History ComicBook / Arawn

->''[[YouMonster Monster, demon, abomination. Men imagine that I am the devil]]. But what do they know of the king of hell? [[WhatIsEvil What do they know of good and evil?]] My name is Arawn. I am the [[EvilOverlord lord]] of [[{{Mordor}} Burning Lands]]. The king of the underworld. The ruler of the dead. [[TheDreaded Humans fear me]]. They're right. I do not know pity. I despise weakness. [[AGodAmI I am the God of Wrath. The Avenging God]]... [[StartOfDarkness But it was not always this way]]. [[WasOnceAMan I was a man once, born from my mother's belly]]...''

* DarkFantasy

* InfantImmortality: '''Averted.''' Kids are not safe from onscreen deaths, one of Math's infamous moments was murdering the children of the king he dethroned just to prevent any future rebellions, and also [[spoiler: his own nephew Gwern (Arawn's son) out of sheer spite]].
* KarmaHoudini: A very arguable case with [[spoiler:Siahm, who does a lot of questionable decisions (such as siding with Math when he kidnaps Deirdre, even though he raped his sister-in-law and is clearly driven insane driven by his desire to have Arawn's cauldron), but she survives the events of the series.]]

* DownerEnding: Its a ForegoneConclusion.

* FisherKing: Following [[spoiler:Deirdre becoming Math's hostage and forced wife]], Arawn retreats to his castle and becomes a complete shut-in, with his kingdom falling apart as result of his despair.

* TokenGoodTeammate: Arguably Kern. He is the only one of Arawn's brothers to not turn out into a complete dick, won his crown with the most minimal bloodshed and questioned Math's madness, believing he brought it on himself. With that said, he still followed his mad brother, ended up falling to the Cauldron's seduction too and [[spoiler:payed with his life for it, though ironically, he was raised from the dead and became a brother]].

[[caption-width-right:337: [[DarkerAndEdgier Looks like we are not in]] [[Literature/ChroniclesOfPrydain Prydain]] [[DarkerAndEdgier anymore]].]]

'''Les chroniques d'Arawn''' is a French comic book written by Ronan le Breton and drawn by Sebastian Grenier originally published in the pages of the ''Heavy Metal'' magazine (yes, ''[[WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal that one]]''). Its loosely based on Myth/CelticMythology and tells the tragic story of Death-Lord Arawn, an EvilOverlord that has thoroughly conquered the land and how he came to be the way he is.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Cauldron is a powerful item giving its owner the power to summon demons and the undead, heal grievous injuries such as as dismembered limbs, but it can also corrupt people into desiring it.

* ForTheEvulz: The Cauldron's motivations are to find more souls to be sacrificed to him and is constantly searching for people to corrupt who can provide him with victims, it doesn't matter how many owners he screws over.

** Arawn was born without genitals which Siahm thought marked him as who would betray all others. He gains them once he bathes on the Cauldron for the first time. Unfortunately he is hit with his trope ''again'', after Math strikes the left side of his face, blinding him in one eye and giving him a disfiguring scar.

* HopeSpot: Arawn finds out his blood has the power to resurrect the dead after becoming a EvilOverlord, which he uses on his fallen comrades that died in combat. So logically, he tries to use it on [[spoiler:Deirdre... Only to find out her body has become an EmptyShell and her soul is long gone]].
** When it looks like Deirdre might be returned to Arawn when he decides to an imprisioned Math for his wife. But then Math beckons his sun axe back and grabs Deirdre again and Kern returns with the Cauldron in hand.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Well, anti-heroes at any rate, but Deirdre is the only woman our protagonist ever loved.
* HeroicSacrifice: Pulled by the most unexpected people of all: [[spoiler:Owen destroys the Black Cauldron with the Sun Axe at the cost of its own life]].

* TokenGoodTeammate: Arguably Kern. He is the only one of Arawn's brothers to not turn out into a complete dick, won his crown with the most minimal bloodshed and questioned Math's madness, believing he brought it on himself. With that said, he still followed his mad brother and ended up falling to the Cauldron's seduction too and [[spoiler:payed with his life for it]].

The comic has been published in both French and English languages, though [[ScheduleSlip its schedule has been irregular]].

* FreudianExcuse: Math's father was killed by a man who raped his mom, and much of his madness is attributed to the Cauldron.

* InfantImmortality: '''Averted.''' Kids are not safe from onscreen deaths, one of Math's infamous moments was murdering the children of the king he dethroned just to prevent any future rebellions, and also [[spoiler: his own nephew Gwern (Arawn's son) out of sheer spite]].
* KillTheGod: [[spoiler:A resurrected Arawn managed to kill Morrigan, the Celtic Goddess of War and stole her godly power]].
* HonestAdvisor: Owen used to be one to Arawn believe it or not. His chronological EstablishingCharacterMoment was telling Arawn to watch himself around Cymru's court since he is in a den of wolves.
* HopeSpot:

** One of Siahm's greatest fears was seeing all her children dying. [[spoiler:And they all do, though Arawn and Kern are resurrected]].

** Siahmd leaves Arawn to die as a baby in the forest, but he survives after being cared and nursed by a she-wolf. [[spoiler:She ends up personally killing Math, after he crossed the DespairEventHorizon.]]

** According to Siahm's prophecy, one of her sons will become all powerful, which she believes to be Math. It turned out to be [[spoiler:Engus when he took the Cauldron's power and became a god, and later Arawn himself when he becomes the Death-Lord... While Math becomes a broken shell of his former self caused by his madness]].
** It also claimed that all of her children would end up dying. [[spoiler: They indeed all do Arawn included, but he is brought back to life]].

** Math himself is also swallowed by despair following the deaths of [[spoiler:his own son Duncan and Deirdre, even though he killed in revenge for their son]].
* DirtyCoward: What exactly made Owen betray Arawn? [[spoiler:He handed over the Cauldron to Kern, ruining any chance of]]

* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Arawn's father Bran repayed Dag's hospitality by killing him in his sleep, trying to sacrifice his sons Math and Kern raping his wife Siahm besides Dag's corpse, which ended up conceiving Arawn and Engus.
* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: The ultimate fates of Math and Engus are eternal torture at the hands of the brother they betrayed: the former by having his body forever quartered for all eternity and the latter by having his decapitated head still alive and with his eyelids removed to stare to an mirror for all eternity.]]

* MsFanservice: Siahm. Most women tend to be [[{{fanservice}} fanservicey]], but she is the one to receive most [[MaleGaze attention]] in the story, being frequently depicted naked or semi-naked. Even when she is covered, her outfits are really skin-tight.

* ParentalFavoritism: Its clear that Siahm prefer her legitimate children with Dag than the bastard children born from Bran's rape.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler: Arawn and Deirdre outlive their son Gwern, who is murdered by his uncle/stepfather Math]].

* ScrewDestiny: Siahm wants to at least stop all her children from dying, and at least have one become a god. At the end, the only part of the prophecy that she manages to avert is [[spoiler:preventing one of her sons being killed in their sleep.]]

* TheUnfavorite: Arawn, as a result of his mother's prophecy.

* ButtMonkey: Owen. For starters, he is reduced to a ''decapitated head'' who lives in constant torment at Arawn's hands for his betrayal. And as Arawn's tale shows, he was constantly disrespected, berated and slapped by others. But then again, given the kind of stuff he pulled, he deserved it.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Well, anti-heroes at any rate, but Deirdre is the only woman our protagonist ever loved.
* HeroicSacrifice: Pulled by the most unexpected people of all: [[spoiler:Owen destroys the Black Cauldron with the Sun Axe at the cost of its own life]].

* RedRightHand: Arawn was born without genitals which Siahm thought marked him as who would betray all others. He gains them once he bathes on the Cauldron for the first time. Unfortunately he is hit with his trope ''again'', after Math strikes the left side of his face, blinding him in one eye and giving him a disfiguring scar.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Math and Engus suffer a AFateWorseThanDeath at the end of the story. Nobody will shed a tear for the lunatic tyrants that raped and murdered innocents in their wake.]]

* CainAndAbel: Between Math and Arawn, not helped due to them being half-brothers and one's father killed the other.

* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: The ultimate fates of Math and Engus are eteral torture at the hands of the brother they betrayed: the former by having his body forever quartered for all eternity and the latter by having his decapitated head still alive and with his eyelids removed to stare to an mirror for all eternity.]]

* BigBad: [[ArtifactOfDoom The Cauldron of Blood]]; Arawn's [[StartOfDarkness downfall]] was caused by its machinations and nearly every bad thing that happened in the story can be traced back to it.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Cauldron is a powerful item giving its wielder the power to summon demons and the undead, heal grievous injuries such as as dismembered limbs, but it can also corrupt people into desiring it.

* AxeCrazy: Math could qualify as an almost literal example, since he is an axe-wielding insane warlord with no reservations about killing innocent woman and children.

** Later on, Arawn challenges [[spoiler:his brother Engus]] to a duel to the death for control of their armies. Arawn deliberately hands over his black sword to his rival, because its enchanted to not harm its owner.

* BigBad: [[ArtifactOfDoom The Cauldron of Blood]]; [[StartOfDarkness Arawn's downfall]] was caused by its machinations and nearly every bad thing that happened in the story can be traced back to it.

* DespairEventHorizon: Curiously, [[spoiler:Deirdre's and their respective children's deaths]] was this for both Math and Arawn in different ways. [[spoiler:For Arawn, he completely lost the one thing he lived for and ended up pushing him to seek revenge against the one responsible. Math was driven mad by grief and regret, being tormented with nightmares and visions of his loved ones. By the time his mother reunites with him, he has become a shadow of his former self]].
* DirtyCoward: What exactly made Owen betray Arawn? [[spoiler:He handed over the Cauldron to Kern.]]

* HeroicBSOD: Following [[spoiler: Deirdre's capture by Math]], Arawn gets holed up inside his castle which turns into a snowy ruin, leaving his whole land to rot and his vassals to fight among themselves.

[[caption-width-right:337: Our [[EvilOverlord Dark Lord]] lounging in his throne.]]
->''[[YouMonster Monster, demon, abomination. Men imagine that I am the devil]]. But what do they know of the king of hell? [[WhatIsEvil What do they know of good and evil?]] My name is Arawn. I am the lord of Burning Lands. The king of the underworld. The ruler of the dead. [[TheDreaded Humans fear me]]. They're right. I do not know pity. I despise weakness. [[AGodAmI I am the God of Wrath. The Avenging God]]... [[StartOfDarkness But it was not always this way]]. [[WasOnceAMan I was a man once, born from my mother's belly]]...''

* DespairEventHorizon: Curiously, [[spoiler:Deirdre's and their children's death]] was this for both Math and Arawn in different ways. [[spoiler:For Arawn, he completely lost the one thing he lived for and ended up pushing him to seek revenge against the one responsible. Math was driven mad by grief and regret, being tormented with nightmares and visions of his loved ones. By the time his mother reunites with him, he has become a shadow of his former self]].

* InfantImmortality: '''Averted.''' Kids are not safe from onscreen deaths, one of Math's infamous moments was murdering kids

** Deirdre, after being kidnapped by Math and forced to be his wife and carry his child.

* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Arawn's father Bran repayed Dag's hospitality by killing him in his sleep, trying to sacrifice his sons Math and Kern
raping his wife Siahm besides Dag's corpse, which ended up conceiving Arawn and Engus.

The [[ChildByRape unwanted son]] of an [[ActionGirl warrior woman]] named Siahm, [[BadassFamily he and his half-brothers were trained as a warriors]] and each one of them acquired magic artifacts, with Arawn gaining a Cauldron of Blood, [[ArtifactOfDoom an unholy relic with unspeakable powers]] and has a mind of its own. With each of Siahm's sons parting ways and gaining their own kingdoms, Arawn's older brother Math turns into a ruthless tyrant who utterly destroys all those that stand in his way and also desires Arawn's cauldron for himself. Things go FromBadToWorse when Math [[IHaveYourWife kidnaps Arawn's wife Deidre (who is also pregnant his child) and holds her hostage until his brother surrenders his cauldron in her return]]. An [[CainAndAbel all-out war between siblings erupts]], which ends up causing everyone whom Arawn knew turning against him because of a prophecy his mother had about all of her children dying and one of them (believed to be Arawn) turning evil. So naturally, Arawn decides that [[ThenLetMeBeEvil he might as well be the monster everyone think he is and make the prophecy come true...]]

* DeathGlare: Rather than screaming or crying, Siahm simply glared silently at Bran while ''he raped her''.
* DirtyCoward: What exactly made Owen betray Arawn? [[spoiler:He handed over the Cauldron to Kern.]]
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Arawn's father Bran repayed Dag's hospitality by killing him in his sleep, trying to sacrifice his sons Math and Kern raping his wife Siahm besides Dag's corpse, which ended up conceiving Arawn and Engus.
* FramingDevice: The whole comic is narrated by Arawn himself to the decapitated head of his lieutenant Owen.
* ForegoneConclusion: The first issue already establishes Deirdre's death and Owen's betrayal. Also its kinda obvious that since he is fated to become an dark lord, Arawn's survival is pretty much guaranteed.
* InfantImmortality: '''Averted.'''

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Cauldron is a powerful item, but it can also corrupt people into desiring it.

* SupernaturallyYoungParent: Siahm looks [[MsFanservice extremely hot]] for a woman that gave birth to four sons. She also shows no sign of aging, or hell any change, when her children are already adult. There is a reason for that: [[spoiler:She drinks the blood from her enemies' hearts to keep to preserve her body from aging, just as the amazons have been doing for a long time]].

The [[ChildByRape unwanted son]] of an warrior woman named Siahm, him and his half-brothers were trained as a warriors and each one of them acquired magic artifacts, with Arawn gaining a Cauldron of Blood, with a will of its own. With each of Siahm's sons parting ways and gaining their own kingdoms, Arawn's older brother Math turns into a ruthless tyrant who utterly destroys all those that stand in his way and also desires Arawn's cauldron for himself. Things go FromBadToWorse when Math kidnaps Arawn's wife Deidre (who is also pregnant his child) and holds her hostage until his brother surrenders his cauldron in her return. An [[CainAndAbel all-out war between siblings erupts]], which ends up causing everyone whom Arawn knew turning against him because of a prophecy his mother had about all of her children dying and the youngest one turning evil. So naturally, Arawn decides that [[ThenLetMeBeEvil he might as well be the monster everyone think he is and make the prophecy turn true...]]

The comic has been published in both French and English languages.

* AntiHero / AntiVillain: Before his StartOfDarkness, Arawn wasn't necessarily a nice person; He became King of Cymru by butchering his way through the throne room and violently murdering his predecessor Gresholm. He has a few redeeming qualities such as having a warrior's pride, a sense of fair play and being genuinely in love with Deirdre.

* TheCorrupter: The Cauldron of Blood turn both Math and Kern into insane power-craving lunatics.

The [[ChildByRape unwanted son]] of an female druid named Siahm, him and his half-brothers were trained as a warriors and each one of them acquired magic artifacts, with Arawn gaining a Cauldron of Blood, with a will of its own. With each of Siahm's sons parting ways and gaining their own kingdoms, Arawn's older brother Math turns into a ruthless tyrant who utterly destroys all those that stand in his way and also desires Arawn's cauldron for himself. Things go FromBadToWorse when Math kidnaps Arawn's wife Deidre (who is also pregnant his child) and holds her hostage until his brother surrenders his cauldron in her return. An [[CainAndAbel all-out war between siblings erupts]], which ends up causing everyone whom Arawn knew turning against him because of a prophecy his mother had about all of her children dying and the youngest one turning evil. So naturally, Arawn decides that [[ThenLetMeBeEvil he might as well be the monster everyone think he is and make the prophecy turn true...]]

* MysticalWhiteHair: Siahm is a white-haired pretty girl and a druid with the power to see the future.

* SupernaturallyYoungParent: Siahm looks [[MsFanservice extremely hot]] for a woman that gave birth to four sons. She also shows no sign of aging, or hell any change, when her children are already adult.

* TheCorrupter: The Cauldron of Blood turn both Math and Kern into insane.

* HeroicBSOD: Following Deirdre's capture by Math, Arawn gets holed up inside his castle which turns into a snowy ruin, leaving his whole land to rot and his vassals to fight among themselves.

* MoralityPet: Deidre and Engus to Arawn, the former being his beloved and the latter his true brother.

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: After having his wife kidnapped by his hated half-brother and his Cauldron stolen, Arawn decides that he will make everyone pay.

The [[ChildByRape unwanted son]] of an female druid named Siahm, him and his half-brothers were trained as a warriors and each one of them acquired magic artifacts, with Arawn gaining a Cauldron of Blood with a will of its own. With each of Siahm's sons parting ways and gaining their own kingdoms, Arawn's older brother Math turns into a ruthless tyrant who utterly destroys all those that stand in his way and also desires Arawn's cauldron for himself. Things go FromBadToWorse when Math kidnaps Arawn's wife Deidre (who is also pregnant his child) and holds her hostage until his brother surrenders his cauldron in her return. An all-out war between siblings erupts, which ends up causing everyone whom Arawn knew turning against him because of a prophecy his mother had about all of her children dying and the youngest one turning evil.

* TheDragon: The Cauldron is a being with a will of its own and loyal to Arawn. He turns out to be the most powerful minion in his side by providing him with an army of Cauldron-born undead warriors.

* MaritalRapeLicense: Subverted. Arawn tried to force himself once on Deirdre, who became his wife by right of conquest after he murdered her husband and naturally she despises him. However, he refrains from doing so as he prefers that she gave her consent.

* RedRightHand: Arawn was born without genitals which Siahm thought marked him as a deformed freak. He gains them once he bathes on the Cauldron for the first time. Unfortunately he is hit with his trope ''again'', after Math strikes the left side of his face, blinding him in one eye and giving him a disfiguring scar.
* TheUnfavorite: Arawn.
* WhenTreesAttack:
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Common practice in the setting. Not only one can become king by personally killing the previous one, his wife is taken by his successors as right of conquest.

->''[[YouMonster Monster, demon, abomination. Men imagine that I am the devil]]. But what do they know of the king of hell? [[WhatIsEvil What do they know of good and evil?]] My name is Arawn. I am the lord of Burning Lands. The king of the underworld. The ruler of the dead. [[TheDreaded Humans fear me]]. They're right. I do not know pity. I despise weakness. [[AGodAmI I am the God of Wrath. The Avenging God]]... [[StartOfDarkness But it was not always this way]]. [[WasOnceAMan I was a man once, born from my mother's belly]]...''

'''Les chroniques d'Arawn''' is a French comic book written by Ronan le Breton and drawn by Sebastian Grenier originally published in the pages of the ''Heavy Metal'' magazine (yes, ''[[WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal that one]]''). Its loosely based on Myth/CelticMythology and tells the tragic story of Death-Lord Arawn, an EvilOverlord that has thoroughly conquered the land and how he came to be the way he is. The [[ChildByRape unwanted son]] of an female druid named Siahm, him and his half-brothers were trained as a warriors and each one of them acquired magic artifacts, with Arawn gaining a Cauldron of Blood with a will of its own. With each of Siahm's sons parting ways and gaining their own kingdoms, Arawn's older brother Math turns into a ruthless tyrant who utterly destroys all those that stand in his way and also desires Arawn's cauldron for himself. Things go FromBadToWorse when Math kidnaps Arawn's wife Deidre (who is also pregnant his child) and holds her hostage until his brother surrenders his cauldron in her return.

* ForegoneConclusion: The first issue already establishes Deirdre's death and Owen's betrayal.

* RedRightHand: Arawn was born without genitals which Siahm thought marked him as a deformed freak. He gains them once he bathes on the Cauldron for the first time. ''Unfortunately'' he is hit with his trope ''again'', after Math strikes the left side of his face, blinding him in one eye and giving him a disfiguring scar.

* AntiHero / AntiVillain: Before his StartOfDarkness, Arawn wasn't necessarily a nice person; He became King of Cymru by butchering his way through the throne room and violently murdering his predecessor Gresholm. He had redeeming qualities such

* BeatStillMyHeart: Arawn has removed his own heart after Deidre's death.
* BerserkButton: Do not make fun of Math's father dying in his bed at Bran's hands. Engus did it and Math plummeted him so badly that he would have killed him if Arawn hasn't stepped in.

* MaritalRapeLicense: Subverted. Arawn tried to force himself once on Deirdre, who became his wife by right of conquest after he murdered her husband, but

* RedRightHand: Arawn was born without genitals, which Siahm thought marked him as.

* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Common practice in the setting. Not only one can become king by personally killing the previous one, his wife is taken by his successors as right of conquest.

->''[[YouMonster Monster, demon, abomination. Men imagine that I am the devil]]. But what do they know of the king of hell? [[WhatIsEvil What do they know of good and evil?]] My name is Arawn. I am the lord of Burning Lands. The king of the underworld. The ruler of the dead. [[TheDreaded Humans fear me]]. They're right. I do not know pity. I despise weakness. [[AGodAmI I am the God of Wrath. The Avenging God]]... [[StartOfDarkness But it was not always this way]]. I was a man out of the belly of a mother ...''

'''Les chroniques d'Arawn''' is a French comic book written by Ronan le Breton and drawn by Sebastian Grenier originally published in the pages of the ''Heavy Metal'' magazine (yes, ''[[WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal that one]]''). Its loosely based on Myth/CelticMythology and tells the tragic story of Death-Lord Arawn, an EvilOverlord that has thoroughly conquered the land and how he came to be the way he is. The [[ChildByRape unwanted son]] of an female druid named Siahm, him and his half-brothers were trained as a warriors and each one of them acquired magic artifacts, with Arawn gaining a Cauldron of Blood with a will of its own. With each of Siahm's sons parting ways and gaining their own kings, Arawn's older brother Math becomes a ruthless tyrant who utterly destroys all who gets in his way and also desires Arawn's cauldron for himself. Things go FromBadToWorse when Math kidnaps Arawn's wife Deidre (who is also pregnant his child) and holds her hostage until his brother surrenders his cauldron in her return.

* BerserkButton: Do not make fun of Math's father dying in his bed at the hands of Bran. Engus did it and Math plummeted him so badly that he would have killed him if Arawn hasn't stepped in.

* ChildByRape: Arawn and his twin brother Engus were conceived from B

* TheUnfavorite: Arawn.

->''[[YouMonster Monster, demon, abomination. Men imagine that I am the devil]]. But what do they know of the king of hell? [[WhatIsEvil What do they know of good and evil?]] My name is Arawn. I am the lord of Burning Lands. The king of the underworld. The ruler of the dead. [[TheDreaded Humans fear me]]. They're right. I do not know pity. I despise weakness. [[AGodAmI I am the God of Wrath. The Avenging God]]... [[StarOfDarkness But it was not always this way]]. I was a man out of the belly of a mother ...''
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1561278_arawn_03.jpg]]

'''Les chroniques d'Arawn''' is a French comic book written by Ronan le Breton and drawn by Sebastian Grenier originally published in the pages of the ''Heavy Metal'' magazine (yes, ''[[WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal that one]]''). Its loosely based on Myth/CelticMythology and tells the tragic story of Death-Lord Arawn, an EvilOverlord that has throughly conquered the land and how he came to be the way he is.

* BerserkButton: Engus once made fun of Math's father dying in his bed at the hands of Bran. Math plummeted Engus so badly and would have killed him if his brother hasn't stepped in.

* {{Fanservice}}: Goes both ways with muscled and ripped men and busty and curvy women. Hey, this was a ''Heavy Metal'' title.

* SupernaturallyYoungParent: Siahm looks [[MsFanservice extremely hot]] for a woman that gave birth to four sons. She also shows no sign of aging.