Dainix, holding kendal: I’ve known this man for like 2 days, but if anything ever happened to him i would kill every thing, god or primordial, in this city and then myself
“How are you feeling,” Erin asks,
Sitting across from him, under the night sky.
Dainix pauses. “Did I… hurt anyone?”
“No-one who didn’t deserve it, believe me.”
Done in a 5-min break. Will do a second verse later.
There’s a visual ReBoot reference in this image, but it’s been so long since I’ve watched the series, I cannot find it. I’m sorry Red; I have failed you.
“No-one who didn’t deserve it”. The only person Dainix attacked in that form was the V.D. possessed Erin; this this statement directed at the dragon, or is it a self-deprecating remark from Erin?
I like the fire lacrima campfire/light source; implies that these ruins they’re in don’t have a lot of firewood. And maybe Alinua is too busy with Kendal to grow any wood for their use.
Prediction for next week: Erin reveals that Kendal is still unconscious and the scene shifts to Kendal, with Alinua and Falst watching over him.
okay, ive been sitting on this theory a while and i need to get it out there
thesis: life (the primordial) is somewhat the same being as the light dragon
Evidence:
1. the light dragon is refered to by the paladins as “my lady” or “the lady,” on page 1.10.25 Gleicann refers to life (technically Alina as life/plant colossus) as “My lady”
2. we are pretty sure that there are only 7 primordials, because vd talks about “the other 6”, therfore i dont think that light dragon can be the 8th primordial
3. red has a real good grasp on divine epithets, the diferent ways gods are worshiped etc, maybe life and light dragon are two sides of the same being (think aphrodite ourania vs aphrodite pandemos)
4. life and soul seem to have a very interesting connection in this comic, being seperate, but confusingly linked. firstly maybe light dragon is about souls. i think that maybe only the life part of this primordial died and light dragon stayed alive, maybe the void and light/soul work together to maintain life and make it capable of reproduction, (iy doesnt totally make sense for void to be responsible for reproduction).
so my big theory is that life and the light dragon are two aspects of the same being who controls life and souls.
there are defo holes in this, and defo more evidence, but this is what ive got. cause its 3. am
thumbs up
There once was a human torch
Who was mortally afraid that he’d scorch
Both friends and foe.
Erin told him no,
As they sit in someone’s front porch.
What do you know, there are two and only two one-syllable words that rhyme with “torch”. And any other rhymes with more syllables are merely compounds of the same words. So, forgive the somewhat nonsensical last line: it was literally the only word available so I had to make it work somehow.
New chapter cover looks fantastic, Red! I especially love the play on petrichor’s root words with the stone silhouettes and golden blood; I’m always a sucker for that kind of thing.
Okay, so this actually reveals something quite interesting. Dainix wasn’t controlling it. I guess we sort of suspected it after what VD said, but that’s confirmation right there. Which means that whatever Kendal did to stop it, it wasn’t because it recognized him (probably. We’re working off like three pages of evidence).
Do with that what you will.
@Sriracha it’s called a Lacrima. They’re basically wells for energy of a certain elemental energy, this one being fire. My guesses are that it is from Erin’s bottomless bag of novelty items and parlor tricks, and that the idea was to capture remaining energy from Dainix as he relinquished his fiery state and returned to normal.
Maybe it functions like a little campfire now, idk.
Oh man, that second to last panel of magic is BEAUTIFUL and INSANELY clear
@Evil Tree yeah I was wondering the same thing! iirc Dainix attacked both Walter and Tynan, and while Erin’s remark could go either way in terms of self depreciating, he’s definitely at least partly serious.
Also I just wanted to tell all the poem commenters that you’re doing a great job, your creations are always so cool!
Okay, since this page doesn’t have a lot of material to work with for jokes, today’s gonna be a discussion day for me.
What @Evil Tree said got me thinking- Erin probably feels terrible about this. He’s throwing himself into his research so that he can have a momentary break from the weight of guilt and consequences that aren’t even for his actions. Does he blame himself for everything the Dragon does under the premise that it happened because he failed to prevent it? We know from Red that Erin has some internal struggles and problems- here’s to hoping the others can help him unpack some stuff. Hopefully that can happen this chapter, since it seems like the actual fighting part is winding down.
Also, may I just say- I absolutely ADORE that second-to-last panel. I didn’t realize until now how much I really liked Dainix. I’ve never joined the speculation on Dainix’s fire form, but I’ve read a lot of it- and here’s what I think. I disagree with Dainix being a vessel for Primordial Fire, both because I don’t think Red would just do that unless she had a plan for it and because the only living-ish Primordial we’ve seen is Life. However, I don’t know what this implies- if Life is in a semi-alive state, why and how? And does that mean the other Primordials are the same? Even so, I support the theory that Dainix’s abilities are connected to, but not the same as Primordial Fire, and that the reason he’s special to the gods is that he is unique. Welp- let’s all just pray to Tahraim and Caliban to show up and actually tell Dainix what’s going on. Clearly he wanted to ask Tahraim more questions, but never got the chance.
This time, the transformation lingered a bit in Dainix’s flame marks; they glowed softly for a second longer before the glow faded.
Evil Tree:
Again, I’ve only seen ReBoot once several years ago, but my best guess as far as the reference goes is that the close-up shot of the possessed Erin with his iris slightly glowing mirrors the bits in season 3 when the camera slowly pans in on Matrix’s face as he activates his prosthetic eye, in preparation for some serious asskicking.
Meanwhile, for Erin’s statement, I feel it’s a bit of both. He obviously despises The Void Dragon and won’t hesitate to get in an insult at his expense, but we’ve also seen that Erin has a tendency to mentally beat himself up when he’s screwed something up or when he feels powerless.
its been said, but no harm in saying it again, the flashes panel is AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL. Its so clear, and the swirlies make my hand hurt just looking at it. wonderful work, Red.
Look Kendall is my unconditional favorite, but I kind of love how this friend group is now roughly 80% people going ‘I’m an angsty longer really’ while desperately trying to kick their obvious gooey heroic center under the bed before anyone notices.
Seriously.
Alinua: I’m a monster who may have to temporarily imprison you for everyone’s safety and- you’re cool with that? You…you…I am Very Concerned will protect you with my life.
Erin: I am mad, MAD with power!! My hubris knows no bounds!!! What’s that, I’m being possessed by dark forces offering me untold power and knowledge? Better immediately ensure I’m eaten alive to protect the world from my mistakes!
Faust: I have been outcast, shunned, and persecuted all my life. No one can understand my suffering, all of society are my enemies. No one can be trusted and everyone deserves my mockery and suspicion. Also these are my emotional support idiots and I will absolutely fight ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO LOOKS AT THEM FUNNY.
And now our new guy.
Dainix: I’m a literal monster, an uncontrollable demon who TURNED on his OWN PEOPLE and CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED. I should be locked up where I can allow myself to be regularly be beaten for sport in a way that is definitely not totally self destructive because otherwise I will do TERRIBLE THINGS.
-Uncontrollably monstrous fiery boy in question: *attempts to kick the ass of one (1) all consuming, potentially universe ending threat, and one (1) murderous storm god trying to massacre a city. Chases after new friends in concern. Apparently sits relatively quietly by the fire in the aftermath of said friends collapse until he calms down enough to turn back.
Dainax, immediately upon waking up; WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!
Listen, if I wasn’t already shipping Alinua and Kendal, I would definitely be shipping Dainix and Kendal…
They’re both just such sweet sad boys with a bad habit of sacrificing themselves.
I second DragonMaster praise of all poems here I too think they are great! Called by Magic- you may be critical of your rhyme but I think it worked in conveying the scene!
Does anyone know why Red is so talented? Like I was just looking at the sketches page and like mmmrrrruuuuungaaaaaahh you know? There’s one sketch of Dainix playing with a little salamander and then its’s just sitting on his face and I just love everything Red draws apparently.
@SarissaTieflingDruid I’m actually inclined to disagree with you on this one. We haven’t seen any indication that Dainix wasn’t in control, just that he doesn’t clearly remember the actions he took while *checks notes* transformed into a being made exclusively of primordial fire. So maybe not “in control” in the conventional sense of the word, but his actions were consistent enough with his motivations that I’d assumed he retained some sense of self.
@Evil Tree even if Alinua were available to grow a tree it wouldn’t be much use given that fire wood needs to be seasoned for several months or years to be usable (unless Erin could somehow accelerate the process with magic)
So Erin’s “no one who didn’t deserve it” is interesting, because Dainix did hurt Erin’s body. Now maybe Erin just means that Dainix hurt VD, since they were driving at the time. But I just have this uneasy itch in the back of my mind that Erin is including himself there.
@bottled.bluebells Another way of putting it might be that everyone in this group except Kendall is burdened with an ancient curse that grants them great power at the cost of being exiled by society, and they’re all super angsty about it.
Either way, I think it’s starting to become clear that Kendall has a definite Type, when it comes to making friends.
okay, can we just appreciate that “how are you feeling?” as the new protagonist of the group wakes up next to what is basically a campfire is a mirror of when Erin first joined the group? seriously, go back to when Erin first joined the group, I love it
you know what Dainix, I was wondering the same thing, let’s find out together! I’m sure we won’t regret it in any way!
@bottled.bluebells that is so great XD
@Lilacspiral and confusedqueer, thanks for pointing out the new character page! it looks so, cool. but isn’t it odd that the champion is in the “faces from past arcs” section? I would have thought he’d be in the “everybody else” section, same with Tahraim and Caliban.
Thank you to @Called by Magic for pointing out Tess’ arm, I didn’t notice until you pointed out! If I had to guess it was probably sprained or broken from dropping like 50m at an odd angle when Tynan came crashing down and she got thrown off (I mean she isn’t shown bracing herself with her arm there, but I can’t think of any other time, unless she got like, slightly melted from being close to Dainix or something)
Erin’s change of clothes and the location switch makes me wonder how long it’s been since the fight and how long Dainix has been transformed, though. I mean I doubt his other clothes survived the lightning laser Tynan sent at the city unscathed, and the moss on the ruins indicates that this isn’t the ruins of Zuurith, but some other area nearby.
Also I have to say that I love how the flashback from Dainix’s perspective works, which each character having their own colour and being remembered in shades of it, it really gives the impression that he was viewing everything in a really different way because of the transformation (if you get my drift), alongside giving the sorta blurry feeling of half remembered things
For all I am not impressed with Freud I am a big believer in “reality testing”. This “thought experiment” of a sort is not only a tool to objectively test the now it is also a tool that can be applied to memories;
Memories are experienced as re-perceiving the moment…
Our ego is formed of past experience and has a self image that does not always line up with reality;
That triggers a feeling, not pain but a squirmy need to get out of that moment,
so many “symptoms” of “mental illness” “toxic positivity” personality disorders are manifestation of oneself
thought blocking is one way the self protects itself
Reality testing is completely different from boundary testing and crossing, to quote Charlie Murphy “Habitual line stepper”
Half remembered things; We all remember the same…
This song is a banger but it does not seem to make me want to watch Reboot
Might just be me, but the beginning of this arc really feels like the start of ‘season 2’ of Aurora. We had a massive epic boss battle in Zuurith for the season 1 finale, Vash and Void Dragon both show up, fireworks all around. Now we’re back and Tess and Dainix are new protagonists, Erin’s got a new outfit and the art style is somehow even more gorgeous than before. Y’feel me?
OKAY I don’t normally do analysis because other people get there first but here we are.
This is only my personal theory, feel free to disagree:
The Light Dragon is the creator and/or essence of souls or free will. Or something like that.
In the prologue VD successfully has control over a human, until a bright white/blue spark happens and everyone’s eyes glow white/blue and they appear to gain consciousness. My theory is that that’s when LD was either created or intervened to stop VD from taking over right then.
I believe that VD is the cause of cave corruption, which appears to be a kind of soul corruption? It happens within closer proximity to him in the Singing Caves, and the only person who freely goes about the caves is the Collector, who has a lot more life magic than normal. This may pertain to the few people that VD’s sticky void magic doesn’t immediately corrupt: Kendal, Alinua, and Dainix’s fire form. Alinua it does corrupt, but she has enough life magic to forcibly eject it, similar to the Collector’s abnormal life magic. Kendal I’m not sure about- it appears to be his unique soul, or perhaps the fact that he wasn’t made by the Twins, who were supposedly made by the two dragon primordials (at least the paladins believe this).
But Dainix is where today’s stunning fourth panel cones in: does anyone else see how the corruptive void essence turns bright white/blue when it hits the soulfire? That hasn’t happened with VD’s magic anywhere before fire-demon-Dainix fought with VD, and it means that there’s something that can turn one dragon’s essence into the other’s. That must be plot relevant somehow, right? It’s visible during their actual fight, but it’s more visible here. And fire-Dainix didn’t seem at all injured by the corruptive energy, so it didn’t do a thing. We don’t know much about Dainix being a “fire demon” or “the Crucible”, but we know he has soulfire and that it’s very different than normal fire. I wonder if the soul part has anything to do with this.
I think the last part is more relevant to the current discussion, but I’m wondering if anyone else has similar theories.
(also I am FASCINATED by the extra glowy shield moon three pages ago. I never considered that the moons would exist for a reason beyond cool worldbuilding, but they do look similar to the two dragons, and if stone’s body is the earth, why would moons exist? It makes one wonder how much worldbuilding we take for granted.)
One, Kendal needs to be louder, angrier, and have access to a time machine. Two, whenever Kendal’s not on screen, all the other characters should be asking “Where’s Kendal?”
Can we just appreciate how frickin’ gorgeous this comic is? Especially comparing from chapter 1 to chapter 19, it looks amazing. Especially the fifth panel, the composition and colours is just *chef’s kiss*.
Tahraim is both? Mebbe the collector is also?
This comic is 2 intricate, like a Gordian knot; everyone in the audience will take from it what works for them, hate on what triggers them.
Like objectively (not possible/easy for art, lives?) what is literal, allegorical, or just random choices made when worldbuiding; then fine tuning that world to mesh with the characters…Then PLOT & blue mellons
Does Dainax feel like he just ate a meal or is his corporeal body now famished from all the energy expended.
I concede to being a huge Full Metal fan, so I will posit a question does the law of equivalent exchange apply to Aurora?
I defer…
@Ave I think you’re on to something. We’ve been theorizing that the light dragon is the basically the soul primordial, and that Kendal of all people will have some kind of connection with her because of it.
There’s something particularly mysterious about how soulfire works. The clues are there, but much more cryptic than I’m used to. Evidently, by the ability to be erased down to his feet and totally reappear, Dainix’s soul isn’t behaving normally. So what we know, is that the soulfire is directly tied to Dainix’s soul, Dainix’s soul is either different from most mortals, or it’s altered while in the demon form.
Perhaps, because fire isn’t entirely physical at all, if his soul IS the fire, than destroying the entire thing all at once would be required to kill or hurt him in demon form.
@Ave, Ardent Objection: I’m not so sure LD is a Soul primordial. The Elementals and Walter each embody a principal- VD is Consumption, Life is Adaptation, etc. Given that she gives her Paladins telepathy and gave the Elder Races free will, I’d say she embodies Thought. And Erin made it clear a while back that mind=\= soul.
If we’re sticking with 5 man band, someone has to leave, and I’m not sure who, but we have 3 heavies. Dainix may also be eligible for lancer given that his skill set is unique enough and on par for power with Kendal. Our animal boy has proven his worth in the party, and doesn’t have anywhere to go, which leaves the metal lady, but she’s Aarons sister, and is so bound to him. But to this point has been kind of circling around the party, so I think there’s a decent chance she’ll be a character that comes and goes. She’s also eligible for lancer and heart, and given such a complete skill set would put her at odds in a 5 man band trope. Any way it goes, I expect the next adventure or two to be a six man band.
@Ladyoftheroundtable Why are you so sure that we are sticking with a five plan band? Personally I predict that the main cast will be a seven man band based on trope talk Easter eggs, and the sketches section.
hmmge. the. magic. itts the only thing that looks clear. the glow. maybe that just stylistic but i will be insane about this in the near future thanks
Oooooh, pretty panel!!
Also, yeah, where is Kendal?
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: spot the visual reboot reference
Image source: flashes
Erin: Good, you are finally awake.
Dainix: Where’s my bro?
Epic
oooh panel 4 looks so pretty
Dainix: did I hurt anyone?
Erin: yeah, but they were being total assholes so…
Dainix, holding kendal: I’ve known this man for like 2 days, but if anything ever happened to him i would kill every thing, god or primordial, in this city and then myself
“How are you feeling,” Erin asks,
Sitting across from him, under the night sky.
Dainix pauses. “Did I… hurt anyone?”
“No-one who didn’t deserve it, believe me.”
Done in a 5-min break. Will do a second verse later.
Wait, is that a fire lacrima as a campfire??
Back at the camp, Dainix can’t recall
Erin says it’s fine, but where is Kendal?
@Rai626 i didn’t notice that at first. That is a cool detail red put in there.
Another question i have: Where are Kendal, Alinua, and Falst? And what are they doing currently
Woah okay so the style has definetly updated a bit this looks AWESOME. I’ve only skim read the page but im just taken back by how pretty it looks
There’s a visual ReBoot reference in this image, but it’s been so long since I’ve watched the series, I cannot find it. I’m sorry Red; I have failed you.
“No-one who didn’t deserve it”. The only person Dainix attacked in that form was the V.D. possessed Erin; this this statement directed at the dragon, or is it a self-deprecating remark from Erin?
I like the fire lacrima campfire/light source; implies that these ruins they’re in don’t have a lot of firewood. And maybe Alinua is too busy with Kendal to grow any wood for their use.
Prediction for next week: Erin reveals that Kendal is still unconscious and the scene shifts to Kendal, with Alinua and Falst watching over him.
okay, ive been sitting on this theory a while and i need to get it out there
thesis: life (the primordial) is somewhat the same being as the light dragon
Evidence:
1. the light dragon is refered to by the paladins as “my lady” or “the lady,” on page 1.10.25 Gleicann refers to life (technically Alina as life/plant colossus) as “My lady”
2. we are pretty sure that there are only 7 primordials, because vd talks about “the other 6”, therfore i dont think that light dragon can be the 8th primordial
3. red has a real good grasp on divine epithets, the diferent ways gods are worshiped etc, maybe life and light dragon are two sides of the same being (think aphrodite ourania vs aphrodite pandemos)
4. life and soul seem to have a very interesting connection in this comic, being seperate, but confusingly linked. firstly maybe light dragon is about souls. i think that maybe only the life part of this primordial died and light dragon stayed alive, maybe the void and light/soul work together to maintain life and make it capable of reproduction, (iy doesnt totally make sense for void to be responsible for reproduction).
so my big theory is that life and the light dragon are two aspects of the same being who controls life and souls.
there are defo holes in this, and defo more evidence, but this is what ive got. cause its 3. am
thumbs up
I love how much more immersive the backgrounds are
Also what’s taht glowy rock doing in the centre and how did they get it?
It’s finally confirmed that when Dainix’s right eye isn’t on fire, he is just wearing an eyepatch.
Damn Ignan textiles are DURABLE
There once was a human torch
Who was mortally afraid that he’d scorch
Both friends and foe.
Erin told him no,
As they sit in someone’s front porch.
What do you know, there are two and only two one-syllable words that rhyme with “torch”. And any other rhymes with more syllables are merely compounds of the same words. So, forgive the somewhat nonsensical last line: it was literally the only word available so I had to make it work somehow.
Also, what’s up with Tess’ arm?
New chapter cover looks fantastic, Red! I especially love the play on petrichor’s root words with the stone silhouettes and golden blood; I’m always a sucker for that kind of thing.
Hot damn the flashes look so good
Okay, so this actually reveals something quite interesting. Dainix wasn’t controlling it. I guess we sort of suspected it after what VD said, but that’s confirmation right there. Which means that whatever Kendal did to stop it, it wasn’t because it recognized him (probably. We’re working off like three pages of evidence).
Do with that what you will.
@Sriracha it’s called a Lacrima. They’re basically wells for energy of a certain elemental energy, this one being fire. My guesses are that it is from Erin’s bottomless bag of novelty items and parlor tricks, and that the idea was to capture remaining energy from Dainix as he relinquished his fiery state and returned to normal.
Maybe it functions like a little campfire now, idk.
The backgrounds on this page slap so hard
Oh man, that second to last panel of magic is BEAUTIFUL and INSANELY clear
@Evil Tree yeah I was wondering the same thing! iirc Dainix attacked both Walter and Tynan, and while Erin’s remark could go either way in terms of self depreciating, he’s definitely at least partly serious.
Also I just wanted to tell all the poem commenters that you’re doing a great job, your creations are always so cool!
Okay, since this page doesn’t have a lot of material to work with for jokes, today’s gonna be a discussion day for me.
What @Evil Tree said got me thinking- Erin probably feels terrible about this. He’s throwing himself into his research so that he can have a momentary break from the weight of guilt and consequences that aren’t even for his actions. Does he blame himself for everything the Dragon does under the premise that it happened because he failed to prevent it? We know from Red that Erin has some internal struggles and problems- here’s to hoping the others can help him unpack some stuff. Hopefully that can happen this chapter, since it seems like the actual fighting part is winding down.
Also, may I just say- I absolutely ADORE that second-to-last panel. I didn’t realize until now how much I really liked Dainix. I’ve never joined the speculation on Dainix’s fire form, but I’ve read a lot of it- and here’s what I think. I disagree with Dainix being a vessel for Primordial Fire, both because I don’t think Red would just do that unless she had a plan for it and because the only living-ish Primordial we’ve seen is Life. However, I don’t know what this implies- if Life is in a semi-alive state, why and how? And does that mean the other Primordials are the same? Even so, I support the theory that Dainix’s abilities are connected to, but not the same as Primordial Fire, and that the reason he’s special to the gods is that he is unique. Welp- let’s all just pray to Tahraim and Caliban to show up and actually tell Dainix what’s going on. Clearly he wanted to ask Tahraim more questions, but never got the chance.
Shout out to the fire lacrima they’re using for a fireplace.
@Sriracha Looks like a Fire lacrima to me, based on how similar it is to the Life lacrima back in chapter 9 or so, when we met Falst.
Ahh, those skies… Can tell Red really loves the stars. Now I want to go camping in Aurora and stargaze.
Liking the updated character page.
Also the fourth panel is SPECTACULAR
“How are you feeling?”
“A little hot, actually.”
This time, the transformation lingered a bit in Dainix’s flame marks; they glowed softly for a second longer before the glow faded.
Evil Tree:
Again, I’ve only seen ReBoot once several years ago, but my best guess as far as the reference goes is that the close-up shot of the possessed Erin with his iris slightly glowing mirrors the bits in season 3 when the camera slowly pans in on Matrix’s face as he activates his prosthetic eye, in preparation for some serious asskicking.
Meanwhile, for Erin’s statement, I feel it’s a bit of both. He obviously despises The Void Dragon and won’t hesitate to get in an insult at his expense, but we’ve also seen that Erin has a tendency to mentally beat himself up when he’s screwed something up or when he feels powerless.
That “where’s Kendal” is so cute
I am thrilled about these two being silly little mcguffin buddies
dude, the forth pannel looks SO COOL! also, i like how tess is just chillin. they all deserve a break at this point.
its been said, but no harm in saying it again, the flashes panel is AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL. Its so clear, and the swirlies make my hand hurt just looking at it. wonderful work, Red.
Holy crap, that unclear flashback panel is GORGEOUS
Look Kendall is my unconditional favorite, but I kind of love how this friend group is now roughly 80% people going ‘I’m an angsty longer really’ while desperately trying to kick their obvious gooey heroic center under the bed before anyone notices.
Seriously.
Alinua: I’m a monster who may have to temporarily imprison you for everyone’s safety and- you’re cool with that? You…you…I am Very Concerned will protect you with my life.
Erin: I am mad, MAD with power!! My hubris knows no bounds!!! What’s that, I’m being possessed by dark forces offering me untold power and knowledge? Better immediately ensure I’m eaten alive to protect the world from my mistakes!
Faust: I have been outcast, shunned, and persecuted all my life. No one can understand my suffering, all of society are my enemies. No one can be trusted and everyone deserves my mockery and suspicion. Also these are my emotional support idiots and I will absolutely fight ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO LOOKS AT THEM FUNNY.
And now our new guy.
Dainix: I’m a literal monster, an uncontrollable demon who TURNED on his OWN PEOPLE and CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED. I should be locked up where I can allow myself to be regularly be beaten for sport in a way that is definitely not totally self destructive because otherwise I will do TERRIBLE THINGS.
-Uncontrollably monstrous fiery boy in question: *attempts to kick the ass of one (1) all consuming, potentially universe ending threat, and one (1) murderous storm god trying to massacre a city. Chases after new friends in concern. Apparently sits relatively quietly by the fire in the aftermath of said friends collapse until he calms down enough to turn back.
Dainax, immediately upon waking up; WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!
Wow, He really cares about Kendal.
Dainix you’ve been promoted to full time protagonist, I’ve waited a long time for this and I can’t wait to see how he fits in.
Listen, if I wasn’t already shipping Alinua and Kendal, I would definitely be shipping Dainix and Kendal…
They’re both just such sweet sad boys with a bad habit of sacrificing themselves.
Ah, Red just clarified the ReBoot reference on the tumblr. The phenomenal fourth panel echoes the James Bond inspired “Firewall” intro from season 3.
Aha! I thought so.
I second DragonMaster praise of all poems here I too think they are great! Called by Magic- you may be critical of your rhyme but I think it worked in conveying the scene!
♩THE ♫ FIREWWWWAAAAAALLLLLLLL♬!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_903744xh8
omg I forgot how much I love Mouse’s design until I watched this video
Does anyone know why Red is so talented? Like I was just looking at the sketches page and like mmmrrrruuuuungaaaaaahh you know? There’s one sketch of Dainix playing with a little salamander and then its’s just sitting on his face and I just love everything Red draws apparently.
TL;DR: This is an interrogation, hands up and swear to tell me the truth.
“You don’t remember?” Erin adds.
“Not clearly,” Dainix frowns. “Only flashes.”
Thoughts swirling, “Where’s Kendal?” he says,
His eye going wide as he asks this.
@SarissaTieflingDruid I’m actually inclined to disagree with you on this one. We haven’t seen any indication that Dainix wasn’t in control, just that he doesn’t clearly remember the actions he took while *checks notes* transformed into a being made exclusively of primordial fire. So maybe not “in control” in the conventional sense of the word, but his actions were consistent enough with his motivations that I’d assumed he retained some sense of self.
@Evil Tree even if Alinua were available to grow a tree it wouldn’t be much use given that fire wood needs to be seasoned for several months or years to be usable (unless Erin could somehow accelerate the process with magic)
the character page has been updated if anyone’s interested
So Erin’s “no one who didn’t deserve it” is interesting, because Dainix did hurt Erin’s body. Now maybe Erin just means that Dainix hurt VD, since they were driving at the time. But I just have this uneasy itch in the back of my mind that Erin is including himself there.
@bottled.bluebells Another way of putting it might be that everyone in this group except Kendall is burdened with an ancient curse that grants them great power at the cost of being exiled by society, and they’re all super angsty about it.
Either way, I think it’s starting to become clear that Kendall has a definite Type, when it comes to making friends.
okay, can we just appreciate that “how are you feeling?” as the new protagonist of the group wakes up next to what is basically a campfire is a mirror of when Erin first joined the group? seriously, go back to when Erin first joined the group, I love it
you know what Dainix, I was wondering the same thing, let’s find out together! I’m sure we won’t regret it in any way!
@bottled.bluebells that is so great XD
@Lilacspiral and confusedqueer, thanks for pointing out the new character page! it looks so, cool. but isn’t it odd that the champion is in the “faces from past arcs” section? I would have thought he’d be in the “everybody else” section, same with Tahraim and Caliban.
I wanna hug Erin. He looks so cozy in his new outfit. And the warm atmosphere don’t help it either.
Oh dang, character page really DID get updated. More side characters, bios got updated… I like it!
@bottled.bluebells
what the heck, half of my comment got eaten. That’s new.
@bottled.bluebells: *enthusiastically nods in agreement with everything you said*
*Cries with joy from seeing Dainix and Tess in the protagonists section* FINALLY
Thank you to @Called by Magic for pointing out Tess’ arm, I didn’t notice until you pointed out! If I had to guess it was probably sprained or broken from dropping like 50m at an odd angle when Tynan came crashing down and she got thrown off (I mean she isn’t shown bracing herself with her arm there, but I can’t think of any other time, unless she got like, slightly melted from being close to Dainix or something)
Erin’s change of clothes and the location switch makes me wonder how long it’s been since the fight and how long Dainix has been transformed, though. I mean I doubt his other clothes survived the lightning laser Tynan sent at the city unscathed, and the moss on the ruins indicates that this isn’t the ruins of Zuurith, but some other area nearby.
Also I have to say that I love how the flashback from Dainix’s perspective works, which each character having their own colour and being remembered in shades of it, it really gives the impression that he was viewing everything in a really different way because of the transformation (if you get my drift), alongside giving the sorta blurry feeling of half remembered things
@LilacSpiral I didn’t notice the moss, good eye!
For all I am not impressed with Freud I am a big believer in “reality testing”. This “thought experiment” of a sort is not only a tool to objectively test the now it is also a tool that can be applied to memories;
Memories are experienced as re-perceiving the moment…
Our ego is formed of past experience and has a self image that does not always line up with reality;
That triggers a feeling, not pain but a squirmy need to get out of that moment,
so many “symptoms” of “mental illness” “toxic positivity” personality disorders are manifestation of oneself
thought blocking is one way the self protects itself
Reality testing is completely different from boundary testing and crossing, to quote Charlie Murphy “Habitual line stepper”
Half remembered things; We all remember the same…
This song is a banger but it does not seem to make me want to watch Reboot
I really hope that that’s an eyepatch and if not that that doesn’t hurt
Tess and Dainix have been added to the ‘protagonists’ section of the characters page.
WE GOT EM, LADS
Might just be me, but the beginning of this arc really feels like the start of ‘season 2’ of Aurora. We had a massive epic boss battle in Zuurith for the season 1 finale, Vash and Void Dragon both show up, fireworks all around. Now we’re back and Tess and Dainix are new protagonists, Erin’s got a new outfit and the art style is somehow even more gorgeous than before. Y’feel me?
Whew. Very useful Dainix doesn’t recognize or remember Erin as the Void Dragon.
Yet. Eventually I imagine Dainix will have more control and ability to remember after he turns.
OKAY I don’t normally do analysis because other people get there first but here we are.
This is only my personal theory, feel free to disagree:
The Light Dragon is the creator and/or essence of souls or free will. Or something like that.
In the prologue VD successfully has control over a human, until a bright white/blue spark happens and everyone’s eyes glow white/blue and they appear to gain consciousness. My theory is that that’s when LD was either created or intervened to stop VD from taking over right then.
I believe that VD is the cause of cave corruption, which appears to be a kind of soul corruption? It happens within closer proximity to him in the Singing Caves, and the only person who freely goes about the caves is the Collector, who has a lot more life magic than normal. This may pertain to the few people that VD’s sticky void magic doesn’t immediately corrupt: Kendal, Alinua, and Dainix’s fire form. Alinua it does corrupt, but she has enough life magic to forcibly eject it, similar to the Collector’s abnormal life magic. Kendal I’m not sure about- it appears to be his unique soul, or perhaps the fact that he wasn’t made by the Twins, who were supposedly made by the two dragon primordials (at least the paladins believe this).
But Dainix is where today’s stunning fourth panel cones in: does anyone else see how the corruptive void essence turns bright white/blue when it hits the soulfire? That hasn’t happened with VD’s magic anywhere before fire-demon-Dainix fought with VD, and it means that there’s something that can turn one dragon’s essence into the other’s. That must be plot relevant somehow, right? It’s visible during their actual fight, but it’s more visible here. And fire-Dainix didn’t seem at all injured by the corruptive energy, so it didn’t do a thing. We don’t know much about Dainix being a “fire demon” or “the Crucible”, but we know he has soulfire and that it’s very different than normal fire. I wonder if the soul part has anything to do with this.
I think the last part is more relevant to the current discussion, but I’m wondering if anyone else has similar theories.
(also I am FASCINATED by the extra glowy shield moon three pages ago. I never considered that the moons would exist for a reason beyond cool worldbuilding, but they do look similar to the two dragons, and if stone’s body is the earth, why would moons exist? It makes one wonder how much worldbuilding we take for granted.)
I have some suggestions for Aurora.
One, Kendal needs to be louder, angrier, and have access to a time machine. Two, whenever Kendal’s not on screen, all the other characters should be asking “Where’s Kendal?”
Can we just appreciate how frickin’ gorgeous this comic is? Especially comparing from chapter 1 to chapter 19, it looks amazing. Especially the fifth panel, the composition and colours is just *chef’s kiss*.
“A FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIREEEEEWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL~!!” xD
Man I miss that show. :3 I didn’t look, did anyone else get it? :3
Ave; facsinating
Have you considered “crucible” vs “catalyst”
Tahraim is both? Mebbe the collector is also?
This comic is 2 intricate, like a Gordian knot; everyone in the audience will take from it what works for them, hate on what triggers them.
Like objectively (not possible/easy for art, lives?) what is literal, allegorical, or just random choices made when worldbuiding; then fine tuning that world to mesh with the characters…Then PLOT & blue mellons
Does Dainax feel like he just ate a meal or is his corporeal body now famished from all the energy expended.
I concede to being a huge Full Metal fan, so I will posit a question does the law of equivalent exchange apply to Aurora?
I defer…
@Ave I think you’re on to something. We’ve been theorizing that the light dragon is the basically the soul primordial, and that Kendal of all people will have some kind of connection with her because of it.
There’s something particularly mysterious about how soulfire works. The clues are there, but much more cryptic than I’m used to. Evidently, by the ability to be erased down to his feet and totally reappear, Dainix’s soul isn’t behaving normally. So what we know, is that the soulfire is directly tied to Dainix’s soul, Dainix’s soul is either different from most mortals, or it’s altered while in the demon form.
Perhaps, because fire isn’t entirely physical at all, if his soul IS the fire, than destroying the entire thing all at once would be required to kill or hurt him in demon form.
@Ave, Ardent Objection: I’m not so sure LD is a Soul primordial. The Elementals and Walter each embody a principal- VD is Consumption, Life is Adaptation, etc. Given that she gives her Paladins telepathy and gave the Elder Races free will, I’d say she embodies Thought. And Erin made it clear a while back that mind=\= soul.
@Ave the moons are made of broken pieces of stone’s sword and shield which is why they’re named that
@Sriracha
what’s taht glowy rock and how do I get it?
Are those trans-colored beads on Dainix’s necklace?
finally caught up!! sooooo excited for more
@treebranch OH I DIDN’T KNOW THAT THAT’S SO COOL! thank you for telling me
If we’re sticking with 5 man band, someone has to leave, and I’m not sure who, but we have 3 heavies. Dainix may also be eligible for lancer given that his skill set is unique enough and on par for power with Kendal. Our animal boy has proven his worth in the party, and doesn’t have anywhere to go, which leaves the metal lady, but she’s Aarons sister, and is so bound to him. But to this point has been kind of circling around the party, so I think there’s a decent chance she’ll be a character that comes and goes. She’s also eligible for lancer and heart, and given such a complete skill set would put her at odds in a 5 man band trope. Any way it goes, I expect the next adventure or two to be a six man band.
@Ladyoftheroundtable Why are you so sure that we are sticking with a five plan band? Personally I predict that the main cast will be a seven man band based on trope talk Easter eggs, and the sketches section.
Kendal’s gonna keep making/rescuing friends until we get an eighteen-man band
His first thought: where’s kendal? Freakin’ adorable
Rereading and:
‘No one who didn’t deserve it,’ he says, MEANING HIMSELF
firewall has such a good intro. I watched reboot like 2 years ago and don’t remember much, but it’s a really good show.