Fortunately, the Elnefi are protected by the Elnifi (note the “e” has been changed to an “i”) who are trained from a young age as warriors and mages. Denoted by their armbands, they are the strongest of their race. They are trained in large academies and at the age of 18 are paired with another in a holy ceremony before being sent in to the world to defend their people from the threat that exist on all sides.
The main character is Shaitan, a 17 year old warrior, who is about to pulled into the limelight as a traitor appears within their ranks and begins attacking his schoolmates. Will he be able to protect himself and his friends, find the traitor, and fall in love, all while still trying to graduate?
The Elnifi Chronicles were first imagined in the summer of 2005 on the 4th of July while I was preparing to be a sophomore in High school. I had always enjoyed writing fantasy stories, but had never managed to stick with them for more than a few chapters. There was something different about this one though, something much more solid. I quickly had the first chapter written and the main characters designed. Looking back now, I realize how downright awful my first draft was, but thankfully over the next 4 years I managed to improve.
After a few chapters were written up and then typed (the transition allows me to find and fix mistakes), I began dreaming of turning my story into a web comic, since it is a great way for an amateur to share their work with others. Problem was, I couldn’t draw to save my life. So I began searching for an artist to partner with to make a comic. One of my friends directed me to my first artist, a girl he knew who was quite talented.
We immediately began talking about it and I asked her for some work and sketches, some of which she provided. Excited, I began planning for our future comic. Sadly, though, it was not to be. She quickly disappeared and stopped responded to my emails. I found out later that through our mutual friend that she had signed up for many difficult classes and that she was too busy to do a comic. Disappointed, I continued looking for a replacement. Over the next several years, I contacted many individuals of artistic ability or those that seemed to be interested in drawing for me. Unfortunately, none of them could commit and therefore unfit to partner with me.
Then finally January, 2009, I received an email from an artist who had read my story and was interested in drawing for me. Truthfully, after so many disappointments, I expected Min-Zhi to disappear as well in a few weeks. To my surprise and delight, she had me drafts of the characters and the other art I had asked for a few days later. We began making detailed plans now that I knew my new artist could not only draw amazingly well, but finish her work in a timely matter. After several months of preparation, we had created a site and several chapters worth of work.
The comic before you is the final product of our work. It follows my original story closely with small additions as I find ways to improve my initial creation. It is a dream come true for me and I am very thankful to Min-Zhi for partnering with me in this and allowing my characters to have life. Hopefully, we will have many years to work together on this series and will well received by the web comic community . Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy our comic!