. Falst stands still, staring at Dainix. The Void in his flames is gone, burning a healthy yellow-orange again, and he holds in his hands a shimmering ball of white, emitting rainbow light.
. Dainix gently lifts it up, letting the rainbow light float out of his hands. It shimmers in the form of a tiny white dragon-serpent for a moment, then curls into a ball and disappears.
. “…You did it,” Falst says in amazement. “You did it!” He cries, putting a hand to his head in relief. He runs over to Dainix. “That was amazing! I- I don’t even know what that WAS, but-
. “N-no, first things first. You need to change back or I’m gonna get fried. I don’t know how much power this thing has left,” glancing at the lacrima he still holds, “and I know how you feel about the water-”
Okay, WOW. One, that looks SO COOL, and two, Awwwww Falst!!
Okay so, this is the “pure form” of Void that Tahraim was talking about. It could be Light, but Light doesn’t emit rainbow light. As some people have pointed out, it looks a bit like the Glort’s rainbow-ness, except less oily. So this could be a pure form of Void and Light or something. I wonder what would appear if Dainix did this with Light…
Also, that’s a dragon that Dainix released. Okay. Huh. The dragon of this pure element, maybe? @Veggiesnake said it looks kinda like a yin-yang, just without the other dragon. Now I’m more interested to see what pure Light would look like.
“I do believe the worst is behind us” uh, yeah the serpent is coming. I’m VERY worried about that cut-off in the last panel. Either the serpent will appear or Alinua will interrupt them, probably.
Dainix putting on an entirely new kind of light show! What in the world *is* it? It’s double-transmuted light, but does that mean it’s exactly what light is normally, or is he bringing out some secondary aspect of light? Or could it be the true inverse of void, a full spectrum of every other element? The only time anything prismatic like that has appeared has been the Storm (and I guess the void amalgam, but that was more oily). AND it’s dragon-shaped??? Somewhat unstable/fleeting too… I wonder why. With the light dragon’s likely relationship with the void dragon, I wonder if Dainix essentially made an incredibly small light dragon. And he’s not even a mage!
This doesn’t look quite like Light. You’re totally right that it’s more prismatic than usual Light, and I don’t think that’s an accident. I, for one, suspect that both Void and Light are specialized forms of whatever this “purest form” is, that Dainix just made or at least approached.
Makes me wonder what the server’s current thinking on Light/Void is. My current most straightforward idea is that Void is blind hunger while Light is devotion to one’s aspirations, sort of in a stick-carrot relationship. Physical Void is acid, while Physical Light is hard-light–materially solid but ephemeral. Tahraim says VD thinks hunger “doesn’t even know what it’s so desperate to have”, implying that VD is wrong; aspiration-driven hunger, which is more up Light’s alley, explicitly knows (or has an idea of) what it’s so desperate to have.
The problem with this idea, and with many others, is that Kendal demonstrably doesn’t have Light or Void inside him. Kendal’s lack of Void manifests as a lack of automatic hunger–unless he’s hurt, he doesn’t get hungry over time. But Kendal has demonstrated both single-minded devotion to a goal (rescuing Vash) and the ability to voice aspirations, even if it took some ghost therapy. So the manifestation of Light isn’t that; it must be something more specific.
Also, Light is completely different from Lightning, which is tied to intrinsic motivation via the Sparked/chosen by the sky stuff. (Sidenote: if an Unsparked metalcaste got corrupted by the caves, would they be super hungry but just not do anything about it?)
Also also, Light can’t be fundamental to personhood, since Kendal does person stuff without it, but people without Light acted catatonic and were easily puppeted by VD in the prologue. Except maybe starmetal can partially substitute for Light, which would sort of make sense; stars emit light, VD is obsessed with eating stars, and the colors are like one shade apart.
I threw around the idea that Light is learning, since learned information is incorporated into the self like eaten food and the Paladins have all those books. I didn’t know how accurate that is, now that Tahraim gave his little speech.
In the same way that this is “like light but with rainbow”, you could say that Glort was .. like void but with rainbow? (this might be a stretch. feel free to correct me.) and draw a connection between Glort being psychic damage and this being psychic “healing” or some kind of positive thing, as a lot of people were thinking last page. This is pretty shaky “I’ve connected the dots!” spitballing but maybe it’ll give other people thoughts.
I agree that this isn’t the same Light energy that Michael used. Whether it’s something more (e.g. a purer form of Light/Void) or something different (an alternate form of Light as transmuted by Dainix rather than produced by the Dragon?) I don’t know.
I will say that I like the “reverse of Void -> All Elements” idea. The rainbow immediately made me think of the elements being somehow infused here.
The burst sprite is white and the 3 printer colors, not a rainbow. The plasm crawler was and Ancient light dragon priest who was cave/void corrupted for so long that it began to starve on the cellular level. I hope this helps with guessing.
Cool down. You’re just being passive-aggressive now, not to mention incorrect. We’re not sure what the Glort was originally, and if it was a Corrupted Ancient, then it was likely some sort of scientist, not a priest. Hence why it was found in a laboratory, not a temple.
Someone on tumblr asked what it was and Red answered. I assumed they were a priest because that seems like a job that would require a light connection. Am I really coming across as passive aggressive? I thought I just read as unnatural
@snakesocket, I’m not sure if you are being passive aggressive as veggiesnake said, but you definitely have been confrontational with your theories. Its all in how you present it. A great way to avoid that attitude is to start theories with things like “what if” and “maybe”. Also, if you disagree with someone else, always remember that it’s better to respectfully disagree rather that say their wrong. That way, nobody feels that their opinion is being disregarded. Hope this helps!
Looking through the Tumblr, I could only find where someone asks about whether Glort used to be an Ancient, receiving a vague response about how it would take a long time to corrupt an Ancient. Nothing about them having a light connection, or whether it was even someone who worked(?) there vs wandered in from the caves.
Glort having a light connection would be interesting, but I think their psychic powers could possibly be explained as another aspect of void (aggravating painful memories?). Nothing seems all that certain, and I think that’s because it’s going to be explained/expanded upon later.
Can I just say, I adore Falst and his ability to go “No, wait, prioritize the crisis first” in basically any situation. I think this (3 panels) is the longest it’s taken him to get his head in the game and that’s sweet.
Also that little Prismatic Light (if that’s what we’re calling it) looks to me like a tiny Wyrm of some kind, and bears resemblance to the Yin-Yang. It looks as if you filled in the negative space, there could be a second tiny dragon there too. Is it some kind of rune?
This… I could be wrong, but it brings to mind the trauma sludge from Daybreak. Granted, its speckles of colored light were much more intense (and much more resembling the “glitching” effects certain lights cause where they appear to split into the primary colors if you shift your eyes, insted of hopeful colorful glow), but. Thinking of, say, 1.22.13 for example..
The slime was a corrupted Ancient with Light dragon connection. The rainbow might have been a little part of this or it could be just melted six elements.
Oh, interesting! A little prismatic dragon symbol? It’s bright white at its core, but I don’t remember Light radiating rainbow, which makes me wonder if this is instead a substance that underlies both void and light… The way Dainix cradles it in his hands and lets it go is also beautiful and gentle-looking, and it’s sweet how he immediately drifts over to Falst afterward. :3
Poor Falst. In panel six he looks elated and relieved, but also like he was extremely stressed and THIS close to losing it. Understandably.
“I do believe the worst is behind us” oh NO. The last time Red said that, the torture slime was about to grab Dainix. Chimeric danger noodle incoming next page, I bet…
I love how the characters integrate into this story. Every time a new character shows up into the main cast, I worry that they’ll make the story too busy and take away from what was already going on. Then the character punches my doubts in the face, explodes them in a glowy magical attack, and finally offers a hand to become best friends. All the characters in this comic are rad as heck and each adds SO MUCH to the story without taking away a single thing.
The Void Dragon via Erin: What the f**k was that?
Paladin Champion lying in the water: What the fudge was that?
Oh, that multicoloured light energy is lovely. I’m reminded of the lore about prismatic dragons, once created by Paladins with similar looks and, from the lore (https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/665135967906283520/what-were-the-prismatic-dragons-like), were more likely to be sentient. More hints towards a Light/Void mind connection?
This light energy certainly feels different to the Champion’s; his was fully white, sterile, and sharp while this has more colours, curves, and generally feels more alive. Is this what Light beyond the Lady’s control looks like? Has Dainix added something of himself to it?
I thought Falst’s “You did it” comment sounded familiar; he was similarly amazed, and dare I say happy, when Alinua broke the mountain prison in 1-16-24. While he doesn’t like people being arrogant with their power, when they use it to genuinely help others and themselves, he is supportive. He was just as awestruck as the others when Erin pulled that ‘hold-the-ocean’ spell.
However, just like then and in Zuurith, he’s ready to snap back to the matter at hand, and I have concerns. It’s historically taken a while before Dainix has turned back, but what I find more concerning, is that Falst’s final sentence ends in a hyphen. He’s going to be interrupted next page; while it might be from Alinua calling them, or Dainix turning back, I have a sinking feeling the Kraken/Nessie will show itself.
I think Falst can both dislike arrogance and be amazed by the sheer power that our cast displays—yeah, he was awestruck by Erin holding the ocean, but he also immediately went into “he can’t do that forever”. I guess that’s still being supportive, albeit indirectly.
In this particular case, I think it’s cool that he almost tries analyzing what just happened! Not like Erin “what was that and can you reproduce it under controlled circumstances” Ruunaser, though—just thinking it through himself, aloud. Dainix did a cool not-quite-Light thing and Falst is blown away by what it was. He also (as you say) snaps back to the matter at hand. I think both things show a bit about his character (interested in unusual feats of magic + down-to-earth, can compartmentalize and focus back on immediate issues)
I missed the hyphen.”it’s historically taken a while” yeah. I’ve fear may get chekov’s soulfire at the bottom of the ocean
This is so pretty!
Is that bit of light DRAGON SHAPED!?!
Tiny Avatar of Light “I return once more to the mortal realm, allow me to- no what are you…?!”
Not only is it dragon shaped, it’s got that ethereal rainbow aura that the trauma goo did…
ooooh what a good eye for spotting it!
1.14.18, the junior archivist mentions prismatic dragons. Coincidence?
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: get outta here and take your #FFFFFF hexcode with you
Image source: amazing
. Falst stands still, staring at Dainix. The Void in his flames is gone, burning a healthy yellow-orange again, and he holds in his hands a shimmering ball of white, emitting rainbow light.
. Dainix gently lifts it up, letting the rainbow light float out of his hands. It shimmers in the form of a tiny white dragon-serpent for a moment, then curls into a ball and disappears.
. “…You did it,” Falst says in amazement. “You did it!” He cries, putting a hand to his head in relief. He runs over to Dainix. “That was amazing! I- I don’t even know what that WAS, but-
. “N-no, first things first. You need to change back or I’m gonna get fried. I don’t know how much power this thing has left,” glancing at the lacrima he still holds, “and I know how you feel about the water-”
Okay, WOW. One, that looks SO COOL, and two, Awwwww Falst!!
Okay so, this is the “pure form” of Void that Tahraim was talking about. It could be Light, but Light doesn’t emit rainbow light. As some people have pointed out, it looks a bit like the Glort’s rainbow-ness, except less oily. So this could be a pure form of Void and Light or something. I wonder what would appear if Dainix did this with Light…
Also, that’s a dragon that Dainix released. Okay. Huh. The dragon of this pure element, maybe? @Veggiesnake said it looks kinda like a yin-yang, just without the other dragon. Now I’m more interested to see what pure Light would look like.
“I do believe the worst is behind us” uh, yeah the serpent is coming. I’m VERY worried about that cut-off in the last panel. Either the serpent will appear or Alinua will interrupt them, probably.
AAAA THE HAPPY FALST PANEL. I LVOE
A sliver of Dragon fierce Dainix holds high
Falst explains the next move as it fades into sky
Dainix putting on an entirely new kind of light show! What in the world *is* it? It’s double-transmuted light, but does that mean it’s exactly what light is normally, or is he bringing out some secondary aspect of light? Or could it be the true inverse of void, a full spectrum of every other element? The only time anything prismatic like that has appeared has been the Storm (and I guess the void amalgam, but that was more oily). AND it’s dragon-shaped??? Somewhat unstable/fleeting too… I wonder why. With the light dragon’s likely relationship with the void dragon, I wonder if Dainix essentially made an incredibly small light dragon. And he’s not even a mage!
This doesn’t look quite like Light. You’re totally right that it’s more prismatic than usual Light, and I don’t think that’s an accident. I, for one, suspect that both Void and Light are specialized forms of whatever this “purest form” is, that Dainix just made or at least approached.
Makes me wonder what the server’s current thinking on Light/Void is. My current most straightforward idea is that Void is blind hunger while Light is devotion to one’s aspirations, sort of in a stick-carrot relationship. Physical Void is acid, while Physical Light is hard-light–materially solid but ephemeral. Tahraim says VD thinks hunger “doesn’t even know what it’s so desperate to have”, implying that VD is wrong; aspiration-driven hunger, which is more up Light’s alley, explicitly knows (or has an idea of) what it’s so desperate to have.
The problem with this idea, and with many others, is that Kendal demonstrably doesn’t have Light or Void inside him. Kendal’s lack of Void manifests as a lack of automatic hunger–unless he’s hurt, he doesn’t get hungry over time. But Kendal has demonstrated both single-minded devotion to a goal (rescuing Vash) and the ability to voice aspirations, even if it took some ghost therapy. So the manifestation of Light isn’t that; it must be something more specific.
Also, Light is completely different from Lightning, which is tied to intrinsic motivation via the Sparked/chosen by the sky stuff. (Sidenote: if an Unsparked metalcaste got corrupted by the caves, would they be super hungry but just not do anything about it?)
Also also, Light can’t be fundamental to personhood, since Kendal does person stuff without it, but people without Light acted catatonic and were easily puppeted by VD in the prologue. Except maybe starmetal can partially substitute for Light, which would sort of make sense; stars emit light, VD is obsessed with eating stars, and the colors are like one shade apart.
I threw around the idea that Light is learning, since learned information is incorporated into the self like eaten food and the Paladins have all those books. I didn’t know how accurate that is, now that Tahraim gave his little speech.
In the same way that this is “like light but with rainbow”, you could say that Glort was .. like void but with rainbow? (this might be a stretch. feel free to correct me.) and draw a connection between Glort being psychic damage and this being psychic “healing” or some kind of positive thing, as a lot of people were thinking last page. This is pretty shaky “I’ve connected the dots!” spitballing but maybe it’ll give other people thoughts.
I agree that this isn’t the same Light energy that Michael used. Whether it’s something more (e.g. a purer form of Light/Void) or something different (an alternate form of Light as transmuted by Dainix rather than produced by the Dragon?) I don’t know.
I will say that I like the “reverse of Void -> All Elements” idea. The rainbow immediately made me think of the elements being somehow infused here.
The burst sprite is white and the 3 printer colors, not a rainbow. The plasm crawler was and Ancient light dragon priest who was cave/void corrupted for so long that it began to starve on the cellular level. I hope this helps with guessing.
Cool down. You’re just being passive-aggressive now, not to mention incorrect. We’re not sure what the Glort was originally, and if it was a Corrupted Ancient, then it was likely some sort of scientist, not a priest. Hence why it was found in a laboratory, not a temple.
Someone on tumblr asked what it was and Red answered. I assumed they were a priest because that seems like a job that would require a light connection. Am I really coming across as passive aggressive? I thought I just read as unnatural
They could have also been a scientist of some kind, to make the thinking lacrimas for the robots
@snakesocket, I’m not sure if you are being passive aggressive as veggiesnake said, but you definitely have been confrontational with your theories. Its all in how you present it. A great way to avoid that attitude is to start theories with things like “what if” and “maybe”. Also, if you disagree with someone else, always remember that it’s better to respectfully disagree rather that say their wrong. That way, nobody feels that their opinion is being disregarded. Hope this helps!
Looking through the Tumblr, I could only find where someone asks about whether Glort used to be an Ancient, receiving a vague response about how it would take a long time to corrupt an Ancient. Nothing about them having a light connection, or whether it was even someone who worked(?) there vs wandered in from the caves.
Glort having a light connection would be interesting, but I think their psychic powers could possibly be explained as another aspect of void (aggravating painful memories?). Nothing seems all that certain, and I think that’s because it’s going to be explained/expanded upon later.
All of Falst’s expressions are just so strong and give me ALL the feels!
*insert sea serpent here*
Yeah, that hyphen worries me…
Can I just say, I adore Falst and his ability to go “No, wait, prioritize the crisis first” in basically any situation. I think this (3 panels) is the longest it’s taken him to get his head in the game and that’s sweet.
Falsts expression in panel six is gonna make me cry dude i don’t think i’ve seen him look so genuinely happy before
Dainix, bro, don’t try to kiss or cuddle Falst now. You’re literally on fire.
No, he literally *is* fire
Withdrawn.
Also that little Prismatic Light (if that’s what we’re calling it) looks to me like a tiny Wyrm of some kind, and bears resemblance to the Yin-Yang. It looks as if you filled in the negative space, there could be a second tiny dragon there too. Is it some kind of rune?
Could be. There’s certainly a resemblance to the Void rune Erin accidentally got tattooed on himself…
This… I could be wrong, but it brings to mind the trauma sludge from Daybreak. Granted, its speckles of colored light were much more intense (and much more resembling the “glitching” effects certain lights cause where they appear to split into the primary colors if you shift your eyes, insted of hopeful colorful glow), but. Thinking of, say, 1.22.13 for example..
The slime was a corrupted Ancient with Light dragon connection. The rainbow might have been a little part of this or it could be just melted six elements.
Could you link the specific post that proves this?
Oh, interesting! A little prismatic dragon symbol? It’s bright white at its core, but I don’t remember Light radiating rainbow, which makes me wonder if this is instead a substance that underlies both void and light… The way Dainix cradles it in his hands and lets it go is also beautiful and gentle-looking, and it’s sweet how he immediately drifts over to Falst afterward. :3
Poor Falst. In panel six he looks elated and relieved, but also like he was extremely stressed and THIS close to losing it. Understandably.
“I do believe the worst is behind us” oh NO. The last time Red said that, the torture slime was about to grab Dainix. Chimeric danger noodle incoming next page, I bet…
I know Falst isn’t a touch person, but do you think for a moment he was going to hug Dainix and realized that was a Bad Idea?
Oh he totally was
I CALLED IT!!!
Magenta might be void/consumption, cyan might be light/inspiration but what could yellow be?
I love how the characters integrate into this story. Every time a new character shows up into the main cast, I worry that they’ll make the story too busy and take away from what was already going on. Then the character punches my doubts in the face, explodes them in a glowy magical attack, and finally offers a hand to become best friends. All the characters in this comic are rad as heck and each adds SO MUCH to the story without taking away a single thing.
Little light dragon
Hug?
Erin is gonna be so mad that he missed this
The Void Dragon via Erin: What the f**k was that?
Paladin Champion lying in the water: What the fudge was that?
Oh, that multicoloured light energy is lovely. I’m reminded of the lore about prismatic dragons, once created by Paladins with similar looks and, from the lore (https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/665135967906283520/what-were-the-prismatic-dragons-like), were more likely to be sentient. More hints towards a Light/Void mind connection?
This light energy certainly feels different to the Champion’s; his was fully white, sterile, and sharp while this has more colours, curves, and generally feels more alive. Is this what Light beyond the Lady’s control looks like? Has Dainix added something of himself to it?
I thought Falst’s “You did it” comment sounded familiar; he was similarly amazed, and dare I say happy, when Alinua broke the mountain prison in 1-16-24. While he doesn’t like people being arrogant with their power, when they use it to genuinely help others and themselves, he is supportive. He was just as awestruck as the others when Erin pulled that ‘hold-the-ocean’ spell.
However, just like then and in Zuurith, he’s ready to snap back to the matter at hand, and I have concerns. It’s historically taken a while before Dainix has turned back, but what I find more concerning, is that Falst’s final sentence ends in a hyphen. He’s going to be interrupted next page; while it might be from Alinua calling them, or Dainix turning back, I have a sinking feeling the Kraken/Nessie will show itself.
I think Falst can both dislike arrogance and be amazed by the sheer power that our cast displays—yeah, he was awestruck by Erin holding the ocean, but he also immediately went into “he can’t do that forever”. I guess that’s still being supportive, albeit indirectly.
In this particular case, I think it’s cool that he almost tries analyzing what just happened! Not like Erin “what was that and can you reproduce it under controlled circumstances” Ruunaser, though—just thinking it through himself, aloud. Dainix did a cool not-quite-Light thing and Falst is blown away by what it was. He also (as you say) snaps back to the matter at hand. I think both things show a bit about his character (interested in unusual feats of magic + down-to-earth, can compartmentalize and focus back on immediate issues)
I missed the hyphen.”it’s historically taken a while” yeah. I’ve fear may get chekov’s soulfire at the bottom of the ocean
Joyous whimsy omgg
“I do believe the worst is behind us”
Or under. Under, and swimming closer fast, from what Alinua’s sensed…
TL;DR: Great job! Now stop celebrating!
“I do believe the worst is behind us”
last time Red said that there was a slime monster sneak attack. I am not feeling too good about the next page…
Wonder how long it’s going to be before Danix burns a hole in the floor directly beneath him and falls through.
He burns at the speed of the plot.
Is this the light dragon’s true name? Or whose true name is this?
I know this is an extremely impact full scene but I can’t help but just go awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
This page is really pretty! props