The War of the Roses Manga Primer

1. What is War of the Roses?
2. Races
3. Factions and Allegiances
4. Key Characters
5. Technology and Magic
6. Weapons and their Usage
7. Concepts and Themes

1. What is War of the Roses?

War of the Roses is a Baroque Steampunk/Fantasy setting that shares a history not dissimilar from our world. It paints a picture of a continent torn by political uncertainty and religious persecution, and it is against this backdrop that everyday heroes must win through to freedom.

The setting takes its name from the civil wars fought over the English throne (from 1455-1487), but that is where similarities end.

In our context, it lends its name to the razing of the Garden of Versailles, an act seized upon by the Church of Leoness to initiate a massive hunt for ‘heretics’ and enemies of the faith.

As the Church’s agenda becomes increasingly apparent, the remaining kingdoms of Alder are forced to take sides, resulting in war between those who see the Church’s expansion as a threat to their autonomy, and those who have knuckled under, hoping to gain some advantage from the theocracy.

The resulting war of attrition would last several years, before a truce was declared and a pact signed between the secular leaders of either side, resulting in a tenuous peace. Foiled by the very politicians they’d attempted to manipulate, the Church was content to take a back seat, to plot and lick its wounds.

Tales from this period, spanning 1483-1487, will eventually become available, possibly in light novel form, or as bonus content, in future.

The manga takes place in the year 1489, two years after the conclusion of the War of the Roses.

Once more, war looms on the horizon, and our protagonists may soon find themselves at the centre of it!


2. Races of War of the Roses

a. Humans are the predominant race in War of the Roses. Due to the cosmopolitan nature of this setting, the availability of magic and technology and the relative ease of travel, it is not uncommon to find folk of differing ethnicity in Alder.

b. Aile are the elves of War of the Roses, a race of long-lived folk who share the long, pointy ears and slight features of their fantasy kin. The eldest of the Aile claims that they came to Alder in chariots of fire that spun “like wheels within wheels”, and that once upon a time they lived in a castle beyond the clouds.

The Aile possess an intimate knowledge of engineering and technology, and many of the initially guarded and reclusive Aile were invited by the Church to live within its cities to develop the marvels so readily available today. Shortly after the razing of Versailles, the Aile were labeled ‘heretics’ and many of those who lived in Leoness vanished overnight.

The remaining Aile are now scattered, with most making their homes in the lands of the Church’s enemies prior to the war such as Kaiser-Germania and Buckingham-Albion, or in the neutral port cities of the Medici Cartel.

c. Ash is an Aile caste that has forsaken technology, preferring instead to embrace a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the deserts of distant Jeddah. These swarthy, bronze skinned cousins of the Aile venerate the shamanistic Old Ways, and possess an intimate connection with the land and the elements. Ash lore holds that their race is descended from the stars, and each member of the Ash is capable of using magic without ceremonial trappings, foci, or esoterica.

d. Nephilim are the offspring of Human and Aile. While they might look no different from ordinary human folk, they are often longer lived, possess handsome features, and have an knack for magic or technology. The label ‘Nephilim’ was coined only during the War of the Roses, to describe the progeny of a union the Church deemed ‘blasphemous’.

e. Monsters and similar fantasy creatures exist in this setting, but they seldom pose a danger in civilized lands. They may be infrequently encountered in the wilds of Alder.

3. Factions and Allegiances

The continent of Alder was split along party lines during the War of the Roses, a split that widened the not inconsiderable gap between the secular kingdoms and the theocracy of Leoness. Despite the mending of ties following the war, the political situation remains tense, and differences continue to exist.

a. The Secular Kingdoms:

Of the secular kingdoms of Alder, two stand out amongst those opposed to the church during the war:

Buckingham-Albion is an island monarchy famed for its naval superiority and technological prowess. Buckingham-Albion offered asylum to the Aile and enemies of the church, and backed resistance efforts by deposed members of the Kaiser-Germania gentry during the war.

The current ruler of Buckingham-Albion is the 28-year-old King Tristan Windsor Buckingham, a shrewd diplomat and veteran of the war. He was responsible for proposing an end to the hostilities, and is rumored to be romantically linked to the current princess regent of Leoness.

Kaiser-Germania, the center of the continent’s magical and martial disciplines, was target of the Church’s earliest purges. The ruling house of Kaiser-Germania was accused of abetting heretics and practicing witchcraft, a pretext which allowed the Church to invade the kingdom en masse.

Kaiser-Germania was the birthplace of the Wings of Alder, an underground movement that clashed with Church forces and harassed them at every turn. Members of the resistance group were instrumental in uncovering the duplicity of the Church. The Marquis of Kaiser-Germania and the Regent of Leoness fought a landmark duel that ended the war. It was a bittersweet victory, resulting in the death of both leaders.

The current ruler of Kaiser-Germania is the Marchioness Esmerald Heinlein Kaiser, sister to the deceased Marquis and a powerful magier. She rules with the aid of several councilmen.

b. Leoness:

Leoness deserves an entry unto itself. The monarchy was the birthplace of Church-led industrialization and innovation, and its rapid modernization saw it become one of the strongest powers in Alder.

Through the refinement of such technology, the Church of Leoness was capable of replicating many biblical miracles save raising the dead, further cementing their position in the kingdom’s social and political framework. The Church also instigated the purges that would culminate in the War of the Roses as part of its leadership’s more sinister, covert agenda. Having been trumped by the political maneuverings they’d themselves attempted, the Church has taken a more passive role in the years following the war, although that will soon change.  

Currently, the kingdom of Leoness enjoys relative peace and the 24-year-old Princess Regent Catherine de Leon, crowned after the death of her brother the Regent during the War of the Roses, has, against all odds, managed to hold onto her throne. She is an embattled ruler, however, and has to constantly fight the tide of public opinion and parliamentary elects under the Church’s purse to enforce her policies. It is rumored that she has a romantic interest in the King of Buckingham-Albion, and that she is a patron for an underground group within Leoness keen to see the Church’s hold broken.

The College of Cardinals is the true power in Leoness, a cabal of clerics that tugs at political strings and the heartstrings of the ignorant masses. It is led by Grand Cardinal Nikolai Machiavel, a cunning schemer and strategist. Altair, our antagonist, is the Grand Cardinal’s aide and protégé.

There are even darker sides to the Church that will become evident as the story progresses.

c. The Medici Cartel:

The Medici Cartel is a conglomerate of several powerful merchant families that control trade, shipping routes in southern Alder and access to technology salvaged from distant lands. The Medici Cartel is also the only faction in Alder that has an aerial fleet and air ordinance, which it hires out to the highest bidder. Initially, the Medici Cartel fought on the side of the Church, but pulled out abruptly during the war.

Generous donations from either side have secured the continued neutrality of the Cartel, and it neither aids, nor hinders the actions of either opposed faction in their territories, except where profits and Cartel property are concerned. As such, the Cartel’s many territories are safe havens for those fleeing Church persecution, and just as likely, areas of conflict. One such neutral holding is the sea port of Gibral, where our story begins.

d. Other Factions, bit players:

The Orthodoxy is an order of Church sanctioned knights that broke away from its parent institution over doctrinal differences shortly before the War. While it preaches the same faith, it opposes the agenda of the College of Cardinals. Knights of the Orthodoxy are known as Sycophants, and at least one will make an appearance in the manga.

Kamal, one of our protagonists, hails from distant Jedah, a continent governed by the philosopher-king Ibn Sina and his apostles.

Jedah is a land of lush oases amidst expanses of golden desert dotted with Aile ruins and underground caverns. Since the desert holds many dangers, the study of martial and defensive arts is common, and the skills of Jedah’s chemists are profound. Similarly, followers of Ibn Sina’s doctrine of altruism are seemingly capable of replicating many of the miracles ascribed to the Church, without the need for prayer or ritual implements.

4. Key Characters

This section details characters making an appearance in the manga. It is by no means an exhaustive list; expect revisions in days to come.

The Protagonists (in alphabetical order):

a. Kamal al’Sair is a magier from Jedah, a continent to the south. His mother died in especially difficult labor, and whispers about how his mother had consorted with an ‘ifrit’ to birth him hounded his youth. He grew to despise the tales, and this spurred him to study magical arts that could defend against and combat beings of a supernatural nature.

At the urging of his teachers in Medina, he traveled to the city of Koenig in Kaiser-Germania, a center of magical learning, to polish his skills. There, he met Kyriste, and they became fast friends. The two parted ways during the War of the Roses, and Kamal returned to Jedah, where he remained in Medina, until the chaos abated.

Kamal was involved in the Sacking of Sanct-Remy, where he banished the demon Mephistopheles before he could manifest fully in the mortal realm. It was during this battle that he discovered hints of his divine heritage.

Following that event, Kamal retired to the seaport of Gibral, where he spends his time in quiet, magical study, knowing full well that Ky is living on borrowed time, and preparing for the time when Mephistopheles comes collecting.

Kamal has a winged cat called Firefly as his familiar. It shares a love-hate relationship with Kyriste, and their antics are a source of comedy in the manga. Firefly is also the unofficial mascot of the series.  

b. Kyriste ‘Ky’ Arcondh is a zauberer from Kaiser-Germania and heir to an ancient magical bloodline. He possessed an unnatural aptitude for fire spells, but he could not draw magic from the land or funnel it through ritual trappings. Instead, each casting drew on his physical reserves, burning his body as fuel to create the desired effect.

While studying at Koenig, Ky met and fell in love with Lethe, a spirit channeler. It was also at Koenig that he met Kamal, whom he became friends with. Ky fought for the Wings of Alder during the War of the Roses, playing a bit part in the defense of the city of Koenig. He retired to the town of Sanct-Remy with Lethe after the war, where they were planned to be wed.

It was during this time that he was tempted to conjure the demon Mephistopheles, an act that resulted in the Sacking of Sanct-Remy and the destruction of the town in a massive firestorm. Ky was defeated by the demon, and would have been lost if not for the timely intervention of Lethe and Kamal.

Ky swore off the use of magic after the incident, instead spending his time surfing the Gibral coast, or taking walks along the beach.

Phlegethar, Ky’s familiar spirit is bound to a short sword of black metal with a molten blood groove and a circular guard etched with dull, red runes. Ky can conjure this sword with a simple invocation.

While wielded, it amplifies Ky’s command over fire magic and alleviates some of the pain of his bloodline’s curse. Its heated edge can also shear through armor, allowing Ky to strike telling blows despite his average skill. By invoking Phlegethar’s true name Flauros, Ky can have his familiar spirit manifest it’s true form, that of a massive, fiery maned wolf with burning wings and twin serpent tails.

c. Sister Jeanne Swanheart is a nun from the Church tasked with chaperoning the two errant wizards.

Jeanne was separated from her sister, her only living relative, when they were both sold to the Church to satisfy their family’s creditors at a young age. She grew up in the convent at Dom de la Pucelle, where she studied theology and the Church’s miraculous magic. She is a passable shot with the pistol, though she has never actually fired it at a real target before.

Jeanne made for the perfect spy and keeper. She was pure and innocent, and wholly unaware of the Church’s true intentions. Her naïveté would grate on the surly Ky and the stoic Kamal, though she would begin to see a darker side of the Church as the story progresses.

Jeanne will be Kamal’s love interest, though their relationship will be complicated by racial and religious differences that parallel the sparks that ignited the War of the Roses.  

The Antagonists (in alphabetical order):

a. Altair di Machiavel, the Grand Cardinal Nikolai’s aide. This crafty teen is the youngest ordained member of the College of Cardinals and the Grand Cardinal’s personal plaything.

Altair was a war orphan, and lived the life of a common street thief. He was caught attempting to pilfer the Grand Cardinal’s purse, and it would have gone poorly for Altair if the cleric hadn’t been impressed by the youth’s defiance. Altair was made an offer, a life in his service with a chance to get even, or death in the stocks on trumped up charges of heresy. He chose the former.

While Altair was subject of the Grand Cardinal’s debauched pleasures, he also became something of his protégé. The Grand Cardinal tutored him in politics and statecraft, and elevated him to the position of Cardinal, a position previously undreamed of.

Even as Altair continues to enjoy the trappings and excesses of power, he schemes to oust his patron, to repay the Grand Cardinal for lost dignity and insult. Rather than nipping the problem in the bud, the Grand Cardinal encourages him, claiming that he’d expect nothing less of a ‘perfect monster’.

It can be surmised that Altair and the Grand Cardinal have a symbiotic relationship that is at once psychological and visceral, a perverse, twisted form of love that stems from their hatred for each other.

Bit Players (in alphabetical order):

a. Cyriacus Antipas, a blacksmith in the port town of Gibral. This gruff individual is the proverbial father figure of the tale. He is a family man who dotes on his two young boys and wife. Though he claims to be an ordinary craftsman, the scars on his arms and his martial bearing hint at a more checkered past. More about Cyriacus will be revealed in days to come.

b. Lethe, parted with our protagonists after the Sacking of Sanct-Remy, leaving an injured and barely conscious Ky in Kamal’s care. The reasons for her departure will be addressed in a later story arc. As a spirit medium, Lethe could see and communicate with the dead. She was also a competent user of air and water magic. Lethe did not contract with, nor did she accept, a familiar spirit.

c. Lilicia Lune Livest, or Lily, is a tough talking, socket wrench toting Aile engineer who supervises the Medici Cartel's repair yards in Gibral. She's loud, brash, swears and drinks like a sailor, and is very much the 'tomboy'. She also packs a mean left hook, as Ky discovers in the story. Lily is an unabashed gearhead, and dreams of building a ship of her own someday. She has a history with the Wings of Alder, and expresses thinly veiled contempt for the Church, especially despising its use of CRYtech. The reason for this animosity and the demons of Lily's past will be more evident in the manga.

d. Sister Mildred, a nun from the Order Misericordia. A witch who swore fealty to the Church to escape the stake, Sister Mildred takes to the hunt for heretics with relish. She makes a brief appearance as one of the members of Altair’s retinue, and Jeanne’s direct superior. Sister Mildred is a skilled swordswoman, and a user of ice magic. Her familiar spirit, bound to her left gauntlet, is Vephar, a titanic beast from the ocean’s depths.

5. Technology and Magic

Modernization in Alder began with the early adoption of steam and piston driven technology, a process discovered by the Medici Cartel and integrated into its many port towns. The Medici Cartel was the first to launch steam powered vessels, and the first to lay tracks for a railway network, which revolutionized travel and trade.

The Church was quick to seize upon steam technology, opening its lavish coffers to the Cartel in a bid to monopolize what it saw as a potential danger to its hold on its flock. As Leoness underwent a systematic and Church led program of modernization, Buckingham-Albion began its own courtship of the Cartel, purchasing in large quantities the necessary equipment to upgrade its naval fleet and civilian structures.

Steam technology was slow to penetrate the rest of Alder. In Kaiser-Germania, magic could accomplish much of what the Cartel had with steam and clockwork, and while the kingdom did not openly reject the Cartel’s inventions, it remained skeptical of them.

Similarly, the other scattered kingdoms and minor holdings were distrustful of the Medici Cartel’s devices, or could ill afford the excessive fees their engineers charged.

It wasn’t until the appearance of the Aile and their curious blend of magic and technology called CRY Tech that was the catalyst for true modernization and the start of a rapid arms race.

Technology in Alder:

a. Steam Tech, or Old Tech, originates from discoveries made by the Medici Cartel in the early 13th century, pieced together from the remains of mechanical devices and schematics found in ruins that dotted the country side, in the oceans, and in the deserts of Jedah. It resulted in the creation of a paradigm not dissimilar to the Industrial Revolution, with the internal combustion engine and the small scale generation of electricity becoming increasingly common.

The Medici Cartel’s railway, passenger vessels, open topped automobiles and steam powered motorcycles are some examples of Steam Tech, and Steam Tech remains the most common form of technology in Alder.

b. CRY Tech, based on certain magical and mechanical principles, was introduced by the Aile.

CRY is short for Crystal Resonance, a principle holding that certain naturally occurring stones and compounds, when subject to alchemical transformation and infused with traces of magic, could generate massive amounts of energy. The Aile had used such crystals, called CRY Capacitors, to power the strange relics of their ancestors, to create new and marvelous inventions, and to improve their quality of life considerably.

As the first to make peaceful contact with the reclusive Aile, the Church became the custodians of CRY Tech. Many of the Medici Cartel’s Steam Tech engines and devices were phased out and replaced. The Church also began researching the various applications of CRY Tech, especially in the areas of weapon creation, the animation of the dead, and in the creation of devices that would allow its clergy, who had been forbidden the study of ‘Heathen’ magic, to perform biblical miracles. In recent years, CRY Tech has developed a much darker side that is the sole province of the Church of Leoness, a fact that would become readily apparent in the manga.

CRY Tech became available to the Cartel and the kingdoms of Alder only during the War, when persecuted Aile technologists fled Leoness to seek political asylum, bringing their knowledge and their skills with them. The first of Buckingham-Albion’s submersibles and the first of the Medici Cartel’s aerial fleet were invented with the aide of Aile technicians during that time.

Through CRY Tech, the Church has refined some of the antiquated weapons of war purchased from the Cartel, such as the Balkan, giant animated suits of armor first discovered by Cartel explorers in the mountain ranges of the same name, and powerful siege engines that could devastate the battlefield.

Magic in Alder:

Magic, known to the privileged few, remains a potent force in Alder.

Occult theorists hold that magic is available to anyone with a disciplined and open mind, and that it is simply the tapping of naturally occurring forces to create a desired effect. While most kingdoms of Alder were tolerant of the practice of magic, it has been labeled ‘heretical’ and ‘blasphemous’ by detractors and members of the Church.

Magic in Alder is hermetic in nature. It is premised on the use of arcane language, trappings of power, visualization, and sympathy, and all practitioners ascribe to these common principles.

There are two common branches of magic in Alder, that of Ars Magier, and Ars Zauberer.

a. Magier command spells of a utilitarian origin. They impress their will upon reality, bending it with the power of their minds. Magier might be best described as dealing with existential concepts such as life and death or time.

The magier’s power is tied to his ability of visualization. The stronger his will, the more powerful the effect. He uses ritual tools such as the wand or the staff, natural crystals with a sympathetic resonance, and incantations to perform his magic.

While casting complex spells, the magier sometimes manifests animus (latin. soul), an idealized representation of the magier’s person or self image. A magier’s power can be gauged simply by looking at his animus. The clearer and more elaborate the animus, the more power he possesses.

b. Zauberer manipulate naturally occurring forces and control powerful familiars. They are masters of elemental magic and conjure spirits to do their bidding. While a Magier’s spells are subtle and of a more defensive nature, Zauberer magic is almost always flashy and destructive.

The Zauberer’s magic stems from two distinct sources; his force of personality and his familiar spirit. When a Zauberer comes into power, he summons a supernatural entity with similar inclinations and enters into a pact with it, often offering some reward in exchange. Through the pact, the Zauberer acquires the service of a strong ally, and his ability to manipulate his familiar’s element is greatly enhanced. Familiars are drawn to power, and a potent Zauberer will almost always attract a potent familiar.

Zauberer do not require ritual implements to perform their spells. Rather, their familiar spirit will often take the form of an item, such as a sword or a ring, which is brandished in tandem with the incantation.

By invoking the true name of his familiar, the Zauberer can have it take physical form to fight for him or perform certain tasks. This is a dangerous act, however. The familiar spirit’s physical form can be defeated, which will greatly diminish a Zauberer’s power. Similarly, familiar spirits have been known to turn on their masters or betray them.

c. Church magic is fueled by the cleric’s rosario, a string of prayer beads infused with CRY. Performing the miraculous magic of the Church depletes the power of the Rosario, which must be periodically recharged, replenishing the cleric’s store of ‘faith’, in any of its major cathedrals. Users of Church magic are unable to perform their spells without their rosario, or if their rosario is bereft of CRY.

While Church magic is capable of alleviating many of mankind’s ills – curing diseases, healing wounds, smiting the wicked – it cannot return the dead to life and all attempts by the Church to do so have met with no success.

Occult theorists note similarities between Church magic and Ars Magier - the prayers and religious imagery intrinsic to Church invocations parallel the Magier’s use of ritual and visualization in casting a spell. It is a fact that the Church vehemently denies (and denounces).

Other types of Magic:

a. Faith magic is the province of the apostles of Ibn Sina, who have, through devotion and piety, mastered the same miracles the Church claims to be capable of performing. While the Church of Leoness has yet to accomplish such a feat, it is said that Ibn Sina raised a peasant who was wrongly slain from the dead.

b. Shamanism, the magic of the animistic Ash is unique unto itself. Ash shamans are capable of controlling the elements of air and fire, as well as changing their shape into that of great and terrifying desert beasts. They seem to do either with ease, without the use of ritual tools or chants.

6. Weapons and their Usage

The Medici Cartel’s discoveries revolutionized warfare. Breech loading flintlocks and primitive revolvers appeared as early as the early 14th century, and many refinements were made by Cartel engineers and Buckingham-Albion smiths throughout the 15th century.

With the introduction of CRY Tech, firearms saw a second evolution – modifications allowed the firing of powerful bullets infused with magic that could detonate into fireballs, or coat its target it rime. Gunpowder siege devices were similarly upgraded, becoming powerful magical bombards that could be fitted to a military vehicle, or on the Church’s Balkans.

Gunpowder weapons remain a staple in any kingdom’s military arsenal, though no other kingdom makes such extensive use of them than Buckingham-Albion. The kingdom’s dragoons are famed for their prowess with the long-bore, a high caliber, six shot handgun, and its soldiers are schooled in the use of one firearm or another.

The advent of gunpowder weapons saw the end of centuries of martial tradition. Armored knights were rendered near obsolete, and the use of the sword, the shield and the bow superseded by pistol and blunderbuss.

Kaiser-Germania and those provincial holdings that boasted their own arms masters continued to cling stubbornly to the sacred art of the fence, yet even then, practitioners were forced to adapt their styles to the times and the changing face of the battlefield. Combination weapons, such as the sword-pistol, axe-pistol, and staff-pistol, were also developed at this time, but these were considered oddities and had little practical worth.

The following is a sampling of combat styles unique to Alder:

a. Bishop's Canon, or simply Canon, is a formalized regimen of combat utilizing the baton, dagger, halberd and sword. It sees common usage amongst the martial arm of the Church. Canon is characterized by punishing blows designed to disable and maim, but not kill a victim, which allowed suspected witches to live through vicious beatings to later burn at the stake. An unarmed component premised on powerful kicks and joint locks was later added by nuns of the Order Misericordia.    

b. Grand Fleur remains the most common style of fencing in Alder, defined by fancy footwork, elaborate feints and flourishes, disarms and cuts to an opponent’s flank. Practitioners are schooled in the use of the sword, as well as another weapon in the off hand, typically the dagger, a gauntlet, or a second sword of similar length. The use of the pistol was eventually introduced, allowing the swordsman to fire at opponents in melee.

c. Sacrament is a style unique to the Orthodoxy's Sycophants utilizing seven swords of different length, rapid footwork and precise, stabbing motions. It was originally designed as a mounted combat style, but later adopted to be used on foot. A Sycophant can engage multiple opponents with this style, drawing and thrusting his swords into an enemy while he rides or dances past.

d. Zaubersaubel was traditionally taught to Kaiser-Germania's zauberer (hence its name), and was used to fend off opponents in close quarters while the zauberer recited his spells. The style emphasized the use of the sword as a defensive, rather than offensive, tool. Also, as the zauberer would almost always use his right hand in the performing of arcane gestures, the sword was usually wielded in the left. Certain methods using magic and the flat of the blade to deflect bullets were added to the style in later years, with limited success.

Kyriste, one of our protagonists, uses this style.

7. Concepts and Themes

While War of the Roses Manga exhibits many characteristics common to a fantasy story, there are several overarching themes that the literary minded might notice resonating throughout the setting.

It is a world of moral ambiguity where there are no right or wrong answers, where a person's desire for happiness invariably comes at the price of somebody else's. It is also a world of dichotomies, of religious and secular segregation, of doctrinal differences and cultural opposition.

In a sense, the setting's many political twists and turns could mirror some of our present world's flaws, while the struggles of our heroes to find some small measure of freedom in a world whose conflicts dwarf them parallel the battles so many of us face in our own pursuit of happiness.

Also, a reader might begin to think about power relations and realpolitik in War of the Roses, about oppression and liberty, and the dangers of unchecked human desire. While such an in-depth reading might contribute to a more thorough understanding of the setting as a whole, it is not essential to the enjoyment of the manga.

This concludes the War of the Roses Manga Primer.

Any additional questions and queries can be addressed directly to me, and I'll attempt to answer them to the best of my ability.

Jason Koh
24/09/2007