Thorn is part of the royal family of a kingdom of humans. This kingdom exists on a large island, and is divided between the human kingdom, the kingdom of the fair-skinned Day Folk elves, and the kingdom of the dark-skinned Night Folk elves. These three kingdoms hate each other for the most part, and have fought bloody 3-way wars in the past, though currently there is an uneasy truce. Thorn has the disadvantage of being a crossbreed: His Grandmother was a Night Folk elf, who eloped with the brother of the current human King. Their son grew up and married a mysterious human woman, and their son was Thorn. Humans and elves alike shunned this branch of the family, and they removed themselves to a quiet keep in the woods. Shortly after Thorn's birth, however, the keep was destroyed in a mysterious attack. No trace of Thorn's parents or grandparents was found - only Thorn himself was discovered nearby. The King took in the baby, since he was still a member of the Royal Family despite his mixed blood. However, there was no affection for the child, and Thorn grew up unwanted by not only the humans, but both elvish kingdoms, as well. As the story begins, Thorn is a surly, restless young man, just having reached adulthood. He intends to leave the island entirely, soon - to make his own way in the wider world as his father did before him. However, he is not aware that a prophecy has come to light - which many have interpreted to mean that a child that Thorn sires will become the one who will unite all three kingdoms under his rule. It is thought that if Thorn's child has a majority of one type of blood or the other, he would naturally ally himself with that race, and that kingdom will rule and dominate the others when Thorn's child comes to power. Each kingdom now seeks to court Thorn's favor in their own way, to facilitate his child being born into one race or the other - but Thorn, unaware of the prophecy, wants nothing at all to do with any of it...

Thorn is the wunderkind, the ubermensch of this world. He is amazingly strong and fast, tougher than he looks, and skilled with a blade. He has befriended a fairy, which hangs around him from time to time. There's a dragon he's on good terms with. And, though there seems to be no apparent reason for it, Thorn is able to transform into a cat (an ability he keeps secret). His skin is dark, like that of the Night Folk - save for a whitish circle/patch over one eye. His hair is black, unlike most other Night Folk, who usually have white or very pale-colored hair. His ears are considerably smaller and rounder than those of full-blooded elves, but they still come to a point. Thorn is supposed to be a good-looking young man, who can attract the eyes of a few ladies who don't let prejudice overwhelm them. An interested artist should be able to handle a blend of Aurthurian and Tolkeinesque fantasy scenes - castles, horses, elves, woods, dragons, knights in armor, fancy royal court gatherings, all that kind of stuff.

Characters of note: King Ravark and his queen, Phynnissa, are the rulers of Fellintire, the human kingdom on this island. Their son, Corvar, is heir to the throne. If Corvar dies without any children of his own, and the King and Queen do not have any more children, Thorn becomes heir to the throne (which does not sit well with many folks). Hollice Perrin is the daughter of a human nobleman, and is being groomed to attract/seduce and marry Thorn, in an effort to secure his allegiance to the human kingdom. Her own ambition makes her agreeable to this plan - she has no particular love for Thorn, but she does not find him unattractive and would very much like to be part of the Royal Family. Diriciali is a young lady from a noble Night Folk family. Like Hollice, she is being pushed to get to know and marry Thorn. Her mother, Erizelle, has apparently had some dealings with Thorn before (which, it seems, did not go well). Diriciali does not love Thorn and is following her mother's plan out of a sense of duty, but she does find Thorn intriguing, and hopes that the marriage will be at least somewhat pleasant, if actual love is not possible. Her cousin Jenna is a skilled fighter and serves as a bodyguard and operative for her. Rhiessa is a buxom warrior from the Day Folk lands. Since the Day Folk have no actual blood ties to Thorn, Rhiessa's king has sent her as a "gift" - ostensibly as a bodyguard/servant, but in reality a pretty blatant attempt to seduce Thorn. Rhiessa follows the orders of her king, but has almost no real romantic interest in Thorn. Taranbull is the Royal Wizard. He is a confidante of Thorn's, and knows about his ability to turn into a cat. He also knows more than he lets on about the prophecy.

The following synopsis is provided only to give a very rough idea of the kind of story that is being told; many details are omitted for brevity's sake. Artists who agree to draw this story will be provided with much more detailed scripts.

We're introduced to Thorn briefly at the start of issue one. At night, he sees Jenna sneaking into the castle, and confronts her. She was, in fact, looking for him to invite/kidnap him into the Night Folk lands, but Thorn declines, and sends/forces her away, warning her to invite people properly in the future. In the morning, he is notified that the King and Queen wish to see him at breakfast. There, he is told he is to become a more prominent part of the Royal Family, which is an abrupt change from years of previous behavior. Thorn is suspicious and doubtful, but plays along. A large banquet that night finds Thorn being eyed by a large group of young ladies, brought by their noble families. The dinner is interrupted by news of a disturbance outside. Jenna is there, with a "proper" written invitation to Thorn to visit the Lady Diriciali in the Night Folk lands. Thorn takes the written invitation but declines the offer. Confused, Jenna leaves again. Thorn learns that there have been many previous invitations sent, but the King has had them intercepted and destroyed. Thorn is angered, and ponders leaving the island to make his own way in the world. Jenna arrives back in Night Folk lands, and gives Diriciali the bad news, but Diriciali makes plans to abduct Thorn by force. In issue two, it becomes evident that the King is scheduling a lot of dinners and parties and such, and demanding Thorn attend, in order to expose him to these daughters of nobility that have been at the castle lately. At a dance, he winds up talking to (and dancing with) Hollice Perrin, who informs him that the whole thing is supposedly an attempt to find a bride for Prince Corvar among the available young ladies of the nobility. Thorn suspects more, considering the demands that he attend the events as well... Later that night, he once again confronts Jenna as she sneaks into the castle, but this time she has brought help, and with the aid of magic and drugged darts, several Night Folk render Thorn unconscious and carry him away. In issue three, Thorn awakes to find himself tied up and carried by horseback into Night Folk lands. He fakes still being drugged just to see what his kidnappers are up to. They deposit him in a room at the home of Lady Diriciali, who eventually comes in to see him. Thinking he is still unconscious, Diriciali murmurs to herself about how Thorn might not be all that bad to get to know better, and moves in a bit close - only to be surprised and embarrassed when Thorn sits up, fully awake. Taunting her a bit, he tells her that he has no intention of playing along with whatever the Night Folk have planned, and when she asks why, he tells her to ask her mother, Erizelle. She calls Jenna and the others to prevent Thorn's escape, but he's ready for them this time, and manages to evade or disable anyone who gets in his way. Erizelle appears, and Diriciali asks her about Thorn's words. Erizelle refuses to answer, but insists that Diriciali continue to try and attract Thorn to her. Diriciali makes a plan of her own - to find out just what the deal is with Thorn and her mother. In issue four, Thorn travels from Night Folk lands to the human kingdom, and we meet Birch, the dragon that lives in the ruins of Thorn's family house. He is a young dragon, and lairs in the basement. There is a small cache of gold and treasure there - which is actually mostly Thorn's money, saved up or pilfered in small amounts from the castle. Thorn is saving up in the event he wants to leave the island and travel. When Thorn arrives at the castle, there's a commotion at the gate. Rhiessa is there, demanding to see Thorn. When Thorn reveals himself, she introduces herself as a gift from the king of the Day Folk. Thorn's had enough of all this for now and tells her to go back home, but she insists that she can't, because her King has ordered her to remain by Thorn's side and to not come back to Day Folk lands. If Thorn won't take her in, she'll remain at the gate. Thorn leaves her at the gate. Later, in the castle, Thorn passes by a room and overhears the King talking to Duke Perrin, Hollice's father. He transforms into a cat and sneaks in. The Duke is unhappy with Thorn getting close to his daughter, but the King informs him about the prophecy. Not only are they looking to get Prince Corvar married, they want to get Thorn involved with a human girl so that if he sires a child it will be mostly human. Later, as Thorn is pondering this information, he looks outside the castle. It's been raining heavily, and Rhiessa is still standing out there. Thorn goes out to meet her, and she collapses from exhaustion and exposure. He carries her to his quarters and puts her to bed. Meanwhile, Diriciali and Jenna sneak into human territory, but not to capture Thorn again - instead, they seek out Taranbull the wizard. He was witness to an event where Thorn attempted to take a test that would have allowed him to join Night Folk society despite being only one-quarter elf. After being cajoled and bribed, Taranbull finally tells the story of how a young Thorn tried to become accepted by the Night Folk. With him were Taranbull and the famous mercenary Rykos Canjain. Erizelle was also there, as the representative of the Night Folk. In a flashback that begins in issue five, we see how Thorn prepared himself for the event - a test of both his physical skills and his wits - and how just before the event, a Night Folk agent secretly had him infected with something resembling the flu. Even while suffering from the illness, Thorn was determined to take the test. Despite being hobbled by the sickness, and despite some cheating on the part of opponents he faces during the test, Thorn passes the test - or so it seems. Erizelle reveals after the test that they have "discovered" the cheating and interference of the Night Folk, and by the rules of the contest, even though Thorn himself did nothing wrong, he is still disqualified. He cannot become one of the Night Folk, and he is forbidden to take the test again. It's obvious they never had any intention of letting him become part of the Night Folk. Young Thorn leaves, bitterly crushed. The flashback story over, Diriciali now understands why Thorn is rejecting the advances of the Night Folk, now...

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