They Call Me Morana 01

01

THEY CAL L ME MORA NA TO M Á Š Č E R VENÝ E VA O N D O VÁ

They Call Me Morana 01 November 2019 Story by Tomáš Červený Art by Eva Ondová Cover page design and “Tales about Morana” by Ivan Galdík English translation by Kateřina Čermáková

“But better dream, with empty hopes, in blind uncertainty, than pierce the veil that hides the face of fearful destiny.”

K. J. Erben*

Prague, Passion Sunday, 1836 AD

*Erben, K., “Christmas Eve”. Translated by Alfred French

Finally!

HELP me with her, idiot!

Holy criminy…

…is it this late already?

...?!

Where–?

What?

Everything is fine, don’t you worry.

Here, drink this.

You must have caught a cold from being in the water.

Thank you.

Just blow on it, like this.

Careful, it’s still hot.

Hold it by the handle.

And where’s the other one?

TSSS!

Karel?

He went home.

Can you remember anything?

No. Nothing.

Only that it was cold and damp.

Hm… And that’s all?

Strange.

I’ll read you a fairy tale.

What is a fairy tale?

You’ll sleep much better.

A fairy tale?

It’s something everyone likes to listen to.

May I begin?

And something I, for one, enjoy telling.

Alright.

The kingdom was called Nav. There was a castle and the castle had a king.

Once upon a time, so the story goes, there was a kingdom.

Svarog had a son called SvaroĹžiÄ?.

He was the god of fire, a truly jolly fellow.

He spent his days playing music

The king also had a daughter Morana.

As the goddess of death, she wandered around the world and sent newly deceased souls to Nav with a single kiss.

His name was Svarog and he was the god of the Sun. He ruled his kingdom justly.

One day as she was wandering around a battlefield, he caught her eye.

She stopped the sword of his baffled adversary.

The valiant knight did not hesitate and with a single strike he sent to Nav his opponent instead of himself.

A handsome knight who was just about to get pierced by a sword.

But Morana fell in love with him.

Morana was on cloud nine.

But after a while the smile faded from her lips.

Because the knight could not see her.

Should I continue?

He was a mortal..

Yes, please.

Oh, I see.

But why?

Those thunderbolts cannot seem to find peace tonight.

And so Morana returned home.

Her infuriated dad was already waiting for her.

He rebuked Morana badly for the wrong soul had landed in Nav. “Oh my poor daughter, what have you done?!” he tells her.

“One does not choose death and even gods must not get in its way.”

But Morana rebelled against his words: “And no, and no and no, there are no musts for me, I am a goddess!”

Her helpless dad sat sadly and pondered. At last he commanded Morana: “Go and KISS him immediately!

We cannot play around with death!”

And so Morana, willy-nilly, set out to make amends for the wrong she had done.

When she was already knee-deep in the water which runs to the other side, to the realm of mortals, out of the blue, a VODNÍK appeared!

What’s a vodník?

A kind of green sprite.

A creature with webbed fingers…

…catfish like whiskers…

…and a mouth filled with many rows of teeth.

Half-man, half-beast.

Then he steals their souls and puts them in cups.

And why does he do that?

It’s in his nature.

Well, you’ll find out in a minute.

He lurks in ponds and uses various tricks to drown men.

And what happened to the knight?

Oh, sorry...

And the vodník tells Morana: “Hey girl, I know what troubles your mind and, what’s more, I have a SOLUTION for you!”

“Here, drink from this cup. It will give you a mortal’s body.”

And Morana replied: “What do you want in return?”

“Not much, besides, it will make your life easier.” the vodník fawned over Morana. “In return, I will take care of the souls and you can rejoice blithely.”

For appearance’s sake, Morana gave the offer a little thought.

Then she took the cup in her hands.

“Go on girl, DRINK. Enjoy it!”

But Morana did not enjoy it, her body began to languish and suddenly it occurred to her: “But wait, does it mean that I too will die one day?!”

“Oh no, you silly…

…only if someone kills you.”

he whispered just as Morana, greenishly pale and with eyes rolled back, fell in the water.

When the morning came to the castle, sadness fell over the poor old king.

Morana had vanished.

“What have I done?

I have driven away my darling daughter.

Where do I look for her now?” he sobbed into his son’s shoulder.

But the father wiped away his tears and objected: “Son, you are very brave indeed. But you know nothing about the workings of the mortal world. You won’t find the entrance to the other side.”

“Oh please, I know where the water flows to the other side. I’ll figure out the rest once I get there.” Svarožič comforted him.

“I’ll be back for dinner, YOU’LL SEE!”

And so, the young god mounted his steed and set out on his mission so fast that the castle gate barely managed to open!

“Listen dad, don’t you worry, I’ll go get her for you!”

My darling daughter.

COME BACK to me!

Prague, 17 November 1989 Yaaawn!

Sorry...

Dumb pooch! Dash off HOME!

You know, I don’t actually like it.

And WHAT exactly don’t you like?

Woof!

Woof!

Woof!

That you’re leaving us.

I’m moving house.

Yeah, you’re moving to her cottage.

Anyhow, it’s pathetic.

Do you suddenly feel all grown up, now that you’re moving into her house?

I don’t know, I just want to get over it and start living.

I don’t blame you.

It’s my fault.

Yeah, I know, I am a slacker.

I just can’t find it.

Whatever.

Look, life goes on, yeah?

Just remember, stay low, don’t tell anyone anything about who you are and everything will be okay.

Trust me.

WATCH OUT!

Jeez!

Holy shit!

What the FUCK WAS THAT?!

Ouch…

Oh fuck.

Look! COPS!

Screw him!

HELL YES!

Come on, start the fuck already!

HONOUR THE LABOUR*, motherfuckers!

We gotta help him!

I’m not, go back!

You’re fucking joking, right?!

Fuck that.

*Favourite communist party greeting in Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

FREEZE! I’ve got him, Karel!

No!

You fucker!

UGH!

Phew!

That’s enough.

Please!

Did you see how I tackled him, Karel?!

Here’s a little teaser for ya…

And look what we have here, mister was planning on joining the protest march this evening, am I right?

Ugrh… …you SON OF A BITCH!

Martin Šmíd.*

Frisk him.

Well, well, well. It looks like we’ll have to check out this…

…rogue.

*A controversial character in Czechoslovak history, that presumably launched Velvet Revolution in 1989

CSSHHKRT

Go ahead.

Honour the labour, madam Comrade Commander.

SCRU-TI-NISED. We’ve just scrutsi…scrunit… scrusinis…

No, not you, madam, I apologise.

No madam, yes, madam.

Understood, madam.

Oh, fuck off!

HERE!

This is agent K1 and agent K23 speaking, we’ve just scrutinised a citizen called Martin Šmíd.

But, madam No, he’s already been comrade… disciplined.

It looks like the youth will be particularly troublesome this evening.

Understood, I’ll take care of it.

Honour the labour.

Let’s go eat.

THEY CALL ME MORANA 02 COMING SOON