The Phoenix on the Sword Robert Ervin Howard - "The Phoenix on the Sword" is one of Howards original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian. First published in Weird Tales in December 1932, this epic tale, in which Conan debuts. Originally a rewrite of the unpublished Kull story, "By This Axe I Rule!" which had been rejected, Howard recreated the story and its hero.