Wednesday Comics: The Path Taken

"The Path Taken"

Artesia #6 (June 1999) Story & Art by Mark Smylie

Synopsis: Outside the walls of Dara Dess, Artesia sacrifices a ram to the gods. Soon after, the Kings of the Highland Citadels arrive. She tells them of the arrival of the Thessids in the Midlands. The kings will not ride with her, but they agree to each send a banner lord to accompany her. They ask if she plans to proclaim herself Queen of Dara Dess. If she presses her claim, they will standby and bear witness.

Her siege has taken its toll. Only a hundred men still stand with Bran; the rest are dead or have deserted. Artesia's forces greatly out number them. She gets word that they have breached the walls:

Artesia encounters Ulin, one of Bran's best warriors. He's angry at her ambition, asking why should couldn't have waited until he had gotten  Bran out of the way. The two fight, and Artesia finally stabs him with the end of her polearm. He staggers away through the doors into the throne room. Bran is there with the rest of closest warriors. Through the back, Artesia runs Ulin through.

Bran chides her for killing Ulin and says she comes as a usurper. Artesia retorts that that was how Bran took the throne. In the highlands, she reminds him, kingship is taken by popular acclaim or force of arms not bloodline.

He accuses her of betraying him and stealing his men. She replies that she served him well and made him a conqueror--and then he killed her sisters. She sends their ghosts to confront him. Bran protests that he didn't kill them, it was the Agallites, but the ghost of Lysia points out he didn't stop it.

Bran and his men proclaim they are not afraid of ghosts and order the spirits to begone. Their charms protect them.

Artesia responds that he understands so little. (They come, the ghosts say. They come.) Did he think the sacrifices and prayers were for nothing? Does he not understand who she serves? And then, they are there:

Bran falls back in fear. His men fall to their knees before the goddesses. The goddesses of war proclaim their blessings on Artesia. And they are gone.

Artesia tells the men to hold Bran. They do as she bids, removing his crown. She begins a spell, a curse, even as Lysia asks her not to:

She takes his head past her troops to the shrine of Yhera. There she places it on a pole. Bran's spirit must stay her and watch over the highlands and one day Artesia will return and he will tell her what he has seen and heard. She kisses his head on the lips. This too shall have consequences, Lysia warns.

Artesia cannot turn back. She has made her choice. For good or ill, she is "loosed upon the world."

Things to Notice:

• Poor Ulin. We barely knew him.
• Artesia employs a voulge I think. Sorry Gary, I've forgotten all the polearms you tried to teach me in AD&D.

Commentary: 
The three goddesses that come to Artesia's aid are the Gorgonae, the triple war goddesses. Their name comes from Greek mythology, obviously, but they most resemble the Morrigan, a Celtic trio of goddesses associated with war and death.

Bran (the Welsh word for "jackdaw") is named for a character in Welsh myth, whose severed head also keeps watch.

Wednesday Comics: The Lion, The Witch & Her Wardrobe

"The Lion, The Witch & Her Wardrobe"

Artesia #5 (May 1999) Story & Art by Mark Smylie

Synopsis: Artesia is weary. Her army has been pushing forward without rest. Her crow (really the war-spirit Demidice) returns to show her visions of what transpires in the wider world: She sees the Thessid forces breaching falls and destroying the watchtowers. The Empire's armies are triumphant thanks a a traitor.

Then she sees what will transpire in the future:

She "dreams of the death of the world" and her "heart sings with joy."

She awakens, unsure of what she has seen, though her lieutenant Ferris recognizes the mark of the lionheaded goddess Hathnalla upon her. Coincidentally (or not) her bannerman Hueylin has returned from treatment by the surgeon's of Hathnalla's cult. Artesia instructs Hueylin and a group of men to stay behind to speak for her army--and make sure the food, supplies, and coin keep flowing to keep them in the field, whether King Bran joins them or not.

Two captains approach with word from Pavel, the emissary. Bran will not parley. The citadel is sealed and none enter or leave. Artesia had a bad feeling. She sends the two captains to watch Dara Dess and she rides out to a shrine to Djara.

She's joined at the shrine by a pale woman, Urgrayne, Witch-Queen of the Harath-Eduins. She knew Artesia's mother and what she could have been--what she could have made Artesia, instead of the soldier she has become. Now she goes to fight for the Middle Kingdom that turned her king against her--and killed her loved ones:

They were all murdered because they laughed at the Agallite's defeat at Artesia's hands. The Agallites had killed Lysia the night before, even though Bran wished her spared as his seer. The priests cursed them as they died so the death guides couldn't find them. At the urging of Lysia's spirit, Urgrayne searched and found these others as the Wild Hunt rode the night. Some were lost though.

Artesia thanks Urgrayne for saving them, but she has not:

Artesia must bind them, but she only knows how to do minor charms or make war spirits her servant. The ghost of Lysia says there are other ways, and she will show her. Artesia strips her armor and draws sigils on her skin. She performs the ritual and binds them to her body, makes them part of her.

Things to Notice:

• We see the goddess Hathnalla for the first time
• And the Isklids--more on them in later issues.

Commentary: 
The title is a bit jokey for the heaviness of the issue, but it's an accurate one.

Hathnalla, Ferris's leoncephalic goddess, was likely inspired by Sekhmet and equally leonine Egyptian goddess whose purview was also war and healing. Her name suggests both Anath (a Semitic war goddess) and Valhalla (the Hall of the Slain in Norse myth).

Djara as a goddess of crossroads, resembles the Greek goddess Hecate. Her idol is depicted as three faced, just like Hecate's. Urgrayne, who is (perhaps poetically, perhaps not) is a variant on Ygraine or Igraine, ultimately derived to Eigyr, the mother of King Arthur.

Wednesday Comics: Artesia's Homeland

We'll pause in our story to get a little bit more of Smylie's great world-building. These two pages come from Artesia Annual #2, and give background on Daradja, the land in which the story began.

Warning: The text contains some spoilers for the series (though mild ones, I think). Read at your own risk.

Wednesday Comics: The Bearer of Bad Tidings

"Strangers in the Night"

Artesia #4 (April 1999) Story & Art by Mark Smylie

Synopsis: The troops give thanks to gods for the new day and the passing of the black sun. Stjepan, Atresia's brother, and his companions bring startling news from the south: The Thessid Empire has invaded the Middle Kingdoms.

We get a lot of background on the conflict:

The Middle Kingdoms have few allies. The League is holding back and Palatia, though a sworn enemy of the Empire, is mistrusted in the Middle Kingdom.

Artesia wonders if the Black Sun marked a defeat for the Thessids as it had before. Stjepan believes quite the opposite. Newly added to the Empire are the Isklids who worship Irre as the father of Islik from whom they claim descent.

It's a lot to take in. Their backwater homeland may be soon drawn into a war of great powers. Of course, Artesia and her lieutenants recognize Stjepan is a spy--they just don't know who he might be working for, as yet. It doesn't matter that he is Artesia's brother. The only blood that matters to her, she says, is blood that has been spilled. Her comrades are her kin, as far as she is concerned.

 The news has made their current conflict seem small. Some urge Artesia to take Dara Dess and depose Bran, others say she should march South. Artesia makes her decision:

She will parley with Bran. "The storm breaks and the wider world calls."

Things to Notice:

• Smylie gives us quite a geopolitical tour of the Known World (and a lot of hints at its history) in the guise of current events.

Commentary: 
Though events (and reputtation) have linked Artesia to war, this issue shows she's pragmatic. Despite Bran's betrayal, she intends to make peace to support the other Middle Kingdoms against Thessid-Gola.

Artesia's brother gets the spotlight in Smylie's novel The Barrow.

Wednesday Comics: Artesia

My Artesia review will return next week. For now, here's a few illustrations from Artesia Annual #1.

Here are some bannermen.

And the King's Guard.

Wednesday Comics: Strangers in the Night

"Strangers in the Night"

Artesia #3 (March 1999) Story & Art by Mark Smylie

Synopsis: Night falls over the battlefield and something strange is in the air. Artesia tells her troops that the door to the underworld has been opened; it is not their goddess Djara and her companions, but the Wild Hunt that roams this night. She tells the warriors to stay close to the ghost heads--heads of the fallen placed on stakes--tonight: One ghost will ward against another.

Artesia rides out to warn the scavengers they've seen among the fallen.

She finds they are not human but hathaz-ghul. They can't be harmed by mere iron, but Artesia's rune-inscribed sword is something different. She's only just defeated them and finished off her dying horse, when she feels it coming. She runs for the ghost wards, but:

She boldly tells the master of the Wild Hunt that he has one night given to him by Yhera, and this is not it.

But Artesia has already chosen sides.

Her spirits rebuke the Master of the Hunt to be gone. Artesia has been claimed by another. "Ah, the heart of war, After so long." the huntsman says. "I am glad."

He departs, leaving Artesia to wonder who it is that can banish the Wild Hunt. Then, she's distracted by the cry of the dying Dymas. He explains that he had to change sides because his king told him to. He would never side with the Knights of Agall and the other outlanders, though. He worries that the death guides have not come, that the souls of he and his men will be lost.

Artesia reassures when that they will keep the vigil for his journey. Their prayers will give his soul 7 days to find their way. Then, they come. And Dymas sees them.

Artesia says her prayers to Geniche, goddess of the Underworld. Though she is afraid, she looks the goddess in the face:

Artesia flinches from the bright light, and then the goddess is gone--along with the souls of the dying.

Her troops find her their in the morning. They tell her three outlanders slipped by the pickets last night. Artesia sees the ones they speak of approaching. They say they have come to the highlands to find a woman: a woman captain, once a king's concubine. A woman born in the lowlands, but come to the Highlands. A witch like her mother.

Artesia embraces her brother, Stjepan.

Things to Notice:

• With his recitation of the rumors about her, Stjepan relates a lot of Artesia's backstory.

Commentary: 
The Wild Hunt, which appears in this issue, is a well-known European myth, with the Master of the Hutn varying, depending on the culture. The corpse-consuming hathaz-ghul are inspired by the Arabic ghul (ghoul).

Wednesday Comics: Black Sun Rising

"Black Sun Rising"

Artesia #2 (February 1999) Story & Art by Mark Smylie

Synopsis: Artesia awakes from a dream--a portend, perhaps--of her mother being burned at the stake, telling her daughter to join her. It is morning. Artesia rises from between her two slumbering bedmates to greet her lieutenants. Some of the force have left them over night, but others have rallied to her, unwilling to accept the Divine King over the goddess Yhera.

She summons spirits to help her dress for battle. They whisper that their mothers, the goddesses of war are eager for the feast to come. Once dressed, she turns to deal with her bedmates--assassins sent by Bran. She awakens them from the magical sleep she put them under and tells them they have one chance to go for their daggers:

The assassins dead, Artesia and her company head for the field of battle. Besides their original foes, the knights of Agall and those that deserted them over night are under Bran's wolf banner--now arrayed against them. Artesia orders their own wolf banner taken down. They will only use black banners to match the black sun of Irré:

Artesia gives her troops a rousing speech. They must turn against their king because he's betrayed their land and their goddess to usurpers. The coming of Irré is a good omen for them. The speech works, and the battle is joined.

She uses her magic to cause panic and slays several Agall Knights herself. In the end, Artesia's enemies are routed, but after such an unnatural day, she fears the night to come.

Things to Notice:

• Like more than one hero, Artesia had sex with the assassin(s) before killing them. Priorities.

Commentary: 
Smylie's Known World is an interesting mix of historic sources, but the gods and goddess seem mostly Ancient Greek inspired. The name of the Known World's Queen of Heaven, Yhera, clearly shows its derivation from the Greek Queen of Heaven, Hera. Irré the Black Sun, is a sun god, but mostly has the negative aspects of Apollo's portfolio (he is the god of plagues, for instance), while his brother, Illiki Helios gets the more positive aspects. Besides the Greek elements, the two seem to borrow from Egyptian myth: the bull aspect of Illiki is reminiscent of the Atum-Ra, and the relationship between the brothers resembles myths related to Osiris and Set.

Wednesday Comics: Artesia

"Walking the Line"

Artesia #1 (January 1999) Story & Art by Mark Smylie

Synopsis: Two forces prepare to meet on the field of battle. The captain of on one company, Artesia, offers up a prayer: "Yhera, Queen of Heaven! Yhera Anath, Queen of War! Strike off the chains of the Gorgonae! Loose the Three Sisters of Battle!"

She continues her prayer and her soldiers add their voices to hers. Then, the battle is joined.

When it's over, Artesia's side is victorious. The carrion crows come to feed and Artesia senses the coming of the guides of the dead. At her request, they show her the spirit world.

Fear cuts through her religious ecstasy when she sees Geniche, Queen on the Underworld. The goddess assures Artesia it is not her she came for and kisses her on the lips. She returns to the mundane world still trembling from the touch of the divine. Used to this sort of thing, Artesia's men, go about their business: Ferris plans to go to the nearby temple of Hathnalla to ask her cult sisters for aid; the men plan to give the honored dead over into their care and make camp near the temple.

King Alexus, leader of the opposing army, sees the spirtiwalkers glow around Artesia and knows why he lost the battle--and why his cousin Bran didn't even bother to show up for the battle. Artesia replies he's hiding in shame, since he let his concubine lead his army into battle. Alexus gets to the point and asks Artesia to join him.

Either or both. He also offers a place for her company. Artesia declines. Her lieutenant notes that Alexus seems in good spirits for a man about to loose a third of his lands and just saw his champion beheaded. He knows something. "It matters little; the die is cast," Artesia replies. She's in a hurry to get home before the Coming of Blessed Night.

Home is Dara-Dess, a Highland citadel held by King Branimir of Huelt. Artesia is not only his captain, but his concubine--and his priestess. In Yhera's shrine she offers up the head of the vanquished champion as sacrifice.

In the next hall, she presents the banner of the enemy and the most prestigous hostages to her king. Bran is pleased; he wishes her company to feast and celebrate at the citadel. Artesia demures, citing her need to secure the field of battle and press on. She has one more stop before she goes:

Her concubine-sisters can't understand why she has chosen the ways of war. Lysa the oldest of them, says Artesia has turned from the true of arts of women and of civilization and clad yourself in iron. Artesia counters that she will have them all. Lysa also has a prophecy to give:

The other concubines are afraid. Artesia says they should come with her, but Lysa replies they cannot. Artesia leaves with a sense of foreboding.

And well she should. Her king conspires with witchhunters.

They are mistaken, though, that Artesia didn't sense their presence.

Things to Notice:

• Artesia's armor is much more "fantasy female" than it will be in later issues.

Commentary: 
Smylie starts his story in media res and pretty much expects you to follow along. He lets context and iconography allow the reader to figure out enough about the deities he names by analogy to real world ones to be able to keep going. Here's a resource, though, to help sort them out.