2.6.23
on February 16, 2026
at 3:00 am
and the award for “most complicated pose that’s on-page for the smallest amount of time” goes to…
Aurora
A fantasy webcomic. Updates M-W-F.
and the award for “most complicated pose that’s on-page for the smallest amount of time” goes to…
oh golly me it’s dainix
oh golly me it’s erin
oh golly me it’s a dragon
(“One They Fear” starts playing in the background)
“Falst, a new friend has come to play!”
oh golly me it’s Falst
I hope so, because that music means a dragon is about to meet it’s maker a whole lot sooner then it intended.
Oh golly me it’s AN ENORMOUS FUCK YOU DRAGON
Ok, that is one of the greatest comments I have ever read, great callback 🙂
HOLY SHIT
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: hey what’s that thing
Image source: didnt
Tumblr text: ask me how long it took to get that pose right but don’t I’ll cry
Bluesky text: fight fight fight
Presumably Red is talking about panel 4, daaaaayum that’s some perspective applied to the humanoid body!
. “I got him! I–” the Paladin starts, stopping as Falst swings a leg around the spear. Then he snaps it straight, cracking the shaft in half.
. Falst leaps upright, a feral roar ripping from his throat as he whips the broken half of the spear at another Paladin. It cuts a scar in their helmet before the light dissipates, sending them stumbling backward. He lunges forward, lifting the Paladin up by the throat, claws poised to strike.
. “FALST!”
. The shout cuts through his rage, freezing him in place as he looks toward the sound, face caught between surprise and realization.
. Dainix is on one knee, hands gripping the stick-spear tightly as he uses it to support himself, Erin standing beside him. Dainix looks at Falst with, not fear, but something akin to it — anxiety, concern.
. Falst falters, arm lowering. “I didn’t–” he starts, voice barely audible in the fog.
. Behind him, a shape looms in the fog.
Why are expressions so complicated 😭
That’s not why I’m late, I wanted to wait till the next page to describe what that light shape was
bossfight in 3…
2…
1…
*boss music starts blasting*
Falst has gone ballistic, as he was in his right to. Good thing Dainix snapped him out of it. Problem is there’s a dragon incoming now. Though it doesn’t look like it’s the Stormdrake that Lucy possessed way back in the Chapter 6 interlude.
Oh there’s a dragon behind falst, that’s lovely
“She’s right behind me, isn’t she?”
Look out behind you!
Was that a “don’t kill that guy” name shout or a “BEHIND YOU!” name shout?
I vote both.
I say a “don’t kill that guy!” name shout followed by a “behind you!” intense stare.
I think it was a “behind you” name shout, but Falst misinterpreted it as a “don’t kill that guy name shout”. The misunderstanding there might be a problem.
I think it was probably a “don’t kill that guy” shout, just based on Falst’s response. Falst goes to say something over whipping around to look behind himself, and I’m sure he’s aware enough to know the difference between an “incoming!” and a “don’t kill them!” tone from Dainix.
I think it was a ‘don’t kill that guy, I’m fine’ shout
If you look, the dragon is like bracing to land on falst , you see it’s paws there
I don’t think it’s going to land on him… I think it’s about to snatch him up a la an owl snatching up a mouse (although with the caveat that unlike the owl, the dragon isn’t going to eat him.)
I agree so much!
Man I’m so glad it’s monday
If there ever was a moment for Tess to come back…
Seriously the amount of unpunched dragons on this island has to constitute some sort of divine birthday present for her
Behind you!
That is a NICE move Falst did there, to break the spear! I’m adding it to my “reasons to get even stronger legs” list!
Dainix: Falst! What have you done?! I could have used that spear!
Ooh, this is probably bringing back bad memories of Falst’s similar frenzy back in the dungeon arc; that one was down to his trauma around Cave Crawlers, but this one was more about desperation to protect his friends. I too, like Erin and Dainix, find it unsettling seeing Falst so animalistic in his assault.
Yep, that’s a dragon joining the fight. If they’re lucky, that’s the dragon that brought these guys here; if not and it’s a new one, then there’s a good chance it’s bringing fresh troops to the fight too. If they’re really, really unlucky, Erin could get knocked out, V.D. then takes over, and possesses it.
I was on holiday last week to a great location with lovely walks, but spotty internet so no real chances to comment; just as things were getting exciting too. To summarise my main thoughts:
2-6-21: Yeah, that was definitely a telepathic message sent by their Recten, similar to how the head archivist contacted Theia. Falst’s ability to hear it could be useful; he’s still not sold on his Light powers, but, as he tried on the boat, if he sees a practical use for these abilities, he’ll use it.
2-6-22: Wow, Dainix wasn’t kidding about wyrmsilk’s properties, even Erin is amazed. I can just imagine him thinking “Note to self: once things calm down, commission a wyrmsilk shirt from Dainix’s hometown, and be generous with the payment”. Meanwhile Falst wastes no time in taking out the boss first.
Prediction for next week (or rather, this week): It may be a longshot, but it would be so juicy if during this arc, Falst knocks off one of those Paladin’s helmets, especially one using Light magic at the time, and reveals … a Ferin. Falst discounted Dainix’s theory before because he thought Ferin can’t use magic, then he’s face to face with another Ferin, blatantly using the Paladin’s arts.
Ohh I think you’re right about remembering the dungeon-arc frenzy! I was wondering why Dainix’s speech bubble looked so jagged, but it makes sense if he’s thinking ‘oh no this is just like the last time, I gotta snap him out of it’. That and pain from the deforestation beam.
Wait. Waaaiiiit a minute. The mad Life Mage who was turning people into Ferin. Were they a rogue Paladin? I mean, was that a ploy, however misguided or without sanction, to eliminate the possibility of an elemental magus arising, to prevent Walter from taking a host? …WAIT AGAIN! Erin is the first elemental magus in centuries, and artificial to an extent at that…have the Paladins been keeping tabs somehow and killing all of the potential elemental maguses before they could arise!? …okay, that one’s a lot less…possible.
The idea being that a Paladin mad Life Mage would still allow Ferin to use Lucy’s magic specifically. It could also just be that the Dragons’ magic is just different from the Primordials’ somehow.
Funny you should say that, because I came up with a very similar theory a while back. At first I thought that the Ferin mage had some control over Void, but since the Light/Void connection has been more or less cemented now, I think Paladin magic would do just fine. A Paladin combing their Light powers with Life, either via their own power or a lacrima, could have been the key to making their mutations stable, persistent, and fertile.
I’m in agreement with you about their intent to eliminate, or at least reduce, the frequency of Elemental Maguses. Ferin will never replace mages entirely; the fringe groups of Ignans, Cloud Elves, Sekrai, etc will persist and keep their populations more or less to themselves. But one group of people I could see Ferin replacing are unadapted Humans, i.e. the only group able to produce Elemental Maguses.
I could totally see a Paladin, acting either by themselves or part of a radical faction in the order, creating this curse and spreading it in a misguided attempt to keep V.D. sealed.
An alternative theory I have is that the Ferin mage was an emissary of Lyssandra, the goddess of evolution, adaptation, and survival. That would fit with how the Ferin curse is so stable and passes on to successive generations, but this theory lacks a motive, and I would have thought that this explanation would be something mages in-universe would have already considered.
Oh no, Falst you spooked your boyfriend, this is much more important than the incoming dragon
erm he’s right behind me isnt me
Oh poor Falst. He thinks Dainix is scared of him when it’s actually the enormous f-you dragon flying in behind him!
help us punchy metal lady, you’re our only hope
The alt text was very handy today, I missed the looming silhouette at first.
ooh new friend!
I just love how most of us were thinking Falst would break the spear like he broke the Magic Migraine Spells and freak out the paladins.
Completely over looking the fact that the shaft is just a long wood stick that he can break much easier, lmao
No, behind you!
I love not being worried about potentially ominus figures in the background ^-^
Didn’t what?
Falst interpreted the shout as “Don’t kill anyone” and he started to protest that he didn’t. But it was actually “Look behind you”, and he’s missed it.
Red absolutely nailed that pose in panel three. Must have taken forever.
[I loathe and despise touch screens. Should have scrolled up to see why the commen I was typing vanished.]
The reckless get wrecked, as they say.
its surprisingly fun to wait so long between pages cause the theorizing and close analysis of each panel is fun as hecc. like at times i just zoom in super far to the point where its like, probably tooooo much.
The dragons fly low.
I think there is going to be pain.
Dainix is warning him, Falst thinks Dainix is concerned he killed a guy, falst buddy it’s ok but RUN.
What a fun bit of quick miscommunication! /gen.
Oh man a dragon is coming to fight our current trio. If only there was a party member known for fighting dragons who could teleport to their exact locations
I feel like Dainix (and maybe Erin?) are due a talk about how sometimes, when you’re this deep in the ****, and dealing with an opposition that isn’t looking to take prisoners, there are going to be situations where the “nice” doesn’t cut it. Not necessarily KILLING these guys, but they may need to be maimed to an extent that pursuing is just not an option.
It sucks. It really does. But if the alternative is FAILURE, well that means everyone they know and love is dead, including everyone in the party. Because this dragon does not seem to have the same consideration for the sanctity of life as they do.
“I got him! I got him! Guys look! I got him!”
-Generic paladin
Petition for all nondescript paladins to be named “Paul” until otherwise specified. Will this lead to confusion? – Yes, yes it will.
Pauladins.
Yes! Please let there be an army of Pauladins!
I know I say this all the time but Dainix looks SO pretty
I dont want to sound like Im saying a generic line from a 2000’s show but Falst you really should look behind you