Rahan. Episode Fifty Nine. By Roger Lecureux. The King Tree. A Puke (TM) Comic.

Rahan.
The son of the fierce ages.

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Episode Fifty Nine.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Guy Zam.

The King Tree.

If there are so many hunters it is because they are going to track down a “Two-tooth”!
The long line of hunters could be seen on the crest of the hill.
It was about to disappear towards the other side, when a noise alerted the son of Crao.

A man, not far from him, was quickly descending from a tree.
He too saw the hunters, but why was he happy?

Rahan could have signaled his presence but intrigued, he preferred to discreetly follow this “lookout.”
He seems to be eager to report to his own what he saw!

Page Two.

Indeed, a little later.
And the clan of “The King Tree” was heading towards the valley of the two teeth!
All the able-bodied hunters were there!

Zarook has been waiting for this moment for a long time!
Tomorrow at dawn we will seize the “King Tree”!

The son of Crao could not understand the enthusiasm of these men.
And we too will soon be able to go hunting without fearing for our women and children!
Get ready brothers!

Who do they want to fight?
Rahan wants to know!
Attending to checking their spears and their bows, the hunters did not see him crawling towards an isolated hut.

And he surprised one of them!
Do not scream!
Rahan will not take your life if you explain your clan's plans to him!
Do not, do not squeeze!
Koam Will Speak.

Page Three.

The man spoke.
He said how and why always, his clan and that of the forest fought over a fantastic tree.
But tomorrow the king tree will be ours.

Zarook is very cowardly to take advantage of the hunters' absence to attack their women and children! Rahan will warn these women of the danger!

The son of Crao slipped out of the hut when Koam raised the alarm.
Alert! Alert! An enemy has slipped into the camp!

The nearest hunters saw him and drew their bows.
But Rahan had lightning reflexes.

The panel of woven leaves intended for the roof of a hut found a completely different use!
Stak! Stak!

Page Four.

The men did not have time to grab new arrows.
He was already rushing into the forest, jumping on a branch.

They will not pursue Rahan into the Kingdom of the "Four Hands"!

For a long, very long time, he flew from tree to tree, in the direction that Koam had indicated to him.

He was finally going to allow himself a moment of rest when cries of fear rose near him.
Why are these little infants afraid?
Rahan means them no harm!

Two panicked children were fleeing on the enormous branch.
As agile as young monkeys, they dived towards a vine.

Page Five.

And disappeared into the foliage.
What were the little men doing in this tree?!
Would Rahan be on the king tree?

Rahan's supposition was quickly confirmed.
The branches on which he walked all belonged to the same tree!

A tree that alone constituted a veritable forest!
A tree whose main branches were so big that ten men could have sat on them!

It is incredible! Rahan wants to see this tree from the ground!
The vine he let himself slide down was bigger than his wrist!

As he descended, his astonishment grew.
What he saw was unimaginable!
And yet.
Rahan does not dream!
He is under "The King Tree."

Page Six.

A group of fifty hunters holding their hands could not have circumnavigated the gigantic trunk!
The roof of this fantastic tree stretched over a distance of several arrow ranges!
Yes, the “King Tree” was indeed a forest within the forest!

Everything in this tree was beyond measure.
The roots like crevasses in the bark.
A crack at the base of the trunk was wide enough to accommodate several men!

The son of Crao was approaching it when stones of all sizes fell around him!

Page Seven.

In a few leaps he was in the crack where a new surprise awaited him.
This part of the trunk was hollow.
Rough steps had been cut in it!

Although rudimentary, this “Staircase” was easy to climb.
Rahan quickly climbed towards the daylight.

But, then appeared ten hands, that grabbed his arms and his hair and forcefully pulled him from the trunk!
Zarook will regret sending you to spy on us!

The son of Crao managed as best he could to free himself, but he suddenly slipped on the branch!
Ah!

He instinctively grabbed a knot but he was too far from the ground to risk the jump.
He was at the mercy of these women!

Page Eight.

These, shortly after, dragged him into the tangle of branches.
Groups of children, here and there, observed the captive with curiosity.

Those who walk upright are wrong!
Rahan is not part of the Zarook clan.
Oh!

The huts of a village rose on the branches of the king tree!
A woman and two men stood in front of the largest.
Those are the ones in charge when our hunters are gone!
They will decide your fate!

An instant later.
I am Rahan, the son of Crao!
Rahan is not an enemy!
He came to warn you that the Zarook clan will attack at daybreak!

We have never seen you before!
How do I know if you're telling the truth!?

Page Nine.

If the fiery-haired man's intentions are good, let him prove it!
Let him go to the spring and bring us some water!

We will keep his necklace and his cutlass!
Do you accept “Fire Hair”?
Rahan accepts! Tell him where to find the source!

An instant later.
This test is very easy!
Rahan hopes that it will earn him the trust of those of the "king tree"!

The son of Crao had to go quite far into the forest before discovering the source.

He was filling the bamboo container when a small growl arose behind him.
A young puma was rolling in the grass.
No. Rahan does not want to play with you! Go away!

Page Ten.

Ooh! You are going to bring down Rahan!
Go away! Go away!
But the young feline was happy because he was playing.
He clung to Rahan’s steps, trotting between his legs

Rahan was aware of the danger.
The mother of this puma, undoubtedly looking for her little one, could appear at any moment!

Worried, he quickened his pace.
Which had the effect of further amusing the annoying little creature!
But the “king tree” finally appeared.

He was hanging the container on a vine when he smelled the scent of the big beast.
But he was already too late!

Without his knife, Rahan could not face it.

He did not have time to run to the crack in the trunk.
And the mother puma jumped towards him!

Page Eleven.

As the container of water rose towards the branches, he grabbed another vine and he also felt himself being pulled towards the foliage!

The man having escaped from him, the mother puma returned to her den, not without punishing her little one's escape with a few paws!

However.
Rahan could have fled, but he came back.
He has proven his loyalty to us!
He is definitely our brother!

Why do you live in the King Tree?
Our mothers' mothers already lived here!
Look around you and you will understand!

The “King Tree" is for us a safe refuge from the dangers of the jungle!
The son of Crao observed with emotion these women and these children, these mutilated men and these tired old men.

Page Twelve.

When the men of the clan go hunting, you wait for them to return to the king tree.
Yes, we bring back enough food to last for several days.

We also make a reserve of stones there, in anticipation of an attack.
Because we know that, as always, Zarook has been intent upon seizing the "king tree"!

We offered to share our refuge with the women and elders of Zarook’s clan, when his people go hunting!

But Zarook will not accept!
He wants to be the sole master of the “king tree.”
And at dawn, he will launch his hunters against you!
What can your stones do against their arrows!?

But Rahan will not abandon you!
We will repel these cowards!
The decision of the son of Crao had been made.
He would fight alongside these children, these women, these shapeless people!

Page thirteen.

Throughout the night, the defense of the "King Tree" was organized.
The reserve of projectiles was distributed on carefully chosen forks.

Remembering the way he had avoided the arrows of Zarook's hunters, he had shields of vines woven.
Here we will pile up stones and dead branches.

Even the old people, and the crippled, were doing their best.

They were still busy when the lights of day pierced the foliage.
Listen! Zarook and his people arrive!
Hear their war song!

Convinced that they would easily win the fight, Zarook's men were not looking to surprise.
Their singing ceased when they emerged into the vast clearing.

Page Fourteen.

Zarook means you no harm!
Abandon the tree-king and flee this territory!
The “King Tree” belongs to our clan!

Not yet, Zarook!
To seize The King Tree, you will have to chase us away!

You want this, women!
We will remove you from up there!
Enraged, Zarook led a group of men towards the crack of the gigantic trunk.

But barely had he rushed in when his spear was brutally torn from him!
Rahan would have liked to avoid the fight.
But he sees that it is impossible!

The son of Crao displayed such energy that he was able to push these hunters out of the trunk.
Ra-ha-ha!

Page Fifteen.

But others, despite the rain of stones, were already approaching!
Rahan will not stop this pack!
We must do what we planned!

As he quickly climbed the steps, a group of men rushed behind!
Attention women! Prepare yourselves!

Hurry! Fast!
The dead branches gathered for this purpose were thrown inside the trunk.

In a few moments the tangle was such that the staircase became impassable to the attackers.

This failure defused the anger of Zarook.
We will climb the “Tree-King” by the vines!
Our arrows will make these stone throwers flee!

Page Sixteen.

Shortly after, the arrows flew towards the women and children lying in wait on the branches.

But the shields that were braided during the night effectively protected them!
We will soon have no more stones, Rahan!

The shield was unknown to the hunters of Zarook, who were surprised to miss their targets.
It was the man with “fire hair” who taught them to stop the arrows!

The son of Crao smiled when, in small groups, the attackers gripped the ropes.
No matter, they do not have any more stones!
To the Vines! Brothers! To the Vines!

He waited until they were far from the ground to act.
The ivory blade attacked the first vine.

Page Seventeen.

A moment later, he jumped from one branch to another, cutting the fibers of all the vines on which the men were climbing.

And, while the children were still alive, the attackers fell in clusters!
Many remained lifeless on the ground.

And others suggested giving up the fight.
They are not afraid of fighting us and we cannot get up there either by the trunk or by the vines.

Their leader, shouting, ran under the “King Tree.”
Show yourself “Fire-hair”!
Zarook challenges you!
Zarook will send you to the land of shadows!

Rahan is here, Zarook!
Zarook, surprised, only had time to raise his head.

Page Eighteen.

At the same time offering his jaw to the son of Crao!
Rahan could easily steal your life.

But it is not up to him to decide your fate!
Rahan had grabbed Zarook's belt.
What? What are you doing?

And both rose towards the foliage!
Stunned, and afraid of hitting their leader, the hunters did not dare release their arrows.

If you squirm, Rahan will let you go!
Did you not dream of climbing this tree?
The women, helped by the children, joyfully hoisted the two men up.

Everyone quickly regained their gravity.
Yours have failed, Zarook!
And you are at our mercy!
See those you wanted to drive out of the “King Tree”, those you would have delivered to the dangers of the jungle!

Page Nineteen.

These dangers also threaten the children, women, and old men of my clan.
Zarook spoke of his people with great emotion.

If a leader has a duty to protect the weak and elders of his clan, he must never do so to the detriment of another clan!

The trio consulted.
Since this pointless fight caused no casualties, we will spare Zarook!
Let him return to his village and meditate on his failure!

Zarook behaved like a coward. He does not deserve your pity!
This is not pity, but wisdom!
Peace must return between you!

The "King Tree" is a blessing of nature that your clans should not fight over, but share!
It would then become a wonderful refuge for all the weak in this forest!

Page Twenty.

The son of Crao spoke for a long time, he knew how to find the words that went to the heart of "Those-who-walk-upright."
“Fire-hair” is right.
My brothers will no longer attempt to seize the King Tree!

And when they leave for a long hunt, they will entrust him with their wives and children!

In these fierce times, it sometimes took little to awaken the good feelings that lay dormant in every man.
Zarook will keep his promise!

What are you doing, “Fire-hair”?
Rahan knew that The “King Tree” would no longer be a source of discord.
Nothing was keeping him here anymore.
Rahan will leave you.
But he will never forget your courage, little ones!

At nightfall, the son of Crao reached the hills.
One last time he contemplated the ocean of greenery from which the fantastic tree emerged and set off towards other landscapes, to meet other men.
Because this was his destiny.

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

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