The Phoenix Requiem

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The Phoenix Requiem
Cover of Volume One
Author(s)	Sarah Ellerton
Website	http://requiem.seraph-inn.com RSS web feed
Current status / schedule	Updates every Monday and Thursday
Launch date	September 27, 2007
Genre(s)	Drama, Fantasy

The Phoenix Requiem is a fantasy graphic novel written and drawn by Sarah Ellerton, author and artist of Inverloch. It is currently only available as a webcomic and follows several main characters, mostly in a single location. It takes place in a setting similar to Victorian-era England. The comic's first pages were published on September 27, 2007. The Phoenix Requiem is incomplete and currently updating with new pages on Mondays and Thursdays. Updates are usually 2-3 pages^[1]. As of May 8, 2008 it encompasses 5 chapters and 144 pages.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Major characters 2.1 Anya Katsukova 2.2 Jonas Faulkner 2.3 Robyn Hart 2.4 Petria Grey 3 Minor characters 3.1 Tobias 3.2 Professor Moretty 3.3 Cora-Lee 3.4 Sean 3.5 Jerral McArthur 3.6 Mrs. McArthur 3.7 Father Davith 3.8 Jonas' wife 3.9 Doctor Blythe 4 The Plague 5 Creatures 5.1 Dakor 5.2 Carnivorous snow-possum 5.3 Caribou 5.4 Chickens 6 Places 7 Awards 8 References 9 External Links

[edit] Plot

The webcomic is described as "the story of one man trying to forget the ghosts of his past against a backdrop of a Victorian-era world, where magic, long lost to the people, may be returning."^[2] In ancient times, god sent spirits to give divine powers to man, and man worshiped the spirits; however, god's children were jealous, and sealed the spirits away, trapping themselves as well. The world was left with no means of communing with god and the celestial magic was lost.

The story begins with Jonas Faulkner stumbling through the forest near the town of Esk, until he collapses into the snow

Jonas, unconscious, is found by Cora-Lee and Sean, two young children residing in Esk. The children, who strayed away from the All Soul's Eve celebration (where spirits are worshipped), get help, including Anya Katsukova, a nurse and one of the main protagonists of the story. Anya herself had left the celebration because she did not worship the same deities and because she had attracted the Robyn Hart's unwanted attention.

Jonas is taken to the supposed local hospital. With the absence of Doctor Blythe, the duty falls to Anya to remove several bullets from Jonas, despite not being fully qualified.

Post-dawn, Anya, asleep, is startled by Robyn Hart, whom she brushes off. Robyn, dejected and a bit angry, practices sword fighting in a nearby barn; as he attacks a beam, his wooden target emits black, smoking blood. He is then distracted by a practice fight with Petria Grey, which he loses, though when she encourages him to continue, he refuses, still disconcerted by the strange blood and the noises he continually hears in the barn. He and Petria head to a pub to see if anyone knows who Jonas is.

A week passes. Jonas is still unconscious. Anya treats a Mr. Jerral McArthur, delivered by Father Davith, who says that he had simply "stumbled into church and collapsed". Jerral has mysterious blisters and incoherently talks about magic. Anya informs Davith that Jerral is delusional and that he only needs medicine and care.

However, Mrs. McArthur arrives and insists upon seeing her husband, though Anya warns her that it's not a good idea. Mrs. McArthur's obvious revulsion at Jerral's leprosy-like condition is overcome by her concern for him, and as Anya leaves to go to the apothecary, she stays with him. Anya runs into Petria on the way. As Petria jokes about Tobias'( the apothecary's) military war tales, Mrs. McArthur appears, running to Anya and informing her that Jerral McArthur is dead.

While Petria stays with Mrs. McArthur, Anya runs back to the hospital to find that Jerral is indeed dead. However, the scene she arrives on is grotesque - the flesh appears to have been half-decomposed, so that his skull is exposed and some bones show in his hands. As she whispers to herself that it's not natural, Jonas speaks from behind her.

Though they somehow manage to knock each other over, as well as catch each other, and despite the corpse lying not six feet away, Jonas is rather lighthearted, but finally turns serious as he suggests that they burn Jerral's remains.

Anya goes to find someone to help move the body, and the scene cuts to the funeral. Jerral has just been burned and the people are exiting the church; Anya remains inside and sees Jonas sitting alone in a pew. She sits down to talk to him, in spite of her differing beliefs. Jonas, who seems to believe in spirits, still agrees, somewhat mysteriously, that they seem to complicate things.

Petria and Robyn soon arrive rather ungracefully, Petria being very friendly to Jonas in contrast to Robyn, who is acting polite yet cold and hints that Jonas should leave soon. Petria arranges lodgings for Jonas with Professor Moretty, saying that she can probably talk him around, but Anya objects to the prospect of Jonas doing manual labor during his recovery. She begins to leave, but Jonas follows her, offering to walk with her. Looking a bit awkward at this taking place in Robyn's presence, Anya agrees, and they leave the church.

On their way to Anya's home the two encounter a rather enthusiastic Coralee carrying an Acheron doll (a direct reference to the Acheron of Inverloch).

Arriving at Anya's house, Anya, albeit reluctantly, invites Jonas in for tea.

Later that night Jonas is intercepted by Robyn, while walking to his lodgings at Professor Moretty's. Robyn seems rather resentful about Jonas' demeanor towards Anya and acts rather belligerent. While Jonas is trying to calm him down, Robyn hears strange noices and then spots a strange apparition at Jonas' feet. Robyn aims at the ghostly form with his pistol. Thinking he is the target, Jonas at first acts alarmed, but when Robyn wants to point out what his real target is, the shade seems to have disappeared. Robyn then explains to Jonas about other instances when he saw these strange sightings.

Jonas says that Robyn, having been in a war and seen much death, is lucky not to have gone mad, because "so very many" did (he says this with a strange smirk). But when Robyn inquires as to whether or not Jonas has seen ghosts as well, Jonas simply smiles and walks away.

Petria shows Jonas to Dr. Moretty's house. After learning that Anya cooked for the two of them, she is rather short with him and doesn't bother to explain that Anya is always rather quiet, probably jealous of either his attention to Anya or Anya's attention to him (she probably wants Robyn to get lucky). Jonas turns rather glum, and Petria becomes concerned, offering to get Anya, but Jonas bids her good night and Petria leaves as Jonas covers his face with his hand.

Jonas complains of a headache and wonders if he should tell Anya. Then he flashes back to his wedding (where characters from Ellerton's previous comic can be seen from behind), and recalls the wedding vow, before flashing back to the present.

[edit] Major characters

[edit] Anya Katsukova

Anya Katsukova, stated to be under 20, left her home, Mishara, after civil unrest, and came to Esk. She is a nurse training to be a doctor. She has no concern for her own welfare, which has earned her the town's respect but is still somewhat weakening to her herself. She is aware of Robyn Hart's apparent desire for her, but she has no time for romance in her life and must continually brush him off, sometimes appearing tactless and even cruel.

Anya limits her beliefs to the Misharan deities, remaining neutral on the matter of spirits on the grounds that they just seem to complicate things, a fact which she confided in Jonas. Her skepticism may be a possible obstacle.

A possible romance with Jonas, despite Robyn's affections, is expected by many fans.

[edit] Jonas Faulkner

Jonas Faulkner arrived in Esk after being shot almost fatally for reasons unknown. Charming, friendly, and even happy-go-lucky at first impressions, later developments have revealed dark experience and possible insanity in the recesses of his mind. Speculations of connections with shades, spirits, or angels fuel this assumption and some even believe he is the villain of the story.

He finally wakes up some time between the time Anya left Mrs. McArthur and the time she came back at the news of Jerral's death. Some believe he has had experiences with the plague. It is probable that he has some kind of mental imbalance; when he was describing to Robyn the people who went insane during the war, he smiled a "psychopathic grin," as Ellerton describes it. He has agreed with Anya that spirits and hellions complicate things, though he believes in them himself, again referencing the possibility that he has had trouble with them in the past.

When Robyn is unfriendly toward him, Jonas immediately and correctly interprets it as jealousy and uses it against him, ending the immediate confrontations with an inflammatory phrase regarding Robyn's misguided possessiveness.

Where Anya is concerned, Jonas immediately succeeds in gaining her friendship where Robyn failed for so long, which antagonises both Robyn and, to some extent, Petria. He flirts with her frequently and shows obvious romantic interest.

Jonas was implied to be The Doctor in an April Fools Day comic which featured the Tardis.

[edit] Robyn Hart

Robyn was formerly in the military, and now herds and sells caribou in Esk. His feelings for Anya are clear and easily-identified (he was staring at her at the All Souls celebration), so that Anya feels obligated not to get his hopes up. Even though Anya is obviously not interested and has probably told him so several times, he continues to act possessive of her, and will brood or be in a temper whenever she pushes him away.

His clear temper makes him prone to lashing out when help is refused. He has a strong friendship with Petria Grey that is speculated as sometimes fraternal, but mostly romantic (though due to his feelings for Anya the romance would probably be one-sided at the moment). His name has been compared to "robbing hearts".

He has always been rather cold toward Jonas, even during the latter's unconsciousness, due to the stress put on Anya from the unexpected patient. When Anya so easily accepts Jonas' flirtatious offers of continued connection, Robyn is confused and dismayed, and has shown clear antagonism toward Jonas.

He has apparently been seeing shades and other bizarre sights for over a year.

[edit] Petria Grey

Petria was abandoned at a young age by her parents, who couldn't feed her. She survived, made her way to Esk, and made herself useful helping around town with odd jobs. She has a period-inconsistent appearance, with bob hair and trousers, but not so much because she is a tomboy as that it is practical for what she does.

She puzzles Jonas (and probably much of the town) frequently, but is still friendly toward everyone. She seems to be one of the few people who can coax Robyn not to be grouchy once and a while. She sympathizes with Robyn's continued failures to engage Anya and encourages him not to give up on her.

Ellerton has also hinted that Petria "sleeps around", though it may be just to rile up fanatics.

[edit] Minor characters

[edit] Tobias

Often affectionately known, both with fans and in the storyline itself, as "barmy old Tobias", he was first mentioned by Petria while she was in the barn with Robyn. She said that he had been seeing much the same things as Robyn, claiming them to be spirits and magic, which Robyn dismisses as Tobias's insanity. His first real appearance was when Anya and Petria were just leaving the apothecary, where he was seen in one panel telling Anya not to be a stranger, with a parrot squawking random words on his shoulder. Since the "plague" supposedly picks of the old and weak, it is speculated that at some point he will contract said plague.

[edit] Professor Moretty

A local inventor, Moretty appeared talking with Anya during the All Souls celebration; he was the one to alert her to Robyn's staring and to encourage her to join the festivities, to which she declined. He also explained that one of his inventions blew up; he has been mentioned but not been seen since Anya left the celebration. Jonas will assumably be lodging with him and his "old mum" (speculation of her contracting the plague is abound).

He also apparently has a small problem with rats; connections with sickness are assumed.

[edit] Cora-Lee

A young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, Cora-Lee followed her friend Sean into the forest, where they discovered Jonas. She remained alone with him as Sean went to get help, talking to and reassuring him though he can't hear her. She is clearly the picture of "childish innocence," as aptly put by Sarah Ellerton herself.

[edit] Sean

A boy with dark hair and green eyes, who led Cora-Lee into the woods outside Esk; there they found Jonas. He went back for help, leaving Cora-Lee with Jonas; he has not been seen since one panel where he walked back to Esk with the rest of them. He appears to be rather mean and does not hesitate to pick on younger children.

[edit] Jerral McArthur

First seen as one of the two stretcher-bearers for Jonas Faulkner (the other being Robyn Hart), he was later brought to the hospital by Father Davith, apparently having "just stumbled into church and collapsed." He is infected with some kind of disease which blisters and cracks his skin around the edges, turning his fingers black to the knuckles as though burned. He attempts to tell Anya something about magic, but she dismisses it as delusion and tells Father Davith that he simply needs medical care. Despite the medical care, however, Jerral is found dead by his wife.

[edit] Mrs. McArthur

Otherwise unnamed aside from her surname, Jerral McArthur's wife appeared shortly after his arrival at the hospital and demanded to see him despite Anya's attempts to dissuade her. She stayed with Jerral while Anya went to the apothecary and has not been seen since she ran to inform Anya of his death.

[edit] Father Davith

Apparently the local priest. He brought Mr. Jerral into the hospital, and once hearing Jerral try to say something about magic, claimed that the disease was caused by spirits or for spiritual reasons; once Anya dismisses this suggestion, he claims that there is "nothing wrong with a little hope."

[edit] Jonas' wife

Jonas' wife remains unnamed. She appeared in his dream, a pale, faceless, golden-haired woman wearing a gold dress and sash, in which she asked him if he feared taking the last step into the great unknown (he was standing at the edge of a cliff at the time). Once Jonas realized who she was, after his initial shock, he reminded himself that it was simply a dream, commenting on "what old junk the mind can drag out." She did not speak more than once, remaining silent for the remainder of the sequence. She was also seen on the cover page of chapter 4, apparently from their wedding, kissing Jonas.

Ellerton has confirmed that she is Jonas' wife^[3], but the question of whether or not she is alive or a spirit is unanswered, and the reason for Jonas' reaction is also unknown. There is debate over whether or not she will be major; she was featured in a computer wallpaper, along with Anya, that Ellerton drew as a vote incentive (wearing the same dress but with her face fully shown), implying that she will play a larger role.

[edit] Doctor Blythe

Doctor Blythe was away on a supposed week-long vacation at the start of the webcomic. He has recently been introduced into the story.

[edit] The Plague

The plague will supposedly be deeply involved in the plot. It apparently causes hallucinations and may be connected to spirits or magic. The face looks blistered and cracked, the fingers black and burned-looking. It is inferred that once the blisters and cracks show, the victim will be dead within a day. By the time of death, the condition will have worsened so quickly and so brutally that the flesh on the face will be melted away to expose teeth and most of the skull, with blood and skin stretched so that it ripped around the jaw. Splinters of bone can be seen on the knuckles and the rest of the skin is dark red. The eyes appear to be completely gone. The situation was so grotesque that Ellerton actually warned younger or very sensitive readers in the update description.

[edit] Creatures

[edit] Dakor

A recreation of the Inverloch Da'kor, without the apostrophe, these dakor are apparently completely unrelated but similar. They are apparently nonsentient. Unlike Inverloch's Da'kor, they are quadruped wolves with goat horns and orange slit-pupiled eyes. One is seen while Cora-Lee is briefly alone with Jonas in the snow, but Ellerton has stated that they are fanservice only and are unlikely to play a major role or to even be seen more than once.

[edit] Carnivorous snow-possum

More of a joke between fans than anything else, the "carnivorous snow-possum" appeared once on a branch in the forest outside Esk, and was not seen since. Forumers stubbornly insist that it is not a squirrel.

[edit] Caribou

What people in this world ride, as opposed to horses; in Esk, they are raised and herded by Robyn Hart, who also delivers them to Livern. Named caribou include Tuktu, christened by Petria Grey. See caribou for more information.

[edit] Chickens

Seen for one panel in Robyn's barn before he practices the swordfighting, the appearance of chickens caused a disproportionate amount of hype from the more excitable fans.

[edit] Places

Esk

The chief location of the story; located in alternate-universe Victorian "England". An average town otherwise. It is clearly not a rich neighborhood, judging by Robyn's comments when he sees the wealthy-looking Jonas - "He's obviously not from around here."

Aubeny

The capital city; not yet significant.

Livern

Robyn takes caribou to Livern; not much else is known about this place.

Mishara

Anya's home country, apparently in a state of civil unrest.

[edit] Awards

The Phoenix Requiem was nominated for 11 awards at the 2008 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards, including Outstanding Comic.

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

• The Phoenix Requiem