Chapter 4: Page 71
Before we get into the page this week, I wanted to thank everyone who’s backed our Kickstarter campaign and supported us thus far! Not only did we hit our main goal of $9,000, but we passed our stretch goal of $11,250 just today!
Of course, we still have a lot more pledge rewards remaining, including vinyl albums and slots to watch livestreams of the orchestra recording sessions, among others–so if you want to help us reach even higher peaks, check out the campaign at https://westerndeep.net/kickstarter
Hardin gets a nice little plot summary of what’s happened since he’s been unceremoniously stabbed in the chest! Rachel has proven herself to be something of a master of tone within character expressions, and it’s something I plan to continue calling out whenever I have a chance to. Hardin’s realization of how much time has passed, and his processing of Rathik’s demise, are such fun moments in this scene–and I love how Rachel’s handled them.
We’re down to 18 days left on our Kickstarter campaign, believe it or not. We hit our funding goal and stretch goal before the halfway point, which is a phenomenal accomplishment that’s thanks entirely to our community–to you!
I’ll be beating the Kickstarter drum constantly over the next 18 days here and on our social media, so if you haven’t checked out what the fuss is about just yet, please do! Did I mention the URL is https://westerndeep.net/kickstarter? Because that’s what it is! =)
See you all next week!
Wow. Ashtor seems to despise Rathik a lot more than Hardin does.
Ashtor and Hardin are both idealistic, and as we saw neither of them were particularly fond of Rathik’s motives for joining their cause, but Hardin is more pragmatic than Ashtor is. Although Hardin is more than likely angry at Rathik, I imagine he at least respects his reasons for doing what he did and is sad to have such a valuable asset gone from his army.
This slightly irrelevant but, who won the battle at Deltrada?
My guess is, nobody.
Then again, the winner might be Tosche, since he now has the pretext for his war. Time will tell whether the canid actually win more than they lose in the coming conflict.
Whether the Ermehn won or not Captain Snowface died so that’s a pretty big victory.
Possibly, but I’m not so sure. Clovis is off the table but we still have Tosche, and he now has a martyr. I don’t know if there was ever friction between Tosche and Clovis, but while Clovis may or may not have disagreed with Tosche, the honored memory of Clovis never will. Tosche now commands Clovis’s forces as well as his own, from what I can tell. That means many more troops than before are united behind a single leader, and that leaders grudge against the Ermehn is now even stronger.
The only way this is a victory is if (a) Tosche’s grief or lust for revenge drives him to make bad decisions and (b) that doesn’t just make him even more dangerous.
There’s probably a lot we don’t know yet, but from what I remember having seen so far, Kenosh had the right idea and Hardin made a mess by jumping the gun.
I find it telling that Hardin’s second word upon awakening is “Eira.” Since I doubt they were lovers, she must loom very large in his mind for other reasons. It shows how much importance he places on whatever she’s meant to do.
Hardin was wondering where Eira was because she’s writing a book in Felis script about Ermehn and their struggles and victories. But it’s mostly about Hardin. So if the Ermehn get wiped out the Felis will know his story.
My point exactly. But Hardin thinks strategically, so the question becomes, what does he intend to DO with that book?
Hardin must be a badass to even be lucid considering the depth of his sword wound. I mean I guess he has combat experience, but I’m surprised he doesn’t have a punctured lung.