Nahast: Lands of Strife
Derrexi Tzelan, protagonist of Nahast: Lands of Strife
Derrexi Tzelan, an accomplished swordsmistress with a past she’s not very proud of, is tasked by the Empress of Solerne to open a branch of the order of the Hawk Maidens in the city of Beldatz, training a cadre of girl warriors to serve as the city’s defenders when the beleaguered City Watch is away. She will soon find herself in the middle of a shadow war between the city’s political and supernatural factions that might threaten the fabric of the Empire itself.
Nahast is based in a fusion of Asian and Mesoamerican myths and cultures rather than the more common European legendry. It is a world where spirits can coexist with mortals, and gods are in a constant state of celestial war. The world is undergoing its Fifth Age, after all previous ones ended in a great cataclysm as the dominant race of each failed the Time of Testing, a period during which the greater forces of the universe present an existential dilemma. The mortal races of the Fifth Age are just beginning their Time of Testing, and whether they are even able to recognize what the test is -let alone succeed in it- will determine whether the world continues, or it ends to begin anew.
Nahast is not only a webcomic, but a grand work in progress that includes original fiction that fleshes out the world and the characters, and also a fully-developed fantasy world for use in role-playing games. These two other parts of the project are represented in the sister sites:
- Nahast: Chronicles of the Fifth Age: Free web-based fiction in the world of Nahast.
- Nahast: Legends and Heroes: Setting and role-playing information detailing Nahast, its people, organizations, magic and mysteries.
About the Author
Alejandro “Al-X” Melchor is a freelance writer from (and currently in) Mexico, moonlighting as a translator to pay the bills. Although experienced in a variety of fields, his favorite professional activity is writing for role-playing games, and he has worked for Mongoose Publishing (several d20 sourcebooks), White Wolf (Trinity, Mage, Exalted), Green Ronin (Blue Rose, Mutants & Masterminds: Mecha & Manga), Fantasy Flight Games (Grimm: the Role-playing Game), and the defunct Guardians of Order.
He’s a self-taught artist who keeps trying new things and refining his methods and is an avid reader of tutorials on several things artistic.
Sample Page
Nahast: Lands of Strife - page 244 - "The Scales Tip"