I would like to draw attention to the fact that these ignans are wearing fur-lined coats! Like, yeah, normal ignans would find it uncomfortable being somewhere that’s not a Mediterranean climate or hotter, but apparently volcanic ignans are so hyperadapted to heat they need thick coats simply to have a walk outside to clean the road of debris above an active caldera!!
Those are funny tools, but it makes sense that they’d be a broom-spade.
“excess heat coming in” That’s not a problem for ignans in the slightest. They’re all resistant to heat at base (a reminder that Dainix casually reached his entire hand into a boiling pot back in Arc 2 Ch 1), volcanic ignans are practically immune.
Hm, there’s a difference between a boiling pot of smoke-bomb and actual lava.
Personally, I think the coats might function as some kind of cushion. There’s lava on this walkway and it seems to be a regular occurrence that they need to clean it off. It seems to me the volcano regularly spits lava far enough up to land on these bridges, and even if you were fire-adapted enough not be burned by it, I still wouldn’t want to stand where that stuff lands. Shit’s heavy, I’d wear thickly padded helmet-hats and fur coats too.
Ignan Boss: Man, I’m glad we went with opaque glass bridges and not translucent, or even transparent. Imagine the pain of trying to keep such a thing so clean and see through, and for what? Spotting intruders coming from below the lava lake?! Haha! Ridiculous. Falst: (Sweating bullets, and not because of the heat)
Hats off to you Red, you found a way to make what is essentially a lava janitor intimidating; the heavy protective gear, wordless commands, even the shovel-brush tool looks like it could be a weapon. (Also, am I the only one who saw that and thought of that Vulcan polearm from Star Trek, a Lirpa I think?)
Hmm, the volcano cleaner uniform has a helmet that obscures the face and long coat that could aid in hiding a hypothetical tail. I wonder what the chances are of Falst snagging one of these as a disguise.
I’m still torn as to what in this complex is Rakhn’s temple. Is it the central spire in the volcano where the cleaners came from, or is it up that glass staircase in panel 7, putting it directly behind his throne? I think it’s the latter as Cali said “northern face of the slope, just under the caldera.”; they’d have said “right in the middle” if it were the spire. If Falst has to get that close, Kendal’s distraction is even more important than I though.
Well, good thing no one saw Falst, and even if anyone did from a distance they probably assumed he was another Ignan. However, the cleaners are smart enough not to leave doors open next to a volcano, and I don’t see any mechanism to open these doors from the outside. If the temple has similar doors, Falst may find it difficult to get inside without risking being discovered.
I think they have feathers on one side (the ‘broom’ side) and a scoop on the other side (either a dustpan or a shovel). Those feathers might be leaves though.
those hats are really cool, Red. So obviously Falst isn’t getting off scot-free with his infiltration effort, but we also now have a way to get into the temple. What do you guys reckon are the odds of Falst getting caught anyhoo?
Aurora Question #46: What races/species/whatever (Either standard fantasy ones or some of the ones Red has mentioned on Tumblr) would you be most interested in seeing next?
Any of the more specialised elves would be nice.
Stygian Elves to see their unique culture and potential plot hooks of Erin and Kendal asking for info about Void and the Collector.
Dryads for potential Alinua interactions, her being Life’s Chosen and all, plus more forestry backgrounds to make Red’s hand hurt.
And especially the Cloud Elves for potential Alinua backstory revelations (maybe grab some windsilk while they’re there to give Falst another boost to his abilities).
Interesting that the Volcanic Ignans seem to still need respiratory protection from the volcano. I suppose it makes sense that being elementally adapted to an overabundance of Fire doesn’t do anything against toxic gasses.
I think they’re for incinerated rock fumes. Volcanos give off so many toxic gasses that it’d be so dangerous (and most likely deadly) to live anywhere near the mouth without heavy-duty gas masks.
Will Falst make it in time? Will the Caldera Custodians finish their task of clearing the slag off the bridges none the wiser? Will Rakhn be so distracted by Kendal that he forgets that he needs to make sure the Caldera Custodians’ supervisor has their cleaning supplies fully stocked and in order? Will Falst find a conveniently Ferin-sized disguise that also has a conveniently Crucible-shaped carrying case? Is it the winner of the daily Crokinole tourney that gets to wear the biggest hat that day?
Okay, looking at them, I think the volcano stretches even their tolerance for hazardous environments. I think its gas and particulate, they don’t seem well protected from splatter, so lava droplets probably aren’t a problem for them, but the respirator and goggles makes me think something in the air is damaging frequently enough to be standard outdoor gear.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: someone spilled all this lava all over the place
Image source: grind
Bluesky Text: I have a nickname for this guy in my notes but I’m not telling you what it is
i forgot to post the tumblr text and nobody did it in my stead aaaa—
tumblr text: made the stealth check, but at what cost
Falst following the way of the stealth gecko.
Falst following the way of the stealth gecko, all according to plan.
A door slowly creeps ajar, so hide!
As the Ignans pass, Falst tries not down to slide
There’s a sudden noise
He’s nearly caught trespassing
Desperate to hide
I would like to draw attention to the fact that these ignans are wearing fur-lined coats! Like, yeah, normal ignans would find it uncomfortable being somewhere that’s not a Mediterranean climate or hotter, but apparently volcanic ignans are so hyperadapted to heat they need thick coats simply to have a walk outside to clean the road of debris above an active caldera!!
Those are funny tools, but it makes sense that they’d be a broom-spade.
Fun fact, insulation like that not only keeps ones own heat from escaping into the cold, but also guards against excess heat coming in!
True! The only one who’s underdressed here is Falst.
“excess heat coming in” That’s not a problem for ignans in the slightest. They’re all resistant to heat at base (a reminder that Dainix casually reached his entire hand into a boiling pot back in Arc 2 Ch 1), volcanic ignans are practically immune.
Hm, there’s a difference between a boiling pot of smoke-bomb and actual lava.
Personally, I think the coats might function as some kind of cushion. There’s lava on this walkway and it seems to be a regular occurrence that they need to clean it off. It seems to me the volcano regularly spits lava far enough up to land on these bridges, and even if you were fire-adapted enough not be burned by it, I still wouldn’t want to stand where that stuff lands. Shit’s heavy, I’d wear thickly padded helmet-hats and fur coats too.
And of course I had to go look something up:
https://www.tumblr.com/comicaurora/662232737949843456/what-can-you-tell-us-about-the-volcanic-variant-of?source=share
According to Red, yes, Mat’s possibly right, vocanic ignans can’t comfortably survive anywhere except an active volcano. Maybe this glass bridge really is too cold for them. … 50 feet above a lava lake.
(Also that ask and Red’s answer is very ironic given where the story has gone in the meantime)
Nice masks, glad to see everyone who breathes is avoiding inhaling vaporized rock fumes!
Ignan Boss: Man, I’m glad we went with opaque glass bridges and not translucent, or even transparent. Imagine the pain of trying to keep such a thing so clean and see through, and for what? Spotting intruders coming from below the lava lake?! Haha! Ridiculous.
Falst: (Sweating bullets, and not because of the heat)
Hats off to you Red, you found a way to make what is essentially a lava janitor intimidating; the heavy protective gear, wordless commands, even the shovel-brush tool looks like it could be a weapon. (Also, am I the only one who saw that and thought of that Vulcan polearm from Star Trek, a Lirpa I think?)
Hmm, the volcano cleaner uniform has a helmet that obscures the face and long coat that could aid in hiding a hypothetical tail. I wonder what the chances are of Falst snagging one of these as a disguise.
I’m still torn as to what in this complex is Rakhn’s temple. Is it the central spire in the volcano where the cleaners came from, or is it up that glass staircase in panel 7, putting it directly behind his throne? I think it’s the latter as Cali said “northern face of the slope, just under the caldera.”; they’d have said “right in the middle” if it were the spire. If Falst has to get that close, Kendal’s distraction is even more important than I though.
Well, good thing no one saw Falst, and even if anyone did from a distance they probably assumed he was another Ignan. However, the cleaners are smart enough not to leave doors open next to a volcano, and I don’t see any mechanism to open these doors from the outside. If the temple has similar doors, Falst may find it difficult to get inside without risking being discovered.
“Northern face of the slope, just under the caldera.” I’d assume that puts Rakhn’s throne on the northern slope as well, it all seems to check out
Daily cleanup time!
Really loving the way Falst is drawn on this page specifically. I don’t know specifically why it’s just really tickling the brain today :3
I find it very interesting that the staffs are apparently made of living plants. It almost looks like a sapling with the roots bundled up.
I think they have feathers on one side (the ‘broom’ side) and a scoop on the other side (either a dustpan or a shovel). Those feathers might be leaves though.
those hats are really cool, Red. So obviously Falst isn’t getting off scot-free with his infiltration effort, but we also now have a way to get into the temple. What do you guys reckon are the odds of Falst getting caught anyhoo?
Those are totally ignians.
Catboy, otherwise known as Spider-Man.
Aurora Question #46: What races/species/whatever (Either standard fantasy ones or some of the ones Red has mentioned on Tumblr) would you be most interested in seeing next?
insect cloudchildren
I second this
I demand to see the little flower people
Those mountain men
Any of the more specialised elves would be nice.
Stygian Elves to see their unique culture and potential plot hooks of Erin and Kendal asking for info about Void and the Collector.
Dryads for potential Alinua interactions, her being Life’s Chosen and all, plus more forestry backgrounds to make Red’s hand hurt.
And especially the Cloud Elves for potential Alinua backstory revelations (maybe grab some windsilk while they’re there to give Falst another boost to his abilities).
Love the implications that we’re just giving the no-magic guy magic items instead. I know how dnd works.
The Sea Elves would be nice, but where ever the story takes us next is fine for me.
Interesting that the Volcanic Ignans seem to still need respiratory protection from the volcano. I suppose it makes sense that being elementally adapted to an overabundance of Fire doesn’t do anything against toxic gasses.
I love the fantasy PPE!!!! It looks awesome :0
Those gas masks make me nervous, hopefully volcano ignians haven’t invented tear gas
I think they’re for incinerated rock fumes. Volcanos give off so many toxic gasses that it’d be so dangerous (and most likely deadly) to live anywhere near the mouth without heavy-duty gas masks.
Omg they look like fluffy moths! Fluffy volcano moths!!!
TL;DR: The floor is lava, but the rafters are swarmed…
Will Falst make it in time? Will the Caldera Custodians finish their task of clearing the slag off the bridges none the wiser? Will Rakhn be so distracted by Kendal that he forgets that he needs to make sure the Caldera Custodians’ supervisor has their cleaning supplies fully stocked and in order? Will Falst find a conveniently Ferin-sized disguise that also has a conveniently Crucible-shaped carrying case? Is it the winner of the daily Crokinole tourney that gets to wear the biggest hat that day?
Tune In This Week To Find Out!
Okay, looking at them, I think the volcano stretches even their tolerance for hazardous environments. I think its gas and particulate, they don’t seem well protected from splatter, so lava droplets probably aren’t a problem for them, but the respirator and goggles makes me think something in the air is damaging frequently enough to be standard outdoor gear.
Spider-Falst, Spider-Falst
does whatever a Ferin can
HE CAN HOLD ONTO GLASS!? :0 woaj
the worst case of nails on chalkboard and falst manages to hang from this quietly. a deft touch.