manhwa: Absolute Witch Vol 1-12 by Kim Tae-Yeon
Absolute Witch is a 12 volume romantic fantasy manhwa that will probably never ever see the light of day in the us because there's about 2 publishers in the US who publish manhwa, and not a lot for either. I've commented on it a bit in my weekly reading posts, but wanted to give it its own post too.
Skyla is a witch in a world where witches, who maintained the balance between humans and nature, disappeared centuries ago after being persecuted. She's found floating in a basket by a quartet of pirates (three brothers and their first mate) who are returning to their home town, which was built by a witch, to open an inn. I am sad to report that the manhwaga doesn't actually do anything with "RAISED BY PIRATES." At the beginning of the series, Skyla knows she's descended from witches because she's been found by a familiar who was left behind by the witches, but hasn't developed any magic powers yet. She's married to Jewel, a traveller who stayed at her inn some time back, but it was a marriage of convenience to get her out of legal and financial difficulties. Nevertheless, when Jewel disappears, she sets out for his hometown to find him, being quasi-adopted along the way by Hismaela, a shrewd merchant who has become one of the kingdoms most powerful women, and Hismaela's reluctant escort, a cranky alchemist named Kaylus. When they reach Jewel's hometown, Skyla finds that no one has ever heard of him, the shock of which apparently triggers her powers.
A large chunk of the series is Skyla discovering her heritage, both magical and biological, and looking for Jewel, usually accompanied by Kaylus, who knows more about witches and their history than most humans. There's also Aine, a young noblewoman who believes she's descended from witches and is determined to gain a witch's power at all costs, and Armengarde, a one-eyed seer who serves as Aine's mentor, but is using Aine for her own purposes. Eventually, both Aine and Skyle start attracting the attention of the magicians, who are determined to keep the witches from returning.
The world is based on a hodgepodge of medieval and early-modern European cities and cultures (the manhwaga lays out what she used where in one of the volumes, but I forget the specifics) and the plot, which is rather sprawling (there are various subplots-laregly backstories-that don't get the development they really need, and I feel the lack of development isn't really that Kim Tae-Yeon forgot about or lost interest in them, but rather, she realized that if she fully developed them, she'd never actually finish the series) is full of Drama, but it almost never gets annoying with the drama (and I give her points for a love triangle that isn't annoying and where it isn't immediately obvious-or even clear for some time-how it will turn out without making anyone seem wishywashy or throwing one romantic option under a figurative bus to make the other look better, as is typically the case), and is actually rather upbeat about the Drama, save for times when that would be inappropriate. And I should mention that while it's usually an upbeat fantasy, there are some fairly horrifying elements such as hearts being ripped out, possible-cannibalism-to-gain-power (and at least one killing spree to gain power that did not make me go "wait, did she just refer to cannibalism?), and witch hunts that very closely mirror real world witch hunts. These things are mostly done off-panel and then referred to in the text, but they are there. As I mentioned in another post (and posted images) the art is also stunning, with incredibly detailed clothes and landscapes/architecture. I could (and maybe have) just keep staring at it for ages.
I especially recommend it for people who like something like Bride of the Water God with the mythology and amazing art (particularly artwise) and conspiracies and mysteries and mysterious women, but want a lot more plot and progress and character development. It also reminds me of Evyione, but I've only read the little bit of that that was released in the US, and that was years ago, so I don't really want to draw a comparison there, though I suspect it's actually a better one than Bride of the Water God.
Skyla is a witch in a world where witches, who maintained the balance between humans and nature, disappeared centuries ago after being persecuted. She's found floating in a basket by a quartet of pirates (three brothers and their first mate) who are returning to their home town, which was built by a witch, to open an inn. I am sad to report that the manhwaga doesn't actually do anything with "RAISED BY PIRATES." At the beginning of the series, Skyla knows she's descended from witches because she's been found by a familiar who was left behind by the witches, but hasn't developed any magic powers yet. She's married to Jewel, a traveller who stayed at her inn some time back, but it was a marriage of convenience to get her out of legal and financial difficulties. Nevertheless, when Jewel disappears, she sets out for his hometown to find him, being quasi-adopted along the way by Hismaela, a shrewd merchant who has become one of the kingdoms most powerful women, and Hismaela's reluctant escort, a cranky alchemist named Kaylus. When they reach Jewel's hometown, Skyla finds that no one has ever heard of him, the shock of which apparently triggers her powers.
A large chunk of the series is Skyla discovering her heritage, both magical and biological, and looking for Jewel, usually accompanied by Kaylus, who knows more about witches and their history than most humans. There's also Aine, a young noblewoman who believes she's descended from witches and is determined to gain a witch's power at all costs, and Armengarde, a one-eyed seer who serves as Aine's mentor, but is using Aine for her own purposes. Eventually, both Aine and Skyle start attracting the attention of the magicians, who are determined to keep the witches from returning.
The world is based on a hodgepodge of medieval and early-modern European cities and cultures (the manhwaga lays out what she used where in one of the volumes, but I forget the specifics) and the plot, which is rather sprawling (there are various subplots-laregly backstories-that don't get the development they really need, and I feel the lack of development isn't really that Kim Tae-Yeon forgot about or lost interest in them, but rather, she realized that if she fully developed them, she'd never actually finish the series) is full of Drama, but it almost never gets annoying with the drama (and I give her points for a love triangle that isn't annoying and where it isn't immediately obvious-or even clear for some time-how it will turn out without making anyone seem wishywashy or throwing one romantic option under a figurative bus to make the other look better, as is typically the case), and is actually rather upbeat about the Drama, save for times when that would be inappropriate. And I should mention that while it's usually an upbeat fantasy, there are some fairly horrifying elements such as hearts being ripped out, possible-cannibalism-to-gain-power (and at least one killing spree to gain power that did not make me go "wait, did she just refer to cannibalism?), and witch hunts that very closely mirror real world witch hunts. These things are mostly done off-panel and then referred to in the text, but they are there. As I mentioned in another post (and posted images) the art is also stunning, with incredibly detailed clothes and landscapes/architecture. I could (and maybe have) just keep staring at it for ages.
I especially recommend it for people who like something like Bride of the Water God with the mythology and amazing art (particularly artwise) and conspiracies and mysteries and mysterious women, but want a lot more plot and progress and character development. It also reminds me of Evyione, but I've only read the little bit of that that was released in the US, and that was years ago, so I don't really want to draw a comparison there, though I suspect it's actually a better one than Bride of the Water God.