Chapter 2: Page 24
Not much to talk about this week, really! Rachel and I just want to wish you all a Happy Holiday — the best present for us this year has been having such wonderful readers along for the ride! Thank you all so much for your interest and commitment to the story! We’re hoping to have an announcement sometime fairly soon regarding a limited run of books (for real this time!) so keep your eyes peeled!
This week, we’re lucky to be able to share with you another piece of music by Jacob Kingzett partially inspired by the Ermehn of Beyond the Western Deep. I present to you: Prelude in G Minor!
Thank you so much for the wonderful music, Jacob! The tune is very haunting and reminiscent of the cold and empty tundra of the Northern Wastes, and goes a long way to helping visualize that. As always, it’s awesome to hear that our comic has helped to inspire such great pieces. Keep up the awesome work!
Bevan: “A suicide mission? Gee willikers!”
Ashtor: “That boy ain’t right.”
Also, I just realized that Bevan is not wearing a kilt, but some kind of chaps instead. One could even say that he is
– wait for it –
going commando.
I wonder how long Hardin searched before he found a ridge with such steady cape-billowing breezes.
Also, his expression in that last panel is fantastic. Really does a great job of portraying him as determined and calm and run just a little bit ragged.
Mountains above timber line are windy even on calm days. Throw in the storm that’s blowing in, and well…
….did Hardin just agree to use the parts of the camp incapable of fighting as a distraction for the Canid? Cold move, Mr. Sunshine.
He’s a ruthless bastard, isn’t he?
I still don’t see what he’s up to – if he just wanted to get across the border, he could probably do that any time – the presence of the ermehn among the bandits that attacked Quinn and co. suggests that the border is fairly porous.
Or perhaps when the Canids took over, some of the Ermehn scattered and fled into the wilderness where they toom to banditry in order to survive. Hmm…
They had a diaspora; the few lucky to survive by escaping the Canid wrath have no intentions of going back north, either.
I do believe he intends to widen the gap on the border so that more Ermehn may pass. After all, it was stated that fort was one of the biggest on the frontier.
And maybe after that they want to assassinate the Canid king, ‘cuz why not?
If you go back two pages the fort is wedged between the Canid’s nation and Ermehn’s lands. if they take it they could fortify it and call for aid from other clans. From there they could use guerrilla war tactics against the Canid. Slowly but surely forcing them out of their homeland.
I think it’s more of a cold move that he’s letting Bevan basically (likely) get killed when Bevan is one of Hardin’s loyal followers; perhaps a bit too loyal.
Maybe whatever reason Bevan has to hide his face doesn’t sit well with Hardin, and as such he doesn’t care about losing Bevan.
Ashtor’s choice of wording makes it appear that Hardin’s going to go over the ridge alone. I wonder what he’s up to?
Well it’s good that I didn’t find this comic during finals week…
One thing that I keep thinking about is Rhosyn’s crossbow. So far she is the only character I have seen that is armed with something other than a simple bow or sword. If the Ermehn are the only ones that make use of this weapon I can see them having a distinct advantage over other races especially in large open areas. Does anyone know if the crossbow is considered a new and advanced piece of technology?
Hi Charrgaff! Most Ermehn, even the most talented bowyers, aren’t quite capable of manufacturing crossbows themselves in the Northern Wastes. Because of their situation, Rhosyn’s crossbow is a rarity amongst her people, and her expertise with this rare weapon has made her a force to be reckoned with.
Throughout the rest of the Four Kingdoms, the crossbow is still relatively new, not quite having changed the landscape of battle at the time the story takes place.
Happy Holidays All!!!
Again, this page has me questioning why Ashtor is even there. I mean, he seems to be constantly voicing his concerns over Hardin’s choices and yet he still stays on/Hardin continues to let him live. Hmm, he must have a higher purpose/use that we don’t know yet, because even if he’s meant to be simply a vehicle for a voice of reason, Hardin is a tyrant and wouldn’t allow such ‘questions’ to go unanswered for so long. Ashtor must have a use… but what…
And Bevan is just happy to be of service and thinks he’s getting his big break. No doubt visions of victory are spooling through his head right now. Cue the band – “Hail the conquering hero! Nah-nah-nah-nah, nah-nah-nah!” Heh. I thought in the last page Hardin didn’t ponder much and jumped quickly at Bevan proposal. He had his own plans made long before the whelp even started to talk.
Now, that last frame… Things just got a whole lot darker. And colder. I have to wonder where Hardin generated this cold-hearted streak. I mean people can be cruel, but to be vengeful like he is… I wonder what happened to him to make him that way. Perhaps he saw a relative die at the hands, er, paws, of the Canid… wait a minute. *Flips back to prologue pages* Hmmm. There’s a frame with a Ermehn mother leading two youngsters away from a father taking on a legion of Canid. Maybe a glimpse of Hardin’s past??? But maybe I’m just reading too much into simple details and trying to connect lines that aren’t there…
Well, great page and I can’t wait until the next one. Though I do agree with PB&J… Hardin seems to always find a spectacular wind for cape billowing, which is, as Keldor said, common above the tree lines in the mountains, but if we followed that rule, would Ashtor’s cape not also be fluttering a bit in the breeze as well???
Well, until next time!
Happy Holidays and Cheers to the Season,
FT
So the rest of the clan is a distraction, instead of just sending them after Bevan in small groups? That’d be a safer way to get them all in, Bevan can’t take on the rest of the garrison himself.
Man, I’ve been waaaay too lazy these past few weeks… I know I should be quicker with my comments, but I am a rat who likes to take it easy, so I’m afraid I’m not as attentive to these comments as I should be.
It seems most of the others have already said all that needs to be said, so I’ll just congratulate you on a great page and move on :(