Rahan. Episode Eighty-Eight. By Roger Lecureux. The Secret of Wandaka. A Puke (TM) Comic.

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.

Episode Eighty-Eight.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Andre Cheret.

The Secret of Wandaka.

Exhausted and panting, the woman stared in fear at the bushes which were parting.
Who? Who are you?
What do you want from me?

Rahan saw you running away!
And Rahan always comes to the aid of “Those-who-walk-upright.”
What endangers and threatens you then?

I am fleeing my people because they want to sacrifice Woha to the gods of the lake!
I will not let them deliver my son to the beast of "Wankada"!

The cries were approaching.
Here they are!
My people always welcome unarmed strangers.
But if they find you with this weapon, you are lost!

Page Two.

In this case, Rahan will not give your brothers the opportunity to get angry!
Barely had the son of Crao hidden his knife of ivory.

That hunters appeared.
Your escape is sacrilege Nooka!
No one can escape the will of the Gods!
Deliver them to Woha without whimpering!

No! No, Woha is the flesh of my flesh!
But it is also the first day of the Green Leaf Season!

And custom demands that he be handed over to the gods!
No god deserves the sacrifice of a little man brothers!

The spears rose suddenly.
We do not know who you are "Hair-of-fire."
Since you are unarmed, you can go in peace or stay among us.
But never oppose our gods! Never!

Page Three.

The young mother's pain upset the son of Crao.
Rahan must find a way to convince these hunters!
Rahan must stay!

If The Clan's village, near a lake, was similar to many others, what stood in the middle of the lake was fantastic.
Rahan must be dreaming!

The stone idol was so gigantic that it was unimaginable that it could have been erected there by men!

Since we discovered this territory, "Wandaka" has protected our clan!

Only gods could make "Wandaka" spring from this lake!
The lake is sacred and none of us has ever violated the tranquility of its waters!

The skiff, on which the sacrificed child had been placed, sailed gently towards the idol.
To thank the gods we sacrifice to them the first of the season of green leaves.

Page Four.

And suddenly.
“Wandaka” has unleashed the beast!
This means he accepts our offering!
Oh!
A swirl agitated the surface.

A monstrous turtle, as big as a “Two-Tooth”, lifted the skiff and turned it over!

Rahan will not abandon this little man to the “horn back”!
Ra-ha-ha!

Sacrilege! “Hair of Fire” violates the sacred waters!
He challenges "Wandaka" and the lake gods!
A few spears whistled.

But the Son of Crao Was swimming between two waters, towards the child in peril.
You shall not devour Woha horn back!
Oh! ,
You flee?

Page Five.

The giant turtle had never faced a man in its aquatic kingdom.
Was it afraid of this fast and vigorous fish-man?
Without a doubt.

It disappeared into the greenish depths where Rahan glimpsed the base of the fantastic idol.

When he placed the child on a projection of the idol, the clamors redoubled.
Death to “Hair of Fire!”
Death for the sacrilege for he who defiles “Wandaka”!

Nooka moved away from her family to chase away her tears of emotion.
Rahan saved Woha from the beast.
But for how long?
As soon as he reaches the shore the clan will kill him and give him Woha back as an offering!

The son of Crao knew he was safe around the idol.
And he had just made a strange discovery.
Axes!
And “Stones-that-throw-stars”!

Page Six.

An instant later.
Stop screaming for death and listen, brothers!
Rahan has just seen what you never discovered!

"Wandaka" was not built by gods, but carved on site by men!
You hear! By men!

You have lost your mind, “Hair of Fire”!
How could puny hunters have carved in the middle of a lake?
An idol higher than the tallest of the trees!?

The son of Crao admitted that this question troubled him.
How could men have carved this stone face that rose so high into the sky?

If Rahan found the explanation, the clan would stop believing in the lake gods!
They would no longer indulge in these odious sacrifices!

Page Seven.

How could “Those Who Walk Upright” have sculpted the fantastic idol?
He thought of impossible human pyramids.

And of incredible scaffolding.
But he rejected all these hypotheses and, at the end of the day the question remained unanswered.

And with the night the calm returned.
The hunters are asleep!
When Rahan finds his knife he will take Woha to another territory!

Unless the "horn back" itself drags him into the territory of shadows.
The beast from the lake had just appeared behind him.

This time, the monstrous turtle did not flee, it followed in the wake of the man.
Faster, Rahan! Faster!
To save your life and that of Woha!

Page Eight.

When he finally reached the shore where he knew the beast would be clumsy, Rahan could not stifle his cry of victory.
Ra-ha-ha!

Nooka was there.
Since sunset I've been waiting for you, Rahan!
Let us run away!
The “Beast of the Lake” will ransack the village, as usual!
Let us run away! Let us flee!

The giant tortoise was now crawling towards the huts from which clamors of fear arose.
Take care of your little one, Nooka!
Rahan must find his weapon!

Ooh! The Knife!
The monster, dragging itself heavily, had just upset the place where Rahan had concealed the ivory weapon!

Where was his knife buried now?
Here? Further away? Further still?
While the son of wild ages feverishly dug the sand here and there.

Page Nine.

The beast of the lake, which no hunter wanted to oppose, was spreading panic.
Spare our clan, “Wandaka”! Call the “Beast” back to you!

Rahan, who was still searching, suddenly screamed with joy.
He had just felt the polished shaft of his weapon under his fingers!

As he freed the knife, that had been buried in the sand, a dazzling idea crossed his mind.
Rahan knows how “Those-who-walk-upright were able to sculpt the idol!

However, the monster was dislocating the fragile huts before the eyes of the terrorized hunters.

Will you let him destroy your village without reacting, brothers!?
Round backs are not sacred!
He is just an evil monster who will steal your life if you do not take his!

Page Ten.

Back “Hump-back”, back!
Setting an example, Rahan stood his ground.
He knew that the horn-backed beast only offered one vulnerable organ.
The neck!

The clan stood like statues, and did not react.
If "Fire Hair" can keep the Beast of the Lake in check, perhaps it is because it was not sent by the gods?

Threatened by the torch, the monster's head occasionally retracted under the horn rampart.
You are afraid, Round Back!

But it sprang out immediately and its frightening mouth tried to grab the man.
You are not fast enough for Rahan "Round Back"!

Suddenly.
Oh!
The son of Crao, losing his balance, had let the torch escape.
The hideous head swayed.

Page Eleven.

The neck only appeared for a brief moment but it was sufficient.
Ra-ha-ha!

The ivory blade had sliced the soft flesh of the throat!
Ra-ha-ha!
The head retracted again, but this time forever. In its inviolable shell the monster was dying!

Only then did the clan seem to regain its breath.
The “Beast of the Lake” was not sent by the gods!
Neither her nor “Wandaka” brothers!

The idol was sculpted by men who, in the dawn of time, preceded you to this territory!
And Rahan believes he knows how they were able to achieve this fantastic work.

Rahan buried his knife entirely in the sand.
Imagine that the knife represents a very tall rock buried deep in the ground.
One day our ancestors discovered it.

Page Twelve.

They first start by sculpting the face of "Wandaka."
Then they dig the sandy soil to continue their work.

Throughout the seasons, they dig, clear and sculpt the rock!
How many seasons did this work require?
We will never know!

Later, the springs seeping into the basin, transformed it into a lake!
There is revealed, the secret of “Wandaka”

The idol, now without mystery, stood in the fires of the east.
You have revealed the inexplicable to us!
We will no longer have to make offerings to “Wandaka”!

Woha babbled under her mother's tender kisses.
Rahan thought of the courage and tenacity of those who had dug this lake.
And he felt proud to belong to this species.
May you compete with the gods: That of “Those-who-walk-upright”!