In the kingdom of Nafiri, a grand adventure is about to unfold. Seven young warriors have gathered on this small crescent-moon shaped island in the Straits of Malacca, all eager to achieve a high position in the Nafiri nobility.
One of them wants to brings honour to their family. Another wants to do good, and another wants revenge.
This is the tale of Nafiri, a South-East Asian flavoured series of fantasy light novels by local publisher Maple Comics, which was released during the movement control order period in April.
According to Nafiri creator/writer Amir Hafizi, this series, set in an alternative universe, features loads of action and intrigue.
“There are several factions in Nafiri. There are forces working against each other, some influenced by foreign powers or internal power struggles. There are secret histories as to how Nafiri was formed, and how this impacts the people there, ” says Amir, one of the co-founders of Maple Comics.
“I am really looking forward to explore all these things and reveal them to readers along the way in this series, ” he adds.
This black-and-white series draws inspiration from a wide and diverse range of sources, including the 1999 video game Heroes Of Might and Magic III, the role-playing game Dungeons And Dragons, the Dragonlance novels of Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, and the reality television show Survivor.
The name “Nafiri” also references the traditional woodwind instrument that is part of the nobat (royal music) that must be played to crown a Malay king.
Nafiri, written in Bahasa Malaysia, is a pet project for Amir, even before it was introduced as a crowdfunding initiative last December.
Years in the making
Amir first came up with the Nafiri idea when he was 19, and wanting to write about a fantasy universe with local flavour.
“While growing up, I had a diet of Western fantasy creatures like dwarves and elves for the longest time.
“They are great, don’t get me wrong. But I also wanted to see what else we could expand on in terms of the comics medium here.”
Amir is all for making use of more stories and elements from this region.
“There are so many things that have been unexplored, that people have never seen before, ” he says.
In January this year, Batu Belah The Untold Story, a graphic novel written by Arkadia and drawn by Faezal Tan, updated the the classic Malay folk tale Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup (The Devouring Rock).
In May, the animated short film Legend Of Ancient Borneo was made available online. This Kadazan-Dusun language animation is based on a self-published comic created by Sabahan duo Kwan Thung Seng and Robertson Sondoh Jr.
On the surface, it seems like interest in folk tales and ancient regional stories among contemporary publishers, writers, artists and filmmakers has been steadily growing.
But Amir is certain, each project has come with many challenges and dogged determination is a must to see these projects through.
Part history, part fantasy
Amir tried several times over the years to get Nafiri off the ground, pitching it as a cartoon series and a comic book, among other things, but none of his efforts were successful.
In the end, he decided to bring it to life as a series of light novels, a storytelling format popular in Japan. This format combines light amounts of texts with illustrations.
“We decided last year to do it this way because it was easier to execute, and more achievable.
“I think it also gives more value for the reader. Some of our readers actually prefer stories in written form, and for them, more text is like, more bites into the story, ” explains Amir.
As a writer, Amir wants to produce a story that connects. He agrees how voices from the past and fascinating characters can still teach us a lot about our lives today.
Maple Comics, which has been active in the comics scene here since December 2014, added the Nafiri series to its line-up.
Nafiri offers something new for Maple Comics, especially since there are eight books planned.
Each book, says Amir, details the story of one of the seven main characters. The eighth book is set to tie up the story.
Each book will feature about 100 pages, with illustrations handled by artist Zamzami M. Zain.
“I think Zamzami is one of the best artists in Malaysia. I’m very impressed with what he’s done, all the characters really have had thought put into their looks and (costume) designs, ” says Amir.
Nafiri’s first book tells the story of Marwan, who Amir describes as the son of a Nafiri official and a Chinese noblewoman. Born outside the city, Marwan resents his father, and wants to honour his mother by gaining favour with the king.
Another character in the series includes Abdullah, Marwan’s best friend, a man skilled in blacksmithing and fighting, among other things, who has travelled to the Middle East.
There is also Kusuma, a female summoner, and Layang, a mysterious assassin familiar with the inner workings of the kingdom.
“One of the most popular characters is one called Puih. He is very strong, with a very huge body. He wields a weapon called the ‘kacip garuda’, and is a monster killer, ” reveals Amir.
As a fantasy series, Nafiri borrows a fair bit from local folklore. Through the pages, readers will find things like chi manipulation, summoning magic, harimau jadian (were-tigers) and mythical martial arts. There are also references to historical events.
“But we are not trying to present something historically accurate. We want to have fun with the story, ” says Amir with a laugh.
Even with post-pandemic challenges ahead, Amir estimates that it will take about two to three years to complete the Nafiri story.
The first volume has given the publishers a boost. Through crowdfunding, Maple Comics hoped to raise funds for the book in 30 days. Instead it hit its target in five days, thanks to a generous donor.
“We were very surprised anyone would care about this project. There were people that donated more than the tiers we set, and didn’t ask for extra rewards. We are so grateful, and humbled.”
Amir is currently working on volume two of the series, which he hopes to hand over to Zamzami for illustration soon. A visual novel game is also in the plans for next year.
“Response has been quite encouraging. We think it was due to our focused marketing efforts during the crowdfunding campaign. Nafiri has become one of our top five titles in terms of online sales, ” concludes Amir proudly.
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