Mixtumq (Comic)

Front cover of Mixtumq #1: Artois

**Mixtumq** is a bi-monthly comic series by Leigh, published independently in zine format, and through Rat World via Speck Comics.

## Cast

 Xül Ynon | *The Oldest Elder*: Leader of the Mixtumq Elders, *The Devil-Bard'*s surrogate grandad who received her as a toddler from Leuven Astra.

 The Traum | *God of Void*: Caretaker of the Voidal Plane, oversees the punishment of souls before reincarnation.

## Story Arcs

### The Death of Artois Mixtumq:

#### **#1 Artois:**

The Owl flies over the Dzhokhk Teeth mountain range. In the Aethen Biir region of the Leuven Silva, somewhere north-east of Mixtumq, Artois Mixtumq has just returned from a trip. She scries on her adoptive daughter, Ethanolia Mixtumq, and finds a Capybaroccoli nearby at the Morfikdell that she can hunt for meat and vegetables. Artois asks Assimov Deus X for some energy and kills the Capybaroccoli with a toot from her hunting horn. As The Owl and a Dream-Watcher loom overhead, Artois performs a ritual on the Capybaroccoli, and sees its spirit off. Grappling with guilt over killing the Capybaroccoli, Artois carries the corpse back to Mixtumq. Various people and factions notice and comment on her long-awaited/dreaded return. In the Xanbaur Palace Tavern, Ethanolia stops Rakrin from stealing from a customer after she overhears his loud thoughts. Artois tells Ethanolia that she thinks everyone should become a vegetarian. Ethanolia reminds Artois that all she can eat is human brains, and Artois apologises for being insensitive.

#### **#2 People With Goals:**

After a long day of assuming Mixtumq leaders & civilians identities, Unikal prepares food for the dragon-chickens in her underground nursery. Her and Artois reunite after taking a "break" from their relationship, it's tense. Rakrin gives Lystoffær a piece of parchment he stole from behind the counter of the Xanbaur Palace Tavern, Lystoffær learns that the Devil-Bard is actually the illegitimate daughter of the ruler of the entire Leuven Silva. Flashback to Mixtumq Elder Xül Ynon twenty years earlier, as he receives the letter from High Councilwoman Leuven, which open breaking the seal, spews forth a sleeping orange-haired toddler, Xül gives Artois to Xeursh Mixtumq, proprietor of the Xanbaur Palace Tavern, and entrusts her with the toddler's secret.

#### **#3 Bureaucratic Gods:**

Bis Cobolorum, leader of the Golden Circle, receives the information of Artois' parentage from Lystoffær. Artois visits the immortal turtle, Erkil Elkin in his shop, Inquisitorealities. She asks him for various history, biology, and magic books - and finds out from an old journal that Assimov Deus is very bad at cards. The Journal itself, one of the three Gods, approaches Artois and reads her sketchbook without asking. It reads ahead to the empty unused half of the sketchbook, laughs, winks, and goes back to browsing the shelves. Erkil receives a shipment of the new wanted posters, in shock he shows it to Artois, revealing that her updated name states "Artois LEUVEN Mixtumq", branding her as the daughter of High Councilwoman Leuven of Leuven Astra.

#### **#4 ~~Devil-Bard?~~ Orange Princess:**

Artois loses her composure and *The Devil-Bard* is let loose as she is hunted by members of The Golden Circle, and treated with disdain by strangers for her Leuven heritage. She visits her petrified mother who lives upstairs, before lying low in a cavern beneath the Xanbaur Palace Tavern. In the cavern Grenouille Jambe shows Artois how he brews all of their alcohol, and the two bond over losing their homes. He tells Artois that he can infuse some magic in the next batch of Grung Grog, that will make no one who drinks it able to harm Artois while she is within the walls of her tavern.

#### **#5 The Death of Artois Leuven:**

Grenouille serves the new Grung Grog batch, and Artois basks in people's paralysation when they try to kill her. New to town, Lystoffær meets with Bis Cobolorum Lystoffær pitches his revolution to Artois, but she refuses given how long she's been away from home, and all the work she has to do. The pair bond quickly, and party in the Xanbaur Palace Tavern late into the night. Abruptly, Lystoffær runs Artois through with a dagger.

#### **#6 Now What?:**

Lystoffær starts the ritual to raise Artois' corpse as a necromantic servant, but her body disappears in flame, leaving behind only her Hunting Horn and sketchbook. Ethanolia, Grenouille, and Xül try to stop Lystoffær but his mind cannot be read, he doges every attack, and Xül Ynon is killed - becoming a necromantic servant. High Councilwoman Leuven learns of Artois' death, and begins preparation to burn the entire Aethen Biir region to the ground. In the caverns beneath the Xanbaur Palace Tavern, something stirs in a giant cage, moaning "Hungry...", Unikal hears the moans from her underground Dragon-Chicken nursery.

#### **#7 Miscellaneous Planes:**

Artois goes through the bureaucratic process of purgatory, analysis, and judgement in the Transient and Voidal Planes. In Voidtown, the various skeletons call her a "Perpetual", and question why she still has skin and a beating heart. A version of Ethanolia bartends at the Pyrameade Tavern, but she doesn't know who Artois is. On the Perpetual Plane, Artois' daughter Ethanolia sees flashes of her mother on the Transient Plane. Facing The Inquisitor, she relives her adventures with The Delivery Bois on the continent of Nükriom. Facing The Traum, she is denied punishment and reincarnation because her soul does not belong to her, and she is sent to Hell.

#### **#8 Welcome to Hell:**

Artois finally meets face to face with Assimov Deus X, they play Euchre for Artois' life. Upon winning the game, Artois is allowed to use Assimov's Deus X Machine to return to the Perpetual Plane. Unikal makes several attempts to feed the caged moaning creatures in the underground caverns, but nothing works to quell their hunger. Lystoffær takes over control of both the Golden Circle and the Mixtumq Elders.

#### **#9 Everyone Has Their Demons:**

Artois climbs out of the mouth of the Morfikdell Dream-Watcher; The Journal was waiting for her, much to Artois' surprise. The Journal reveals that when it reads a book, it reads the whole book, even if it hasn't been written yet. The Journal can look at a tree and read every book that will be printed from its paper in the future. Artois' sketchbook continued after her death when The Journal read it at Inquisitorealites. In Mixtumq, the eldritch horror demons that Artois had caged break out after missing their annual feeding due to Artois' death. The demons eat dozens of Mixtumq civilians, with Unikal, Ethanolia, Grenouille and Lystoffær banding together to put a stop to them. Thaelean Deus and Lorum Mixtumq watch in horror, *"I told you she'd waltz in and fuck everything up"*.

#### **#10 The Devil-Bard:**

Grenouille is eaten by the demon, just as Artois arrives back in the cavern full of cages. Noticing the broken cage bars, she freaks out and races through the caverns back to the surface. Things are looking dire in the battle, with one of the three giant trees that build the foundation of the structure of Mixtumq taking the brunt of a demon's full-strength. The tree uproots and falls to the ground, but Mixtumq still stands. Artois arrives, and speaks to the demon in a tongue no one understands. She slices her palm and they lick her blood, causing them to shrink dramatically in size and fall back into a deep sleep. Everyone is shocked by Artois' return to life, and angry at her for keeping demons under the town. Artois gives a matter-of-fact recap of her journey through the planes, and makes a half-hearted apology, saying *"Well, y'know? Everyone has their demons"*. Artois asks her friends where the other demons are, they respond *"Others? What others?"*. Artois stares into space, *"Fuck".* We cut to demons ravaging Satyrlment, Glaethport, and Leuven Silva. A demon stands over the Dzhokhk Mouth, in the darkness below it sees the Fungal Forest, Mycondiir and Tutu's Cabin. It smiles.