oooooh so if I’m remembering what was previously established correctly, the collector wants to “fix” life by returning her to her pre-fusion state, but life isn’t broken right now, she’s just different from how she used to be and alinua can understand that while the collector can’t?
Maybe? I’d like more of the collector’s origin story before betting that it is that (relatively) straight forward. And Life may not have made up their mind on whether it/she/they want the collector stopped; next few pages should make that clearer.
Oh, well that certainly explains a lot. Kind of implies that for Primordial Life even just looking at the world without a perspective like Alinua’s is what prompts the chimerical plague. Like an reflex or an autonomic response to “fix” herself.
Update- I made it my laptop wallpaper, and my friend who usually rolls his eyes at all my fandom stuff said it was cool.
That’s when you know Red is a great artist.
I think Life is crying a waterfall of joy after finally connecting with the life on her skin and being accepted. Life looks more relaxed and… well ‘natural’ to me (pokes tongue in cheek)
Hm…
I never had considered the fact that life was quite literally made from Life’s corpse…and how she felt about that.
The question is, do the other primordials also have this awareness, or is Life a unique case? It’s possible she’s the only one, because it’s hard to be dead when your corpse is alive.
I think somewhere (maybe on the Tumblr page, I don’t quite remember) it was established that Life was the only one still partially alive/conscious because she is the embodiment of adaptation in order to survive.
To my understanding she is the only one who has regained awareness. She regained her awareness when the collector discovered her greatrune after all, and I don’t think anyone has done that with any of the others.
Okay so what seems to be the case is Alinua isn’t an incarnation as much as she is a pair of ‘eyes’ for the life primordial. Life is trapped in the life of the world and cannot see it but she loves the world and what she has created. She just doesn’t want to be trapped blind. What I’m assuming happened is the Collector, when she woke up Life, saw her mind and similarly because her ‘eyes’ but due to having contact with her thoughts while she woke up panicking, believes that Life hates being trapped, therefor she is the pair of eyes who ‘hates what life has become’. As shown by the fact that life is visualized here as being a mountain lady/Gaia type she actually DOES like the world. I assume Life can’t see from the Collector anymore due to the fact that she hates it? Or something like that.
I assume the Chimerical plague mark that Alinua has is actually quite like Erin’s tattoos then. It’s a pure link which allows Life to see through Alinua and control her sometimes, much like Void Dragon has on Erin’s chest. No idea as to why Alinua was the first to survive in 300 years though. Maybe it was because Kendal held her together (ie the message is We Must Help One Another)? But that doesn’t explain why she managed to live to adulthood without exploding when the average age of chimeric plague carriers before was like 5.
My question on a lore level is this now: when Alinua dies (hopefully in a long time in universe after the comic ends, I like her lol) will there be another chimeric carrier? If she dies Life can’t see through her. Has life perfected it now? Will future life mages with a link to her never explode?
I would like to propose that all the primordials are going to get a host, with dalinex with fire, Erin with voidy, alinua with life, and I am extremely uncreative, so I have no idea who the other ones would be. Any ideas?
hey @goldwings, @UnboundMotion only gets bragging rights if anyone remembers that after it happens in this story! I would be willing to give @Unbound bragging rights over me if correct, and still admit is an interesting idea if not. (smile warmly at @UnboundMotion and hope @Unbound forgives me if that hurt that ones feelings)
My guess would be that only the conscious primordial would have a direct host, so my guess is that Alinua and Erin will be the only ones. I think Dainix is less of a host and more that he can tap into the more inherent powers of fire (transmutation), kind of like the people with the chimeric plague but without the threat of exploding and mutating everyone around him.
Yeah, this. Tahraim and Caliban called him a “weapon”, not a host or whatever. Dainix is the gods’ strategic response to the Collector, a step down from anything created by a Primordial.
Presumably the whole “immune to Void corrosion because he transmuted all his other elements into Fire” is a bonus feature.
…huh, it just occurred to me that he should be immune to Cave Corruption in that state. Which of course would be a necessary feature for an assassin who had to trek down to one of Stone’s hearts to kill the Collector.
Possibly he can also use it as a general-purpose elemental purge?
Oooh that’s a good idea. Although my guess is that Dainix wasn’t intentionally created *specifically* for the purpose of defeating the collector, I think it could be likely that they will use him for that. And he should be immune to corruption when in crucible form, but I don’t think (at least currently) he would be a good assassin in the caves (although I love your idea), due to the nature of his transformation, but it would be amazing if he honed his abilities to the point where he could do that!
I wonder what the abilities of people with an inherent connection to the other primordial have….
This sounds really awesome. I hope the idea of Dainix being immune to cave corruption comes up at some point in the comic.
Also I want to see more of the singing caves. I feel like we only scratched the surface with them
AU where a transformed Crucible journeys into the heart of The Storm instead of an elemental magus, and The Void Dragon is supremely p*ssed that he can’t possess them due to them currently not having any void in their body.
The question was meant as a hypothetical where in all the primordial were still alive and got a host, and mostly to see which primordial people though Falst would be paired with.
I don’t think falst will be paired with any of the primordials. I think he’ll be the badass normal of the group. If the characters do become vessels it could happen that they could lose control in certain situations, either because theu tried channeling too much or cause of cave corruption (like imagine if Ali undergoes that), since Falst as a ferin should have enough resistance to help get them to safety, calm them etc. I believe this wil be his main role (tho Kendal could do that too I guess)
Well I hope so. I like the ‘character looses control of their powers and almost destroys everything and themselves so their friends have to fight/save them’ trope.
Not the ‘cool down hug trope mind you. (Also don’t touch people who are having panic attacks. That never works in real life)
interesting! my theory about Danix is that his soul is a fragment of fires’ soul (per tahriam saying he ¨is the fire¨ and voidy calling him a fragment of fire) transmuted to fit a human form and him going fire mode is just him returning to a more natural state. and as fire has not woken up (yet??) it does not interact with Danix.
if there is going to be another primordial host, I suggest Tess and Lightning. perhaps being unsparked is akin to not having a soul (lack of desire or sense of self. this would also present some interesting questions about the soul barrier- or lack thereof- in unsparked metalcaste) and being chosen by the sky is like inheriting some of lightnings soul
Say, did anyone else notice how Alinua looks like an angel or butterfly floating above Life’s upturned face in panel one? I am not good at interoperating the emotions if Life’s eyes, (bows head)
it’s interesting, since the collector woke up life and tapped into her mind, she experienced life’s confusion and fear, not her slow and gradual understanding. the collector assumes life wants to be freed from the amalgams because she literally experienced life’s mind during the primordial version of a panic attack.
now that life has had time to settle and understand what happened to her and what it’s like to be in this new state, she needed to be able to experience her new form of existence from how her creations do, not from a top down perspective. hence why she needed a vessel, and a vessel that understands she loves the life her sacrifice created
This is actually the second mention of a microscope in the story! The first was in chapter 8, where Erin mentions being put “under the wrong end of the microscope” if he went back to the mage academy before sorting out his possession problem.
While it is unlikely that Alinua ran across the word ‘microscope’ in her wanderings, I am willing to give the writer the benefit of doubt and assume Alinua asked someone what that word meant and a certain someone who would happily explain at length during their trip together. I am assuming Alinua was NOT taught this word earlier, which also IS an assumption on my part.
So she just want to communicate with the world and help people, but she need a way to see the world in better prospective, but she need a vassel that will not die or turn to a monster because of her influence.
Cf. panel 4. I suppose the Collector is the “eyes that hate what Life has become”, since her goal IIRC is to find out how to free Life, that is to say, return her to her former self.
Reply to Red’s comment for 1.20.23- Now I am imaging Alinua walking a fashion stage (of light) and from the darkness clapping is heard. Alunia floats or walks in dream-wrap boots looking a little embarrassed and self conscious, perhaps with a slight flush on her cheeks, dream ribbons floating above the forearms wrappings. Suddenly a wolf whistle comes out of the darkness and Alinua turns and sticks out her tongue impertinently in that direction, lifts her head and swaggers back confidently behind the dark curtain and sighs in relief once done.
…This page actually made me tear up a little thinking about it. Life just didn’t want to be alone; she wanted to talk to someone who truly understands and loves her, and she finally found that someone in Alinua. That waterfall is a tear of joy from her.
I’m glad that Life reached out to Alinua here and explained herself first in a learn-by-doing way and now by actually explaining herself. Hopefully, this will clear up any misunderstandings of her motives that Alinua has had since Kendal’s first glimpse of The Collector.
Finally, the sky here is in the same colors of twilight as Alinua’s skin and hair. Symbolism!
Microscopes canon in Aurora confirmed. Does this simply speak to knowledge in the field of optics, or is the scientific knowledge of the aurorans more advanced than it seems? Does Erin study microbiology as well as magic? We need ANSWERS, Red!
I have many thoughts about this page. The collector has been noticed by life and life doesn’t like them, this is now very clear.
This panel has secured my belief that all of life’s eyes can feel different emotions. Life seems a lot more talkative now so we are probably gonna see these chats become a regular thing(in or out of dreamland.)
This also makes it so that if/when there is a wild magic event: it will be the fault of both of them. For example, the giant prison tree probably would have become a wild magic event if life had stepped in.
Now I’m idly curious whether the Collector hates what Life _has become_, or what _was done to her_. The two are very different things, but they can be hard to tell apart from the outside. Or sometimes even the inside.
Hi, I also agree with the wallpaper idea please do it red …… is it just me or does life seem sad/afraid( of Alina’s rejection) yet a tiny bit of hope? also, the eye that mirrors the one with the waterfall seems as if there had been a waterfall coming out( just had a brake-up tipe) but is now dry.
THEORY: all the primordial are awake. OK hear me out, one it seems wired that life would want to be alone and not tried to wake them up to, also V.D. mentioned they unified their bodies into one so why not there minds be connected too.
Ok I’ll admit I was wrong before. I was expecting a “Look at the big picture, lose your humanity.” schtick, but seems like we’re going the opposite direction.
So the Collector got a similar viewpoint, but took the wrong lesson, and immediately ran off to start reviving Life without hearing Life’s opinion on it.
Existence of microscopes in Auroraverse confirmed. Not really surprising, considering the sophistication and power of higher learning, or at least the Aseran academy. Feels like it fits with what else might be happening out there in the world, beyond the Floof Squad’s Epic Adventure
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: ah see she just needed the self-esteem boost
Image source: eyes
You are doing the lord’s work and I can’t thank you enough
Amen!
Glória a Deus!! Amén!
Obrigado Zer0 W0lf!
If there was an upvote button I’d hit it.
WOOOOOOOOOAH!!! That’s so pretty. I would live there if it wasn’t a giant primordial god. I feel like that could be a safety hazard.
Fuck the consequences that place looks beautiful I absolutely am living there…
So long as it has Wi-Fi
Life just needed eyes
So that she can see the world
Like a microscope
Bonus:
Life seems pretty chill
With having become a world
She wants them to thrive
A microcosm:
Her blooming body in space.
Chill indeed, my friend.
Welcome back!
Hey,you’re back!
Good to have you back, friend!
I am glad you (both) found more inspiration to share with us! (smile)
Welcome back!!
Hello! Good to see you again!
our headcanons have been validated
she’s talking about the Collector like a bad ex
?????
PROGRAM_AURORA-QUESTION_FILE_NO._37_…_ERROR. FILE_OVERLOAD. CAUSE:_TOO_AMAZING_TO_THINK
girl don’t you have enough already? greedy
oooooh so if I’m remembering what was previously established correctly, the collector wants to “fix” life by returning her to her pre-fusion state, but life isn’t broken right now, she’s just different from how she used to be and alinua can understand that while the collector can’t?
Maybe? I’d like more of the collector’s origin story before betting that it is that (relatively) straight forward. And Life may not have made up their mind on whether it/she/they want the collector stopped; next few pages should make that clearer.
Oh, well that certainly explains a lot. Kind of implies that for Primordial Life even just looking at the world without a perspective like Alinua’s is what prompts the chimerical plague. Like an reflex or an autonomic response to “fix” herself.
Not surprisingly, Life knows the Collector is insane.
Red could we perhaps get a clean version of that gobsmackingly gorgeous last panel for desktop wallpaper purposes please ma’am ?
Life’s rightmost eye crying the waterfall!!! :,)
What a powerful panel!
Great, I was looking for a laptop wallpaper
Update- I made it my laptop wallpaper, and my friend who usually rolls his eyes at all my fandom stuff said it was cool.
That’s when you know Red is a great artist.
Nice! (Italian chef’s kiss) {pardon to native Italian speakers if I used the gesture wrong}
Huh. This feels sweet, and slightly sad?
I think Life is crying a waterfall of joy after finally connecting with the life on her skin and being accepted. Life looks more relaxed and… well ‘natural’ to me (pokes tongue in cheek)
She begins to fathom the things that came to be
Life says: “I needed eyes that didn’t hate me.”
the waterfall coming from her eye, is that a tear?
Why not both?
No reason, it just makes the whole scene so sad… or maybe it’s a happy tear?
What does that flood (waterfall) of tears coming from one ‘eye’ of Life mean I wonder?
Hm…
I never had considered the fact that life was quite literally made from Life’s corpse…and how she felt about that.
The question is, do the other primordials also have this awareness, or is Life a unique case? It’s possible she’s the only one, because it’s hard to be dead when your corpse is alive.
I think somewhere (maybe on the Tumblr page, I don’t quite remember) it was established that Life was the only one still partially alive/conscious because she is the embodiment of adaptation in order to survive.
To my understanding she is the only one who has regained awareness. She regained her awareness when the collector discovered her greatrune after all, and I don’t think anyone has done that with any of the others.
Okay so what seems to be the case is Alinua isn’t an incarnation as much as she is a pair of ‘eyes’ for the life primordial. Life is trapped in the life of the world and cannot see it but she loves the world and what she has created. She just doesn’t want to be trapped blind. What I’m assuming happened is the Collector, when she woke up Life, saw her mind and similarly because her ‘eyes’ but due to having contact with her thoughts while she woke up panicking, believes that Life hates being trapped, therefor she is the pair of eyes who ‘hates what life has become’. As shown by the fact that life is visualized here as being a mountain lady/Gaia type she actually DOES like the world. I assume Life can’t see from the Collector anymore due to the fact that she hates it? Or something like that.
I assume the Chimerical plague mark that Alinua has is actually quite like Erin’s tattoos then. It’s a pure link which allows Life to see through Alinua and control her sometimes, much like Void Dragon has on Erin’s chest. No idea as to why Alinua was the first to survive in 300 years though. Maybe it was because Kendal held her together (ie the message is We Must Help One Another)? But that doesn’t explain why she managed to live to adulthood without exploding when the average age of chimeric plague carriers before was like 5.
My question on a lore level is this now: when Alinua dies (hopefully in a long time in universe after the comic ends, I like her lol) will there be another chimeric carrier? If she dies Life can’t see through her. Has life perfected it now? Will future life mages with a link to her never explode?
I would like to propose that all the primordials are going to get a host, with dalinex with fire, Erin with voidy, alinua with life, and I am extremely uncreative, so I have no idea who the other ones would be. Any ideas?
let no one say you didn’t call it.
hey @goldwings, @UnboundMotion only gets bragging rights if anyone remembers that after it happens in this story! I would be willing to give @Unbound bragging rights over me if correct, and still admit is an interesting idea if not. (smile warmly at @UnboundMotion and hope @Unbound forgives me if that hurt that ones feelings)
If it’s true and not explicitly insulting, I don’t overly care, but thanks for the concern @Aulde
I figured @goldwings would not mind my teasing. (nods and bow to @goldwing)
no offense taken
My guess would be that only the conscious primordial would have a direct host, so my guess is that Alinua and Erin will be the only ones. I think Dainix is less of a host and more that he can tap into the more inherent powers of fire (transmutation), kind of like the people with the chimeric plague but without the threat of exploding and mutating everyone around him.
Yeah, this. Tahraim and Caliban called him a “weapon”, not a host or whatever. Dainix is the gods’ strategic response to the Collector, a step down from anything created by a Primordial.
Presumably the whole “immune to Void corrosion because he transmuted all his other elements into Fire” is a bonus feature.
…huh, it just occurred to me that he should be immune to Cave Corruption in that state. Which of course would be a necessary feature for an assassin who had to trek down to one of Stone’s hearts to kill the Collector.
Possibly he can also use it as a general-purpose elemental purge?
Oooh that’s a good idea. Although my guess is that Dainix wasn’t intentionally created *specifically* for the purpose of defeating the collector, I think it could be likely that they will use him for that. And he should be immune to corruption when in crucible form, but I don’t think (at least currently) he would be a good assassin in the caves (although I love your idea), due to the nature of his transformation, but it would be amazing if he honed his abilities to the point where he could do that!
I wonder what the abilities of people with an inherent connection to the other primordial have….
This sounds really awesome. I hope the idea of Dainix being immune to cave corruption comes up at some point in the comic.
Also I want to see more of the singing caves. I feel like we only scratched the surface with them
AU where a transformed Crucible journeys into the heart of The Storm instead of an elemental magus, and The Void Dragon is supremely p*ssed that he can’t possess them due to them currently not having any void in their body.
Your mind works in wonderful and inspiring ways.
I like that idea to speculate on!
The question was meant as a hypothetical where in all the primordial were still alive and got a host, and mostly to see which primordial people though Falst would be paired with.
I don’t think falst will be paired with any of the primordials. I think he’ll be the badass normal of the group. If the characters do become vessels it could happen that they could lose control in certain situations, either because theu tried channeling too much or cause of cave corruption (like imagine if Ali undergoes that), since Falst as a ferin should have enough resistance to help get them to safety, calm them etc. I believe this wil be his main role (tho Kendal could do that too I guess)
Well I hope so. I like the ‘character looses control of their powers and almost destroys everything and themselves so their friends have to fight/save them’ trope.
Not the ‘cool down hug trope mind you. (Also don’t touch people who are having panic attacks. That never works in real life)
interesting! my theory about Danix is that his soul is a fragment of fires’ soul (per tahriam saying he ¨is the fire¨ and voidy calling him a fragment of fire) transmuted to fit a human form and him going fire mode is just him returning to a more natural state. and as fire has not woken up (yet??) it does not interact with Danix.
well Tess is the only lightning mage we currently know so I guess that would also be covered. She has already been chosen so why not again?
if there is going to be another primordial host, I suggest Tess and Lightning. perhaps being unsparked is akin to not having a soul (lack of desire or sense of self. this would also present some interesting questions about the soul barrier- or lack thereof- in unsparked metalcaste) and being chosen by the sky is like inheriting some of lightnings soul
Say, did anyone else notice how Alinua looks like an angel or butterfly floating above Life’s upturned face in panel one? I am not good at interoperating the emotions if Life’s eyes, (bows head)
Yeah, I noticed too. She reminds me of a faery. (I’m also not very good at interpreting Life’s eyes?)
My interpretation is that Life is looking up to Alinua in joy and wonder, more as a friend and ally rather than a vessel or vassal to work through.
it’s interesting, since the collector woke up life and tapped into her mind, she experienced life’s confusion and fear, not her slow and gradual understanding. the collector assumes life wants to be freed from the amalgams because she literally experienced life’s mind during the primordial version of a panic attack.
now that life has had time to settle and understand what happened to her and what it’s like to be in this new state, she needed to be able to experience her new form of existence from how her creations do, not from a top down perspective. hence why she needed a vessel, and a vessel that understands she loves the life her sacrifice created
There once was an elf of the sky
Who didn’t look on earth awry.
She’s a vessel that Life
Made without strife–
Now she has become Life’s spy.
oh my…
wait, alunia knows what a microscope is?
all jokes aside, that is somedestop wallpaper worthy art, i would look at that every day.
This is actually the second mention of a microscope in the story! The first was in chapter 8, where Erin mentions being put “under the wrong end of the microscope” if he went back to the mage academy before sorting out his possession problem.
While it is unlikely that Alinua ran across the word ‘microscope’ in her wanderings, I am willing to give the writer the benefit of doubt and assume Alinua asked someone what that word meant and a certain someone who would happily explain at length during their trip together. I am assuming Alinua was NOT taught this word earlier, which also IS an assumption on my part.
Anyone else hear Meridia’s voice when Life speaks or have I been playing too much Skyrim?
So she just want to communicate with the world and help people, but she need a way to see the world in better prospective, but she need a vassel that will not die or turn to a monster because of her influence.
Alinua: Wait, what about the Collector?
Life: HER? SHE’S NUTSO
Cf. panel 4. I suppose the Collector is the “eyes that hate what Life has become”, since her goal IIRC is to find out how to free Life, that is to say, return her to her former self.
Reply to Red’s comment for 1.20.23- Now I am imaging Alinua walking a fashion stage (of light) and from the darkness clapping is heard. Alunia floats or walks in dream-wrap boots looking a little embarrassed and self conscious, perhaps with a slight flush on her cheeks, dream ribbons floating above the forearms wrappings. Suddenly a wolf whistle comes out of the darkness and Alinua turns and sticks out her tongue impertinently in that direction, lifts her head and swaggers back confidently behind the dark curtain and sighs in relief once done.
aw :>
trans rights
…This page actually made me tear up a little thinking about it. Life just didn’t want to be alone; she wanted to talk to someone who truly understands and loves her, and she finally found that someone in Alinua. That waterfall is a tear of joy from her.
I’m glad that Life reached out to Alinua here and explained herself first in a learn-by-doing way and now by actually explaining herself. Hopefully, this will clear up any misunderstandings of her motives that Alinua has had since Kendal’s first glimpse of The Collector.
Finally, the sky here is in the same colors of twilight as Alinua’s skin and hair. Symbolism!
Aaaaa, what a good catch on the colours!
I really, REALLY like this version of “mother nature”
Cool font
Microscopes canon in Aurora confirmed. Does this simply speak to knowledge in the field of optics, or is the scientific knowledge of the aurorans more advanced than it seems? Does Erin study microbiology as well as magic? We need ANSWERS, Red!
WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!! oh my god big lady is she crying
That last panel is gorgeous!! Would 10/10 use as wallpaper. (Mine is Erin right now but that’s neither here nor there)
…and I’ve caught up! Glad I found this awesome comic.
This is, in my opinion, the best image you’ve done on this site. I absolutely love it, keep up the great work!
I have many thoughts about this page. The collector has been noticed by life and life doesn’t like them, this is now very clear.
This panel has secured my belief that all of life’s eyes can feel different emotions. Life seems a lot more talkative now so we are probably gonna see these chats become a regular thing(in or out of dreamland.)
This also makes it so that if/when there is a wild magic event: it will be the fault of both of them. For example, the giant prison tree probably would have become a wild magic event if life had stepped in.
TL;DR: heart to heart with a giant, multi – eyed, green… Something.
Now I’m idly curious whether the Collector hates what Life _has become_, or what _was done to her_. The two are very different things, but they can be hard to tell apart from the outside. Or sometimes even the inside.
She turned on the lights in the room ??
OOO that last panel,,, woah,,
Question, what is your favorite page or the page that you first saw?
1.10.23.
Kendal’s words on that page really spoke to me. It gave me hope.
The waterfall imagery also doubling as tears is very neat, these panels are full of symbolic goodies
You’re telling me all of this is just because she needed an ig filter?
Being an absolute danger to anything living like a walking chernobyl sure is one way to instill in someone an appreciation of life
big Yimir energy, having your corpse used to create the world
Hi, I also agree with the wallpaper idea please do it red …… is it just me or does life seem sad/afraid( of Alina’s rejection) yet a tiny bit of hope? also, the eye that mirrors the one with the waterfall seems as if there had been a waterfall coming out( just had a brake-up tipe) but is now dry.
THEORY: all the primordial are awake. OK hear me out, one it seems wired that life would want to be alone and not tried to wake them up to, also V.D. mentioned they unified their bodies into one so why not there minds be connected too.
Ok I’ll admit I was wrong before. I was expecting a “Look at the big picture, lose your humanity.” schtick, but seems like we’re going the opposite direction.
Happily so!
So the Collector got a similar viewpoint, but took the wrong lesson, and immediately ran off to start reviving Life without hearing Life’s opinion on it.
Existence of microscopes in Auroraverse confirmed. Not really surprising, considering the sophistication and power of higher learning, or at least the Aseran academy. Feels like it fits with what else might be happening out there in the world, beyond the Floof Squad’s Epic Adventure
Already had a microscope that hates what she has become, aka collector.