The Quest for Fire

The Quest for Fire (La Guerre du feu) is a 1911 Belgian historical fiction novel by "J.-H. Rosny", concerning a paleolithic quest to return fire to a tribe that has lost it. In 1967 it was abridged and translated into English. It received adaptations in both film and comic book formats. The film is a loose adaptation of the concept and some scenes from the novel, while the comics are more faithful adaptations, incorporating narration and dialogue directly from the novel.

Plot
After suffering a defeat from an unspecified enemy, the Oulhamrs flee across a swamp, losing even more of their number, and worse, losing their fire, which they cannot create. Seeing that the tribe is in dire straits, Faouhm, the chief, offers his daughter, Gammla, to whoever retrieves fire for the tribe. Naoh and Aghoo, both desiring Gammla, head in opposite directions with two companions each. Naoh takes the young men Nam and Gaw, heading south toward the Great River.

Heading south, Naoh reflects often on the weakness of humans against the natural world. Without fire, only their fearsome reputation protects them from lesser predators like hyenas and wolves. He recalls a time when the old man Goûn tamed two dogs by offering them meat, but dares not risk doing so himself. After thirsty days spent crossing the savannah, the group comes across a watering hole. They spot a large herd of aurochs approaching it, and take a route to arrive earlier. Wait in a cave above the water, observing there signs of habitation, but Naoh expects the bear living in the cave will not return for some time. As the aurochs are approaching, a herd of mammoths approach from another direction. The aurochs cause a fight, in which the mammoths end up driving the aurochs away in terror. Naoh and the others watch, stunned by the violence and their smallness in comparison.

That night, Gaw spots a bear approaching the watering hole. He realizes it is not a cave bear, which is more herbivorous than carnivorous and attacks only in desperation, but the grey bear, a fearless and aggressive carnivore. Gaw wakes the others, and Naoh, judging that they cannot escape before the bear reaches the cave, orders that they fortify the entrance and prepare to fight. The bear eventually breaks through their barrier, and Nam and Gaw run to the back of the cave. Naoh surprises the bear from the shadows, and strikes a critical blow against its spine. Naoh continues to strike the bear, killing it, and ensuring Nam and Gaw's loyalty and his place in the legends of the Oulhamr, no man having ever killed a grey bear before.

Sheltering near in a forest under a group of rocks with a narrow opening, the group witness a tiger hunting a Megaceros and an Urus, but his hunt is interrupted by the appearance of a giant lion. A tigress also appears, and the two together attack the lion, but the lion is victorious and kills the tiger, but not the tigress. Returning unsuccessfully from a hunt, the lion tries to dig out the men, but Naoh strikes his digging paw. Angered, the lion waits outside their refuge with the lioness, leaving her to guard while he goes to hunt. Taking watch, Naoh muses on the nature of fire and the Moon, and observes the night life. Hyenas scavenge the tiger carcass, while wolves paw at the refuge, before leaving to hunt. Naoh believes that the wolves must have a language, since they deliberate and plan their hunts. The wolves flush out an onager, direct it into a trap, and devour it.

In the morning, the tigress and lion remain, Naoh theorizing that receiving an injury from a man offended it. He debates internally whether they will have to fight or escape by night. He reassures Nam and Gaw they will escape. During the night, after the tigress returns from her hunt and the lion has left, the trio make their escape. They make their way out of their shelter, but are soon noticed. They turn to fight. Name and Gaw are struck, but Naoh is able to break all of her paws, immobilizing her. After treating Gaw, Nam taunts the tigress, and spears a passing hind, dragging it back to the shelter, when the giant lion returns.

As Nam and Gaw recover, Naoh familiarizes himself to the tigress, so she will be disinclined to see him as prey. On a rainy night when the lion goes to hunt, the trio make their escape, crossing the river and then covering their tracks afterward. Hearing the lion, they run, but it does not follow. After marching further south for several miles, they stop and sleep near a giant black tree. After awakening, Naoh finds that they are near a massive lake to the south, and also finds evidence of fire from a large hunting group of humans. He deduces that they are cannibalistic Kzams outside their normal territory, and begins concocting plans to steal fire from them.

The trio track down the Kzams, and Naoh orders Nam and Gaw to kills some jackals, to use the hides to hide their Oulhamr scent. Using the jackal hide, Naoh circles around the camp and approaches them slowly. Sneaking among the sleeping Kzams, Naoh grabs a torch from the Kzam bonfire and runs. The trio flee, and are able to keep ahead of the Kzams, but Naoh is torn between keeping up the speed of their flight and the danger it presents to his torch, but believes he can revive it. Once they stop, the trio desperately try to feed the fire, but despite their efforts, it slowly goes out.

The Kzams chase the trio for two days, and each night Naoh stalks the Kzam camp, trying to find a way to steal their fire. Soon they reach the banks of the Great River which feeds into the lake. Naoh reflects on the similarity of water and fire, which both move with their own power and can exceed the strength of any animal, but change in size and power constantly. They travel down the river, but are stopped by a herd of mammoths. Naoh identifies their chief, and makes a speech about the invincible power of the mammoths, then gives an offering of water lilies. The chief accepts them, and gently sniffs him and allows him to touch his trunk, securing the alliance of men and mammoths.

After several days resting among the mammoths, they make another attempt at stealing fire. Naoh leads Nam and Gaw near the Kzam camp, and tells them to draw away the attention of the Kzams while Naoh steals fire, meeting up later. Nam and Gaw do so, and Naoh approaches the remaining Kzam guards. They catch him, but he fights them down and grievously wounds them. He steals fire and a fire cage, killing their fire and destroying their other cages. Naoh leaves and meets up with Nam, who has thrown off his pursuers, and the two wait for Gaw. After some time, Naoh resolves to find Gaw, telling Nam to guard the fire, and if he does not return by the end of the next day, Nam must abandon his companions and return to the Oulhamr with the fire.

Oulhamrs
The Oulhamrs are a group of intelligent hominids, similar to but not explicitly stated to be Neanderthals. They are tall, hairy and strong, with "heavy faces, low skulls, violent jaws", and tawny skin. Many times their animalistic qualities are emphasized, a more powerful sense of smell than modern humans, hardiness against the elements, and an instinctive knowledge of the healing qualities of certain aromatic herbs. The Oulhamrs use tools such as clubs, spears and fire cages, but little mention is made of clothing. While the Oulhamrs are a violent people, they can reason and plan, and have some capacity for more tender feelings. While the Oulhamrs use Fire for cooking, protection and the hardening of spear points, they do not know how to make it, and thus must continually feed and protect what fire they have. The Oulhamrs consider the fire to be a living thing since it eats, grows and reproduces, and they both fear and worship it, their feelings toward fire being the closest thing they have to a religion. Each Oulhamr also seems to be identified with a totem.
 * Naoh, son of the leopard, is one of the two men tasked with recovering fire. He is tall, strong, fast and intelligent, while also being a capable and inspiring leader. His bravery and protective feelings for his companions sometimes cause him to put his mission at risk in order to save their lives. In his idle moments, he has a somewhat philosophic and reflective quality, considering the natures of things like fire, the moon, and the stars, and the feelings they engender in him and other Oulhamrs.
 * Nam, son of the poplar, and Gaw, son of the Saiga, are the two young warriors who accompany Naoh. While not the strongest, they are fast and have great endurance, and have great loyalty toward Naoh, willing to put themselves at risk for him.
 * Faouhm is the leader, and fearful of Naoh and Aghoo's strength. He would prefer for both of them to die, but failing that, would prefer to secure the alliance of one of them.
 * Gammla, daughter of the swamp, is Faouhm's daughter, promised to whoever retrieves fire. She would prefer that Naoh rather than Aghoo succeed in the task.
 * Goûn of the dry bones is the wise old man, being less impulsive and more intelligent than the rest. His intelligence is so great that he is able to remember in what proportion the Oulhamrs have died after their defeat, rather than merely the count the number of survivors.
 * Aghoo, son of the aurochs, and his brothers, are another party sent to retrieve fire. Even more hairy and violent than the rest of the Oulhamrs, he has few scruples.
 * Ouag, son of the Lynx, the greatest traveller of the Oulhamr.
 * Aoûm, son of the Raven, made an alliance with the Mammoths.

Tree man
Briefly mentioned as being an inhabitant of the savannah, living a solitary life with some females, and surpassing the strength of ordinary men.

Kzams
A cannibalistic group. They are taller than other humans, and the only cannibals. They also, however, eat other types of meat and do not preferentially hunt humans. They are not numerous, having only three "hordes" or tribes. Said by the Oulhamr be descended from bears, their arms are longer and more powerful than other men, and they are much hairier. However, their legs, while strong, are shorter, and less suited to running, so Oulhamr are able to outrun them if they start from far away.