1.16.12
on March 11, 2022
at 3:00 am
“THIS will be the chapter where I stop switching between a huge different number of viewpoints” I thought, foolishly, as if I wasn’t the person who wrote it like this in the first place
Aurora
A fantasy webcomic. Updates M-W-F.
Sooooo Cool!!!! I love the art style with the dramatic scene.
Lightning seems to be…
…ineffective. Welp, time to
use water and wind!
(Bonus)
Oh no, not her cape!
Hopefully Erin has more
and can lend her one!
I can pretty much hear the awesome music here! DAMN this is shiny, and exciting to read!
It’s a not just water magic, which is a bit weird. Correct me if my magic colours are off, but it looks like wind and water. I wonder what the wind magic will help with? To freeze the storm since it’s part wind? But it’s also lightning, which isn’t being used by Erin. Maybe it’s to broadcast it over a larger area or into the air. Idk
I mean, that cape can hardly be called killed. Having a cloak you can rightly say survived an attack from Tynan is a huge brag.
For those curious, here are today’s deciphered runes of the spells Erin is casting. These phrases repeat over and over.
WATER: STONE WATER VARIANT FREEZE PHASE CHANGE WATER TO ICE
WIND: SLOW THE WIND AND COOL THE AIR
Tess could kill me with those scary buff arms;
And I’m still attracted by her.
Tess: What, no lightning today? What’s the matter, afraid I’ll redirect it?
Tynan: Oh, I’ll show you lightning!
Erin *starts waterbending*
Never failing to do the amazing, Red.
Also, my gods does Tess looks so good
@Mat bless your soul, that is fantastic information to have, and bless Red’s soul for that attention to detail
although might i suggest that the runic word that translates to ‘STONE’ might also broadly mean ‘SOLID’? it seems like ‘SOLID WATER VARIANT’ would make more sense in context than ‘STONE WATER VARIANT’
also, i love how Erin’s spellcasting is so refined and complex. Alinua is great, but there’s something about seeing circles of runic incantation that i just adore
“Capes killed in this arc: 2”
Edna: NO CAPES!!
@veggiesnake You aren’t wrong for thinking that, but one of Water’s properties is that of mimicry – it can imitate other primordials to an extent. In this case, ice is Water imitating Stone, hence “STONE WATER VARIANT”.
TL;DR: Ah, so here’s where all the magicy stuff happens. Cool.
@Mat oh i see, that’s an interesting bit of nuance. fair enough, i’ll leave the translation to you. i actually really love that Red writes magic and language so cohesively. that’s really cool. i’m not even taking the piss that’s REALLY cool. i’m OBSESSED
“It’s ok self, just try and imagine her without her cape”
“…”
“OH NO SHE’S HOT!”
I like seeing how visually different Erin, Tess, and Alinua’s method of preforming magic is different. Erin casts with complex circles and spells, letting have an exact control over his spells, but they take longer and do reflect his more calculated and studied form of magic. Tess its all internal with just the result coming out, aka: big lightning bolts. Pure and simple, she makes lightning and then hits things with lightning, or uses it for mobility. Alinua is similarly instinctual as Tess but while Tess seems very consistant with her strength, Alinua seems to scale with how distressed she is. But drawing directly from a primordial whenever she uses her magic is seems to radiate around her and spread out in every direction, incuding causing parts of herself to glow.
Let it Go, Let it GO!!! Erin, use your ice magic to save the kingdom!
Capes *were* harmed in the making of this webcomic
Damn panel 4 looks so cool…
@Mat
How do you translate this kind of thing? It’s really cool, and kind of amazing that Red actually put language in the magic, instead of it just being incomprehensible marks.
I also love how Tess doesn’t care that her cape is on fire, because of course she wouldn’t, she’s made of metal.
That. Looks. So. Cool! I mean, everything in this chapter looks awesome, it’s such a pleasure to be amazed day after day.
The last two panels look so f*cking cool!
Yeah, nothing really to overanalyze… it’s just pretty!
As a Canadian I think it is my duty to ask: does magic snow melt? Because if that is the case they better bust out the Zurrith city snow plows and get to work.
If you really wanted to stop switching between a bunch of different viewpoints, then maybe you should try to stop writing so many different cool characters doing interesting stuff all the time.
Time For OP Spellcasting
@KittenyKat ty for posting the alt text <3
@Mat thanks! Very helpful
Erin: Water and Wind
Tess: Lightning
Alinua: Life
Dainix: Fire
That leaves Stone as the only one of the main six elements currently not being used to combat Tynan.
@Zer0 W0lf
Kendal is Stone. Or, more specifically, metal.
@Zer0 W0lf Well, you know who’s a fan favourite stone mage currently in Zuurith? Shrike
In retrospect, why did Tess think the storm god could be hurt by lightning? Next thing you know, she’ll suggest burning a fire elemental.
I wish I were walkin in a winter wonderland
@SarrissaTeiflingDruid:
Since it’s been a while and Mat hasn’t answered, I will. Basically the Aurora Discord Server figured out that each letter in the runic alphabet matches up to a sound in English. It roughly matches up to the Alphabet but not quite. The wiki has a whole page dedicated to a key and text they’ve decoded.
I really want to see Zuurith reincarnate behind Alinua, ask her what the void she is doing and try to stop her only to get restrained by vines that he can’t escape from.
I don’t think it will happen but I really want Zuurith to be humiliated by a Primordial. I’ve been hoping for it ever since he was introduced.
To GreatWyrmGold:
Couple possibilities here. First, Tess is kinda limited in her offensive capabilities–she has her lightning magic and her fists, so unless she actually walks over and punches Tynan’s incarnation (as she threatened to do last page), she’s kind of stuck using her long-range attack, no matter how ineffective. She also could be continuing to use her lightning to try and keep Tynan’s focus split (which could learn to Kendal getting a little bit of a reprieve), or at the very least, off of Erin as he gets his spell underway, in order to buy him more time. And it could be that she’s trying to get Tynan to waste his own lightning targeting her and thus weakening him–acting as an indirect lightning rod.
Well, at this point it’s probably more of the first option, but I can see the others being viable ideas going forward. I have no idea what the level of scientific knowledge generally is in this world, but Erin’d probably either know something like that or figure it out.
Ooh, looks like snow!!!! Everybody’s predictions were so fun to read last time :))
There’s going to be a 3rd cape killed in this arc isn’t there.
@GreatWyrmWind
I’m have bones but if you were to start bludgeoning me with a femur it’d still hurt, I’d guess the same logic applies to gods
does the penultimate panel remind anyone else of the elmo rise meme
What happens to a storm, no matter how powerful, if you stop the wind and the rain?
It ceases to be.
No storm, no storm god.
Is he really trying to stop the wind from blowing and the rain from dropping, i.e. ‘freezing the storm’?
Also, he gets power from people’s fear? If the storm looses power, fewer people will fear it. The less powerful he becomes the more effective the magic stopping the wind and the rain becomes, including side-effects like lightning.
Just guessing here
(Meant to say this like, 4 pages ago, but…)
If guilt=purple (according to the “guilt is purple, who knew” alt text), then does this mean anything for Erin’s consistently purple travelling cloaks? Given the whole symbolism of that glowing book scene earlier?
On another note, if the purple symbolism is consistent, does this mean anything for Alinua??
Am I just overthinking this? (sorry if this has already been noted by someone else and I missed it)
Guess who’s back from quarterly exams??? I am! (No but really the last three or so weeks were CRAZY for me between my horrible mental health, quarterly exams, my dad being busy and my mom being out of town, leaving me to be the woman of the house, my upcoming band concert, friend drama, and even more but I’m back and ready to jump in again!)
Rororoyourboat, true, true. I would give up a whole lot to have an authentic Tynan burnt cloak.
Mat, oh thank you so much! Also, that part about water mimicking stuff is fascinating.
The lolest, agreed.
Veggiesnake, exactly, it’s so pretty and fascinating to look at!
Kittenykat, LMAO that’s AMAZING!!! Red, give yourself a pat on the back for amazing artwork, amazing storyline, and FABULOUS alt text.
ASquared, ACCURATE.
Monkey In A Shoe, exactly, and it’s fascinating how their casting methods also seem to reflect their personalities, Tess is more hard hitting and quick, Erin is calculating and showy, and Ali uses her emotions and focuses her energy.
Sodose, lol that’s awesome!
Ryan, Ooop
Geebi, your local idiot, ikr??? Gorgeous! Red, your artwork is amazing as usual!
SarrissaTeiflingDruid, I thought that was a fascinating detail too! Also, yeah Tess is 1) made of metal and 2) at total badass, so she doesn’t care.
WEast, agreed.
TheUnknownGame, damn Red, you really outdid yourself, shocking TheUnknownGame into silence is quite the feat.
BubblyBio, lol I’m from Mississippi so I wouldn’t know
Camilo_Sana, genius idea, but at the same time, don’t tell them to stop!
Zer0 Wolf, agreed, I would love to see some stone element being used, I don’t think we’ve really gotten to see it before as much (in a combat setting at least)
Youngstormlord, ooooooh good point… so I guess that’s all the elements then!
GreatWyrmGold, eh she tried her best. It’s kind of the only power she has though and she’s gotta do SOMETHING. But really Tess what WERE you thinking hon?
Steve, Lord of Darkness, who DOESN’T want to see mama life humiliate that jerk?
Hiii:
I feel you.
Tests suck, having a parent be out while another is busy sucks, friend drama stinks, and my mental health does too.
Glad you’re doing better.
@Hiii wow, you really said “reply to all” there didn’t you? well, i hope you feel better, things settle down with your friends and family, and that your upcoming concert goes well. i’d say break a leg, but from that series of unfortunate events you listed, i’m afraid that you actually will
Finally caught up =D can’t wait to see Erin freeze the storm
Red: I feel your pain. I know when I create characters I love and then I have to make horrible things happen to them because that’s how Plot occurs, it can feel awful. It can even feel like I’m the real villain, if a death is unjustified or goes unavenged.
But Cape and Cape 2 will not be forgotten, and their part in the story helps make it the beautiful thing it is.
Took a solid minute to realize the magic in 5&6 werent from the same person XD
@youngstormlord: hehehe <3 I love that
So, anybody else realize that the storm might be stopped and the mountain still get cracked open? Could be an… interesting scenario, especially if everyone else evacuates town first.
Veggiesnake, yes, yes I did. Also, I’m honestly terrified I’m going to break, not necessarily my leg, but I am worried about my clarinet. I can play with a broken leg, but not with a broken instrument.
DragonMaster66, same lol, same! Nice to know I’m not the only one.
Everything i know about the water cycle suggests it shouldn’t work, not to any effect anyway.
Pretty sure turning the rain into deadly hail would just give Tynan a great new idea. And snowstorm is deadly to acity not built for it (think collapsing roofs and mini avalanches falling on the crowded streets)
Giant snowflakes might drain the fear factor though, if just for a bit.
rest in peace cape ;(
Yo! I’m back from a family vacay! May I just say, this page looks GORGEOUS!
I just had an epiphany so I thought I should share it here.
Kendall is the answer to The Riddle of Steel from Conan the barbarian.
So, if a god Krom asks you “What is the riddle of steel?” you just point at Kendall and he lets you into the paradise.
I absolutely adore the idea of defeating a rain storm by turning it into snow. That’s SO cozy.
*Realizes she’s caught up on THIS page after binging the whole thing in three days*
NNNNNNNNNnnnnnnNNONNOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have established something: Alinua is a sorcerer, Erin a wizard. Sorcerers are defined by wild magic, because of birthright or exposure. Wizards are more refined and calculated, their casting method reflecting their studies. While you could argue both are sorcerers by origin of their magic, their backgrounds and casting styles are what set them apart
God the effects in this chapter have been beautiful
*bonks head against the end of the archive*
ow.
Tess: *takes off her cloak*
my dumb lesbian self: ashhbcshhchd
Erin, you remain my favorite. The push-pull of logic and creativity… and then the sheer beauty of those runic circles spiraling ? up, expanding. Something too gentle and too powerful to be fought.
This is why he’s the Elemental Mage. It goes beyond the power. He is an Artist.
(And just like an artist, he’s never fully satisfied with his work, even when he’s floating on a crest of adulation and confidence.)
@JesusPotato The point you bring up about snow… that snow would be bad for a city not designed for it… is Zuurith the city designed for snow? The pitch of the roofs would reveal that.
The roofs are steep enough that it’s clear Zuurith does get snow. They’re not Minnesota steep, not Switzerland steep, so Zuurith isn’t prepared for the amount of snow.
As for hail, Erin’s too smart for that. He’s got a second spell to still the wind. It takes turbulence to create hail, sucking the frozen pellets up in the cloud again and again. So he’s got the magic moving towards snow.
Here’s the thing. He has to pitch the temperature just right. If he keeps it around freezing, he’ll create a think, heavy snow that’ll cling to everything and collapse gutters, trees, and roofs. If he makes the temperature super-cold, he’ll create a light, fluffy powder… but no one will be dressed for the temps, especially the people who just got soaked with rain.
He’s a fast-thinker. Which way did he decide to go?
love a dramatic cape billow
ice should be its own element. as a bionicle and genshin fan i have an objection
weird question—if Tess gets too close to fire, will she melt? what metal is she made of?
That second to last panel with Erin goes SO hard!