Darken

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Darken is a webcomic set in a Dungeons and Dragons style fantasy world, featuring a cast of morally ambiguous or outright evil characters led by Gort, a vicious dark knight.^[1] It is based on a story by Mike Foulks.^[2]

Darken is a member of Keenspot, and also is one of the more popular members of Cornstalker Webcomic Collective^[3]. Since July 2006 it has been a member of Keenspot but before then was originally a member of Comicgenesis since its creation in December 2003.

[edit] Plot

The comic begins with Gort being summoned before the arch-devil Mephistopheles. Gort made a pact with him that would allow him to defeat his then nemesis, Leon. After completion of this, Mephistopheles wanted the return on the pact. He requested Gort's servitude, and gave him the quest of bringing to him three sacred artifacts, the Regalia of Evil. Upon obtaining this quest, Gort was returned to the material plane, and just so happened to fall into path of a Drow, named Komiyan, that just so happened to be going through a hard time.

And so, we meet the rest of the cast who are also Gort's companions, or as he likes to refer to them: his minions. Little does he realise, however, that each companion has a reason for following him; each secretly wants the regalia of evil for themselves for one reason or another.

Leon is the main antagonist of the story, and has encountered the main party on numerous occasions, mostly to the effect of the party's defeat.

[edit] Official Character Descriptions

(From Kate Ashwin's Official Site^[4])

[edit] Gort

Gort is as evil as they come. He makes deals with devils, kills his own friends at a drop of a hat.. Need I say more? He's the greatest fighter in all the land! He has made a deal to recover certain artefacts for the Dark Lord Mephistopheles, and in return, he has been granted all the power of hell at his command. Pretty cool, huh? Personally I think he was never hugged as a child...

[edit] Mink

Mink is a Half-Dragon Priestess of the God Hextor. She can channel the power of her deity to create either total destruction or healing.. But she's better at the destruction. What she makes up in power and wisdom, she lacks in co-ordination and is very clumsy. She trips up over her own feet, usually at a critical moment.. People think that Gort is in charge but secretly I think there's more to Mink than meets the eye. She may be short and feisty, but I think she may hold a few surprises.. Her mother, Silvador, was the powerful dragon in charge of Hextoria, until there was an uprising and she was imprisoned by means of a magical sword. Mink doesn't seem to want to let that one lie, though...

[edit] Komiyan

Komiyan, Gort's naive sidekick. He decided to break out on his own and join Gort on his adventures. Gort, Komiyan's 'God', displayed his power in killing a gargantuan Neolithid and now he promised to follow Gort and be his unpaid goon. Komiyan is a whirling dervish when it comes to fighting. He spins around like a tornado, slashing maniacally at the enemy until they fall into slices on the floor. It's a lot of pressure being Gort's sidekick, trust me I know, only time will tell whether Komiyan has got it in him to stick with the group, and be there when Gort bites off more than he can chew...

[edit] Casper

Casper is a bartender from the town of Falloakes, where he was once in the service of the now extinct Yuan-Ti. Singly he's not a great fighter, but when it comes to getting the job done, Casper is the man. If its a locked safe, or sneaking into the King's bedroom, then Casper is the one to do it. There was a time when Casper saved Gort's life; a huge Stone Golem was about to crush Gort and Casper jumped heroically in the way saving him. Since then Gort has, "Kept him around 'cos he's... useful." Again, I think Casper is another person who has something up his sleeve. He may have saved Gort's life, but somehow I think he harbours some sort of a grudge...

[edit] Jill

Jill the 'Duchess of Avron.' A wealthy heiress who married into riches only for her husband to 'die' in mysterious circumstances. Since her time as the ruler of Avron, several strange occurrences happened. None that can be blamed on her, of course... Not the sort of person to get ravelled up in combat but to deal strictly with nitty-gritty details of straightening out the messes Gort gets them all into. Hiding behind the beauty and the fan is a dark soul that just loves to screw with people's minds...

[edit] Michaelus

Michaelus used to be a lowly town guard in the citadel in Falloakes. That was until he was out on patrol one night and he and his brigade were savagely attacked and killed. The only survivor of that night, Michaelus is now a Lycanthrope, half man-half Bear. Thrown into disarray, Michaelus joined the only group that would accept him. Gort, recognising the untold power in Michaelus quickly, if reluctantly accepted him and he has now become the powerhouse of the group.

[edit] Leon

Once, Leon was Gort's greatest enemy, having defeated him over and over on the field of battle, in the name of the Light. But when they met for a third time, Gort had brought backup in the form of Casper, Mink and Jill, and despite Leon's belief in good conquering evil, he was torn apart. All that remains of him is a statue in the Citadel of Light.

Recently, however, he was resurrected by Violet, and now bears the tattoos of a disciple of Mephistopheles.

[edit] Violet

Violet is undoubtedly Darken's most powerful healer, one who fought alongside Leon in their efforts to restore unity to the land. Since his death, however, she's decided to take a slightly different route.. She seems to be working on something big, but she won't let on exactly what it is.

[edit] Silvador

Silvador, Mink's mother, is an Ancient blue wyrm, previously imprisoned by an obsidian sword. Now released by Mink, she plans to restore her throne in Hextoria, and gain power by any means possible.

[edit] Tyr

Tyr is Gorts Brother and has always been on odd terms with him. He's the captain of the guard in the Citadel of Light, and considering that is somewhat of Gorts complete opposite. That's pretty much all we know.

[edit] Jade

One of the great race of Yuan Ti that Casper used to work for in Falloakes. He believed her dead, until she found him again and gave him a rather nasty piece of information. Jade mostly hides out in the darker places of Falloakes, and has pinned her hopes of salvation for her race entirely on Casper. Whether this will pay off or not, only time will tell.

[edit] Zathras

Zathras is an ambassador from some other dimension, who had the, uh.. luck to run into the group while they were stranded in Purgatory. Master of languages and mind-bending magic, but hasn't quite got the hang on grammar yet.

[edit] Garganon

Garganon is a fearsome yet surprisingly cultured dragon who makes his home in the bleak desert plain Gort and co. were banished to. Perhaps the only creature to trust Gort in a deal, something he may come to regret.

[edit] Blackshard

An intelligent weapon picked up by Komiyan, Blackshard, or just Shard if you like, seems to be one of the greatest swords on Darken, if a bit mouthy. I can't help but remember what Komiyan was told about not trusting talking weaponry, though..

[edit] Chapter Summaries

Disciple of Fire- The story begins with Gort's deal with Arch-Devil Mephistopheles: All the power he can want, in exchange for fetching the three artefacts of the Regalia of Evil. Meanwhile, a small drow village is under attack from a wormbeast, and much to their surprise, Gort is summoned to deal with it. Deal with it he does, with the aid of a rather surprised elf, Komiyan.

Wyrms and Serpents- Gort sets out to reassemble his old team, starting with the priestess Mink, Casper, who was out hunting Slaad, and Jill, who shows up uninvited but comes along anyway.

Rage of Winter- The group is commissioned to fetch a monster's eye for a mystery patron, who is offering an awful lot of money. Accepting, they travel to a snowy mountain, where they are set upon by a giant.

Watcher in the Dark- Reaching the lair of the beast whose eye they are to procure, the party discover that they are to face a Beholder, an arrogant and powerful magical creature. A difficult fight ensues, in which Mink is near-fatally injured, but the beast is felled.

Blood Bond- Having been told to take the eye to the Citadel of Light, capital of all that is good and holy on Darken, the group is understandably a little nervous, but the promise of lots of money and having Mink brought back from the brink of death spurs them on. Arriving, they find an old enemy, a priestess of the Light named Violet. She pays them, but in order to save Mink, she must create a link between the half-dragon and Gort, in order for them to share their wounds. Also, while in the city, Gort is startled to see a man who bears a striking resemblance to himself.

Beast- The group is forced into doing a good deed to reclaim back their reward money- they must clear out an evil cult of blood that lives beneath the Citadel of Light. While doing so, they free Michaelus, a former town guard, who promptly turns into a bear. Undeterred, the party finish their job and are unexpectedly rewarded with the Sword of Evil.

Sleeping Dragons- Travelling to Casper's old town of Falloakes, the promise of prize money and fame leads to Gort, casper, Komiyan and Michaelus entering a race. Mink leaves, having experienced a prophetic dream advising her to awaken her blue dragon mother, Silvador, from her permanent sleep. This she does, restoring her family to the throne of Hextoria. In Falloakes, Casper is intercepted by Jade, one of the race of Yuan ti he had thought wiped out by orcs. Jade informs him of who had led the orcs that crushed the Yuan Ti.

Siege- Gort decides that he requires a base of operations, and picks an orc-infested castle called Three Spires. Reluctantly, the others help him siege the castle, and set up a temporary home there.

Reckoning- Word of Gort's domination of Three spires reaches the Citadel, and the Paladin, Tyr, who looks so much like Gort. Outraged, he calls on the Light for help, and sets out to fight Gort atop Three Spires with the help of three celestial beings. The party are all defeated, except for Jill, who surrenders.

Long Way Home- Facing judgement on a celestial plane, the group is cast down into Purgatory for their various crimes, despite Tyr's insistence that they deserve only death. The limbo they are scattered in is dominated by a giant spire, which blocks all use of magic. They are left separted, armourless and weaponless.

From the Shadows- While trying to escape the influence of the spire, Mink, Jill and Komiyan stumble across a being who claims to be an ambassador, a Shade named Zathras. Despite his terrible accent, they manage to strike a deal in which he will show them where a portal back to Darken is, and they will protect him on the way. Gort, Casper and Michaelus, however, have met a red dragon, Garganon. He helps to reunite the group and flies them to a nearby town.

Shards- Garganon's price for the flight is that they must retrive a gauntlet that has been stolen from him. It has been sealed in a cave, guarded by a huge metallic five-headed beast. Along the way, Komiyan uncovers a sword that can change its form, and speaks in a voice only he can hear. After the battle with the hydra, Gort discovers that the gauntlet is, in fact, the Gauntlet of Evil, and he has no intentions of returning it to the dragon, despite the protests of the honourable Michaelus. They make good their escape in a boat, and reach the portal town, where Zathras departs for his own dimension.

[edit] References

1. ↑  "Following the tale of a vicious dark knight and his band of 'minions'" as described on Keenspot's home page.
2. ↑  Within the disclaimer: "The comic is based on a story by Mike Foulks"
3. ↑  Talk About Comics Interviews Matt Johnson, Daniel Orta, and R. L. Peterson, 11/1/2006
4. ↑  Kate Ashwin's Site The Official Character Bios

[edit] External links

• Darken
• Keenspot
• Cornstalker Webcomic Collective
• Darken Cameo List - A list of webcomics that have references to Darken and cameos of the characters
• Dungeons & Dragons Game from Wizards of the Coast