Twokinds

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 with Neutrality, 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 is usually ranked within the Top 3 comics on the TopWebComics list, and gleans an average of 13 million hits per month.
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, a powerful magical ruling caste, at a young age, learning quickly and growing stronger. As a teenager, he fell in love with Saria, who he eventually married. However, Saria died, and he then tried to resurrect her using dark magic that almost killed him and drove him insane. He decided to purge and reform the Templar, gathering his own inner circle and becoming the Grand Templar. He lost his memory after a fight with Neutrality 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. She was formerly a slave, but with the help of Euchre, 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. Recently it has been confirmed Flora is pregnant(see comic #206 for why and comic #540 for reveal). As a side note, Flora also worries about her breast size, which she feels leaves a lot to be desired.
Keith Keiser: 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 weakling. Keith's mother was beaten to death by his father, and his father subsequently killed by Keith after 'falling on his spear' due to intoxication. 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. Keith becomes the main character in the eleventh chapter in which he is forced to hand Trace over to the Basitin Generals. After attempting to kill Natani, he realizes that what the Generals are doing is wrong, and that the Templars are merely manipulating the Basitan with the promise of magic, which would corrupt the Basitans upon use. With this change of heart, he teams up with Natani, Eric, Flora, and Laura to help rescue Trace.
Natani Magi: A female wolf Keidran assassin who was 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 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 Natani's soul with the paralleled parts in her brother's soul. Gender was among one of these gaps that was filled by her brother. This has also resulted in some form of telepathic link between the two, hence they can easily communicate over great distances. It is evident 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. However, her life was spared and she decides to team up with him to rescue Trace. Natani also appears to have heterochromia.
Euchre: An old alleged 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, wherein he is shown as a human. He was presumably killed in the sixth chapter of the comic, but was later revealed to be still alive.
Master Spy: The most frequently seen of all the Master Templars, he has appeared at several different points in the story. He's disguised himself as an innkeeper twice, as a shopkeeper once, as an underling to a guild leader, as the person introduced to Trace during his first trip to the Templar academy, and as the carriage driver the day Traces wife was killed. Has demonstrated the ability to disguise himself as a Basitin. Has some connection with Euchre, was at one point the Master Spy in Trace's inner circle. He at one point introduces himself as Edmund Sirus, but that is likely to be a pseudonym.
Eric Vaughan: A well-educated, slightly clumsy human. Fitting to his position as a Keidran slave-trader, he has a strong "liking" for the Keidran species. He is also an avid painter, his collection mostly of Keidran nudes. A relationship, much like Trace's to Flora, has developed between him and Kathrin. He has a Templar brother.
Kathrin "Spots" Vaughan: 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, which is quite blatantly against the law of a slave-keeper. Much to her dislike, Kathrin is often times called "Spots" by Eric's Templar brother. She was taught how to read and write, and also how to massage someone in both a relaxing and very sexual manner. She is naive about sex, despite her exposure to Eric's perversions.
Mike and Evals: Two more of Eric's slaves, both of which have the control spell on them. Mike, usually male, had been turned into a female by Lady Nora's illusionary magic. He was given a heart shaped pattern on his butt. Currently, after a dream of kissing a female canine/fox, he is back to his male self. They believe Keith used black magic to lay the curse, although Basitins cannot use magic. Evals helped Mike hide from Eric, whose perversions would have led to a nasty fate on Mike's behalf. Evals, on the other hand, decided to take advantage of Mike's state as a female and requested a striptease. After much coaxing, Mike gave Evals what he wanted in exchange for Evals' protection against Eric.
Lady Nora: A shape-shifting, magic-wielding dragon that says she has known Trace before he 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. Tom has revealed that the original relationship between Trace and Nora were that of a sexually suggestive one, but due to the unwillingness to devote time to such a relationship, Tom dropped the idea.
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-like 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. The race comprises 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.
When a Keidran undergoes great psychological trauma, they revert to an animalistic, non-sentient state. After 24 hours, it is irreversible. These unfortunates, ruled by basic desires, such as food, water, and sex, are referred to as "Ferals".
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, Laura, Euchre, Kathrin, Sythe, 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 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. Basitins have not developed any magical affinity, but Human research revealed that they can force themselves to use magic. However, they slowly begin to go insane if they do, with problems ranging from mental deficiency to malevolent psychosis.
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 Start of the Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 - "I Love and I Hate!"
Chapter 3 - "Never Forget, Never Remember"
Chapter 4 - "Old Friends"
Chapter 5 - "The Weight of Armor"
Chapter 6, Part 1 - "Lost"
Chapter 6, Part 2 - "Lost"
Chapter 7 - "Instincts"
Chapter 8 - "A Peaceful Retreat"
Chapter 9 - "Troubled Waters" Start of Chapter 9
Chapter 10 - "Loyalty or Honor?"
Chapter 11 - "No Pressure"
Chapter 12 - "The Morning"
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 died of cancer on the 4th July, 2008.
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.

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