Koschei

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Ivan Bilibin: Koshchey the Deathless

In Russian mythology, Koschei (Russian: Коще́й, Koshchey, also Kashchei or Kashchey or Kościej (Polish)) is an evil person of ugly senile appearance, menacing principally young women. Koschei is also known as Koschei the Immortal or Koschei the Deathless (Коще́й Бессме́ртный), as well as Tzar Koschei . As is usual in Russian transliterations, there are numerous other spellings, such as Koshchei, Kashchej and Kaschei. The spelling in other Slavic languages (like Polish "Kościej") suggests that his name may be derived from "kost" (rus. кость=pol. kość=bone); thus suggesting a skeleton-like appearance.

Koschei can not be killed by conventional means targeting his body. His soul is hidden separate from his body inside a needle, which is in an egg, which is in a duck, which is in a hare, which is in an iron chest, which is buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan, in the ocean. As long as his soul is safe, he cannot die. If the chest is dug up and opened, the hare will bolt away. If it is killed, the duck will emerge and try to fly off. Anyone possessing the egg has Koschei in their power. He begins to weaken, becomes sick and immediately loses the use of his magic. If the egg is tossed about, he likewise is flung around against his will. If the needle is broken (in some tales this must be done by specifically breaking it against Koschei's forehead), Koschei will die. This kind of Russian-egg type story is actually fairly common in Russian fairy stories.

A similarly difficult-to-kill character is the wizard Mahiravana of Kamba Ramayanam, also called Patala (Underworld) Ravana and related to asura Ravana. In many aspects different from Valmiki Ramayana, he acquires a degree of protection from death by removing his pranas from his body and making them almost inaccessible to his enemies. Depending on a source, Mahiravana is supposed to be either a brother or a son of Lanka Ravana. One version of this story is in Puranic Encyclopedia (entries 'Rama', 'Satamukha 1.', 'Varamani') and another is in Bengali Ramayana by Krittivas Ojha.

[edit] Appearances

Viktor Vasnetsov Kashchey the Immortal

In Vasilisa Prekrasnaya (Vasilisa the Beautiful), a Russian cartoon based on the Russian fairy tale.
A villain in Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird.
Appeared in the 1958 Soviet animated film Beloved Beauty
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote an opera involving Koschei, titled Кащей бессмертный —Kashchey the Immortal.
James Branch Cabell used the spelling Koshchei in several of his books. His character, however, was a sort of over-deity who presides over all the "first-level" human gods (such as Jehovah and Loki). Robert A. Heinlein used Cabell's version in his book Job: A Comedy of Justice.
David A. McIntee's Doctor Who novels The Dark Path and Face Of The Enemy have Koschei as a name used by the Master before he adopts the Master as a name.
In John C. Wright's Everness Saga Koschei is the bringer of death, the taker of souls when someone has to die.
In the popular MMORPG RuneScape, one of the quests features Koschei the Deathless as a mysterious warrior whom the player must best thrice in combat to prove their worth as a warrior. However, besting him four times earns the player a special blade. It is suggested that he is not using his full potential in combat whilst battling the player.
In the RPG Dungeons & Dragons, a similar phenomenon exists; very powerful mages can, at death, become undead creatures who preserve their souls in an object separate from themselves, known as liches. The separate object is known as a phylactery. There is also a demon lord named Kostchtchie, who is worshipped as a god by certain evil monster races, but he does not appear to be related to the phenomenon of liches.
In Charles Stross's novelette A Colder War, Koschei is the American code name for sleeping Cthulhu, captured along with shoggot'im (shoggoths) from Nazi Germany by the Soviet Red Army.
Mercedes Lackey's novel "The Firebird" features Katschei as the main villain, retelling the classic tale for a modern audience.
In Keith Taylor's novel "Bard II: The Voyage of Ormungandr", Koschei appears to menace Felimid mac Fal, who is almost as clever as he thinks he is, and the lovely and often fatally dangerous Gudrun the pirate.
In the video game Paper Mario, the boss named Tubba Blubba has a similar trait: He achieved immortality (and invulnerability) by hiding his heart in a secret corridor underneath a windmill, whose only door is locked and its key in a treasure chest near where Tubba Blubba sleeps. To break the spell, Tubba Blubba must be made to swallow his heart.
Mad Hettie in 'The Sandman' and Hellblazer may have been through a similar process, hiding her heart and at one point says "Mayhap I placed it in a duck egg, inside a duck, inside a well, in a castle, on an island, surrounded by a lake of fire, guarded by a hundred dragons each larger and more ferocious than the last." although she had actually hidden it in a Russian doll. In another issue of Sandman, an old beggar woman possessed a sack full of marvels, one of which is claimed to be the emerald heart of Koschei the Deathless. Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman comics, also uses the device of a soul contained in a duck egg in his novel and television series Neverwhere.
The fire giant Yaga-Shura in the video game Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal is invulnerable as long as he keeps his heart burning in a pit of flames (within a fortress hidden in the mountains and guarded by an army of giants).
In Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander, an old wizard called Morda is invulnerable, even against an enormous cat, because he has hidden his soul outside his body.
In Little, Big by John Crowley, the memory-master Ariel Hawksquill has hidden her soul in a stork. When she is killed her soul lives on, unhappily, within the stork.
In Rifts, the roleplaying game, a type of demon in Russia is the Koschei. This fits with the typical Rifts modus operandi of turning individual demons in mythology into species.
In Andrei Belyanin's Tsar Gorokh's Detective Agency series of novels, Koschei is the main villain of most of the stories. He is described as a criminal mastermind a hundred times worse than Osama bin Laden.
In the Werewolf RPG there's a book called Rage Across Russia where there are demons named Koschkei.