You never heard of Robin Be Good- the notorious fairy that caused lots of trouble in the woods of England- named ‘be good’ in the hope of not bringing its ire on yourself? I could see where someone called Falst ‘goodfellow’ to his face to avoid getting him mad at you. especially with that giant chip on his shoulder he carries in public…
Falst’s hands grab on to the edges of the Diadem, eyes clamped shut, trembling.
Falst’s eyes suddenly open wide, irises shining a bright white, the Diadem’s edges cracking and fraying around his hands. A broken roar tears from his mouth as he rips the spell in half.
Falst slumps to the ground, panting, the underside of his hand alight with white flame. He glances at his hand, and seeing the fire, yelps in panic and shakes his hand vigorously.
Hmmmmm interesting… I wonder what Falst’ll do next… the best(smartest) course of action would probably be to set the ship on a course for Rakhn, like Kendal suggested, lock it in place, then go either help Kendal or try to free the others. But. People are not smart. So.
FALST IS SO CUUUUUUUUTE!! AAAAAHHHH. **cats******
Okay uhhhhhhh… Falst has Light magic!!(Probably!) Confirmed!
It would be funny if Kendal and Champion stopped fighting each other just long enough to be like “Huh that’s weird” and L.D. to be like “Oh so that’s where my Claws are(Or smth like that)” and then they just go back to beating each other up
Hell yeah Falst! Go further confuse Micheal and figure out what your deal is with LD!
Unless Micheal is fantasy racist, in which case you will be delegated to helping Kendal.
If that theory about the different parts of LD was correct, I can already see her being like “Holy shit my claws (or other similar body part!)!” upon seeing Falst use her
I’d assume that each part of the Septrenn was hand-picked by her, so it’s unlikely for Falst to be one of them. Besides, if he were, he’d have heard Stefan’s telepathic announcement to all of them.
This was my thought, too. Dainix said Ferin didn’t exist during Ancient times, so I feel like it’s more likely his mom is a descendent of Huracan, or someone that learned how to commune with the Light Dragon through Huracan. It would make sense why his dad wrote her name in Ancient script on her tombstone, if that was her heritage.
What’s interesting is he doesn’t seem to need the Lady’s leave to access the Light. Maybe because of how thinly she spreads herself, her control is less restrictive than Walter’s? He seems to have tried to keep his power largely self-contained to his body, or his sigil. It also seems to require some mental effort of Falst’s to use. Here he was trying to remove the Diadem, in the ruins he was trying to help Dainix. But it did nothing for him when the Void corruption entered his body — only a Void Mage could remove it. It also didn’t activate when Falst was fighting mindlessly against the Cave Crawlers.
Regardless, it is a plain fact that the last panel of HOLY CRAP MY HAND IS ON FIRE is adorable XD And that Falst will definitely punch anyone who tries to investigate exactly why he was able to break the Diadem. Nobody tell Erin.
It kind of looks like Falst was able to *manipulate* the diadem spell, although whether it was the leftover spell effect of Falst’s own mysterious secret ability that created the last 3 panels remains to be seen.
Really did not expect this to be how Chekhov’s Claws pays off.
How long till the paladin realizes the magus has surrounded himself with a bunch of weirdos? Still, the initiation rites to becoming a part of the weirdos is getting ridiculous.
By the power vested in me by three prior uses of this bit, and the approval of one random commenter, I dub this as possibly the best comment on this page.
“The Void Dragon was a worthy enemy, and his vessel was of course immensely powerful, but… ugh, you have NO IDEA how annoying all his vessel’s friends were. It was like they didn’t know how reality WORKS!”
Place your bets, is this purely a Falst willpower thing, or can he grip the other diadems too, because if it’s the latter… well, there goes your advantage, Micheal 😛
I’d bet he can interact with all of them (though idk if he’ll try it). He’s already used light magic before, and I’ve long suspected that Ferin were a ploy by LD to prevent the formation of an elemental magus by making everyone unable to access the other elements (so maybe, in the process, they picked up some access to light magic?)
My current working theory is that Light magic is connected – if not directly analogous to – Aurora’s omnipresent soul energy, as detailed in the first link posted below.
How does this relate? Ferin have increased magical resistance, and are never mages, as noted explicitly in this comic. What is only implicitly outlined – both in Words of Red and the comic proper – is that this is a result of having more “tightly-woven souls” to quote Red. Humans with a similar condition are a) never mages, and b) incredibly resistant to direct elemental manipulation, such as elemental corruption and Life-based healing. These are two shared traits with Ferin (as noted in the second link below) and why I believe Ferin also bear similarly “tightly-woven souls.”
What does this have to do? Well, if Light magic is indeed “Soul magic” there is a connection to be drawn between it and stronger souls. Maybe the more potent souls are better able to interact with/more easily able to wield Light magic. This would explain how Falst a) did his claw-like magic attack in 1.22.37, and b) how Falst managed…whatever you call this. It couldn’t be more natural for him – it’s literally part of his nature.
Ancients have white or platinum blonde hair, very tall, and dark skin. Emira had red hair, human size and pale skin. It’s more likely Huracan was Falst’s grandma on his father’s side. Huracan could be the Champion’s mother though
My current working theory is that Light magic is connected – if not directly analogous to – Aurora’s omnipresent soul energy, as detailed in the first link posted below.
How does this relate? Ferin have increased magical resistance, and are never mages, as noted explicitly in this comic. What is only implicitly outlined – both in Words of Red and the comic proper – is that this is a result of having more “tightly-woven souls” to quote Red. Humans with a similar condition are a) never mages, and b) incredibly resistant to direct elemental manipulation, such as elemental corruption and Life-based healing. These are two shared traits with Ferin (as noted in the second link below) and why I believe Ferin also bear similarly “tightly-woven souls.”
What does this have to do? Well, if Light magic is indeed “Soul magic” there is a connection to be drawn between it and stronger souls. Maybe the more potent souls are better able to interact with/more easily able to wield Light magic. This would explain how Falst a) did his claw-like magic attack in 1.22.37, and b) how Falst managed…whatever you call this. It couldn’t be more natural for him – it’s literally part of his nature.
Thus concludes my TED Talk.
(I couldn’t post links – the comment fielder doesn’t like that. So, a repost, with a few instructions: if you want to double check sources, keysearch “Light Dragon = Soul Magic” on the subreddit. Everything should be there.)
The idea light is soul magic was implicitly disproved a few pages ago. And in the also in Nightmare. Souls are a different color than light magic, making them different things. And soul magic would be way more powerful than just telepathy and hardlight, if gods are anything like the concept
I think it’s due to his parents. His father was shown in flashbacks to have Paladin-like clothes, and the actual method of him killing Falst’s mother was never shown. I assume it was with light magic, maybe even a claw attack like Falst has used before, which also explains why Falst is so scared of the light magic he uses (trauma!). Also, his mother got void corruption somehow, so I suspect that she might also be a Paladin who visited the caves. I don’t know if light magic is inherited or if it’s a special gift from the light dragon (like getting claw powers as one of the Sept).
Falst’s dad appears to be a Paladin based on page 1.21.35. He wears a navy-ish cloak with silver metal armguards. I’d say he inherited those powers, and if there’s something in the Bearer of Claws theory, that his dad was the previous Clawbearer. Maybe his dad left the Paladins, and they believe him dead, hence why the Paladins didn’t know Falst existed. The weird thing is that the Lady doesn’t know, because you’d think a Primordial would know when someone’s using their power.
One catch with the, all their eyes were glowing white, everyone’s pupils were glowing white. Falst’s iris started glowing too. However, we still need more information to see if this is unique to Falst or not.
Ahem. What was I going to say? Oh, yes, that cat does NOT like being trapped. And we get an epic pose, cool lighting effects AND an “aaaah what the hell!” cuteness out of it.
Today only: Buy one, get two (three, in VD-possessed Erin? Four, in Life-possessed Alinua? Five, in raging-unstoppable-Demon-form Dainix? Six, if Falst manages to do the same for Tess?) free.
So, I guess he calls on Light’s power without her necessarily authorizing it?
And I adore the juxtaposition between “EPIC RAGE!!!” and “Ahh! My hand is on fire! Put it out!”
Today only: Buy one, get two (three, in VD-possessed Erin? Four, in Life-possessed Alinua? Five, in raging-unstoppable-Demon-form Dainix? Six, if Falst manages to free Tess?) free.
DAINIX WAS RIGHT! THE COLOR WAS RIGHT! WE WERE RIGHT!
*cough cough* I beg your pardon. Please excuse me. *proceeds to internally freak out*
So, we just saw Falst interact with – to avoid argument, let’s call it Capital-L Light – on a physical, tangible level, unlike anything we have seen before. We see Paladins manifesting similar hard-Light constructs at will, but we’ve never seen anyone do so manually. It adds a very different dimension to this particular use of the magic. A baser, more primal version. Very consistent with the claw-like magic used in 1.22.37 (that has been theorized to be Light). I love it.
The implications, though…could Falst free the others? Can he directly counter the Champion’s abilities? This is fascinating.
Kendal could also punch the one on the Champion’s head. I assume the diadems are just physical constructs around all their heads, no paladin-power required to grab them.
Now to resist it and tear it apart, yeah, he probably did need his mysterious power for that.
(gasp) Does this mean … Falst may get an epithet now?! “Crown Breaker”? “Halo Breaker”? If he bears L.D.’s claws, as some theories predict, maybe the Paladins could call him “The Wayward Claw”.
Oh, I love this page. Falst’s speech bubble cutting through three panels as he builds up his scream of effort; the ring of the halo fraying in the second panel before it cracks; and of course the breaking with the stormy sea background. Lovely. I also like his expressions in the cooldown panels; a logical reaction to your hand on fire.
Falst’s eyes may naturally be slits, but from that glow, the broken crown, and what we’ve seen on the Champion, I’d say it’s official now; Falst has latent Paladin magic. Come to think of it, have we actually seen any other Ferin with slitted eyes? I assumed it was a predator Ferin thing, but now I’m wondering if it was silently hinting at his L.D. connection.
Seems my prediction from not last week but the week before about this triggering something in Falst had some substance to it. Though, from this page, I’m not sure if the diadem triggered something, or simply Falst’s attempts to resist/fight it was more successful that the others, due to his latent powers.
No, this speaks to me more like how he activated his powers in the dungeon; sheer willpower forcing himself to do what he must. Maybe the diadem acting as a catalyst to make it easier to access those powers this time?
Now, what will Falst do now that he’s free? Assist Kendal in his fight with the Champion? Attempt to remove the diadems from the other gang members like he did himself? Take the helm to try and escape the storm? I doubt it’ll be that last one, with his friends suffering and fighting right now, but if he suddenly sees something they should be sailing away from, who knows?
@Snakesocket Oh yeah, maybe it is just a predator Ferin thing.
Another thing I just thought of is Dainix’s conversation with Falst back in 2-1-22. Back then Falst mostly dismissed it, believing he can’t do magic and still blushing over the miscommunication. Now he’s seen the Champion’s magic first hand, he’s managed to beat it, and his hand is covered in a white magic flame that isn’t hurting him.
When they get a moment of peace, I could see Falst thinking back to what Dainix said with this new information. Plus Dainix may have his own ideas to share after seeing the Champion’s abilities; even more if Falst frees the other as some are predicting.
Also aww Falst still isn’t used to light magic, how cute :3
About that, there’s actually a couple of ways this could go… Maybe if they recognize him they could still talk it out for a bit.
Also *insert one liner about freeing your mind from big something here*
falst is tapping into his inner white lady. that’s the way the phrase formed in my head and now it’ll affect the way i see the white dragon’s power forever. falst wants to speak to the manager.
…I was not expecting this.
Though in hindsight I probably should have expected at least something like it.
I’d post some kind of theory here but I don’t have one.
I’m just going to RAFO. …But with a time delay…because it’s a webcomic.
Relaxing doesn’t really seem to be his strong suit. On the other hand, he has superhuman strength in addition to sharp claws (I’m not sure exactly what lacrima are made from, but they look like precious gems and he can carve them with his claws without much issue), so just slicing them open and ripping them apart would be readily doable for him.
I think it’s more lion dad transfered his connection to the lady to Falst, somehow. I think I remember that light magic works without elemental links, so it can’t be inherited
Thinking about it I don’t think that Falst will ever be able to just activate the claws at will as while obviously both times he’s used them it was in a very tense and difficult situation and I suspect it only works under extreme duress. This is also because while Falst needs something to bridge the power gap somewhat (for when sheer power is required) it also makes him more interesting in that everyone else can (when not limited by environment or exhaustion) just use an essentially one hit KO move while he has to use other more clever methods. Which I think Red would want a part member who doesn’t have an easy way to just deal with most threats as she said something about how she wants to keep Falst as having to take different methods than the rest of the team.
Can you imagine being Michael at this point? Like what the hell? Half the folks on this boat have either resistances or immunities to my powers. Don’t worry buddy, Danni sympathizes.
I find it interesting that Falst can tap into the Light Dragon abilities… but also the Light Dragon can’t… stop him from interfering in the “Kill Erin” plan?
Yeahhh I think it’s suspicious that the already stressed Dainix hasn’t been shown since getting the headache crown applied. So the question is, how far into Crucible mode is he?
Falst’s face and frantic paw-shake in that last panel is so cute. Maybe I should be reacting more to this being a moment of awesome, the second time Falst has used Light through desperate willpower, and the first time he’s been in good enough shape to notice, and I am quite excited to see where that is going. But oh my goodness the cat behavior. The caaat.
That would be hilarious even if inaccurate to the characters since Kendal would probably just be concerned on Falsts well being and Michael would probably just become greatly. Though I will also mention that falst’s eyes seem to be less glowing and more doing that dragon eye thing we see with Michael and… I think her name was June.
So I’m thinking there are two possibilities with this.
1: The Light Dragon is a closer existence to the typical mental-power gods that Erin described back at the library.
2: The Light Dragon is actually another primordial and will punish Falst for him manipulating her out of her own will, similar to how Life was ready to punish Dr. Jolon. The primordials might not have a say in *how* they’re used, but they *will* have a say about it.
The former is the best-case scenario for Falst, but leaves many questions.
Huh! Not who I expected to break out of the diadem first, but I think I completely forgot about Falst’s potential link to Light, lol. His eyes have gone glowy like they did with the claw attack in the cave! I’m just picturing the next page starting with a panel of Kendal and the Paladin frozen midfight, staring in shock at Falst. The Paladin goes, “How did you—?” and Kendal punches him in his moment of distraction XD
Also, that “YAUGH!” sounds like a cat yowling, to me.
Oh… that was unexpected…
Kick his ass, Falst!!
NO! Kendal’s got him distracted. Free the others Falst!
Better yet! Kindly prevent the ship from capsizing, good Falst!
“Good Falst” in the same sense as “Goodman Falst” or “Good sir.” Not in any other way. I just realized how that sounded. I need better filters.
I believe a bad Falst is known as a Falstaff anyway; so Falsts that are not affs are good Falsts.
You never heard of Robin Be Good- the notorious fairy that caused lots of trouble in the woods of England- named ‘be good’ in the hope of not bringing its ire on yourself? I could see where someone called Falst ‘goodfellow’ to his face to avoid getting him mad at you. especially with that giant chip on his shoulder he carries in public…
specifically, i hope he goes to get Dainix! Dainix is starting to transform again, it looks like…
OH MY GOD CLEO MOMENT!!!!
It’s always fun/funny when a catboy etc. behaves as a cat.
The cameo…
With a mighty roar
And the help of light magic
Falst removes the crown
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: cleo once did this with a collar she didn’t like
Image source: yaugh
Tumblr text: does this to my executive dysfunction
tumblr text: does this to my executive dysfunction
Bluesky text: Meanwhile…
The question is, which part did Cleo do?
I am sure Cleo would say “All of it!” if cats deign to talk to inferior beings at all….
Falst’s hands grab on to the edges of the Diadem, eyes clamped shut, trembling.
Falst’s eyes suddenly open wide, irises shining a bright white, the Diadem’s edges cracking and fraying around his hands. A broken roar tears from his mouth as he rips the spell in half.
Falst slumps to the ground, panting, the underside of his hand alight with white flame. He glances at his hand, and seeing the fire, yelps in panic and shakes his hand vigorously.
Hmmmmm interesting… I wonder what Falst’ll do next… the best(smartest) course of action would probably be to set the ship on a course for Rakhn, like Kendal suggested, lock it in place, then go either help Kendal or try to free the others. But. People are not smart. So.
FALST IS SO CUUUUUUUUTE!! AAAAAHHHH. **cats******
Okay uhhhhhhh… Falst has Light magic!!(Probably!) Confirmed!
It would be funny if Kendal and Champion stopped fighting each other just long enough to be like “Huh that’s weird” and L.D. to be like “Oh so that’s where my Claws are(Or smth like that)” and then they just go back to beating each other up
Hell yeah Falst! Go further confuse Micheal and figure out what your deal is with LD!
Unless Micheal is fantasy racist, in which case you will be delegated to helping Kendal.
If that theory about the different parts of LD was correct, I can already see her being like “Holy shit my claws (or other similar body part!)!” upon seeing Falst use her
I’d assume that each part of the Septrenn was hand-picked by her, so it’s unlikely for Falst to be one of them. Besides, if he were, he’d have heard Stefan’s telepathic announcement to all of them.
Maybe his father was a paladin and Falst inherited a link to the light dragon.
the paladins also have roots in the ancients don’t they? falst was identified as a menber with ancient heritage by the security robot
This was my thought, too. Dainix said Ferin didn’t exist during Ancient times, so I feel like it’s more likely his mom is a descendent of Huracan, or someone that learned how to commune with the Light Dragon through Huracan. It would make sense why his dad wrote her name in Ancient script on her tombstone, if that was her heritage.
What’s interesting is he doesn’t seem to need the Lady’s leave to access the Light. Maybe because of how thinly she spreads herself, her control is less restrictive than Walter’s? He seems to have tried to keep his power largely self-contained to his body, or his sigil. It also seems to require some mental effort of Falst’s to use. Here he was trying to remove the Diadem, in the ruins he was trying to help Dainix. But it did nothing for him when the Void corruption entered his body — only a Void Mage could remove it. It also didn’t activate when Falst was fighting mindlessly against the Cave Crawlers.
Regardless, it is a plain fact that the last panel of HOLY CRAP MY HAND IS ON FIRE is adorable XD And that Falst will definitely punch anyone who tries to investigate exactly why he was able to break the Diadem. Nobody tell Erin.
It kind of looks like Falst was able to *manipulate* the diadem spell, although whether it was the leftover spell effect of Falst’s own mysterious secret ability that created the last 3 panels remains to be seen.
Really did not expect this to be how Chekhov’s Claws pays off.
How long till the paladin realizes the magus has surrounded himself with a bunch of weirdos? Still, the initiation rites to becoming a part of the weirdos is getting ridiculous.
The statistical improbability gang 😎
The grippable diadem shape seemed like a good idea at the time.
By the power vested in me by three prior uses of this bit, and the approval of one random commenter, I dub this as possibly the best comment on this page.
With a lion roar Falst tears off his band
Upset by white ooze remaining on his hand
He can do that???
Falst just did it now didn’t he? Looks like glowy white light to me. So Falst can grasp psychic power in his bare hands? Facinatin’
Falst’s new assault finds the diadem tenuous
Though all that effort does seem rather strenuous
He’s my favourite guyyyyy ♡♡♡♡
Another one who can stop light magic!?!
Confirmed: Falst is a Chosen One from Kung Fu Panda (second movie, when Po learns to catch cannonballs).
he was chosen by cleo instead of master oogway
Never underestimate a cat…
This party is just full of endless surprise and joy for the Paladin
“The Void Dragon was a worthy enemy, and his vessel was of course immensely powerful, but… ugh, you have NO IDEA how annoying all his vessel’s friends were. It was like they didn’t know how reality WORKS!”
“TF you mean you are the vessel of the life primordial isnt she y’know DEAD?!?”
“She got better and now her doctor wants to commit omnicide”
Place your bets, is this purely a Falst willpower thing, or can he grip the other diadems too, because if it’s the latter… well, there goes your advantage, Micheal 😛
certainly a willpower thing since the diadems are solid constructs as shown when kendal punched michael’s crown
I’m pretty sure what happened was that Falst used light magic which interacts with other light magic so I think he can free the others.
I’d bet he can interact with all of them (though idk if he’ll try it). He’s already used light magic before, and I’ve long suspected that Ferin were a ploy by LD to prevent the formation of an elemental magus by making everyone unable to access the other elements (so maybe, in the process, they picked up some access to light magic?)
How did you come up with this idea?
I love falst
falst???????? have you got something to share with the class??????????????
Wooo! Let the beating commence! Until morale improves!
More Falst wins and a moment of genuine emotion from him. Hopefully the next one we see won’t require mortal danger.
I am sure Falst was relieved no one heard him say ‘Meow?!?’ That would be undignified.
fighting fire with fire time
CLEO!! Falst does ‘cats must be free’. Falst is very effective.
I love his expressions – and then shaking the light off his hands.
Falst used “Cats Must Be Free”! It’s super effective!
yess falst character development heheheheeheheh this is so good omg-
Aurora Question #13: What do you think are the origins or cause of Falst’s new abilities?
My current working theory is that Light magic is connected – if not directly analogous to – Aurora’s omnipresent soul energy, as detailed in the first link posted below.
How does this relate? Ferin have increased magical resistance, and are never mages, as noted explicitly in this comic. What is only implicitly outlined – both in Words of Red and the comic proper – is that this is a result of having more “tightly-woven souls” to quote Red. Humans with a similar condition are a) never mages, and b) incredibly resistant to direct elemental manipulation, such as elemental corruption and Life-based healing. These are two shared traits with Ferin (as noted in the second link below) and why I believe Ferin also bear similarly “tightly-woven souls.”
What does this have to do? Well, if Light magic is indeed “Soul magic” there is a connection to be drawn between it and stronger souls. Maybe the more potent souls are better able to interact with/more easily able to wield Light magic. This would explain how Falst a) did his claw-like magic attack in 1.22.37, and b) how Falst managed…whatever you call this. It couldn’t be more natural for him – it’s literally part of his nature.
Thus concludes my TED Talk.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AuroraComic/comments/1g7jh3b/light_dragon_soul_magic_on_the_theoretical_eighth/?edit=true
https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/625276215823106048/i-have-to-ask-why-cant-ferins-use-magic-i-have
I’ve been saying for a long time that I think Falst’s mother was Lady Huracan. I’m not sure how plausible it is but I’m sticking to my guns
Ancients have white or platinum blonde hair, very tall, and dark skin. Emira had red hair, human size and pale skin. It’s more likely Huracan was Falst’s grandma on his father’s side. Huracan could be the Champion’s mother though
My current working theory is that Light magic is connected – if not directly analogous to – Aurora’s omnipresent soul energy, as detailed in the first link posted below.
How does this relate? Ferin have increased magical resistance, and are never mages, as noted explicitly in this comic. What is only implicitly outlined – both in Words of Red and the comic proper – is that this is a result of having more “tightly-woven souls” to quote Red. Humans with a similar condition are a) never mages, and b) incredibly resistant to direct elemental manipulation, such as elemental corruption and Life-based healing. These are two shared traits with Ferin (as noted in the second link below) and why I believe Ferin also bear similarly “tightly-woven souls.”
What does this have to do? Well, if Light magic is indeed “Soul magic” there is a connection to be drawn between it and stronger souls. Maybe the more potent souls are better able to interact with/more easily able to wield Light magic. This would explain how Falst a) did his claw-like magic attack in 1.22.37, and b) how Falst managed…whatever you call this. It couldn’t be more natural for him – it’s literally part of his nature.
Thus concludes my TED Talk.
(I couldn’t post links – the comment fielder doesn’t like that. So, a repost, with a few instructions: if you want to double check sources, keysearch “Light Dragon = Soul Magic” on the subreddit. Everything should be there.)
The idea light is soul magic was implicitly disproved a few pages ago. And in the also in Nightmare. Souls are a different color than light magic, making them different things. And soul magic would be way more powerful than just telepathy and hardlight, if gods are anything like the concept
I think it’s due to his parents. His father was shown in flashbacks to have Paladin-like clothes, and the actual method of him killing Falst’s mother was never shown. I assume it was with light magic, maybe even a claw attack like Falst has used before, which also explains why Falst is so scared of the light magic he uses (trauma!). Also, his mother got void corruption somehow, so I suspect that she might also be a Paladin who visited the caves. I don’t know if light magic is inherited or if it’s a special gift from the light dragon (like getting claw powers as one of the Sept).
It looks to me like he just ripped out her throat with his claws, no powes
I will watch and see what comes next. I am content to let Red tell her story at her pace.
Falst’s dad appears to be a Paladin based on page 1.21.35. He wears a navy-ish cloak with silver metal armguards. I’d say he inherited those powers, and if there’s something in the Bearer of Claws theory, that his dad was the previous Clawbearer. Maybe his dad left the Paladins, and they believe him dead, hence why the Paladins didn’t know Falst existed. The weird thing is that the Lady doesn’t know, because you’d think a Primordial would know when someone’s using their power.
And his willpower comes in clutch once again. Now…
FALST, GET THE BLOODY HELM AND GET THIS BLOODY DEATHTRAP TO SHORE!!!
DM: Roll Wisdom saving throw at the end of turn to see if Hold Person stays
Falst: Natural 20
Erin mentioned before that Falst had a thicker than normal soul barrier…
I don’t think that has anything to do with this.
I think this is more to do with his possible connection to the Light Dragon
Falst’s eyes snap open, glaring white.
He roars louder than the crack
As he tears his glowing crown apart,
And his eyes to amber come back.
Daylight savings time has hit me! I have wasted my extra hour being very tired anyway.
*Intoned dramatically* Join me, brother.
(or sister, or sibling, depending.)
Ah the joys of living in California (and other places with daylight saving time).
I’d say it’s clearly not JUST a willpower thing, because of the eyes. Also, those muscles boi. I like it.
Possible, but: all of their eyes were glowing white while under the diadem
But Falst also has access to paladin power
One catch with the, all their eyes were glowing white, everyone’s pupils were glowing white. Falst’s iris started glowing too. However, we still need more information to see if this is unique to Falst or not.
The last panel. Oh, the CUTE!
Ahem. What was I going to say? Oh, yes, that cat does NOT like being trapped. And we get an epic pose, cool lighting effects AND an “aaaah what the hell!” cuteness out of it.
“An opponent seemingly immune to my Ladys abilities? There is no way this can get worse”
“What about a second opponent immune to your Ladys abilities, bucko?”
Today only: Buy one, get two (three, in VD-possessed Erin? Four, in Life-possessed Alinua? Five, in raging-unstoppable-Demon-form Dainix? Six, if Falst manages to do the same for Tess?) free.
So, I guess he calls on Light’s power without her necessarily authorizing it?
And I adore the juxtaposition between “EPIC RAGE!!!” and “Ahh! My hand is on fire! Put it out!”
Today only: Buy one, get two (three, in VD-possessed Erin? Four, in Life-possessed Alinua? Five, in raging-unstoppable-Demon-form Dainix? Six, if Falst manages to free Tess?) free.
Sigh. Wrong comment.
Forgiven! Only people used to editing others works would really feel the sting of doing that (smile).
DAINIX WAS RIGHT! THE COLOR WAS RIGHT! WE WERE RIGHT!
*cough cough* I beg your pardon. Please excuse me. *proceeds to internally freak out*
So, we just saw Falst interact with – to avoid argument, let’s call it Capital-L Light – on a physical, tangible level, unlike anything we have seen before. We see Paladins manifesting similar hard-Light constructs at will, but we’ve never seen anyone do so manually. It adds a very different dimension to this particular use of the magic. A baser, more primal version. Very consistent with the claw-like magic used in 1.22.37 (that has been theorized to be Light). I love it.
The implications, though…could Falst free the others? Can he directly counter the Champion’s abilities? This is fascinating.
Kendal could also punch the one on the Champion’s head. I assume the diadems are just physical constructs around all their heads, no paladin-power required to grab them.
Now to resist it and tear it apart, yeah, he probably did need his mysterious power for that.
(gasp) Does this mean … Falst may get an epithet now?! “Crown Breaker”? “Halo Breaker”? If he bears L.D.’s claws, as some theories predict, maybe the Paladins could call him “The Wayward Claw”.
Oh, I love this page. Falst’s speech bubble cutting through three panels as he builds up his scream of effort; the ring of the halo fraying in the second panel before it cracks; and of course the breaking with the stormy sea background. Lovely. I also like his expressions in the cooldown panels; a logical reaction to your hand on fire.
Falst’s eyes may naturally be slits, but from that glow, the broken crown, and what we’ve seen on the Champion, I’d say it’s official now; Falst has latent Paladin magic. Come to think of it, have we actually seen any other Ferin with slitted eyes? I assumed it was a predator Ferin thing, but now I’m wondering if it was silently hinting at his L.D. connection.
Seems my prediction from not last week but the week before about this triggering something in Falst had some substance to it. Though, from this page, I’m not sure if the diadem triggered something, or simply Falst’s attempts to resist/fight it was more successful that the others, due to his latent powers.
No, this speaks to me more like how he activated his powers in the dungeon; sheer willpower forcing himself to do what he must. Maybe the diadem acting as a catalyst to make it easier to access those powers this time?
Now, what will Falst do now that he’s free? Assist Kendal in his fight with the Champion? Attempt to remove the diadems from the other gang members like he did himself? Take the helm to try and escape the storm? I doubt it’ll be that last one, with his friends suffering and fighting right now, but if he suddenly sees something they should be sailing away from, who knows?
There was this wolf guy from 1-1-2
@Snakesocket Oh yeah, maybe it is just a predator Ferin thing.
Another thing I just thought of is Dainix’s conversation with Falst back in 2-1-22. Back then Falst mostly dismissed it, believing he can’t do magic and still blushing over the miscommunication. Now he’s seen the Champion’s magic first hand, he’s managed to beat it, and his hand is covered in a white magic flame that isn’t hurting him.
When they get a moment of peace, I could see Falst thinking back to what Dainix said with this new information. Plus Dainix may have his own ideas to share after seeing the Champion’s abilities; even more if Falst frees the other as some are predicting.
I am COMPLETELY NORMAL about that central panel.
Also aww Falst still isn’t used to light magic, how cute :3
About that, there’s actually a couple of ways this could go… Maybe if they recognize him they could still talk it out for a bit.
Also *insert one liner about freeing your mind from big something here*
Something something tickets to the gunshow 😛
LETS GO CAT BOY
I KNEW it! Falst’s Light magic claws were going to turn up. Will it sway the day? Did Dainix see?
Falst is the first to pass the saving throw. Good job
falst is tapping into his inner white lady. that’s the way the phrase formed in my head and now it’ll affect the way i see the white dragon’s power forever. falst wants to speak to the manager.
…I was not expecting this.
Though in hindsight I probably should have expected at least something like it.
I’d post some kind of theory here but I don’t have one.
I’m just going to RAFO. …But with a time delay…because it’s a webcomic.
Ok, but could he escape a Chinese finger trap?
Relaxing doesn’t really seem to be his strong suit. On the other hand, he has superhuman strength in addition to sharp claws (I’m not sure exactly what lacrima are made from, but they look like precious gems and he can carve them with his claws without much issue), so just slicing them open and ripping them apart would be readily doable for him.
Quick theory, may be a stretch: Falst’s father is a member of the Septrenn, falst inherited a measure of his ability
I think it’s more lion dad transfered his connection to the lady to Falst, somehow. I think I remember that light magic works without elemental links, so it can’t be inherited
cleo cameo! (not really but I say it still counts)
WHACK HIS NUTS CATMAN
I love this comic. Jeep up the good work red.(pun intended)
Thinking about it I don’t think that Falst will ever be able to just activate the claws at will as while obviously both times he’s used them it was in a very tense and difficult situation and I suspect it only works under extreme duress. This is also because while Falst needs something to bridge the power gap somewhat (for when sheer power is required) it also makes him more interesting in that everyone else can (when not limited by environment or exhaustion) just use an essentially one hit KO move while he has to use other more clever methods. Which I think Red would want a part member who doesn’t have an easy way to just deal with most threats as she said something about how she wants to keep Falst as having to take different methods than the rest of the team.
FALST! FALST! FALST! FALST!
FALST! FALST! FALST! FALST!
FALST!!! FALST!!! FALST!!! FALST!!!
Get em Falst
WOOOOOOOOOO! YEAH BABIEEEE! That’s what I’ve been waiting for, THATS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT! WOO-HOO!
Falst went beast mode
Falst go Alpha mode.
So Falst has light magic. Wonder how this will put a further wrench in Erin’s whole “the light dragon isn’t really a god” thing.
It wouldn’t really be proof in any direction. Erin thinks she’s a god grown into the shape of an 8th primordial, a living mass delusion
Can you imagine being Michael at this point? Like what the hell? Half the folks on this boat have either resistances or immunities to my powers. Don’t worry buddy, Danni sympathizes.
Only one thing for Falst to do now.
RAM THE SHIP INTO THE VOLCANO! CHAOS IS THE EQUALIZER!
TL;DR: My hand! It’s on magical fire!!
In the most platonic sense possible, OH MY GOD FALST IS ADORABLE THAT LAST PANEL I WANNA SQUISH HIM SO BAD.
*cough cough*.
And that concludes our daily I love cats session. Thank you for joining us.
Cleo truly is the best inspiration for Falst. Making a fictional character with the same personality traits as your pet is always entertaining!
THAT WAS. UNEXPECTED
…
GET HIM FALST!!!!!
RRRRRRRRAAAA
Falst is adorable in the last panel
Curiouser and curiouser. Love how this thread is being handled so far
I find it interesting that Falst can tap into the Light Dragon abilities… but also the Light Dragon can’t… stop him from interfering in the “Kill Erin” plan?
kinda interesting how the two least magically inclined characters are the first two to break out of the spell
Kendal was just never affected at all
continuing the pattern would mean dainix would free himself next. possibly by going crucible mode. it’s all coming together
Yeahhh I think it’s suspicious that the already stressed Dainix hasn’t been shown since getting the headache crown applied. So the question is, how far into Crucible mode is he?
Falst’s face and frantic paw-shake in that last panel is so cute. Maybe I should be reacting more to this being a moment of awesome, the second time Falst has used Light through desperate willpower, and the first time he’s been in good enough shape to notice, and I am quite excited to see where that is going. But oh my goodness the cat behavior. The caaat.
Falst’s facial expression game is unparalled.
Can’t keep a good Lancer down
In the battle of Animal Guys vs Painful Headpieces:
Falst:1 Monkey King:0
i came here after seeing the they guy on tumbler who drew the falst scene with the words I voted so that’s how my days going
I’m back after a 3 week device ban and all I have to say is Falst didn’t want any of
that Wukong treatment
That would be hilarious even if inaccurate to the characters since Kendal would probably just be concerned on Falsts well being and Michael would probably just become greatly. Though I will also mention that falst’s eyes seem to be less glowing and more doing that dragon eye thing we see with Michael and… I think her name was June.
Dang it this was meant to be a reply!
Her name is Theia, it got revealed in the prologue to this Arc. “June” was a nickname we gave her, short for “Junior Archivist” which was her status.
So I’m thinking there are two possibilities with this.
1: The Light Dragon is a closer existence to the typical mental-power gods that Erin described back at the library.
2: The Light Dragon is actually another primordial and will punish Falst for him manipulating her out of her own will, similar to how Life was ready to punish Dr. Jolon. The primordials might not have a say in *how* they’re used, but they *will* have a say about it.
The former is the best-case scenario for Falst, but leaves many questions.
Sun Wukong could only dream.
Huh! Not who I expected to break out of the diadem first, but I think I completely forgot about Falst’s potential link to Light, lol. His eyes have gone glowy like they did with the claw attack in the cave! I’m just picturing the next page starting with a panel of Kendal and the Paladin frozen midfight, staring in shock at Falst. The Paladin goes, “How did you—?” and Kendal punches him in his moment of distraction XD
Also, that “YAUGH!” sounds like a cat yowling, to me.
i do not like the cone of shame
KITTY CAT!
FALST!