I guess “Kill it with fire” only gets you so far.
So after burning away their own body and releasing the fire do they then die? If so the answer may not be how to kill them rather how to keep them away from settlements. However if they don’t immediately die and go on a rampage then yes, a monster killing walkthrough would be very much needed.
So it seems Dainix lost his eye to one of these Demons and is looking for a way to kill, not in the name of revenge but to ensure his people can defend against it and no one else suffers like he did. Dainix is a great guy, no wonder he’s Caliban’s champion.
Nice backstory and character motivation and all but we still don’t know how he got into Zuurith’s prison in the first place. He’s no slouch of a fighter, doesn’t seem like the one to break rules and I see no immediate reason why he’d head close to the city. Maybe that Shrike woman and her hunters mentioned in 1-13-2 were involved.
Interesting point by @Omer1698. Building on that I wonder if there are Chimeric plague equivalents of the other elements but they manifest so differently it isn’t obvious there’s a relation between them and the plague. While Life could potentially manifest in anything alive maybe Fire is limited to fire adapted beings or areas. There may not be a birthmark either so it remains as part of Ignan folklore and the connection isn’t made.
@EvilTree Maybe he tried to get into the paladin archives to see if they had information on it? He seems more likely to resort to breaking and entering than something like Kerin did.
I see no Zuko here. His grandfather ordered his execution just to teach his father a lesson. Zuko’s sister sang about his impending death for fun. His father challenged him to a duel for speaking out of turn, then rather than show any mercy, burned and exiled him telling Zuko he deserved it. No character here comes close to this level of Physical and Psychological torture. Maybe Katara level of backstory, but no Zuko.
“So guys we need to make a detour to this desert”
“…”
“Kendal did you forget about the primordial darkness dragon that will destroy the world if we don’t stop him”
“Oh also I brought a friend”
“The WHAT”
@youngstormlord: I’m with Lazuul. Dainix doesn’t have an abusive dad, he’s not driven by a need to prove himself to anyone, and his scar is on the wrong side.
OK but like my first thought was the Ignans consider Caliban to be a demon for reasons, or that Caliban is masquerading as one? The fire effects on the guard could be him possessing an *actual* guard
I’m in agreement with everybody else speculating that these demons are a Fire equivalent of the Chimeric Plague. I believe Red said that all of the Primordials’ names have been found, so does that mean they’re all trying to get avatars?
It’s possible. Though what that means in the long run… after all, aside from sealing the Void Dragon and Life really not liking chimeras, we don’t know much about the Primorials’ motivations. Blue/orange morality and all that… And since we know that Life and the Void Dragon both have avatars at this point, given their history, if all seven had avatars and those seven all happened to meet…
The ‘demons’ thing is something I agree with, too, or at least partially. I’m still not 100% certain of their being a Chimeric Plague equivalent (though I will say it does make a lot of sense), but I find it very strange that they are the only monster whose origins are unknown, especially given that they don’t have a corporeal form… That smells verymuch like the ‘demons’ were once people who for whatever reason were driven to such anger and despair as to transform into them. Whether or not there is a plague-equivalent contributing to that is unclear, but I feel like it’s less a Plague situation and possibly more of a “time bomb” one… Possibly with hints of the Obscurials from Fantastic Beasts, though without remembering any of the destruction they caused if that was the case. Which makes me wonder–if they are able to revert, how much of their original form remains with each change, and could their flame be visible if a part of them is consumed by the transformation? Because that could be an explanation for Dainix seeking a method of killing a demon and why he keeps that eye covered up–He knows what he is and is trying to keep others from getting hurt (perhaps, much as he hates them, the gladiatorial matches have allowed him to gain some level of control?) It’s admittedly far-fetched and probably a bit cliche, but…
I wonder if Dainix *is* the Demon (wasn’t there something about him being a “Crucible”?) That could be very interesting, and some of his previous dialogue with Kendal suggests he isn’t human.
And personally, I’m a little doubtful about this being Fire’s equivalent of the chimeric plague. It’d certainly be interesting if the primordials other than Life were awake and trying to get vessels, but they seem pretty dead. I thought that the only reason Life was awake is because she embodies the concept of being alive.
Has Dainix learned anything about this demon? Is his search for answers related to his imprisonment? Has Zuurith imprisoned him for so long that the demon’s already killed everyone he loves? Has anyone asked the demon if it knows how to play crokinole?
We haven’t seen Erin since he went to bed and it gives me a bad feeling that Walter realized he was unsupervised and decided to take Erin’s body out for a late-night pleasure cruise
If “one of them appeared in my settlement” means that it was created in Dainix’s settlement and demons are the fire equivalent of chimeric plague people… then Dainix probably knew the person before they went out of control. They may have been friends. And now they’ve caused a lot of destruction and he has to figure out how to stop them… Yeah, that’s real rough.
Alternatively, the phrasing could just mean that the demon arrived in the settlement from elsewhere, which, while very sad, is at least not as psychologically painful as option one. Considering this is Red, not sure how optimistic I am about option two being right.
@Skye: Don’t forget about Mike, who seems to be the champion of Walter’s Other (Talks directly to him, he has powers and eyes like possessed Erin).
Speaking of possessed Erin, the gout of fire in panel 6 seems to be coming from a curve vaguely like the fire symbol in 1.6.4. More evidence for the fire chimeric plague theory?
True. Very true–although, that is assuming that there is a “Light Dragon” (Which, honestly, there probably is, though it standing in opposition to the Void Dragon does not immediately make it benevolent)…Gotta admit, I wasn’t sure who Mike was at first. When did that become the nickname for that character?
Possibly. But it could also be a crack that happens to look like the fire symbol–kinda reminds me of the Breach in Pacific Rim, the way that panel is set up. Or it could be the fire symbol, but to indicate that the flame connected to it is “unnatural” in origin (as opposed to, say, a candle flame or wildfire)–part of the lore of the world is that souls are generally attuned to one element or another, after all, and if these demons were originally people….
Honestly, it’s probably a tad bit early to tell for sure. Now, if we see a third potential variant crop up, or we get some other sort of damning evidence–then something’s going on. But for now, it’s probably best to operate under the assumption of “once is circumstance, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern” regarding the Chimeric plague. Especially given that it’s assumed that it was the Collector’s meddling that caused the original–there’s no evidence yet of anyone tampering with any of the other Primordials.
When Dainix says it took a lot from me. He could mean it slashed his eye and somehow got him stuck in a gladiator ring. But, if it took his eye, why didn’t he just say ‘It took my eye.” Even if it did only take his eye, how did he get stuck in the arena? When the thing terrorised his settlement and slash his eye, did he just leave when his home needed protecting more than ever? I think not. He said that the things had physical forms, but what if they could choose their forms like ol’ VB. My guess is that he was the best fighter in the settlement (the champion as Tahraim puts it) and was defending his town against the Demon who saw that he was the best fighter (better armour, special badge, someone called him commander or something) and it possessed him. Possibly one of the other soldiers scarred his eye for an extra bit of angst. (If you look at his helmet on page 1.13.3 the metal seems to have been slashed upward.) Once blinded he ran into the desert and toward Zuurith where he was arrested for some reason.
Just a theory though…
(Continuing from my previous comment) My guess is that what Dainix means by ‘it took a lot from me’ is: it took my eye, killed many people from my settlement, put me in a gladiator ring that forces me to hurt more people who are just defending themselves and exiled me from my people as they will never trust me again after I turned in them. Which, to be fair, is a lot.
I actually wasn’t even aware that he had a fanon name yet. Guess that comes from not really following the satellite media–I like to read the comments on the pages and have skimmed some of the lore, but I don’t really get much more involved than that. (aside from checking up on the tvtropes page every now and again to see what’s new.)
We’ll just have to see. I love subtle references and plot twists as much as the next reader/writer, but unfortunately, it’s very easy to start seeing connections where there are none, or mistaking the importance (or lack thereof) of a key detail–Having a few different theories in addition to your main one is a good strategy, no matter which side of the pen you’re on.
I think so
Void Dragon aka VD, Walter, probably some others as well
Other Dragon aka Mike, Michael, Glowy, Floofy, the list is endless
Peolpe keep making up names so here are the ones I remember off the top of my head
I feel like either Tess and/or Dainix (plus someone else, maybe glowy wing boi from the end of chapter 7) is going to join the crew and turn it into a Seven ‘person’ band. I feel like Dainix is either gonna jump on the bandwagon and be like ‘Yeah. I’ll help you’ or ‘It’s just like the Demon from my home town. I MUST DESTROY YOU!’ until Kendal gets him to calm down. Or Glowy dude will briefly become an antagonist and be like ‘You don’t understand. He poses a threat to the world as we know it.’ and try to stab Erin and everyone else is like ‘Yes. We actually DO understand. We are trying to fix the Superpowered evil side problem. NOW, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP TRYING TO KILL US!’
Just a theory though…
Dark Wolf:
I know what the nicknames are, what I don’t know is why seemingly everyone except me pretends the Void Dragon hasn’t been named in-story already.
@Strawberry
They’re basically the same thing, right? I was just scrolling through comments and I saw those and I guess I misinterpreted it. -\_( ‘- ‘)_/-
@TheUnknownGame
I think giving them nicknames like VD is easier/quicker than Void Dragon and Walter is like that nickname you give someone before knowing their name and it just sticks.
First Again! noticed there are 3 dots hovering around the 5th panel that seem to be controlled by the flying person
Someone should introduce Dainix to the Doom Slayer. I’m sure they’d get along quite well…
I get the feeling that those thigns are like the chimera plague but only with fire.
Okay. Who wants to bet that Dainix is this Demon?
Oh he totes is
Kendal wants to know.
Dainix is an open book.
He explains it all.
(Bonus)
Tragic backstory
AND Ignan exposition?
Hm, how deLIGHTful!
Tragic backstory? New party member 🙂
“That’s rough, buddy.”
Only this time it is said to “Zuko but fluffier”.
I guess “Kill it with fire” only gets you so far.
So after burning away their own body and releasing the fire do they then die? If so the answer may not be how to kill them rather how to keep them away from settlements. However if they don’t immediately die and go on a rampage then yes, a monster killing walkthrough would be very much needed.
So it seems Dainix lost his eye to one of these Demons and is looking for a way to kill, not in the name of revenge but to ensure his people can defend against it and no one else suffers like he did. Dainix is a great guy, no wonder he’s Caliban’s champion.
Nice backstory and character motivation and all but we still don’t know how he got into Zuurith’s prison in the first place. He’s no slouch of a fighter, doesn’t seem like the one to break rules and I see no immediate reason why he’d head close to the city. Maybe that Shrike woman and her hunters mentioned in 1-13-2 were involved.
Interesting point by @Omer1698. Building on that I wonder if there are Chimeric plague equivalents of the other elements but they manifest so differently it isn’t obvious there’s a relation between them and the plague. While Life could potentially manifest in anything alive maybe Fire is limited to fire adapted beings or areas. There may not be a birthmark either so it remains as part of Ignan folklore and the connection isn’t made.
Wait is this “demon” a victim of the Chimeric plague, but with fire magic instead?
Cue the fifth member of the band, also looking to rid themself of a highly dangerous evil. But this one maybe isn’t in him… maybe.
@EvilTree Maybe he tried to get into the paladin archives to see if they had information on it? He seems more likely to resort to breaking and entering than something like Kerin did.
(To Mat) oooh now that’s a very interesting thought
I see no Zuko here. His grandfather ordered his execution just to teach his father a lesson. Zuko’s sister sang about his impending death for fun. His father challenged him to a duel for speaking out of turn, then rather than show any mercy, burned and exiled him telling Zuko he deserved it. No character here comes close to this level of Physical and Psychological torture. Maybe Katara level of backstory, but no Zuko.
“So guys we need to make a detour to this desert”
“…”
“Kendal did you forget about the primordial darkness dragon that will destroy the world if we don’t stop him”
“Oh also I brought a friend”
“The WHAT”
I smell a side quest
Wait, Fire Force Demon rules apply?
@youngstormlord: I’m with Lazuul. Dainix doesn’t have an abusive dad, he’s not driven by a need to prove himself to anyone, and his scar is on the wrong side.
@PersonMcPerson ROFL
OK but like my first thought was the Ignans consider Caliban to be a demon for reasons, or that Caliban is masquerading as one? The fire effects on the guard could be him possessing an *actual* guard
So that’s why he wears the bandage, I presume. Well, it’s a good thing he’s (unknowingly) got Caliban and Tahraim on his side…
I’m in agreement with everybody else speculating that these demons are a Fire equivalent of the Chimeric Plague. I believe Red said that all of the Primordials’ names have been found, so does that mean they’re all trying to get avatars?
Zuko is the one who SAYS “that’s rough buddy”, not the one who it’s said TO. The Zuko equivalent in this scene would be Kendall, not Dainix.
To Stark9865:
It’s possible. Though what that means in the long run… after all, aside from sealing the Void Dragon and Life really not liking chimeras, we don’t know much about the Primorials’ motivations. Blue/orange morality and all that… And since we know that Life and the Void Dragon both have avatars at this point, given their history, if all seven had avatars and those seven all happened to meet…
The ‘demons’ thing is something I agree with, too, or at least partially. I’m still not 100% certain of their being a Chimeric Plague equivalent (though I will say it does make a lot of sense), but I find it very strange that they are the only monster whose origins are unknown, especially given that they don’t have a corporeal form… That smells verymuch like the ‘demons’ were once people who for whatever reason were driven to such anger and despair as to transform into them. Whether or not there is a plague-equivalent contributing to that is unclear, but I feel like it’s less a Plague situation and possibly more of a “time bomb” one… Possibly with hints of the Obscurials from Fantastic Beasts, though without remembering any of the destruction they caused if that was the case. Which makes me wonder–if they are able to revert, how much of their original form remains with each change, and could their flame be visible if a part of them is consumed by the transformation? Because that could be an explanation for Dainix seeking a method of killing a demon and why he keeps that eye covered up–He knows what he is and is trying to keep others from getting hurt (perhaps, much as he hates them, the gladiatorial matches have allowed him to gain some level of control?) It’s admittedly far-fetched and probably a bit cliche, but…
The fighting techniques in panel 5 look amazing. I can‘t wait to see them in action! They would also explain Danix‘ talent as a gladiator.
Oh, I like that jet stepping fella
I wonder if Dainix *is* the Demon (wasn’t there something about him being a “Crucible”?) That could be very interesting, and some of his previous dialogue with Kendal suggests he isn’t human.
And personally, I’m a little doubtful about this being Fire’s equivalent of the chimeric plague. It’d certainly be interesting if the primordials other than Life were awake and trying to get vessels, but they seem pretty dead. I thought that the only reason Life was awake is because she embodies the concept of being alive.
Has Dainix learned anything about this demon? Is his search for answers related to his imprisonment? Has Zuurith imprisoned him for so long that the demon’s already killed everyone he loves? Has anyone asked the demon if it knows how to play crokinole?
Tune in This Week to Find Out!
“Well now we have two sidequests to deal with before we can save Vash.” – someone in the team probably
Ah, I bet these demons are the fire element equivalent of Alinua, AKA the potential host of Fire.
Noooooo I’m caught up with the series. Now I have to wait like everyone else 🙁
We haven’t seen Erin since he went to bed and it gives me a bad feeling that Walter realized he was unsupervised and decided to take Erin’s body out for a late-night pleasure cruise
If “one of them appeared in my settlement” means that it was created in Dainix’s settlement and demons are the fire equivalent of chimeric plague people… then Dainix probably knew the person before they went out of control. They may have been friends. And now they’ve caused a lot of destruction and he has to figure out how to stop them… Yeah, that’s real rough.
Alternatively, the phrasing could just mean that the demon arrived in the settlement from elsewhere, which, while very sad, is at least not as psychologically painful as option one. Considering this is Red, not sure how optimistic I am about option two being right.
@Skye: Don’t forget about Mike, who seems to be the champion of Walter’s Other (Talks directly to him, he has powers and eyes like possessed Erin).
Speaking of possessed Erin, the gout of fire in panel 6 seems to be coming from a curve vaguely like the fire symbol in 1.6.4. More evidence for the fire chimeric plague theory?
To Stark9865:
True. Very true–although, that is assuming that there is a “Light Dragon” (Which, honestly, there probably is, though it standing in opposition to the Void Dragon does not immediately make it benevolent)…Gotta admit, I wasn’t sure who Mike was at first. When did that become the nickname for that character?
Possibly. But it could also be a crack that happens to look like the fire symbol–kinda reminds me of the Breach in Pacific Rim, the way that panel is set up. Or it could be the fire symbol, but to indicate that the flame connected to it is “unnatural” in origin (as opposed to, say, a candle flame or wildfire)–part of the lore of the world is that souls are generally attuned to one element or another, after all, and if these demons were originally people….
Honestly, it’s probably a tad bit early to tell for sure. Now, if we see a third potential variant crop up, or we get some other sort of damning evidence–then something’s going on. But for now, it’s probably best to operate under the assumption of “once is circumstance, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern” regarding the Chimeric plague. Especially given that it’s assumed that it was the Collector’s meddling that caused the original–there’s no evidence yet of anyone tampering with any of the other Primordials.
Woah not what I was expecting. Quite the open book he is
Ooh! They’re fighting Red’s version of Nephilim!
@Skye sorry, most people call him Michael. I use Mike because it’s shorter. Fair point about it possibly being a coincidence though.
When Dainix says it took a lot from me. He could mean it slashed his eye and somehow got him stuck in a gladiator ring. But, if it took his eye, why didn’t he just say ‘It took my eye.” Even if it did only take his eye, how did he get stuck in the arena? When the thing terrorised his settlement and slash his eye, did he just leave when his home needed protecting more than ever? I think not. He said that the things had physical forms, but what if they could choose their forms like ol’ VB. My guess is that he was the best fighter in the settlement (the champion as Tahraim puts it) and was defending his town against the Demon who saw that he was the best fighter (better armour, special badge, someone called him commander or something) and it possessed him. Possibly one of the other soldiers scarred his eye for an extra bit of angst. (If you look at his helmet on page 1.13.3 the metal seems to have been slashed upward.) Once blinded he ran into the desert and toward Zuurith where he was arrested for some reason.
Just a theory though…
(Continuing from my previous comment) My guess is that what Dainix means by ‘it took a lot from me’ is: it took my eye, killed many people from my settlement, put me in a gladiator ring that forces me to hurt more people who are just defending themselves and exiled me from my people as they will never trust me again after I turned in them. Which, to be fair, is a lot.
To Stark9865:
I actually wasn’t even aware that he had a fanon name yet. Guess that comes from not really following the satellite media–I like to read the comments on the pages and have skimmed some of the lore, but I don’t really get much more involved than that. (aside from checking up on the tvtropes page every now and again to see what’s new.)
We’ll just have to see. I love subtle references and plot twists as much as the next reader/writer, but unfortunately, it’s very easy to start seeing connections where there are none, or mistaking the importance (or lack thereof) of a key detail–Having a few different theories in addition to your main one is a good strategy, no matter which side of the pen you’re on.
Maybe the demon’s a volcano? Eh, probably not. I’ll leave the theorizing to everyone else.
or it’s cave painting flourish
Everybody talking about jet boot boy while I’m just worried about the dude with the crossbow and the spear
Okay, seeing all the discussion around the two primordial dragons, I’m left wondering:
Am I seriously the only one who calls the Void Dragon by his canonical name???
@TheUnknownGame
I think so
Void Dragon aka VD, Walter, probably some others as well
Other Dragon aka Mike, Michael, Glowy, Floofy, the list is endless
Peolpe keep making up names so here are the ones I remember off the top of my head
Look in the Aurora Tumblr; there’s more detail on “Demons” provided in the ‘info about Ignans’ ask.
TL;DR: Backstory and infodump time! Enjoy!
Also is this why he has that eyepatch? Monster fire?
Plot twist- Dainix is a villain
I feel like either Tess and/or Dainix (plus someone else, maybe glowy wing boi from the end of chapter 7) is going to join the crew and turn it into a Seven ‘person’ band. I feel like Dainix is either gonna jump on the bandwagon and be like ‘Yeah. I’ll help you’ or ‘It’s just like the Demon from my home town. I MUST DESTROY YOU!’ until Kendal gets him to calm down. Or Glowy dude will briefly become an antagonist and be like ‘You don’t understand. He poses a threat to the world as we know it.’ and try to stab Erin and everyone else is like ‘Yes. We actually DO understand. We are trying to fix the Superpowered evil side problem. NOW, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP TRYING TO KILL US!’
Just a theory though…
@Dark Wolf
I thought Michael was the nickname for the white-haired monster slayer, not the Light Dragon itself?
this is good commentary it is very good if you do not have access to a therapist
Dark Wolf:
I know what the nicknames are, what I don’t know is why seemingly everyone except me pretends the Void Dragon hasn’t been named in-story already.
@Strawberry
They’re basically the same thing, right? I was just scrolling through comments and I saw those and I guess I misinterpreted it. -\_( ‘- ‘)_/-
@TheUnknownGame
I think giving them nicknames like VD is easier/quicker than Void Dragon and Walter is like that nickname you give someone before knowing their name and it just sticks.
I’m back! And wow there are a lot of new peopl
Are those rocket boots on one of the hunters or are they using fire magic to fly
WAIT!!! WAIT!!! IN THE LAST FRAME, HIS NIFTY NECKLACE DISAPPEARED!!!
Does this have anything to do with your eye?
shrike’s balls are in panel 5
OHH wait nevermind those are just the knockout powder
This was excellent foreshadowing. I’m worried about him now though…
last panel is that the tumblr image not loading picture
I’m reading this for the second time and only just now realized that Dainix is probably ‘the demon’
the realisation the dainix is probably alinua but with fire has just entered my mind.
thoughts, stories, and a large number of headcanons have been realised.
Alt text: yea yea tragic go back to the part with the rocket feet