Rahan. Episode Thirteen. As Crao would have done. by Roger Lecureux. A Puke (TM) Comic.

Rahan.

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Episode thirteen.

As Crao would have done.

The son of Crao fears neither the anger of the sky nor that of the mountain of fire!
In the tornado that furiously swept the jungle, the thunder and the lightning sometimes obscured the fire of the volcano.

And Rahan defied the elements, as once did Crao, his father.
Rahan does not fear the lances of fire.

In the safety of the trees, protected from the slicing wind, worried animals observed "this one-who-walked-upright" without understanding his audacity.

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Nor making sense of the clamors which rose to the foliage, whipped by the tempest.
Crao-the-Brave would not have been afraid!
Rahan is not afraid!

Ra-ha-ha! Rahan! Crao! Crao!
A great green and yellow bird listened to these names howl in the wind.

A violent gust suddenly snatched it from its perch, and carried it away to the muddy bank of the nearby pond.
A hideous head, immediately sprung from the mud.
The mouth opened to catch the prey offered by the wind.

Rahan had seen it!
His ivory knife flew to the Iguana’s throat and, as the sky was illuminated at the same time, it was said that the mortal blow had been struck by the lightning.
Slak!

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Rahan is content to have saved "The talking bird".
Crao! Crao! Crao!
The parrot fluttered towards the bushes where it disappeared.

And I am happy that he was able to kill the "Beast-that-comes-from-the-mud”.
The son of Crao felt nothing but repugnance for these monsters that haunted the swamps.

He was walking away from the iguana when everything flared up around him.
Lightning had struck a nearby tree trunk.
Schriak!

And it was impossible for him to avoid the big tree that came falling down!
A branch struck him.
The leaves buried him.
Argh!

When he recovered his senses the tornado had passed.
He was stretched out in the bright sun, at the feet of ten men.

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His hand, which he instinctively brought to his sheath, could not find the polished ivory handle of the knife.
His weapon was missing.

And also had disappeared his necklace of claws, a unique memory of his clan!

Rahan did not seek to quarrel with you!
Why did you steal his arms?

He had just seen the knife in the belt of a blond man and recognized his necklace among those worn by the same man.
Rahan has stolen the ball of fire!

Tarik is right!
All of the hunters saw the fireball fall.
They ran because they badly needed the fire.

They found you asleep under a tree, but the ball of fire was no longer there!
What did you do with it Rahan?
Where did you hide it?

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The son of Crao smiled.
Rahan's brothers also, in the past, watched for the wrath of the sky to procure the balls of fire!

But they are not ignorant of the fact that if these balls often cause the trees they hit to crumble, they sometimes disappear on their own!

That is what happened!
It had rained heavily and the foliage was waterlogged.
The fireball extinguished itself!

Rahan Lies!
He wants to keep the fire to himself!
Tarcik knows it!
Tarcik knows everything!
Rahan understood that this man was the sorcerer of the clan.

Rahan knows more things than Tarcik!
He does not wait for the wrath of heaven to give him fire!!
He makes it spring from the "stones-that-throw-stars"!!

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Tarcik-the-sorcerer wanted to prevent the captive from hitting the flints, but the chief of the clan intervened.
Let it be, Tarcik!
Clack, Clack!

A moment later a clamor greeted the miracle.
The son of Crao had created flames from a carpet of dry leaves.

Now your clan will no longer need to chase fireballs!
Rahan is a greater wizard than Tarcik!

The blond man growled dully.
Tarook can only claim this if Rahan defeats Tarcik in combat!
Rahan accepts the combat!
Tarook also accepts it, but you will have to fight unarmed, like loyal hunters!

The wizard went to his hut to put away his necklaces and the knife.

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No one saw him take a tiny thorn from a greenish liquid.
The "drink-that-brings-sleep” will help Tarick!

A moment later the two men confronted each other.
The son of Crao, more nimble, quickly took the advantage.

Suddenly off-balancing his opponent with a skillful feint.

Ha-ha-ha!
You see that Rahan knows more things than Tarcik!

He wrestled the sorcerer to the ground when he suddenly felt a prick in the wrist.
Oh!

For him, the men watching the fight faded into a fog.
What!
What, Rahan, not, not.

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Tarcik abruptly freed himself and struck, to deceive his people.
Here is what it costs to challenge Tarcik!
Sclack!

Is Tarook convinced?
Tarik just proved he is the strongest!
Defeated by the drug, Rahan lay at the feet of the cheat.

Whoever dares to challenge your sorcerer deserves only one fate.
To be thrown to the iguanas!

Uh, uh.
Is not your verdict too cruel Tarcik?
Nothing is too cruel when it comes to punishing a sacrilegious being!

Some men were already carrying the inert body of r
Rahan towards the ponds.
A yellow and green bird passed, uttering curious cries.
Crao! Crao! Crao!

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Rahan taught us how to make fire with the "star-throwing-stones".
We will have to spare him!

If we throw him in the pond, he will be devoured by the iguanas!
Crao! Crao! Crao!

But if we disobey the wizard, his anger will be turned against us!
We can obey Tarcik while giving Rahan a chance!

Deposit him down here on the bank.
He might come to his senses before the iguanas discover him!

The men left, abandoning Rahan on the muddy bank.
A moment later "The speaking bird" hovered above the inanimate form.

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He landed on the chest of the man who had saved him, constantly shouting the name that he had heard in the storm.
Crao, Crao, Crao!

And this name, repeated a hundred times, seeped into the mind of the still unconscious Rahan.
Yes.
I am Rahan.
The son of Crao.

He relived as in a dream the scenes of his childhood.
That of the return of the hunters, led by his father Crao-the-sage.

That of that dreadful night when the Blue Mountain, vomiting its entrails of fire, had destroyed his entire clan.

That of Crao dying in agony, who had given him the necklace of claws.
Each of these claws represents a quality of "Those-who-walk-upright".

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Here is that of "Goodness".
Then that of "Courage".
And here is that of "Loyalty".

Since all of the clan hunters.
Are dead.
And I'm going.
To, join them.
This necklace comes to you Rahan!

You will wear it as.
I have.
Worn it a long life trying,
To be worthy of what it represents.

This last vision fades when Rahan feels the blows on his chest.
Crao, Crao, Crao!

Crao, Crao, Crao!
The reeds parted in front of a large iguana and the bird, to alert the man of the danger, multiplied the pecks and cried even more.

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The mists that shroud Rahan's brain suddenly dissipate.
He propped himself up on one elbow and he understood.
Rahan thanks "The Talking Bird"!

But he won't be able to face the "Beast-that-comes-from-the-mud" without his knife!

The parrot had taken refuge on a low branch.
The iguana stared at the man and the latter, intrigued, observed his forearm.

While fighting with Tarcik, Rahan was pricked by something.
Here on the wrist.

It was not the wizard's fist that stunned Rahan, but that scratch!
Displacing itself slowly and heavily, the iguana prepared to attack.

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Himself, Rahan sought refuge.
And he feel his legs stuck deep in the mud.
What would Crao have done? What would Crao so do?

A second iguana appeared on his left, even more monstrous.
This one seemed to come from the mud itself.

Without his knife, Rahan is lost! Argh!
Rahan, knows what Crao would have done!

But the Long Branch, though sharp, only scratched the side of the beast.

It was then that a third monster emerged, and then a fourth!
Crao said: "When your strength equals that of the enemy, fight him!”
“But if you are too weak, delay this combat until later!”

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Unarmed, Rahan was helpless against this herd of armored monsters.
And these moved easily, while the sucking of the mud weighed down his legs!

“When the mountain is too steep, go around it!” Also spoke Crao.
He dived into the pond, the only way out of his situation.

In the water, he regained his energy.
As he reached the other bank the bird fluttered close to him, still encouraging him with his cries.
Crao! Crao! Crao!

He soon saw over there, the iguanas killing each other.
His clamor thundered over the jungle.
Ra-ha-ha!

It was then that a large paw, both clawed and webbed, struck from the mud.
A fifth monster was waiting for him on this shore!

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His fingers, desperately searching the mud, pulled out a long flint.
The god of hunters is with Rahan!

He can now fight the "Beast-that-comes-from-the-mud"!
As Crao would have done!

Ra-ha-ha!
The hideous chest throbbed above him.
The sharp flint plunged into it several times.

Rahan is victorious!
He is worthy of the claw of "Courage"!

His hand went to his neck and he suddenly remembered that Tarcik had taken his necklace.

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Instinctively he carried the flint to his little sheath.
And.
Tarcik also stole Rahan's knife!
But the sorcerer will give him back both!

The moon was shining on the jungle, when the monster appeared to the men of the village.
Flee! Flee!
The swamp beast wants revenge!

Perhaps he does not forgive the clan for sacrificing "He-who-makes-fire-with-stones-that-throw-stars!"

The hunters scatter in the thickets, fleeing the iguana which, standing with its outstretched claws, had never charged so quickly!

Tarcik-the-sorcerer made the great mistake of lingering in his hut.
The hunters are foolish.
Never do the iguanas venture so far as the village!
This one will pass on its way!

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He was about to grab the ivory knife when a dreadful figure stood out behind him.
Argh!

Tarcik-the-disloyal triumphed over Rahan by drugging him!
But by devouring Rahan I inherited his anger and I come to avenge him!

Avoiding the claws of the monster, the frightened sorcerer fled into the jungle.

Tarcik must have had the wrong drink! He must have drunk "the-water-which-gives-nightmares"!

The ponds shimmered, under the moon, through a gap in the clouds.
The sorcerer rushes towards them, hoping to find refuge there.

To me! To me!
You must help your wizard!

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But no one heard Tarcik's calls, nor his cries of distress when he got stuck in the mud.

To me!
Help me hunters!
I am going to die!

No one heard his screams of terror when the iguanas, emerging from the darkness, crawled towards this prey that was henceforth at their mercy.

No one except the son of Crao, who got rid of the nauseating iguana skin under which he had hidden.

The "Beasts-from-the-mud" have made Tarcik pay for his cowardice!

When the sun came back the surface of the ponds was calm.
A light wind bent the tall reeds in the heart of which, no doubt, slept the sated iguanas.

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Rahan proceeded as if through a rosary, the claws of the necklace that he had recovered, along with his knife, from the hut of the sorcerer.

Here is the one, from "Good".
Rahan was good when he revealed to this clan the secret of fire!

And here is that of “courage”.
Rahan was courageous in killing the "Beast-that-comes-from-the-mud"!

As always, the son of Crao had been faithful to the oath made long ago, on the blue mountain, to the old chief as he died.

He proudly tapped the polished handle of his ivory knife and off he went, straight for the sun that had always drawn him.

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But he was only a son of fierce ages where everything was fighting for life.
So his hand cried out on the knife when the clan arose before him.

Tarcik disappeared last night!
If he has gone back to the lands of cold where he came from, our clan will not regret it!

Because Tarcik too often thought of very bad things!
Rahan, you who can do so many miracles, do you want to become our new wizard?

No Tarook! A clan does not need a sorcerer!
A wise and courageous leader is sufficient!
Farewell Brothers!

Rahan plunged into the jungle where the birds were already chattering.
One of them, yellow and green, escorted him for a very long time, constantly shouting the only word he knew of the language of "those-who-walk-upright".
Crao! Crao! Crao!

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