2.6.12
on January 21, 2026
at 3:00 am
writing erin and tess is like arguing with myself smeagol-style over whether Sleep Is Important or it’s better to Be Productive While The Productivity’s Good
Aurora
A fantasy webcomic. Updates M-W-F.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: excuse me I need to go make a scene
Image source: compromised
Tumblr text: it is wednesday my dudes
Bluesky text: reassembling the party one argument at a time
. âYouâve gotta be kidding me.â
. Tess stands in the entrance to a cave, holding aside the curtain of vines that blocks the opening from view. Dainix stands next to her with one of Falstâs arms slung over his shoulders. The Ferin is coughing slightly again, worn out from the trip down.
. âExcellent! Just the people I wanted to see!â
. âThe next time I say âlie down and restâ, should I just skip the disappointment and knock you out?â Tess asks, folding her arms as Dainix comes in, setting Falst down on the floor.
. âItâs a good thing you didnât. Iâve been making great progress,â Erin says. A couple bandages are stuck on his face, and more wrap around his lower arms, covering the tattoos except for the Fire and Water ones. He sits on the floor, a large circle of runes carved around him. More, larger runes are also carved across the floor, some of Erinâs experiments. Leaves and other supplies are scattered on the floor. âDainix, how are you feeling? No ill effects from the Void?â
. âIâm fine. But Falst needs healing.â
. âI told you, Iâmââ Falst starts.
. âIâm not worried about the scrapes, but he got a lungful of volcanic fumes,â Dainix continues. âIs there anything you can do?â
. âPoison gas is tricky even under the best of circumstances,â Erin says. âThe soul barrier can be stubborn when it comes to internal damage.â
. âPlus you canât do it anyway,â Tess says, walking by with an armful of long, grass-like leaves.
. âI was getting to that.â Erin raises one of his arms, frowning at it. âOur battle with the Paladin left my sealing tattoos damaged. All but two of my elemental links have been compromised. Weâve tested the limits, and I can still channel Fire and Water with relative safety, but anything else will be⌠unreliable.â
. âThat figures,â Falst mumbles. âIâll be fine once I cough it all outââ
. âI see,â Dainix says, standing up. He takes a step forward, glaring down at Erin. âYou pushed for this reckless plan because you let your fear drive you. And now you canât even help us get out.â
Get it all out, Dainix đ
Also, I passed my midterms! I got really high on both Latin and Math. Those were the only ones I had. So yay!
Time to re-hash everything Tess and Erin talked about after she subdued the Void Dragon, I guess.
Come for the epic fantasy, stay for the “how dare you call me out for arguing with myself when I finally get my brain to do *anything*.” XD
Okay, so Erin is not completely out of the game, but he’s still barely able to cast because of the overchannel. I sure hope that they still have the Bag of Holding, but it’s starting to seem like that got left behind on the LS Deathtrap along with most if not all of Dainix’s gear.
Dainix meanwhile has had A Day and just about had it so all of the EmotionsTM are boiling out. Gonna love seeing the callout come Friday.
Seems like the Ruunasibs relocated from the initial cave, because this one is facing the island and not the ocean. I can’t read Erin’s chicken scratch for shit, but I’d bet money on the rune sequence around him be the one from 2.4.20, i.e. “SEAL REPEL ENERGY TURN AWAY”.
I’m also hoping on the Bag of Holding…Erin’s bandages had to come from somewhere, didn’t they? Unless he actually just carries a mini-first aid kit which…wouldn’t surprise me, actually.
(apologies if this posts twice…)
I am also hopeful the Bag of Holding made it off the boat…Erin’s bandages had to come from somewhere, didn’t they? Unless he just keeps a mini-first aid kit on his person which…wouldn’t surprise me, actually.
If you are worried your post won’t get through: copy it before you post, paste it into the message box and resubmit. The system will tell you if the message went through and block the duplicate.
On a more comic-related note, I seem to recall the bag of holding was one of the things Tess specifically gathered before blasting off
Im glad something survived. All that packing and prepâthe weapons, the snow gear, the rationsâall gone.
I went back and checked. I don’t see the bag. I also don’t see any trace of it in the first cave. It’s just Erin lying on the tattered remains of his cloak.
Perhaps Alinua will find it on her way back to the surface?
Alt Text: “excuse me I need to go make a scene”
Oh great, my two favourites are fighting.
ah it’s actually going to kill meee
The one good thing about working the late shift in the time zone I’m in is that I get to see the new stuff right away when I’m done work.âşď¸
They already have a safe replacement for the boat thanks to Alinua getting the Wyrmâs favor for safe travel through her territory, so that part is already sorted out, but it is very interesting to see Dainix angry at an ally.
I’ve loved seeing how Dainix and Falst tell each other how much they care without ever actually saying it hahah :’/ I don’t remember seeing Dainix actually angry and I’m Really eager to see how something this uncharacteristic plays out lol
This is a direct callback to 2.2.5, where Dainix realizes that Erin thinks he’s in charge and the rest of the team is ok with him thinking that. It’s time for Erin to pay the piper.
Oh my goodness, thatâs so relatable! Sometimes I get stuck in that exact loop, trying to balance everything.
Hey Erin, I think you got Dainix boyfriend hurt.
You are fireproof, right?
no, just really stubborn
Can anyone kindly remind me which âreckless planâ specifically we are referring to here? Itâs been a while since the gangâs all been together and there have been just so many âreckless plansâ you start to lose track.
He’s talking about taking the boat so close to storm season and with the party still not fully recovered from fighting Tynan. I think it’s been like a week since Zuurith in world.
The thing is, while the idea to go out at this time of year was Erin’s fault, he can’t be blamed for the Paladin attack can he? I’m on Erin’s side in this.
No one expects the Light Dragon Inquisition! Yeah, he knew they out there, but damn that was fast.
Right, like to be fair to Erin, as much as I hate to be fair to Erin, his crazy plan fell apart after a surprise paladin attack a volcanic eruption and an errant sea goddess. Honestly planning for anything more than that would’ve been paranoid.
Welcome to the wonderful world of ~~nuance~~!
Yes, the paladin attack is a problem that Erin could not have anticipated, and Tam and the Light Dragon (at least) shares some of the blame here. But the attack would not have happened in the first place without the magus beacon Erin put up in the middle of that storm, which would not have happened in turn if Erin had just cooled his darn jets and not gone out on an experimental boat in the middle of storm season!
Ahem.
So, yes, he can be blamed for the Paladin attack, but so can Tam (for running fast enough to catch up) and the Light Dragon (for taking an active part in the proceedings). Both things can be true at once
Yup.
If they had stayed at port and the paladins caught up to them there, would you blame whoever said to stay at port? If anything, based on what they knew, it made more sense to start crossing the ocean as soon as possible because they knew the paladins at zuurith knew about Erin and couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t be chased after.
Sometimes you make the best possible choice based on information you have and it still goes wrong. That is life, not recklessness.
I feel that subtext right now, but for anti-productivity.
Just be glad you’re in good company Falst; other people would see you coughing and make a hairball joke.
Good news: Fire-Water is a nice contrast of powers for different situations; the water will be useful here on the ocean and the fire for offensive purposes (we must remember Dainix is still a relative novice). It’s also good that the pair isn’t Lighting-Life, as we already have two experts in those fields; diversity will be key with so many different enemies they face.
Bad news: contrasting elements do not lean well into combining, which is a fundamental part of Erin’s more impressive feats. It’s also bad that it’s not Stone-Wind, two elements no-one else has; without wind, that communication spell they use for tracking is gone, and without stone they can’t easily make shelter (plus Erin won’t be able to overpower Shrike’s magic).
It was only a matter of time before Dainix’s concerns from 2-2-5 crept back after everything that’s happened. However, while @Shiny thinks it’ll be like Tess’s rant before, I’m thinking it’ll be less emotional and more practical; Dainix is pissed about everything that happened, but it taking out his anger on Erin really what he’d do?
I think this is the moment he hammers home, to not just Erin but Tess and Falst too, that their current decision making and fighting styles, where everyone more or less does their own thing, will no longer cut it. With their power diminished, and facing a large, organised, and disciplined enemy, teamwork and rational discussions will now have to be the norm.
Honestly, this isa conversation that’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait to see it play out. Dainix has been so patient with this team so far, but as much as I love the Floof Squad, they are Dysfunctional with a capital D. It’ll be interesting to finally see him vent some anger instead of being the constant voice of reason.
I would love it if they laid out some sort of actual decision making structure with Dainix in a Leadership or even Tactician role. It’s so common in these types of stories for the “Main Character” or “Main Questline” to assume authority, and for the relevant character to just conveniently grow into the LEader they need to be, but that’s not necessarily realistic or even possible for someone like Erin.
Although I do think some of Dainix’s anger with Erin might be coming from a place of “Falst went into that volcano for me, it’s my fault too”, which isn’t true at all, but SOME of this can be traced back to Erin.
I mean, the “main character” remains Kendal, who pretty much does end up in a leadership role all the time purely on the strength of being both the guy who actually solves problems and the guy who everyone in the team actually listens to. He’s not great at it because he’s bad at actually relying on others, but he ends up leading even when he doesn’t intend to anyway simply because people are ready to follow him.
Erin can’t be leader because for one the longer this comic goes on the more I have a strong feeling nobody except Tess actually *likes* Erin, much less actually trusts any of his ideas (and I mean, I don’t think he’s had a plan that worked yet, the lack of trust is reasonable), and for another he’s every bit as bad as Kendal about relying on others, if not worse!
I mean, I don’t think in general *anyone* has had a plan which worked 100%, right? That’s just how the storytelling goes. All in all, for a plan to fail because of two whole unforeseeable events (avatar of a light primordial no one knew existed, mutated god no one knew existed) is pretty reasonable.
While I agree that Kendal is the Main Character, and narratively functions as the ‘Leader’ archetype, I wouldn’t say he leads by making decisions for the group, not the way I’m referring to. What I’m referring to is what Erin is trying and failing to do: control the group’s activities according to a particular agenda.
Kendal ‘leads’ by acting and inspiring others to act as well. Erin ‘leads’ by persuading others to do as he says. There are other forms of leadership, and I’m hopeful we might see some of this from Dainix going forward, especially considering his depth of practical knowledge as opposed to Erin’s academic theory.
In D&D terms, the Wizard is super knowledgeable about History and Arcana, but when you’re stranded on a volcanic island searching for your missing party members, the Ranger is the one who handles the Nature and Survival checks.
Kendal ‘leads’ by seeing what he thinks is the best plan and doing it, sometimes without notifying anyone else (going off alone at night in Gleicann’s forest 1.9.14, fighting Tynan 1.17.7…). He’s also content with letting Erin think he’s in charge, and Kendal just does what he deems best and lets Erin play catch-up.
Erin ‘leads’ by insisting he has everything handled, and refused to listen to Alinua and Dainix’s worries when they were in Argist. The boat was in trouble even before Tam showed up (and I’m very interested in Dainix and Erin’s discussion/argument/fight about it).
Neither of these strategies is effective leadership, and I can’t wait for Dainix to explain how working together works.
SoooâŚâŚKendal is an archetypal paragon of inspiration?
Good point, Dainix is the only one with experience being on a team. Does that make him the Captain America of the group?
Does that make Erin Tony Stark? Is Tess Thor? Alinua Hulk? Kendal Bucky? I have Questions
Well, he is in a cave with a box of scraps, essentially.
MY BOY IS BACKKKK FINALLY I MISSED HIM JQUSHAGSHA SHSAAUGAAHH
ME TOO!!!
Dainix, we all agree Erin needs some sanity scared into him.
But are you absolutely sure this is the right time?
now it may be the only time!
A Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End reference? Do my eyes deceive me?
But seriously, I agree. I know many people are questioning whether this is the best time, but frankly, it can’t wait any longer. Dainix is right to question Erin’s leadership, especially since people seem to think there isn’t a leader at all. How is he supposed to trust that the guy who got them into the mess through bad decision-making is suddenly going to get them out of it though good decision-making?
Plus, Dainix is the only guy here who isn’t a “Lone Ranger” type personality. He isn’t One-In-A-Million-Magus, the Electric-Free-Spirit, the Self-Imposed-Exile, the Catlike-Outcast, or even the Demigod-Hero. He’s literally the Guy-Who-Works-In-A-Squad and he probably knows more about teamwork and leadership than everyone else in the Floof Squad combined. I am so excited to see him challenge the dysfunctional power structure this rag-tag bunch has managed to coast by on so far. I fucking love this guy.
Dainix noooo leave my boi alone he’s going through it
And he will going through it until morale improves!
The epic “my hair and cape is starting to move and rise in an invisible wind” is a good look on Dainix! Pass the champagne and strawberries, this will be good.
HE’S HAVING AN ASHITAKA MOMENT SOMEONE HOLD ME
*holds* I cannot wait for the lecture Erin’s about to get, I hope it is very much Ashitaka-like.
*passes champagne and strawberries* Oooh yesss.
I read this with the same tone of voice as “my hunger blinded me and forced me to behave like an animal…”
(Twisted, StarKid)
oh gosh damn me itâs dainix
oh gosh darn me it’s Falst
oh gosh damn me it’s Tess
Oh gosh darn me itâs Erin
erin is also here.
I love how Dainix is so used to Falstâs âI donât need healing I can handle it Iâm fineâ lancer nonsense that heâs just. fully ignoring his protests. he knows Falst well enough (and thereâs enough unspoken trust between them) that he knows what boundaries he can push safely and how far! heâs protecting Falst as best he can AND FALST IS LETTING HIM!! I just. man I love them.
also. the thing about dainix picking now to snap at him is like. dainix is right. erin *has* been reckless and it’s gotten most of them hurt and it’s separated the party and now erin (once again directly due to his own stupidly self-confident decisions) isn’t even able to help fix things. dainix is right but this is also… not the best time? like yeah erin should have been yelled at like two chapters ago (and three chapters ago and four chapters ago and five chapters ago and) but they have higher priorities right now. the actually tactical, leaderly thing to do would be to go “okay. damn. erin sit your ass down and heal up already so you can help fix this mess. tess and I are gonna look for kendal and alinua, and then we can all make a plan re: getting off this island.” but dainix is *also* having a Really Bad Day! he got turned into a rock for a whole entire chapter! and one of the reasons he’s being so adamant about falst getting fixed up is probably because he blames himself for falst having to go into the volcano to save him! and he’s trying so hard to be calm and rational and make sure falst’s okay and figure out what’s going on! but of course he snaps at Erin, because it is still largely erin’s fault, and dainix is (despite it all) still hugely strugglingly with how to handle his anger and prioritize emotional resolution vs. practical work. god I love him. it’s such a Situation.
Ah, yes. Dainix has been so emotionally intelligent so far that it’s difficult to remember that this is the same guy whose rage and pain and guilt was literally burning himself from the inside out not long ago.
Oh. Ooooh man. Considering the toll of this no good horrible very bad day and all the despair he just had to bottle, along with his reluctance to follow the boat plan in the first place, I can understand Dainix reaching his limit and snapping at Erin. He’s also, of course, worried sick about Falst. And now he just found out he cannot get Falst the heal he’d been banking on.
But Erin is very much trying to problem solve and fix things, and the apocalyptic threat in his soul is, likewise, an understandable reason for attempting the reckless plan. So I feel for Erin, too, and snapping at him isn’t going to resolve⌠*gestures in the general direction of this arc* all of this.
âyou just gestured to all of me!â
but yeah I definitely see where both of them are coming from (especially Dainix) and itâs gonna be interesting to see how it goes down! not that Iâm rooting for conflict of course, but with everything going on Iâm glad people are starting to talk about it all. Iâm even wondering if Falst will step in to tell Dainix to take a breather and defend Erin for not being able to heal him, that would definitely be an interesting role reversal!
Erin downgraded from Avatar on steroids to “A Song of Ice and Fire”.
Just to point out the sheer amount of DETAIL Red puts into this, background of panel two there’s a rock formation that looks like it was a small lava flow that cooled. I don’t know why, but I really like that.
Thank you for commenting this, it IS a nice lava flow rock that I would have otherwise missed!
Bro woke up from being an egg and chose VIOLENCE
actually i think he stopped being an egg when he was a kid đłď¸ââ§ď¸
I wish I could upvote both of these comments
You’re gonna have to make do with extending the chain. I’ll help!
You tell him, Dainix!
im very excited to see some water magic be important
damn, dainix got hands! heâs normally so calm and empathetic its interesting to see him be confrontational
ooooooo angry boyfriend dainix
OH SHOOT THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING!
Quick, whereâs the popcorn-
Ok, I have a Theory:
We know that VD and LD are mirrors of each other, both because of their similar appearances/power sets/speach patterns, but also because both of them mentioned it.
We know that Tam is LDâs champion and Erin is something of a mirror to him.
When Erin is in control, he has normal human eyes, but when VD takes control, they flip to reptilian with black scelera.
When Tam is in control, he has reptilian eyes with black scelera, and when LD is in control, he has pure glowing white eyes.
LD mentioned that VD would essentially eat away at Erinâs sense of self/gradually fully take control of him.
Conclusion: is LD controlling Tam all the time? Has she eaten away at his will? Is it just a consequence of being the Light Champion for so long?
I don’t think LD is always fully in control of Tam the way VD is when Erin’s eyes go black and gold, he seems to have freedom of choice and movement that Erin doesn’t when possessed (2.3.25 Tam seems to be the one making the decision, not LD). Tam’s eyes are probably from being Her Champion for so long.
Though I’m now wondering where She is, since He’s in the adamant prison at the middle of the planet…
So… I wonder if Dainix is still a little keyed up because he just got a MAJOR infusion of Fire Element, and Fire Element is also supposed to influence passion and sense of justice as metaphorically linked to fire.
Not that he’s wrong about anything, just the way he’s going in to this. Plus, that eye looks a little EXTRA glow-y.
Oh I like this, Tess is his sister so Erin can feel comfortable with doing dumb things. Erin now has to deal with consequences of his recklessness and unlike his sealing tattoos. Interparty dynamics aren’t easily fixed and now is when we see the party develop an actual leader. Or Aliuna shows up and does her “heart” of the team role. Or she fixes Erin’s sealing tattoos, maybe.
“Just the people I wanted to see!” says Erin, like he’s conducting a meeting and not sitting covered in bandages in a cave with a magic circle so he doesn’t accidentally barbeque himself. Again.
Although he certainly looks a little less wrecked than when we last saw him, so he must have gotten SOME rest.
I definitely understand where Dainix is coming from…but unfortunately, history has shown that criticism seems to push Erin into doing progressively more dangerous things to prove himself…
Oh gosh darn me it’s Tess
This was meant to be a reply to the chain
Ooooookay Dainix I love you with my heart but chill a little. Try some perspective taking
Oh boy this is gonna be interesting on Friday. Dainix has experienced the least amount of time since the Boat Fiasco, so it’s possibly fresher in his memory than anyone else’s, and he had a pretty bad time DURING the Boat Fiasco, and now he’s just had a pretty bad I’d say three or so hours since sleeping like a literal rock, so I fully understand why he’s a bit pissed at Erin. But also, I think he’s just really upset. Look at his face in that last panel, he’s angry, yes, but he also looks pretty miserable to me, because he’s really just been through the whole wringer and I think he’ll use verbally confronting Erin as an outlet for all of that. I don’t think he’ll try to beat Erin’s ass unless Erin says something REALLY stupid, but if that does happen, Tess will probably step in and help Dainix get his emotions out in one way or another. How Erin reacts will also be interesting because I see him reacting guiltily, defensively, or some odd combination of the two. If Dainix goes far enough with the call out (Red has mentioned that he’s used to everyone around him already kinda understanding how everyone’s feeling so he probably won’t hold anything back for the sake of Erin’s emotionally privacy), I can absolutely see Erin getting very defensive over the simple fact that someone figured out he’s actually just a terrified little nerd.
Or I’m imagining things, that’s also possible-
Dainix, I know you’re angry, but “World-ending threat damaged my ability to heal someone to the point that I would probably kill all four of us horrifically if I tried to” is a pretty reasonable excuse
Dainix has more to complain about than that, methinks. Erin rushed into a dangerous journey with an injured team. That alone is reason to be upset, but I think Dainix is more angry about the way he mislead everyone into thinking “It’ll be fine! Nothing can go wrong with me around!”
So yeah, I love Erin. I love Dainix. But the only thing I love MORE than Dainix is Erin getting a reality check.
Oh SHIT he mad!!
I mean, we’ve seen him being angry before, but he’s never actually *expressed* it. First time was desperately trying to fight Kendal, second time was him blowing out his anger before collar-grabbing Caliban. Both times, he was frustrated and angry, yes, but he didn’t act in anger. I’m pretty sure this outburst is 2 arcs’ worth of pent-up frustration boiling over because Falst can’t be healed.
I feel bad for Erin right now. But he does need to hear this. It’s one thing to constantly be berated by Falst. It’s another to be confronted by people who don’t normally get mad at him. Like Kendal. Or in this case Dainix.
Dainex is still mad! GET EM DAINEX!
But seriously Erin we got to siphon off some of that hubris.
Is Dainix gonna lecture Erin! This really cements him as the grown-up of the group.
I know Falst is just being stubborn and out of all of them only Falst knows anything about the magic scarf that’s supposed to have kept him safe but considering he got it from Caliban I’m surprised he trusts it enough to not want any sort of healing.
It’s nice to see Tess and Erin interactions again it’s what I missed.
Falst briefly removed the scarf while in the volcanic crater to ‘web-sling’ over lava. In doing so, he immediately began inhaling volcanic fumes, which remained in his lungs even after re-donning the scarf.
Wait so did they move to a different cave or are those plants the result of Erin “testing the limits”?
Oh my golly me it’s Tess
dainix was out of commission for most of the Festival of Everybody Yells At The Elemental Magus so he has to celebrate a little late i guess
Unhappy Belated FoEYatEM!
YEA DANIX GIVE THAT EDGELORD (affectionate) A PIECE OF YOUR MIND
This cave looks like it might be at least partially man-made, maybe an abandoned ignan cave?
Oh no. Dainix is angry. The whole squad has been through so much.
On a nerdier note, since Erinâs back, I recently read Frankenstein in full and I realized that most of the stuff going on with the Ruunassers is either a twist on or a dig at Frankenstein! Specifically the Frankenstein family. Erinâs litany of similarities to Vicky âHubrisâ Frankenstein needs no introduction, and Tessâs backstory seems like a brutally honest take on Elizabethâs situation, not to draw any false equivalencies. And yes I know Iâm super late to this.
ERIN MAH BOI!!