Chapter 1: Page 49
This week, the fight continues with a bit of back and forth, and we learn a bit about Ermehn tribal diplomacy!
We also learn the name of the older Ermehn sitting and watching the fray: Ashtor. This aging Ermehn has been a fixture in the canon for a while, and he, like the other five Ermehn in Hardin’s tribe, has very particular reasons for allying himself with the young warrior. The concept art for his current design is below:
However, Ashtor, like the rest of Hardin’s band, went through a few design iterations before his current look was determined. As you can see by the original, older Ashtor sketches below, the character originally was intended to come off as more frail and decrepit, but exuding a bit more experience and “wisdom with age” than any of the other Ermehn we would see.
The design ultimately adapted to make him more “mobile” and less “raggedy” – so while he is still the oldest and most experienced Ermehn in Hardin’s tribe, he is still able to hold his own in a fight and keep up with the younger warriors he travels with. The purpose of that traveling has of course yet to be revealed!
This week, Rachel and I were immensely happy to learn that there’s some Beyond the Western Deep fanfiction out there in the wild now! SaraaLuna, who has given us some wonderful fan-art in the past, has been fleshing out the backstory of the lone Canid sitting in the back of the Land’s End Tavern in the previous scene of the comic. In addition to this fun little tale, some fan-art to go along with it!
Strika and Enerus are two Canid soldiers working out of Deltrada Garrison on the hostile border between the Canid kingdom of Aisling and the Ermehn-controlled Northern Wastes. They both have quite the disdain for Ermehn, as any Canid soldier would along the harsh borderland!
Thank you so much for the story, SaraaLuna! Rachel and I both eagerly await the final chapter, and this artwork of the characters is totally awesome as well.
Remember that if you have any fan-art or fan-related work you’d like to share with us and your fellow BWD readers, you can send it to us at:
thewesterndeep (at) gmail (dot) com
Ermehn diplomacy is truly an art form, involving much debate, thought, consideration for others feelings, and plenty of tac–
Nah, not really; they have knife fights.
thats for sure
Everything you need to know about Ermehn diplomacy can be smmed up at 9:55.
I wonder what they’re fighting over…
Babes, of course. It’s always about the babes.
I was going to say it’s always about the booze, but babes are an acceptable subject for a tundra knife-fight too.
“…Captain Kirk was a real man!” *punch*
“Oof…You take that back! At least Picard could string a complete sentence together!” *slash*
heh, who knows, he could have accidently nudged him…..OR babes…
“. . . Picard had a better ship!” *slice*
“. . . Kirk got more films!” *punch*
Hardin-” You did NOT just touch my sister like that!” (pulls knife)
Ashtor-” This is madness and could been solved with diplomacy.”
“This is diplomacy, and Sparta.”
Hardin’s doing pretty well. I like Ashtor so far.
Another really great page that’s well worth the week-long wait.
However, I must go into nitpick mode a bit about Ashtor’s posture. The position of his paws makes it look like he’s shouting, when he’s clearly not. And if he’s meant to be having his paws resting against his pursed lips in a contemplative, thoughtful manner, they would have to be farther forward than they are. I *think* he’s supposed to be resting his chin on his paws, but if that’s the case, they should be farther back along the jowls to more properly support the head’s center of gravity. Maybe Rachel tried that, and it looked awkward? This might be an example of a pose that comes naturally to us humans which simply wouldn’t look “right” on a longer-snouted creature, no matter how you did it. But kudos for trying!
And while on the subject of Ashtor, where’d his staff go? He was holding it only a moment earlier (check out last week’s page). Gotta watch that continuity there!
Okay, I’m done now. Despite my niggling, I really did enjoy this page, as with all the recent pages. This’s really getting good!
Ashtor’s tenting his hands (non-supportively) around his mouth, fingertips resting on the Ermehn equivalent of an upper lip. I do this myself – often when the football game I’m watching gets worrisome, heheh. So perhaps that’s a personal strangeness coming out X)
The question about the location of his staff is a valid point that I’ll make a note of for future revisions. And once my eyes have had the chance to rest, I may well see ways to improve Ashtor’s hand/s so the pose is clearer.
Thanks for keeping me on my toes. c:
Anytime! I nitpick because I love – always remember that!
Hardin looks so chill. “No worries man, just got punched in the face by a guy with a knife.”
“S’is what I do. Just give me a minute to stab him.”
I LIKE THIS DEPLOMACY!!!
Ok we badly need a “like” button for these comments.
That’s for sure!
This has been a quality comments section this week, haha. X)
Apparently Ermehn diplomacy brings out the talkativeness in everyone but the Ermehn.
do these fights go ’til one beast dies or what, when do they stop beating the hell out of each other? this is for Rachel or alex
I suppose I could reveal the answer, but that would give some stuff away that I don’t necessarily want to give away :)
It seems like everyone else has already beat me to the punch. :) I’ll say that Rachel did a great job with the shadows. They look pretty realistic, have accurate poses, and they even seem to have layers!
Was it hard to get those down just right?
As the duel continues, one thing I should mentioned is that I’m really impressed by the design of the Ermehn onlookers, particularly their position, In the following pages, you can make comparisons and see that they stand in a particular spot surrounding the circle, that it stays consistent throughout the scene, and that most of them have their own unique look that makes it quite easy to identify with just a little effort. That truly is a great job, guys!
(Or, well, a guy and a girl, but that’s more tricky to say. It could just as well be “great job, girls!” but for some reason we seem to take a lot more offense to that :P)
Anyway, I must agree that Ashtor’s posture does indeed make it look like he’s trying to shout something. Still, I love his design, and finding out how it has developed through the years.
And it seems the duel has truly heated up, with Hardin drawing blood from his opponent, who nevertheless keeps on fighting without hesitation. And Hardin just looks SO badass in that last panel, crouching low with that awesome cape around him, his knife at the ready while giving his enemy a cold, determined look… Things will get bloody before this fight is over…