Twokinds

Infobox comic strip
title= Twokinds


caption= Twokinds Homepage Banner.
author= Tom Fischbach
url= http://www.2kinds.com
rss=
atom=
status= Trying-to-be-weekly
first= October 22 2003 [ [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20031022.html First Comic] ]
last= -
syndicate= Comic Genesis
publisher=
genre= Fantasy, Furry, Anthropomorphic
rating= #1 on TopWebComics
preceded by=
followed by=

"Twokinds" is an ongoing manga-styled webcomic that involves a human named Trace Legacy, a previous Grand Templar and guardian of the land, and Flora, a keidran. After losing his memory in a mysterious battle, Trace finds himself in the company of Flora, who, as Trace gradually begins to learn, belongs to a race of people who are enemies of his kind. As friendship conflicts with racial differences, Trace and Flora find themselves in a situation more critical then either of them can imagine. After a year on the web, the website began drawing in an average of 2 million hits per month. It was #1 on the TopWebComics list as of August 2008, and gleans an average of 7 million hits per month. [ [http://www.topwebcomics.com TopWebComics] ] [ [http://2kinds.com/webalizer/index.html 12 month Web Statistics for 2kinds.com] ]

Characters

Trace Legacy: The main character of Twokinds, Trace was born in the town of Eversummer to two peasant parents. He was accepted into the Templar at a young age, learning quickly and growing stronger. As a teenager, he fell in love with Saria, who he eventually married. However, Saria's death at the hands of a keidran drove Trace to insanity, and he decided to purge and reform the Templar, gathering his own inner circle and becoming the Grand Templar. He lost his memory for unknown reasons and disappeared several months before the start of the story. While Trace at times slips back into his former persona, he has expressed that he has no desire to return to his former self. His memory loss allowed a relationship to develop between him and Flora.

Flora: A member of the tiger clan, Flora is a keidran female met by Trace moments after he wakes up. Formerly a slave, she escaped and returned to her clan, where she became an important political figure due to her knowledge of humans. She was intended to marry Sythe, in order to strengthen the bonds between the wolf and tiger clans, but decided to follow Trace when she could not bring herself to kill him. She is generally sweet and playful but also very fragile due to her interactions with humans at a young age. She is very attached to Trace, preferring not to leave his side. There are hints that Flora is pregnant, although this has not been proven. As a side note, Flora also worries about her breast size, which she feels leaves a lot to be desired.

Keith: An exiled basitin accompanying Trace to his homeland as part of a mission to redeem himself. Keith was born to the basitin arms general and his wife. While his mother tried to protect him from the harsh militaristic ways of the basitin, his father saw Keith as a weak link. Keith's mother was beaten to death by his father, and his father subsequently killed by Keith after 'falling on his spear'. After his ensuing banishment, he washes up on the shores of the mainland, and eventually falls in love with his rescuer, a fox keidran named Laura, who abandons him two days before their wedding. He is a warrior and certified punching-bag of the comic.

Natani: A female wolf keidran assassin sent to kill Trace. She pretends to be male, going to great lengths to do so. This is due to a merging of her and her brother's souls' after Natani's was damaged almost beyond repair on their first mission. To bring her out of her catatonic state a ritual was performed that fused their souls together filling in the "gaps" of her soul with the realated parts in her brothers soul(gender, among other things). This has also resulted in some form of telepathic link between the two, and they can easily communicate over great distances. It is possible that she is attracted to Keith, but this has been complicated by her disgust of her female side and the re-appearance of Laura. Keith is also the only person who knows Natani's true gender, and has recently been ordered to kill her.

Euchre: An old keidran of great mystery. The most known about his past is his friendship with Flora and ties with the human king. It is theorized that Euchre is one of the "Masks". He also wears a robe with the symbol of the Templars. It has been revealed that, at one point, Euchre was the master strategist in Trace's inner circle.

Eric: A human slave trader with a strong "liking" for the Keidran species. Also an avid painter, though mostly of keidran nudes. A relationship, much like Trace's to Flora has developed between him and Kathrin. He also has a Templar brother.

Kathrin: A keidran and Eric's childhood friend. She lives with him as his slave but isn't really made to do all that much. Unlike other slaves, she does not have a control spell on her.

Mike and Evals: Two more of Eric's slaves. Currently, Mike has been turned into a female by Lady Nora's illusionary magic. They believe Keith used black magic to lay a curse, although basitins cannot use magic. Evals is helping Mike hide from Eric.

Lady Nora: A shape-shifting, magic-wielding dragon that says she has known Trace before Trace lost his memory. She watches over him and sometimes gives advice, though it is more common of her to manipulate Trace and other characters for her amusement. It has been revealed that Trace and Nora knew each other from at least his teenage years.

Races

Humans- The most numerable of the three, which the main character, Trace Legacy, belongs to. Humans enslave keidran due to racial discrimination between them. The humans view the keidrans (and occasionally the basitins) as inferior to them because they consider them animals. Humans are not native to the continent they live on.

Appearance: Human differ greatly in all aspects. Markings such as the ones on Trace's face seem to be not uncommon, judging from how no one has mentioned it. Hair colors also cover a wider range than in real life, with teal and red being perfectly acceptable in the story, however this may be just a trait of the manga style the comic possesses.

Traits: Humans are more or less united against the keidran 'threat', and there has been no mention of a human-human war.

Politics: Human politics are taken care of by the Templar, whose power has far exceed that of the King's, although they do not yet have the authority to defy him. Standard human perception is that the Templar are guardians of the human race.

Notable humans include: Trace and Eric.

Keidrans- Keidrans are the second most common race in the Twokinds world. They are comprised of several tribes and clans, each of which resembles a species of animal (ex: the Tiger tribe, Wolf Tribe, Fox Tribe, and Dog Clan.)

Appearance: Keidran are anthropomorphic in nature, sporting opposable thumbs and hair like humans. Like the basitins, they are furred, which leads to some general confusion between the two at times. Keidran have their own language, of which there are two dialects: High and Low Keidran. The author has described this language to be somewhat 'growly', and because both sexes use the same tones when speaking, it is nigh impossible to differentiate between the two by voice alone.

Traits: Having fur, most keidran see clothes as nothing more than a hindrance, and have no concept of modesty. Because of this, they are seen by the other races as animals, especially so by the humans, who enslave and treat them as commodities. Keidran also have comparatively short lifespans, averaging to about twenty years old. Like animals, keidran females go through heat cycles. The effects of these heat cycles can lead to a female being irritable and grouchy.

Politics: The different tribes of keidran do not always see eye to eye, and differ greatly in their approach towards the slavery of their people. A keidran militia, as well as nobility has been mentioned. The High Keidran dialect is reserved for the more higher-class keidran, hinting that there might be different levels of rank in keidran social structure.

Notable keidran include: Flora, Euchre and Natani.

Basitins- Basitins are the least common race, most of whom live in the Basitin islands, far away from the conflicts of the humans and keidrans.

Appearance: Though they are based on an animal, it is not known what animal they are based upon. Basitins are frequently mistaken for keidran due to the similarities in their appearances. This is a point of some annoyance for the basitin, who see themselves as above the keidran, calling them 'promiscuous' creatures.

Traits: Basitins are known to be very disciplined. Males [and possibly females] are trained to become warriors at the age of thirteen. Basitins are generally short in comparison to other races, but they have a strong physique and can resist many poisons due to the harsh living conditions of the Basitin Islands.

Politics: Basitins seem to have a policy of isolationism. They do, however, tolerate keidran and human visitors on the island, but expect them to obey decency laws, which state that the 'feet, ankles, the base of the tail and between the legs' must be covered. The Basitin military contains three generals, an intelligence, arms and master general. Also, the two types of Basitin, Eastern (like Keith and Alaric) and Western, constantly participate in an unending war. The Basitin enjoy this conflict so much that, when one side begins to lose ground, the other will cease its assaults and allow its opponents to regroup.

Notable basitins include: Keith and Alaric.

Storyline

Prologue [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20031022.html Start of the Prologue]
Chapter 1 [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20031104.html Start of Chapter 1]
Chapter 2 - "I Love and I Hate!" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20040206.html Start of Chapter 2]
Chapter 3 - "Never Forget, Never Remember" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20040301.html Start of Chapter 3]
Chapter 4 - "Old Friends" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20040521.html Start of Chapter 4]
Chapter 5 - "The Weight of Armor" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20040825.html Start of Chapter 5]
Chapter 6 - "Lost" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20041206.html Start of Chapter 6]
Chapter 7 - "Instincts" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20050615.html Start of Chapter 7]
Chapter 8 - "A Peaceful Retreat" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20060310.html Start of Chapter 8]
Chapter 9 - "Troubled Waters" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20060818.html Start of Chapter 9]
Chapter 10 - "Loyalty or Honor?" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20070126.html Start of Chapter 10] Chapter 11 - "No Pressure" [http://twokinds.comicgenesis.com/d/20080507.html Start of Chapter 11]

About the author

Artist and writer Tom Fischbach was born on July 28 1987 in Massachusetts, and grew up living with his Korean mother and American father. After spending a short time in Hawaii due to his father's military service, Fischbach and his family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he currently lives. His father recently died of cancer.

Though he originally attempted a novel, he eventually chose to work in the comic medium instead. Fischbach cites racism he has experienced as an inspiration for his work. The three races of the comic -- Humans, Keidran, and Basitin -- all have many misgivings about one another, to the point of putting prices on the heads of all members of other races. But with the most powerful human of all having lost his memory, and now falling steadily in love with a member of the Keidran race, much of the strife and trouble related to the conflict between races is illustrated.

External links

* [http://www.twokindswiki.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page TwoKindsWiki] (domain expired, now occupied by domain squatters)
* [http://www.2kinds.com/ TwoKinds main page]
* [http://twokinds.deviantart.com/ TwoKinds author's deviantART gallery]

References