Borna

Borna was the king of Valusia until he was overthrown and killed by Kull. At first, Kull was hailed as a liberator who had delivered the people from the iron grip of Borna's tyranny. However, many Valusians eventually turned against Kull, largely as a result of loyalist propaganda by the royal minstrel Ridondo. This was so effective that, despite Borna's past cruelty, a statue of him was put up in the Temple of the Serpent where the people mourned for their former king and praised him as a saintly monarch unjustly slain by a red-handed barbarian. This also despite the fact that Kull had once led Valusia's armies to victory as a soldier and that his status as a foreigner had been overlooked because of this.^[1]

Borna was, by all accounts, a genuine tyrant who deserved his fate. Men were routinely blinded, maimed, and left to die in his dungeons for their transgressions, while their wives were stolen for his seraglio.^[1] Valusia was in a severely weakened state under his rule until Kull took the throne, brought much needed reforms, and restored the nation to its former strength and unity.^[2]

Borna was a native Valusian and a direct heir of the old dynasty. The events leading to his overthrow are not chronicled in detail in the original stories, but it is known that Kull had led a group of rebels while he was an army commander and had the support of the barbarian mercenaries.^[2]

After Borna's death, there were at least two remaining members of his dynasty who had legitimate claims to the throne. These included Gomlah, a cousin of Borna, who fled to Verulia and took refuge there,^[2] and Baron Kaanuub who remained in Valusia and often plotted against Kull.^[1] The statesman-turned-outlaw Ascalante considered it a mistake on Kull's part to have let them live.^[1]

Borna was portrayed by Sven-Ole Thorsen in the 1997 movie Kull the Conqueror.

References[]