Poking around Facebook earlier today, I found a fan page for a sci-fi web series called Riese, which stars Christine Chatelain, Sharon Taylor, Ben Cotton, Patrick Gilmore, Ryan Robbins, Emilie Ullerup, Alessandro Juliani and Allison Mack.
Riese is a sci-fi action “webseries” that mixes steampunk sensibilities with some fairly intense action set pieces. It’s time to put “webseries” in the dictionary folks. These short-form scripted gems aren’t going away, and they keep getting better and better. And Riese is a prime example of that.
Here is the synopsis of Riese the Series:
Riese is a world of moral ambiguity and political intrigue.
A decimated land populated by characters from dreams and nightmares. Loyalties are ever in question, suspicion in the minds of all. The realm, however, was not always so cruel. Everything began with a peaceful nation called Eleysia.
The Kingdom of the Wolf, Eleysia was once prosperous due largely to the influence of Empress Kara and Emperor Ulric. This all changed when a coup d’etat, orchestrated from the shadows by a religious cult, brought about a total regime change.
Taking the throne was Amara, the Empress’s cousin.
A power-hungry tyrant, Amara immediately utilized Eleysia’s wealth and power to begin colonizing the world, crushing nation after nation in order to unite the people under one banner. Even as she assaulted the world, an ominous, enigmatic group clearly wielded power over her. Called The Sect, they purported themselves to be the official religion of Eleysia, and began to spread alongside Eleysia’s borders.
Since the coup, the land has begun to die, resources are dwindling and compassion is fading. Humanity itself is seen as impure. People have grown restless, almost feral. Rituals and mythology have resurged, and the darker side of mankind has begun to reveal itself.
The true horror of the world is not in how it ends, but what will become of mankind as it fractures.And yet, despite the impending doom, a single beacon of light shines in Riese. A mysterious wanderer, she travels with her wolf Fenrir across this barren land. Branded as heretics by The Sect, Riese and Fenrir will pause to aid those in need as they travel, but they must evade capture at all costs. As she flees, she’ll piece together her past and her destiny, in a conflict that will hold the fate of this world in the balance – and the once peaceful kingdom of Eleysia will be the battlefield.
This is the world of Riese.
Check out Episode 5 of Riese below.
You can check out more episodes of the show, and find out more about its creators, at it’s official website riesetheseries.com.