Faction Paradox: Comic Book Series

A ‘War in Heaven’ is raging between time-active cultures, each seeking to usurp control of history. Into this conflict comes Faction Paradox -- a group of time terrorists whose appetite for chaos threatens to subvert the entire timeline. Part story, part history and part puzzle-box, this is a chronicle of protocol and paranoia in a War where the greatest victory of all is to hold on to your own past.

The year is 1774, and Empress Catherine of Russia has given a woolly mammoth to King George III of England as a gift. It’s more than just a large animal; it’s a relic of history that shouldn’t belong in this time, and it’s attracted attention. The King is preparing to hold a hunt as part of the celebrations, and in attendance are representatives of the American colonies and of Faction Paradox. Mother Francesca and her associate are in fact the last two members of the Faction left alive after the War, as far as they know, but for obvious reasons they don’t wish anyone to know that their power base has been so drastically diminished; however, Francesca suspects that Cleeve, the representative of the American witch-lodges, knows more about their current situation than he’s saying. Cleeve and Francesca make a ritualistic wager; whoever wins the hunt will win the rights to the future. However, Francesca then learns that the Americans have brought a special “hunting animal” -- a Polynesian warrior from the time-sensitive Mayakai tribe, which was primed for the War and is supposed to be extinct.

In the palace kitchens is a young serving girl named Isobel, who may have a closer connection to the War than she knows. Mr Snaddon, the keeper of the animals, knows the truth about Isobel, and suspects that it may be merciful to kill her; he also intends to kill the Mayakai warrior, who has been ritually pinned inside a circle of point-stones. Unfortunately, a servant named Hogbatt, who doesn’t really understand the nature of ritual, takes a sort of rough pity on the “creature” and tosses her a scrap of a dead monkey to chew on. The warrior woman is able to use the monkey’s leg bone as a ritual focus, and when Snaddon enters her cell to kill her, the woman points the bone at him, causing him to suffer a heart attack. Isobel learns what Hogbatt has done too late, and rushes to the cellar to find Snaddon lying half-dead on the floor, while the warrior-woman steps out of the circle, which no longer has the power to contain her.

Commander Sabbath of the British Secret Service is called to the palace to deal with the furore, as the Mayakai has escaped, killing six men on her way out. The King suggests postponing the hunt, but Mother Francesca suggests instead changing the objective and hunting down the Mayakai. She is aware that the Mayakai’s presence is changing the shape of the future, and that her rituals are causing the War to intersect with this era -- and she suspects that the Americans intended for her to escape and spread havoc and confusion. Meanwhile, Sabbath visits the Americans, and finds them conducting a ritual to appease the ancient powers of their new continent. Cleeve assures Sabbath that Faction Paradox is the real enemy, and that the colonies just want a little independence and territory of their own; however, Sabbath suspects that the Americans want to control the future. Meanwhile, the King has his own plans to deal with all of the witches surrounding him...

Isobel works out that the escaped Mayakai is going to shelter in the nearest church, a place of ritual and ceremony. The Mayakai has been shot and wounded by a watchman in the streets, but she is still strong enough to pass on some of her culture and memories to Isobel, using bones as the focus of the ritual. After sharing her memories, Isobel knows that her name is Mayakatula and that she needs the bones of a peacock, which Isobel fetches from the palace. Snaddon, recovering from his heart attack, realises what she’s up to. Cleeve and his party complete their own ritual, calling down one beast from the sky to devour another, while Isobel gives the peacock bones to Mayakatula and allows her to complete her ceremony. Mother Francesca senses the change of focus; the future is now up for grabs. It begins to snow...

Sadly, the Faction Paradox comic was cancelled after only two issues; however, plans are apparently afoot to complete this story in some other form. The story appears to take place 12 years after the events of the Faction Paradox audios Sabbath Dei and In the Year of the Cat; assuming that they take place in the same version of history, the Sabbath in the comics may still be channeling a timeship of the Great Houses. It should also be pointed out that the Mujun: The Ghost Kingdom entries in The Book of the War imply that Isobel may be the child of one of the characters from the audios.