Darken

Darken is a webcomic set in a Dungeons and Dragons style fantasy world, featuring a cast of morally ambiguous or outright evil characters. 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.

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 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, but 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.

Gort has a proven track record of killing anyone and everyone that crosses him, therefore, on the way we can expect lots of destruction, betrayal and death.

Gort


Gort first found his taste for blood and death fighting in the gladiatorial arenas in a distant uncivilised land. He grew in fame and popularity before striking out on his own. Fame quickly turned to infamy when the desire for power led him to raising up Orc armies to deliver the land into his tyrannical hands. These armies were only to be defeated by the shining hero of the land and nemesis to Gort, Leon. Time and time again, Gort was defeated on the field of battle by Leon only to stubbornly raise another army. Only in a deal with Mephistopheles did Gort finally defeat Leon once and for all.

He has a thirst for power, the stubbornness never to give up and the arrogance to never let anyone tell him otherwise. Surely he will conquer all?

Komiyan
Komiyan Zaibach, Darken's only cautious drow, seems to have fallen into adventure by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Previously a member of his town guard, he was meant to be a desperate sacrifice to Mephistopheles to save the town from a worm beast, but escaped this fate by stabbing the priest. At this point, Gort was summoned, and destroyed the monster that was ravaging the town. Komiyan skipped town with him, promising to be his "unpaid goon" rather than face the wrath of his fellow drow for the murder of the priest, and has stayed loyally, if a little whiningly, by Gort's side since. Since then, he has seen and fought things he'd rather not think about, gone to places he didn't know existed, and panicked about the whole thing every step of the way.

Mink


Mink is a half-dragon high priestess of the destructive evil god Hextor, and an old friend of Gort's. Still fairly young by half-dragon standards, Mink's main goal in life is to spread the word and will of Hextor, and crush any who may take contention with this. Her first step in doing this is realised when she receives a message from the god himself telling her how to free her imprisoned mother, a blue dragon named Silvador. Upon doing this, Silvador insisted that Mink bring her the Regalia of evil which Gort is seeking, and as a result, she has aided Gort in his quest, eagerly awaiting the chance to fulfill her mother's request.

Being part dragon, Mink has certain special abilities, such as the usually hidden wings on her back, and her surprising, supernatural strength. Her favoured battle tactics are to use lightning magic, or swing a big hammer at the problem until it goes away. She can heal her allies' wounds to some degree, but is mostly a specialist in destruction, not healing. This is all tempered by her occasional bouts of clumsiness and general lack of practice and finesse with weapons- she is more likely to hurt herself than her opponents with a sword.

Casper
When Gort, Mink and Jill met Casper Lockwood, he was a bartender in the town of Falloakes, which was at that time ruled over by the Yuan-ti, a reptilian race of people. As they came to discover later, he is also a master locksmith, pickpocket and backstabber who would prove to be of great use to them. Unfortunately, Casper was forced to leave Falloakes and his place of great reputation with the Yuan-ti when a warlord destroyed the town with an orcish army. Escaping the carnage, Casper worked on his own for a while, attempting to find out who had lead the vicious orcs, but eventually falling back in with Gort's band of 'minions'.

Generally the one making the jokes at the back of a fight, Casper is quick witted and not afraid to speak his mind. He and Komiyan have struck up the sort of friendship where they can insult each other and not take it to heart. He harbours a deep dislike of Gort, who, he later discovers, is the one who lead the orcs against the Yuan-Ti in Falloakes. Casper is yet to let on that he knows of this, and it's likely he won't be telling until it comes to a fight.

Jill
Jill started life, like all children in her village, as the property of the Temple. She served there until her adolescence, when the brutal deaths of many high ranking clergy lead to Jill's freedom. With her quick ear for gossip, and her skill for lying, she rapidly ascended through the ranks of several criminal organisations, all of which ended up being crushed by the authorities after someone betrayed them. These authorities were responsible for the original missions in which Jill met Gort, although their power over the group proved short lived. Jill is the legitimate Duchess D'Avron. Avron is a small Duchy nestling nicely within the lands protected by the Citadel of Light. After Jill's marriage to (and the subsequent, possibly even unrelated death of) Duke D'Avron, things seemed to be set for her, but circumstances beyond her control forced a 'tour of goodwill' to various countries. Since then, she sought out and rejoined the company of Gort, knowing that whatever deeds he would be up to would involve profit and opportunity. Jill’s main signature item is her fan, which has claimed the lives of more people than most swords. However, her most deadly weapons are her beauty, wit, and complete ruthlessness.

Michaelus
Michaelus was simply a humble town guardsman until one fateful night. He and his patrol were sent out to investigate some mysterious goings on and they stumbled right in on what was happening. Whilst asleep for the night, the camp was attacked; the only survivor being Michaelus. Upon waking he found that he was afflicted with lycanthropy. Being a werebear not the worst of his problems, the Citadel of Light and his fellow guardsmen believed that Michaelus attacked his own men and he was outcast. Adding insult to injury, Michaelus was then kidnapped by an Evil Blood cult, but they got more than they bargained for... He was then 'rescued' by Gort and chose to stick with the only people who could potentially want him around. After all, he was thrown out by the people he loved. Whether he's as evil as the rest of them, who knows.

Leon
Leon is Gort's oldest enemy. As an up and coming warlord, Gort met a fair few would be heroes bent on putting Gort's reign of terror to an end, but none of these were as successful as Leon and his comrades. Together with Violet, Leon put a stop to all of Gort's efforts over and over again. In one event, Gort, Mink and Casper secretly stole into Leon's chamber to assassinate him, but not all went according to plan and Leon and Violet escaped. Frustrated, Gort had to turn to Mephistopheles. With the aid of the Hell Lord, Gort was finally able to defeat his strongest foe, slaying him without mercy.

He was the bravest of the brave, the symbol of everything light, and champion of the Citadel of Light. Now he is buried under it, thanks to Gort.

Violet
Violet was easily the best healer in Darken, using her strong love of the light to aid her allies, both in and out of combat. The fact that she was always one step ahead of Mink, and being her good counterpart, created a large amount of enmity between her and Mink. Sadly for her, though, there was nothing she could do but watch when Leon was slain. Imbued with guilt from this, she turned to the dark arts for a solution, taking up the study of necromancy. It was she who created the pain bond between Gort and Mink, whether this was entirely necessary or an act of spite is unsure. It was also Violet who commissioned the group to fetch her the eye of a Beholder, with which she intends to cast a powerful spell, far beyond the reaches of nature and the gods she once followed. Whether this will come to fruition or not is yet to be seen.

Silvador
Silvador is the last of the Ancient Blue Wyrms. Two thousand years ago she ruled much of the land that is now Darken. For eons she ruled it with an iron fist and no one could stop her, that was until a great warrior saw the plight of the people of Darken and came to their rescue. He and his friends brought with them a powerful sword called the Obsidian Sword. Believing that she should be stopped, and not killed, for her actions, this warrior of justice impaled the mighty dragon on the sword and imprisioned her in a state of suspended animation forever. Or at least until someone who knows the words to release the sword comes along.

The mighty God Hextor stole the words to release his servant, from the place of secrets. He visited Mink in her sleep and told her the words in a dream. All her life Mink had spent searching for a way to release her mother, and in the end it simply came to her in a dream.

Now Silvador is released, she is intent on reclaiming what is rightfully hers and to help her do this she needs the help of the Regalia of Evil.

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.