Comic for Monday, February 16th, 2021
It’s been referenced a few times that Ashvalt killed a handful of the Rogue Family mages back in during the fighting prior to them stepping back and letting the Consul rule (the accord). Stopping Ashvalt once was of the reasons they agreed to the accord (once Regin’s family and Camilla were unified with Ashvalt’s side, they were a difficult faction to fight); for Ashvalt, he saw it as a narrow victory condition after growing a bit older during the fighting. Ashvalt is probably the one the Rogue Families fear the second most after Camilla, though neither of them have the most powerful overall Family among the mages they are individually strong duelists.
While he is ruthless, as we’ve seen his children tend to be somewhat more… sheltered from the violence compared to a typical Family mage. Ashvalt viewed the accord as a way to end the violence and not have his kids inherent the fight. He was pretty actively looking to resume the fight during the Family meeting, but if we recall that was after he believed their plots had almost gotten Arkady killed. Now that they’ve made a second attempt on his kids, he seems to have lost what little restraint he might have had from the accord, deciding that there is a second path to building a peaceful world (killing them all).
Of course, as he is an important figure in the Bureau now, the summary execution of someone without due process is probably going to have some ramifications.
Ashvalt isn’t the strongest of the Family Mages, though he’s a dangerous one. This magic is not actually his innate magic talent, and his innate magic talents aren’t that great, but he’s put a great deal of effort into honing his ability to fight other mages, and tends to be brutal in how he fights. Normally Saraine would be a fairly bad match up for him, as he doesn’t have a good way to stop Void which activates faster that magic can normally be calculated, and Ashvalt doesn’t have any particularly good counters to that (Camilla has several, and unlike Ashvalt, has very powerful innate abilities, which are harder to stop), but when Ashvalt heard that Saraine couldn’t use Void, it eliminated the main trump card Saraine would have in a fight. While she might have been able to win a prolonged fight, Ashvalt believed in raw speed he could beat her to the draw and punch through her default defenses. Sort of like how Naomi often beats mages to the draw just by punching them in the face – sometimes the magic you can use matters less than how fast you can use it. In this case he used a simple magic that’s generally used for defense offensively, and he simply made a barrier faster than Saraine could… he just then used as it chop someone in two instead of block. Saraine was probably trying to use the same magic herself (as she did to block Naomi), Ashvalt was just, as he predicted, faster.
It’s not particularly clear from the comic, but Ashvalt’s been able to hear what is going on for quite some time (for the same reason he was able to find them, his son activated a sort of emergency tracking bug when he was kidnapped).
Anyway, that was a long ramble, I just sort of felt I should give Ashvalt more background than he’s gotten so far as sometimes I worry we don’t see enough about the background of things.
Loading ...
Never… Mess… With… A… Man’s… Family.
Page will be up tomorrow. Thought we’d be on time two weeks in a row, but then we had panel creep (it’s scope creep, but where I keep adding panels to the sketch) 😀
Probably end of day tomorrow as I have a fair bit I need to do tomorrow already.
Ashvalt, Naomi, and Kallisto are not comic book heroes from the DC or Marvel universes. In the Man of Steel movie, people complained that Superman killing General Zod was not something that Superman would do since “Superman doesn’t kill”. However, according to normal military and police rules of engagement, the action was appropriate in that the requirements for using lethal force were met.
In this case, Saraine has said that she will use lethal force if not allowed to leave, she will not surrender, she has the capability of using lethal force and it appears that using lethal force against her is the only way to prevent her from doing so. Ashvalt and the people accompanying him are agents of the government charged with serving the government’s interest. Therefore, lethal force against Saraine would appear to be justified.
Kallisto is sometimes confused by which rules of engagement to use. That is why she usually leaves the decision to Peter and waited until the overt act (Saraine’s forces threatening to kill Ashvalt’s son) before becoming involved. She also held back on the dragon until she felt that it was necessary.
The fact that it was Ashvalt’s son who was threatened is really irrelevant.
Well… I guess it was just a matter of time before I ended up offering corrections for the commentary and not just the comic proper. Paragraph 2, Sentence 2:
Ashvalt viewed the accord as a way to end the violence and not have his kids inherit the fight.
You’re treading down a long, difficult road. I wish you good journey.
Just a thought. How many greenies survived, if any.
Hmm… Perhaps Ashvault does not want any witnesses that are not his own people?
I don’t think Ashvalt is worried about witnesses. The Hilvari green hairs murdered people, kidnapped a child and threatened to kill him. The greenies have lost the family head and perhaps the heir plus who knows how many minions. They got exactly what they deserved. A witness would be able to carry the news about how quickly they were defeated. However, Ashvalt could just delivered some severed heads.
Based on Ashvalt’s words here, I suspect whether the heir survives or not depends on her choices on the next comic update she’s a part of.
It feels to me like the situation would be a bit tidier if I had a better filename for her character profile than lime_green_hilvari_heir before she’s relegated to the past, but I know not all situations are tidy, especially in comic land. Her lack of a name could have been foreshadowing her relatively rapid demise.
I think the Hilvari boosters are probably going to survive, because none of them are insane enough to attack Ashvalt on their own, and Ashvalt seems interested in being able to claim he only kills in self-defense or family defense.
Also I think the first confirmed death onscreen.
Not to split hairs, but she hasn’t even hit the ground yet much less been confirmed dead.
I mean it LOOKS that way. But the list of people who looked like they died onscreen is pretty long.
The list of dead bodies on-panel is also rather long. Not sure if the deaths were on-panel, but the bodies were…
It is a fact that Saraine is at her limit and can’t absorb any more magic. Which makes me wonder…
Question:
When a mage has absorbed magic up to the very limit that their body can handle… and then their body is either bisected or receives what is a mortal wound (or possibly just very severe trauma)… would this cause them to lose control of the energy they have stored up, accidentally releasing it in a nasty way?
I know of a system that can logically explain why that wouldn’t happen… but I don’t know what Past’s answer is.
I kinda want to see exploding mages now.
… There’s a comic today? Past, would it be rude if I asked for the instructions for the blood sacrifice you made?
You had to ask about the blood sacrifice, now this week’s comic if not on time!!! 🙁 🙁
So sad.
I may not have magic like these characters, but if a member of my family was in the same spot.. I’d go through the same thing to save them.
Amen. It’s a depraved mind that seeks to limit your ability to do so.
Whenever I read about or see a villain who clearly cares for their own family, yet shows clear disregard for the family of their rivals/those who get in their way/heroes (or innocent civilians who have nothing to do with them), I think about how disgusting it is and how huge a hypocrite they are. A villain who hates everyone is one thing. But hypocrites like this Saraine really pi** me off.
Sadly, even in real life, I think a lot of people tend to forget that nearly everyone is someone else’s family member. Compassion, common sense and wisdom seem in such short supply, while apathy is in abundance. But then, things like compassion and common sense practically require considering things from someone else’s point of view – something that seems to happen less and less these days. It’s a major reason why politics seems a bigger landmine topic than ever before: Many refuse to consider the others’ viewpoint (and are far too emotionally attached to their own).
Strange. If you hadn’t spelled out Saraine, I would have thought you were talking about the Consul of Malsa or Ashvalt…
@Old Dan
Ashvalt I can *maybe* understand how you got confused with my talk. Maybe (but not really). But how did you come to think about the Consul?
Remind me, please: What was it that the Consul did which smacks of hypocrisy, such as caring a great deal for one’s own family without seeming to care at all about the lives of others?
Admittedly, it’s been a while since I read the early chapters. And I should probably do an archive dive at this point. But the only thing that comes to mind, for me, is how the Consul clearly cares for Malsa to the point of making sacrifices. But then, I’d say that’s just nationalism. And war is war. One might say that the Consul picked a fight with the IDS and others. But, really, they didn’t give her much choice.
It’s not hypocritical to value ones family over others. It’s human, and possibly part of our biology.
But it is short-sighted to expect that one can walk into somebody’s home and kidnap their children without consequences. If you think doing this will protect your family, rather than putting them into harm’s way, you’re probably being stupid. I understand that the world is complicated and there are times when it wouldn’t, which is why that “probably” is there.
When you violate a peace accord in the process of your attempted kidnapping, and there’s no indication that your opposition was about to violate that same accord, this applies in spades.
It’s my impression that the rogue families are getting back into the fight now in large part because they think the IDS will help lead them to victory, while not realizing that they’re only being aided by a part of IDS that lost a struggle against the part of the IDS that’s helping the people who previously beat them.
Nothing on this page has to do with saving anyone — that part is already accomplished. This is about retaliation/deterrence (this is not to say that retaliation is necessarily wrong, but it’s important to recognize the distinction).
Yes and no. As Naldru points out above, Saraine clearly has no intention of leaving well enough alone. She didn’t manage to kill any children this time. A preemptive strike now when she has a vulnerability and has stated her intent to pursue further engagement…. That sort of self defense is not permitted under any castle doctrine in our world.
However Naldru is probably accurate in that it would be deemed reasonable for Ashvalt in his world.
I can’t say that it is not at least partly retribution, though Ashvalt’s words don’t read that way to me. Deterrence? I don’t think anything is going to deter Saraine. Therein lies the problem. She needs to be stopped.
Several other mags have been arrested, with the clear message that they will be released when they are needed. I don’t know what this universe has for incarceration / arrest of mages, but it would seem that keeping them locked up for an extended time requires significant cooperation from the detainee.
Ashvalt appears to be more than merely deterring. He’s stopping in the only fashion he can.
I think this sort of thing is not covered under self-defense. However, it’s my understanding that Texas’ castle doctrine has been used as a defense against this sort of response to this kind of threat with mixed results in our world. I seem to recall hearing about cases going in both directions even during the less than a decade I was living in Texas.
Some of that may be differences in the “racial” makeup of the people involved, but I’m sure there’s also some differences based on the specific people involved in the juries and their life experiences, and others based on specific facts of the case and how it’s presented. It’s all complicated enough that even if I were a lawyer, probably the only answer I could really give would be, “It depends.”
Guess Saraine’s passive defenses aren’t on the same level as Elizabeth (Camilla tried the same sort of trick and it didn’t do a whole lot). Not sure how she compares to other IDS mages.
I approve of this use of the supreme art of cutting.
Technically this counts as removing an arm I guess. it just still has a head attached to it….
YEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!! (fist-pump five times) I got my wish and more. The green haired vile hag not only lost an arm but a shoulder and head also. My sincere thanks go out to Past for this most excellent act of cosmic karma. My apologies to Ashvalt who I thought was playing Peter Peacemaker.
I suspect he has politics in mind; ‘family head killed by head of another family’ is different from ‘family head killed by IDS mage’ or ‘family head killed by illegally disguised athlete’.
I agree. And while he may have a price to pay, given the set back he’s caused the renegades, I doubt it will be a price he is unwilling to pay.
Perhaps Arkady is about to inherit the family seat a bit early? Ashvalt takes an early retirement? I suspect that’s the worst that happens when only his people are witness to this. As I wrote below, the narrative is now his to write. Or perhaps he gets Peter to write him up a good narrative?
Ashvalt is sending a message to the rogue families. “You aren’t as powerful as you think you are. Now you know what will happen if you mess with MY family”. He actually did a very good job of keeping the fight between Families and not involving IDS.
I am unsure of the fine detail of the pact that put the Consul in power – but I would suspect that Saraine placed herself outside of it with this attempted kidnapping. She had the edge in power, but Ashvalt has clearly the edge in calculation speed, so could justify this use of lethal force by that measure, although I imagine removing a limb or two would have sufficed.
Given Saraine isn’t going to be around to argue the other side of the equation though, I am guessing his version will be accepted.
Exactly. Control the timing. Control the narrative.
I think the rogue families already put themselves outside of it. That’s why they’re the rogue families.
The only thing that they have agreed with is the related pact (or maybe it’s just a clause of the pact that puts The Consul in charge) where the rogue families aren’t all hunted down and wiped out, presumably so long as they don’t try to interfere with the running of Malsa.
Attempting to kidnap Ashvalt’s kid is *clearly* not going along with that pact. Saraine just thought she was powerful enough to get away with it, because her innate power usually lets her disregard the threat of other mages, while not leaving her subject to mundane attacks. (It’s my impression that null casters, on the other hand, just get to disregard the threat of most other mages. At least, the impression given so far is that null casters tend to be one trick ponies.)
I don’t think that Ashvalt’s going to personally suffer any local political fallout from this. It may just be his people who are right here, but there are cameras and witnesses outside his family to the kidnapping. Further, I get the sense that Malsa probably allows Family Heads to defend their families and homes similar to the way Texas lets all of its citizens defend their homes. This may not be inside Ashvalt’s home, but it’s certainly still on his property, and the fact that they were kidnapping his child would’ve probably been enough for Texas courts to not require it to still be on his property.
Shoulda left the kid alone, Saraine, All you managed to do was infuriate Ashvalt–possibly lethally….
Getting an arm, shoulder and head severed from the body goes beyond just possible. The vile hag is dead. She may be lucky that Ashvalt gave her a quick death. If the kid had been harmed she would likely have had a line of powerful people (mostly) taking a whack at her. Kally and the dragon, Mium, Ila, Peter, etc. While Mium wouldn’t kill her outright, he could “arrange” her death while making her life miserable. Ila would just use a sniper rifle or nuke her. F5/F8? could dissolve/deres parts of her body. Peter would …. well, we don’t know what Peter would do but he’d get her one way or another.
Peter would just arrange things so that she died inevitably as a result of her own plotting, due to an unlikely but highly understandable set of coincidences.
That is only one possibility. Honestly, if he was mad enough, I think no one would know what happened to her. She would simply disappear. And he would never mention her again.
I don’t think Peter would be so wasteful as to not turn them into an object lesson – unless “and that was the last time they were ever seen” IS the object lesson.
Impressive work on that last panel PastUtopia. The angle of the orange barrier running parallel to Ashvalt’s arm and the trail of blood running down it do an amazing job of indicating what just happened. A second earlier Ashvalt slashed his hand down across his body at the same angle and drove the barrier through Saraine from the top right. It’s a still image but it works just as well as if it was animated. Nicely done!
MMWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BLOOD! SPELLERY! FIRE, AND MAGIC! CONSPIRACY 12 LAYERS DEEP, STUNNING VISUALS AND IT EVEN MAKES JULIENNE FRIES!
Oh. Wait, that wasn’t supposed to all be in caps…
Anyway, thank you author. You have never disappointed with these pages. Great job.
Totally a great moment. Even not knowing Ashvalt’s background, that would’ve been appropriate after she kidnapped his kid and her people tried to kill said kid. With the background you gave, it was even better. 🙂
I think Ashvalt may be my new favourite side character. I mean, he was up there in the top 5 after the meeting, but the perfect on the spot planning and ruthlessness mixed with protecting his family here… perfection. (And I think he’s right – both in removing his son, Naomi and Kally before striking, and in his overall prediction that the rogue families need to be stomped on in order to move forward).
I agree with all of this 🙂
And he just removed the only witnesses who he couldn’t kill or control. Now he gets to write the narrative.
True that! Hopefully he’s got it set up as tidy as it seems 🙂
Exactly. Ashvalt is the head of one of the ruling families while Saraine was/is the head of a rogue family. (Keep in mind that there is evidence that the rogue families have been working with the IDS and/or their enemies against the ruling families – during a time of actual war, no less. The security of their nation and citizens is at stake.)
Without any neutral witnesses and Saraine dead, the only other witnesses are members of this rogue family (assuming any of them are still alive or allowed to survive). Moreover, the hate and blood-feud between them must be well-known at this point.
Finally, it was Saraine and her family that initiated an attack on Ashvalt’s compound, kidnapped his son and threatened to kill him. It’s an assumption, but I think they can prove this much with evidence and such. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t security camera footage and bodies inside of the security guards protecting the compound and his son.
I suspect all Ashvault has to do is claim that she attacked him – end of story. I rather doubt Ashvault’s own people would sell him out. And even if some of this rogue family survive, it’s their word against his. It would be seen as bias and revenge against Ashvault.
Besides, she clearly was resisting arrest and trying to flee from the scene of a crime. Can he help it if she was just too slow in initiating her shield? Even on the best of days, it would be near impossible for Ashvault to capture her, especially if he didn’t go all out.
I think it was PTerry that said you wanted to think of them as a friend – because you DEFINITELY didn’t want to imagine them as an enemy.
I gather he did not like doing this. Nor did he enjoy it in the past. It looks as if he felt it a chore he’d rather not do. But, best done and done instead of dithering about.
Ashvalt making the point that if you want to go back to the old bloody wars, you better be ready to die. And it sounds like if asked, he would say he killed exactly as many people as it took to get peace and a better life for everyone’s children. Shame so many people aren’t aware enough to have realized that.