Pandect

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

"Humans are curious creatures, like newborn cubs. But, like the cubs, every once in a while, Mother lets them know where the exploration ends. Some things in this world don't need any explanation. Ceasar, even if we tried, your mere human mind can't comprehend it."

—Fleance

Pandect is a manga-style webcomic drawn by Canadian artist Dina Situ. It is currently hosted by comicgenesis and can be read here (NSFW): http://pandect.comicgenesis.com/

Existing alongside the human world is another class of persons called "Aces," who are animals who have earned a human soul. With the soul comes a human body and human speech and reason. It also carries with it the attendant problems of existing in human society, which wild Aces find especially difficult. However, Aces generally recognize that having a soul is worth the extra difficulties.

Though most Ace earn their soul by passing some test, a rare few are born Ace. Aces come in four varieties.

  • Prince Aces are the highest class and have posession of a particular geographic area.
  • Gladiator Aces are warriors with special powers.
  • Regular Aces have no special responsibilities but may have special powers.
  • Servant Aces are animals chosen by a Prince to serve them. They did not earn their own souls and will revert to animals if the Prince repudiates them.

The class of Ace is predestined: Every animal potentially has a soul of a particular class, which they receive if they earn their Ace. Even a Servant Ace could win a soul, which might even be a Prince soul, under the right circumstances.

Ace society is run by the Princes, who summon animals in dreams and give them the chance to earn their Ace. Few do. Most Aces revere a semi-divine figure they call The Mother, who occasionally grants "Legendary" rank to Aces who have done exceptional service to the Ace Kingdom. An Ace of any class may become Legendary.

The comic follows Fleance, the Black Prince of the Kingdom, who serves as the Judge when Aces have committed crimes. A melanistic Leopard, Fleance is seeking his trees, which were taken away when his home forest was destroyed. He comes to reside in a private academy run by another Prince Ace, and tries to learn the ways of humans. But the persons on whom he -- and the Black Prince before him -- have passed judgment have long lives and very, very long memories...

As of February 2011, on indefinite hiatus.

Tropes used in Pandect include: