Prophecy of the Circle

Prophecy of the Circle is a webcomic set in a world shared by two sapient species, the mammalian tikedi and reptilian/avian tekk. There's no common language between the two, nor is there any will to communicate -- the only interaction between them has always been violence. But since neither of them could afford to eradicate another, a set of rules ensuring their relatively peaceful coexistence was formed over the centuries, mostly by trial and error. Those rules, known to tikedi as the Circle, outline the races' territories as well as when and where they are allowed to hunt and kill each other.

The story is split in two concurrent parts.

The main chapters follow a young tikedi named Jahrd who got to experience the Circle first-hand, when a tekk killed his mother before his eyes. Anguished by this and finding the Circle biased in tekk's favour, he sets out to learn the ways of the tekk and understand why his mother had to die.

The shorter interludes in turn focus on tekk leader Shan'rekk. Concerned with the Tieke (one of tikedi nations) growing more powerful and less respectful of the tekk to the point of overturning the balance, he intends to foster communication and understanding between the two species to allow for more peaceful coexistence -- a plan in which Jahrd, with his deep fascination with the tekk, is going to play a role.


 * Ancient Astronauts: Very much hinted with the seradin and Teyka (who was one of them).
 * Awesome McCoolname: Annen Duskeir.
 * Eye Scream: It's hard not to feel sorry for the tekk that's killed with a spear-to-the-eye.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Renn'tekk, who is a seemingly random attacking tekk until she becomes a character in the interludes. Shan'rekk too, although in his case it's plain that he's going to be important.
 * Good Hair, Evil Hair: Definitely evil in Ah'tekk's case. Punk-like crest, mutton chops and a goatee on a reptile? Not very subtle.
 * Halfbreed: Jahrd is Tarsin/Tieke. Interestingly, he avoids most of the drama usually associated with this trope -- even Yaren, who believes Jahrd's father was wrong in mating with a Tieke and Jahrd's actions threaten the Circle, seems to actually care for him.
 * Hidden Eyes: Played with in Shan'rekk's case. When he's raging in interlude one, his face is only shown from the side obscured completely by his mane. The perspective immediately flips to the other side when he hears the line that gets him to calm down.
 * Hollywood Darkness: The pages depicting events at night give everything a blue hue, but the actual lighting seems very bright.
 * I'm a Humanitarian: Both races prey on each other, with the Circle outlining rules for the hunts.
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much: While the tekk seen to that point in the comic have reacted to tikedi found in the Crater with aggression (even in Crater's Edge, where they are allowed), the tekk with black-striped face that Shanka and Balta met seemed oddly calm and only resorted to . Later he even.
 * Non-Mammalian Hair: Tekk can have manes, crests, or other hair-like protrusions.
 * Peek-a-Bangs: Shan'rekk wears his mane in such way.
 * Precursors: The seradin. Whether they are benevolent or abusive depends on which of the two species you ask.
 * Punctuation Shaker: Tekk full names always contain an apostrophe, separating given name from caste name. The latter part is sometimes dropped in casual conversations.
 * Reptiles Are Abhorrent: For the tikedi, anyway. Some of them refuse to consider tekk as anything more than savage beasts.
 * The Resenter: Yaren. He lost to Jacind in a competition for the position of kantreska, in spite of the latter's mistakes and failings that should have had him disqualified, but were dismissed by their teacher. Ever since then Yaren's made a point of questioning Jacind's every decision as a ruler.
 * Schizo-Tech: The Tieke have advanced technology that was granted to them by Teyka. But since they lack scientific knowledge beyond what was given to them, this leads to a situation where the Tieke use handheld computers alongside spears.
 * Sibling Yin-Yang: The timid Shanka and brash Balta. The difference between them seems to even grow with time.
 * Take Me Instead!: demands to receive punishment instead of, claiming to be responsible for the latter's actions.
 * Two Guys and a Girl: The backstory of Jacind, Yaren and Calterra. Yaren won at that time,.
 * Viewer Gender Confusion: In-universe, tikedi refer to Renn'tekk with male pronouns, but it's revealed she's female later.