I really don’t think that was the first comment, but maybe?
So, anyway, Dainix is likely going to be very uncomftable down there and Falst is a lion ferin, a lion is a cat, and we all know how much most cats like water.
Erin, on the other hand, is probably going to be pretty exited, I mean, how many (non secrai) humans have been to an underwater city!
And Alinua is going to be fine, minus the fact Kendal has been damseled (again). But this time, Erin doesn’t know as much about his condition of being imprisoned as he knew when Zurith was the captor.
Wait, I forgot Falst isn’t there…
So, Tess. She may be an easy-going wanderer, but she’s made of metal (gold, to be specific), and metal isn’t exactly know for liking water (at least gold doesn’t really rust, It’s very heavy thou). I’m eager to see (or hear) her reaction.
I don’t want to be rude or anything, but I’m pretty sure Tess is bronze. It said so on the wiki, although it doesn’t really match her colors.
Also, has anyone else thought of how many ways Kendal’s imprisonment could go? I’m not gonna write any of my theories because I have no time in the mornings, but this really puts into perspective how little we know about the Paladins. They could heal Kendal’s injuries, or not. They could also put him in a cell with other people, which would give us some insight into the Paladins, along with a few more characters to complicate the inevitable escape attempt. And a lot more that I don’t have time to write! I am looking forward to seeing what Red does.
Brass, she’s brass, Midas bronze. I’d say copper-zinc alloy as opposed to copper-tin, but Aurora isn’t in our universe, so I don’t know if copper, zinc, tin or alloying work the same way
Falst isn’t here anymore. He 100% stowed away on a Paladin Dragon-Boat with Kendal (Sword) and will be on his way to the Snowfast to rattle the bars of Kendal’s cell and go PSST.
The fact this isn’t Greco-Roman ‘Atlantis rubble’™ makes it far more original than most underwater civilisations.
Looking forwards to seeing all the coral, or not. Whatever falls under your designs.
Ooh mermaids!
Also this is the first time I haven’t seen any comments on a page.
I highly doubt that I am the first comment, but still cool nonetheless.
-Signed The Vessel Of A Glowing God
(aka The Princess)
I’m constantly bemused by depictions of mermaid life that are just ‘humans under water’ because their creators never stop to consider most of the situations, phrases and expressions they take for granted would make absolutely no sense in an aquatic environment.
Nice city you got there. Very colourful. I’m a big fan of ocean/deep ocean biology, so I like seeing the little bioluminescent thingys and marine snow. Very nice details. My only question is whyyyy is there so much colour that far down? I know it’s to make the page more interesting but from a scientific perspective there should be no reason to be colourful when it’s that dark, I mean barely anyone will see you. Still though, it’s a really pretty page, I’m going to try to comment on every page again, can’t wait to see the floofs again
Also want to add that coral reefs shouldn’t work that far down, there’s no enough sunlight to support their usual ecosystem. And I’m assuming it’s far down because of the bioluminescence and marine snow.
I thought they were bubbles, not snow, and we were still close to the surface. I’ve never heard of bioluminescence being a deep dark deep down thing, I was reminded of bioluminescent algae on the breaking waves at that one beach… Though Caturus(iirc) did assume Alinua was from the shallows, so maybe we are supposed to be deeper…
Forget the giant coral, I want to know what sea creatures made those enormous shells.
Yeah, a coral reef city makes a ton of sense. Lots of internal and external volume for people to live and work, different corals could align with different facilities, and the corals themselves are self-sustaining, maybe needing a bit of underwater gardening here and there. A functional AND elegant walkable- well, swimmable city.
Reminds me of some recent science news where healthy coral was placed next to bleached coral and within a few weeks the bleached coral had fully recovered. Bleached coral reef recovery may be on the horizon!
Didn’t comment last week due to being on a lovely walking holiday with my brother for half of it, and recovering from said holiday for the other half. My condensed thoughts are as follows:
2-9-1: I think this is the first time we’ve seen a god comment about the Paladins directly, and Caliban’s perspective is not very rosy. Not surprising that their zealous hunting of anything remotely looking like V.D., disregarding anything and anyone in their way, would gain them the enmity of some gods.
2-9-2: Aha! So Tahraim and Cali’s plan IS about using soulfire’s transmutation property; if they just wanted him as a strong warrior they wouldn’t be guiding him through so many hoops. Remember that prismatic light that Dainix transmuted on the ship? I reckon something like that is what Tahraim envisions transmuting V.D. into; a multifaceted power brimming with potential, rather than his current all devouring darkness or the sterile white of the Paladins.
Though I wonder what Caliban’s stake is in all of this. Is it just a transaction between the two “I help your mortal become strong and he helps me with this project”, does she also want V.D. changed, or does she have other plans for Dainix?
1) I can imagine that most gods probably aren’t big fans of the Paladins, a religious order that seems to unite individuals from various backgrounds under the banner of a “True Primordial Goddess” instead of ‘lesser’ gods of cities or races. Seeing the way they talk about Their War as the only one that matters makes me think that they’re dismissive of pretty much every other sociopolitical conflict, and they’re clearly not too careful about collateral damage. There’s no way that this was the first time they endangered a local population with their antics, I’m sure of it.
2) I can imagine that Caliban gets two things out of it, the first being a super-powerful Champion under their (presumable) control. And the second would be the elimination of a world-ending threat. When you’re a god, long-term planning for the continued existence of your domain is pretty standard, and it’s clear that many gods are generally aware of the Primordials (Gleicann recognised Life immediately) and SOME are aware of the Void Dragon. Caliban’s probably just looking out for themselves and their people.
3) Bold of you to assume that the battles between their domains aren’t hate-fucking.
1) True. While they’ve setup their archive in Zuurith, that feels more like him tolerating them for helping supplement his city’s security and little else. City gods and species gods can see eye to eye when their members overlap, but I doubt the Paladins are as flexible.
2) Also true, plus their nature as a trickster god might be influencing things; knocking the high and mighty V.D. AND Paladins down a peg must appeal somewhat.
3) If the complex meteorological interplay between seasonal cold ocean currents and localised volcanic activity isn’t a form of hate f**king, I don’t know what is.
On behalf of the MANY Ace as Hell readers of Aurora, bold of you all to assume a romantic nature to the Nemesises, ESPECIALLY given what we know about Red as an author.
I was simply trying to make a videogame reference (‘cough’ the robotic voice ‘cough’), I was inspired by ChimeraRat’s comment on the end of the previous page’s comment list.
oOOH pwetty cowors! merFOLKS!
On an only slightly more serious note, that is incredibly pretty. Also, orange merfolk person is interesting. I assumed they would be colored to match the underwater environment, but if this person is native to the reef it would make sense.
Also, what could possibly have produced those enormous purple shells?
Has anybody commented already?
I really don’t think that was the first comment, but maybe?
So, anyway, Dainix is likely going to be very uncomftable down there and Falst is a lion ferin, a lion is a cat, and we all know how much most cats like water.
Erin, on the other hand, is probably going to be pretty exited, I mean, how many (non secrai) humans have been to an underwater city!
And Alinua is going to be fine, minus the fact Kendal has been damseled (again). But this time, Erin doesn’t know as much about his condition of being imprisoned as he knew when Zurith was the captor.
Wait, I forgot Falst isn’t there…
So, Tess. She may be an easy-going wanderer, but she’s made of metal (gold, to be specific), and metal isn’t exactly know for liking water (at least gold doesn’t really rust, It’s very heavy thou). I’m eager to see (or hear) her reaction.
I don’t want to be rude or anything, but I’m pretty sure Tess is bronze. It said so on the wiki, although it doesn’t really match her colors.
Also, has anyone else thought of how many ways Kendal’s imprisonment could go? I’m not gonna write any of my theories because I have no time in the mornings, but this really puts into perspective how little we know about the Paladins. They could heal Kendal’s injuries, or not. They could also put him in a cell with other people, which would give us some insight into the Paladins, along with a few more characters to complicate the inevitable escape attempt. And a lot more that I don’t have time to write! I am looking forward to seeing what Red does.
Brass, she’s brass, Midas bronze. I’d say copper-zinc alloy as opposed to copper-tin, but Aurora isn’t in our universe, so I don’t know if copper, zinc, tin or alloying work the same way
She has literal Brass Knuckles.
Falst isn’t here anymore. He 100% stowed away on a Paladin Dragon-Boat with Kendal (Sword) and will be on his way to the Snowfast to rattle the bars of Kendal’s cell and go PSST.
Oh, shit. I just finished reading your comment. More fool me!
Dissolve into fire
Enter depths of the sea
Edges of Reefspire
Place of seafolk safety
“Life under the sea
Is better than anything they got up there” – Sebastian the crab
The fact this isn’t Greco-Roman ‘Atlantis rubble’™ makes it far more original than most underwater civilisations.
Looking forwards to seeing all the coral, or not. Whatever falls under your designs.
Ooh mermaids!
Also this is the first time I haven’t seen any comments on a page.
I highly doubt that I am the first comment, but still cool nonetheless.
-Signed The Vessel Of A Glowing God
(aka The Princess)
Alt text: way down we go!
Image source: deep
Bluesky text: going down!
Tumbr text: we’re swimming with the fishes today!
the mobile readers appreciate yalls service !!
“Under the sea” starts playing.
I’m getting the Vash’jir music from World of Warcraft. Lot of eerie whole tone scales and mysterious choral vocalizing.
Red if you ever wanna do a two pager this chapter, cool underwater mermaid coral city would be a great pick.
Underwater coral cities give me some Pathfinder flashbacks, nice
I’m constantly bemused by depictions of mermaid life that are just ‘humans under water’ because their creators never stop to consider most of the situations, phrases and expressions they take for granted would make absolutely no sense in an aquatic environment.
Assuming that our remaining Floof Squad are currently in the mermaid city, Dainix is going to *love* this when he comes to…
And Erin, when he sees Alinua with gills. I’ve been waiting for his true-shapeshifting crash out for so long…
Nice city you got there. Very colourful. I’m a big fan of ocean/deep ocean biology, so I like seeing the little bioluminescent thingys and marine snow. Very nice details. My only question is whyyyy is there so much colour that far down? I know it’s to make the page more interesting but from a scientific perspective there should be no reason to be colourful when it’s that dark, I mean barely anyone will see you. Still though, it’s a really pretty page, I’m going to try to comment on every page again, can’t wait to see the floofs again
Also want to add that coral reefs shouldn’t work that far down, there’s no enough sunlight to support their usual ecosystem. And I’m assuming it’s far down because of the bioluminescence and marine snow.
I thought they were bubbles, not snow, and we were still close to the surface. I’ve never heard of bioluminescence being a deep dark deep down thing, I was reminded of bioluminescent algae on the breaking waves at that one beach… Though Caturus(iirc) did assume Alinua was from the shallows, so maybe we are supposed to be deeper…
If it was real deep to much for light we could say the city is made of sponge. Coral is calcified, sponge can also be calcified or made of glass
Why did I get ‘shame if something happened to it’ vibes from this comment?
Red will not be constrained by real-world science, that’s why.
just realized the bioluminecent looking stuff are windows
I think that’s ash rather than marine snow. It’s falling in the air above the water. If it is, then the reef city is in fairly shallow water.
Forget the giant coral, I want to know what sea creatures made those enormous shells.
Yeah, a coral reef city makes a ton of sense. Lots of internal and external volume for people to live and work, different corals could align with different facilities, and the corals themselves are self-sustaining, maybe needing a bit of underwater gardening here and there. A functional AND elegant walkable- well, swimmable city.
Reminds me of some recent science news where healthy coral was placed next to bleached coral and within a few weeks the bleached coral had fully recovered. Bleached coral reef recovery may be on the horizon!
Didn’t comment last week due to being on a lovely walking holiday with my brother for half of it, and recovering from said holiday for the other half. My condensed thoughts are as follows:
2-9-1: I think this is the first time we’ve seen a god comment about the Paladins directly, and Caliban’s perspective is not very rosy. Not surprising that their zealous hunting of anything remotely looking like V.D., disregarding anything and anyone in their way, would gain them the enmity of some gods.
2-9-2: Aha! So Tahraim and Cali’s plan IS about using soulfire’s transmutation property; if they just wanted him as a strong warrior they wouldn’t be guiding him through so many hoops. Remember that prismatic light that Dainix transmuted on the ship? I reckon something like that is what Tahraim envisions transmuting V.D. into; a multifaceted power brimming with potential, rather than his current all devouring darkness or the sterile white of the Paladins.
Though I wonder what Caliban’s stake is in all of this. Is it just a transaction between the two “I help your mortal become strong and he helps me with this project”, does she also want V.D. changed, or does she have other plans for Dainix?
2-9-3: Oh just f**k already.
Three things:
1) I can imagine that most gods probably aren’t big fans of the Paladins, a religious order that seems to unite individuals from various backgrounds under the banner of a “True Primordial Goddess” instead of ‘lesser’ gods of cities or races. Seeing the way they talk about Their War as the only one that matters makes me think that they’re dismissive of pretty much every other sociopolitical conflict, and they’re clearly not too careful about collateral damage. There’s no way that this was the first time they endangered a local population with their antics, I’m sure of it.
2) I can imagine that Caliban gets two things out of it, the first being a super-powerful Champion under their (presumable) control. And the second would be the elimination of a world-ending threat. When you’re a god, long-term planning for the continued existence of your domain is pretty standard, and it’s clear that many gods are generally aware of the Primordials (Gleicann recognised Life immediately) and SOME are aware of the Void Dragon. Caliban’s probably just looking out for themselves and their people.
3) Bold of you to assume that the battles between their domains aren’t hate-fucking.
Rather, bold of you to assume that this isn’t how THEY fuck.
1) True. While they’ve setup their archive in Zuurith, that feels more like him tolerating them for helping supplement his city’s security and little else. City gods and species gods can see eye to eye when their members overlap, but I doubt the Paladins are as flexible.
2) Also true, plus their nature as a trickster god might be influencing things; knocking the high and mighty V.D. AND Paladins down a peg must appeal somewhat.
3) If the complex meteorological interplay between seasonal cold ocean currents and localised volcanic activity isn’t a form of hate f**king, I don’t know what is.
About the last point.
I think you meant to say “OH MY GOD! WILL YOU TWO JUST SMOOCH ALREADY?” in a robotic voice
I forgot to ad “THE AUDIENCE IS DYING FOR SOME ROMANTIC ACTION! ! !”
On behalf of the MANY Ace as Hell readers of Aurora, bold of you all to assume a romantic nature to the Nemesises, ESPECIALLY given what we know about Red as an author.
I was simply trying to make a videogame reference (‘cough’ the robotic voice ‘cough’), I was inspired by ChimeraRat’s comment on the end of the previous page’s comment list.
Oooo big shells
oOOH pwetty cowors! merFOLKS!
On an only slightly more serious note, that is incredibly pretty. Also, orange merfolk person is interesting. I assumed they would be colored to match the underwater environment, but if this person is native to the reef it would make sense.
Also, what could possibly have produced those enormous purple shells?
…. . -.– .- … ..-.
That seems to translate to SEEKASF, which seems wrong, anyone know what it is supposed to say?
I may need to change my work computer desktop to that final panel, dammit Red! Your locations are so pretty! 😍
This must be the Reefspire.
So is this the Merfold?
How much do you want to bet that Kendal will end up summoning more and more gods like Monkey did when he got stuck in the symbols?