Comic for Monday, September 6th, 2021
Comic! Sorry this was delayed; I think we are largely the last month of the production of the D&D book now, but I think I’ve said that for… 2-3 months now, so… uh, we’ll see.
Elmon is, without a doubt, a bit of a wanker. Family Heads do tend to be rather powerful mages though. While Elmon fears Camillia and to a lesser extent Ashvalt (and prefers to avoid fighting in general) to him, the realm of Family Heads is only really approached by Family Heirs, and not many of them (Eliana being something of a special case).
I am experimenting with a higher image quality. Let me know if you have issues. This one should zoom in to much higher resolution than previous pages (to help people text and things), but if you are having issues with it loading or being fuzzy, let me know.
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He wouldn’t have to particularly condense it on Elmon; it would still be thoroughly effective to just condense the oxygen in a ring/dome around him a few feet away. The molecules of oxygen will mostly reach the zone in milliseconds (300-400m/s at normal temperatures) and with no more coming the area around Elmon will be clear quite quickly. There’s also not that much oxygen; the slight rain probably won’t even touch him due to the leidenfrost effect.
Comic will probably not be up till tomorrow.
So what I’m hearing is that there _might_ be a chance, and maybe I should just sit here and mash reload?
New image quality looks great. It did take a bit longer to load but my internet is pretty bad so take that with a grain of salt.
Hm… I’m pondering if Tyler might have picked up some other tricks from Peter. Because that gas is only forming near Elmon. Just trying to puzzle out how Tyler freezing something would be causing a useful reaction.
Tyler did pick up a few tricks from Peter. Perhaps he learned the importance of attacking indirectly? Or maybe he learned that a sure impact to an enemy, even a small one, is worth more than a highly unreliable direct attack?
I’m thinking that he will freeze the ground under Elmon. The last panels seem to be focused on the ground and his feet.
What about the IDS knockout gas that there’s no evidence Kally used on Naomi at the end of their tennis match, and the IDS used on Kally shortly thereafter? Peter was there, was familiar with the gas, and saw how it was deployed.
It wouldn’t have to be the knockout gas. It could be any gas that Tyler could get his hands on or could create out of thin air in a stable manner. Admittedly, the create out of thin air in a stable manner sounds like an advanced IDS trick, so probably not that.
I think there’s a hint that this is going on, because there’s concentrations of mana particles that are distinctively separate from the visuals of the frost effect.
or just remove all the oxygen from the air around him, leaving him to breathe pure nitrogen. Assuming Tyler signed up for the new alchemy classes so now knows what oxygen is….
Tyler’s ability is “freezing” right? So if the AIR freezes… the human is no longer a threat.
Frozen nitrogen looks awesome! And Past’s white fluffy frost effect kind of reminds me of it (Google “Let’s Freeze Liquid Nitrogen!”)
Looking at the distance around Elmon’s feet that’s free of the effect, it looks like even if Tyler freezes the air around Elmon entirely solid, Elmon would probably have enough air to launch a notable response. Sure, the cold does radiate through to the target a bit more than the side effects of most magic, but it’s still probably not enough to take him out before he realizes that there’s actually a threat that he needs to counter.
Doing something with a relatively invisible gas is thus a more optimal path:
– Knockout gas has obvious utility.
– Removing the oxygen could count as knockout gas, if it’s within his skill range. Just reducing the oxygen enough could work.
– An anxiolytic gas could… explain why Elmon’s doing nothing so far.
– Laughing gas would probably provoke a response, but only after it became sufficiently disruptive as to interfere with that response.
– Happy gas could produce a similar effect to an anxiolytic gas, but we haven’t seen evidence of it yet.
There’s loads of other potential effects that could be provided, depending on what gas Tyler was able to get his hands on.
Oxygen condenses to a liquid at -183C and nitrogen at -196C. Tyler can condense the oxygen out of the air. Breathing pure nitrogen puts you to sleep painlessly. I almost passed passed out breathing pure Helium from a balloon four decades ago. Peripheral vision started closing in and I saw the “light at the end of the tunnel”. That’s is what people having a near death experience see. Fortunately, I knew what was happening and started breathing regular air quickly before passing out. Only got out a few Donald Duck words. LOL
I’m pretty sure it will take a family head to survive being coated with condensing liquid oxygen. CO2 freezes at -78.5C. That’s probably more than adequately cold to stop your average mage.
I’m guessing that a sudden -20C will discourage most average Joes, and -50C will likely be more than most run of the mill mages want to stand around in for more than a few moments.
-20C isn’t that bad if it is dry and your dressed for it. I’ve walked to school in colder. It isn’t comfortable though. -50C will kill normal people pretty quickly unless you’re both prepared for it, and conditions are just perfect for survival. Those humans in real world environments that reach that kind of temperature do not willingly go into it unless they absolutely have to do so. Small mishaps at that temperature are life ending.
True story, I once walked to school in weather that was -48C. They canceled school LATER that day. Why? Young and stupid I guess. I might have sustained permanent injury had not my roommate had more common sense than me and insisted I add additional layers. It still was unpleasant, and a foolish thing to do.
-50C is roughly -68F. I’ve been in -70F counting wind chill. School was cancelled, so I went to the computer lab, which was about a 12 minute walk. I think that was the first time I actually *walked* it, mostly on account of, it was so cold I wasn’t sure I’d get up if I fell down.
That said, I was wearing my heavy winter coat, two pair of pants, long underwear, a hat, my chem goggles, my scarf, my bike gloves, my winter gloves, two pairs of socks, and my winter boots. By the time I got to the building with the computer lab, I was sweating. About 10 feet from the door, I unzipped my coat about 3 teeth.
I felt like I nearly froze to death getting to the door.
There were four other people I saw out that day. Two of them were from Wisconsin and declared that the weather wasn’t especially cold. One of them had previously always wore shorts, but for that day bothered with long pants (required by his chemistry class). The last was Topper, more or less, and his roommate was one of the guys from Wisconsin. If his roommate was going out in that, there’s no way he was about to stay in the dorm.
That said, I know we’ve seen Tyler can freeze water out of the air fast enough that it falls in crystals rather than as snow. He’s frozen bullets in their place. We haven’t seen him freeze other gasses out of the air, but I’m not sure why we haven’t – the two prior feats I mentioned seem harder to do than freezing gasses out of the air. That said, there’s one option that would explain that: Palindra has different rules of physics.
That bit leaves open the possibility that in Palindra, air is just air, an element, and while it can contain water (another element) vapor, these oxygen, nitrogen, and CO2 substances you mention just don’t exist there. I’m not saying it is the case, I’m really saying I don’t know, I’ve never managed to get testing equipment there, and I’d guess y’all haven’t, either.
While I get Elmon’s pride…
Didn’t we find out Tyler’s now considered a Family member? Was he inducted into an existing Family, or did he start his own? If he started his own, isn’t Tyler a Family Head?
Or does Elmon only respect Family Heads that he’s fought or has seen other Family Heads fight?
My understanding is that Tyler was promoted to a position that is traditionally only held by family mages, and had historically been used to promote a talented non-family mage into a family. They need a way to draw in new blood, after all. And there is no reason to risk letting a talented mage try to start a family line OUTSIDE of the existing hierarchy.
The Consul appears to have tried to start a family though, as it isn’t clear that Tyler was placed into an existing family. Rather she (Consul) seemed to be trying to dilute family power by increasing the number of families.
IF that is true, THEN Tyler would be the de facto head of a new family. This would explain the near instant assassination attempt, complete with the duplicitous assistance of someone who was more or less a friend of Tyler, but who paid greater allegiance to the families.
IF, big if here, I’m right, then Elmon might be forgiven for perceiving Tyler to be an upstart unworthy of respect. Elmon may have heard the version where Tyler survived the assassination attempt only through significant assistance of powerful friends. Elmon may well believe Tyler is soon to be victim of the next, more successful, attempt. Perhaps Elmon even feels he is being forced into doing that deed himself, and is irritated with whoever set him up to do it.
All highly conjectured, sorry.
Presumably enough time has passed that Tyler now understands these implications. He didn’t appear to understand immediately before the assassination attempt. We haven’t seen how he reacted. He may have embraced the position while simultaneously trying to reject the family status. This might well earn him even greater disrespect, and a hastened next attempt on his life. “You dare reject us!?!?”
Oh no Elmon: Tyler totally thinks of you as a family head. Perhaps it is you who need to reassess what YOU think about Tyler!
(Nice analysis Glider!)
The first I’m aware of us hearing about Tyler’s promotion is Chapter 12, page 11. It’s clear that either Tyler hasn’t thought about the implications of his promotion, or wants to appear like he hasn’t thought about the implications of his promotion. But Tyler also claims that he is thinking that the promotion is only temporary.
This tells us that he probably hasn’t been officially adopted by a family, because that would almost certainly be a ceremony that he could not have mistaken for something else. Or, at least, if it seemed like something else, it would be something else that pointed to him being a real Family mage in some other fashion, or at least a soon to be.
Once he finds out about the implications, on that same page, he almost immediately tries to set up a poison pill that would make anyone wanting to assassinate him reconsider and possibly go after Kepler first. However, they don’t really have any opportunity to react to that, as the assassination attempt’s on the next page.
He doesn’t reject the promotion, he instead acts so overwhelmed by the honor that he completely imposter syndrome’s himself into thinking he didn’t really get it. After this page, he doesn’t try to go back to trying to saying he’s unworthy or trying to pawn it off on someone else.
Instead, he acts as the Consul’s loyal servant, as if the government of Malsa is the only thing standing between him and the Orish warmages who would otherwise hunt him down and end him – presumably for not being one of them. She wants him to be Family? He’s Family. She proposes a vote by the Family Heads, and without hesitation he makes the first vote, as if he is one. He owns the role in chapter 15 and now here in chapter 16.
That said, Glider, you’re 100% right Elmon doesn’t see him as a Family Head. He’s some kid the Consul elevated to dilute the Family’s political power. It doesn’t matter that the real power of the Families is their magic – it’s another obstacle that the Consul is erecting to make it more difficult for the real rulers of Malsa to effectively rule. Like any obstacle, it’s easier to remove it before it’s fully in place.
Elmon has a lot of the same pride that Camilla showed when facing Elizabeth. He’s possibly “well-informed” in the sense that he knows Tyler’s pretty reliant on his aura, and confident in his Eidos key interference to protect him from that. We’ll forget the fact that it’s an innate power so it’s more likely to be able to punch through that resistance and focus on the fact that Tyler’s a paper Family Head.
Rule of drama suggests that Elmon probably will get a shot off at least. He’d be a pretty lousy Family Head if he didn’t get one shot in. But if he does get one shot in, that will probably be it: exactly one shot. Not because he can’t do multiple shots, but he’s so proud that he won’t have prepared any backup and by the time he realizes he needs it, he’ll be out of time.
To be fair, I’ve always had the impression that Elmon’s a pretty lousy Family Head.
It’s not that we’ve seen him in contexts where I’d expect to see him fighting and he didn’t. He just doesn’t talk like someone who takes risks, apart from the whole aligning himself with the Rogue Families bit. There’s usually a reason for behavior like that, and I’m not sure why I’ve decided that it’s more likely he’s not anywhere near Ashvalt’s level rather than him just being introverted or something, but I have.
Not trying to play the Topper game, but I wasn’t counting windchill. Fortunately for me, I recall the air being quite still. That was a nation wide chill, and you and I are of approximation the same age I think. I’d bet we’re thinking of the same day, during the 94-95 school year if I recall correctly. Pretty cool that we both thought of the same day, if that’s the case.
I am pretty sure we have it as canon that Tyler’s ace in the hole is temperature themed only as a side effect. The bullets don’t stop because they are frozen so much as they are frozen because they were stopped. I don’t think we got a detailed explanation of why, but rather it was implied that Tyler knows it has something to do with entropy, without really knowing what entropy is.
I might be wrong about what Tyler knows. Or what day we both nearly froze. Or well, a lot of things really.
It may have been the same day. At least, that was a time when I was in school, and all I remember about the exact day was it was that really, really cold day that one time during college, and stuff. Also, I can rule out much earlier than that, because one of those Wisconsin guys was a few years younger than me and only skipped one year of school.
Had.
He’s alive, but neutraloized.
“On Ice” 😀
I got no problems with the page. the last 2 pages looks like a blizzard that you’d see in the North and South Poles. and considering who’s making it, I’d say he nailed it perfectly. but Elmon sounds like he might have a trick or 2 up his sleeve.
I meant last 2 panels. sorry.
Graphics quality? As the last frame states, “seems to be working fine”.
Looks good, thank you.
Also liking the 2 hour edit window.