Inverloch

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Where it all begins. Sort of.

A finished webcomic created by Sarah Ellerton, also known as Arts Angel. Inverloch follows the adventures of a young da'kor named Acheron. Unlike other young male da'kor, Acheron is not overly violent or aggressive.

The story begins with Acheron running into Shiara, a young elf. He quickly falls for her, but she holds back from him. She explains that when she was young, she was engaged to a silver-haired elf named Kayn'dar who was kidnapped by a dark mage when they were both 6. Kayn'dar was special, being the only elf born with silver hair who could still use magic, and he was believed to be the only hope for the elves, who are losing their magic and immortality more and more in each generation.

In order to give Shiara closure or happiness, Acheron chooses to venture forth and look for Kayn'dar. He takes with him a small pendent, which was purported to belong to Kayn'dar before he vanished.

Along the way, he teams up with Lei'ella, a thief catcher who hides herself under a hooded cloak because she is one of the silver-haired, mortal elves, called the Severed. She was exiled from the elven community for her affliction at the age of 12. They are joined by Varden, a handsome young thief and a foil for Lei'ella. Their final companion is Neirenn, a powerful young mage who is seeking the elven magic of healing.

They will discover that not all is what it seems with the kidnapping 12 years ago, nor with Kayn'dar and Acheron themselves.

See also The Phoenix Requiem, the recently-finished^[when?] comic the author started when Inverloch ended.

Tropes used in Inverloch include:

• All of the Other Reindeer: The Severed, and specifically Lei'ella
• Almost-Dead Guy: Raul surviving long enough to transfer his memory.
• Anti-Hero: Varden
• Black Cloak: Raul
• Black Magic: Comes from "dark spirits" which are said to corrupt the mage using it. Neirenn seems able to resist it.
• Broken Aesop: It's wrong to judge people merely by their race. Until The Reveal when we find out that the da'kor really are a just bunch violent callous bastards after all.
  • Word of God says she was expecting people to find the Elves greater Jerkasses than the da'kor, who were mainly just desperate and angry.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: Varden falls completely asleep after only two mugs of ale.
• Crash Into Hello: Neirenn meets Acheron this way.
• Dead Guy, Junior: Shiara and Kayn'dar name their son Acheron
• Disappeared Dad: Acheron's father
• Dual-Wielding: Lei'ella with knives.
• Eyes of Gold: Lei'ella, other white-haired elves. Rather an inversion, elves with these are special because they're Brought Down to Normal.
• Fake Defector: Neirenn in the fight at the end, though it's not a straight play. She does intend for Silvah to kill Acheron and it looks as though she's turned traitor, but it's because doing so will put the right soul back in the right body.
• Fantastic Aesop
• Fantastic Racism
• Faux Action Girl: Lei'ella gets hyped up as a "thief-catcher", yet we never see her do anything aside from insult Varden for stealing. An in-universe example: Lei'ella explains later that most of the thieves she fought were poor at fighting, too, so she only ever had to be better than they were.
• Freaky Friday Flip: Kayn'dar and Acheron.
• Immortality Begins At Twenty: Elves seem to age normally right up until they reach late teens or early twenties, then stop aging entirely. Except for the Severed, that is.
• Is That What He Told You?: It seems that Acheron's family and mentor are in on a secret, but none of them wants to tell him the truth, Acheron is Kayn'dar in a da'kor body, while Kayn'dar's body holds Acheron's soul.
• It's All About Me: The elves as a society. It's their isolationism, arrogance, and callous disdain for other races that causes the spirit realm to withdraw from them, leading to the Severed elves.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Acheron has a crush on Shiara, but undertakes a journey to find the boy she was in love with.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Varden, at least at first.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: The dark mage erased Kayn'dar's memories after placing his soul in Acheron's body.
• Loveable Rogue: Varden
• Mix-and-Match Critters: The da'kor are wolf/goat/human hybrids.
• Never Hurt an Innocent: Silvah. At least, he doesn't want to, and says so more than once both to Raul and the protagonists--his plans, while harmful, don't involve slaughter. It doesn't stop him from shooting a knife through Lei'ella on Raul's suggestion, but he still seems happy that she was healed afterward and refuses to go back and finish her off.
• Non-Action Guy: Acheron. He does get into a couple of altercations, but his lack of fighting ability is pretty obvious.
• Our Elves Are Better: A Wood/High Elf hybrid. They may live in the forest, but they act and dress like High Elves.
• Punctuation Shaker: Da'kor. Kayn'dar. Lei'ella.
• The Rant
• Reluctant Monster: Acheron
• Spock Speak: Lei'ella. Also lampshaded here.
• The Reveal: The truth about Kayn'dar
• Teen Genius: Neirenn
• Tournament Arc: Subverted: the actual fight lasts only a few pages, despite the build-up.
• Where Are They Now? Epilogue
• White-Haired Pretty Boy: Kayn'dar.
• White-Haired Pretty Girl: Lei'ella