Chapter 3: Page 55
Sometimes when I get really upset I need to take my anger out on something. Swinging an axe around and smashing stuff can be pretty cathartic — so much so that there’s a whole “rage industry” that lets patrons pay money to just smash things with their smashing implement of choice. In Rathik’s case, he’s got a boat that he was specifically instructed to scuttle, so two birds with one stone there.
The response we got from last week’s post was absolutely wonderful — thank you all so much for your kind words and support! As I said last week, we’re incredibly excited to share what our next steps are for Beyond the Western Deep. We’re still in a planning stage, but once we’ve got a plan all squared away, you can absolutely expect to see an update here, and in our official Western Deep Discord Server!
That’s right, it’s time to plug the Discord once again! Readers of all sorts have stopped in to say hello and chat with us about Western Deep, share their artwork with the community, and generally have fun. So if any of that sounds intriguing, feel free to stop by!
For guest art this week, here’s a wonderful piece by UrbanHart of a younger Ashtor!
I love Urban’s pencils and linework here, and Ashtor is really expressive here, evaluating the scroll in his hands with some degree of gravitas. I’ll bet he was a pretty cool fellow in his younger years. Thanks for the awesome picture, UrbanHart!
Better never leave axes around Rathik…
“GRRAAAH! THIS BOAT IS A PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE CONFLICT RAGING BETWEEN MY IDEOLOGIES AND THE EXIGENT PRACTICAL NEEDS OF THE MOMENT NECESSITATED BY MY ACTIONS, THE ACTIONS OF MY COMRADES, AND THE COMPLEX WEB OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE US ALL AND I HAAAAATE IT! RRUH!!!”
LMAO
Bevan might want to step a bit away from the raging Ermehn :c
Urban you always make these characters look extra cute with your style X)
Young Ashtor is very dashing indeed!
Yes, scuttle that butt
Wordplay!
Good stuff as always.
I like that Bevan isn’t shy to help Rathik right away, even in his furious state. He looks understandably cautious, but is right there anyway. It shows to me that he doesn’t want Rathik to feel as though the party has turned against him and isn’t afraid of him or anything because of his outburst. Rathik doesn’t seem particularly intelligent or emotionally complex, but Bevan chooses to ensure Rathik knows he still has support.
Or maybe he’s just finishing sinking the boat because he was told to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Nice page! Bevan is definitely getting across his mood. If only he was also a scribe, he could also write letters telling Hardin how angry he is (an internet cookie to the first person to get that reference).
I’m really interested in seeing what happens next.
Rhosyn’s expression makes me think she is going to keep her eye on
Rathik and may not hesitate to shoot him, order or not, next time his emotions get the better of him. I also agrre with Catbox Monster in the argument of Rathik’s intelligence. Rathik IS shown to be bigger, stronger, and faster then most
ermehn, but so far he has NOT expressed that much in the brains department.
Rathik’s blurb on the cast page says he is “…larger, stronger, and smarter than most Ermehn in the Wastes…” so he must have at least a few brain cells to rub together.
I suppose there are many different types of intelligence; he could have a tremendous sense of direction, excellent spacial awareness, superb balance and coordination, perfect pitch and a knack for extra hard sudoku but still not be able to articulate a thought or read the mood in a room (or on a lakeshore) to save his life.
Yep. I love it when characters are more complex than “There’s the leader, that’s the smart one, and the big one here is the angry dumb one.” A character can lack certain kinds of intelligence without being stupid. (I’m also a sucker for when characters who look like they might fit the “The Dumb One” archetype/cliche turn out to have more going on than they appeared.)
So Rathik may lack people skills (or maybe not; even a people person can lose his temper and have his anger get the better of him) but that doesn’t make him dumb muscle.
I like to think that most of the Sratha-Din have both mental and physical attributes that made them valuable enough for Hardin to go through the trouble of recruiting them. If you’re putting together a dream team of a few elite warriors, you want each one to tick off as many boxes as possible. In addition to or instead of just ticking off Kenosh. ;)
Of course, Eira seems valuable mostly for her intelligence/knowledge and especially her literacy; she doesn’t seem to have the physical aptitude of the others. Then again, it may just be that because she’s so valuable as a scribe that she’s kept away from combat, she hasn’t gotten the chance to show off her physical abilities. (Anyway, to lead the lifestyle of the Sratha-Din, or practically any Ermehn surviving in the wastes, you’d have to be in better shape than someone like, say, me.)
Likewise, it seems plausible that Rathik is not especially intelligent (cast page notwithstanding), but is smart enough that it doesn’t detract from what he brings to the team because of his strength and size. It’s equally plausible that he’s a pretty smart cookie but hasn’t had the chance to show it yet.
This comment is much longer than I thought it would be when I started writing it. Uh, sorry about that.
Write without regret.
Brevity is optional
In this fish party.
*APPLAUSE*
There are some Ermin contemplating many things, not to sure about anything anymore. Great chapter, as always!
*Erhmin. ‘This dude is insane!? Should i follow him? I get to kill Canids…. he is totally DESTROYING that boat right now. I’ll stay. I don’t want to be on his bad side….’