2.2.22
on July 22, 2024
at 3:00 am
There are so many 2s involved in this page. It’s even July 22nd. I wish I’d planned this, I could’ve worked it into the page somehow.
Aurora
A fantasy webcomic. Updates M-W-F.
There are so many 2s involved in this page. It’s even July 22nd. I wish I’d planned this, I could’ve worked it into the page somehow.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: remember a million years ago when the Avengers movie was like “putting the Hulk on a flying helicarrier is a bad idea?” Erin should’ve watched that movie
Image source: great
Tumblr text: happy Festical of Everyone Yells At The Elemental Magus
Twitter text: 👀
Tumblr text: happy Festival of Everyone Yells At The Elemental Magus
Technically they said submarine was a bad idea, which seems we’re gonna get to see smthn similar here
Is Rakhn the god? I think Dainix swore by them a couple chapters ago (like as a curse/profanity). Also, yeah, I don’t think this is seasickness
Seasickness but made worse by proximity to a nexus of Fire energy perhaps?
He used Rahkn as an expression of frustration twice, at least once during the dungeon crawl iirc
It’s also used in one of the epithets for the Storm in 1.4.1, as part of ” Dal-an Rakhn, litarally the hand of chaos” indicating it means “chaos” or something similar. Maybe the word is derived from the name of a god though?
Well, on the bright side, the essential elements of the ship are not wood
that’s a good point actually
On the downside, the essential elements of their bodies are quite flammable.
awwww falst running after dainix
but also ohhhh dainix about to explode
No, Erin, the holiday is “Oh no my hubris”-day. I was kinda expecting you’d have it memorized by now!
But for Erin EVERY day is an ‘Oooo, my hubris’ kind of day.
this whole chapter is just “Dainix and the terrible horrible no good very bad day”
In a way, Red did incorporate it into the story. We could say that the 22nd of July is Yell at the Elemental Magus day.
Petition to officially make July 22 the Festival of Everybody Yells at the Elemental Magus
Signed.
signed
I’ll call the government *also signed*
Consider it signed
signed
As an elemental magus this makes me uncomfortable and I would like to politely request that this petition be stricken from the record.
signed!
Signed
Signed
signed
Signed
Signed!
Signed and delivered.
Signed.
Signed
Signed
Signed
signed!!
Signed.
signed
Signed. July 22nd. Putting it in the calendar.
Its volcanic stone from Rakhn, behind the storm,
Kendal tells Erin, who cries delighted:
“Rakhn is practically Helm’s front doorstep!”
Falst emerges, less excited.
“If you can’t smooth this out,” he yells,
“We’re going to have a real problem on our hands-”
Dainix crawls up from the wooden hold,
Cracked with fire in jagged bands.
“Going to have” pronounced “gonna” or “gunna”, naturally.
Just posted this, but it looks like my WiFi has failed me, so we try again.
Erin rejoices that they’re nearing their goal
While Dainix tries not to reduce the ship to coal
Poor Dainix, he looks so tired
I can’t help but suspect this entire sea voyage arc is a veiled indictment of Silicon Valley’s “move fast and break things” mantra. Needless to say I’m here for it. People like Erin are the reason OSHA exists.
there is parallel to Erin’s confidence cracking alongside Dainix’s fire: at the start of the voyage, despite everyone’s misgivings he’s confident: everything is fine nothing they can’t handle,
midway: we see him crumbling a bit, team is bringing up the Whys and Erin’s hubris/confidence, and buddy’s feeling sick,
Now he’s facing the storm and danny’s gunna explode on the wood dec
Dani? Do you mean Terrin?/j/ref
Pah, What’s This? Educating Gordon Day? (first thing that came to my mind when reading panel 6)
Ah-ha! So Rakhn IS a volcanic god along with being a byword for chaos. “Rakhn is practically Helm’s front doorstep”, eh? I’m looking at the world map, and I’m thinking that Rakhn is a volcano or volcanic island along that archipelago south west of Helm. Perhaps that teeny-tiny one to the far west of the group?
Well, Erin’s best laid plan is still fairly intact looking at how pleased he seems to be. Kendal looks concerned about being close to Rakhn’s domain, but not Erin; ships do pass through here so I can see why Erin isn’t concerned, but Kendal’s and/or Dainix’s presence might upset things. Regardless, looks like the biggest problem is not from outside the ship, but inside.
Notice how Dainix’s speech bubbles only become fire cracked once he’s on deck; he was holding in his powers until he got out of the hold. This is not seasickness, and I doubt Falst’s comment alone could cause this must internal strife in Dainix; there’s something else at play here.
I’ve got two hypotheses: a) being out at sea, separated by land and ambient fire energy, could be messing with him. Or b) proximity of Rakhn could be causing his powers to flare up at even minor emotions.
How these could affect him, a non-mage Ignan who’s fire powers come solely from within and no outside source needed, I don’t know.
What I do know is that someone should really take the wheel because I can practically hear Alinua abandoning her post and her footsteps rushing to apply heals, which probably won’t even work, to Dainix.
Option C, both hypotheses are contributing?
In any case, it’s a very good thing Falst was there to realize that something was wrong, or the deck starting to smoulder would have likely been the first warning anyone got.
You should take a look at Erin’s map in 1.8.1. Rakhn is marked with a little fire rune on the big island just west-southwest of Helm. And yeah, ships do pass through the Northern Route, but not this time of year. Rakhn is also a god unpredictable and volatile enough for his name to be used as basically a swear word. Kendal is right to be concerned, and that’s not even touching the “Kendal can’t hide from gods” bit.
(Looks) Huh, yeah that’s a good shout. Erin was right, they are very close to Helm; here I though they’d be delaying island escapades on the archipelago they’re south of. Might still happen if things go belly up here I suppose.
If you don’t mind my tow cents, it could be his emotional instability in an unfamiliar situation like his previous unintentional crucible activations. If my money were to be on anything in particular it would be anxiety and second guessing the mission now that they are on the way to helm. I think Danix is afraid of finding out what he is and that the information is in fact on helm. it would mean either that he does in fact return home and have to face them all again. I think he’s afraid of the possibility of learning information that eh regrets and the prospect of a return trip.
Sooo who here thinks they’re going to throw Dianax into the volcano? Just me?
Why would that happen?
It’ll be like a sauna for him. A malfunctioning sauna that has continued to operate despite not having water in like a year.
I feel like Tess would definitely class throwing Dainix into a volcano would count as a *necessary experiment* in the same way that she really wants to throw Kendal overboard to see if he will breathe or not. Falst probably won’t agree but Tess’ll do it anyway 🙂
I see Tess wanting to do that, but not her going and just chucking Danix. Especially doing so in an uncontrolled environment, that’s bad methodology.
Dainix with the “I’m going to throw up” rush to the bathroom 🙁 poor dude. let the man vomit fire!
That poor hamock…
Hmm, to my memory being below decks is usually worse. Admittedly, be near the keel can mean experiencing less rocking, but you also lose sight of the horizon which is something the brain can use to calibrate its experience. Basically, open air and a cool breeze combined with staring dedicatedly out on the horizon has always been my best fix.
Well, other than sleeping. I was good at sleeping through the worst of it, given the option. I usually got sleepy and headachy before I got anywhere near feeling sick. And it still took rough weather or choppy water in a small boat to start that.
Yeah that makes more sense to me too, but maybe it’s a fantasy thing? Maybe there’s some runes somewhere making belowdecks steady? Idk, maybe this is just a “shh it’s magic” moment.
I was told the hammocks would greatly help with the below deck problem.
Being above deck puts you farther away from the pivot point, which turns the feeling of rotation into a simple feeling of motion. And, while I’ve never been on a boat during a storm, I assume being on deck at least gives you the illusion of being able to predict/compensate for the boat’s motion.
Plus, @Frozenstep hammocks only help when the boat’s axis of rotation is parallel to the hammock. In a situation as chaotic as this, lying down might actually make things worse.
Oh hey, 2-2-22, mazeltov.
What do you guys thing Rakhn will look like?
I wonder if he might be the four-armed stone/fire-looking god on 1.7.7
There once was a man of the sand
Whose power was getting out of hand.
He stumbles on deck
To keep burning in check
And inform the rest of the band.
(Mostly) wooden boat…
Big ocean…
Spontaneously combustible Dainix…
How- how is your swimming?
Kendal just casually holding a burning piece of rock. wonderful. wish i could do that.
I wonder what’s up with Dainix; Rakhn probably has something to do with it but I think Evil Tree said that already. Whatever it is, it’ll be interesting to see! Poor guy tho :/
“Oh no. This is MUCH worse.”
I’m wondering whether the solution is to go faster, speeding past the volcanic weather, or pull out and have Erin use his trick from before to calm the wind and waves and give Dainix a chance to rest. If Erin would be willing to slow down for a minute, that is.
Did anybody have a bingo card of what could go sideways? I have to admit, Dainix spontaneously combusting wasn’t on mine.
I love Kendal. Also, that expression in panel five is so very warranted.
Poor Dainix is having a terrible day. Not the worst day of his life, but still a big oof, dumpster fire (…or ship fire, rather??) of a day.
I feel like some of the characters would enjoy a “everyone yells at the elemental magnus” festifal
Little Alinua is putting in Big Effort
TL;DR: When your idea starts to fall apart and you try desperately to deny it:
Out of curiosity, how is Rakhn pronounced? I’m wondering particularly about the “kh” digraph, since I can imagine it being an aspirated velar consonant or a velar fricative, but it could also easily be something else less obvious to me.
I don’t know, but I pronounce it ra-k-in. Hope that helps
This chapter is giving us the gift of so many tiny Alinuas and Falsts and honestly, I am here for it. Also, I don’t know about y’all, but I prefer my storms to NOT contain golf ball-sized, flaming hailstones. Just my personal opinion there. So, yeah, everyone yell at the elemental magus!
It’s kinda interesting to see what’s happening to Dainix here (and worrying 🙁 but I’m focused on my worldbuilding fascination right now). In Aurora, bodies are structured based on ratios of the six (seven, eight, ??) elements, and if those ratios are unbalanced, you get physical repercussions, right? So what ratio is playing havoc with Dainix right now? Is it, perhaps, that he’s been surrounded by so much wind and water (plus more trace amounts of life) that in an attempt to maintain his high fire ratio, his body is making his Crucible abilities act up? Like how our bodies react to illness by getting a fever and attempting to burn the sickness out? I could also accept emotional instability (everything happening about Falst, first time he’s putting an ocean between himself and home, post-prison blues) and/or Rakhn pointing a divine finger at Dainix and going, “Flameo, hotman!” via sheer proximity to his domain, but the ‘fever’ theory feels like it holds the most water to me.
(Also, ngl, in the last panel, the cracks on Dainix’s arm look kinda like claw marks and that’s really cool.)
So this is probably a stupid idea but…would sticking Danix in a bubble of water work? Like, say you encase everything but his head, so he can breathe. It would at least keep the boat from catching fire. Fire at sea is one of a fisherman’s worst nightmares IRL.
whuh oh that’s not good
Y’know, I would not be surprised if Rakhn had an on-again, off-again with Tynan. Just to make the situation that much worse
“orderly” law and then chaos. that actually would be fun.
It occurs to me that gods can sense Kendal’s presence, I wonder what Rakhn’s reactions going to be when he notices he’s on a boat nearby.
So Dainix… how do you feel about waterskiing?
legitimately hitting the same feeling as when my preschooler tells me she ‘had’ to go to the potty. Did you have an accident already or are you here because you are afraid of having an accident? I think the crack indicates that the boat is on fire, but Dainix could be saying sorry because they are coming up where they will be sicker to avoid setting the boat on fire.
Well if they have Dainix sit out on deck in the rain they’ll have enough steam to power a whole second boat!
I don’t think anyone in Aurora has invented the steam engine yet, unfortunately. Or, given the flavour of the setting, more likely, there is only one remote steampunk civilisation who has invented the steam engine, while everyone else is still using lacrima and animal power for their transportation.
Guys, how do you think Dainix sounds with those smoldering/broken speech bubbles? Do you think there’s like crackles and pops coming from his voice? Or, probably not, given that those noises come from the wood fuel of a campfire and Dainix is not made of wood. Do you think there is a little bit of fiery ‘whoosh’ noises overlapping his speech? Or is it more like that the Crucible is all monstrous and his voice turns growl-ey or something? So many possibilities…
CALM THINGS DOWN YOU ARE FREAKING OUT MY FLAMING BOYFRIEND ON THIS WOODEN BOAT!!!
Everything burned
Chuck him in da water
I love this comic
Happy Festival of Everybody Yells at the Elemental Magus, everyone! How are you celebrating?
By yelling at the Elemental Magus, of course!
Oh shit. This is really interesting!