Chapter 4: Page 45
And with this final, tremendous battle cry, Rathik’s journey has come to its conclusion–perhaps the only conclusion that was possible given Rathik’s proclivity toward violence and his desire to live up to his family name. It would appear that even with all his strength and skill, his family name did little to protect him in the end. Ironically, he appears doomed to share Sratha’s very same fate.
Our sincerest apologies for the delayed page last week–this summer has conspired in many ways to confound our schedule, but we are hopefully coming to the end of such shenanigans. At least until the holiday season ramps up here in the States in mid-November, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it!
We’ve talked about the Patreon a little bit, and we’ve received some wonderful messages of support from readers about one. We’re dedicated to getting one spun up, but will likely wait until the page schedule is in a little better of a spot.
We also have some near-term goals to begin posting the Song of the Eastern Sands chapter of Western Deep on the popular Webtoon service, and also to get the digital versions of Volume One and Volume Two on Amazon’s Comixology platform to allow readers to purchase it from there for their e-readers and tablets.
Also, we finally got our table assignment for the upcoming Rose City Comic Convention taking place in Portland, Oregon in just a handful of weeks!
From September 10th through September 12th, Rachel and I will be at table O-4 in Artist Alley and we’ll have all sorts of cool merch on offer, from Volume 1 and 2, the pin sets from the Kickstarter campaigns, our famed Sharkhunter print, and even T-SHIRTS!
That’s right, the shirt design based on our Kickstarter Limited Edition cover is going to be available in ULTRA LIMITED QUANTITIES at Rose City Comic Con for the very first time!
As for where exactly O-4 is, here’s a map with some subtle directions emblazoned therein:
See you all next week!
Now this was a page worth waiting for.
Was hoping Rathik could take down or at least incapacitate at least one more of the Canid, to help ensure the others will make a clean getaway, but his cut-off battle cry suggests he was not up for it.
RIP, Rathik. And safe journeys to his former comrades.
Have fun at Rose City, guys! Hope you sell lots of everything! And stay safe! (Safer than Rathik, at any rate.)
Rathik….no…..
It really is too bad. Rathik was one of a kind.
Now we have to live with the likelihood that the Sratha lineage is extinguished for good. So much for the new “Sratha-din” :(
Rip Rathik (*) …
…Glory to the Sratha-din and Ermehns heroes. We will miss ya buddy. Sleep well, you are really free now.
*Cri :c
There’s a lot to unpack in this one page.
Things like how the sunlight breaks through the clouds right before Rathik gets up for one final go at the Canid soldiers – and even after his death, you can still see a small bit of sunlight on the rest of the Sratha-din.
Things like how Kenosh’s new scars are very similar in shape and placement to the marks on Rathik’s face.
Even the rest of the Sratha-din’s reactions to the sound of Rathik’s final battle cry being cut off.
I want to go back and reread this scene in its entirety now. Well done, Alex and Rachel; you’ve outdone yourselves. And farewell, Rathik.
We all knew this was coming, but it still hits hard.
A fitting end to a wonderfully-written character.
Take your place among the ancestors, Rathik, and may your and Sratha’s name never fade from the Long Memory.
Alas poor Rathik, the barbarian rage finally wore off and he failed his last save.
He will be missed… And quickly replaced by his long lost twin brother Kih’tar the barbarian warrior, who looks and acts exactly like his brother for some reason.
We’ll not forget you, Rathik.
In the afterlife I hope you find peace and tranquility (or plenty of canid soldier’s souls to fight for eternity, depending on how you see it).
Now, I’m curious about the Hadrin’s knife. The last time we saw it was in page 30, and it was apparently removed from its owner’s (former owner’s?) body before page 36. We don’t know if someone picked it up, or if it was left behind. But perhaps we will see it again in the hands of another Sratha’din…