Deep Chronotopes Map

This short story features a broader range of chronotopic forms than might be expected of such a piece, and whilst the chronotopes of 'threshold' and 'encounter' form the core poles of the topological model, it is the central-most chronotopes of 'parlour' and 'distortion' that offer unexpected focal points. The former provides points of respite between bouts of action, where Conan learns the art of sailing having won the affection of the pirate queen Belit. The latter occurs in relation to a central episode in which being inadvertently poisoned through breathing black lotus spores brings about a hallucination of the land they are pillaging as it evolved through the ages. The minimal presence of both the 'castle' and 'wilderness' chronotopes is also somewhat unexpected given the subject matter, but the serialised format of the story might explain this thematic disparity. Sections typically open with the framing metanarrative which steps directly into a suspenseful scene (a 'threshold') before diving into action (an 'encounter'), leaving the other forms as secondary to the textual priorities that feature between these episodes as downtime or asides.