- Eldor Olenvis: Silas?
- Eldor Olenvis: OWww!!
- Eldor Olenvis: I didn’t think that…
- Eldor Olenvis: … Yes?
- Elven engineer: We just experienced a little “accident” in ring 2.
- Eldor Olenvis: Kali, perhaps we may have to switch back to a more aggressive approach.
- Kali: But HE shouldn’t forget what happened to Violet…
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There is a certain grim humor here but I don’t understand the mechanics of how Eldor survived the slice while Silas, who was after, did not. I guess the assumption is he pulled him through the teleport and thus was vulnerable longer. While the story demands that Eldor live longer, it would have been interesting had that succeeded. Of course, this should just make Eldor respect if not like Viviana as he know she is both not a weakling nor principled, as he would say.
• Whatever they are building, it certainly appears to be unstable.
• Is this their “headquarters in Golnar” (BAB-103)? If so, then what is “The Tower in the Sky” Viviana saw hovering over the void?
Vivi would like to let you know that she acknowledges your declaration of war on her and her companions and is responding accordingly. Really I should have posted that last strip but the decapitation really drives it home.
Who was Violet? An unintended casualty of the Red Hall massacre? (I’m, of course, assuming that the massacre was one of their more “agressive approaches” that Eldor suggests going back to.)
Now I really just want to see more of this engineering project the elves are working on. Is it in Vis? Is it the Tower in the Sky? I could hardly imagine it being unrelated.
Also, yeah Eldor, it’s time you stop underestimating Jael Bara.
And sometimes, a direct teaching approach is more efficient than just putting higher and higher barriers in front of your rabbits and hoping they figure out on their own how to jump over them. If you really want Lilith and company to cooperate with your scheme, maybe try explaining what you actually want from her and start actively helping her learn (from a safe distance, of course).
No, it appears you did not. 🙂 And you got blooded and one of your important henchmen lost his head in the process.
How’s it feel to realize that you are neither perfect nor immortal; that you can be out-thought and out-plotted by a team of people whom you were convinced could be easily manipulated to your heart’s content?
Also take note. The teleport spell “SWISH”ed this time instead of “SWOOSH”ed.
2 observations about this encounter.
1. Jael is so stealthy that even Eldor didn’t realize she was there until he felt the blade at his throat.
2. Eldor is so quick that he could immediately teleport before the blade penetrated more than a little. You can see how fast it was moving in that it cut through Silas before the teleport was finished.
So, now we have a new mystery in this Violet character. Also, I can’t keep from wondering what is happening with San through all this. She must be undergoing “training” as well.
Oh, yeah. And Eldor “didn’t think that…” what?
Obviously it was related to them almost murdering him, but what in particular was he struck by? Jael’s ability? Her and Ilias’ cunning? Or their ruthlessness – or desperation. My guess is he underestimated their cunning (as he underestimated Delvor’s). Perhaps that’s his blind spot. He can see how people will react to his actions, but doesn’t see what they might do to seize the initiative back from him.
Evidently Eldor dematerialised / became insubstantial shortly after the rainbow knife penetrated his skin, while Silas followed a fraction of a second later – evidently too late. I wonder what Eldor’s “more aggressive” approach involves – after all, he’s already resorted to mass murder and framing it on Lilith to motivate her to “jump higher”, plus killing and framing another murder to motivate San de Vertis to jump higher…
Meanwhile, I wonder if contained somewhere in that Big Book of Spells Lilith is studying there’s one that can be used to block a certain elf from scrying on her…
So I was “right”, only Eldor needs a bandage… I wonder if Vivi cut his neck or if the rainbow knife disturbed the teleportation – I think she would have felt it slicing through body? She knew she didn’t get Eldor. On the other hand, Silas’ expression in the last page might have been something more than I thought (being surprised by teleport), and closer to “I just died?” expression.
I think the aggresive approach is what he did to Elea and her friends, anyway it’s easier to repeat that than Red Hall scaled event.
@ Rosebud:
Take a look at the previous page. When the knife goes through them, Silas is tangible while Eldor is not, so his neck gets sliced.
1: Poor Silas.
2: Ooooh… who’s Violet?
Seems a little strange that people in the comments here were getting on Ilias’ case for roughing Silas up with a Go board and such, but when Jael outright decapitates the man there doesn’t seem to be any worries. Maybe the previous commenters don’t mind now that a precedent is set…?
Rosebud wrote:
Eldor saw the attack and dodged while teleporting. He dodged in time, but teleported too late.
Help Help Silas has been repressed. Come see the violence inherent in the system!
Do you see all in the second last panel that Eldor is shaking ?
So smug Eldor can be unsettled. He knew he escaped certain
death by the literal hairs width.
Unfortunately Novil did not settle the question if it was a contingency spell. But IMO the
timing for the escape is really too perfect because the knife cut Eldor when he
still was solid. Given a 10 m/s attack only a hundredth second later would have
cut the carotid artery which only allows seconds before
passing out.
The only plausible explanation for me is that Eldor was cut, get teleported instantenous,
Vivis knife passed through the teleported Eldor, Silas was teleported a fraction later,
but unfortunately a little bit too late.
SILAS!!! NOOOOO!!! All his character development potential and the chance to see more Go!
Is Eldor missing part of his collar? I think so. His left collar has a gold trim. His right one — the side he was cut on — is not. Maybe that is part of what appeared to have fallen to the forest floor after he teleported.
Just one thought:
Let’s assume we watch all this from an outside perspective and do not follow Vivi and crew as our protagonists.
Can someone tell me why she’s a better person then Eldor?
Both have goals, and for both of them it seems tollerable to kill only slightly involved humans in cold blood, in the hope of getting closer to those goals.
I really can not see a line between our protagonist and our antagonist anymore.
@ Rosebud:
When he teleportet he was transportet first and Silas only after his transport was mostly complete giving the knife enough time to hit Silas neck before he could disapear while the caster himself could escape in time into the aether.
I’m guessing Eldor had a Contingency-Teleport spell going, and it allowed him to decide who to take with him. He was instantaneous, but he had to expend time to decide whether to take Silas or not. He thinks quickly, but not quickly enough in this case…
DECAPITATIOOOOOOOOOOOOON!
I’m fresh after finishing Brütal Legend, forgive me.
Is that his HP bar pinging back to full in panel 4?
@ MHW:
Remind me where Vivi killed someone in cold blood who was only slightly involved? Her attack in the last page was neither on people only slightly involved, nor in what I’d call cold blood. Silas is fully involved, and Eldor is actively trapping her and her friends. To attack them is perfectly legitimate considering that THEY are the aggressors in this situation. I don’t recall a situation in which Vivi or the Shadowdancers have been involved in murder. Also, Vivi has been effecting public displays (well known thefts, messages to the public regarding her goals) for the freedom of a conquered land. Eldor’s goals at this time are not truly known, nor are his actions public. Instead they are covert, subtle, and involve manipulation of a government from behind the throne, doing who knows what in Oakdale, active killing, and long-distance manipulation of events towards his unknown goals.
Well, I guess Silas won’t be a recurring character, then! 😀
Oh.
MHW wrote:
We now know for sure that Eldor was behind the Red Hall Massacre as well as several other murders (implied by Silas’ conversation).
Unless you consider killing in any instance unjustifiable, there’s a rather wide chasm between our protagonists and our antagonist.
AH! CALLED IT! *silly victory dance*
THe raibown knife have a side efect in magic? the wound will close?
As others have speculated, I too believe that this was the result of an automatic teleport spell, activated by the touch of the knife to Eldor’s neck. I too believe the theory that Eldor teleported a fraction of a second before Silas was teleported with him, which explains why Silas was beheaded when Eldor escaped with just a deep scratch.
Obviously Silas is now dead. Thank you for not depicting his beheading realistically. In reality, the head remains alive and aware for a few minutes before becoming unconscious and dying from the lack of blood flow to the brain. The body horror caused by that realisation was one argument used to abolish beheading as a form of execution.
ninjase wrote:
Look carefully at panel 4 and you can see Eldor using magic to heal himself.
Called it. XD
@ Rosebud:
It looks like Eldor instinctively phased so the blade would pass through him without causing harm. It was a panic spell so not quick enough to prevent the initial cut. Also, the panic means that there was no time to include Silas in the spell.
At least, that’s how I see it.
rip in pieces silas
Elven engineer: We just experienced a little “accident” in ring 2.
Eldor Olenvis: Understood, I’m on my way. Tell the janitor we just experience a little “accident” in ring 3, if you will.
Eldor is shaken.
Lovely attention to detail there, and a good way to show that he is, afterall, only human (I use the term “human” loosely of course).
@ Rosebud:
I think you are exactly right in that because he initiated the teleport, he began to teleport first causing the knife to knick him and pass through him. It then was able to hit Silas, who hadn’t fully disappeared and chopped his head off right before he was able to vanish with Eldor.
Well, that explains why Viv used a slash rather than a thrust; she was going for a twofer.
She really must have planned the attack in detail; normally a thrust is the instinctual attack for a dagger. Daggers don’t have the length or weight to be effective with a slash. The Rainbow blade is an exception of course but it means she would have to consciously think of that and use it for her attack. Like I said, planning.
@ Tomana
@ ktrimbach:
:
Well, I would call Silas only slightly involved.
An attack against Eldor might be in order (even though I consider killing in a not self defense situation quite amoral), but Silas has been nothing but helpfull, he seems to be a little wheel in the ” “conspiracy” “.
Also from all we know Eldor aspires scientific (/magic) progress and immortality. This doesnt legitimate the means he takes towards it, but neither does the “but I WANNA be queen” aspect. And I don’t really see why Vivi should be the only one who can free this land. She has set things in motions with getting the recording crystal to work (respectively finding someone (Lili) to get it to work), and good for her, but she has neither proven to be a skilled diplomat, nor to be a unique strategist.
Point in case: I would consider it at least manslaughter. And I stay with my point, that I don’t see what sets them apart, regarding morals.
MHW wrote:
Well… in war it is… it simply depends on how you define the parametres of the “self defence”… blowing up a deuterium refining plan in Norway can easily be considered a defence when it is supposed to be used to create a nuke (WW2) despite the civilians dying…
Thing is I do not think Vivi is particulary fond of becoming queen, but someone has to do it… Those who not care for power are best suited to carry it.
Thing is – from what we know at least about Midgard king (the rather short cameo for now) he seems to be a blunt man with no intresest in miriads of diplomacy. An obvious statement of truth of wants and needs will likely get you further than eons of “negotiating”.
@ Scrutinizer:
I’m guessing that if he explained, they wouldn’t want to help.
@ mittfh:
I assume that it’s going back to stuff like that, since he said “switch back”. For a while he was just letting them work on the barriers in relative peace, but I guess they pushed his buttons and his patience is wearing thin.
There you go, we just saw Vivi kill someone. Straight up, no trial, direct to execution. Poor Silas. Was he that bad?
At least WE know Eldor is a killer too and probably deserves it.
Hmm. Ring 2 again. Fascinating.
@ Paeris Kiran:
I keep hearing the war argument, and while I’m inclined to agree, I still state that they are in no war.
There are quite clear regulations when a situation becomes a war, and therefore has a special status regarding international right.
First of all you need a declaration of war. Not any crime will do, someone has to make clear that the power he/she represents is formerly attacking the power of the other side. This never happened. All that happened is a heinous crime. Even when your own family gets killed in a shooting, you are not formerly in war with the shooter or his friends. You can’t just start killing him and his allies and claim that “in war, everything is allowed”. Or let’s say you can, but you’ll be handled as a murderer, and for good reason.
Second also in war there’s no legitimation for killing non combatants. Admittedly this is an idea of the first half of the 20th century (and disregarded allready in WWII), but it has roots in medieval times, allthough out of a different mindset (more about honor of the nobleman, and ignoring the lifes of peasants). But we want to like Vivi today, and with our morals.
@MHW
Joining the discussion on Vivi’s actions here…
The immediate situation here isn’t war, it is kidnapping. The whole town, including the protagonists, is imprisoned and is being kept there by means that have no real equivalent in this world (mind-altering magic), but nevertheless, their freedom of movement is being seriously restricted in a way that would be clearly against their unaltered will. This is being done by an agency that has no legal basis for its actions, therefore, kidnapping, with a side of torture given what Vivi went through. Silaas was a kidnapper – he was part of the organization and participating in the continued restraint of their freedom.
I am not a legal scholar, but I believe resisting kidnapping with lethal force is allowed under some circumstances. Are there other options? Simply leaving is not allowed. Even if there were someone to negotiate with, there is no reason to believe that negotiation would work – after all, this is the same organization that preemptively murdered most of the Red Hall and arranged the subsequent miscarriage of justice. “But all they want is for Lili to learn the spells” is not a valid answer – there is no legal or moral obligation to go along with the demands of a kidnapper (although there may be practical ones) and in the meantime the kidnappers may well kill more people, especially given their past history. So Vivi was resisting kidnapping in one of the few ways that she was allowed to, and it might even be legal, given equivalent laws that including magical mind alteration…
…against Eldor. Silaas had surrendered and was no longer participating, so that part was over the top, IMO.
@ MechaBill:
Duh, the rainbow knife is a knife not a dagger, it has a blade with an edge, it’s meant to cut, though it can stab.
@ Rosebud:
It is truly convenient for the story that apparently Eldor was teleported before Silas.