Rahan. Episode six. The Mammoth God. by Roger Lecureux. A Puke (TM) Comic.

Rahan.

Show more

Episode six.

The Mammoth God.

Rahan could have swum.
But he preferred for his own amusement to cross the river on this tree that had been uprooted by lightning.
The sun has risen as many times as the fingers of the hand, and Rahan has not met any man!
No man.
Destiny would decide otherwise.

“Those who walk upright”, are they afraid to live here?
The trees are big and beautiful!
Game must be plentiful.

Barely had the son of Crao had this thought, that.
Over there!
The man with the “tail-of-the-panther” violates mammoth territory!
He must die!

Page Two:

Rahan heard the clamors of the clan and glimpsed the flint axes.
The son of fierce ages, he was used to this inhospitality.

Death to the “Tail-of-a-panther”!
Death! Death!
Death!
In these savage times, anything strange to the clan was the enemy!

Rahan tries to flee.
The tail of the beast which he had made into a sheath floats at his hip.
Rahan does not know this forest!
He will not escape these hunters!

Front, back, and to the side. Silhouettes jump in the thicket.
But Rahan does not succumb without a fight!

And the branches of this tree allow him to isolate his enemies!
With the agility of a monkey he clung to the low branches.

Page Three:

And rose rapidly through the thick foliage of the great tree.
“Tail-of-the-panther” cannot escape us!

Some of the hunters are already hoisting themselves up the tree.
The most nimble ahead of the others.
Just as Rahan wished!

Because it was easy for him to fight isolated enemies!
Ah!

He had thrown two of these into the void when.
Ha-ha-ha!
I have you “Tail-of-the-panther”

Suddenly gripping the long panther tail, a hunter tried to unbalance him.
But Rahan’s legs were wrapped around the tree.

Page Four:

And the man, slipping from his perch, remained suspended in the air.
We will both fall!
You will die with me "Tail-of-the-panther”!

No!
With a quick gesture, Rahan sliced the long sheath in two.
Zlac!

The crash of the broken branches accompanied the howl of the man who fell towards the ground!
Argh! Ah!

But Rahan had not sheathed his ivory knife, when a hand gripped his ankle.
Which pitched him in turn, into the void!

He hit one branch, and then another, and instinctively he tried to cushion his fall by clinging to vines.

Page Five:

Stunned by the successive shocks he disappeared under the green waters of the river.
Vlouf!

And he immediately recovered all his spirits.
The hunters do not know how to swim!
Rahan is saved!
But Rahan has lost his Knife!

Furious, the clan observed Rahan, who had just gained the other side of the river.
A hunter brandished the knife that he had just found.
The weapon of the “tail-of-the-panther” is very strange.

They admired the polish of the handle, and appreciated the sharpness of the blade.
We must bring this weapon back to Tarook.
It now belongs to the clan leader!

Rahan watched the hunters disappear.
Rahan cannot live without his knife!
He must take it back from these men!
He must!

Page Six:

The ivory knife was unique to the son of Crao.
The most prized of his possessions.
He gazed gravely at the empty sheath.
Rahan shall recover you, knife! You will return to your place.

And later.
No sound. No voices.
The hunters must fear the darkness as Rahan once did. Oh!

A strange spectacle suddenly petrified him.
In the middle of the clearing on a high flat rock was a mammoth skull.
At the bottom of the clearing a cave could be discerned.

Rahan was not wrong. The clan fear the night!
They will stay on the territory of the cavern until daylight.

The soil around the rock was littered with objects.
Shell necklaces, glittering stones.
“Those who walk upright” act like this when they worship a god.

Page Seven:

Rahan had known hordes that worshipped the sun-god or the river-god.
Others, like that of the forests, devoting themselves to the oak god.

Rahan wondered if these hunters worship the mammoth god.
The ivory of the immense curved tusks shone in the moonlight.

Rahan does not believe in the power of these gods!
But he knows that those who worship them are always obedient!
An idea seized Rahan.

He could not confront these men, whose number he did not know.
But Rahan knows how to get them out of their lair!

A moment later in the cavern.
Listen to that voice Tarook!
The god speaks! All of you listen!
Mamazak Speaks!

Page Eight:

Overcoming their fear, the men came out of the cave one by one.
Surrounded by a strange halo of fire, the mammoth god spoke.
Men of the clan stay away from me!
I will speak only with the chief!

The hunters shivered in their trepidation.
Mamazak calls you Tarook!
Go Tarook Go!
You must obey the god!

Anxiously Tarook walked towards the god.
Hidden behind the rock altar, Rahan recognized his knife in the chief's belt.

He threw another tuft of grass on the fire he had lit and the flames seemed to shoot from the skull.
Here I am Mamazak.
Why do you blaze like the sun?

Because my anger is great against you Tarook!
They have stolen a weapon from a hunter I protect!
And I see you carrying that weapon Tarook!

Page Nine:

Lay that weapon down in front of me Tarook,
And my anger may cease!
I will forgive the fault of your hunters!
Worried, the chief of the clan clasps the knife.

Mine did not know that you were protecting panther tail, we beg your forgiveness Mamazak.
And gravely he laid it in the midst of the offerings.

I forgive you!
Retreat to your cave! Argh!
As Tarook retreated towards his people, an ember burst forth.

And it wrung a cry of pain from Rahan!
It was not you that shouted like that Mamazak!
It was a man!
Rahan has betrayed himself! He cannot deceive anymore!

Tarook rushed at the knife, but Rahan moved more rapidly.
Yes!
I am a man! I am Rahan! Son of Crao!

Page Ten:

The ruse failed, and combat became inevitable.
A terribly uneven combat. Rahan suddenly hoisted himself onto the rock.
Kill Rahan! Kill!

Then on the very skull of the mammoth.
Rahan is not afraid of you! Look! Rahan challenges your god!

The clansmen hesitated.
They brandished their axes without daring to throw them, doubtless fearing to touch the "Mammoth God".

Certain, more audacious men nevertheless approached.
If Rahan can climb on Mamazak without provoking his anger, we can too!

They suddenly attacked head-on, leaping towards the rock-altar dominated by gigantic tusks.
Kill Rahan! Kill! Kill!
Kill! Kill!

Page Eleven:

But these giant tusks suddenly oscillate above them!

Rahan is lost!
But he will not die alone!
Bracing himself against the skull, Rahan pushed it over on his assailants.

The screams of the crushed men merge with the cracking of the monstrous skull that breaks in two at the foot of the rock altar.
Crash!

Then, fear and anger give way to hatred.
Such profanation should be cruelly punished!!
But Rahan had already jumped from the rock.

And disappeared into the darkness.
They do not chase Rahan into the night!
But from daybreak, they will begin the chase!

Page Twelve:

He ran straight ahead for a long time, in the high ferns that lashed at his chest.
Formerly Rahan would also have landed in a hole.

But Rahan is no longer afraid of the night!
The night and the moon are the companions of Rahan!

In fact the moon lit up his mad race.
It was in its pale light that suddenly appeared an immense abyss.
Oh!

The gorge was wide and deep.
Its steep walls prohibited any descent into its depths.
Only a bird could pass to the other side.
But Rahan is no bird.

Rahan walked along the impassable ravine for a long time.
But it seemed to be without end.

Page Thirteen:

No! Rahan can't turn back!
Sooner or later he will encounter Tarook and his Hunters!

The bottomless gorge meandered to infinity.
Rahan knows how to cross rivers, but this he does not know!
Ooh! The River!

A vision comes back to him.
He sees himself again crossing the river, that very morning, on the tree uprooted by lightning.

And his imaginative mind as always made an association of ideas.
If a tree fell on the ravine, as on the river, then Rahan would overcome the obstacle!

Can Rahan not strike down one of these like lightning?
His heart beating, he observed the tops of the nearby trees.

Page Fourteen:

This one is high thought Rahan.
Its top would fall on the other side of the ravine.
But how can Rahan make a tree so high fall?
Ah! Rahan knows!

An instant later, he clawed the ground with his knife, at the foot of the tree on the opposite side to the precipice.
Scrape! Scrape!

It was a long and exhausting job.
He released some roots here. He sliced some others there.
The day is coming!
Tarook and his clan are going on the hunt!

The darkness was dissipating and he was redoubtable with ardor.
They will find the traces of Rahan!
Rahan must succeed before they arrive.

Sometimes he would test the resistance of the tree.
And then he would again vigorously attack the other roots.

Page Fifteen:

It was not until daybreak that the tree finally swayed under his exertions.
It will fall soon!
But if it falls into the abyss, Rahan’s idea will have been useless!

Crack!
Roots suddenly cracked, others like snakes, were torn from the ground!

The tree finally crumbled towards the gorge and Rahan tried to guide its fall.

Vrang! Ra-ha-ha!
The long cry of victory echoed the crash of the peak falling on the other side of the ravine.

Shouts arose and came closer.
Ha-ha-ha!
The hunters of Tarook have found the trail of Rahan.
But they will not meet him again!!

Page Sixteen:

The narrow and curiously leafy “bridge” now allowed him to cross the gorge.
The pack appeared.
Death to Rahan! Death for Sacrilege!

Rahan suddenly crouched down and avoided a violently thrown axe.
Beneath him was the vertigo of the abyss.

He slipped, and barely caught himself on a branch.
Courage Rahan!
As soon as you are on the other side, you will push the tree into the ravine!

Tarook stimulated his men, who were hesitant to take risks following the fugitive.
Will you let the profaner of Mamazak escape?!
Cowards!

There is a way to avenge Mamazak!
I swear to you that Rahan will not arrive on the other side Tarook!
The hunter grinned cruelly.

Page Seventeen:

Rahan no longer dared to look beneath him.
His gaze did not shift from the cliff face, separated from him by ten paces.

Another eight steps. Seven steps.
In a moment he would be safe.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Ha-ha-ha! Rahan is saved, he thought to himself. Oh!

While he was about to reach the goal, the "bridge" had moved!
The "Point" had retreated!
Rahan was confused.

The cliff that he had almost touched was now receding from him.
Turning his head, Rahan quickly understood.
Oh!

Tarook and his hunters were gripping the roots and were dragging the “bridge” back to them!

Page Eighteen:

There was a jolt and the end of the bridge lost its support.
And Rahan was almost pitched into the abyss.
Rahan is Lost!

The burden was horribly heavy, but Tarook’s clan redoubled their efforts.
The tree was slipping, slowly slipping!

And its peak moved inexorably away from the cliff.
Rahan must jump!
He may fall into the abyss, but the hunters would kill him anyway!

Under the pulls of the clan, the "Bridge" always retreated.
Rahan retraced his path.

Ha-ha-ha!
Rahan is scared! Rahan returns to surrender!
Oh!
To gain momentum.
And, after having suddenly turned around, the son of Crao ran towards the summit.

Page Nineteen:

It bends under his weight like a springboard.
Rahan’s legs relaxed as it straightens up…

In a flash he seemed to fly in the void above the abyss, towards the cliff.

His fingers twitch on the edge of the rock, and he remained pinned to the wall.
Panting and observing without believing his eyes that he had triumphed over the abyss.

On the other side of the chasm the hunters furiously threw their flint axes.

But Rahan, who climbed the cliff no longer had anything to fear from these projectiles.

Page Twenty:

Ra-ha-ha!
His mocking and victorious cry was taken up by all the echoes of the gorge and rolled up to the rising sun which had set the horizon on fire.

To challenge "Mamazak" and to accomplish such a feat, one must oneself be a god!
Rahan is a god who took on a human appearance!!

Mischievous Rahan saw the hunters fall back into the forest.
No he was not a god!
Undoubtedly a little more evolved than those of his species, and more daring too.
But he was only a man!

He verifies his knife, his only possession, is still in his sheath, and sets off again.
This son of the fierce age went once more to meet the unknown.

Encountering all the mysteries, all the dangers that hovered in those savage times, over the great horde of "Those-who-Walk-Upright".

Show less