1.17.32
on July 13, 2022
at 3:00 am
human 1.1 release patch notes:
- removed free will
- humans no longer spontaneously immolate in moments of dramatic tension
- redesigned spine to suck less
- added more bones
Aurora
A fantasy webcomic. Updates M-W-F.
falst clutching the poncho like pearls lmao
Ö
is that Fire?
as in, the primordial?
Is this like what happened with Alinua in the fight with Jolon?
Holy shoot. Dainix is looking AWESOME.
Huh. Not exactly the response I was expecting from Voidy. The villain monologue is always welcome, though.
Those patch notes… TierZoo shoudl make an analysis of those
Holy shit, Dainix…
V.D is surprised
But seems to know what to do
Time to mercy kill
Daimon looks cool, but Void makes it sound like Dainix’s pretty dead now… that’d be real sad
Side note: if you look closely, the yellow gouts of fire on Dainix’s demon form correspond roughly to his Ignan markings.
Rai626, Voidy’s been wrong before, and if you remember, in the arena fright Dainix lost a hand to this form, but was able to get it back. I’m pretty sure Dainix is in more control than Voidy thinks.
Also it’s interesting, lots of people thought Dainix was a host for Fire in the same way Alinus is for Lif,e but I always thought that was unlikely given Life was… well, alive in a lot of ways the other Primordials weren’t, after the Collector woke Her. But Voidy certainly seems to think it is, and he’d probably be more likely to know than most.
The flaming figure has him confused
But Walter keeps monologuing, slightly amused
Why is my first thought that Fire and Walter sound kind of like Jon and Melanie from TMA? They are both the epitome of the ‘hate eachother because they are too damn similar’ dynamic, and for all of them the thing that makes them similar is just how much of an ass they can be at the drop of a hat. And i mean… no judgement, i too would absolutely sass the hell out of someone with a similar personality to me, and i would definitely love to deck them on sight if presented the opportunity, i just think it’s hilarious to think about how at least Mel and Jon at least had some kind of common ground in the ‘relentlessly searching for answers department’, while Walter and Fire are only really united in their ‘You ever just want to break stuff?’ mentality and i love it.
I’m not sure that was supposed to be the takeaway from this page, but my god its the one i’m going with.
modding community: and here’s a tutorial to add free will back!
He. Looks. INCREDIBLE. I do wonder if primordial Fire is also alive and trying to get a vessel like Life was and that’s why Dainix has this… affliction. And who knows if Fire will succeed with Dainix? If we end up with too many more primordials on the team, the whole thing might just explode from sheer epicness. Or just explosions. ‘Cause, you know. Fire.
Please Dainix is still in there, Please Dainix is still in there, Please Dainix is still in there…
This probably would not be sufficiently dramatic but part of me expects the next page to be Fire Dainix smacking Voidy in the side of the face like a cat.
The Void Dragon stares at the figure of flame,
“… Well. This is new.” he reflects.
“i certainly didn’t design humans to do that
Really, who would?” he jests.
As the blazing figure stares at him, he remembers
The problems he had with fire,
Destructive and dangerous, so much like the Void.
“if there’s anything left of your soul in there”
“I hope it appreciates that this is a mercy,”
He raises a single finger,
The incandescent figure stares down,
At the growing black blob of danger.
He is just thinking this stuff, right? And how long is it taking- is fire man just standing there while he monologues to himself?
Also, was this page five minutes late for everyone else? And why am I asking so many questions?
I can practically hear the fire crackling and roaring
I wonder if we can mod the free will back in. The other updates are really tempting, but the free will thing puts me on the fence as to if I should install the patch.
well, i think that seals it; Dainix is not the avatar of primordial fire, if such a person exists. if he was, i’m sure VD would have noticed. in fact he probably would have noticed back when Erin first saw Dainix.
however, VD isn’t quite sure what Dainix is, and it seems to me that, although Dainix isn’t a primordial’s vessel, his power is functionally the same. he may not be an avatar of primordial fire, but he IS a literal avatar of fire. and the mere fact that VD has no idea what he is could mean that he’ll be surprisingly effective against the black dragon
I mean this is lending more credence to my “our protagonists are eventually all gonna end up as the new primordials in order to beat the crap out of the Collector” theory.
Also I think it’s fair to call Dainix ‘smoking hot’ at this point
V.D. (sees Dainix’s abs): Oh my god you could grill meat on those.
V.D. seems convinced that Fire has consumed Dainix, if Dainix was Fire’s vessel he’d likely be able to see it like he did with Alinua in 1-5-20. Either Dainix isn’t Fire’s vessel or this is his Vs. Sentinel moment before he officially becomes the vessel.
“Habit of killing everything he touched”. Hmm, if Fire IS seeking a vessel, maybe this is why it hasn’t happened already; maybe Fire is just too destructive to contain in a person who isn’t adapted for fire. Life took ages to find a vessel and had the whole world population to draw on, while Fire is naturally destructive and has a much smaller pool of potential hosts.
Art wise full demon Dainix looks amazing, his ingan markings and missing eye in yellow against his orange body, fire floof and claws, I don’t know if Falst is staring in fear of V.D. or stunned stupid by Dainix. Also, Dainix’s face has no expression, yet you can just feel that he’s having none of what Voidy is saying.
Amazing character designs as always
I hadn’t really considered how similar this void/wasting element and fire are behavior-wise. It’s a really neat comparison. Looking forward to what the contrast winds up being.
I’m losing my mind this is insane
The crew is on fire! sorry, dad jokes can be possessive.
Kendal is really collecting all the living embodiments of the Primordials like Pokémon.
Silly VD, not understanding Fire.
Aang: All this time, I thought Firebending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara, I’ve been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is. It’s energy and life.
OH MY GOSH THIS PAGE IS BEAUTIFUL
@Mat and @Evil Tree huh youre right about the markings/eye:0 thats a cool design choice
Wait a minute… Is he possessed by like, actual Fire the Primordial like how Alinua is possessed by actual Life?
Wait… the Void Dragon designed humans? He’s one of the twins?!
Panel 3 is my official favorite panel ever. Just having the Void Dragon pause and go “Hey, that wasn’t in the design doc!” is great.
Nice to see my theory was right (maybe?).
That ‘Crucible’ was shorthand for “Host of Primordial Fire”
That’s officially (?) two primordials in the party.
DAINIX HAS A GIANT FKIN FIRE FORM HOLY RAVIOLI
and he’s just STANDING. THERE. TERRIFYINGLY.
are you tired of being nice, dainix? don’t you just wanna go apeshit?
I hope this means we see more Tahraim and Caliban. they would have opinions on this
I can’t wait to see if the Archivest joins this fight… or maybe give Erin a stern talking to after.
falst is having the worst most confusing day of his goddamned life. i really hope he gets the time and resources to process this terrible horrible no good very bad day
The fire markings in the last panel look like Dainix is sobbing… Is it bad to want to hug a fictional character who is also on fire?
TL;DR: If there’s anything I envy about voidy, it’s his ability to keep cool when literally face to face with an entity seemingly composed of nothing but fire.
I love V.D he is just so enjoyable to read like he is great, tho he might get burn so not good
Why am I getting Bleach “Ulquiorra Vs Mega-Hollow Ichigo” vibes here???
Fired-up Dainix better smack him good on Friday!
There once was a dragon called Walter
Whom Fire/Dainix caused to falter.
“Fire was a pain.
And MY designs, again,
You aren’t allowed to alter.”
So there’s no great rune where the eye once was, it just appears to have been hollowed out like any other missing eye. I’m uncertain as to whether or not Crucibles are Fire’s attempts to gain an avatar, if Fire is even alive to look in the first place. That said, Dainix’s magic does seem to have parallels to Alinua’s magic pre-avatar status; highly unstable and destructive unless very carefully controlled and only released in small amounts, and with potential to overwhelm the wielder and fully transform them into something else. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if Crucibles are an unrelated phenomenon; The Void Dragon seems to see Dainix as a human, not as an avatar like he saw Alinua.
For anyone who didn’t see my last comment on the previous page: a new chapter cover is here! And it looks like Kendal might fully figure out starfire in the next chapter!
I wonder if that knife that separated soul from body (or the gal who wielded it/created it?) will end up helping our possessed buddies
While I am losing my mind over full Demon-Dainix and Walter’s response, I can’t help but think how much shit the squad has gone through in one day. Seriously, Erin woke up this morning several chapters ago. The archive, the shit with Shrike and the Arenamaster, all of Tynan, Alinua’s spout of eco-friendly property damage, and now this in ONE DAMN DAY i love it
page 1-16-10
“… The fire’s still there, isn’t it? Just under the skin.”
“Of course. You’re a Crucible. You ARE the fire.”
makes me wonder if voidy really knows what’s going on here, if he sees the fire and Dainix as something entirely separate. he definitely seems to be surprised(?) that a human could do this, but seems to at least understand enough about what this transformation theoretically could be to make a guess. though that lack of complete understanding can be his downfall; i entirely suspect that void and fire differ significantly in their operation to make destroying one with the other infeasible. though it is notable that voidy needs to keep Erin alive, and cannot entirely abandon caution. Dainix just needs to let the demon out to enough of a problem, and eventually this fight may take its toll. i do not entirely think that the demon form is enough to win, though the light dragon is nearby, perhaps enough to scare voidy away for a while. and having a stone mage on the party could help to round out the elements we already have. overall, a masterfully done setup, i cannot wait for the next page.
So we have the Crucible, the Chimeric Plague, now I’m waiting to see wheyher my theory ’bout the Chosen by the Sky being Lightning’s attempt at getting a vessel turns out correct or not. Also, I wonder if we’ll see such attempts from other Primordials. There’s those rock people in the extra lore and sketches, my bet’s on them being a potential avatar of Stone.
Alt text: “who would?” listen asshole I’m right here
Red said the fire mage who discovered Fire’s truename was an Ignan. Was he the first Crucible as well? And what connection do they have to Primordial Fire?
Side note: does this comic have a dedicated Discord?
alt text: “who would?” listen asshole I’m right here
This is such a fun page!
Sorry for the repeat alt text @Silver — it wasn’t showing up when I posted ?
I’m going to agree with @veggiesnake that Dainix isn’t Fire’s vessel. At the very least, if he were, I don’t think VD Walter would be talking about Fire in the past tense. Though I do find @Eidolon’s idea intriguing; it could be interesting to see Dainix become a primordial in time. Though that doesn’t match up with him being *Caliban’s* weapon, either.
@niacdoial LOL
Anyway, Dainix’s expression in the last panel make me think he’s about to knock VD Walter down a few pegs…
…Well, it’s probably for the best that half the cast can’t hear the conversation going on, because there’s certainly a lot to unpack here and generally the middle of a scene like this tends to go even further pear-shaped when someone (or multiple someone’s) gets caught up in the bombshell reveals… Of course, they’re still gonna have to have a conversation later about all this, but that’s definitely something best done at a later date.
Also, while I know in this form Dainix doesn’t necessarily have a face, his deadpan expression in the face of Walter’s monologuing is absolutely hilarious. That last panel, especially–it practically screams “okay, bored now”, and something tells me Walter’s about to remember why he really needs to update his copy of the Evil Overlord List …
To TheUnknownGame:
I saw! It should certainly prove to be an interesting chapter, given soul-form!Vash in the background. Perhaps we’ll get an explanation of Kendal’s visions from a few pages back?
(I also wonder how many chapters are left in this volume… If we do get that reveal that might be a good cliffhanger to break on.)
To CaptainCutlet:
We’ll have to see. Right now it could honestly go either way, given how the evidence has played out. Although there is also the question as to whether or not that would be too predictable, because tropes are a thing for a reason….
Question of the Day:
Which Aurora critter, (though admittedly we haven’t seen too many so far) is your favorite?
Alternatively, which one would you buy if a plush version was available?
(For sake of argument, messenger birds count, because construct though they are they do seem to have a bit of personality, and something tells me I’m gonna get a lot of comments if I leave them out, lol….)
I don’t think (at least at this moment) that Dainix is hosting Fire. He’s definitely on fire or made of it at the moment, but he isn’t Fire. if he was, Walter would probably react similarly to how he reacted to Alinua.
Poor Falst. Boi is the only normal-ish person in this god-avatar fight.
Also @silver. I believe there is a discord. Not sure how to get to it though.
He barely has a face but he looks SO unimpressed in the last panel
@TheUnknownGame
Chapter 18’s cover seems to have Vash’s soul sphere thing on it…
My bet is on bat guy in the sketches being the avatar of stone or wind.
To those don’t understand comic convention: evil boss villains monologue because they don’t care about about anyone else. Heroes march up to villains ignoring threats and boasts and wait for the villain’s first real attack to start responding with action to the narcissistic rantings of a being who cares about its own needs exclusively.
Way to ratchet up the tension (AGIAN!) Red! (and showcase VD’d evil nature.) (for other examples see Dragonball Z Goku fights but please remember different writers have different reasons to use a common trope.)
@Hermit Thrush: apology accepted; my comments don’t always show up to me right after posting.
I still bet the first Crucible was the mage who discovered Fire’s truename. And whatever happened left the Ignans afraid of, and misunderstanding, what Crucibles are. Caliban is, of course, of little help in explaining this because they live and breath chaos.
@Redesign My Spine Please (and anyone else confused about VD’s relation to humans): he’s not one of the Twins, but as I recall he basically manipulated the Twins into creating humans in *almost* exactly the way he wanted (sadly for him, the Twins took some creative liberties, most notably including free will).
@CaptainCutlet Ooh good point, I had been thinking that Dainix’s Crucible thing was related to the Chimeric Plague, but the connection to Tess’s “Chosen by the Sky” business hadn’t occurred to me at all! I wonder why they’re so different…after all, Life’s attempt goes lethal incredibly quickly, while Lightning’s attempt appears purely beneficial, and Fire seems to be kind of in between (bad but it at least lets you survive to adulthood).
Oooo I’m loving this!
I like how VD has the same sort of detached/academic curiosity (+ corresponding ‘if I think about this enough I’ll totally figure it out’ hubris) that we’ve seen from Erin. Interesting parallel.
theory: what if after life successfully made ali her vessel fire saw her and tried to do the same? maybe the demons are his failed earlier attempts, and dainix is his successful vessel? maybe not, but i like thinking about lore and the idea hit me
After all this time, I still have faith in the Dainix being Fire’s Vessel theory. However, he can’t be a vessel in the same way that Alinua is, because actual fire has no real place in the human body. Life is present in every living being, and so the connection is easy to create for Life the Primordial. That makes sense as to why Alinua is very obviously Life’s avatar, because the very essence of Alinua’s body IS that of Life’s. Fire, on the other hand, is not generally not found in a human. Perhaps, it’s that the connection with fire is there, but when it manifests, THIS happens. Furthermore, Fire might not be awake, but should he awaken, Dainix will probably be just like Alinua. Fire being asleep would also explain why Dainix doesn’t have an official connection.
TL;DR I still think Dainix is Fire’s vessel simmilarly to Alinua, but not quite the same. Fire is asleep, and not common in the human body, so the connection is very different.
Oh also, Dainix’s transformation is reminiscent of Super Saiyan; the fiery silhouette, the glowing, the emotion based transformation and allusion to superpowered evil side, and even the sudden lack of talking. And the way V.D. is holding his finger and forming the little void attack looks very similar to the way Frieza charges his attacks.
My money says that Dainix is going to be way, way more difficult to manage than V.D. thinks, and is going to make him piss his pants a little. Alinua and Kendal can kind of counter V.D., but it would be really cool if they have a party member that can actually throw hands with V.D. mode Erin.
Also, Dainix looks really freaking cool. I wish I could do that
Mr. Void Dragon is not paying attention to something very crucial at this point.
This is a “Soul Fire Elemental”(?), who is standing in front of him. A creature he claims is violent, temperamental, and currently without the proper will of a human.
And it’s not doing anything Fire Like. Dainix is standing perfectly still, watching.
I’m looking forward to his surprise when he gets sucker punched.
NOOOOO! Dainix!!!
I’m making a google doc to put all my ideas together. I have full faith in Red’s ability to make a story I can hyperfixate into, without needing to make it more interesting with my own creativity.
At first I wasn’t quite sure why everyone thought this was evidence Dainix was Fire’s vessel, but then I looked back and realized Walter refers to the fire as ‘him’, then says ‘you seem to have just let him eat you’ which is pretty good evidence, honestly.
Falst: HOW do I keep getting surrounded by these GOONS???
It’s always a good day when you make the ancient primordial evil from the beginning of time go ‘The Fuck is that?’
GUYS! GO TO ARCHIVE! NEW CHAPTER ON THE 27TH!
AND IT LOOKS AWESOME AS HELL!
…seriously, look at that cover.
Oh, for- Can you people not be possessed for FIVE MINUTES?!?
….don’t mind me. I’m just here in the corner, fangushing like Geysir itself used to. And waving little cheering-on flags with “Go Dainix! Go!”
So pretty.
To:
Skye (’bout the animals)
I like that wildcat-bird chimera in “Monster”. I’d definitely want a plushie of it.
Mturtle7
I was suspecting the connecrion about when we’ve got the hint that Tess’ lightning magic is somehow different than normal, the Chosen by the Sky business was another strong clue, and with the fifth panel in 1.15.5 showing her silhouette with the lightning marks that look exactly how I imagine Lightning’s version of Alinua’s life runes in 1.3.27-29 I’m pretty much sold on this, though I keep an open mind as we hadn’t gotten any official confirmation on the matter. As for the lethality of being Chosen, you do have a fair point that it’s a bit suspicious. A feasible explanation might be that the metalcaste people are naturally more resistant to lightning, and it might be that for some reason Lightning’s interference is minor compared to that of Life oflr Fire’s, be it because Lightning’s not been “awakened” like Life was (Fire being as destructive as he apparently is according to Walter can explain why his avatars are much less stable, and that’d also explain why they’re more stable than Life’s as he is probablt not actively attempting to create one).
Silver, Christmousse
There is a discord, link to which you can find in the “About/User Guide” page.
The number of primordials on this team just keeps going, huh
I wonder if Red watched Promaire, or even Fire Force. Spontaneous combustion is a thing there. Big props to Voidy for avoiding that.
Nice callback to the beginning of the comic, how the Void Dragon manipulated the Twins into creating humans to eventually break his prison.
Is it just me? Or is Voidy sounding a lot like Erin right now?
I just came up with a theory I refuse to be quiet about:
Tahraim was the mage who discovered the truename of Fire.
Red said on her Tumblr that Tahraim is the only god who used to be a mortal, and that the mage who discovered Fire’s truename was Ignan. She also said that the Ignans don’t like to talk about what happened to that mage.
Tahraim has some markings on his skin reminiscent of Ignan ones. Although he does not have red hair, Red has also said that the Ignans had more varied hair colours in their earlier days.
He also knows a LOT about the forms of fire, including soulfire and Crucibles.
I rest my case.
@Silver Oooooh thank you for putting all of that in one place, that is certainly a very tempting theory!
And this is the moment where I realized that Void is a LOT like Erin.
Voidy and Erin really are just the same guy deep down aren’t they.