Do you like ongoing stories with recurring characters and a complex plot? Are you looking for an original story to follow here on dA? If so, this is the feature for you!

As artists, we all have ideas. Sometimes those ideas include people, places, and things that can be hard to understand without context. But all that context and back story can be daunting to new watchers--there's so much to learn about the characters that keep appearing in a deviant's gallery, and sometimes it's hard to find information.

Here you'll find a ton of original stories, with some introductory art and summaries by the artists themselves to give you a sense of the story's feel. The point of this feature is to show off your, my, and others' stories! Whether your interests lie with fantasy, sci-fi, alternate history, regular history, romance, mystery, shoujo or shounen manga, or webcomics, it's all here for the viewing! So look at the stories and art, find something you like, and give some support to these imaginative creators!



Astral Arcana by =temiel and ~Arthulin



"In an alternate future 300 years from today, Earth's empire has expanded beyond the borders of Terra and across the galaxy with the help of arcane science that allows open-decked sailing ships in space. Astral Arcana is a universe of high-flying space pirates, fantasy creatures, aliens, undead cyborgs, technological swashbuckling, romance and adventure set against the shimmering backdrop of a far-flung galactic aether."



Darcain by *Synieth



"Darcain is a fantasy world unique and separate from our own. Long ago it was ruled by just one race of beings, but when a giant crystal struck the planet and broke it into giant floating islands, the single race was spread out and nearly destroyed, and over time they evolved. What was once one race, became nine. They soon discovered that the crystal that now floated in the center of their suspended chain of islands had great power they could tap into, and has been both a blessing and a curse, transforming their society into something suspended between medieval fantasy and futuristic."



Penumbra by ~solfieri



"Set in a fantastic universe akin to our own world before industrialization, it's a graphic novel about a woman, Alice, faithful servant of the god of Light that is worshipped by the people. As a member of the Church of Tevales – worshippers of the god -, she tries to follow its rigid morals and code of conduct at all costs, even if it means suffocating her inner nature and desires and ultimately sacrificing her own sense of self - until a chance meeting with a young captain threatens to dim her strong beliefs. Enveloping this main premise is a psychological drama barely disguised as an adventure story, which follows the pasts and presents of the four main characters – Alice, Johan, Lillith and Kalen –, their inner troubles and insecurities, and how they deal with a society that defines them in terms of power relations and ultimately tries to curb their own senses of identity."


Forget Your Wings by ~KSteinhoff



"It's not the history of the ultimate fight of Heaven against Hell--it's the history of a Angel called Syrius. Raised as a human, as a child he unwillingly received the eye of a Demon. When he's 26, the demon from his childhood, Zire, demands his eye back, possible only by one of them being killed. Aerena, claiming to be an Archangel, appears to make Syrius awake himself as an angel. As other Angels appear to help, like Kafziel and Azra'il, Zire and other demons like Semjaza, Azazel and Armaros gather to put an end to this angel reunion."



Internet High School by =Nikki0417



"In this webcomic, the internet is a city: Youtube is a movie theater, Facebook is a frat house, DA is a high school, and so on. The story centers around DA. Radiomeister, a 16-year-old who almost never uses his computer until the story begins, decides to make a DA account to share his drawings with the world. Pretty soon after that he meets 2 teenage fangirls and the 3 of them surf DA and other websites, trying to survive the constant internet drama they encounter along the way."



The Long Road Home: The Exile Chronicles by ~RavingEagle



"This story follows a group of seven soldiers who have survived WWIII.
The world as they and we knew it is gone. The United States of America is no more. The soldiers are not only surrounded by ambitious warlords and marauding deserters, but by former fellow members of the US Armed Forces trying to get them to take sides in the civil war raging back in the US. They choose the side of the 'Exiles', who just want to go home. It is not an easy road. The real question being, is there really a home to go to?"



The Expedition by *SilverRS



"A comic about four men sponsored by their city's mayor to explore the mysterious forest near the town. Few have the courage to explore the woods, which are surrounded by mystifying legends."



Katala by ~dodongo-fin



"In the past, rich girl Ronja witnessed a tragedy in her high class family caused by her soon to be brother-in-law Fabian, who disappeared with their bodies of her two sisters afterwards. Years later she suddenly tumbles into a 'thing' that might mean he's still alive somewhere, and she decides to use her endless riches and free time and to track him down. By a chance she meets a juvenile criminal, Sulo, while visiting a jail for information, and he seems to know this person. Ronja uses her influence to get him out to help her, but Sulo has different plans. The story follows their search and the people around them, and it seems like everyone's misfortune is caused by the same source..."



My Vampire Hunter by =a-fools-paradise



"Gavin is a very old vampire, dating to way back when. He is known as 'Hunter' due to having spent most of his vampire life, from 14th century Germany to the present day, tracking down the one who turned him--a vampire known as Father Alastair--so that he can slay him."



Black Tears by *SpectralFairy and *LockeLamora



"A young sorcerer with no power whatsoever is ready to pay any price to gain it. In this enthralling adventure of powerful hates and desires you'll get pirates and lifelong vengeances, gods gone bad, maidens more or less innocent, necromancers with too many zombies for their own good and much more!"



Arc Tracers by =chen-san and ~quinz3l



"Archaeology students Letita Perez, Ronan Gallagher, Brianna St. Thomas and Craig Devlin were chosen by their university to participate in a field trip competition. Their field trip to Greece developed into a murderer chase when the four found evidence of a murder on their site. The plotline follows their eventual graduation from school, the turbulent relationship between Ronan and Letitia, and the group's shipwreck on a deserted South American island."



Altitude Sickness by ~Logic-ed



"Set in WWII England around 1943. It's about a bomber crew, and all of the misadventures that they have. The main character is named Eugene. He's from Boston, and signed up for the air force because he basically had nothing better to do. He's the plane's radio operator. His best friend, Charlotte, is the pilot. She keeps him out of trouble and makes him eat his vegetables. The story is about the two trying to survive their 25 bombing missions over France and Germany. They have adventures on their leaves to London and other British towns, and get into a lot of trouble."



Wen by *DavinArfel



"...My name is Marco. I'm just a little orphan boy like others... but I don't feel my life go by the same as everyone's! I'm not in my world, but I'm not really here, I'm sure. My life looks like a dream, or a story from a strange old book. Like Alice, I follow the footprints of the rabbit, who show me wonders of the ancient ages: the country of the Elves... the cities of the giants... Atlantis... and the genesis of Earth. I'm going back in time, to find out who I am, and discover my origins..."



Animae (Souls): The Shadow's Key by *NadezhdaVasile



"Set in the most classic fantasy world, "Animae - The Shadow's Key" is the story of Rhistel, a young half-human, and his constant struggle against bad luck (and his writer's wickedness). Between (mis)adventures, trusted friends, inappropriate antagonists, nebbish enemies and unexpected twists of fate, chapter after chapter will show the way to the dark fate that awaits the whole world... but mostly all our protagonists."


A special thanks to all the fantastic artists who contributed to this feature for sharing your own worlds with me and deviantART!