Warlands: Age of Ice - Preludes

I'm back with another series! Took a few days off reading comics. Can't stay away long though right!? Finished Shidima a few days ago which is set in Warlands. We finished Warlands volume 1 a while back and followed that up by finishing Banished Knights. Now it is time for the Age of Ice!

Age of Ice is the actual sequel to the first Warlands. The other two were more like side stories. According to the preview interviews, Zeph is the only character returning and this is set a decent amount of years in the future. The world is covered in ice, obviously, and they're not sure why.

Issue 0 and 1/2 actually combine to make a single story. Starting in issue 0 we meet a new race. The Ryotians are now ruling the kingdoms. They are pretty ruthless bunch. They have wings like hawks and generally large builds. They control most of the resources and the humans have started a rebellion to fight back.

In the zero issue they have captured a human warrior. He is pretty stalwart and they claim he has killed more than 200 of the Ryotians in battle. There is a bit of talk of yin and yang because he half of it on his neck. They also discuss a story where a peasant found a dying dragon and nursed it back to life. The dragon now healthy immediately burned the peasant to dust. The Ryotian in charge trying to make the point that a peasant is a peasant and a dragon is superior.

Then back to the necklace they are trying to get the warrior to give up the village providing weapons to the rebels. He won't do it but the Ryotian leader asks him where the other half of the symbol is?

Turns out they have his lover too. The warrior then gives up the location of the village trying to make a deal to save his woman. Of course like the dragon, the Ryotians have no intention of letting them live.

Issue 1/2 starts out in the village. Unaware that the Ryotians know the location all the humans there are acting normal. They are forging weapons in an effort to get them shipped out. The elderly and children are sheltered and telling stories.

The old lady is telling the same peasant and dragon story. I thought it'd be different but it remained the same just with a different point. She explains that even though the baby dragon killed the peasant it was still the right thing to do because he couldn't just leave the baby to die.

The village is hidden and protected by natural borders and the elements so there is not much of an actual guard present. The attacking Ryotians make short work of any resistance and torch the village. The old lady pleads for mercy, for the kids. However, they are not seen as kids. Just peasants. And that is how the prelude ends.

Not much story yet. We got a good picture of how ruthless the Ryotians are. Basically slaughtering everyone without regard to age or gender. Peasants are peasants to them.

It was overall an interesting start. Trivial but a good intro to what the world is like now.

As usual, I really love the art! I'm always a fan of winter settings too. I'm really looking forward to how this series turns out. High potential. The first Warlands will be hard to top I think so I'm not expecting that level of awesome, but maybe!

To Be Continued!