Rahan. Episode Fifty. Those of the high country. by Roger Lecureux. A Puke (TM) Comic.

Rahan.

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Episode Fifty.

Those of the high country.

On the high cliff, the three hunters observed the strange being.
Although he had the appearance of “Those-who-walk-upright”.
This being astounded them.
It crawled on the grand lake!

Text by Roger Lecureux.
Drawings by Andre Cheret.

In these fierce times, everything that was unusual was a mystery, and all mystery concealed danger.
Only demons can float on water!
The fish-man brings misfortune!!

Ignorant of the worry he inspired, the son of Crao swam towards the rubble from where he could scale the rock wall.

Page Two.

Nothing forced him to face this obstacle, but his knife had pointed out the cliff to him.
And Rahan always obeyed his knife.

It was a long and perilous climb throughout which his nerves and muscles were put to the test.

He finally reached the crest.
Rahan is more exhausted than if he had run all day!
And to discover what? Few things!

He certainly overlooked a grandiose landscape, but he was used to these visions.
And the forest porch was like all the others.

You could have sent Rahan to a more welcoming territory!
One day he will refuse to obey you!
In the cool shade of a large tree, the son of Crao soon fell asleep.

Page Three.

His sleep was populated by short and inconsequential dreams.
The blue mountain decimating his family, while he was still only a child

Crao, the dying sage bequeathing to him, the sole survivor of the horde, the necklace with which he would never part again, this necklace, each claw of which symbolized a virtue of "Those-who-walk-upright." Courage, loyalty, goodness.

The dreams accelerated, rapid, tumultuous as had been his adventurous destiny.
Kill to survive.
Survive to extract ithe secrets from nature.

The dangers overcome would become entangled.
The "Blue-skins", the "Two-tooths", the "long-noses", the "hooked-noses", the "four-handers", the "leather-skins", the "long-manes".

Page Four.

A fearsome "four-hands" struck him down, crushing his wrists.
The cry he uttered tore him from this dream.
Argh!

And he saw that his wrists were indeed restrained.
Not by the hands of the gorilla.
But by a strong vine!
What?! What?!

Three hunters threatened him with their spears!
The evil spirit sleeps very heavy!

I am not an evil spirit!
I am Rahan, the son of Crao!
Rahan is a hunter like you!
Lies!
Hunters don't crawl on water!

Since water is your territory, you will return there!
And you will never come out again!

The son of Crao saw that the long vine which encircled his wrists was tied to a large rock.
Page Five.

The men suddenly pushed this rock into the void and Rahan was almost thrown to the ground!
Ha-ha-ha!
You are going to return to your realm, demon!

He felt like his muscles were bursting, like his arms were going to be torn off.
He braced himself desperately.

But the weight of the rock was such that he was gradually dragged towards the void.
And the impatient hunters goaded him with their spears!

Rahan is lost!
The rock will drag him into the depths of the lake!
The abyss was only three steps away.
Two steps.
A step.

One last effort, one last press of the lances.
And that was the fall!
Argh!

Page Six.

The son of Crao closed his eyes.
But as he fell, head forward, his whole body was suddenly turned upside down, torn, bruised.

The time has not come for Rahan to join the “Territory of Shadows”!
The rock, above him, was stuck on a ledge!

But it was only a reprieve.
After being dragged by this rock, he in turn risked dragging this one!

Was he heavier than the rock?
No doubt, because the falling of small stones indicated to him how it slipped on the wall!

Trying in vain to "make himself light", he looked under him.
He saw the lake which, in an instant, would swallow him up!
He also saw the tree.

Page Seven.

This tree that sprung from a fault as a symbol of life could perhaps save his own.
Crao said it at the border of the kingdom of the dead, the hunter must try everything, even the impossible!

Pushing his body to sway, Rahan attempted the impossible!

Let the rock slip while he was on the wrong trajectory and that would be the end of him!

With a violent thrust, he had just propelled himself towards the tree.
Ra-ha-ha!

He glimpsed everything at once.
The green foliage, the brown trunk, the blue eye, the gray cliff.
And the rock he dragged!

Page Eight.

His victorious clamor was strangled.
The rock fell upon him like a granite slab!

It buzzed above his head, two fingers from his head!
It swung away, and returned to the attack, swung away, and came back again.

The incredible chase finally ended.
The rock swayed an instant at the height of Rahan.
And.
Slowly rose!

Everything could have started again if the son of Crao had not understood the mysterious phenomenon. His legs relaxed.
Stay with Rahan!
He needs you!

A curious balance was then established.
Rahan no longer felt his own weight.
He could move, draw his knife.

Page Nine.

The ivory blade attacked the bonds.
As soon as they are cut, Rahan and the rock will fall into the lake.

Once the vine was cut, there was an instant fall.
But this time, the son of Crao was free to move.
Ra-ha-ha!

Bloom!
The rock broke the surface a second after him, brushed him dangerously, and disappeared into the depths.
He was saved.

Rahan will return to the cliff!
He will show the stupid hunters that he is neither a demon nor an evil spirit!

The sun was beginning to set when he found himself on the high plateau.
The hunters' tracks proved that they had returned to the forest.

Page Ten.

He followed these tracks until the moment when.
Ooh! They will never know that Rahan was not a demon!

Three bodies lay in the small clearing, their lacerated torsos and torn limbs leaving no doubt.
They were surprised by "long-manes"!

The tall, trodden grass and the sharpened points of the spears showed how fierce the confrontation between these men and the wild beasts must have been.

Some would have been satisfied to be avenged in this way.
But the son of Crao was not of that species.
You had stupid beliefs, but you had to be brave!

Your people will know how you joined the “Territory of Shadows”.
Rahan will bring them your weapons!!

Page Eleven.

Following the trail of these hunters, Rahan walked for a long time.
And the forest in front of him gave way to another cliff.
This was low, but steep.

He was approaching it when roars rang out.
Emerging from the thickets, two lions darted.
Rahan does not fear the “Long-manes”!

Klonk!
Ra-ha-ha!
The first lance was thrown with as much force as precision.

Barely had it reached its goal when the second struck down the other beast in full leap!
Ra-ha-ha!

Clamors rose on the cliff, saluting the double, and dazzling feat of the son of Crao.
They did not see Rahan crawling on the water.
They welcome him like a hunter and not like a demon!

Page Twelve.

He helped himself to one of the vines hanging from the side of the cliff.
Your brothers were killed by "long manes"! Rahan brings you their weapons.

The warm clamors suddenly became repulsive.
"Fire-hair" has violated the custom which requires that our dead keep their weapons!

The sorcerer was the most virulent.
“Fire Hair” must be punished immediately!
Perhaps he was unaware of our custom, Oaka!?

Yes, Rahan did not know it, but he did not know that he made a mistake.
And he will return their spears to the three brave men!
These words restore calm. Only Oaka-the-sorcerer remained angry.

Ouham, the chief, seemed on the contrary to appreciate the courage and loyalty of the son of Crao.
He spoke to him at length about his clan.
And life on this plateau, which rose like an island, in the heart of the forest.

Page Thirteen.

You could see that the forest is infested with "Long-manes".
The high ground is our only refuge!

Alas, no game lives there and we have to go hunting down there.
Every day we take great risks to bring back very little meat!

We cannot hoist the animals we kill onto the high ground.
We cut them up at the foot of the cliff, when the “long-manes” give us time!

Sometimes we take several hunters to bring together a section of meat that is barely enough to satisfy the children's hunger.

The son of Crao observed the lions he had killed.
It was in fact impossible for a hunter on the cliff to hoist the heavy animals.

Page Fourteen.

But he saw the vines.
He saw the trees.
He saw the rocks.

Rahan knows how to hoist game up to the “Highland” Ouham!!

Do not listen to "Fire Hair"! He wants to make you forget his sacrilege!
Ouham will listen to him Oaka!
The hunter from elsewhere perhaps knows things that we do not know!

The son of Crao was already busy choosing the strongest vine, and getting help to push a heavy rock to the edge of the cliff.

A little later.
Rahan will descend.
When he has attached the "Long Mane", you will push the rock into the void.

So, once again, Rahan capitalized on his recent adventure.
He was going to recreate the strange counterweight phenomenon that he had discovered by chance.

Page Fifteen.

The lion's paws were firmly bound.
Come on, brothers! May the long mane come to you!!

Howls of joy drowned out the wary cries of Osaka-the-sorcerer.
Counterbalanced by the rock, the heavy corpse of the beast rose towards the high ground!

Everyone will have something to eat tonight!
Enthusiastic hunters pulled the beast onto the platform.

“Fire-hair” is a great wizard!
He will not fool the clan for long! Look!

The bushes parted in front of other lions.
Armed only with his knife, the son of Crao could not face this roaring pack.

Page Sixteen.

He narrowly escaped the fastest of the beasts.
Rahan is wasting too much time tying the "Long-mane"!
He must find a quicker way to bring back the game to the hunters!

Your idea is wonderful!
We will no longer have to skin the game before mounting it.
We run less risk!
The risks are still too great, Ouham!
But Rahan has another idea!

The son of Crao went back to work. He built a sort of raft.
“Fire-hair” defies nature.
The clan has always suffered from hunger.
It will always be like this!

Do you not think that Rahan especially challenges your authority, Oaka??
All together, the hunters had returned the rock back onto the cliff.
And Rahan had finished his strange hoist.

This time Rahan will be able to gather the second "Long-mane" without wasting time tying it up!

Page Seventeen.

Ouham and his people slowly lowered the platform on which the son of Crao was standing.
Although the lions had disappeared, their growls proved that they were near.

They reappeared at the instant where Rahan was dragging the corpse of the second beast towards the "Raft-hoist."

Ha-ha-ha! Rahan will be faster than you "Long-manes"!
He will fly away from under your noses!!

He rushed towards the platform where his knife was stuck, when.
Oh!

Furiously braced against a lever, Oaka-the sorcerer pushed the rock into the void.
Let the evil spirits over-take you, “Fire-hair”!

Page Eighteen.

Rahan did not have time to grab onto the platform which rose at breakneck speed!

Rahan adored us and you delivered him to the “Long-manes”!
You will respond for this gesture in front of the clan, Oaka!!

With no other weapon than his bare hands, the son of Crao could not escape the wild beasts that surrounded him!
Nothing could save him!

Nothing more? But!
Faster! Faster!
Obeying Ouham's orders, the hunters crowded onto the platform.

As soon as their weight exceeded that of the rock, it started to descend.
Courage Rahan!
The Highland Clan will not abandon you!

Page Nineteen.

Since Ouham cares so much about “Fire-hair”, let him join the “Territory of Shadows” with him!
Oaka was going to cut the vine.

But the clan did not give him time to commit this new crime.
Chlok! Argh!

Rahan saw the sorcerer's body spinning.
The hunters who came to his rescue broke the circle of lions.
Grab your knife brother!

The fierce fight that followed sealed the friendship between Ouham and the son of Crao.
Ra-ha-ha!
Thank you “Fire-hair”!

They will undoubtedly come back.
But thanks to the “Thing-that-goes-up-and-goes-down” we will fear them no more!
This confrontation, which was talked about for a long time on the high ground, only ceased with the flight of the last wild animals.

Page Twenty.

A little later.
Oaka was a deceiver and a bad sorcerer.
Ours are asking you to take his place!
Rahan is not a wizard! Rahan is just a hunter.

Who lives to learn, to learn, to teach what he knows to his brothers. This is his destiny!

The son of Crao left this clan at daybreak.
He wielded three spears.
Rahan will keep his promise!
Crao taught him to respect the customs of "Those-who-walk-upright."

The sun was high when he thrust these spears down for those who, through ignorance, had considered him a demon.

Then he jumped into the thickets.
Roars of the "Long-manes" reached him, but did not worry him.
Nothing could stop Rahan when he set out to discover new horizons!

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

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