The War of Winds is an epic fantasy/sci-fi story that spans in total, about 3000 years. The current story featured by this site details the end of the war between the Four Winds, hence the title.
This work is available both as an online graphic novel (webcomic) but its original form is a written novel. The first book of a planned series is complete at 24 chapters, while the comic ends at chapter 9. A final synopsis is provided, partially illustrated, at the end of the comic. The novel is currently being edited, email Kez at warofwinds@gmail.com if you'd be interested in reading the novelization.
...is best explained by the introduction to the novel:
“We are known as the Four Winds. We were the last creations of the gods,
and were made in the futile hope for peace. The Wise One, known as An’soru,
shields our world from the devastation of nature. He was the first of us,
the South Wind. The West Wind, named by his people as Rahn, preserves life
itself in all forms—that which lives also dies. He is the youngest,
and the most beloved. The East Wind, once known as Kü, was made to
defend the souls of the dead from all things seen or unseen. And I, the
North Wind, the one called the Tempest, protect whomever and whatever I
see fit, sometimes nothing at all.
Long ago, before our war, we four brothers walked among men not in their
form, but as beasts of myth and terror, hoping to return to them what they
had begun to lose. The eldest among us chose the form of the Lion and taught
of wisdom. The youngest, Rahn, embodied innocence as the wild Horse, carrying
back the wayward from dark paths. The Dragon, the East Wind, chose the most
difficult virtue to represent: faith. I chose the form of the Wolf, and
still represent honor, something that perhaps has long disappeared from
this land.
In our gods-given and self-given purposes we have failed, for twice now
our world has nearly been destroyed; first by the God-War over their first
creation, Jeihinara, and second by ourselves—the The War of Winds.
What lessons we learned from our Makers we learned well, for one brother
turned against the rest long ago. It is now clear that our war, the war
that has for centuries been at a stalemate, has lasted far too long. Our
war must end, but it will not be a Wind who changes the tide of battle—it
will be those whom we have sworn to protect and failed. It will be those
who take fate into their own hands, and deny the Dragon his dark Empire.
It will be those who choose to fight, who refuse to lose, and who will not
stand idly by while their world falls to ash once again.”
There are multiple features on this site.
The War of Winds, the main webcomic, completed.
Not Alone: An origin story of characters that appear in Chapter 10 of The War of Winds. Complete.
What it Takes: A post-apocalyptic, martial arts survival story that updates Wednesday and Friday. It is unrelated to The War of Winds, AND IS RATED R/NSFW.
The War of Winds was first seen online on April 26, 2004. The first pages were horrible. Truly horrible. Seriously. Some have been redone and are still horrible. Fortunately, half the fun of webcomics is looking at where you started vs. where you are.
The comic is updated in full-color RGB mode in high-quality jpeg format. This comic is not and never was meant for print. Pages were not kept to any specific size and style changed frequently. It was an experiment.
Each comic page generally took about 8-16 hours to complete.
There is also a comic guide that summarizes each chapter in a pseudo-comic form, available here. Information about the world in which this comic takes place can be found here.
It has always been my goal and dream to one day see The War of Winds published as a novel—never as a graphic novel.
Currently, The War of Winds is going through a serious editing process. It is a complete work at 24 chapters, with a goal to hit the editing hard as soon as What it Takes is finished.
KEZ is an Emergency Medicine physician in Iowa who has an indoor jungle and too many plants.
| Contact: warofwinds@gmail.com
