Prologue

“You must always follow the prophecy, for if not, the portal shall be unsealed, and darkness shall rise again,” bellowed a deep voice that cut through the hurricane like winds. He held up his two feathered arms to cover his eyes as the portal continued to vacuum the air in as it prepared to seal. Massive trees snapped, crashing into rivers, striking fear into the feathered faces that gathered to bid their heroes farewell.

“Here! Take this Femmerel and protect it always. Babarosa thanks you for all you have done and wishes you the best,” Babarosa yelled as she thrust the Mirror of Libra through the windstorm, inches from Femmerel’s fingers. The monstrous zephyr increased, and the hundreds of birds gathered by the portal all went scattering through Vadu Forest. The wind ripped the mirror from Babarosa’s outstretched hands, sending the Mirror of Libra flying far out of sight. Femmerel calmly reached an arm out and slapped her palm against an invisible wall. Only two figures remained in the tempest as they watched in awe while Femmerel summoned the mirror back to her, as if the deadly winds were not there. She held it deftly in her gentle hands. The glowing blue runes on the frame of the mirror matched her eyes as she held her final gaze on The Land of Noir. Behind Femmerel, into the portal, Wizards and Sorcerers with robes and long gnarled staffs awaited her.

“We Sorcelle have always upheld our duties. It will always remain as so,” Femmerel spoke defiantly as she spiraled into the portal.

The Story

Elizabeth lives the quintessential fairy-tale life until her father’s unexpected death begins to shroud her world in darkness. All seems hopeless and lost until our heroine has a fateful encounter with a mysterious stranger and discovers that her story has just begun. Elizabeth’s chance encounter sets her fate in motion as the wheels of destiny begin to turn when she happens across a magic artifact. From that moment on, mysterious and unexplainable feelings and thoughts constantly invade Elizabeth’s mind.

Follow Elizabeth’s journey as she delves into the shadows of The Land of Noir where she discovers the dark secrets of this magic realm’s past. A place full of danger and death, yet Elizabeth finds herself drawn to Noir to escape the bleakness of her regular life back home. Alone, lost and nearly killed a few times in Noir, Elizabeth finds herself determined to recover what is most dear to her heart, risking her life to find out who she truly is. But in a world of magic spells, creatures, and evil, her chances are faint. Elizabeth will have to navigate treacherous terrain and have blind faith in people she hardly knows if she is to survive.

To find what she needs most leads her down perilous paths full of adventures with the likes of a band of pirates with a flying airship, mythical monsters, a magical sorcerer, and many others, some there to help, others to harm. But even with the aid of unlikely allies, Elizabeth’s quest pulls her into a monumental struggle between light and dark, and she is swept in a war that has been ongoing for many millenniums. In Book 1, The Calling, Elizabeth must face the first of the Queen of Mist's minions. The fate of Noir, and her own world are both in her hands.

Elizabeth is our Protagonist who is thrust into extraordinary circumstances where she must overcome the impossible. Suffering a sudden change of fate from the death of her father, Elizabeth and her mother Susan find themselves struggling to survive their new life of poverty. When a supernatural instinct flares to life, Elizabeth finds herself in the middle of ancient prophecy, monsters and animals that talk, and that she holds the fate of two worlds in her hands. But how is she to save a world when she cannot even help her own mother?

Owah, Shaman of the Cookapeepooh tribe, is the spirit guide and chief advisor for his people. Owah was a hero in the last war where he gained a noble reputation throughout all of Noir for his deeds. In his younger days, he was considered the most powerful spellcaster in all the lands. He is a disciple of the Grand Magus and specializes in elemental magic. Owah moves slowly in his aging bones as he fears for the uncertainty of his tribe’s future.

Babarosa, the mysterious Seer who always has the answers that others seek. She was one of the heroes in the last war where she helped defeat the evil and seal the gateway to Lumiere. Babarosa is a powerful magic caster that specializes in knowledge and is quite possibly the most prolific rare artifact collector in all of Noir. If you are in need of anything from reagents to cast a spell on your sworn nemesis to a love trinket for that special someone, Babarosa has what you seek.

Captain Blackbird, Pirate extraordinaire and master of the skies and deception. His reputation is second to none. On the surface he is a low-down trickster pirate, loyal only to the coin. But those who know him see the truth. He sails the clouds as well as the seas in his airship, the Nocturnal, along with his unlikely crew from across all the realms in Noir in search of adventure and treasure.

Princess Whitecloud is the granddaughter of Chieftain Sage of the Cookapeepooh tribe. She has the heart of a warrior but the gentle soul of a healer. Whitecloud spends her days keeping her grandfather in check, while he spends his sheltering her because her parents were killed in the last war. Whitecloud is a Mystic as she excels in both martial combat and spellcasting. Despite her grandfather’s burdensome worries, Whitecloud feels confident she will lead her tribe to the brightest moons.

Wallow is the Shaman Apprentice under Owah of the Cookapeepooh tribe. His mouth is mightier than his brain and brawns, constantly getting himself into trouble that he can’t handle. Wallow is a constant embarrassment to the tribe, and Owah is the only one who still believes in Wallow. When he tries to impress Whitecloud, his plan backfires and he finds himself on the road of adventure, where he must finally grow up or face his demise.

The Toad Queen is our Antagonist for Book I. She is the embodiment of vanity and jealousy. The Toad Queen resides in the Swamps of Sorrow where she plots her evil plans to grow her dominion in Noir. No matter how much makeup and jewelry she puts on, the Toad Queen always feels sad inside. There are different rumors but the most believed ones are that she was once a beautiful, kind soul but when her love was stolen from her, The Toad Queen became so bitter she turned into a frog. Others believe her love was stolen by the Queen of Mist herself who turned her into the Toad Queen, so the Queen of Mist would never need to fear her new lover returning to his old.

The Team


Shawn Arthur Vento

Creator / Illustrator

I can see with my hands. My words don’t always come from my mouth, quite often they are spoken from the pencil and pen. You see something when you’re a kid that changes you forever. It sticks in your head for the rest of your life and never goes away. I battled as a warrior, but drew my inspiration from magic. The magic of Disney, Jim Henson, Wizards of the Coast, and more. You chase this magical feeling. It manifests in all of us differently. I turned my sword into pencil and pen, imbuing the magic of imagination into my weapon, waging war through illustration. I have never lost a battle. Always dream and pursue those dreams. The only way you could ever fail, is if you give up. Because goals are not always meant to be achieved. They're just guides to get us where we need to be.

Frederick Lee Bobola (Freddy)

Author

Imagination is one of the most undervalued aspects of life. Keeping the creative flow cycling through one’s energy can manifest the seemingly impossible to be possible. There were a lot of times where I was told my head was too high in the clouds. "If you don’t dream it, how can it ever be?” I had 3 jobs as a kid. My mother made me read books, I mean a lot of books. My father made me play sports and train like a martial artist. When I wasn’t doing those things, I was gaming. If I wasn’t gaming, I was watching cartoons. Cartoons grew into anime and consoles into PC’s. I consider myself a super nerd. Why? Because I’m a wanna be real life ninja. Instead of dreaming about having powers like Goku and Wolverine, I try to obtain them. My perfect day involves waking up and using my imagination to create, training martial arts and meditation, grubbing out hard on some amazing food, walking it off in nature while catching the sunset, then home for some peaceful, relaxing…competitive online gaming.

Steven Vincent Vento

Digital Artist / Graphic & Web Designer

I’ve played with magic since before you could see it on a screen or play it in a video game. I rolled dice and inscribed on paper the flesh, bones and stats of my characters. At an early age, I took to engineering and illustration; legos and crayons were my weapons of choice. That gave way to pencils, technical pens, and parchment. Eventually, the medium I ultimately would choose, or have choose me, were that of the digital realm; computers and my Cintiq. Before the virtual playground that we live in today was built, I quested my way to the comic book stores, and learned my craft there from friends who were far more versed in that magic than I. There were no forums to research of people’s opinions, nor could one easily summon a list of every comic made of all time. Now we can in these magical times. Magical times indeed they are. A champion cosplay costume creator is now considered “cool”. What a great era of magic to live in. Magic is more alive than ever before. Its around you, you just have to look for it.