nemedian priest of Mitra, Arus, decided to introduce the worship of Mitra to the Picts. Despite having benefited from Hyborian civilization contact, the Picts had always fiercely resisted it. They still dwelt in clans that generally feuded with each other. Arus, nevertheless, managed to remain safely among the Picts after meeting with the unusually intelligent chief named Gorm. In order to convince the Picts of Mitra's benefits, he spoke to Gorm about the wealth and fortune of the Hyborians, but Gorm foxed on the material riches rather than the worship of Mitra.^[23]

Wishing to see the civilized lands, Gorm requested from Arus to conduct them there and soon, Picts came and went freely into all of Aquilonia. Despite Arus' belief that he was converting the Picts to Mitra, the savages simply wished, and managed to learn how, to mine their iron deposits and work them into weapons. In doing so, Gorm began to assert dominance over the other Pictish clans.^[24]

Soon, increasing numbers of Picts entered service of Aquilonia's mercenary armies, and once their service was completed, returned to the Pictish Wilderness with good ideas of civilized warfare. Gorm, then past middle age, became chief of chiefs, the closest approach to a king the Picts ad had in thousands of years. He moved against the frontier for war. Realizing his mistake, Arus tried to undo his work, but was killed by a drunken Pict. Gorm, nevertheless, showed his gratitude to Arus by having the skull of his slayer set on top of the priest's cairn. Now clad in scale-mail and wielding steel weapons, the Picts burst upon the Bossonian frontiers, but were still held at bay for years by the Bossonians.^[24]

Due to an eastern war against Nemedia, the Bossonian Marches were undermanned, but hearing of the Pictish invasion, whole regiments of Bossonians quit the Nemedian campaign and returned, defeating the Picts in a great battle (while directly causing the defeat of the Aquilonians against the Nemedians). In their wrath, the Aquilonians lured and massacred the Bossonian chiefs, then ravaged the marches.^[24]

Free of the Bossonian resistance, and now an old man, Gorm led the Pictish invasion directly to the Aquilonian borders and swarmed the kingdom before its legions could return from the war in the east, causing (by synergy with other causes) the end of the Aquilonian Empire.^[24]

Npw the masters of Aquilonia, the Picts slaughtered nearly all the inhabitants. It is presumably the Pictish thrusts that prevented the Hyrkanians from adding Stygia to their empire. Seventy-five years after encountering Arus, Gorm was slain by Hialmar, a chief of the Nemedian Aesir.^[25]

For a short age, the Hyrkanians and the Picts battled each other over the ruins of the conquered world. As the Glacial Ages began, the Nordic tribes were driven southwards, pushing the Cimmerians south as well. Hordes of Aesir and Vanir soon swarmed and reeled the Pictish Empire,^[25] causing the end of their dominance and pushing them back to a Mesolithic level.^[19]

Another cataclysm created the British Island from the mountains of Western Cimmeria. In the west, the remnants of the Picts possessed the lands.^[25]

In a later age, they would be overthrown by the westward drift of both Cimmerians and Nordics.^[25]

4,300 BC

Circa 4,300 BC, the Picts were known to the Vanir band of Horsa^[26] and to the people of King Ogam's New Iberia.^[27]

The Timespirits Doot of the Wawenoc^[26] and Cusick the Tuscarora, both Native Americans, were thought to be Pict shamans.^[27]

The Celtic Expansion

The Picts ruled all of Europe before their primitive empire was destroyed by the Gauls.^[28]

When two kings arose in the land of the Picts, the conqueror drove out the vanquished, and so many Picts made boats and set sail for the "far-off cliffs that gleamed white in the sunlight". There, they were confronted to a race of red-haired barbarians whom they drove off. They built huts of wattle, tilled the soil, cleared the forest, before the Celtic Gaels came from the Isles of the West. They drove the Picts into the forest and the mountains, though some Picts refused to leave the lands, hiding themselves in caverns, ravines and caves. Many Picts also mingled with the Celts. The Celtic Britons would later come from Gallia and conquer the Gaels.^[9]

One hundred years later, the Briton Cororuc would be captured by the "Little People" (as the Picts would be known to the Britons), a group of the last pure-blooded Picts. Their priest, an old Pict cursed in his youth by an old witch to live until the last child of the Pictish race shall have passed, intended to slay Cororuc as part of his revenge upon the Celts (despite the fact it was the Gaels, and not the Britons, who had conquered the Picts). Cororuc was saved by Berula, a Pict werewolf and chief among the Alban Picts, whom he had saved from a panther earlier, and was given guarantees of friendship by Berula and the old Pict.^[9]

The Roman Occupation (AD 200)

Circa AD 200,^[29] Bran Mak Morn, descendant of King Kull's friend Brule,^[28] was the first acknowledged king of the Caledonian Picts in 500 years.^[7]

The 6th century AD

During the 6th century AD, Picts (as well as Anglo-Saxons and Irish) were among the external enemies of Logres, Uther Pendragon's kingdom.^[30]

Facts

Religion

The Picts have worshiped (or at least invoked the names of) many entities:

• During the Pre-Cataclysmic Age, circa 18,500 BC. they invoked the names of (among others) the Great Mother Danu,^[31] the Sea-Gods, the Gods of the Waves, the Great War Chief,^[32] the Sky Gods,^[10] Jhebbal Sag,^[33] and Valka,^[10][34] chief deity of Pre-Cataclysmic Age.^[34]
• During the Hyborian Age, Brule, the Spear-Slayer, became the only god left of his descendants, a party of Picts led by Brogar, and was also known as the Dark God.^[35]

Tribes and Politics

The Pictish nation was divided in tribes and kingdoms which have varied across the ages.

During the Pre-Cataclysmic Age (at least during the Age of Kull circa 18,500 BC), the Picts lived on the Pictish Isles in tribes, all ruled over by an over-king.^[36]

• Isle of Tathel
  • Tatheli - Tribe of Nial, overking of the Picts^[37][36]
  • Dano/Danyo^[38][36]
  • Whale-Slayers^[39][36]
  • Nargi^[40][36]
• Isle of Kurmonn:^[41]
  • Borni - Tribe of Brule the Spear-Slayer,^[42] enemies of the Sungara^[43]
  • Hawk Moon tribe - Worshipers of the Snake God^[41]
• Red Isle Tribe^[44] - Enemies of the Wolf People^[45]
• Spear-Slayers - Elite warrior clan of Brule
• Sungara - Tribe of Aa-Thak,^[46] enemies of the Borni^[43]
• Wolf People / Wolf-Slayers - Enemies of the Red Isle Tribe^[45]

Additionnally, the Picts had a colony on the Thurian mainland.

During the Hyborian Age, the Picts were divided as such:

• Alligator Picts^[47]
• Btoths^[48]
• Eagle Picts^[49][19]
• Onayaga,^[50] or Hawk Picts^[50][19]
• Ocelots
• Oranadi^[51]
• Otter Picts^[52][53]
• Panther Picts^[54]
• Raven Picts^[55][53]
• Tantaka^[51]
• Turtles Picts^[53]
• Wildcats Picts^[53]
• Wolf Picts - large confederation of allied Pict tribes^[56]
• The Sea-Land Picts were clans living on the shore of the Western Ocean, and were less civilized than the inland/forest Picts.^[57][58]
  • Cormorants^[58]
  • Hornbills^[58]
  • Sea-Falcons / Sea Hawks

At least in the late Age of Conan, circa 10,000 BC, the Picts were united among the Pictish Confederation. Additionnaly, the Ligureans were a non-Pict people that lived among the northwestern Picts, mostly at war, sometimes as allies.^[59] After the Age of Conan, an unnamed tribe dwelt in the Country of the Worm.

Circa AD 200, the Picts lived in the British Isles, including in Caledonia and Alba, and were divided as such:

• Alban Picts
• Caledonian Picts / Wolf Clan

• The Picts were created by Robert E. Howard in "The Shadow Kingdom" and other Kull stories,^[60] as well as in "The Hyborian Age" essay,^[60][19] and "The Tower of the Elephant", "The God in the Bowl", "Beyond the Black River", "Wolves Beyond the Border", and "The Treasure of Tranicos".^[19] They were also called "Folk of the Isles" in "The Black Abyss".^[61]

• The Picts and the Caledonians were erroneously stated to be Celts in the United Kingdom's profile in Marvel Atlas #1.