Rahan. Episode 114. By Roger Lecureux. The Spirits of the Clouds. A Puke (TM) Comic.

Translated by PukeOnAPlate.

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Index:
https://rumble.com/v3486cm-rahan-index-of-episodes-by-roger-lecureux..html

Source of Rahan Comics:
Philippe Ropers.
https://vk.com/topic-203785966_47424128

Rahan.

The son of the Ferocious Ages.
Episode One Hundred and Fourteen.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Andre Cheret.

The Spirits of the Clouds.

The son of Crao knew that nature was capable of fantastic things, but what he had just discovered astounded him.
The gigantic rock that rose towards the sky, like a stone tree, seemed to support the clouds!
A “Mountain-higher-than-the-sky”!

A hundred hunters forming a chain would not have been enough to encircle this granite cone polished by time.

As he encountered the skeleton of a “Little man” there were shouts.
This desecrator must die!

Page Two.

Men were emerging.
No one has the right to approach the "Cloud Trunk"! Harkka will kill you, "Fire Hair"!

The clan chief was strong, but the son of Crao was no less so. He knew how to break the assault.
Argh!
Rahan does not kill "Those-who-walk-upright."

But he knows how to defend his life!
The grip was such that the colossus, groaning in pain, had to kneel down, facing his companions who did not react.
Argh!

"Hair of Fire" could take Harkka's life and he does not!
Our clan owes hospitality to such a generous hunter!

The chief barely concealed his bitterness at having been humiliated in front of his own people.
Understood! He will spend the night at the camp. But at dawn, he will have to leave our territory!

Rahan was taken to the village of this clan which had only about twenty members.
He intoned that he did not see any children there.
So you do not have any "Little Men"?

Page Three.

We had some, brother! Beautiful little boys and pretty little girls!
But one day, we accompanied our men hunting.

When we returned to camp, all our children had disappeared, taken by the "Cloud Spirits"!
The "Season-of-Yellow-Leaves" has returned five times since that tragic day!

The spirits of the Clouds?
Yes, brother, these spirits haunt the sky, and we sometimes hear their moans.

Rahan does not believe in "Spirits"!
Perhaps your children were captured by another clan?
It is impossible! We live in peace with all the clans of the territory!

An absurd idea suddenly came to the son of Crao.
Your children may have tried to climb the "Cloud Trunk."
Some have fallen silent during the climb.

You have lost your mind! No hunter can climb the "Cloud Trunk"!
And then, most of our children had not lived past two springs!

Page Four.

The son of Crao slept badly that night.
Harkka's words tormented him like a challenge.
What no hunter has achieved, Rahan must attempt!

Dawn found him at the foot of this rock whose crest disappeared into the clouds.
No man has ever climbed up there! Rahan would be the first!

He was ignorant of vanity, but he had a taste for effort, for the difficulty he had to overcome.
Ten times, he went around the "Trunk of the Clouds."

But the steep rock, as polished as his ivory knife, offered no roughness to permit climbing.
Rahan will find a way! He has to! He has to!

He knew the clan was spying on him.
We should have killed that desecrator!
No, Harkka! He is loyal and brave! If he wants to challenge the "Spirits" he is free to do so!

The clouds cleared, revealing an inaccessible ridge.
Oh! Trees! Rahan knows how to get up there!

Page Five.

Discoveries made in the past came back to him.
That of the "Grapple." That of the "Catapult."
His inventive mind associated them and, a moment later.

He was at work. The clan, still like statues, saw him digging holes in the ground, cutting large bamboos, tying long vines.

You would be better of helping Rahan, than stay hidden like "Long-ears"!
We will not help you provoke the "Spirits", Rahan!

The great catapult was finally ready.
Would it throw the grappling hook up to that clump of trees from which the "Trunk of the Clouds" bristled?

The bamboos released. The grappling hook, pulling the vine, went up, up, up.
Slac!

But it fell back well before reaching the rocky platform.

Ha-ha-ha!
We warned you, Rahan! The "Cloud Trunk" is inviolable!
Page Six.

Overcoming his bitterness, the son of Crao was already learning the lesson of his failure.
The vines are too heavy for you! They stopped you from reaching the top!

Everyone else was discouraged.
But did not one of the claws on the necklace that Crao had bequeathed to him symbolize "Tenacity"?
Rahan will be faithful to your memory Crao!

Harkka and his men saw him set to work, cutting and tying together thinner, more flexible and lighter vines.

The "Spirits" do not seem to want to destroy "Fire-Hair." We could help him, Harkka.
Never!

Rahan had just replaced the grappling hook and its new mooring on the re-strung catapult, his heart beating, he brought down the ivory blade.
Schlok!

The grappling hook, this time was propelled at a crazy speed towards the platform of the "Cloud Trunk."

Page Seven.

And Rahan's victory cry thundered!
Ra-ha-ha!
The grappling hook had firmly gripped these trees, which stood out against the sky!

But this victory was to be very short-lived.
He had barely raised himself a few meters above the ground.

Argh!
That the vine, too thin this time, gave way under his weight!

Ha-ha-ha! Harkka told you that you do not defy the "Cloud Spirits" with impunity!

Rahan is stupid!
He should have thrown the thin vines over the "Cloud Trunk."
Then use them to lift stronger vines!

Everything had to begin again! The son of Crao started again!
New grappling hook. New mooring.
Except for Harkka, the hunters no longer hid their admiration in front of so much determination!

Page Eight.

The catapult released once more.
The weight flew off, flew over the rock, fell back on the opposite side.

All Rahan had to do was tie the strong vines he had prepared earlier to the fine mooring.

And haul them up to the platform, then lower them down the other side.

When he tied these vines firmly to a tree, the hunters exclaimed.
"Fire-Hair" is the most cunning of all hunters!
He can now climb to the top of the "Cloud Trunk"!
And he will see what none of us have ever seen!

The son of Crao was indeed beginning the ascent.
The strong line and the knots, here and there, made his task easier.

Returning clouds hid the platform of the gigantic rock again.
He was about to reach halfway up it, when.

Page Nine.

Two great eagles, springing from a crevice, attacked him!
Back “Hooked beaks”! Back!

Harassed by pecks, scratched by sharp talons, the son of Crao could no longer continue the climb.
He had to protect his eyes!

"Fire-Hair" is in danger! He must be helped!
What are you doing!? Come back!
Ignoring their leader's orders, the hunters set off.

And Rahan, who was waging his uncertain battle against the birds of prey, suddenly felt himself drawn towards the clouds!
Oh! Without the clan, Rahan would have had to give up!

He had understood that the hunters, pulling on the vines, were hoisting him towards the platform!

Without having to make any further effort, he rose quickly through the layer of clouds.
Rahan thanks the clan for finally coming to his aid!

Page Ten.

And suddenly.
Oh!
The platform he had just reached, was occupied by one of the "Killers of the Sky" that he feared so much!

The pterodactyl flew away immediately.
But it was to better dive on the intruder!
The ivory blade sparkled in Rahan's fist.

Who knew in the same movement how to avoid the terrifying beak and cut the hideous neck!
Ra-ha-ha!

The danger passed, and the son of Crao admired for a moment the ocean of clouds where the narrow plateau rose like an island.

Then he walked towards the clump of trees.
The clan would be reassured to see that there is no "Spirit" on the "Cloud Trunk"!

Page Eleven.

He had hardly had this thought, when.
Oh! From the few bushes, a pack of "Little Men" rushed at him!

Most of these children had not seen more than six or seven springs.
The oldest perhaps eleven! It was easy for Rahan to calm them down!
Come on, Come on!
Rahan is a friend! A friend, you understand?

No, these children did not understand. The oldest one spoke however.
Never seen a hunter.
Since leaves have fallen like that. Fell five times.

Rahan was certain that he was in front of the children of the clan, who had disappeared five years earlier!
By what miracle did they find themselves on this inaccessible plateau?
Never seen hunters again.

From the great birds that fell on us! Great birds carry us into the sky!

Then big birds let us go here and big birds go away. Never come back.

We eat grass and little birds. We drink water from the sky. When we approach there we fall and never come back, Then we, we never approach there again.
The child pointed to the edge of the rocky plateau.
Page Twelve.

Rahan now explained the skeletons at the foot of the "Cloud Trunk."
He understood why these children, no longer daring to approach the edge, had never been seen by the clan!

Your misfortunes are over "Little men"! Rahan will bring you back to your mothers and fathers!
Oh!

The son of Crao's blood froze.
The big vine that had allowed him to climb here slid like a reptile on the plateau.
The clan pulls it back to them! The clan wants to abandon Rahan here!

It was not the clan, but Harkka who, in a fit of rage, was recovering the vine!
Ha-ha-ha! "Fire-Hair" wanted to challenge the "Spirits"?
Let him stay with them!

No! No! No!
If the vine, still held by a knot, were to fall into the void, Rahan would be condemned forever to live on this plateau!

A fantastic dive. A leap. He had grabbed the end of the vine before it disappeared.
Ra-ha-ha!

Page thirteen.

No Harkka! Do not do that!
I will kill him! I will kill him!
Despite the pleas of his people, Harkka had tied the vine around his waist and was pulling, pulling, pulling.

The man was strong and the son of Crao felt himself irresistibly drawn towards the void!
Help Rahan, "little men"! Quickly! Quickly!

Did the children understand? Did it seem like a game to them? Perhaps.
Very good "Little men"! Pull again! Harder!

Ah! I will kill him! I will kill him!
Under the eyes of his astonished people, Harkka rose along the "Trunk of the clouds".

Screaming in terror, he disappeared into the clouds, which were beginning to dissipate.
No, No! Not the "Spirits"! No! No!

A jolt lifted him up to the platform. Then he saw Rahan. He saw the pack of "Little Men."
And his thoughts capsized.
Hakao! Hakao! My Son!

Page Fourteen.

The oldest child hesitated, as if searching through distant memories.
Then he rose.
Father! Father!
My Son!

Here are your so-called "Spirits of the Clouds", Harkka! "Spirits" who have arms, legs like all the "Little Men".

Rahan stopped being ironic.
Some perished by falling from the "Trunk of Clouds".
But the others survived by feeding on grass and birds, by drinking from the "Tears of Heaven."
The "Season-of-Green-Leaves" has come five times since your children were abducted by a swarm of "Hook-Beaks"!

It is their murmurs or their wailing that you sometimes perceive!
Harkka was overcome with emotion. He hugged his son back.

And I wanted to kill you! I was stupid, "Fire-Hair"!
Can I live long enough to obtain your forgiveness?
Rahan forgives you Harkka!

Page Fifteen.

But now that the "Trunk of the Clouds" has revealed its secret to us, it is time to descend!

The clan howled as their leader reappeared from the clouds.
Harkka killed Rahan!

Then an endless clamor arose the son of Crao appeared in turn, Followed by a child then another, then another.

That night was a night of joy.
The youngest children had been taken away, too small for their parents to recognize them.
But what did it matter! They were sons of the clan!
The whole clan would adopt them!

We owe this happiness to Rahan brothers!
To Rahan who gave us a great lesson in will, courage, and audacity!

The son of Crao felt happy.

Not that he was sensitive to these compliments, because he was modest!
He was happy to have restored these "Little Men" to their own!
Happy, too, to have conquered the "trunk of the clouds."
Happy to have succeeded.
At the impossible!

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