Covenantum: The Great Ancestors, the first graphic novel in the Covenantum Universe
In this article, we will outline what the pilot graphic novel Covenantum: The Great Ancestors set in the Covenantum Universe is all about.
The plot of the Graphic Novel
Covenantum: The Great Ancestors — the first graphic novel in the Covenantum Universe. Genres: action-adventure, science fiction, post-apocalyptic and biopunk. The plot of the graphic novel unfolds in the vast world called Essence, where incredible biotechnology coexists with savage cruelty and religious cults.
The novel’s protagonist is Fenghuang, a winged relic seeker from the Nega people. Through the will of an evil fate, Fenghuang has been living away from home among the people of the Astigmians, who are alien to him. In order to gain shelter and provisions, Fenghuang embarks time and again on dangerous raids in search of the gifts of the Great Ancestors, artifacts of the past highly valued by the Astigmians.
But one day a green-skinned warrioress Asha of the Orsha people arrives in the lands of the Astigmians. She pledges to help Fenghuang return home. All it takes is to risk his life yet again and take her to the ruins of the crucible, an ancient abandoned citadel of the Great Ancestors.
Fenghuang agrees. After all, what’s the big deal about going on another raid? It is only a matter of time before he discovers that Asha is pursued by an army of ruthless Tsvergu hunters.
Key Characters
Fenghuang
Fenghuang belongs to the Nega race, is a follower of the Ghargyut Tribe covenant and the protagonist of the graphic novel Covenantum: The Great Ancestors. Due to the genetic predispositions of the Nega race, Fenghuang is a natural-born seeker for the Great Ancestors’ gifts. In Essence, people like him are called stalkers, hunters after artifacts of the past.
Essence’s world is full of dangers, and one day Fenghuang was not spared a misfortune too. He was sent on a covenant mission and found himself in a foreign land, losing the opportunity to return home. Ever since, in order to get shelter and food, he has been serving the Astigmians and procuring the gifts of the Great Ancestors for them.
The strength of the Nega lies in their unity. When the Nega are together, they are ready to face any challenge the Essence may throw at them. But Fenghuang lost his pack. Without the support of his kin, Fenghuang hesitates to even think about returning home. Can he overcome his fear, or will he perish far from home?
Asha Shangwaru
Asha Shangwaru is a warrior-monk belonging to the Highest Orsha caste and a follower of the Orsha Alliance covenant. Like all orshas, Asha possesses outstanding strength and endurance. She is a master of lakantan, the deadly art of hand-to-hand combat that all Orsha Alliance monk warriors are trained in.
Asha has devoted most of her life to serving the behest of the Temple of the Primordial, a religious cult whose members are close to the covenant leaders and govern the spiritual life of the Highest Orsha.
Orsha tradition dictates that warrior-monks must always be present within the lands of the covenant, but Asha is an exception. She left her home long ago, and now wanders the lands of the Astigmians guided only by her clear purpose.
Sargon
Sargon is a fierce and disciplined warrior of the Tsvergu people. He is one of the supreme and oldest leaders of the Cult of Kabalut covenant. Sargon is obsessed with finding the truth about the origins of the Tsvergu people.
Sargon knows much more than the ordinary Tsvergu about the Essence’s past, for he has been allowed the privilege of personally hearing the will of the mysterious overlord of the Cult of Kabalut covenant, who goes by the name of Ninhursaag.
One day Ninhursaag summons Sargon to carry out a new mission. She orders him to find and capture an Orsha woman named Asha Shangwaru. Ninhursaag warns Sargon of Asha’s immense power, but nothing can frighten the leader of the Tsvergu. Sargon is determined to do anything for the sake of the truth.
Ninhursaag
Ninhursaag is the covenant ruler of the Cult of Kabalut covenant, who according to legend was born long before the origin of the covenants. Ninhursaag founded the Cult of Kabalut covenant together with the Tsvergu people. She has ruled the covenant ever since and has guided the actions of the Tsvergu in Essence.
Only a chosen few covenant followers can speak to Ninhursaag. The first among them is Sargon, one of the Tsvergu leaders, whom Ninhursaag instructs to find and capture Asha Shangwaru. But Ninhursaag’s true motives are hidden even from her chosen one.
Ninhursaag is the bearer of sacred knowledge of the destiny of the Tsvergu race, as well as of the origin of the Essence and the destructive war from centuries before. Many followers of the Cult of Kabalut covenant worship Ninhursaag, for without her support they would lose the ability to produce precious pneuma.
Rem Akuba
Rem Akuba is the elder and seasoned matron of the Legion of Stigma and ruler of the Hishumen Hive. Rem gained her special status due to her outstanding theumalistic abilities, as well as the patronage of Kai Solaris, the powerful leader of the Legion of Stigma.
Status and age have not helped Rem’s character. She is fiery, violent, and sadistic. She loves power and is obsessed with serving her patron at any cost.
However, Rem’s rule is in jeopardy. The stalkers of her hive cannot gather enough of the gifts of the Great Ancestors. Without them, Rem cannot pay tribute to her patron. Therefore, Fenghuang’s talents come in extremely handy for Rem.
Where and how you can read the comic
The main platform where the digital version of the comic will be published is our official art community on DeviantArt. The comic is also published on the dedicated platforms Tapas and Webtoon, as well as on the international online community Reddit and Boosty.
Here’s a list of links where you can read the pilot graphic novel:
Features of the Graphic Novel
Covenantum: The Great Ancestors is not only a comic book, but also the first step in creating a large-scale comic universe. The plot of our pilot novel is based on the ideas of the setting, which development began long before work on the comic book itself.
First of all, our graphic novel is intended to show explicitly how the biopunk genre will be represented in the Covenantum Universe. Secondly, the comic book will demonstrate the key visual imagery of the universe. Also, the audience will be able to get acquainted with the various fantastic phenomena that underlie the universe’s setting.
The plot of the pilot graphic novel is divided into three acts, each with over 100 pages. The plot of the comic involves 15 unique first, second and third plan characters who belong to different fantasy races inhabiting the Essence.
The comic is being created by a small proactive group of co-authors. This is not a publisher’s project, and it has no direct funding. Therefore, the comic is created as an ongoing series and is published gradually as new pages and chapters are created.
The digital version of the comic is published and distributed for free in order to popularize the new universe faster. But viewers can sign up for a paid subscription on Boosty to support us if they wish. Subscriptions give early access to content.
Behind the Graphic Novel
Covenantum: The Great Ancestors is not only a comic book, but also the first step in creating a large-scale comic universe. The plot of our pilot novel is based on the ideas of the setting, which development began long before work on the comic book itself.
The author of the Covenantum comic universe’s setting is Ilya Denisov (ZingerNax). Ilya also appears as the screenwriter of the pilot graphic novel, the producer and the mind behind the whole comic universe. For Ilya this graphic novel is his screenwriting debut.
The lead visual designer of the graphic novel, concept artist, and creator of the visual culture of the universe is Kardalak, an artist and comics writer known for her webcomic “The Alice Box”, the biopunk visual novel Athanasy, and numerous artworks for the SCP project.
The contourist and colorist for the graphic novel is artist Joe Duncan, known for the comic book Gut Baskets and for creating art and humorous comics based on the games Path of Exile and Deep Rock Galactic.
The graphic novel’s content age rating is R. This graphic novel is distributed under the CC Attribution — Noncommercial — Share Alike license (CC BY-NC-SA for short).
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