Book 1 – Seed of Hope

In Book 1, orphaned young warrior Loan discovers a mysterious young woman in a flower bud whom he saves from the evil Noctus' henchmen, the Shaden. Loan's adopted father and mentor Uri realises the young woman must be the daughter of Sira, the Lightclan's legendary queen who was killed during the uprising instigated by Noctus many years ago. In the hidden shelter of the clans of Tenebra who oppose Noctus' rule, Uri aims to help Ria unlock her magical powers and the intuitive connection to Sira in the hope of finding a way to continue Sira's mission and liberate Tenebra from Noctus' tyranny. After receiving the Seeker, Sira's old sceptre, Ria starts having visions telling her to find the fragments of a mysterious Seal that will help her to break Noctus' power. Before Ria can fully understand what to do, Noctus' troops invade the shelter and capture many of the rebels. Protected by Uri and Loan, Ria just barely makes it out alive ... but for the clans of Tenebra, the seed of hope has begun to sprout.

Book 2 – The Power of the Seal

In Book 2, Ria experiences the awesome power of the Seal for the first time. After a crash in the ancient forests of Tenebra on their flight from the Shaden, Ria and Loan encounter the traces of an extinct clan and the terrifying parasite that killed them. Ria recognises that one of the fragments of the Seal has been devoured by the parasite queen, accounting for her deadly powers. When trying to extract the fragment, Ria is haunted by jarring visions that traumatise her for days after. Only by killing the bug queen does she finally manage to collect the fragment. As the group continues their journey, they encounter the dubious Kua Matul clan in the ice desert of Tikoha. While befriending their young captain Torcas, Ria realises that he, too, unbeknownst to him, carries one of the fragments within him, giving him supernatural powers. Ria is deeply conflicted, as she fears she will kill Torcas when removing the fragment. Torcas meanwhile has another problem on his hands: his clan is slowly dying in the uninhabitable ice desert, but their sage leader Mé Kékua will not agree to leave this place...

Book 3 – Dance of Creation

In Book 3, Ria begins to unlock the mystery of her own existence and the destiny that awaits her. Her sublime powers become apparent when a seemingly inconsequential dance with her friend Torcas unwittingly turns into the actual divine dance of creation that restores life to the barren lands of the Kua Matul. Such a powerful ritual stirs up buried memories, though. Through visions of Sira and Uri, Ria uncovers the true origins of the Seal and the tragedy that casts its shadow over Tenebra. Meanwhile, Noctus relentlessly pursues control over the spiral world, turning one prisoner after another into his beastly henchmen, the Shaden, in a gruesome procedure. It becomes more and more urgent for Ria and her companions Uri, Loan and Torcas to find the missing fragments. But they are not the only ones looking for them...

Book 4 – In the Shadows

In Book 4, Mira and Olim are busy organising the remaining freedom fighters as a resistance against Noctus. Ria has to hurry up and find the remaining fragments but constantly clashes with fiery Moliri, requiring all of the old Ojomi's patience and diplomacy skills to make the two women finally collaborate. On top of that, Ria also has to navigate tensions in her own friend group and figure out a way to take the fragment from Torcas without accidentally killing him — which has become even more difficult since she realises that she has begun feeling more than friendship for him. At least, Ojomi finally provides her with some explanations about Sira, the Book-Spinners and the meaning of the fragments. Ria begins to confront the parts of Sira that still live within her — impulses, memories and emotions that challenge her sense of self. But Ria is not the only one battling her inner darkness: Loan's temper and insecurity as well as his budding but unrequited romantic feelings for Ria cause him to break from the group and pursue his own path.

Book 5 – Rise of the Light

Book 5 brings the saga to its decisive turning point as the tensions in Tenebra reach their peak. With Noctus tightening his grip and the resistance preparing for its greatest confrontation, Ria is forced to face not only the darkness threatening the world, but also the unresolved truths hidden within herself.

Guided by her companions, the remaining fragments, and the fragile hope of the clans, Ria must make choices that will define the future of Tenebra. Alliances are tested, old wounds resurface, and the final path toward light demands more from her than she ever imagined.

Book 1 – Seed of Hope

In Book 1, orphaned young warrior Loan discovers a mysterious young woman in a flower bud whom he saves from the evil Noctus' henchmen, the Shaden. Loan's adopted father and mentor Uri realises the young woman must be the daughter of Sira, the Lightclan's legendary queen who was killed during the uprising instigated by Noctus many years ago. In the hidden shelter of the clans of Tenebra who oppose Noctus' rule, Uri aims to help Ria unlock her magical powers and the intuitive connection to Sira in the hope of finding a way to continue Sira's mission and liberate Tenebra from Noctus' tyranny. After receiving the Seeker, Sira's old sceptre, Ria starts having visions telling her to find the fragments of a mysterious Seal that will help her to break Noctus' power. Before Ria can fully understand what to do, Noctus' troops invade the shelter and capture many of the rebels. Protected by Uri and Loan, Ria just barely makes it out alive ... but for the clans of Tenebra, the seed of hope has begun to sprout.

Large-format collector's edition presenting the artwork at expanded scale.

Book 2 – The Power of the Seal

In Book 2, Ria experiences the awesome power of the Seal for the first time. After a crash in the ancient forests of Tenebra on their flight from the Shaden, Ria and Loan encounter the traces of an extinct clan and the terrifying parasite that killed them. Ria recognises that one of the fragments of the Seal has been devoured by the parasite queen, accounting for her deadly powers. When trying to extract the fragment, Ria is haunted by jarring visions that traumatise her for days after. Only by killing the bug queen does she finally manage to collect the fragment. As the group continues their journey, they encounter the dubious Kua Matul clan in the ice desert of Tikoha. While befriending their young captain Torcas, Ria realises that he, too, unbeknownst to him, carries one of the fragments within him, giving him supernatural powers. Ria is deeply conflicted, as she fears she will kill Torcas when removing the fragment. Torcas meanwhile has another problem on his hands: his clan is slowly dying in the uninhabitable ice desert, but their sage leader Mé Kékua will not agree to leave this place...

Large-format collector's edition presenting the artwork at expanded scale.

The Art of Ria – The Lightclan Chronicles

Successfully funded on Kickstarter with 200 backers, The Art of Ria is a comprehensive collection of creature, character, environment and prop designs from the Ria universe. This hardcover volume offers a deep look into the visual development behind the series — from early concept sketches to finished illustrations — assembled for collectors and fans who want to explore the world of Tenebra beyond the pages of the comics.

ABOUT

Ria – The Lightclan Chronicles is a long-form graphic novel universe built as a coherent world system rather than a sequence of isolated stories.

Over time, the project evolved through continuous worldbuilding, visual research and structural refinement. The focus lies on creating a stable foundation - where narrative, character design and visual language are interconnected and can grow consistently across future volumes.

The visual identity of Ria also builds on the coloring work of Fabian Schlaga, who colored the pages and characters of Volumes 1 and 2 and helped define the look the series still carries today.

Ria is not only a story about identity and responsibility, but also an exploration of how worlds are constructed, maintained and expanded over time.

The return of Ria marks a new chapter for The Lightclan Chronicles. After years of development, rebuilding and artistic exploration, the series now continues with a renewed production pipeline, a deeper narrative foundation, and a clearer path toward Books 3–5.

PRESS

"The vibrant panels evoke animated films like Disney's Atlantis or Ghibli's Spirited Away."
— Highlightzone.de

"Ria offers stunning visual worlds that are truly unmatched."
— Amazon Reviews

"The elaborate coloring makes the images glow from within — like a modern animated film in printed form."
— Leser-Welt.de

Thorsten Kiecker / Creator

Illustration, Art Direction & Worldbuilding

I created Ria – The Lightclan Chronicles and its visual world. My work on the series spans story development, character and environment design, illustration and art direction.

For the continuation, I am building on the artwork and designs developed over many years, while refining how I bring new scenes and ideas to life. I develop the visual material, revise it and make the final artistic decisions, with particular attention to character identity and continuity with the published books.

Beyond the comic pages, I also explore how Ria’s characters can be translated into three-dimensional designs and collectible concepts.

Victoria Vosseberg

Story Development

With a background in film production and a Master's degree in Screenwriting from Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Victoria leads narrative development and story consulting. Together, over the past years, we have refined the story arcs for the upcoming volumes — expanding characters, emotional beats, and world logic.

Her input ensures that every new chapter of Ria remains true to its heart while evolving the storyline in meaningful ways. Beyond that, she plays a key role in structuring and prioritising creative tasks, which is essential in today's hybrid work methods. Her guidance helps keep the production focused, aligned and moving forward.

CONTACT

For inquiries, collaborations or press requests, please reach out:

Email:
[email protected]

Click the email address to copy it to your clipboard.

Press material:
Open the official Press / Media Kit

IMPRINT

Angaben gemäß § 5 DDG

Thorsten Kiecker
Birdy Box presents
Ria – The Lightclan Chronicles

c/o flexdienst – #20467
Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 76
67663 Kaiserslautern
Deutschland

Email: [email protected]

Responsible for the content according to § 55 Abs. 2 RStV:
Thorsten Kiecker

COPYRIGHT

Coloring of Volumes 1 and 2 by Fabian Schlaga.

Any reproduction, modification or distribution requires prior written permission.

Behind the Lightclan Chronicles

BirdyBox

The workspace behind Ria.

Working on a double-page spread: panel layouts, artwork and dialogue together. · 1 / 3

Creating Ria – The Lightclan Chronicles means keeping track of characters, locations, scripts, sketches and the details that connect the story across several volumes. We work on Ria alongside our jobs and everyday responsibilities. Over the years, our files ended up on several drives, while planning and artwork meant moving between Trello, Procreate, Photoshop and other tools. Searching for references and keeping everything organised was taking time away from working on the graphic novel.

Thorsten Kiecker is the sole artist creating Volumes 3–5 of Ria – The Lightclan Chronicles, responsible for all artwork and visual storytelling. To support this work, we began building a workspace around the way we make Ria. That became BirdyBox Studio. It brings our page planning, artwork and reference material together, with tools developed to solve the small, recurring problems we encounter during production.

BirdyBox automatically imports existing Trello board plans into a graphic novel project, keeping production notes beside the relevant pages. For Victoria Vosseberg, who works on story development and planning, having every double-page spread in one visual overview makes it easier to review the book with Thorsten, discuss pacing and story sequences, and keep revisions connected to the artwork. From this overview, we can move directly into the panel-editing canvas and export the result as a PDF or a PSD with separate layers for further work in Photoshop. Texts and speech balloons are managed globally across the project, making it easy to review dialogue, work with different language versions, and adjust balloon colours, shapes and fonts consistently across pages and sequences.

Within the canvas, we can work on single pages and double-page spreads, adjusting panel frames separately from the artwork inside them. Panels snap to guides and neighbouring panels, helping us keep margins and spacing consistent. We can also draw storyboards directly in BirdyBox. Some drawings and artwork continue to be created in Procreate and Photoshop before being brought into BirdyBox for further page development. BirdyBox can automatically split a finished background into separate layers, making it easier to add elements and adjust a scene without reworking the entire background. Our world archive keeps character designs, poses, creatures, props, backgrounds and reference sheets organised and searchable across Ria projects. We can reuse material in new scenes and keep earlier design variants and saved working states available.

BirdyBox continues to grow as we use it to create the graphic novel. Our priority now is completing Volume 3. Once it is finished, we will be able to make a more informed estimate of the time needed for the remaining volumes. Having our material and planning better organised gives us confidence as we continue Ria’s story.

After completing Volume 3, we plan to give selected graphic novel creators and publishers a closer look at BirdyBox Studio and exchange ideas from our experience of using it.