2.4.1
on February 17, 2025
at 3:00 am
And welcome back! When last we left our hero, he got exploded real bad. Then I think a bunch of other stuff happened. Anyway bye!
Aurora
A fantasy webcomic. Updates M-W-F.
And welcome back! When last we left our hero, he got exploded real bad. Then I think a bunch of other stuff happened. Anyway bye!
HIS NAME IS WHAT
JOHN CENA
I can’t see John Cena in there.
Last name Al’Thor
Storms that’s what I thought as well
Blood and bloody ashes!
Well I’m sure THAT won’t be an issue later on.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: Oh thank goodness! He’s alive! I know you all must’ve been so worried about him 🙂
Image source: heart
Tumblr text: gooooood morning everybody
Also HIS NAME IS TAM????????
Bluesky text: and welcome back!
TAM.
TAM!
TIM TAM!!!!!
Tim Tam the Teal?
Tasty Tim Tam the Totally Trounced the Teal
Tam
IT’S BACK! HE’S BACK! HE HAS A NAME! They have a dragon boat
Her Heart???? capitals???? is this possibly literal????
I’m so excited
“Tam” != “Michael” wow how weird is that????
I think she says that because Septim Priora is the bearer of her Heart, in the same way that Lord Stefan is her the bearer of Crown. That means we have five more body parts to attribute to the rest of the Septrenn (I’m guessing Wings, Claws, Teeth/Fangs, Eyes, and Brain/Mind)
Now that I’ve calmed down…
Thanks! I think I’ve missed something entirely, what’s the Septrenn? I don’t know about this at all.
Is Septim his (her?) name?
It’s in the second part of Arc 2, Chapter 0. The septrenn, of which we only know Lord Stefan (the Crown) and probably this person right here so far, are the seven leaders of the Paladins.
Anyone who learned some amount of French (or Latin) should recognize “sept” in “septrenn” and “septim”. (Means “seven”.)
The light dragon called Theia “the one who bears my eyes”, and going off of that one scene in the cave i think Falst might be claws?
Not to say it’s impossible, but the problem with that is, in Falst’s case, that the Seven almost certainly know who they are and would have received Lord Stefan’s telepathic message. I think especially what he said to Dainix after breaking his diadem suggests that Falst doesn’t have a clue about his powers, and isn’t just hiding it.
And in Theia’s case it’s not as clear cut, but the big problem for me is with the plot: Theia already has a personal vendetta against the group (and the general Paladin vendetta of “Let’s kill Erin”). She already follows them with Shrike, she doesn’t need to be part of the Seven to meet the protagonists again. It’d be kinda superfluous. She’s most likely special for being able to speak to the Lady at all (which allows the Lady to see through her eyes), but not “Member of the Septrenn” level special.
A thought then, maybe Falst’s dad is the claws? And Falst like, inherited part of it or something? Either via upbringing or blood or if they’re tied to some physical artefact?
Falst being one of her “parts” would be interesting because it would mean they aren’t tied to her (like she’s not the one that chooses who the power manifests in, and they don’t have to be part of her religion).
If I recall correctly, Theia is referred to as “one who bears my eyes”. Not The One, just one. She’s also used hard light constructs (to open the hatch in the archive roof). It seems like Paladins forge links in their souls to the Lady, as described by Huracan in her statement, so can probably all channel some measures of her power. For example, we see the senior archivist in Zuurith use telepathy like Lord Stefan. So the Lady probably can see through all their eyes if she wants to. My guess is the Septrenn are especially elite users of Light magic, but not the only ones. So probably, neither Theia nor Falst belong among them.
Interesting thought though: We know lady Huracan had a link to the Lady, which she acquired through her priesthood among the Ancients. Meaning that the Ancients potentially could open soul channels to the Lady somehow, despite being otherwise magically inert. Or at least mind links of some sort. Thoughts?
That’s my thought too. There can be many Paladins who bear different parts of L.D., multiple people who bear her eyes and claws, and the Septrenn are simply the ones who are most adept at wielding their specific part.
For example, Theia bears L.D.’s eyes and could see V.D. in Erin and give this info to L.D., meanwhile the Septrenn who bears L.D.’s eyes could be able to see much more than her, or perhaps have some vision based powers.
I had this thought before this page, and I’m genuinely surprised that I might actually be right. Okay, so here’s what we can generally assume based on the dialogue in the comic:
Black-and-white haired dude from the interstitial, called by LD “bearer of my horns” – Horns
Theia: “one who bears my eyes” – Eyes (maybe a more common title than horns or heart? Theia didn’t exactly seem to be at a particularly high level of authority, her title seemingly being just junior archivist, likely Lady Niluca’s apprentice. I’m not saying she didn’t command respect there or anything, just not enough to be a leader of the paladins)
Priora: “for I hold you in my Heart” – Heart (presumably a reference to Tam being in their care)
And here’s what we can guess if we take a look at other light magic user’s powersets:
Tam – Wings? He’s only ever been referred to as her Champion though, so maybe not.
Falst: Claws? We see claws of light when he saves Dainix, and when he breaks Tam’s Diadem, he uses his hands. Like LilacSpiral said, he could have inherited it from his father, if his father was a paladin. It does seem like he killed Falst’s mom with his claws, though it happens offscreen.
anyone have any ideas for other body part paladins that could appear in the future?
Just as another point about the Falst – Claws connection, I don’t think his light powers are that specific. Like, we saw Theia manifest a long claw-kind of thing to open a window back at the archives. That doesn’t make her the bearer of the Lady’s grappling hook, or mean she can’t manifest anything else.
Much more likely to me is that Falst has general paladin powers, possibly from his dad, and has only ever fought using his claws in his whole life. So when he instincually cast light magic for the very first time ever, what hard-light construct did he manifest? The only one he knows: Clawmarks
Ah, I see. 2-0-10, huh? I guess I just removed that from my brain
I would argue that Tam is jaws/fangs (se 2-3-28). Theia I’m not sure about.
I’m not gonna lie, I totally forgot that “Michael” was just a fan placeholder and not his actual canon name lol. I have a nasty feeling that in the coming weeks, I’m actually going to slip up a few times and call him “Michael” anyway, purely out of habit!
We’re so fucking back
Well, when in Rome.
For mobile users
Alt text: Oh thank goodness! He’s alive! I know you all must’ve been so worried about him 🙂
Source: heart
Tysm for the alt text!
We’re back! Yayyyy!
Sounds like the champion has a name now.
Given how close they were to Helm, I’d assume this means this Snowfast is also on Helm. I think the odds are nearing 100% that the floof squad will go there before the end of this arc.
Did we just get a name for the Champion? Hell heag we are so back
So his name is Tam? How very, very interesting.
No longer Michael
WEEE ARE SOOO FUCKING BACKKKK (aslo do you miss your wife tails)
And we have a name reveal! RIP Michael/Anakin, long live Tam!
And we have (probably) another member of the Septrenn! The Heart of the Light Dragon… hm, I can’t help but feel like their (her?) powers revolve around empathy or, potentially, mind control.
Looks like something healing-adjacent to me, actually. Like empathy based healing?
In draconic ride does the Champion wake
Told to worry not, despite what’s at stake
Finally back, and I manage to forget that it updates! I’m slightly annoyed at myself. But anyways, name reveal! I remember reading a novel series about another dragon themed dude named Tam as a kid. It’s a good and useful name!
*BREAKING NEWS* Michael’s name is Tam!
About time, the balcony was looking very inviting 🥲
I still feel like Michael is gonna stick, Tam almost sounds like a diminutive.
Also that third panel is incredibly fitting for Monday morning 🥲
Alt text: Oh thank goodness! He’s alive! I know you all must’ve been so worried about him 🙂
Image source: heart
Zer0 W0lf isn’t here yet so I thought I’d take over for today 😀
Actually, I was here, but I used a different email than usual when posting my comment, so I had to wait for it to pass moderation before everyone could see it. Apparently, it never went through for some reason. Thanks for filling in!
AURORA’S BAAAAAAACK!!
. “I wish you had waited, my Lady,” a voice says. “He didn’t need to fight alone.”
. “He was not alone,” the Light Dragon says. The Champion’s eyes slowly open, a blurry blue form taking shape above him. “Wake gently, my Champion.” The blue form takes shape into an elf kneeling next to him, light swirling from her hand and surrounding him in streaks. She has long blue hair, blue-gray eyes, and blue-tinted skin. “For I hold you in my Heart.”
. “…Septim Priora…” the Champion murmurs.
. “Rest, Tam,” she says. “The Snowfast isn’t far.”
. “The… Dark Avatar…” he mumbles. “…We have to…”
. “We will.” They are in a silver boat hanging below a red dragon, which is flying above the clouds. “We’ll take care of everything.”
The chapter cover looks SO GOOD!! Fire and Stone. Also why does that thing behind Caliban look like a Lynel XD
I can’t wait for Wedensday!
So this person with Tam is L.D.’s Heart? So now we know (at least) two of the Septrenn. The two we know for sure are Whatever-his-name-is-the-leader is her Horn-bearer, and this new person is her Heart-bearer. And then Theia is probably her Eye-bearer, Falst *might* be her Claw-bearer, or maybe his father was her Claw-bearer and Falst inherited some of that or something? And the Champion is probably one of the Septrenn, maybe her Wing-bearer? Because he always seems to have wings? idk
I absolutely am completely obsessed with Panel 2. The blurriness, the pastel. Love it.
Also new character with healing abilities associated with light magic?? Ooooh. Perhaps Alinua’s foil? Actually, is The Collector Alinua’s foil?
Yes, I think that has been the general idea. The Collector single-mindedly destroys what Life’s become to recreate what She used to be, whereas Alinua explicitly allows Her to see (and hopefully appreciate) this new state. So when the Collector and Ali at last meet, there may be quite a bit of We’re Not So Different, You And I from the Collector.
I feel like she’s a foil to all the mains in some way, but Kendal the most.
AAAAAA its been so long!!!
The visuals!! New character who context clues suggest bearer of her Heart!! Name reveal!! Dragon transport friend!! *HAPPY SQUEALS*
guess i chose the best time to catch up huh
Ah yes, back to the true main character. Tam, hm?
Also love the continuity of various members of the Paladin order holding positions based on meaningful anatomy. I always love fantasy orders structured that way. It lends a certain gravitas.
Well, one less problem to be actively solving for RIGHT NOW for the gang, at least…they can focus on the other dozen for the time being.
Hmmm, team Light Dragon seems to have a common flaw: “Not Listening”.
Aurora has returned, a new character with neat abilities has appeared, lore tidbits scattered about, and yet I’m fixated on how 100% done
Michael,Kaiba, Tam looks on panel 3.Ooh, Priora is pretty, and it looks like they have some Light-derived healing ability; bearer of the Light Dragon’s Heart perhaps? I wonder how that healing works. If Light is Will, as some theories go, could they be “willing” Tam’s wounds to close? Willing his body to focus on healing? Or is it just keeping him stable in this magic gurney until they get to the Snowfast?
Also, is anyone else getting “Katara healing Aang atop a flying Appa” imagery from this, or is it just me?
Could the Paladins be assembling an anti-Floof squad, complete with mirror opposites of the gang’s members?
We’ve got Erin’s opposite in Tam as the young “chosen one” working alone who struggles to deal with factors beyond his experience. We’ve got Alinua’s opposite in Priora as an elven healer who already looks tired healing their team. We’ve got the “Faslt’s dad is a Paladin” theory to tie with him, Stephan’s experience and team leader status could make him Dainix’s opposite (or maybe he’d do better as Kendal’s opposite?), and they have at least two dragons to match against Tess.
So, confirmation the Snowfast is on, or at least near, Helm; bad news for the gang. Not only will the Paladin Champion get healed nearby, he’ll also relay information about the gang, including Erin’s name, Dainix’s powers, Kendal’s strange nature, and physical descriptions of all of them. By the time the gang is ready to head to Helm, after fixing what’s wrong with Dainix and allowing Erin time to recover, the Paladins will know exactly who to look for. Maybe there’ll be wanted posters of them in every city that could attract the eye of a certain blonde haired stone mage and her boys (gender neutral).
Not exactly. We do have a Quirky Miniboss Squad in the workings, though. I don’t think they’ll be exact mirrors to the Floof Squad.
We know from lore asks that the Septrenn are a group of 7 particularly powerful Paladins, who each take on a particular aspect of the Light Dragon. We know Stefan, who bears the Horns, is a skilled telepath able to broadcast messages seemingly globally. Now we have Priora, bearing the Heart. From what we saw Tam do the previous chapter, there’s likely also a bearer of the Breath or smth similar.
The only question is whether Tam ranks among the Septrenn as Champion or if he outranks them in power. Personally, I’m inclined to believe the latter.
I’m also inclined to believe that he outranks them. I’d say it’s possible that Tam has access to all the powers of the Septrenn, and uses quite a few of them during the fight (or in other words, each of the Seven can use one of Tam’s displayed skills to the same extent as him, e.g. Stefan could do the Diadem spell as effectively while other Paladins are limited to short-range, blockable telepathy). This would give us, if I may:
1. Crown of the Septrenn, bearer of her Horns (Lord Stefan/Diadem Spell)
2. ??? of the Septrenn, bearer of her Heart (Priora/I don’t think Tam used that one)
3. Flight? of the Septrenn, bearer of her Wings (Tam’s wings)
4. Sword of the Septrenn, bearer of her Claws? (Tam’s favorite weapon, his sword)
5. Shield of the Septrenn, bearer of her Scales (Tam’s impenetrable shield Dainix penetrated)
6. Will/Strength? of the Septrenn, bearer of her Breath (Tam’s Breathweapon)(I’d downright bet this one’s Falst’s Dad)
7. Sight? of the Septrenn, bearer of her Eyes? (I think we’ve only ever seen “regular Paladin” Theia use this one)
1 and 2 we know for certain, ’cause we met them. Sword I think is the shakiest, because it’s just a conveniently summonable hardlight weapon.
Falst/his Dad being the Claws is way too on the nose for me. If he’d summoned a giant sword or a breath weapon in that cave I’d be inclined to believe it meant anything, but not lion claws on a lion ferin. However!, his dad being one of the seven would be perfect for drama when they finally meet, and even more perfect if he was the Maximum Willpower guy (either ironically if he’s the first to give up for “that’s my boyyy!” reasons, or dramatically if he rejects Falst for “I must serve her will” reasons).
“Wake gently, my Champion, for I hold you in my Heart,”
The Lady softly says.
“Rest, Tam,” says a blue-haired elf,
White magics around him bless.
A dragon flies towards the Snowfast,
Bearing the two in a metal sling.
She assures Tam as she works the magic,
“We’ll take care of everything.”
I’d recommend people look at the chapter cover in the Archive if they haven’t already. Get hyped for “Fire and Stone”.
Oh, I like that you are creating a poem for the entire story. Two stanzas at a time is familiar, one of my readers is doing something similar (though he is not creating a larger work out of them).
I assume Red appreciates your work as much as I appreciate Grey-Hat doing poems for mine. 🙂
I hope they crash.
Of course I worried about the Champion Red, he’s a such a wonderful antagonist for the Floof gang to have to deal with!
I love how you fade in from pure whiteness to focused scene in panels 1 through 4. Wonderful technique!
I must admit a fondness four pointy eared bluennetes. I hope to see more of her in future pages!
Does anyone else remember Cutter’s true name from Wendy Pini’s Elfquest?
i know a lot of people are hyped for the name… but i don’t think “tam” is his actual name, it sounds like an abbreviation of his name
I agree, Tam does sound like a nickname. But it’s also nice that he has a Canon name now.
I wonder what kind of dragon that is. Doesn’t seem red enough to be fire-based, but a stone aligned dragon probably wouldn’t be a reliable flier.
According to Red it is a fire dragon. Interesting.
i wasn’t exactly WORRIED, but I do want him to be okay. I think he’s great, if currently somewhat misguided.
WOO We’re soo back – also the name Tam i would love to know if it has any origin
! Is the dragon carrying tam possessed by the light dragon?
Yo! It has been so long. I’m so excited 😊, we are back.
It’s back!! With a dragon boat too!
We’re back! Woohoo!
Tam! Somehow, that wasn’t what I was expecting, but I like it, whether it’s his full name or a nickname. It sounds like a diminutive or nickname to me, which is fitting, perhaps, for a relatively young antagonist. It makes me think of Tam Lin, mythical character tied to the faeries and the Faerie Queen… Hm. How did Tam wind up the Light Dragon’s Champion, anyway? I’m curious about his backstory now.
We barely know anything about Priora except that she is apparently “the Heart” and a septim, but she already seems cool. Lifeboat carried by a literal dragon also seems cool.
But, uh. I am considerably more worried about the Floof Squad than about Tam. Fingers crossed we’ll get see what’s become of them in the coming pages.
I was already reading the “and welcome back”s in Austin(from rwd)’s voice, so this page description was weird to read at first. Also, I wonder how being the light dragon’s champion works. It seems to parallel Erin’s possession by the void dragon, but Tam seems more in control while still being able to speak to the dragon.
I think this is a great page in setting up these characters and their society a bit more deeply, and I’m excited to see where it goes. And the art is wonderful, as always. I’m excited that this is back!
I didn’t think about him at all.
And welcome back, Red. Missed your creativity.
We’re so back, let’s go.
There once was a boy named Tam
Who woke wounded and sore, poor lamb!
After getting in a fight
With the impossible last night–
Has everything he’s learned been a sham?
Wooo, we’re back! Also, is the name Tam Celtic mythology-inspired? Although, I have to say that I appreciate at least one name in this comic being easy to rhyme.
We’re so back
Really happy to see the comic back. Anyways, how does this dragon boat work mechanically? When the dragon lands the boat is gonna be in the way, isn’t it?
Specially designed landing platforms maybe? You’d need a hole with ledges on the sides for the dragon to land on, maybe winches to get the people/boat out of the hole. It’s not impossible with the right equipment, though not entirely practical either. But I suppose the coolness compensates.
Oh we’re BACK!! Excellent!!!!!
Yes! It’s Back! I wasn’t worried about Tam. The guy had too much buildup to be a one-time antagonist. Based on other foreshadowing sections, I think we’ll probably spend a week or two with Tam then come back to the main characters. By foreshadowing sections I mean Tam’s intro, Tynan’s intro, Tess’s first fight with a dragon, Caliban & Tahraim’s intro, the Librarian starting her quest, ect.
This probably won’t happen in Canon, but I kinda want Life to come out the next time the Floof Squad meets Tam. If the Lady is a primordial, then she probably knew Life. Even if she didn’t, she’ll probably recognize her like Gleicann did. I just think this could be a really interesting conversation.
Light: “What the- How are you alive?”
Life: “That’s not what matters right now. What matters is-”
Light: “The Dark Avatar. Don’t worry. I’ll handle him.”
Life: “No. I will.”
Sorry about the long comment.
Actually I get the feeling that we’ll cut to someone else right away next page, just going off of the zoom out in the last panel and the fact that there probably won’t be much going on with these two until they get to the Snowfast. I could be wrong though, and it would be nice if they kept talking and gave us more tasty paladin lore.
She says “I hold you in my heart” and the magic in the fifth panel looks a bit like a ribcage forming around him. That’s kinda interesting.
Glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed that! Its neat how Light takes specific forms, unlike other magics
And the comic restarts on my birthday. What a lovely gift…and the Champion’s name! Most interesting.
So I’m assuming “Heart” is another of the Lady’s “parts”. Is she…healing him in a ribcage? With Light?How does THAT work?
Also, those soft pastel strokes in the first panel are *gorgeous*.
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAAAAAAY
Happy Birthday Sylvermage
I don’t know why but I thought his name was going to be long and hard to pronounce. and It turns out it’s just Tam
I didn’t realize we were back until I saw the post on Reddit. Glad to have you back!
Hmm, no “too hot” centaurs here(Per Red’s post: https://bsky.app/profile/overlysarcastic.bsky.social/post/3lia5dw2kd227 ), I guess we are still waiting for that to drop in an OSP video. 😀
Hell yeah we’re back. Questions will be back tmrw maybe
Anakin survived! He’s more light-magic than man, now. Henceforth, he shall be known as Darth Tam.
TL;DR: God’s fan club comes to rescue their own.
is Tam pronounced like Tom or like Pam with a T?
WHY IS HIS NAME TAM
AURORA’S BACK!
The dragon on the last panel is amazing! And the last panel is great, and the rest of the page also!