Chapter 2: Page 78
This week, conflict is resolved! Sorta! With the help of the Canid soldier, Quinlan’s in the clear for the moment, and Dak managed to fend off the remaining Ermehn warrior — enough to turn his attention to his friend and see what’s going on. And now we finally get to show an element of Dak’s personality that we haven’t had much opportunity to cover in-comic until now: Dak’s near-crippling fear of blood.
This is actually one of those elements of Dakkan’s character with origins that precede Beyond the Western Deep, and I liked it so much I decided it would be a great element to work into the story proper as one of his foibles. The staff is actually symptomatic of this fear: why wield a blade that gores and maims when you’re deathly afraid of the result? Dak’s seen his share of combat, of course, and isn’t afraid to knock heads, but once the claret really starts to spill he gets weak in the knees. Rachel illustrated this in a non-canon storyboard she did many years ago — some excerpts below:
No doubt while he was young, Kenosh tried to cover up his son’s phobia (which would be more than a bit embarrassing for the son of a renowned warrior) — but that only works for so long before acceptance. Kenosh was instrumental in Dakkan’s switch from bladed weapons to staves, going so far as to rationalize it to himself and to others (“Easier to interrogate a living Polcan than a dead one, after all”). Now that Dakkan is combat-proficient in the staff, the issue doesn’t come up that often, with Kenosh or anyone else. At least until now.
For guest art this week, I wanted to share a piece that SaraaLuna did a little while ago of Rhosyn, who we haven’t seen in action for quite a while!
I can’t wait to get back to Rhosyn’s slice of the action, but this will have to hold everyone over for just a little bit longer! We love the piece, Saraa! It really captures Rhosyn’s innate snarkiness, I think. Don’t worry, we haven’t seen the last of her!
Lastly, C2E2 UPDATE!
I need to make a correction to our C2E2 table placement. I said E17 before, but that was wrong! We just got our final table assignment: U16!
That’s U16 in Artists Alley! They put us off in a bit of a corner, but that’s okay — anyone walking around just needs to keep their eyes open for Quin and Dak. That banner is pretty visible from afar, after all!
That female Canid is probably thinking, “What the hell have I stepped into up on this roof? I’ve got a Tamian who seems frozen by shell shock, and now a Lutren who’s faiting dead away on me!”
I’ll leave it to the others below to gush on about how great this page is, but let me just say SaaraLune’s Rhosyn is soooo wonderful! And, lastly, good luck at your latest con, AlexRach!
AlexRach? Did the authors merge together or something?
By Your Powers Combined, We Are…. Captain Crimlan.
I am afraid I’ll go riding a bus and I find a kremlin trying to cut the break while I look out the window.
Don’t worry, that only happens in Moscow.
Welp, I was wrong about Kenosh not knowing but //it finally happened.// I can only imagine what Clovis is going to have to say about this. Nothing pleasant, I would assume. And Quinlan may not know. The mystery continues.
That expression in the second panel is so charming. I love the way the scene cuts right to the blood so it’s clear what triggers Dakkan’s reaction. It’s a beautifully illustrated panel, too- the blood being diluted by the rain as it stains the cloth. So much detail goes into this art, I always find something new to appreciate whenever I go through old pages.
I love the variety of angles seen on this page. It’s very effective, and the juxtaposition of the low angle at the beginning of the page with the reaction to blood at the end is an ironic one.
So far I like this lady Canid, and I hope we see more of her. I am fully aware I may regret saying that, especially if she figures out what’s going on. Beautiful work, as always.
I have high hopes that Lady Canid will eventually have her name revealed much in the same way as Feyn, and that she’ll live at least a little longer than the aforementioned Ermehn did.
There’s also, of course, the tiny bit of chance that she’ll become a new cast member who makes recurring appearances, which I would not mind. Janik, Rhosyn, and Eira could use some company in the “named female characters” division.
I, for one, am liking the idea of a lady canid soldier running around and knocking some heads in alongside the main cast for a few pages or longer.
So Dakkan just happens to have a crippling phobia of blood that is the cause of his strategic fainting into the arms of the canid soldier? How…convenient.
oh god we now have a new ship
He just wanted Senpai to notice him
Hey, let’s be fair here. So far Quin has had most of the romantic tension in the comic between him and Janik, and there was a little between Bevan and Eira too, if I remember correctly. Dakkan’s been left out. Besides, Lady Canid seems nice enough.
Ha ha ha. How did I know someone would make this flavor of remark this week? X)
Our fleet of ships grows strong
Much like Dakkan’s flirting game this page. If, er, he doesn’t throw up on her.
*Dak in a cloudy, phobic haze*
“Is… Is that you, my beautiful, fishy angel?”
Ha!
Ehh, I’ve heard worse pick-up lines.
I think I hear a fan-fic ‘a brewing’!
A cup of romance, a pinch of purple prose, tablespoon of internal conflict, dash of time travel, whip then stir in A GALLON OF ANGST. Toss in the depths of the laptop and let it simmer for half a year, come back, taste it, internally die and chuck it out the window.
“She’s lovely and I like her, but she doesn’t like FISH. Oh woe!”
“He’s lovely and I like him, but he smells of FISH. Oh no!”
“My daughter, with some runty little FISH peddler? Oh foe!”
“My god, I left the oven on. My FISH!”
DRAMA and ANGST.
Subplot: Kenosh just wants his salmon.
Why, hello there, I am the ship-sinker and I’m here to do my job! :)
So I’m going to assume that storyboard is Dak making an appearance in Disney’s Robin Hood. Because he would fit in perfectly. Oodelally, love that outfit.
Quinlan Hood and Little Dak, walking through the forest
Laughing back and forth at what the other one has to say
Never dreaming that a scheming Ermehn and his tribe
Was a-watching them and headin’ their way
Quinlan Hood and Little Dak, running through the forest
Jumping boulders, dodging trees and trying to get away
Contemplating nothing but escape and finally making it
Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day
Bravo.
It fills me with joy to see more song parodies made for BWD.
All in favor of a fanmade soundtrack say “Aye”
AYE!
Aye.
Most everey race
Has hearth and restin’ place
Where you are saaayfe
And can rest yo-ur miiind
But not for Ermehn kind
I’m incliiined to beliiieve
If we were so do-owwwn
We’d up and leaaave
We’d up and fight if we had the will for fighting
Can’t you see our tribes are dying
Can’t there be some happiness for me
Not for Ermehn kind
*Sung by Hardin to convince the others of this here plan of his.*
All Dunians know the story of the brave Vulpin seeking to rescue his true love and restore the rightful Felis king.
Right?
What Vulpin would help a Felis? Methinks you’ve been at the Gaffer’s home brew.
. . . and that’s what Kenosh said to seven-year old Dakkan after father and son spent the evening watching the Disney Robin Hood and the son announced his appreciation of the film. An argument began, and the seeds of discord between the two were sown. To this day, they argue about it occasionally, and Quinlan has learned never to mention the subject.
*Robin and Maid Marian escape the archery tournament*
Quinlan: ‘There’s no way that archery competition was kosher. No one could reliably split an arrow at that distance let alone somone wearing stilts and a fake beak.’
Dakkan: ‘Must have used CGI. Hey, I like that the trumpeters are all elephants’.
Kenosh: ‘What the hell is an “elephant”?’
Dakkan stood up, putting his hands behind his back (as he always did when ‘speaking poetry’), and began:
“‘Grey as a mouse,
Big as a house,
Nose like a snake,
I make the earth shake,
As I tramp through the grass;
Trees crack as I pass.
With horns in my mouth
I walk in the South,
Flapping big ears.
Beyond count of years
I stump round and round,
Never lie on the ground,
Not even to die.
Oliphaunt am I,
Biggest of all,
Huge, old, and tall.
If ever you’d meet me
You wouldn’t forget me.
If you never do,
You won’t think I’m true;
But old Oliphaunt am I,
And I never lie.'”
That’s a rhyme we have in Lutra,” Dakkan said when he had finished, “Nonsense, maybe, and maybe not.”
“You’re still not getting the part, Dakkan. Hobbits don’t swim and they aren’t tall.”
*sigh* “Worth a shot.”
Has the hairy feet though and the inclination to second breakfast.
I’m sure they can fix the height issue with perspective shots.
Fun fact: I remember that song from Sam in The Two Towers, but I read it in Spanish.
Dakkan: But it’s not FAIR! Quinlan got the role of the pointy-eared archer guy easily!
Oh man, I feel for Dak. The sight of blood makes me want to vomit.
At least, other people’s blood. My own blood doesn’t faze me for some reason. I could have a huge gash on my arm and I’d be fine, but someone else cuts themselves shaving and I get woozy.
I can’t wait to see how this affects him later, when he may not have a conveniently placed Canid to catch him.
I can imagine sometime in the future, somebody close to Dakkan gets badly injured and Dak is either forced to deal with his phobia to save his friend or he has to overcome his fear in order to defend his friend from an attacker
Oh, boy, Here comes the phobia. (I love Dakkan’s face in the second panel, btw; it makes me happy to see good otter designs). As for poor Dakkan, this is going nowhere good. I note that most of what Kenosh did in the author’s notes was rationalize it, not necessarily accept it in a healthy way, even if he’s at least aware about it. For it to come up now and prove a major roadblock in any future bloody fights–which will happen–is not good.
And I can’t see any of the Canid being very understanding of a blood phobia.
Dakkan’s fangs in the second panel look cute to me.
Incidentally, your picture of Rhosyn was great. I can’t wait to see her and the other Sratha-Din again.
Thank you! And yes, I look forward towards the Din’s reappearance. And I love how Rachel draws teeth.
Screw rationaliation and acceptance!
Make a man out of him!*
*This expression is being used in this case to demand that Dakkan is forced into desensytizing from the sight of blood, not that he is turned into a human, nor that his body be used as raw material to create a person.
I just had a thought–does anyone else think that Lady Canid here looks like she might be related to Clovis?
She has the same fur undertone and the same patterns, although her fur is slightly darker than his, and more tan while his is more cream-colored.
This page has a good Clovis headshot for comparison:
https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-2-page-40/
*gasp* and she doesn’t know! And Clovis’ hard heart will be softened just in time to save her from certain doom and they’ll have a touching, tearful father-daughter reunion cut short by his tragic demise and as she cradles her father in her arms, Dak will rest a comforting paw on her shoulder and with his dying breath, Clovis, heretofore obstinately against his daughter being courted by a lily-livered, blood-fearing useless lump of an otter, will give them his blessing.
Ah, so he IS still scared of blood.
Also I really like the way that unconscious Ermehn is drawn.
I’m sorry…. this is going to sound inappropriate but that first panel with Dakkan and that unconscious Ermehn, looks like he should’ve said “Welcome to Deltrada %&$#!” But YEAH! Female Canid Soldier/Rhosyn REPRESENTING!
I like Dakkan’s aggressive to cocky to fainting. He’s clearly taken a page from Clovis’ how-to guide to mood swings.
Ahaha oh boy, it’s nice you always write these accompanying texts, without it I would’ve thought in the next update we would zoom out and see Kenosh lying besides the fallen warrior, making Dak faint.
It is not too late.
Previous page shows no evidence of dead Kenosh. And even if he does die in the story, I doubt it will be offscreen.
Re-reading this page, I think it would have been hilarious if Lady Canid’s line in the last panel had read, “Hey, wassa matter you?”
Three cheers for guido Canids!
(And yes, I’m from Joisey, so I can use the term “guido” indiscriminately.)