REH's Conan is more poetic, well-spoken, and read than the Conan's of the movies and comics. But I agree that I don't see him sitting down and writing volumes of text. Or even dictating volumes of text to scribes.
I'd like to see a mix of encyclopedic and first person narratives. For things that were well known and researched an encyclopedia entry would make sense. For things of legend, myth, or the unknown, a first person account would feel more appropriate. It could even lead to areas having different sets of lore as you travel through. An area may start with narratives as an unknown location but as you finish quests, the lore becomes more encyclopedic as your adventures fill in some knowledge gaps.
im excited about this system. Will it be retroactive or are our 80's out of luck for Tortage lore and achievements?