One aspect of TwoKinds that I’ve been watching with interest is the story of Trace Legacy as he balances precariously on the slope between monster and man. Before the story’s start, Trace was the monster… a man who was ruthless in his quest to gain vengeance against the Keidran race after the death of his wife Saria. At its start, Trace wakes with no clue to who he is, and but scant traces of memories. Yet despite this lack of past, Trace’s actions from time to time hinted at the man who he once had been… and often it was the Keidran Flora (whom Trace falls in love with) who keeps him from slipping over the precipice.

The question of who and what Trace Legacy was, and the current Trace’s attempts to learn of his past, has been one of the themes of TK for much of the comic’s length. We (and Trace) have found pieces of the puzzle through friends of his (and the funny thing is, the girl who was dating Trace and the others, who pursued Trace through the first half of the comic’s run, do seem to fit that bill) and his journal. But it’s the dragon Nora that’s given the last pieces of the puzzle to show us who Trace Legacy was… and just why he became a monster in human guise.

While losing a spouse could push anyone over the edge, it’s Trace’s use of black mana for his magic which seems to have driven him mad. Trace’s reaction to Saria’s death was to use black mana to try and bring her back to life. He failed. And in attempting such a dark spell, he was damaged in some way… and two years after Saria’s death he seized control of the Templar and started his grand Pogrom against the Keidran. But while Trace’s past may no longer be a cipher, the story has opened up new questions concerning the Templar and what it was Trace had planned in the depths of his insanity.