There is no way this is turning out okay but I’m just looking at the little glowy thing he did when he got the sword back. Also “It’s not like he was harmless WITHOUT it”, chill guard is done with this nonsense
WHOOOP! BLOODSPORT BLOODSPORT BLOODSPORT!! Just joking but I really want to see how this fight turns out. Also want to see how Zuurith will handle this whole situation. A bad day for the Arenamaster at the office? International war? Tynan showing up at the absolute worst time?
Anyone else get reminded of Kaladin stormblessed when they see Kendal?
Name starts with K-check
Has cool sword-check
Eyes glow blue when using said sword-check
Paladin-check
TRAUMA-check
Questionable self-worth:check
Amazing hair-check
Probably ought to eat&sleep more:check
“A living monument to the fallen city of Vash” Really now? Just going to rub that in his face while the whole city is watching. How rude.
Nice little smile from Kendal when he gets his sword, that’s nice. Honestly he doesn’t seem surprised at this arena fight development in the second to last panel, or maybe the realisation hasn’t sunk in yet.
So no explanation, no preamble, just throwing him into the arena and assuming he’ll fight. … Yeah right. I think Kendal is smart enough and knows Dainix enough that he’ll catch on petty quick, that or Dainix explains it before they fight.
Now what will happen exactly I’m not sure. Kendal throws the fight? The two mock fight, since Dainix technically needs to fight to gain freedom? Nothing will happen because Tynan will interrupt things? Personally I want a little bit of action before Tynan comes out, if only for Kendal and Dainix to work together to show up the Arenamaster.
Might seem weird, but until this page it never really hit me just how tall Kendal is. Makes sense I suppose, greater stature and longer reach would be extremely valuable to a warrior in battle.
“Huh. Somehow, I don’t think this is the exit to the city.”
Kendal being excited to get his sword back is so cute. I’m surprised that I haven’t noticed that his eyes glow more when he has it than when he doesn’t, but that’s probably because he mostly had it with him until recently. I suppose it makes sense though, since he and the sword both have a connection with Vash and they’d probably amplify each other. But enough about the sword! Let’s see some good ARENA DRAMA! Fighting! Screaming things like “I don’t want to fight you, you’re my friend”, followed by emotional declarations of “I HAVE TO”! Magic powers that have been suppressed coming to the surface! And maybe a special appearance by a certain storm god! And most importantly, ANGSSSSSSST.
That last panel is visually awesome, in the truest meaning of that word. Views that bring into focus the sheer scale of The Scream Pit just look beautiful to me… visually, again. They’re obviously not beautiful in any other way due to the whole slavery and bloodsport thing. (Especially not this one since the announcer is casually insulting Kendal by deriving his personality from a hostile stereotype. I look forward to Kendal hopefully proving them wrong…)
Even though he barely changed, with his eyes solid blue Kendal looks so much more Vash than Vashn’t (hey, been a while since we pulled that one out) there are very subtle changes that sell you on that. His hair is a bit smoother and shinier, and the little smile on his face makes him look… arrogant, I guess, for lack of a better word, an emotion I definitely relate to Vash more than Kendal, and by the gods of Olympus THIS COMIC IS SO GOOD.
Also, when he takes his hands off the sword strap, he looks kind of confused, like ‘yay my sword. Wait, outside?’
I’d like for Dainix and Kendal to be like ‘Hey’ ‘Sorry, I have to kill you’ ‘I’d rather not’ ‘same’ ‘how do you feel about murdering the arenamaster instead and then making a break for it’ ‘sounds good’
And then they commit murder and go running off into the sunset. I know that’s not what’s going to happen (my bet’s on Tynan interrupting to fight before they really get started, and maybe the rest of the crew rushing in to fight Tynan) but whatever.
Red, thou hast created a masterpiece for the ages.
@RantingWithoutACause
Yeah, same. The wifi is absolutely horrendous at my school, but I can usually see it anyway.
@TheUnknownGame
I think the word you’re looking for is awful, as in awe-inspiring and terrible.
Hmmm thinking about that alt text, Zuurith *massively* violated sacred hospitality, didn’t he? It’s hard to say if the gods are bound by that in this setting, but on a meta level it could be the hubris that leads to nemesis (AKA the city getting trashed by Tynan or Kendal serving him a massive helping of humble pie).
@BlackCat I would argue that smile is better classified as confidence than arrogance, if only because Kendal has the skills to back it up. But thanks to his self-esteem issues, it’s not a look we get to see on him often.
@blarmy blar blar Yeah, that’s a definite possibility. And how exactly would they keep him from wrenching that big fancy gate off his hinges? The only way that WON’T happen is if Dainix (or the guards) explain the stakes of him refusing to fight.
Ya know, I could absolutely see Kendal asking Danix what’s going on, he explains, and kendal just grabs him, puts him into a headlock, and is just like “all right, show’s over, we’re leaving”
Things are getting exponentially more ominous with each page in this comic tbh. Something about the way they announced Kendal gives me the heebie jeebies. “Yeah, you know that city that got wiped from the face of the earth? Give a warm welcome to *the only thing that was left in the wake of that devastation and death*. Isn’t it sooooo cool that he’s here?” It’s kind of a minor, simple detail— but it also sorta implies a lot about the way people in Zuurith (and also possibly people in general) view the wider world, the crazy shit that happens in it. So mythic; so sensational, but alsoo… nonchalant? It’s interesting.
Well, to quote a famous person whose name I do not know, but whose words have become immortalized by the sages of the world, the web and quite possibly, the universe: It is on like Donkey Kong, son.
Somebody:
This TL;DR is beauty in simplicity, I love it.
BlackCat:
Yeah, that’s an apt description. It makes me wonder if, in the distant future, The Scream Pit will be repurposed into something less awful, like how The Colosseum was turned into an apartment complex / church / citadel in the medieval age.
I love the contrast in perspectives here. The Arenamaster’s perception of Kendal is clearly tainted by Zuurith’s biased views on Vash. Dainix has had a chance to get to know Kendal somewhat, and that first impression tells him that Kendal will not be okay with this, but the Arenamaster insists that Kendal will fight when prompted simply because Vash was “very warlike”, and while Dainix is the one who actually knows better he doesn’t have the confidence to realize that the Arenamaster is full of shit. If someone had actually informed Kendal of the arrangement with Dainix, I think he’d be more likely to play along, but Kendal is probably just going to be confused and refuse to cooperate, which could trigger whatever Dainix has been trying to contain.
That and the fact that they are using the MURDER OF AN ENTIRE CITY as a talking point to hype up the crowd. Like, dude, genocide shouldn’t be treated as that fun detail in a fighter’s backstory. I’m curious as to how many people in the crowd had friends or family in Vash, who would give anything to see them again, only to hear it brought up so nonchalantly here. Tynan is probably loving all the different flavours of emotional energy radiation off of this stadium right now.
Sidenote, I haven’t noticed anyone say this but I think Dainix might be in the same boat Alinua was at the start of the comic. What if the demon is the Primordial of Fire trying to create a vessel? No idea if that’s the case but if Life’s mind was reawakened it seems possible that the same could be happening to the other Primordials. Given that it has been implied that their final attack against the Void Dragon was powered by friendship it would make sense that Life herself may have been trying to wake them up, so that she could be with her friends again. And as an extra safeguard against the Dragon escaping.
Happy 12,022, everyone! For those wondering, I simply took an unannounced break from Aurora to enjoy Winter Break. My thanks to bookfae for their Futurivia in my absence. For those of you waiting, the answer to the last Pastrivia I made was that Tynan used twin swords in his fight with Vash. Congrats to everyone who got that one right :-). Without further ado, if I didn’t write this out before, here’s a Futurivia to kick off the fight. Correct me if I wrote this out on a previous page, but I feel that the point it was made for is happening soon. So, for the question: What do you think will happen in the arena?
A: Kendal & Dainix will refuse to fight/spar?
B: The Storm Chasers (Alinua, Erin, Falst, Tess) will interfere?
C: Tynan will interfere?
D: Zuurith will interfere?
Gift Horse: Caliban will interfere?
Tigris, Eclypia, & Don’t Mind My Nicknames: A late welcome to Aurora! Hope you enjoy the spectacle.
@Ranting Without a Cause podcast: “They’ve got you now, tag you’re it; I’ll see you in the SCREAM PIT”
@Humanoid_Human: Nice name ;-).
I think that might actually be another guard. It doesn’t look like the sort of thing Red would miss. Maybe the armory has someone in charge of storing everyone’s weapons?
Oopsie
This page’s image source code: test
Ooooh I’m so ready for an “I don’t want to fight you!”-scene
LET’S GOOOOOO
Come on announcer, a living monument AND a living weapon? Points off for repetitive word choice
painite:
thanks for the pic advice!
Ooh, glowy eyes.
Yeah, the whole “broke the stick with no effort” really drives home how he’s dangerous regardless of the sword.
Honored? Funny way of showing it, Arena Master.
Imagine if he just turned around like “Haha nope”
“you’re probably wondering how I got into this situation…”
The happy glowy eyes are so cute. Too bad it won’t last 🙁
I suspect Kendal would like to talk to a manager.
FIGHT!
FIGHT!
FIGHT!
There is no way this is turning out okay but I’m just looking at the little glowy thing he did when he got the sword back. Also “It’s not like he was harmless WITHOUT it”, chill guard is done with this nonsense
WHOOOP! BLOODSPORT BLOODSPORT BLOODSPORT!! Just joking but I really want to see how this fight turns out. Also want to see how Zuurith will handle this whole situation. A bad day for the Arenamaster at the office? International war? Tynan showing up at the absolute worst time?
Man, imagine if this comic was an animated show. There are so many cool cinematic scenes! Infact this comic would make a really great story board.
Anyone else get reminded of Kaladin stormblessed when they see Kendal?
Name starts with K-check
Has cool sword-check
Eyes glow blue when using said sword-check
Paladin-check
TRAUMA-check
Questionable self-worth:check
Amazing hair-check
Probably ought to eat&sleep more:check
CREEEAK… The gate rises
as Kendal takes center stage.
And the crowd. Goes. WILD!
@Rainbow demon Extreme depression? Not yet. We’ll see. Tiny fairy like companion? No. A bunch of supportive friends? We can check that one off.
they got him with THE OL’ OUTSIDE-TO-MURDER-ARENA SWITCHEROO
“Huh, what’s going on- Oh! hi, Dainix! Damn, you look really good in that armor, mind telling me what’s up with this- why are you hitting me??”
“A living monument to the fallen city of Vash” Really now? Just going to rub that in his face while the whole city is watching. How rude.
Nice little smile from Kendal when he gets his sword, that’s nice. Honestly he doesn’t seem surprised at this arena fight development in the second to last panel, or maybe the realisation hasn’t sunk in yet.
So no explanation, no preamble, just throwing him into the arena and assuming he’ll fight. … Yeah right. I think Kendal is smart enough and knows Dainix enough that he’ll catch on petty quick, that or Dainix explains it before they fight.
Now what will happen exactly I’m not sure. Kendal throws the fight? The two mock fight, since Dainix technically needs to fight to gain freedom? Nothing will happen because Tynan will interrupt things? Personally I want a little bit of action before Tynan comes out, if only for Kendal and Dainix to work together to show up the Arenamaster.
Oh dear, this is gonna get ugly.
Might seem weird, but until this page it never really hit me just how tall Kendal is. Makes sense I suppose, greater stature and longer reach would be extremely valuable to a warrior in battle.
lol, they didn’t even warn him. This is going to go so poorly for everyone.
Yes, okay, character conflict and all, but I have to school this week after extended break and I’m sulking about that, so
FIGHT
FIGHT
FIGHT
FIGHT
“Huh. Somehow, I don’t think this is the exit to the city.”
Kendal being excited to get his sword back is so cute. I’m surprised that I haven’t noticed that his eyes glow more when he has it than when he doesn’t, but that’s probably because he mostly had it with him until recently. I suppose it makes sense though, since he and the sword both have a connection with Vash and they’d probably amplify each other. But enough about the sword! Let’s see some good ARENA DRAMA! Fighting! Screaming things like “I don’t want to fight you, you’re my friend”, followed by emotional declarations of “I HAVE TO”! Magic powers that have been suppressed coming to the surface! And maybe a special appearance by a certain storm god! And most importantly, ANGSSSSSSST.
Thank the great muppet in the sky, I have wifi at school
Oh shIT IT’S HAPPENING! EVERYBODY STAY CALM
That last panel is visually awesome, in the truest meaning of that word. Views that bring into focus the sheer scale of The Scream Pit just look beautiful to me… visually, again. They’re obviously not beautiful in any other way due to the whole slavery and bloodsport thing. (Especially not this one since the announcer is casually insulting Kendal by deriving his personality from a hostile stereotype. I look forward to Kendal hopefully proving them wrong…)
RETURN OF THE GREAT AND EXCITING
*drumroll*
S C R E E E E E E E A M P I I I I I T!!!!!!
I love the Guard that’s like.
“Look, if he wanted it. He could take it and there’d be nothing we could do about it.”
Even though he barely changed, with his eyes solid blue Kendal looks so much more Vash than Vashn’t (hey, been a while since we pulled that one out) there are very subtle changes that sell you on that. His hair is a bit smoother and shinier, and the little smile on his face makes him look… arrogant, I guess, for lack of a better word, an emotion I definitely relate to Vash more than Kendal, and by the gods of Olympus THIS COMIC IS SO GOOD.
Also, when he takes his hands off the sword strap, he looks kind of confused, like ‘yay my sword. Wait, outside?’
I’d like for Dainix and Kendal to be like ‘Hey’ ‘Sorry, I have to kill you’ ‘I’d rather not’ ‘same’ ‘how do you feel about murdering the arenamaster instead and then making a break for it’ ‘sounds good’
And then they commit murder and go running off into the sunset. I know that’s not what’s going to happen (my bet’s on Tynan interrupting to fight before they really get started, and maybe the rest of the crew rushing in to fight Tynan) but whatever.
Red, thou hast created a masterpiece for the ages.
@RantingWithoutACause
Yeah, same. The wifi is absolutely horrendous at my school, but I can usually see it anyway.
@TheUnknownGame
I think the word you’re looking for is awful, as in awe-inspiring and terrible.
alt text: sick hospitality bro
Hmmm thinking about that alt text, Zuurith *massively* violated sacred hospitality, didn’t he? It’s hard to say if the gods are bound by that in this setting, but on a meta level it could be the hubris that leads to nemesis (AKA the city getting trashed by Tynan or Kendal serving him a massive helping of humble pie).
@BlackCat I would argue that smile is better classified as confidence than arrogance, if only because Kendal has the skills to back it up. But thanks to his self-esteem issues, it’s not a look we get to see on him often.
@blarmy blar blar Yeah, that’s a definite possibility. And how exactly would they keep him from wrenching that big fancy gate off his hinges? The only way that WON’T happen is if Dainix (or the guards) explain the stakes of him refusing to fight.
imagine being so small and unimportant to the story you get drawn as coloured static
Also announcer man has rhyme potential
Vibin
Red didn’t draw all of the crowd because that would take years.
Ya know, I could absolutely see Kendal asking Danix what’s going on, he explains, and kendal just grabs him, puts him into a headlock, and is just like “all right, show’s over, we’re leaving”
TL;DR: So that was a ******* lie.
Things are getting exponentially more ominous with each page in this comic tbh. Something about the way they announced Kendal gives me the heebie jeebies. “Yeah, you know that city that got wiped from the face of the earth? Give a warm welcome to *the only thing that was left in the wake of that devastation and death*. Isn’t it sooooo cool that he’s here?” It’s kind of a minor, simple detail— but it also sorta implies a lot about the way people in Zuurith (and also possibly people in general) view the wider world, the crazy shit that happens in it. So mythic; so sensational, but alsoo… nonchalant? It’s interesting.
I like Kendal’s eye glow on the fourth panel.
Well, to quote a famous person whose name I do not know, but whose words have become immortalized by the sages of the world, the web and quite possibly, the universe: It is on like Donkey Kong, son.
His eyes are brighter with the sword thats cool
I want him to break open the arena wall like a wallnut
The arena master is going to regret this.
hey wait a minute
Yup, that’s me. You might be wondering how I got there. To find that out, we’ll have to go all the way back to the beginning.
Somebody:
This TL;DR is beauty in simplicity, I love it.
BlackCat:
Yeah, that’s an apt description. It makes me wonder if, in the distant future, The Scream Pit will be repurposed into something less awful, like how The Colosseum was turned into an apartment complex / church / citadel in the medieval age.
Wow my expectations were low but I thought they’d at least TELL him
I love the contrast in perspectives here. The Arenamaster’s perception of Kendal is clearly tainted by Zuurith’s biased views on Vash. Dainix has had a chance to get to know Kendal somewhat, and that first impression tells him that Kendal will not be okay with this, but the Arenamaster insists that Kendal will fight when prompted simply because Vash was “very warlike”, and while Dainix is the one who actually knows better he doesn’t have the confidence to realize that the Arenamaster is full of shit. If someone had actually informed Kendal of the arrangement with Dainix, I think he’d be more likely to play along, but Kendal is probably just going to be confused and refuse to cooperate, which could trigger whatever Dainix has been trying to contain.
That and the fact that they are using the MURDER OF AN ENTIRE CITY as a talking point to hype up the crowd. Like, dude, genocide shouldn’t be treated as that fun detail in a fighter’s backstory. I’m curious as to how many people in the crowd had friends or family in Vash, who would give anything to see them again, only to hear it brought up so nonchalantly here. Tynan is probably loving all the different flavours of emotional energy radiation off of this stadium right now.
Sidenote, I haven’t noticed anyone say this but I think Dainix might be in the same boat Alinua was at the start of the comic. What if the demon is the Primordial of Fire trying to create a vessel? No idea if that’s the case but if Life’s mind was reawakened it seems possible that the same could be happening to the other Primordials. Given that it has been implied that their final attack against the Void Dragon was powered by friendship it would make sense that Life herself may have been trying to wake them up, so that she could be with her friends again. And as an extra safeguard against the Dragon escaping.
I wanna appreciate how pretty the sky is. It’s a lovely sunset for bloodsport
Is it weird that the announcer’s voice came through in my head as Jeremy Clarkson?
Some say he’s a living weapon. Some say he’s the last remains of a God and a City. All we know is, he’s called Kendal.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THE MAIN EVENT!”
“LLLET’S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
https://youtu.be/3rXDedLK3Ck
Happy 12,022, everyone! For those wondering, I simply took an unannounced break from Aurora to enjoy Winter Break. My thanks to bookfae for their Futurivia in my absence. For those of you waiting, the answer to the last Pastrivia I made was that Tynan used twin swords in his fight with Vash. Congrats to everyone who got that one right :-). Without further ado, if I didn’t write this out before, here’s a Futurivia to kick off the fight. Correct me if I wrote this out on a previous page, but I feel that the point it was made for is happening soon. So, for the question:
What do you think will happen in the arena?
A: Kendal & Dainix will refuse to fight/spar?
B: The Storm Chasers (Alinua, Erin, Falst, Tess) will interfere?
C: Tynan will interfere?
D: Zuurith will interfere?
Gift Horse: Caliban will interfere?
Tigris, Eclypia, & Don’t Mind My Nicknames: A late welcome to Aurora! Hope you enjoy the spectacle.
@Ranting Without a Cause podcast: “They’ve got you now, tag you’re it; I’ll see you in the SCREAM PIT”
@Humanoid_Human: Nice name ;-).
So this living weapon,
this lone survivor of apocalypse/genocide,
this avatar of a god,
He will definitely let us point him at his friend…
@BlackCat: the original use of awesome was ,to my understanding, in terms of inspires awe- so it is an awesome areana, and awful.
@Hermit Thrush: GOD FIGHT! GOD FIGHT! GOD FIGHT!
@Steve Lord of Darkness: I believe Vash has a defender of innocents sort of vibe.
This guy just gets thrown into things! First, he spontaneously existed. Now, he gets to fight in blood sport!
The guard on the left changes ethnicities between panels 1 and 3. I’m not complaining, just pointing it out, like an easter egg.
I think that might actually be another guard. It doesn’t look like the sort of thing Red would miss. Maybe the armory has someone in charge of storing everyone’s weapons?