. The Paladin’s leader, Lord Stefan, stands on Rakhn’s beach, the volcano casting an orange light to the twilight sky and the smoke coming from its peak. Dragons wheel in the air above him and land nearby on the sand. A nearby Paladin waves their arms, directing the dragons. Dozens of spellbirds fly through the air, groups of Paladins following them off the beach.
. “The spellbirds have only become more focused since we landed, my lord,” a Paladin holding a paper says from behind Stefan. “He is here.”
. “And the deployment?” Stefan asks, still facing the volcano.
. “Beginning the upward sweep as we speak. The squad Rectens have been ordered to report with Loquor Suressa every quarter-hour. The dragons will maintain aerial surveillance and provide support where necessary.”
. “The locals?”
. “No sign of them yet. It may still be too cold for them to intervene.”
. “Small mercies.”
. “We’re hoping the patrols will drive him up towards the caldera where our air supremacy will allow us to entirely enclose him,” The Paladin says. They hesitate, still looking at the paper. “Do you think it will be enough, my lord?”
. “Is it ever?” Stefan asks tiredly. “No Elemental Magus goes down without a fight.”
. “Then– perhaps if we waited for the Champion…?” the Paladin asks, looking up at Stefan.
. “If the Champion had followed the chain of command, he would still be hale and well enough to lend his strength in this crucial battle,” Stefan says coldly, hair and cloak billowing in a brisk wind as he turns to look at the Paladin. “He would not have alerted the Dark Avatar to our movements and given him time to prepare. And we would not be presently scrambling to sweep and besiege a volcanic fortress concealing the most powerful mage alive.
. “We are at war, Caled,” Stefan says, turning to stare back at the volcano. “We must be an army. There is nothing more damaging to an army than a hero.”
And we’re back! Dang Stefan, giving some fire lines! I wonder if Tam will come back? After Erin blows the Caves open, he could rush in again despite being injured and accidentally ruin things for the Paladins again. Who knows.
I wonder if we’ll learn more about Falst’s Light magic in this chapter? Or Light magic in general? ‘Loquor Suressa’ – seems like it would be a telepathy spell. Theorists go! Lol
Also @Astraeterna, I’m nabbing your guess on what the Paladin’s doing, as that seems to make the most sense and like what the heck are they doing if not that lol
Since it’s the start of a chapter, I’m going to put the link to the document I write these on. Just remove the spaces. I have tried linking it to my name, but the comment just never shows up. It also doesn’t show up if I don’t put the spaces in (hopefully this works haha, it’s finnicky). If someone has an idea on how to link it, that would be appreciated.
docs.go ogle.co m/documen t/d/1R6QfH iMxjW6Opd E-pyc17Z B026iCy7JoUDP KUJvSSzo/ed it?tab =t.0
In the chapter cover Falst is mostly obscured, but you can kind of see his hand covering his face. Maybe that’s because of the stab wound, but it would be really exciting to find out more about his connection
Wait, how many other elemental magnuses have they fought and brought down? And before they even knew about the dark dragon/ went into the storm & got possessed?? Thses guys have just been fighting/killing elemental magnuses before they’ve even done anything bad, just in case?
Lol fantastic comment! But nah, I don’t think that’s it – I think it’s just a well known fact that elemental maguses are extremely powerful and therefore difficult to take down without a flight. Hilarious concept though. You made me wonder if maybe the light dragon and the paladins Did know the whole time that the dark dragon would need to possess an elemental magus?? But, if they knew and understood that, one would be much more surprised to find that they weren’t actively keeping close tabs on every single elemental magus and (knowing what we found out at “the library”), the paladins would DEFINITELY be keeping tabs on anyone attempting to enter The Storm.
Overall, very interesting concept and I appreciate the thought! I don’t think(?) it means anything though X)
as far as we know erin is the second elemental magus in the aurora world, we dont know what happened to its predecessor but i doubt the paladins have the power and influence to simply erase other elemental maguses from history
I wonder if they were aware that an Elemental Magus could release the Void Dragon. Maybe not the exact mechanism, but that it could be done. It might well be that they’ve slain many Elemental Magi before they could make a name for themselves. Erin’s status as the child of diplomat probably meant they couldn’t just assassinate him before he gained a degree of notoreity.
I have to imagine The Lady knows why VD needs a Magus. When we first saw her (she possessed the Storm Drake that Tess was fighting), she seemed to instantly know that VD had taken an Avatar and communicated it to Tam immediately. “The trap is sprung.” Given eternity to figure it out, it’s clear that there was only one person the Storm could have been a trap for: someone who could control all six elements.
There have been elemental magi throughout the ages, it’s a matter of sheer probability. There’s an elemental magus born around every century and Erin is just the latest one.
I doubt they’ve taken out all or even most of them tbh. They’re very likely aware the dark avatar would have to be one so it’s entirely possible they’ve created trouble for one or even potentially taken one out before, but the fact that Erin was able to reach and enter The Storm without incident, was able to more or less /walk into the paladin archives/ not hiding his identity (though looking back it’s ambiguous if Theia realized he was The Elemental Magus), and that he indicated that no Elemental Magus has ever attempted entry to The Storm before, tell me it probably isn’t their biggest priority.
Given how the Lady of Light detected the newest avatar of the Void Dragon (Erin) by her own senses and that the prior Elemental Magus lived a long life without mention clashing with the church of the Paladins I assume that prior Avatars of the Dragon showed up either far from this continent or in the distant past (both?) and not recorded in recent history this continent and the Paladins were only known to rescue people from the Singing Caves locally. This implies other Elemental Magi triggered different traps but this is just my guess. This is Red’s story to tell.
No-one at the paladin archive in zuurith seemed at all bothered by Erin being an elemental magus before Theia saw him literally channeling void dragon magic. This would suggest to me that they don’t have a problem with elemental magi who aren’t possessed by the world-ending dragon, and so they wouldn’t have a reason to systematically target them. I think its probably more just a case of elemental magi being really famous and people hearing about their battles/deaths. I wouldn’t put it past a rogue/extremist paladin to have taken things into their own hands at *some* point, though.
I remember noting that during the archive visits, Erin doesn’t actually give his name nor his occupation; when Theia goes by the embassy building later, she asks for Erin by calling him ‘the Aseran Ambassador’.
Erin was savvy enough not to give away any details about himself at Paladin HQ beyond being affiliated with Asera.
So, someone just asked Red this question on Tumblr, and her response was: “Only an Elemental Magus can unseal the prison containing their greatest enemy.” In other words, it would seem that (at least certain branches of) the Paladins have a kill-on-sight rule for Elemental Magi, regardless of whether or not they are already possessed by Walter. You know, in case the Paladins weren’t already morally grey enough.
Driving Erin towards the caldera and flying your dragons above the volcano to encircle him is definitely a good plan. No way this will backfire.
I also enjoy the use of the specific term “air supremacy”, implying that some faction (and possibly the Paladins) has fought against an enemy air force long enough to invent it. I wonder what that was like.
I’m so happy this is back! Also I just need to very calmly mention that I’m extremely excited bc it’s now 29 days until volume 2 comes out in print and I can’t wait (happy bawl)
The statement “absence makes the heart grow fonder” never really feels as deep as it does when this comic comes back after a hiatus…. (It’s a little embarrassing, don’t tell my beloved or my friends ;D hahahah)
Tess: That’s a LOT of spellbirds. C’mon Erin! Don’t celebrity types like you want hundreds of people all calling your name? Erin: (dryly) Yes, maybe they’ll want me to sign their spears before they stab me with them.
A pretty good plan to use their superior numbers, tracking spells, and telepathic communication to encircle, drive, and corner the gang on the mountain peak. But Erin is smart, has allies like Dainix who may already be suspecting this tactic, and still has that cave-distraction plan to divert the Paladins elsewhere.
Stefan is worried about the locals, eh? That could be caution about bringing an army unannounced to Ignan territory, a people known to be great warriors and mages. Or maybe he’s savvy to those Paladin texts mentioning fiery beings fighting V.D. possessed dragons, especially after Tam fought Dainix on the boat.
Stefan hasn’t mentioned Rakhn yet. Are they assuming/hoping he won’t intervene, or have they got a plan to distract the resident god?
So Tam messed up what could have been a much simpler operation into a rushed and potentially costly ground assault. Acting by himself, both confident in his power and steadfast in his belief that it was his problem, rushed headfirst into said problem, got shown up for his hubris, and is currently worse for wear.
Yep. He is THE Erin parallel character, letting pride and fear dictate his actions. Erin has apologised for his screw-ups and has vowed to do better; will Tam do the same, or double down?
Until and unless the Rakhnans are involved, I think Rakhn will just sit at the top of the caldera with popcorn.
As for Tam, yeah. He Leeroy’d into a 1v6 with predictable results. He earned that Anakin label. And, unlike Erin, I think he’ll double down, at least at first.
I don’t know, man. He gets into fights with Winter and the Ocean for simply existing near him. I somehow don’t think he’d take too kindly to an actual army invading his domain.
You know it’s a good narrative parallel when BOTH sides are annoyed by the person who pushed ahead on their own and dragged everyone to a godforsaken volcanic island in the middle of nowhere.
It looks fluffy! A wind dragon perchance?
So far the ones we’ve seen are a Stormdrake, Burrower Wyrm and a Fire dragon. If the pattern continues and they’re all based on elements, i really really want to see what a life dragon looks like.
Im pretty sure Red has talked about how dragons work in Aurora, there are also prismatic dragons etc, but I don’t know the details. Maybe someone more educated in the worldbuilding could help 🙂
If you’re talking about the dragon with four feathery wings, then I’m 90% certain that it’s a Stormdrake like the one that Tess fought way back in the comic (the one that the light dragon possessed to go warn the paladins)!
Excuse me my Lord Steffan if you have a problem with the Champion’s actions please take it up with your Lady, it was her idea. Don’t blame my boy Tam for this he has done nothing wrong ever
I get the vibe that Steffan is a very tired and competent manager, trying to run the show despite the best efforts of the owner and her favorite nepo baby.
Wait he IS like an off-brand Dalinar lol
Now I want to compare everyone else to Stormlight characters… Kendal as Kaladin, definitely. Maybe Erin as part Navani, with the scholar-ing? Dainix would be Szeth, or maybe Adolin. I don’t know about everyone else, obviously not like 100% comparisons but some of them are similar
Wait Tess and Lift, I can 100% see them making chaos together
Also, happy to find another Brando Sando fan haha
It’s one of those words you see misspelled so often you start to wonder if the correct spelling changed lately. (spoiler: “besiege” is still correct – while I lean towards descriptivist language rules, there *are* still lots of people who actually spell it correctly.)
I’m sorry, WHAT is Unnamed Mook in the right side of panel 1 doing XD
(And also, I do not like the implication that the Paladins have been eliminating Elemental Magi (Maguses?) they have encounter on the off chance one was dumb enough to walk headfirst into the Storm…Or perhaps he’s just known a few. Still…)
When i first looked i thought he was frolicking around the beach and went “lock in bro” but then i looked again and i thought what if he’s directing the dragons like they’re landing planes
Yeahhhh I picked up on that possible implication too. It would make sense if they’ve gone after Elemental Magi before, given their unique potential to release the Void Dragon. Hmmm.
As for Unnamed Mook: who knows? Maybe panicking? xD
To be fair, Sir, if the Champion hadn’t confronted Erin when he did, he wouldn’t have gotten you Erin’s name, and you wouldn’t be able to track him in the first place, so let’s check that attitude. Tam, I don’t like you either, but I like the General of the ‘Evil Empire’ even less.
That said, I am excited to see the ‘organised military’ villains in action. Done well, an army of faceless goons is a pretty good antagonist, especially when we get these glimpses of characters inside the system, and a very different one to what we’ve seen so far from Aurora. I’m just staggered by how many Paladins are here, but I suppose it makes sense. An army that can transcend language can recruit from anywhere in the world. They could have called people from all over the planet to make this force, but what’s more intimidating is that they might not have had to. If this is the forces they have at their disposal for an away mission, I can only imagine what the Snowfast must be like.
In fairness, the band of scrappy heroes also has pretty good logistics. Imagine how big an army you could feed just by having Alinua grow some blue melons twice a day.
Ok wait. Both Tam and Stefan can hear the voice of their Lady. Both are acting on their orders. The fact that apparently Tam was going against Stefans wishes by getting his face battered on the ship… Does that imply that the paladins have agency and will still receive their Ladys cooperation/blessing even if they are serving her in conflicting ways?
A minor lore aspect of DnD 4th edition was about how they set it up that Clerics, Paladins, and other types of divine casters basically got fundamentally altered in the process of becoming, and that they can’t really lose that divine connection. And all the Oaths and Tenets of the various orders was entirely SOCIALLY enforced, but some orders kept these details under wraps because they wanted to keep people from going rogue.
It’d be interesting if the dragon giving the gift of power was just a single event, not an ongoing one, so that’s why they have to be so choosy with who gets the power. Because they don’t actually have a method of just taking the power BACK, all they could do is take the person off the field via death or imprisonment.
You’re probably on to something. Red mentioned once on Tumblr that Paladins who quit or are expelled from the order still retain a connection to the Light Dragon, although their powers usually weaken somewhat.
May I remind you of Theia? Our favourite junior archivist who abandoned her duties at the archive to join Shrike, a bounty hunter looking to capture Alinua, for a chance at revenge against Erin?
L.D. hasn’t had to put her foot down to keep her warriors in check yet, but if Tam keeps being Reckless, Stefan opposing her champion, and whatever may come of Theia’s quest, she may have to.
We know Falst has heard a voice of a similar colour (surrounding speech bubble colour), maybe there are multiple voices.
I doubt it but there is clearly something going on.
Or Tam just wanted to fight so nobody else could get hurt and The Lady didn’t argue? When Tam got hit with starfire she seemed quite calm, so maybe that’s something? (Also if Tam did do that then he needs to work on people saying no to him, I doubt he has a Falst in his life like Erin does. 😉
This guy is gonna be super dangerous because he won’t get distracted like a lot of our heroes’ prior foes.
Granted, he’s a general that has to give orders to DRAGONS. I can understand how he might have to plan around ego a LOT.
Well, a ‘Hero’ can be beneficial to an Army, so long as the Army is aware, and that is the actual assigned role of said individuals. As such, it then becomes known that the Hero is working ‘alone,’ and the army’s plans do not rely on that individual doing anything specific, other than causing trouble for the opposing army. Taking advantage of the chaos and dissuasions that a rogue and unpredictable element can have on an opposing force.
I wonder if Stefan realises that he is facing heroes?
(Come on, wordplay like that is always fun.)
Although, it’s still a stone-cold line and he clearly knows what he’s doing, great antagonist.
Stefan talking about Elemental Maguses made me realize the possibility of the existence of the “true” Elemental Magus; since Erin is likely an artificial magus created via soulshaping, the actual magus that tends to pop up naturally every couple centuries or however long it was could be out there.
I don’t think it’s possible to give someone a soul channel they didn’t already have with soulshaping. Erin just seems to have had a birth defect with all his soul channels that required soulshaping therapy to fix.
Oh, Stefan is dangerous dangerous isn’t he? That’s not a man with some elemental tricks and a sense if honor. That’s a man with good degree of ruthlessness and a goal.
He did seem sad about Erin being so young, so he’s perhaps not completely cold-hearted. That doesn’t mean he won’t prioritise his perceived duty over it though.
Interesting. I wonder if the Septrenn/Stefan is just commenting on the power of Elemental Maguses, in general, or if he’s implying that the paladins have historically hunted them down or gone into conflict with them. The latter would make sense, since, to my knowledge, only an Elemental Magus could free the Void Dragon from its adamant prison.
I’m also enjoying this look into the paladins’ strict military command structure and the hint of contention between Tam and said structure! Would be neat if that came up later 🙂 Likewise, would be neat if the volcano ignans got involved this chapter. We barely got to see them.
I dunno, Stefan, buddy, I can think of a lot of things more damaging to an army than having a hero.
You know. Plague. Total supply loss. Russian Winter. Hannibal Barca. A general totally convinced he can pull off that sickass amphibian assault. That kinda thing.
Been thinking about the False Magus theory again- all power to y’all, but I never really liked it because it contradicts the world building and has logistical concerns (if all you need to have a magus is some connections and some monks, there would certainly be more of them). At this point the more generally accepted theory has been soft-confirmed. Erin had faulty links that gave him health issues, and the monks fixed him. However, since this hasn’t been directly stated yet, the False Magus theory still hasn’t stopped being mentioned. And I want to be pedantic, because at this point, the theory Cannot be true anymore.
Let’s break it down.
Erin had chronic health issues as a child. That much is extremely clear at this point, even before the Tess and Erin conversation in Fire and Stone. A lot of Tess’s dialogue mentioned it before, too. “Erin used to [faint like] that all the time,” and “Feel it. Like when we were kids,” These pieces of dialogue show that 1. Erin was sickly as a child. and 2. He had magic sensitivity as a CHILD. That means he was a mage as a kid, even if his soul channels had issues. Even people who are still sold on the False Magus theory are aware of this at this point, it’s been hammered home again and again. The Fire and Stone conversation between them hard-confirmed this (“I’m not that bedridden little boy anymore,”).
Another thing. Tess knew Erin back when these issues were a problem, severe enough that she literally needed to guard him from the outside world. She specifically did this UNWILLINGLY. Which means she was UNSPARKED. Tess left immediately after getting her spark, and while dialogue suggests shes been around every now and again since then (Tarren knows who she is, for one), the fact that Erin had these issues during the period of her enslavement means that they were not caused by the treatment the soulshaper monks gave him. Because Erin went to the monastery AFTER TESS LEFT. “If you went with me, the monks wouldn’t have had a chance to mess you up so bad,” (paraphrased)
So, how is this a big secret? That seems to be the main thing that people continue to talk about even people who don’t believe in False Magus. Well, it seems, at least in Aesra, that having malformed soul channels is stigmatized, and getting Sealed is considered a big sacrifice. Tarren, who has developed physical disabilities from their magic, didn’t get sealed until their ability to walk was at risk. While this could be a Tarren thing, it suggests a level of cultural stigma around using seals, like how some people don’t like others using mobility aids if they don’t “really need them” (I’m not disabled personally so please correct me if this is off base).
And, here’s another issue that is intriguing to me: Tess didn’t know this was a secret until it became clear that the gang doesn’t know about it. Think about the page early in chapter 14 (I think)- Tess was explaining her situation, Falst asked why Erin wasn’t able to help “You would think the Elemental Magus would have some say” (im paraphrasing a little) and then Tess is about to explain before deciding against it, seemingly after realizing something. To me this suggests that this is Tess realizing Erin isn’t open about his past, and that the gang doesn’t know and he doesn’t want them to know. In other words, it’s only a secret because Erin treats it as one.
And why wouldn’t he? These details have sparked massive debates out-of-universe about the ‘legitimacy’ of his magic. Who’s to say if this gets out how Aesra would treat him in-universe? Erin has had internal imposter syndrome (“this isn’t my first identity crisis”) seemingly about his status, which suggests some things about how soul conditions are treated and discussed in Aesra. This actually makes everything a lot more interesting- Erin and supposedly some of his colleagues treating this as a massive secret and scandal while it’s really not that bad. It has retroactively become meta-commentary.
Sorry if this post is needlessly long or rude, I am very pedantic by nature, and I want to say that I love all the people theorizing even if I do not personally agree with them. The False Magus theory has just personally always bugged me, because of the logistical issues I mentioned in the opening paragraph and also that it just wouldn’t be as interesting as what we already know.
I agree with you that the theory doesn’t make a ton of sense! I feel like its the sort of thing that’ll definitely get proved/disproved relatively soon though, and its an interesting idea even if i don’t think it holds much water.
No need to say sorry, this is a good read.
You might be onto something that malformed links and sealing magic could be a social stigma on Asera; with the mage academy as their pride and joy, elitism regarding mages and magical abilities could be rife. This may be especially true with Erin as he’s from a noble family who wouldn’t want their son’s “deformity” to shame them. When the question of why Erin didn’t get sealing tattoos in Asera cropped up in 2-2-13, Erin was hesitant to answer.
I’ve also noticed the implication that whatever was done with Erin was done so with his consent and agency; “Spill your greatest secret”, “After everything you did”, several bits of dialogue seem to imply Erin himself wanted this. But your comment has me wondering whether Erin really, truly wanted to undergo the monk’s training, or whether the pressure from Galen and the stigma from Aseran society might have pushed, consciously or subconsciously, to do it.
But yeah, the lore has been pretty clear-cut that making a mage, let along an Eemental Magus, is impossible; if it wasn’t, V.D. would have planned to make one himself centuries ago rather than relying on one to eventually spring the trap. Then again, Red has said the lore told to us on tumblr and other places is based on what the common knowledge is on Aurora; there’s a non-zero chance this ‘common knowledge’ could be incorrect.
I made a system that could work with a few tweaks. I made it a few months before I found Aroura, but it has a primordial based magic system. with mana regen and different types of magic you can do. Instead of ‘I cast scorching ray” you could say “I spend 100 mana to make a fire snake. It’ll hit 5 times for 2d10 fire dmg before it dissipates.” Versatility is baked in. Also there’s a perk for melee people to make an attack on anyone who misses a melee attack on you, on there turn. It goes crazy when two people with riposte fight.
“…I’ll wander in… I’m sure Aurora’s not back yet, but hey, can’t hurt to che–”
Woo-hoo!
So Tam hubrised himself into not having backup when all didn’t go as he envisioned? Well, well, well. Now we have a very different antagonist. Interestingly, I think he’s actually the better match for Erin, because they both are planners. Tam’s a hero and clearly goes straight at a problem.
I wonder how much intel they have on the Floof squad. This fellow seems to think he can herd Erin like a trapped animal, so he’s already making the mistake of underestimating his opponent.
hey, arc 2 intro guy, how you doing?
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: yea especially if that hero is the Hulk, amiright fellow citizens of 2012
Image source: army
Tumblr text: planning, dare I say even scheming?
Bluesky text: And welcome back!
As someone who’s recently rewatched Avengers: heh, lol.
. The Paladin’s leader, Lord Stefan, stands on Rakhn’s beach, the volcano casting an orange light to the twilight sky and the smoke coming from its peak. Dragons wheel in the air above him and land nearby on the sand. A nearby Paladin waves their arms, directing the dragons. Dozens of spellbirds fly through the air, groups of Paladins following them off the beach.
. “The spellbirds have only become more focused since we landed, my lord,” a Paladin holding a paper says from behind Stefan. “He is here.”
. “And the deployment?” Stefan asks, still facing the volcano.
. “Beginning the upward sweep as we speak. The squad Rectens have been ordered to report with Loquor Suressa every quarter-hour. The dragons will maintain aerial surveillance and provide support where necessary.”
. “The locals?”
. “No sign of them yet. It may still be too cold for them to intervene.”
. “Small mercies.”
. “We’re hoping the patrols will drive him up towards the caldera where our air supremacy will allow us to entirely enclose him,” The Paladin says. They hesitate, still looking at the paper. “Do you think it will be enough, my lord?”
. “Is it ever?” Stefan asks tiredly. “No Elemental Magus goes down without a fight.”
. “Then– perhaps if we waited for the Champion…?” the Paladin asks, looking up at Stefan.
. “If the Champion had followed the chain of command, he would still be hale and well enough to lend his strength in this crucial battle,” Stefan says coldly, hair and cloak billowing in a brisk wind as he turns to look at the Paladin. “He would not have alerted the Dark Avatar to our movements and given him time to prepare. And we would not be presently scrambling to sweep and besiege a volcanic fortress concealing the most powerful mage alive.
. “We are at war, Caled,” Stefan says, turning to stare back at the volcano. “We must be an army. There is nothing more damaging to an army than a hero.”
And we’re back! Dang Stefan, giving some fire lines! I wonder if Tam will come back? After Erin blows the Caves open, he could rush in again despite being injured and accidentally ruin things for the Paladins again. Who knows.
I wonder if we’ll learn more about Falst’s Light magic in this chapter? Or Light magic in general? ‘Loquor Suressa’ – seems like it would be a telepathy spell. Theorists go! Lol
Also @Astraeterna, I’m nabbing your guess on what the Paladin’s doing, as that seems to make the most sense and like what the heck are they doing if not that lol
Since it’s the start of a chapter, I’m going to put the link to the document I write these on. Just remove the spaces. I have tried linking it to my name, but the comment just never shows up. It also doesn’t show up if I don’t put the spaces in (hopefully this works haha, it’s finnicky). If someone has an idea on how to link it, that would be appreciated.
docs.go ogle.co m/documen t/d/1R6QfH iMxjW6Opd E-pyc17Z B026iCy7JoUDP KUJvSSzo/ed it?tab =t.0
In the chapter cover Falst is mostly obscured, but you can kind of see his hand covering his face. Maybe that’s because of the stab wound, but it would be really exciting to find out more about his connection
Oh… that’s not good. If he’s here, there’s a real good chance the rest of the Septrenn are here, too.
Oh, so the Gaang has dodged a bullet there because the Champion attacked them before the army was ready. Imagine if they fought 40 dragons on a boat?!
*quickly writes that down for the next DND session I’m dming*
where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods…
yaaay!
Wait, how many other elemental magnuses have they fought and brought down? And before they even knew about the dark dragon/ went into the storm & got possessed?? Thses guys have just been fighting/killing elemental magnuses before they’ve even done anything bad, just in case?
Lol fantastic comment! But nah, I don’t think that’s it – I think it’s just a well known fact that elemental maguses are extremely powerful and therefore difficult to take down without a flight. Hilarious concept though. You made me wonder if maybe the light dragon and the paladins Did know the whole time that the dark dragon would need to possess an elemental magus?? But, if they knew and understood that, one would be much more surprised to find that they weren’t actively keeping close tabs on every single elemental magus and (knowing what we found out at “the library”), the paladins would DEFINITELY be keeping tabs on anyone attempting to enter The Storm.
Overall, very interesting concept and I appreciate the thought! I don’t think(?) it means anything though X)
as far as we know erin is the second elemental magus in the aurora world, we dont know what happened to its predecessor but i doubt the paladins have the power and influence to simply erase other elemental maguses from history
I wonder if they were aware that an Elemental Magus could release the Void Dragon. Maybe not the exact mechanism, but that it could be done. It might well be that they’ve slain many Elemental Magi before they could make a name for themselves. Erin’s status as the child of diplomat probably meant they couldn’t just assassinate him before he gained a degree of notoreity.
I have to imagine The Lady knows why VD needs a Magus. When we first saw her (she possessed the Storm Drake that Tess was fighting), she seemed to instantly know that VD had taken an Avatar and communicated it to Tam immediately. “The trap is sprung.” Given eternity to figure it out, it’s clear that there was only one person the Storm could have been a trap for: someone who could control all six elements.
There have been elemental magi throughout the ages, it’s a matter of sheer probability. There’s an elemental magus born around every century and Erin is just the latest one.
I doubt they’ve taken out all or even most of them tbh. They’re very likely aware the dark avatar would have to be one so it’s entirely possible they’ve created trouble for one or even potentially taken one out before, but the fact that Erin was able to reach and enter The Storm without incident, was able to more or less /walk into the paladin archives/ not hiding his identity (though looking back it’s ambiguous if Theia realized he was The Elemental Magus), and that he indicated that no Elemental Magus has ever attempted entry to The Storm before, tell me it probably isn’t their biggest priority.
Given how the Lady of Light detected the newest avatar of the Void Dragon (Erin) by her own senses and that the prior Elemental Magus lived a long life without mention clashing with the church of the Paladins I assume that prior Avatars of the Dragon showed up either far from this continent or in the distant past (both?) and not recorded in recent history this continent and the Paladins were only known to rescue people from the Singing Caves locally. This implies other Elemental Magi triggered different traps but this is just my guess. This is Red’s story to tell.
No-one at the paladin archive in zuurith seemed at all bothered by Erin being an elemental magus before Theia saw him literally channeling void dragon magic. This would suggest to me that they don’t have a problem with elemental magi who aren’t possessed by the world-ending dragon, and so they wouldn’t have a reason to systematically target them. I think its probably more just a case of elemental magi being really famous and people hearing about their battles/deaths. I wouldn’t put it past a rogue/extremist paladin to have taken things into their own hands at *some* point, though.
I remember noting that during the archive visits, Erin doesn’t actually give his name nor his occupation; when Theia goes by the embassy building later, she asks for Erin by calling him ‘the Aseran Ambassador’.
Erin was savvy enough not to give away any details about himself at Paladin HQ beyond being affiliated with Asera.
Oh yeah, good point!
So, someone just asked Red this question on Tumblr, and her response was: “Only an Elemental Magus can unseal the prison containing their greatest enemy.” In other words, it would seem that (at least certain branches of) the Paladins have a kill-on-sight rule for Elemental Magi, regardless of whether or not they are already possessed by Walter. You know, in case the Paladins weren’t already morally grey enough.
I’m starting to think that the Paladins can’t actually agree to all follow the same Modus Operandi…
CHAPTER SEVEN YAAAAY
Driving Erin towards the caldera and flying your dragons above the volcano to encircle him is definitely a good plan. No way this will backfire.
I also enjoy the use of the specific term “air supremacy”, implying that some faction (and possibly the Paladins) has fought against an enemy air force long enough to invent it. I wonder what that was like.
I do remember that we have the cloudchildren and the elves who literally raised their mountaintops into the sky, so that is a given.
definitely don’t worry about the one guy who’s made of fire
Ohhh. Have the Paladins been hunting all Elemental Magi?
Love the comic <3
Whoooo it’s horn guy again!!! Wonder how that dragon Tess punched is doing in his dungeons…
I’m so happy this is back! Also I just need to very calmly mention that I’m extremely excited bc it’s now 29 days until volume 2 comes out in print and I can’t wait (happy bawl)
The statement “absence makes the heart grow fonder” never really feels as deep as it does when this comic comes back after a hiatus…. (It’s a little embarrassing, don’t tell my beloved or my friends ;D hahahah)
Thanks for reminding me that I need to order it!
Tess: That’s a LOT of spellbirds. C’mon Erin! Don’t celebrity types like you want hundreds of people all calling your name?
Erin: (dryly) Yes, maybe they’ll want me to sign their spears before they stab me with them.
A pretty good plan to use their superior numbers, tracking spells, and telepathic communication to encircle, drive, and corner the gang on the mountain peak. But Erin is smart, has allies like Dainix who may already be suspecting this tactic, and still has that cave-distraction plan to divert the Paladins elsewhere.
Stefan is worried about the locals, eh? That could be caution about bringing an army unannounced to Ignan territory, a people known to be great warriors and mages. Or maybe he’s savvy to those Paladin texts mentioning fiery beings fighting V.D. possessed dragons, especially after Tam fought Dainix on the boat.
Stefan hasn’t mentioned Rakhn yet. Are they assuming/hoping he won’t intervene, or have they got a plan to distract the resident god?
So Tam messed up what could have been a much simpler operation into a rushed and potentially costly ground assault. Acting by himself, both confident in his power and steadfast in his belief that it was his problem, rushed headfirst into said problem, got shown up for his hubris, and is currently worse for wear.
Yep. He is THE Erin parallel character, letting pride and fear dictate his actions. Erin has apologised for his screw-ups and has vowed to do better; will Tam do the same, or double down?
Until and unless the Rakhnans are involved, I think Rakhn will just sit at the top of the caldera with popcorn.
As for Tam, yeah. He Leeroy’d into a 1v6 with predictable results. He earned that Anakin label. And, unlike Erin, I think he’ll double down, at least at first.
I don’t know, man. He gets into fights with Winter and the Ocean for simply existing near him. I somehow don’t think he’d take too kindly to an actual army invading his domain.
You know it’s a good narrative parallel when BOTH sides are annoyed by the person who pushed ahead on their own and dragged everyone to a godforsaken volcanic island in the middle of nowhere.
Hmmm, pride going before a fall helps the falling last much longer if it’s done off of a flying dragon.
Happy Birthday to me! So excited! Love the fourth-wall break-ish/self awareness of this guy
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
oh golly me it’s your birthday!!
Some of those dragons have two sets of wings, I can’t wait to see one of those up close.
It looks fluffy! A wind dragon perchance?
So far the ones we’ve seen are a Stormdrake, Burrower Wyrm and a Fire dragon. If the pattern continues and they’re all based on elements, i really really want to see what a life dragon looks like.
Im pretty sure Red has talked about how dragons work in Aurora, there are also prismatic dragons etc, but I don’t know the details. Maybe someone more educated in the worldbuilding could help 🙂
If you’re talking about the dragon with four feathery wings, then I’m 90% certain that it’s a Stormdrake like the one that Tess fought way back in the comic (the one that the light dragon possessed to go warn the paladins)!
ITS BACKKK anyways ooh its that guy again
Excuse me my Lord Steffan if you have a problem with the Champion’s actions please take it up with your Lady, it was her idea. Don’t blame my boy Tam for this he has done nothing wrong ever
I get the vibe that Steffan is a very tired and competent manager, trying to run the show despite the best efforts of the owner and her favorite nepo baby.
Oh, golly me, it’s off-brand Dalinar Kholin!
oh golly me it’s a very correctly concerned Paper Holding GuyTM!
Wait he IS like an off-brand Dalinar lol
Now I want to compare everyone else to Stormlight characters… Kendal as Kaladin, definitely. Maybe Erin as part Navani, with the scholar-ing? Dainix would be Szeth, or maybe Adolin. I don’t know about everyone else, obviously not like 100% comparisons but some of them are similar
Wait Tess and Lift, I can 100% see them making chaos together
Also, happy to find another Brando Sando fan haha
Pretty sure the correct spelling is “besiege”, not “beseige”.
my dyslexic ass thought you wrote the same word twice and was very confused for a minute lol
It’s one of those words you see misspelled so often you start to wonder if the correct spelling changed lately. (spoiler: “besiege” is still correct – while I lean towards descriptivist language rules, there *are* still lots of people who actually spell it correctly.)
I’m sorry, WHAT is Unnamed Mook in the right side of panel 1 doing XD
(And also, I do not like the implication that the Paladins have been eliminating Elemental Magi (Maguses?) they have encounter on the off chance one was dumb enough to walk headfirst into the Storm…Or perhaps he’s just known a few. Still…)
When i first looked i thought he was frolicking around the beach and went “lock in bro” but then i looked again and i thought what if he’s directing the dragons like they’re landing planes
Yeahhhh I picked up on that possible implication too. It would make sense if they’ve gone after Elemental Magi before, given their unique potential to release the Void Dragon. Hmmm.
As for Unnamed Mook: who knows? Maybe panicking? xD
To be fair, Sir, if the Champion hadn’t confronted Erin when he did, he wouldn’t have gotten you Erin’s name, and you wouldn’t be able to track him in the first place, so let’s check that attitude. Tam, I don’t like you either, but I like the General of the ‘Evil Empire’ even less.
That said, I am excited to see the ‘organised military’ villains in action. Done well, an army of faceless goons is a pretty good antagonist, especially when we get these glimpses of characters inside the system, and a very different one to what we’ve seen so far from Aurora. I’m just staggered by how many Paladins are here, but I suppose it makes sense. An army that can transcend language can recruit from anywhere in the world. They could have called people from all over the planet to make this force, but what’s more intimidating is that they might not have had to. If this is the forces they have at their disposal for an away mission, I can only imagine what the Snowfast must be like.
Band of scrappy heroes, meet the power of logistics :3
In fairness, the band of scrappy heroes also has pretty good logistics. Imagine how big an army you could feed just by having Alinua grow some blue melons twice a day.
Ok wait. Both Tam and Stefan can hear the voice of their Lady. Both are acting on their orders. The fact that apparently Tam was going against Stefans wishes by getting his face battered on the ship… Does that imply that the paladins have agency and will still receive their Ladys cooperation/blessing even if they are serving her in conflicting ways?
Interesting.
A minor lore aspect of DnD 4th edition was about how they set it up that Clerics, Paladins, and other types of divine casters basically got fundamentally altered in the process of becoming, and that they can’t really lose that divine connection. And all the Oaths and Tenets of the various orders was entirely SOCIALLY enforced, but some orders kept these details under wraps because they wanted to keep people from going rogue.
It’d be interesting if the dragon giving the gift of power was just a single event, not an ongoing one, so that’s why they have to be so choosy with who gets the power. Because they don’t actually have a method of just taking the power BACK, all they could do is take the person off the field via death or imprisonment.
You’re probably on to something. Red mentioned once on Tumblr that Paladins who quit or are expelled from the order still retain a connection to the Light Dragon, although their powers usually weaken somewhat.
May I remind you of Theia? Our favourite junior archivist who abandoned her duties at the archive to join Shrike, a bounty hunter looking to capture Alinua, for a chance at revenge against Erin?
L.D. hasn’t had to put her foot down to keep her warriors in check yet, but if Tam keeps being Reckless, Stefan opposing her champion, and whatever may come of Theia’s quest, she may have to.
We know Falst has heard a voice of a similar colour (surrounding speech bubble colour), maybe there are multiple voices.
I doubt it but there is clearly something going on.
Or Tam just wanted to fight so nobody else could get hurt and The Lady didn’t argue? When Tam got hit with starfire she seemed quite calm, so maybe that’s something? (Also if Tam did do that then he needs to work on people saying no to him, I doubt he has a Falst in his life like Erin does. 😉
Heck of an appropriate and true statement in that last panel.
is Caled pronounced like Caleb or like DJ Khaled
“there is nothing more dangerous to an army than a hero”
fucking hell that goes hard
This guy is gonna be super dangerous because he won’t get distracted like a lot of our heroes’ prior foes.
Granted, he’s a general that has to give orders to DRAGONS. I can understand how he might have to plan around ego a LOT.
HECK YEAH WE BACK!!!
“there is nothing more damaging to an army than a hero” Red is absolutly cooking! We got ourselves a five star chef here!!
We’re back! Also time to shamelessly promote that I made a video of Aurora characters as Dracula Flow which I linked in my name.
Well, a ‘Hero’ can be beneficial to an Army, so long as the Army is aware, and that is the actual assigned role of said individuals. As such, it then becomes known that the Hero is working ‘alone,’ and the army’s plans do not rely on that individual doing anything specific, other than causing trouble for the opposing army. Taking advantage of the chaos and dissuasions that a rogue and unpredictable element can have on an opposing force.
I love the detail of the lighter patches of skin by his stripes in the hair
Also the soldiers look goofy. I want them in a plushie
We are SO BACK!
I wonder if Stefan realises that he is facing heroes?
(Come on, wordplay like that is always fun.)
Although, it’s still a stone-cold line and he clearly knows what he’s doing, great antagonist.
Stefan talking about Elemental Maguses made me realize the possibility of the existence of the “true” Elemental Magus; since Erin is likely an artificial magus created via soulshaping, the actual magus that tends to pop up naturally every couple centuries or however long it was could be out there.
I don’t think it’s possible to give someone a soul channel they didn’t already have with soulshaping. Erin just seems to have had a birth defect with all his soul channels that required soulshaping therapy to fix.
Oh, Stefan is dangerous dangerous isn’t he? That’s not a man with some elemental tricks and a sense if honor. That’s a man with good degree of ruthlessness and a goal.
He did seem sad about Erin being so young, so he’s perhaps not completely cold-hearted. That doesn’t mean he won’t prioritise his perceived duty over it though.
I like how Erin is “the most powerful mage alive” and “the dark avatar.”
“There is nothing more damaging to an army than a Hero” is a hardcore assed line. Reminds me of something written by Larry Hama.
Oh, crap, he’s genre savvy. We’re cooked.
Ok, so Kendal needs to persuade Rakhn that fighting 40+ dragons would be REALLY fun
Interesting. I wonder if the Septrenn/Stefan is just commenting on the power of Elemental Maguses, in general, or if he’s implying that the paladins have historically hunted them down or gone into conflict with them. The latter would make sense, since, to my knowledge, only an Elemental Magus could free the Void Dragon from its adamant prison.
I’m also enjoying this look into the paladins’ strict military command structure and the hint of contention between Tam and said structure! Would be neat if that came up later 🙂 Likewise, would be neat if the volcano ignans got involved this chapter. We barely got to see them.
I dunno, Stefan, buddy, I can think of a lot of things more damaging to an army than having a hero.
You know. Plague. Total supply loss. Russian Winter. Hannibal Barca. A general totally convinced he can pull off that sickass amphibian assault. That kinda thing.
Been thinking about the False Magus theory again- all power to y’all, but I never really liked it because it contradicts the world building and has logistical concerns (if all you need to have a magus is some connections and some monks, there would certainly be more of them). At this point the more generally accepted theory has been soft-confirmed. Erin had faulty links that gave him health issues, and the monks fixed him. However, since this hasn’t been directly stated yet, the False Magus theory still hasn’t stopped being mentioned. And I want to be pedantic, because at this point, the theory Cannot be true anymore.
Let’s break it down.
Erin had chronic health issues as a child. That much is extremely clear at this point, even before the Tess and Erin conversation in Fire and Stone. A lot of Tess’s dialogue mentioned it before, too. “Erin used to [faint like] that all the time,” and “Feel it. Like when we were kids,” These pieces of dialogue show that 1. Erin was sickly as a child. and 2. He had magic sensitivity as a CHILD. That means he was a mage as a kid, even if his soul channels had issues. Even people who are still sold on the False Magus theory are aware of this at this point, it’s been hammered home again and again. The Fire and Stone conversation between them hard-confirmed this (“I’m not that bedridden little boy anymore,”).
Another thing. Tess knew Erin back when these issues were a problem, severe enough that she literally needed to guard him from the outside world. She specifically did this UNWILLINGLY. Which means she was UNSPARKED. Tess left immediately after getting her spark, and while dialogue suggests shes been around every now and again since then (Tarren knows who she is, for one), the fact that Erin had these issues during the period of her enslavement means that they were not caused by the treatment the soulshaper monks gave him. Because Erin went to the monastery AFTER TESS LEFT. “If you went with me, the monks wouldn’t have had a chance to mess you up so bad,” (paraphrased)
So, how is this a big secret? That seems to be the main thing that people continue to talk about even people who don’t believe in False Magus. Well, it seems, at least in Aesra, that having malformed soul channels is stigmatized, and getting Sealed is considered a big sacrifice. Tarren, who has developed physical disabilities from their magic, didn’t get sealed until their ability to walk was at risk. While this could be a Tarren thing, it suggests a level of cultural stigma around using seals, like how some people don’t like others using mobility aids if they don’t “really need them” (I’m not disabled personally so please correct me if this is off base).
And, here’s another issue that is intriguing to me: Tess didn’t know this was a secret until it became clear that the gang doesn’t know about it. Think about the page early in chapter 14 (I think)- Tess was explaining her situation, Falst asked why Erin wasn’t able to help “You would think the Elemental Magus would have some say” (im paraphrasing a little) and then Tess is about to explain before deciding against it, seemingly after realizing something. To me this suggests that this is Tess realizing Erin isn’t open about his past, and that the gang doesn’t know and he doesn’t want them to know. In other words, it’s only a secret because Erin treats it as one.
And why wouldn’t he? These details have sparked massive debates out-of-universe about the ‘legitimacy’ of his magic. Who’s to say if this gets out how Aesra would treat him in-universe? Erin has had internal imposter syndrome (“this isn’t my first identity crisis”) seemingly about his status, which suggests some things about how soul conditions are treated and discussed in Aesra. This actually makes everything a lot more interesting- Erin and supposedly some of his colleagues treating this as a massive secret and scandal while it’s really not that bad. It has retroactively become meta-commentary.
Sorry if this post is needlessly long or rude, I am very pedantic by nature, and I want to say that I love all the people theorizing even if I do not personally agree with them. The False Magus theory has just personally always bugged me, because of the logistical issues I mentioned in the opening paragraph and also that it just wouldn’t be as interesting as what we already know.
I agree with you that the theory doesn’t make a ton of sense! I feel like its the sort of thing that’ll definitely get proved/disproved relatively soon though, and its an interesting idea even if i don’t think it holds much water.
No need to say sorry, this is a good read.
You might be onto something that malformed links and sealing magic could be a social stigma on Asera; with the mage academy as their pride and joy, elitism regarding mages and magical abilities could be rife. This may be especially true with Erin as he’s from a noble family who wouldn’t want their son’s “deformity” to shame them. When the question of why Erin didn’t get sealing tattoos in Asera cropped up in 2-2-13, Erin was hesitant to answer.
I’ve also noticed the implication that whatever was done with Erin was done so with his consent and agency; “Spill your greatest secret”, “After everything you did”, several bits of dialogue seem to imply Erin himself wanted this. But your comment has me wondering whether Erin really, truly wanted to undergo the monk’s training, or whether the pressure from Galen and the stigma from Aseran society might have pushed, consciously or subconsciously, to do it.
But yeah, the lore has been pretty clear-cut that making a mage, let along an Eemental Magus, is impossible; if it wasn’t, V.D. would have planned to make one himself centuries ago rather than relying on one to eventually spring the trap. Then again, Red has said the lore told to us on tumblr and other places is based on what the common knowledge is on Aurora; there’s a non-zero chance this ‘common knowledge’ could be incorrect.
YAYYYYYYYYY WERE SO BACK!!
I wanna make a ttrpg system of Aurora so bad oml
I made a system that could work with a few tweaks. I made it a few months before I found Aroura, but it has a primordial based magic system. with mana regen and different types of magic you can do. Instead of ‘I cast scorching ray” you could say “I spend 100 mana to make a fire snake. It’ll hit 5 times for 2d10 fire dmg before it dissipates.” Versatility is baked in. Also there’s a perk for melee people to make an attack on anyone who misses a melee attack on you, on there turn. It goes crazy when two people with riposte fight.
“There is nothing more damaging to an army than a Hero”
soooooo… Kendal?
To be fair, it doesn’t seem like Vash had much of a military.
Cue Dark Hyrule Castle theme music from The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.
the chapter cover omg its so pretttyyyyy
“…I’ll wander in… I’m sure Aurora’s not back yet, but hey, can’t hurt to che–”
Woo-hoo!
So Tam hubrised himself into not having backup when all didn’t go as he envisioned? Well, well, well. Now we have a very different antagonist. Interestingly, I think he’s actually the better match for Erin, because they both are planners. Tam’s a hero and clearly goes straight at a problem.
I wonder how much intel they have on the Floof squad. This fellow seems to think he can herd Erin like a trapped animal, so he’s already making the mistake of underestimating his opponent.
That one Recten in panel 1 is having the time of his life on the right. LOL.