Although there are several descriptions of Koschei’s appearance, in legend Koschei is often described as ugly.
The immortal Koschei is also known as a shape-shifter, he can take on the image of a monster or a human, but he likes to transform into a tornado to kidnap young girls.
How did Koschei become immortal?
Koschei maintained his life and immortality by giving up his soul.
The immortal Koschei even protects his soul by ensuring that his vessels are capable of escape.
Only when the enemy reaches the egg is Koschei’s life truly threatened.
The story of Koschei and Prince Ivan
The most interesting part about Koschei lies not in the origin of his power but in the story of his confrontation with Prince Ivan Tsarevitch.
The story goes that after Prince Ivan’s parents died, he witnessed his three older sisters marrying witches – people in bird guise.
Ivan met the warrior Marya Morevna and married her on the way.
But Ivan refused to listen. When Marya left, he went to look for the wardrobe and found an emaciated old man locked with 12 chains.
Regaining his strength, Koschei broke the chains that bound him, and said that he would imprison the warrior guarding Marya and disappeared into thin air, his magic was also restored.
The prince captured Koschei, but as a result, he cut him into cubes, stuffed them into a barrel and dropped him into the sea.
In this story, the myth of the Koschei soul vessels is not mentioned.
