. Caturus glances back as a current swirls past him — then his eyes widen, realizing something as the current strengthens, a noise whistling in his ears.
. “CAPTAIN!” he shouts.
. “Hold, Caturus!” Valia calls back. “Your orders–!”
. “The waters!” Alinua stops, eyes widening, as Caturus continues, “They’re still HERS!”
. The Wyrm writhes, ice shattering, as a powerful current howls up from the depths, sending mermaids and Sekrai alike flying upward.
. The blue mermaid twists, trying to avoid the chunks of ice, losing their grip on their spear. Caturus’s ice threads snap, sending splinters of ice exploding outward. Alinua and the Captain are flung back, Alinua’s eyes squinted shut as she tries to block her face. Valia’s head snaps back as a chunk of ice glances off her helmet.
Ooooookaaay, so the Wyrm is still in there? Maybe?
I’m assuming Valia has been knocked out by that. Maybe now they’ll try Alinua or Caturus’s strategy – trying to get more information – now that Valia isn’t there commanding them to kill the Wyrm?
So why didn’t she do that before? Is she too weak to control the water Caturus is already manipulating, but not the existing ocean around her? Was she just not locking in until she noticed Alinua moments away from blowing up her neck with no other way to escape?
It could be that her mind is a bit addled by everything, so she didn’t react very quickly? Or if her soul is damaged in some way, it might be hard for her to control the currents
A *bit* addled? She just sent a bunch of her own people careening through the water with a high likelihood of them getting grievously injured or killed. And the whole inciting incident for this chapter is that the Wyrm has been rampaging through her domain causing wonton destruction as a result of whatever the Collector did to her. The Wyrm must be inconsolably mad at best, and *hopefully,* freeing her from this body will help her into a consolable state. But judging by recent events, that’s going to be…an ordeal, if that’s still the plan.
…I wonder if the Collector’s magic could cause a zombie apocalypse scenario a la the Infection from Hollow Knight.
Doubt it, Collector has been shown to grow her chimeras herself and neither them nor the Wyrm have been shown to be able to “infect” others with Life so far. She would have to go to every individual lifeform on the planet and repeat whatever process she did for the Wyrm to cause anything remotely close to a zombie apocalypse, which I doubt would be remotely feasible even with her complete immortality.
The Chimeric Plague is a bit closer, but only the current carrier can transform others and, from my understanding, only once in a localized burst before dying themself. As well as void/cave corruption, but that would require the Void Dragon’s influence to extend beyond the Singing Caves somehow, or for the entire world to be struck by a serious famine or disease.
Alinua needs to heal the Wyrm now / destroy the incarnation in a way that frees the god. They are going to have to fight another god. Without the primordial + other god who helped last time.
Alinua: AHH! My eyes! Cold water rushing into my eyes is the worst!
Valia: Oh suck it up Wind-Blower! A bit of ice never hurt any- (chunk of said ice hits her)
Caturus: (wincing) Ouch. She’s gonna find a way to blame me for that.
I like the way the last three panels imply the movement of the people in the water; first Caturus and others farthest from the Wyrm, then a pause, then Alinua and the captain finally get there. The fifth panel is the most visually impressive, but the sequence of them blown away helps communicate the force of said panel.
Aha! So, the Northern Wyrm IS still inside that incarnation! That … makes the situation a lot harder and more complicated, but it does mean there’s hope Alinua can save the Wyrm. If she succeeds, and relays this story when she reunites with Kendal, it may give him more hope that he can do the same for Vash.
Trouble is, how does Alinua get to her? Restraining the Wyrm isn’t an option, and it’s seen Ali so probably wants to book it like it did before. Whatever she and the mer-people do, they need to do it quickly.
Valia had a few valid points in her speech with Alinua, albeit unintentional, about how fear shapes Alinua’s actions and outlook. However, bemoaning Alinua’s over-caution and want to confirm her suspicions was short-sighted; when dealing with a giant, rouge maybe-god, it’s better to be careful.
The Captain’s rush to deal with the Wyrm situation, ignoring Caturus’s suggestions and Alinua’s expertise, has now landed them in hot water. It’s up to the others now as, judging from that chunk of ice hitting Valia in the final panel, she could be out for a while.
Oh, interesting interpretation! I saw it as them getting sucked downward, not blown away. Based on the panel with Caturus, it seems like the waters are flowing downward (his hair), so I assumed the Wyrm was pulling away downward and then everyone was getting sucked into its slipstream. I think both interpretations could be argued for – part of the reasons why I love a good comment section is because you get to see other people’s views of the same thing!
The waters are still hers, huh? This seems like a hint that the Wyrm still in there somewhere. I wonder if Alinua getting so close with Life primed to strike triggered her to react out of instinctive desperation.
I did know that they weren’t closely related to true Eels, but I didn’t know what they *were* related to. Thank you for that new piece of knowledge!! 😀
Water Wyrm powers activate – form of freedom from freezing!
I wonder if those water powers were part of the original avatar – meaning all the avatars could channel magic if designed for it – or if this is a new addition from being Chimera.
Perhaps the Wyrm is reacting out of instinctive fear of Life magic? Not that she isn’t in there, but she’s in horrendous pain, trapped, unable to die and reincarnate…perhaps she remembers enough to know that Life magic did this?
Or…was Alinua right, and it really is a situation like Kendal’s, where a soul rushed in to fill the (small v) void?
Given that on the last page, in the panel focused on the Wyrm’s eyes, instead of pupils there appears to be a glowing gold mer-figure… Probably the first one?
Correction: predator of the abyss by yuri o works better. The phase 2 transition would go great here with the current kicking in at the drop. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c2dz7NBqmtM
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: captain, she called dibs! there’s nothing I can do!
Image source: waters
tumblr text: kind of a good news/bad news situation here
. Caturus glances back as a current swirls past him — then his eyes widen, realizing something as the current strengthens, a noise whistling in his ears.
. “CAPTAIN!” he shouts.
. “Hold, Caturus!” Valia calls back. “Your orders–!”
. “The waters!” Alinua stops, eyes widening, as Caturus continues, “They’re still HERS!”
. The Wyrm writhes, ice shattering, as a powerful current howls up from the depths, sending mermaids and Sekrai alike flying upward.
. The blue mermaid twists, trying to avoid the chunks of ice, losing their grip on their spear. Caturus’s ice threads snap, sending splinters of ice exploding outward. Alinua and the Captain are flung back, Alinua’s eyes squinted shut as she tries to block her face. Valia’s head snaps back as a chunk of ice glances off her helmet.
Ooooookaaay, so the Wyrm is still in there? Maybe?
I’m assuming Valia has been knocked out by that. Maybe now they’ll try Alinua or Caturus’s strategy – trying to get more information – now that Valia isn’t there commanding them to kill the Wyrm?
Bluesky text: big snek would like to lodge a complaint
Shoutout to Evil Tree for predicting this!
I think we were all predicting something would go wrong with Captain Valia’s plan.
I think your perception is sharper then most, if you don’t mind an old guy typing so (since text if different then speech).
restrained by a water mage?
just say no!
water cannot hold you without your consent.
disclaimer:thismaynotworkifyourenotawatergodformoreinformationspleaseconsulttheaurorawiki
This. Best comment, hands down
I wish there was a like button
We need to petition Red for like buttons
I’m glad it probably won’t be dying.
Seconded
Thirded! This comment is #1 on this page
So she IS still in there… that’s not good. I mean, it’s good for her cause she’s not dead, but not good for saving the merpeople.
So she’s *still* in there! The collector might’ve gotten to her before she got the soul cutting knife.
captain got knocked tf out lmaoo
If fighting a water mage underwater is terrifying, what is fighting a water GOD underwater?
Brief.
And violent I’d assume.
No no, it’s far to brief to be violent.
So why didn’t she do that before? Is she too weak to control the water Caturus is already manipulating, but not the existing ocean around her? Was she just not locking in until she noticed Alinua moments away from blowing up her neck with no other way to escape?
It could be that her mind is a bit addled by everything, so she didn’t react very quickly? Or if her soul is damaged in some way, it might be hard for her to control the currents
A *bit* addled? She just sent a bunch of her own people careening through the water with a high likelihood of them getting grievously injured or killed. And the whole inciting incident for this chapter is that the Wyrm has been rampaging through her domain causing wonton destruction as a result of whatever the Collector did to her. The Wyrm must be inconsolably mad at best, and *hopefully,* freeing her from this body will help her into a consolable state. But judging by recent events, that’s going to be…an ordeal, if that’s still the plan.
…I wonder if the Collector’s magic could cause a zombie apocalypse scenario a la the Infection from Hollow Knight.
Doubt it, Collector has been shown to grow her chimeras herself and neither them nor the Wyrm have been shown to be able to “infect” others with Life so far. She would have to go to every individual lifeform on the planet and repeat whatever process she did for the Wyrm to cause anything remotely close to a zombie apocalypse, which I doubt would be remotely feasible even with her complete immortality.
The Chimeric Plague is a bit closer, but only the current carrier can transform others and, from my understanding, only once in a localized burst before dying themself. As well as void/cave corruption, but that would require the Void Dragon’s influence to extend beyond the Singing Caves somehow, or for the entire world to be struck by a serious famine or disease.
Yes, ‘a bit’ was a massive understatement xD
Oh nooooooo
But seriously this is actually cool and good to know that the god may still be somewhat alive
I wonder what the implications of having a god chained in a mutated vessel are? I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough
Aurora Question #55: What are the immediate implications you can think of now that we know she’s still kicking around somewhere in there?
Alinua needs to heal the Wyrm now / destroy the incarnation in a way that frees the god. They are going to have to fight another god. Without the primordial + other god who helped last time.
Alinua: AHH! My eyes! Cold water rushing into my eyes is the worst!
Valia: Oh suck it up Wind-Blower! A bit of ice never hurt any- (chunk of said ice hits her)
Caturus: (wincing) Ouch. She’s gonna find a way to blame me for that.
I like the way the last three panels imply the movement of the people in the water; first Caturus and others farthest from the Wyrm, then a pause, then Alinua and the captain finally get there. The fifth panel is the most visually impressive, but the sequence of them blown away helps communicate the force of said panel.
Aha! So, the Northern Wyrm IS still inside that incarnation! That … makes the situation a lot harder and more complicated, but it does mean there’s hope Alinua can save the Wyrm. If she succeeds, and relays this story when she reunites with Kendal, it may give him more hope that he can do the same for Vash.
Trouble is, how does Alinua get to her? Restraining the Wyrm isn’t an option, and it’s seen Ali so probably wants to book it like it did before. Whatever she and the mer-people do, they need to do it quickly.
Valia had a few valid points in her speech with Alinua, albeit unintentional, about how fear shapes Alinua’s actions and outlook. However, bemoaning Alinua’s over-caution and want to confirm her suspicions was short-sighted; when dealing with a giant, rouge maybe-god, it’s better to be careful.
The Captain’s rush to deal with the Wyrm situation, ignoring Caturus’s suggestions and Alinua’s expertise, has now landed them in hot water. It’s up to the others now as, judging from that chunk of ice hitting Valia in the final panel, she could be out for a while.
With all that ice around, I doubt the water is very hot
Oh, interesting interpretation! I saw it as them getting sucked downward, not blown away. Based on the panel with Caturus, it seems like the waters are flowing downward (his hair), so I assumed the Wyrm was pulling away downward and then everyone was getting sucked into its slipstream. I think both interpretations could be argued for – part of the reasons why I love a good comment section is because you get to see other people’s views of the same thing!
The waters are still hers, huh? This seems like a hint that the Wyrm still in there somewhere. I wonder if Alinua getting so close with Life primed to strike triggered her to react out of instinctive desperation.
Did you know:
Electric eels are actually more closely related to carps and catfish than to other eels
I did know that they weren’t closely related to true Eels, but I didn’t know what they *were* related to. Thank you for that new piece of knowledge!! 😀
It seems the captain got hit pretty hard in the head in that last panel! Looks like it hurts! Hope she isn’t concussed…
This was meant to be its own comment
Maybe she should sleep on the problem.
Water Wyrm powers activate – form of freedom from freezing!
I wonder if those water powers were part of the original avatar – meaning all the avatars could channel magic if designed for it – or if this is a new addition from being Chimera.
Fight! Fight! Fight!!!!!!!
…bonk.
Perhaps the Wyrm is reacting out of instinctive fear of Life magic? Not that she isn’t in there, but she’s in horrendous pain, trapped, unable to die and reincarnate…perhaps she remembers enough to know that Life magic did this?
Or…was Alinua right, and it really is a situation like Kendal’s, where a soul rushed in to fill the (small v) void?
Given that on the last page, in the panel focused on the Wyrm’s eyes, instead of pupils there appears to be a glowing gold mer-figure… Probably the first one?
Even when getting knocked out, Valia continues to look cool. And looks are about the only cool thing about her so I guess she needs that.
…Did I just click the “random” button and it went to the same page? Interesting
Correction: predator of the abyss by yuri o works better. The phase 2 transition would go great here with the current kicking in at the drop.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c2dz7NBqmtM