The story is actually a trilogy composed of three chapters. The first, Il ritorno di Kandrax (ZG N. 431–433), is illustrated by Gallieno Ferri. The second, Gli eroi del ramo rosso (ZG N. 433–434), features artwork by Marco Torricelli. The final part, Guerra eterna (ZG N. 434–435), is drawn by Carlo Marcello. All three episodes are written by Mauro Boselli.
Il ritorno di Kandrax
On their journey back to Darkwood, after their African and Mexican adventures, Zagor and Chico find themselves in Florida, hosted in a quilombo a village of freed Black slaves and Seminoles. There, Zagor begins experiencing vivid dreams filled with familiar faces: the Celtic warriors Fianna, archaeologist Mac Leod, siblings Jim and Margie Coleman, Frida Lang, and Gambit all menaced by the druid Kandrax.
With the help of the wise shaman Katabe who falls into a trance-like coma as a result Zagor learns that in their last encounter, he had destroyed only Kandrax’s physical form, not his spirit. That spirit now resides in Erin, a parallel dimension, alongside the dark Celtic god Donn. Through the mystical Triskelion and the Feb Leabhair (the Black Book of the Druids), Kandrax continues to wield his powers of hypnosis and mind control.
Leaving the quilombo, Zagor and Chico seek shelter at the home of psychiatrist Professor Morgast, unaware that he is a disciple of Kandrax. They soon meet plantation owner Jamieson and his overseer Dempsey. When Jamieson’s daughter, Régine, mysteriously disappears, Dempsey falsely accuses Zagor of handing her over to the quilombo rebels, resulting in Zagor and Chico’s imprisonment.
However, Jamieson eventually sees through the lies and joins Zagor in searching for his daughter. Unfortunately, he too falls under Kandrax’s control. Zagor must now fight not only Dempsey’s men but also quilombo warriors entranced by the druid’s will.
Zagor tracks Morgast and Jamieson to a hidden dolmen the Temple of the Great Stones where they plan to sacrifice Régine and three enslaved women to Donn in order to bring Kandrax fully back to Earth. With spiritual help from Katabe, Zagor destroys Kandrax’s simulacrum but Morgast escapes with the Triskelion and the Feb Leabhair, heading to Darkwood.
By the time Zagor and Chico arrive, war is erupting. Kandrax has enlisted rogue Canadian adventurers and hostile Cree and Chippewa tribes, launching attacks on Fort Pitt and Fort Henry. After reuniting with Tonka and the Mohawks, Zagor finds Fort Pitt in ruins and Morgast in control. He destroys the Triskelion unwittingly enabling Kandrax’s full return to Earth. Zagor and Tonka are then transported to the spectral realm of Erin, to Dun Scaith the Island of Shadows, under Donn’s dominion.
Meanwhile, back in Darkwood, Chico and the Mohawks join Major Hendricks of Fort Henry to mount a desperate resistance against the approaching darkness.
Gli eroi del Ramo Rosso
Kandrax’s magic has transported Zagor and Tonka into another world, where they must face the lord of the underworld, Donn the Dark, along with his savage warrior sisters Macha and Nemain, the demonic Fomhoir, and other mythical monsters from Celtic legend all locked in an eternal war to conquer the kingdom of Cormac Mac Art.
But alongside the two heroes from Darkwood stand legendary Irish champions: Finn Mac Cumhail, the druid Finegas, and the valiant warriors of Irish myth known as the Fianna the heroes of the Red Branch! Surprisingly, Morrigan, the third sister of Macha and Nemain and a sworn enemy of Kandrax, joins their cause.
To save both Erin and Darkwood, Zagor and the Fianna must reach Donn’s Black Tower, deep in the shadowy realm of Dun Scaith, to free the captive King of Erin and his daughter. They are opposed by the formidable Shadow Warriors but the heroes prevail.
Finegas unleashes a powerful spell that disperses their foes, and the captives are freed. However, Donn, Macha, and Nemain manage to escape. Morrigan warns that as long as Kandrax holds the Fer Leabhair, the Black Book of Druids, the eternal war in Erin and Darkwood cannot be ended.
Thus, Morrigan sends Zagor and Tonka back to Darkwood, accompanied by the bard Oisin and the bumbling but brave Mac Morna, to destroy the book unaware that the ruthless Nemain has followed them back to Earth.
Guerra eterna
Zagor, Tonka, and their Celtic allies return to a Darkwood gripped by chaos. Major Hendricks’ troops, a handful of Mohawks, and Chico are struggling to hold their ground against Kandrax’s forces: the Cree, the Chippewa led by Red Scalp (last seen in Uno straniero a Pleasant Point), and a band of Canadian scalp hunters old enemies of the Spirit with the Hatchet, originally encountered in Sulle piste del Nord.
Meanwhile, Professor Morgast is preparing a gruesome Celtic ritual designed to grant Kandrax immense power: most of the Mohawk tribe has been imprisoned inside a colossal wooden effigy meant to be set ablaze in a mass human sacrifice.
Zagor and his allies launch a counterattack. The Chippewa are defeated, the scalp hunters flee with the Black Book of Druids, and Zagor kills Red Scalp and incapacitates Morgast who, finally freed from Kandrax’s influence, chooses to end his life rather than fall under the sorcerer’s control again. With Morrigan’s guidance, the bard Oisin uses his powers to prevent the effigy from burning, saving the Mohawks.
Pushing forward toward Fort Henry, where Kandrax has established his stronghold guarded by Cree warriors, the heroes overtake the scalp hunters. But Mac Morna, in a moment of recklessness, seizes the Black Book and falls under its spell allowing Nemain and Kandrax to capture Morrigan, Zagor, and their companions.
Despite their captivity, Morrigan and Zagor manage to prevent Kandrax from assassinating Frida in Austria, Gambit in America, and Mac Leod and the Colemans in Scotland. Oisin ultimately destroys the Fer Leabhair, and Nemain drags Kandrax back to the Island of Shadows to face punishment at the hands of Donn the Dark for his final failure.
