Chapter 3: Page 4
I know quite a few readers assumed that the names Janik was rattling off to Mitra were the names of the Vulpin Council. Well, confirmation comes today, proving that some of you folks are awfully observant and up to speed on your Western Deep lore! :)
This week, Mitra begins to fill Janik in on a little bit of political reality. In the Vulpin hierarchy, one’s standing is measured in great respect by the raw amount of power one controls. This may be wealth, influence, land, or all three — but all members of the Vulpin Council hold their positions in Vulpin society because they wield more power than other Vulpin. There are no votes outside of the Council, and often decisions come down to Council members asking whether a decision will affect their own personal wealth. Sometimes these decisions are mutually exclusive — a trade deal with one nation might positively impact one Council member but adversely affect another.
In these cases, we get into the darker element of Vulpin politics. It tends to involve harsh debates, bribes, and sometimes even lives are lost. Either way, Vulpin politics are a messy business. You can understand why Mitra is impressing upon Janik the importance of gaining and maintaining power as Sunsgrove’s representative in Nessa.
ALSO, A NEW HOLIDAY BUNDLE IS IN THE STORE!
So, Thanksgiving is coming up for us Americans — and the Holidays are fast approaching! To celebrate, as per tradition, I have added a HOLIDAY BUNDLE SPECIAL to the Western Deep store. For $35+Shipping, you get:
- Western Deep Volume 2 (Signed by me)
- A Tesque Master T-Shirt
- BOTH Propaganda Prints (Victory & Stand)
- A Close Call Mini-Print
Seem like something you might be interested in? Want to grab something special for someone for the Holidays? Well, look no further than our online store!
Supplies are limited!
“Power equals power. Crazy, huh?”
And that last line isn’t ominous at all . . .
Seriously, it’s almost like Mitria knows already that there’s some serious political snafu closing upon them like a giant set of jaws.
(And the grumpy ostrich is peeking out in the first panel just to remind us that he’s still very angry about all of this.)
An OotS qoute! That I was able to identify as such!! :D (I just spent the past week binge-reading its whole archive)
Well, I am a fan and it is very quotable . . .
I used to say that OOTS was my favorite webcomic and this was a close second, but now they’re in a dead heat, since Western Deep has gotten better and OOTS hasn’t gotten any worse.
And let me welcome you to the Salmon Party, Jane! I hope that you’ll join the discussion around here!
I’m following eight webcomics right now, with Lackadaisy and OotS topping my list of favorites. I’m not sure whether I prefer BtWD to Vattu or vice versa (they’re the most similar of the bunch). Vattu’s plot intrigues me more, but I find the characters in BtWD more relatable, so that’s a tossup at the moment.
From the small amount of perusing in the comments section of BtWD that I’ve done so far, my impression is that this webcomic is in somewhat of a unique position in that it has both the modest fan number of a lesser-known webcomic AND the fan enthusiasum/in-depth knowledge level regularly seen in the fanbase of large webcomics, which when combined create an unusually closeknit fanbase. This is an interesting quality.
…(Okay, I suppose there’s other webcomics out there like this, but I haven’t read them yet.)
Well, we appreciate your reading the comic and joining in the comments section! Lackadaisy is a favorite of both mine and Rachel’s — Tracy’s work was a huge inspiration for us early on, and she’s been incredibly supportive of BtWD :)
maybe the people who like to stick close to the council members are just in it for the money. or power. or totally not suspicious secret connections.
oh boy… Janik is in for one hell of a rude awakening.
I forget if this was a thing, but I recall hearing/reading somewhere how the Treaty of Cenolau may have layed some sort of hidden agenda with the handling of the defeated Ermehn people. Either it was just pure speculation on Hardin’s bio or maybe there’s something there that will become something important in the future
Not going anywhere with that though. It’s just a funny thought that crossed my mind when I read Mitra’s lines about political power.
More important question though….are we certain that avians are completely “non-sentient” at all? That ostrich really looks super salty about it’s predicament right now haha.
well, the Canid probably had a hand in the treaty, and the Sunsgrove alliance might have been established before the Treaty was signed. If that was the case, the Canid really would have driven the Ermehn to the Wastes by declaring it as their territory.
….this is all speculation.
I could imagine the Canid having something to do with the it seeing as how one of them was used as a representative for making peace with the Felis in that tapestry in the beginning lol. Thanks to the Polcan I’m pretty sure the alliance in Sunsgrove was already formed before the end of the war too.
But I refer more to how other parties not just the Canid probably had a hand in dooming the Ermehn with that treaty. Seeing how meticulous the Vulpin are about their power just brings that plot into my mind.
The Lutren/Tamian alliance was definitely set before the Treaty. I’d be interested in finding that speculation, because “hidden agenda” is somewhat vague- there’s the obvious motivators of slave labor for the Felis and their building projects and the land for the Canid, and if the Canid were as powerful then as they are now obviously no one wants to piss them off.
Would your speculation that the Vulpin betrayed the Tamian at some point in the past have any implications on this point?
That depends on the exact nature of the betrayal- it could be anything from a refusal to send needed aid (Perhaps when the Polcan showed up?) or a more direct attack, whether for resources or trade routes or some other motive. I don’t think there’s quite enough pieces of known info to make a fully formed theory- yet
“The beacons are lit! Sunsgrove calls for aid!”
“And Navran will answer. Screw ’em!”
as much as i can understand power is something but people are important as well but with power comes with great responsibility as we all know and the page’s are awesome as ever.
Responsibility towards who, though? In Nessa it’s obviously to the good folk who keep you in power, not people in general.
Wait, the people are called Vulpin and the place is Nessa, so what’s Navran?
Vulpin: The race
Nessa: The capital of Navran
Navran: The Vulpin kingdom
as much as i can understand power is something but people are important as well but with power comes with great responsibility as we all know and the page’s are awesome as ever.
See, that quote only has weight as far as someone is willing to put into it. I bet that, while Mitra approaches power from the angle of helping people, there’s a fair fraction of the Council that doesn’t actually give a crap about the people beyond how it can serve their own ends. Power and responsibility only intersect as far as one wants it too- it’s definitely far looser an arrangement than, say, the Canid view, I would imagine.
so people and power aren’t the some thing? i’m not really good at understanding things that well but what i do understanding is that the council can’t live without power without power there is no money no money that means no people council but you all know where i’m going with this if not let me know.
Time to finally leave the shadows and actually say something. :P
Been following this comic for a few weeks now, and to put it very simply, I love it. I’ve enjoyed every page, reading the comments and looking at all the back stories and extra info you put below the pages. Not to mention the online store is pretty awesome. You guys have put in an insane amount of work into this and it really shows.
I’m pretty excited to see Janik’s happenings in Navran. She’s pretty funny and I like her assertiveness.
I know this is two years late, but Clovis’ face in chapter two, page 40, panel two, and the comic edits that people put in the comments quite literally almost made me bust a gut. So funny. XD
Well hey, Chandler! Let me be the first to officially welcome you to the Salmon Party! :)
Rachel, Jerome, and I really appreciate all the kind words — we put a lot of effort into this comic and we love to hear from readers who enjoy what we’re doing. And for the record, the pure number of lols I got from the panel edits fans did on that page back in chapter 2 set my mood on “elated” for the entirety of that week.
Hey, thanks! I love the group name, Salmon Party. No one can say that without smiling lol. Where did that name come from? Only reason I can think of is because Kenosh and Dakkan are Lutren. :P
Alex is the one that coined the term: https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-2-page-81/#comment-6342
The “Salmon” part came from http://shiitaketissues.tumblr.com/post/56256950704/kobbers-shiitake-tissues-dakkan-i-have this drawing, which became a bit of a meme in the comment section.
I had a feeling that picture had something to do with it lol. I love it.
Hey Chandler! Always a pleasure to see a new face join the salmon party!
Thanks ladyoftheshield. :} I’ve read tons of your past comments and I’ve enjoyed them. I love the Salmon Party already. :P
“entertaining” is certainly one way to describe my deranged ramblings, haha. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed them. We’re glad to have you!
I remember that, good times. Clovis was such a gift that kept on giving, and he easily became my favorite character in the short time he shared with us.
Also, pleased to meet you!
So true lol. Likewise tronn. :} I still find myself wanting Clovis to magically return somehow. I guess we all have our false yet comforting hopes sometimes. :P
(Fanfiction. We need more.)
Sorry for the late welcome, but thanks for joining the conversation, Chandler!
We’re always in the market for more rampant speculators.
Hey Fourth Master. :} Yeah I’m really happy to finally be an active participant in the community surrounding this universe. It really is neat.
Much like Quinlan, i am fashionably late again.
I really like the way the top half of that page is structured- especially the way the speech bubbles interact with the panels. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it before- yet it’s effective and clear.
Is that a hip quiver I see on that Tamian guard to the far left in that third panel?
This discussion on power is really interesting, especially when you consider how the theme of power has already been used in the story. (English Major rambling ahead, feel free to skip lol) Mitra’s argument that you can’t help anyone without power is interesting when you contrast it with the fact that Kenosh just gave up whatever power he held in the Sunsgrovian government to side with the Ermehn. Of course, Kenosh is still very well known and respected throughout the four kingdoms, but he has no- or very little- political power to his name right now. Quinlan and Dakkan also have no or little power at the moment- Quinlan may be high-ranking, but there’s no one under his sphere of influence except Dakkan around. However, while Hardin has no political power, saying that Hardin has no power would be a fatal mistake- and all of that power is power he’s taken for himself. I guess my point is that, while Mitra is certainly right in certain cases, and Janik’s power will certainly be important, I don’t think that political power will be the sole deciding factor of this story- particularly on Quinlan, Dakkan and the Sratha-din end. While it’s too early to see the nature of the choices Quinlan and Dakkan will have to make, I have a suspicion that it’s not going to be political power that decides their side of the story- and the same probably goes for Kenosh. While Beyond the Western Deep definitely is on the more cynical side of the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism, I don’t think it’s as far over as, say, Game of Thrones, I think there might be room for some Lord of the Rings esque themes regarding the role of commonfolk and friendship in the mechanations of the Wise.
Or I could be wrong and I’m completely off on all of this, lol.
Either way, it seems clear that Janik does not hold Mitra’s view- the question remains if this is a cultural difference, or if this is simply the voice of experience talking. I have the feeling it’s the former, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Janik finds herself in a position where she may have to preserve her political power for the sake of the people she’s trying to protect, even at their expense.
Either way, all that will come when it comes.
I really am interested in finding out more about the other members of the envoy and their roles- we have the obvious military guards, but I’m not entirely sure what purpose the Lutren serve- I haven’t seen weapons or any obvious cues as to their role in the envoy, but I’ll assuming we’ll find out in good time. I really love the direction Janik’s chapter has taken so far- also, Rachel, the background landscape in page really stands out for some reason- particularly in the first and fourth panels, and I like how you can clearly tell the position of the sun from the casting of the shadows. Lovely job, as always.
Called it, she is evil.
Her end goal is likely to use Janik as her pawn… in order to have access to the bombs