5 MEREDITH FINCH ANEKE ANDY TROY

PARENTAL ADVISORY $3.99US 1 1 5 0 0 1 – DETAILS – INSIDE! 9 9 3 9 0 6 0 6 DIGITAL EDITION DIGITAL 9 5 7 BONUS BONUS Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of, an age of barbarism and fierce warriors, an age of magic and treasure, known as the Hyborian Age. This is the…

AMONG THE MERCENARIES AND PIRATES OF THE AGE, ONE FIGHTER STANDS OUT IN LEGEND. BUT BEFORE SHE WAS PART OF THE RED BROTHERHOOD, SHE WAS KNOWN SIMPLY AS…

chapter five HEART OF VENGEANCE

When her parents were killed by Zingaran pirates, young Valeria was raised by her older brother, Cassian, a royal guardsman-in-training, and his mentor, Antonius, a Mitran Knight. After she witnessed Cassian’s murder by a hooded figure, Valeria has spent her life training to become the best swordfighter in all of Aquilonia while also hunting her brother’s killer. Valeria’s quest led her to a Mitran monastery where she discovered Antonius, whom she suspects murdered Cassian. After hearing conflicting stories about Cassian’s past loyalties from both Antonius and their former comrade, Lord Blasius, for the first time Valeria found herself uncertain of Antonius’ guilt. She nevertheless decided to seek vengeance, sneaking into Antonius’ room to deliver the killing strike…

MEREDITH FINCH ◊ WRITER ANEKE ◊ ARTIST ANDY TROY ◊ COLOR ARTIST VC’s TRAVIS LANHAM ◊ LETTERER

JAY ANACLETO & ROMULO FAJARDO JR. ◊ COVER ARTISTS

ANTHONY GAMBINO FOR PROPERTIES INTERNATIONAL LOGO & PRODUCTION DESIGN ◊ JAY BOWEN & SALENA MAHINA FRED MALMBERG TREASURER OF TRANICOS NOVELLA DESIGN JAY ZETTERBERG ◊ ROYAL LIBRARIAN OF AQUILONIA MARK BASSO ◊ EDITOR MARTIN BIRO ◊ ASSISTANT EDITOR STEVE BOOTH ◊ COMMANDER OF THE BLACK DRAGONS ◊ RALPH MACCHIO CONSULTING EDITOR MIKE JACOBSEN ◊ THE FROST GIANT’S SON-IN-LAW C.B. CEBULSKI ◊ EDITOR IN CHIEF ◊ JOE QUESADA ◊ CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER PIERCE WATTERS PUBLISHER, PERILOUS WORLDS DAN BUCKLEY ◊ PRESIDENT SPECIAL THANKS TO BRIAN OVERTON CONAN CREATED BY ROBERT E. HOWARD.

AGE OF CONAN: VALERIA No. 5, February 2020. Published Monthly by MARVEL WORLDWIDE, INC., a subsidiary of MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, LLC. OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: 135 West 50th Street, New York, NY 10020. BULK MAIL POSTAGE PAID AT NEW YORK, NY AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. Copyright © 2019 Conan Properties International LLC (“CPI”). CONAN, , HYBORIA, THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN and related logos, characters, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of CPI. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons, and/or institutions in this magazine with those of any living or dead person or institution is intended, and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental. Marvel and its logos are TM Marvel Characters, Inc. $3.99 per copy in the U.S. (GST #R127032852) in the direct market; Canadian Agreement #40668537. Printed in the USA. Subscription rate (U.S. dollars) for 12 issues: U.S. $26.99; Canada $42.99; Foreign $42.99. POSTMASTER: SEND ALL ADDRESS CHANGES TO AGE OF CONAN: VALERIA, C/O MARVEL SUBSCRIPTIONS P.O. BOX 727 NEW HYDE PARK, NY 11040. TELEPHONE # (888) 511-5480. FAX # (347) 537-2649. [email protected]. DAN BUCKLEY, President, Marvel Entertainment; JOHN NEE, Publisher; JOE QUESADA, Chief Creative Officer; DAVID BOGART, Associate Publisher & SVP of Talent Affairs; TOM BREVOORT, SVP of Publishing; DAVID GABRIEL, VP of Print & Digital Publishing; JEFF YOUNGQUIST, VP of Production & Special Projects; DAN CARR, Executive Director of Publishing Technology; ALEX MORALES, Director of Publishing Operations; DAN EDINGTON, Managing Editor; SUSAN CRESPI, Production Manager; STAN LEE, Chairman Emeritus. For information regarding advertising in Marvel Comics or on Marvel.com, please contact Vit DeBellis, Custom Solutions & Integrated Advertising Manager, at [email protected]. For Marvel subscription inquiries, please call 888-511-5480. Manufactured between 11/08/2019 and 11/25/2019 by LSC COMMUNICATIONS INC., GLASGOW, KY, USA. ven as the years of anger and hurt hurry my blade toward its Eintended target, I can feel myself tensing…diverting my swing.

I couldn’t do it. |t wasn’t in me huh? to kill him. At least, not like this.

And in that moment I betrayed my brother for one whom I had loved like a brother.

you’re no murderer, val…

…no matter how much you might want to be.

I should have known.

Antonius had been my mentor. No matter how hard I tried, I always seemed to be a step behind.

I may not have been able to kill him in I didn’t cold blood… survive the last decade on the run by …but the way letting my he’s standing there, guard telling me what to do, down. casually speaking of I knew his life on the run…as someone sit down, if Cassian’s life and would come valeria, and death had meant for me…I just let’s talk. nothing to him… didn’t expect it to be you. …my blood heats just looking at him…the liar… the man who betrayed us! talk!

my entire I devoured I took every childhood was every bit of word you spoke spent listening attention you as gospel… to you gave me… talk!

…and you betrayed me! I worshipped you…

…I idolized you…

…I… loved you.

and how did you repay that love?