Sojourn (comics)

Sojourn was a CrossGen comic book series about the adventures of Arwyn and her friend Gareth as they traveled in a fantasy world with dragons, trolls, and magic. Starting in 2001, it ran for 35 issues (including a prequel) before it was forced to end by the bankruptcy of CrossGen in 2004. For a time, this series was Crossgen's highest grossing comic.

Basic Plot
A woman named Arwyn, her dog Kreeg, and a one-eyed man named Gareth travel throughout the lands of the planet Quin looking for 5 shards of a magic arrow to defeat the evil dictator of the land, Mordath. Along the way they meet a thief named Cassidy who knows Gareth from the past. Near the end of the series a Snow Troll, or Iskani, named Gustavus, who could have possibly joined the group, was introduced.

Most curiously, the hero of this series was not a Sigil-Bearer. Instead, the hero (Arwyn) is on a quest to kill the Sigil-Bearer (who is Mordath).

Characters

 * Arwyn: The central protagonist of the series, Arwyn is a former Royal Archer whose family was killed by Mordath's army. Wanting vengeance for their deaths, Arwyn made an unsuccessful attempt on the dictator's life, but was rescued by Neven, who gave her Ayden's bow. Arywn was then tasked with finding the five shards of the arrow that killed Mordath three centuries ago.
 * Gareth: Also known as Gareth the Bowman, Gareth is a one-eyed archer renowned for his skill. He first encountered Arywn when the two were imprisoned in Mordath's fortress and joined her on her quest to find the five arrow fragments.
 * Mordath: The main antagonist, Mordath is a powerful dictator who once controlled the five lands. After being seriously injured by human raiders in an attack that destroyed his home and left his family dead, Mordath was nursed back to health by trolls. He subsequently united the troll clans and led them into conquering the five lands, until he was killed by Ayden in battle. Three hundred years later, Mordath was resurrected and given the power to control fire, allowing him to take over Quin once more. Having lost his human senses in the resurrection, Mortdath is determined to hold onto what he has left.
 * Neven: A mysterious woman who gives Arwyn with the task of gathering up the fragments of Ayden's arrow and destroying Mordath. Neven was present at Mordath's resurrection and had opposed the idea of bringing him back to life. Though never stated in the series, she is a fragment of the CrossGen character Danik.
 * Cassidy: A thief who joins Arwyn and Gareth during their search for the third fragment in Oudubai. Despite being an old companion of Gareth, Cassidy initially draws suspicion from Arwyn, due to her occupation. However, she proves her worth by obtaining the fragment from the trolls and she continued to accompany the duo in their quest for the remaining fragments.
 * Bohr: The captain of Mordath's army, Bohr is tasked with capturing Arwyn and bringing her Mordath. Unsuccessful in his mission, Bohr is given the new objective of watching over Khiva in her attempts to kill Arwyn. He remains loyal to Mordath, but also allows Arywn to assist him when the two are attacked by a nest of razormouths.
 * Ayden: The man who raised an army to destroy Mordath in the past, Ayden disappeared to live alone and became uncaring of the world around him. Although Neven convinces him to watch over Arwyn and her progress, he refuses to become involved. While not explicitly stated in the series, he is actually The First character Altwaal in disguise.
 * Kreeg: Arwyn's pet dog, who was originally purchased by her husband to look over her family while he was away. Due to the deaths of her husband and daughter, Kreeg is all Arywn has left from her past life. He is presumed dead after the ship the protagonists are traveling on is destroyed.
 * Pallias: A powerful wizard who was forced to go into hiding after Mordath's return. Wanting to have Quin for himself, he pretends to be Mordath's deceased son and attempts to have Arwyn turn against Neven, so Arwyn will ask for his assistance in destroying the dictator.
 * Khiva: A notorious troll bounty hunter, Khiva is assigned with the task of killing Arwyn, after Bohr is unable to bring her in alive. In exchange for her work, she requests Mordath gives her control over Ankhara.
 * Darian: Arwyn's husband, who was once her captain when they were both Royal Archers. He was killed by Mordath's forces.
 * Neera: Arwyn's daughter, who was killed along with her father, by Mordath's forces.
 * Halk: Mordath's troll aide, Halk is tasked by Pallias with starting a rebellion to destroy Mordath. He survives Mordath's initial onslaught on rebels, but is killed by Bohr.
 * Marta: A troll witch, Marta was the one who stopped the trolls from killing Mordath when they first encountered him. In the final published issue of the series, Mordath comes to her to regain his youth.
 * Gustavus: An Iskani who assists Arwyn and her group, due to his village being attacked by a creature created by Mordath.
 * Shiara: A powerful dragon who assumes the form of a human female to lure travelers to their doom. Shiara resides in a cave filled with the treasures she stole from the people she killed. Arwyn convinces her assault Mortdath's fortress in exchange for Arwyn's bow, but she is mortally wounded in the assault. Before dying, she rescues Arwyn and Gareth so her death can be avenged.
 * Dodona: Pallias' seer, who is used to predict Arwyn's future. Pallias constantly suspects her of betraying him.
 * Rahm: Known as the Dawn Warrior, Rahm is an Ankharan, whose duty it is to protect his people from harm. To do so, he must acquire the Dawn Sword, which he finds through the efforts of Arwyn and Gareth. With the sword, he is able to lead a successful rebellion against the troll forces that occupy his city.
 * Koht: A former troll commander, Koht becomes the governor of Ankharan, after his predecessor is executed by Mordath for his incompetence. Determined not to suffer the same fate, Koht attempts to crush the rebels who oppose him, but is killed in battle by Rahm.
 * Tiye: Rahm's wife, who assists him in rebelling against the trolls.
 * Hive Queen: The ruler of the Urnethi, the Hive Queen dislikes Mordath and his troll forces, but agrees to help them if they are left alone.
 * Francis: A cowardly human thief, who agrees to help Bohr and his men, after an attempt to rob Arywn. When the trolls were attacked by razormouths, Francis attempted to escape, but was killed by the creatures.

Races of the Five Lands

 * Humans - Have a distinctly European look in Middelyn, and a Middle-Eastern look in Oudubai. Distinct Medieval and Arab cultures depending on area. Most concentrated in Middelyn, and Oudubai.
 * Trolls - Most have greenish skin, glowing green eyes and some form of horns sprouting from their foreheads. Long lived. Barbarian-like culture. Most concentrated in Grinbor.
 * Ankharans - Distinct African look but with bird-like wings. Egyptian-like culture.
 * Iskani or Snow Trolls - Relatives of the Trolls. Long Lived. Nordic-like Culture. Most concentrated in Skarnhime. Have some form of tusks sprouting from their chins.
 * Urnethi - Underground dwellers. Insect-like. Most concentrated in Oudubai.
 * Dragons - Most concentrated in Middelyn and Islands in the oceans of Quin.
 * Carvers of the Glade - Small green creatures. Most concentrated in the Glade of Heroes.

Collections
Sojourn had 4 trade paperbacks (TPBs) released by Crossgen before their bankruptcy, with 2 more released later by Checker Books.


 * TPB #1 "From The Ashes" - Collects issues #0-6
 * TPB #2 "The Dragon's Tale" - Collects issues #7-12
 * TPB #3 "The Warrior's Tale" - Collects issues #13-18
 * TPB #4 "The Thief's Tale" - Collects issues #19-24
 * TPB #5 "The Sorcerer's Tale" - Collects issues #25-30 (ISBN 1-933160-44-6) released by Checker Books in February 2007
 * TPB #6 "The Berserker's Tale" - Collects issues #31-34 released by Checker Books in October 2007

There was also one collected edition not included above because it was merely a reprint of the Prequel and issue 1 put into one comic.

Creators

 * Ron Marz- The Writer for the Prequel issue and issues 1 through 24.
 * Greg Land- The Penciler for the Prequel issue and most of the issues between 1 and 33.
 * Ian Edginton- The Writer for issues 25 through 34.
 * Sergio Cariello- The Penciler who took over for Greg Land starting in issue 34, the issue that became the final one.
 * Chuck Dixon- The co-writer for issue 34, he was responsible for writing the cliffhanger ending.
 * Stuart Immonen- Guest Penciler for issue 7.
 * June Brigman- Guest Penciler for issue 12.
 * Aaron Lopresti- Guest Penciler for issue 17.
 * Luke Ross- Guest Penciler for issue 21. He would team up with Ron Marz again for the Darkhorse Comic Samurai: Heaven and Earth.
 * Lewis LaRosa- Guest Penciler for pages 1–9, and 21-22 of issue 26.
 * Tom Derenick- Guest Penciler for pages 10–20 of issue 26.
 * Cliff Richards- Guest Penciler for issue 30.
 * Greg Land did covers for all issues penciled by himself. The other covers were done by their respective pencilers except for issues 30 and 34 which were done by Land.

Goofs

 * It is said, near the end of the series, that the moon of Quin crashed to the ground long ago, but when Shiara attacks Mordath's castle, a moon can clearly be seen.
 * The residents of Skarnhime are extremely physically different in the first few issues of Sojourn than they are in issues 31-34.
 * The word "sojourn" actually means "a temporary stay," and has nothing to do with journeying.