| “ | Tell me what you want, intruder--quickly, so I can run you through and be back about my business. | „ |
| ~ Chernmor threatening Boy Blue, Fables #36 — "Death & Taxes: Chapter One of Homelands" |
Chernomor is a human Fable who occupies the role of Governor-General of the Empire. He appears in Fables #36 — "Death & Taxes: Chapter One of Homelands."
History
Background
Chernomor is a Governor-General in the Adversary's Empire,[1] who rules over Kardan in the Empire's name.[2]
Death
During a reconnaissance mission in the Homelands, Boy Blue finds Chernomor reading aload a poem about the battle of Vestiri, in which the latter is described as "the captain of the west, birthed from crashing sea--his home" and the leader of "the fabled thirty and three, puissant knights, also birthed out from the sea." Blue interrupts his reading, claiming that the poem is not accurate: Despite what it says about Chernomor's victory, it was actually Boy Blue's side that emerged as the true winners. Blue then strikes him down with the Vorpal Blade.[1]
Legacy
After his death, Blue impersonated the governor, ordering his underlings to lower the tax rate.[1]
Original source
Chernomor is based on the character from the epic poem Ruslan and Ludmila by Alexander Pushkin. Chernomor's war exploits and his thirty-three knights are reference to Pushkin's fairy tale of "The Tale of Tsar Saltan," in which a prince visits the titular character's court and overhears his elder aunt telling the merchants about an army of thirty-three men led by one Chernomor that march in the sea.