That is Caliban, a non-binary god who doesn’t care to understand gender, and so reincarnates into forms of varying gender and accepts they/them, he/him, and she/her pronouns. They are a fire god, and the God of the Ignans. We don’t know why they need a weapon, but we suspect they want to fight another god and are preparing for that battle.
Weirdly enough, I’m curious about those marks of all things.
Why do they look like tattoos on Caliban, but like scars on the blacksmith[?] Assuming they are the same thing of course.
(yeah, sorry, I don’t really know what’s written in the extra lore. also, I’m bad at keeping track of names)
She needs to get that even a divinely-crafted weapon is just a weapon, inert and useless. It’s the user’s own belief, confidence and will that will allow the weapon to archive anything. The best sword in the world won’t help you if you don’t take the initiative to use it.
He’s not doing this to screw with his clients for shits and giggles. He’s doing it because he genuinely believes its necessary. He’s doing this stuff because he needs the users of the weapons to actually use the potential power he gives them. If he just tells his clients how to do it rather than allowing them to figure it out on their own, that is crippling.
I feel that there is a story as to why he thinks like this.
Maybe the fact that Caliban is a trickster, thus less prone to direct combat, makes them less knowledgable when it comes to divine weapons and what goes into them.
According to this tweet (https://twitter.com/AuroraWebcomic/status/1174800363804909573), Caliban’s pronouns are variable depending on incarnation. In their current form Caliban uses they/he/she pronouns, but they/them seems to be the most frequent.
See that grin in panel 3? Tahraim enjoys messing with clients.
Fiery, short-tempered, straight talking Caliban. Wise, frustratingly cryptic, but still helpful Tahraim. Throw Hesta in the mix and it’s got the makings of a fire-deity sitcom.
Seriously though, just like with the life themed deities Red kills it when making two gods distinct despite their roles stemming from the same element. Caliban’s makings glow and hair catches fire under intense emotions while Tahraim remained tempered and controlled but still hot. I’m interested now in what other weather and water gods could look like after seeing Tynan and Ilia.
So what kind of weapons would Caliban want and how would they use it? Extra lore says they’re a trickster by nature and pretty hands off so a direct weapon seems unlikely. Then again if she’s here to protect her people from Tynan being subtle may not be an option.
I don’t think they’re talking about Tynan at all. Tahraim was characteristically vague about the tyrant they were facing, and it seemed more like he was using Vash VS Tynan as an anecdote for Caliban needing to make their weapon their own, rather than a strategy for taking Tynan down again. Red loves to sow story seeds as she goes along and introduce characters and plot points gradually even if they aren’t immediately relevant (for instance, Erin’s Storm study and Tess’s appearances). I’m inclined to agree with TheUnknownGame that they’re probably scheming against Zuurith, which, surprise, surprise, Vash also recently name-dropped to the Collector.
I have no clue who Zuurith actually is but they sound mean.
From what Red has said on Tumblr, Zuurith is a city god and an absolute lawful evil tyrant. Steal an apple? He’ll have you imprisoned. Look at him funny? He might have you imprisoned! He might also embrace anti-ferin bigotry, but I can’t remember. Although, Zuurith is likely to be the titular lawbringer of this chapter, so we might see him soon…
Good points, there may be some Ingan subjugation in Zuurith which has Caliban concerned, that city is near a desert after all. They, as a god of the people, can get inside Zuurith but freeing their people and getting out may be a problem, that may be the reason they came to Tahraim, for a weapon to pull it off.
I have a wild theory as to what will happen in coming chapters: Caliban will pull off something inside Zuurith, Big Z himself will confront them and midway through their battle Tynan will show up and cause havoc. This chapter has shown how theatrical he can be; he, a force of nature that abides by no law, destroying a city that puts the law above everything else sounds too good for him to pass up. Plus after languishing in the ocean for years the terror from destroying an entire city may bring his power back to pre-banishment levels, maybe even higher.
That’s a good idea! If Tynan defeated Zuurith, who clearly has a reputation, it would immediately inspire terror across the continent again. It’s a shortcut back to his full power.
T: “That forge needed to be destroyed so that a better forge could be built in its place. Truly, you are one step closer to crafting the weapon that you require.”
C: “AUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Shhh, calm down. You will never understand the true meaning of my words if you keep screaming like that. There, there. I’m sure you’ll love this next riddle.
Tahraim (summarized): If you wanna weapon, you’ll need the instructions on how to use it. Warning: finding said instructions will be time consuming and painful as hell. P. S. I an basically giving awa y upgrades to forces of nature, what do you expect?
I feel that Tahraim really resonates with my personality. I mean, I don’t speak in riddles usually, but I’m usually pretty chill and really love abstract philosophical discussions because they encourage me to view things from many perspectives, and discover new ideas on existentialism and other ideas.
How about y’all? Which character is closest to who you are? Or who do you understand the most?
For me, it’s Kendal. Not the whole “being an 11-day-old demigod” part, but his social awkwardness, his protective instincts (when they aren’t self-destructive). Granted, that’s not my whole personality; there is no single fictional character that I can fully relate to (and honestly, that’s a good thing), but he’s who resonates with me the most in this story.
I guess I could relate to Erin. For being nerdy and awkward. Or maybe Falst because sarcasm is fun and I often feel like I need to change myself because I stick out…
Caliban: Corporate needs you to tell the difference between these two pictures.
*the pictures read “Simple Answer” and “Complex Riddles”*
Tahraim: They’re the same picture.
One more thing I noticed: when Lady Ilia was telling Kendal about other gods hearing of The Collector, Caliban was the fire deity shown in the picture (and Tynan was the lightning deity): https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-7-7/
“We will get back to you once you’ve realized that your honor cannot be restored by your toxic family members, that you’ve yet to acknowledge how far you’ve come as a person, or whatever other emotional baggage may be holding you back at the moment.”
Reply to Evil tree: I think the issue isn’t necessarily about not knowing how divine weapons work, it’s more about how people and fighting works. She thinks the tool has the power, not the tool user. That’s a mistake a lot of people make. She’s desperate, afraid of entering a fight she doesn’t want to fight (and probably is somehow forced to be there) and just want the weapon to feel more confident, when that won’t be enough for whatever upcoming fight is coming.
If you want to reply directly to someone, you need to go to Archive above the comic, then scroll down and open up the menu in the bottom left for specific comic pages. From there, you’ll need to select the page where you want to reply to someone. Hope this helps. 🙂
I just click on the comic page itself and the page kinda refreshes and when it comes back, I’m on the actual page rather than the homepage (disregard the amount of times I said “page” in this reply; I don’t know what other term to use)
I’ve reread this story a lot, and with the current knowledge about Kendal, I realize there was probably more to that line of ‘the starmetal UNDER his city.’ Considering Vash was build in a crater (probably from a meteor landing) I wonder if there was more star metal available to him than just the ingot Tahraim gave him. Although I still don’t have a clue what the gem was.
I relate to Caliban on a personal and fundamental level. I hate it when people play koi with me, and when people twist my words or don’t accept what I tell them. I am a blunt weapon, and only bluntly can I be told.
Autism FTW!!!
Okay new theory. Tarhim said “starmetal under his city” If the City of vash was made in a crater, then could there have been star metal in whatever it was that made the crater?
Idea. If there still is starmetal underneath the ruins of vash, it can be ignited by someone who has learned to wake star metal. Vash, as of recently, Kendal, and possibly other as yet unknown individuals.
your fire gods look gnc af
i love to see it
I guess you could say they’re… HOT?
i love their dynamic lmao
Who ships it?
I ship it.
idk, feels more like a familial relationship to me
Insert fire pun that uses the phrase “red hot” here.
To link with the Lolest’s comment
This ship is burning red hot
Who is fire tattoo man and why does he need a weapon
*not a man
oops, sorry me no read lore pages
That is Caliban, a non-binary god who doesn’t care to understand gender, and so reincarnates into forms of varying gender and accepts they/them, he/him, and she/her pronouns. They are a fire god, and the God of the Ignans. We don’t know why they need a weapon, but we suspect they want to fight another god and are preparing for that battle.
Well, hair, y’know?
Wifi is horrible so I have no clue what the comic says yet
oh no another beautiful man for me to adore
Weirdly enough, I’m curious about those marks of all things.
Why do they look like tattoos on Caliban, but like scars on the blacksmith[?] Assuming they are the same thing of course.
(yeah, sorry, I don’t really know what’s written in the extra lore. also, I’m bad at keeping track of names)
Tahraim be like: I will make you a weapon… (customer being hopeful) …when you are ready(customer sense of identity destroyed)
Conclusive analysis:
Tahraim= Hephaestus+Oracle from the matrix
Cheap, efficient, fast.
Pick any two.
I prefer “cheap quick and quality, choose any two”, but yeah, basically that. except gods don’t use money, so you have to chose cheap.
She needs to get that even a divinely-crafted weapon is just a weapon, inert and useless. It’s the user’s own belief, confidence and will that will allow the weapon to archive anything. The best sword in the world won’t help you if you don’t take the initiative to use it.
He’s not doing this to screw with his clients for shits and giggles. He’s doing it because he genuinely believes its necessary. He’s doing this stuff because he needs the users of the weapons to actually use the potential power he gives them. If he just tells his clients how to do it rather than allowing them to figure it out on their own, that is crippling.
I feel that there is a story as to why he thinks like this.
Maybe the fact that Caliban is a trickster, thus less prone to direct combat, makes them less knowledgable when it comes to divine weapons and what goes into them.
More riddles. How delightful. Because why give a simple direct answer when you can just give another cryptic nonsense.
Ooo interesting.
Hot (lol) tip: Fire-ponytail deity uses they/them pronouns! (source: Aurora twitter). Yay to Red for being inclusive! 🙂
UPDATE: Poked around on the Aurora twitter a bit more and found out they also accept she and he!
They’re agender, right?
According to this tweet (https://twitter.com/AuroraWebcomic/status/1174800363804909573), Caliban’s pronouns are variable depending on incarnation. In their current form Caliban uses they/he/she pronouns, but they/them seems to be the most frequent.
Oh, so non-binary genderfluid?
I think so.
See that grin in panel 3? Tahraim enjoys messing with clients.
Fiery, short-tempered, straight talking Caliban. Wise, frustratingly cryptic, but still helpful Tahraim. Throw Hesta in the mix and it’s got the makings of a fire-deity sitcom.
Seriously though, just like with the life themed deities Red kills it when making two gods distinct despite their roles stemming from the same element. Caliban’s makings glow and hair catches fire under intense emotions while Tahraim remained tempered and controlled but still hot. I’m interested now in what other weather and water gods could look like after seeing Tynan and Ilia.
So what kind of weapons would Caliban want and how would they use it? Extra lore says they’re a trickster by nature and pretty hands off so a direct weapon seems unlikely. Then again if she’s here to protect her people from Tynan being subtle may not be an option.
Sorry, I meant “Then again if THEY’RE here to protect THEIR people from Tynan being subtle may not be an option.”
what extra lore, I can’t find anything about caliban in it
feels like I’ve missed something important
Sorry, by extra lore I meant the lore Red gives in the Aurora tumblr asks. Don’t worry they’re not important, just world-building fluff for lore junkies like me.
(link to said ask here https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/628047017517711360/sorry-for-asking-so-much-but-what-can-you-tell)
I don’t think they’re talking about Tynan at all. Tahraim was characteristically vague about the tyrant they were facing, and it seemed more like he was using Vash VS Tynan as an anecdote for Caliban needing to make their weapon their own, rather than a strategy for taking Tynan down again. Red loves to sow story seeds as she goes along and introduce characters and plot points gradually even if they aren’t immediately relevant (for instance, Erin’s Storm study and Tess’s appearances). I’m inclined to agree with TheUnknownGame that they’re probably scheming against Zuurith, which, surprise, surprise, Vash also recently name-dropped to the Collector.
I have no clue who Zuurith actually is but they sound mean.
From what Red has said on Tumblr, Zuurith is a city god and an absolute lawful evil tyrant. Steal an apple? He’ll have you imprisoned. Look at him funny? He might have you imprisoned! He might also embrace anti-ferin bigotry, but I can’t remember. Although, Zuurith is likely to be the titular lawbringer of this chapter, so we might see him soon…
Good points, there may be some Ingan subjugation in Zuurith which has Caliban concerned, that city is near a desert after all. They, as a god of the people, can get inside Zuurith but freeing their people and getting out may be a problem, that may be the reason they came to Tahraim, for a weapon to pull it off.
I have a wild theory as to what will happen in coming chapters: Caliban will pull off something inside Zuurith, Big Z himself will confront them and midway through their battle Tynan will show up and cause havoc. This chapter has shown how theatrical he can be; he, a force of nature that abides by no law, destroying a city that puts the law above everything else sounds too good for him to pass up. Plus after languishing in the ocean for years the terror from destroying an entire city may bring his power back to pre-banishment levels, maybe even higher.
That’s a good idea! If Tynan defeated Zuurith, who clearly has a reputation, it would immediately inspire terror across the continent again. It’s a shortcut back to his full power.
is Caliban just a self-insert, Red?
Tahraim’s gonna send them in a “know yourself and your goals better” quest and they’ll burn his whole forge down over it
T: “That forge needed to be destroyed so that a better forge could be built in its place. Truly, you are one step closer to crafting the weapon that you require.”
C: “AUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
TL;DR: One fire god to another: You need to be patient and deal with riddles. Otherwise, you get a flimsy weapon.
NO, JUST TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO DO AND I’LL DO IT. I DON’T WANT TO PLAY THESE MIND GAMES WITH YOU, TAHRAIM
– Caliban, probably, on Friday
But we haven’t even gotten to the 24th riddle yet!
NYAAAAGH
Shhh, calm down. You will never understand the true meaning of my words if you keep screaming like that. There, there. I’m sure you’ll love this next riddle.
Tahraim… I swear to ME… When I get this weapon—and I will—the first person I use it on: Will. Be. YOU!
There’s a problem with that, Caliban- I am not a person. Now, shall we continue?
Tahraim (summarized): If you wanna weapon, you’ll need the instructions on how to use it. Warning: finding said instructions will be time consuming and painful as hell. P. S. I an basically giving awa y upgrades to forces of nature, what do you expect?
I feel that Tahraim really resonates with my personality. I mean, I don’t speak in riddles usually, but I’m usually pretty chill and really love abstract philosophical discussions because they encourage me to view things from many perspectives, and discover new ideas on existentialism and other ideas.
How about y’all? Which character is closest to who you are? Or who do you understand the most?
For me, it’s Kendal. Not the whole “being an 11-day-old demigod” part, but his social awkwardness, his protective instincts (when they aren’t self-destructive). Granted, that’s not my whole personality; there is no single fictional character that I can fully relate to (and honestly, that’s a good thing), but he’s who resonates with me the most in this story.
I’m not sure. Maybe Falst? I’m not great with people, but I do pride myself on straight-talking and sarcasm equally. Plus, I too am hella gay.
Wait, Falst is gay? Where was that mentioned?
Nowhere, yet (except maybe Tumblr?). Apparently he just gives off rainbow vibes
No, Red said it was canon on tumblr that Falst was mostly gay
I’m pretty sure someone asked Red about the characters’ orientations, and Red said Falst was like a 4 or 5 on the Kinsey Scale, so he’s pretty gay.
Huh. Any other characters I should know about that aren’t hetero?
Kendal is canonically asexual. No word yet on whether or not he’s also aromantic.
I believe Erin is also bisexual, and Tess (the metal lady, in case you don’t know) is a lesbian.
Also, Alinua’s confirmed to be pansexual.
I guess I could relate to Erin. For being nerdy and awkward. Or maybe Falst because sarcasm is fun and I often feel like I need to change myself because I stick out…
Oh, THERE are the character page drawings!
Also, a god wanting a weapon implies that they might be more active than, say, the Riordan gods. So that’s cool
What are you talking about? The Riordan gods were incredibly active getting other people… to do their work… for them…
No, I see your point.
Is that the enby/agender god I saw on the AUrora twitter once or do I not remember their design all too well?
That’s them. https://twitter.com/AuroraWebcomic/status/1174588069460230144?s=20
This ponytail fire being is confusing my gender sensors and my NB ass is living for it. And also envious.
I like how their markings glow when they get frustrated
lmaoooo this is so great
Caliban: Corporate needs you to tell the difference between these two pictures.
*the pictures read “Simple Answer” and “Complex Riddles”*
Tahraim: They’re the same picture.
Fire lady, lightning lady, life lady: I’m sensing a Kendal’s Angels series coming on.
They’re not a lady though…
Two bros, chilling around a fire, five feet apart cuz they’er NOT gay
I appreciate that this has the right number of syllables for the original rhythm.
One more thing I noticed: when Lady Ilia was telling Kendal about other gods hearing of The Collector, Caliban was the fire deity shown in the picture (and Tynan was the lightning deity): https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-7-7/
I can’t imagine what Tahraim’s answering service would be like.
“Please hold your call until you’ve learned the true meaning of friendship”
“We will get back to you once you’ve realized that your honor cannot be restored by your toxic family members, that you’ve yet to acknowledge how far you’ve come as a person, or whatever other emotional baggage may be holding you back at the moment.”
Caliban: I don’t have the time, patience, or self-reflection skills for that! Just answer the darn phone!
Reply to Evil tree: I think the issue isn’t necessarily about not knowing how divine weapons work, it’s more about how people and fighting works. She thinks the tool has the power, not the tool user. That’s a mistake a lot of people make. She’s desperate, afraid of entering a fight she doesn’t want to fight (and probably is somehow forced to be there) and just want the weapon to feel more confident, when that won’t be enough for whatever upcoming fight is coming.
If you want to reply directly to someone, you need to go to Archive above the comic, then scroll down and open up the menu in the bottom left for specific comic pages. From there, you’ll need to select the page where you want to reply to someone. Hope this helps. 🙂
Or, just hit the back arrow and then the forward arrow.
I just click on the comic page itself and the page kinda refreshes and when it comes back, I’m on the actual page rather than the homepage (disregard the amount of times I said “page” in this reply; I don’t know what other term to use)
I tried to do so in the main page, but the comment box did not appear.
Good points, being a trickster she may not understand what direct fighting entails and thinks it’s all in the tools.
I get vibes of Red talking to Blue here.
Tahraim: Let’s do some history!
i love both of them already
Alt text: MORE riddles from the riddle-man? what were the odds??
I’ve reread this story a lot, and with the current knowledge about Kendal, I realize there was probably more to that line of ‘the starmetal UNDER his city.’ Considering Vash was build in a crater (probably from a meteor landing) I wonder if there was more star metal available to him than just the ingot Tahraim gave him. Although I still don’t have a clue what the gem was.
I relate to Caliban on a personal and fundamental level. I hate it when people play koi with me, and when people twist my words or don’t accept what I tell them. I am a blunt weapon, and only bluntly can I be told.
Autism FTW!!!
i love caliban already
Image source: games
what’s this? do i sense… a new partymember??
Okay new theory. Tarhim said “starmetal under his city” If the City of vash was made in a crater, then could there have been star metal in whatever it was that made the crater?
Idea. If there still is starmetal underneath the ruins of vash, it can be ignited by someone who has learned to wake star metal. Vash, as of recently, Kendal, and possibly other as yet unknown individuals.