^ 31 Comments...

1. Calisto
   June 19th, 2010 at 1:01 am

   unfortunately he is far too petty to be able to see beyond himself.

2. Jean
   June 19th, 2010 at 1:23 am

   That…is…awesome.

   And Calisto is right, Maldik is about to fuck this up in a bad way. Alas, she named him all too well…

3. Jean
   June 19th, 2010 at 1:24 am

   Srsly, JED, you really captured some serious maternal concern here.

4. The Origami Guy
   June 19th, 2010 at 1:30 am

   I’m expecting the “cheap shot dagger” any second now…

   And, yes- I think the lighting on some of this art was magnificent….well done, sir.

5. Gremalkin
   June 19th, 2010 at 2:07 am

   Wonderful, simply beautiful. What will it be? A last push towards saving her son, or the final nail in the mind game coffin? This page really leaves me with a hunger for another bite of the plot ! Thank you JED, splendid as always.

6. Wolfgang
   June 19th, 2010 at 2:59 am

   Heh, and Maldik is just trying to keep up. I don’t think he will.

7. Peregrin
   June 19th, 2010 at 4:46 am

   C’mon, be a man.

8. Jim Farris
   June 19th, 2010 at 6:50 am

   He’s in way over his head, and despite his lack of intelligence, he probably knows it. Reconcile with mom? Try to reverse his actions? It doesn’t seem likely to me. My guess is he’s going to brush her hand away and leave her with a cutting remark to save his masculinity. Which will fall flat, because he has the communication skills of a brain-dead gerbil and all the masculinity of a dried cow patty.

9. tricksterson
   June 19th, 2010 at 9:17 am

   The Origami Guy: I agree. I’m only wondering whether he’s going to stab her (or try to because she might very well be expecting it.) Or whether she’s snuck his dagger out of it’s sheath and will stab him when he stupidly rejects her peace offering. Then again being JED something completely out of the blue might happen.

10. Lictre
    June 19th, 2010 at 10:05 am

    In a world where magic is a real concern, there may be a very real danger to getting royal blood on your hands. At the very least, it would completely sacrifice any pretense of legitimacy he’s thus far been able to retain by placing the queen under house arrest in the tower.

    And at this point in time, I believe Yanora’s coming to the realization that in order to be a fit ruler for her kingdom, the ruler must first be fit as a human being, even if the job forces the ruler to choose first the welfare of the land, rather than an individual. And I’m using welfare in the sense of: the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity [must look out for your own welfare]

11. InCestusWeTrust
    June 19th, 2010 at 10:11 am

    *dragging all of my earlier conversations back onto topics-COZ* *Apologies if that got out of hand, it shall happen again*

    Is this the first time we’ve seen M & Y standing toe-to-toe? She’s got quite a height advantage there. I’m sure you’ll all say she has heels on, but why *wouldn’t* the git also be wearing ginormous elevator shoes? He’s a classic case for *every* kind of insecurity, remember his dialog with the serving girl in his bedroom? And he would absolutely want to extract every edge he could for a talk with Mumsy.

    Thus and noting the erect posture of Yanora’s assets, I’m guessing she’s part Erogenian. As our good friend Jean can attest, keeping that degree of posture with that level of endowment, at her age involves STRENGTH. (also a kindly disposed Artist who knows exactly what he likes).

    JOHN, some backstory here? What percent of Wolf is that Fox Yanora?

    See, I didn’t mention http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3689325/ at all.

12. Retiarius
    June 19th, 2010 at 11:59 am

    I don’t expect Maldik to relent, either; it depends on the story JED wants to tell. The poor sap has been built up for this role pretty heavily for him to make an Intelligence check now. Still, redemption is a powerful theme in storytelling, and JED has definitely shown his skill in that…

13. Freelance
    June 19th, 2010 at 1:40 pm

    This could go either way, depending on how stubborn he is and how much love in this love-hate relationship he actually has for his mother the queen. That said, I can almost see it in his mind that he’s thinking “oh c**p! She knows!

14. LorannaPyrel
    June 19th, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    The Evil That Can Happen:

    Maldik … repents, and hugs hus Mother, finally able to accept what she’s trying to offer him here … and then says “Don’t worry Mummy; I’ll fix EVERYTHING now. You’ll see, and you’ll be so happy!”

    And then runs out of the room before Yanora and her serving maid can sit on him, and promptly screws up trying to SAVE the kingdom he just handed to his mysterious backers, putting Yanora in actual danger she can’t easily manipulate away. And then the Queen is confronted with the sight of her son dying at the hands of her true enemy, Maldik looking so very lost and scared and asking “But … I was doing RIGHT this time, wasn’t I?”

    But honestly, I think Maldik is really Gudick in disguise and this has all been an elaborate plot to mind-screw the Queen >:D

    (pipes down and lets JED tell his tale, since it is awesome - and wishes she could frame that last panel if only for the utter look of “She’s going to eat him alive while crying for him” JED pulled off for the Queen)

    Loranna

15. Joe
    June 19th, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    In so deep over his head, you can’t even see the surface from there.

16. TB
    June 19th, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    Yknow this is pretty much the sign of good writing. In the beginning maldik and yannora were kinda cookie cutter. Ie the calculating temptress queen, and the runt spoiled evil prince. But with seriously 1-2 pages poof they have depth back story way more believability than originally presented. Good stuff Jed, at this point I’m digging Maldik to the point that I’m torn between wanting to see him crushed suddenly by an anvil and wanting him to be a permanent villain in Erogenia.
    For Incestuswetrust, thanks for the links figure I should throw one in as well http://www.starharbornights.com/. 85 chapters of superhero goodness only it takes pains to remove silly plotholes / boring superhero tropes that have been done a thousand times.

17. Professor 61771
    June 19th, 2010 at 5:02 pm

    “Bloody Christmas, here again, let us raise a loving cup, peace on earth, goodwill to men, and make them do the washing up”-Wendy Cope.
    I note the Queen is not drinking from her cup.
    Soon now…

18. Lora
    June 19th, 2010 at 7:26 pm

    Well, Yanora knows she hasn’t exactly made Maldik into a good person. I just can’t help, but love her character.
    I expect Maldik to push her hand away, say/scream something and leave the room. I don’t think he’ll listen to reason at this point, but at least she tries.

    (And just to keep the people(TB and ICWT) occupied here’s: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3033613/1/ ).

19. Hevaess
    June 19th, 2010 at 8:30 pm

    Anyone else think the queen is about to be stabbed?

20. Lebbrin
    June 19th, 2010 at 9:43 pm

    I don’t expect to see Yanora make an early exit. (ie: stabbed) I DO expect an arrogant response from Maldik. Then again, if he tried to back out and do good it could lead to some mean plot twists.

    Thank you JED, as always, for an excellent page. The changes in emotion on Yanora’s face over this and the prior page are incredible. Out right holy rage to regret and even, maybe a little bit, sympathy for her son?

21. Mish_lady
    June 19th, 2010 at 9:43 pm

    I think that Yanora knows that Maldik just might reach for the dagger. If I were her, several situations would be sprinting through my mind.

    1. Maldik reaches for dagger and tries to stab me. I stop him, also, my lady in waiting is not too far off.
    2. Maldik screaming/shouting something, and running off.
    3. Maldik shouting something, and trying to stab me.
    4. Maldik breaking down in tears and running off.

    I would also assume that yes, the comment of “I am a better ruler than you will ever be, and be careful before you are remembered as the greatest traitor this country has ever known” will push the little man over the edge. He’s played second fiddle to Gudik his entire life, as well as not having the best of mothers. But really, with how Yanora has been portrayed-and the plots she’s gotten through-she may have wanted to just teach her sons to be good rulers, and make sure they survive through to adulthood.

22. zangoules
    June 20th, 2010 at 12:41 am

    I tip my hat off to you Jed. This scene here is incredible, and compared to the novels, manga, comics, ect. This is one of the best series i’ve ever read. The way you capture the emotions, and movements of each character is just…for lack of better terms EPIC XD

23. Nimue
    June 20th, 2010 at 3:42 am

    I do expect Maldik attempting to do something violent (as threatening the queen with the dagger or hitting her) then going quietly away and locking himself in his chambers in order to think quietly. He is still just an angry kid when it comes to brains, so he may still have some chances to do something more mature than he uses to.
    Do I have too much trust in people?

24. Soulworker
    June 20th, 2010 at 11:30 am

    Arg. Redemption is a powerful possibility, but we have been given so much info about what Maldik has already done…and while I could be wrong I am just not seeing a turn from the dark side at this point…I am a bit curious about the glass in Yanora’s hands…I mused on 2 possibilities here 1) a similar tactic that was used on our good count (i.e. a poisioned glass and the person who doesn’t drink is framed for the one who does murder…or 2) they both drink and the lil twit dies and Yanora pulls a Wesley/Dread Pirate Roberts as she has built up an immunity to what ever uses to do the lil twit in…Of course that would mean that she is a much more Machivellian ruler than I had imagined…but she doesn’t strike me as one who likes untidy political messes…and Maldik has rapidly turned into that (per her conversation with her cousin the count)

    JED….I have relapsed….and am fully addicted to your webcomic once more…Your really should consider having a support group for this thing…and echoing zangoules… I am most taken with your story telling here…nothing superficial or un-needed in each of the panels…makes my detail orientation hummmm with anticipation for the next episode…(in that sense it reminds me of those old time radio serials that you had to tune in every night dfor the next “exciting chapter”)

25. Elizabeth
    June 20th, 2010 at 9:15 pm

    I have to pity Maldik a bit, although his choice of attire is excellent for a Emotional Scene in a Dimly Lit Tower. Will Tethik, who has a much better tailor, come to haul Maldik’s chestnuts out of the fire?

26. warnie
    June 20th, 2010 at 11:11 pm

    It’s not easy being green , now is it.? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpiIWMWWVco&feature=fvw
    BTW great page JED

27. Gemma
    June 21st, 2010 at 10:48 am

    I pity Maldik, in a way. Yanora is right, she has a great deal of blame to shoulder for this. Always raising someone to be something they’re not… it stings, and hell, Maldik probably just wants to show he’s good at something (even if it is just being in control). Additionally, the way Yanora treated him during Zona’s visit gives us a small picture of how often he’s put down by his own family. Can you imagine how Gudik treats Maldik?

    Very well-played family dramatics!

28. JEDraft
    June 21st, 2010 at 12:20 pm

    Calisto - Is he? Well, perhaps. We’ll see tomorrow evening.

    Jean - This is actually one of those scenes that wrote itself. Fun when the characters begin to speak their own lines, isn’t it? When they appear to you on the stairs, as happened to poor Mr. Earbrass, then you need to worry. As to Maldik’s name, actually, it really is just an unconscious thing or an outright coincidence. I look for what sounds right when I make up my fantasy words and names. Some of them have exact analogs in history - not surprising since I’m dealing with pure western phonetics, which is quite limited in its combinations. Sometimes I unintentionally make puns.

    The Origami Guy - Thanks for the compliment on the art. But you know what they say about expectations.

    Gremalkin - Hard to tell whether you’re sincere when you’ve invested so much in deception. Ah, Yanora. Are you lying now, or were you lying then?

    Wolfgang - He’s a bit gun shy, and truly, who can blame him for that?

    Peregrin - We’ll see what kind of a man he turns out to be.

    Jim Farris - One of the things that happens when you’re in over your head is you try to keep your mouth shut. He hasn’t learned that one, yet.

    tricksterson - It will definitely be one of those three. Okay, probably. Maybe probably. Oh, hell, just check back tomorrow night.

    Lictre - Magick does, indeed, play into much of what they do. But, in this case, it would not be anything genuinely magickal about the act of regicide, rather it’s religious. Killing an anointed king or queen would supposedly be a one-way ticket to The Deeps, which is their version of Hell. But, since Maldik has already called the Holy Tome a “book of fairy stories” it is doubtful that that would stop him.

    InCestusWeTrust - Yanora does, indeed, have Erogenian ancestry a few generations back, and she is tall for a woman, being about 5′10 or so, slightly taller even than Tula. Maldik is only about 5′5 or so, taking that gene from his father’s father’s side. Kendrik was about six-two, not short, even by Erogenian standards, but a full head shorter than Zonn. Neither of them are wearing heels, as no footwear in Erogenia or Kivalia has heels higher than a double layer of thick leather. Just the styles, is all.

    Retiarius - Redemption is actually one of my favorite themes, and thus I need to use it sparingly.

    Freelance - Oh, yes. She knows, and now he knows she knows it.

    LorannaPyrel - For Gudik to disguise himself as Maldik would take a nice feat of magick. Gudik is over 6′ 5″ with shoulders like a wrestler.

    Joe - Blub. Blub-fricking-blub …

    Lora - “M” is for the million things she gave me,
    “O” means only that she’s growing old,
    “T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
    “H” is for her heart of purest gold;
    “E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
    “R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
    Put them all together, they spell
    “MOTHER,”
    A word that means the world to me.

    =D

    Hevaess - I don’t know. Show of hands?

    Lebbrin - She seems to regret having been such a hardass to him for all his life, certainly. And she is his mother. Her disappointment is greatest because she had actually expected better of him.

    Mish_Lady - She and even Kendrik, to some extent, thought that what had worked for them in their lives - essentially tossing the kid into the deep end and making him sink or swim - would work for anybody. Alas, it seems not to have worked for the youngest.

    zangoules - Many thanks. I’m just making the kind of story I like, and glad that you like it, too.

    Nimue - No, but there’s the question: Is Maldik people?

    Soulworker - I hate to spoil a subject for speculation, but this once I will: The glass is just a glass of wine that she’d had on the table beforehand. It’s not poisoned or a secret weapon or anything. If you didn’t see it, it was because it was out of sight behind something else or something. My reasons for using it is that Yanora needed to do something with her hands in the scene, and also I wanted to experiment with rendering glass without using raytracing, which eats up processor resources like a frigging hog and adds to render time incredibly. I think the results came out pretty nice. So, be sure to tune in Tuesday for the next exciting installment!

    Elizabeth - Actually, no. Tethik is currently sitting down with King Tor in his hall and about to have an argument. Oh, wait - was that a bit of a spoiler? Heh. Not really, you all could have figured that one out all on your own.

    warnie - One of my favorite bits of anything, mate. Thanks!

    Gemma - Gudik is actually not nearly as cutting or nasty as Yanora is. Their relationship is distant, but usually not bad. The problem is that his older brother, when trying to be kind, just comes off as condescending and insensitive, and is not patient with Maldik’s flaws. and so, Maldik resents him on several levels. What a bitch, huh?

29. Lora
    June 21st, 2010 at 8:24 pm

    Nice poem, Jed. I like it.

    And just to prove I can do short, here is a drabble that all have the time to read. http://virusq.livejournal.com/330535.html?view=921639#t921639
    With kind regards, the Good Librarian. ™

30. Nimue
    June 21st, 2010 at 9:33 pm

    lol that’s a good question, Jed

31. Soulworker
    June 22nd, 2010 at 6:12 am

    JED: Ah well…not a problem as I noted…your style tends to be very parsimonious (try spelling that at 6 in the morning). The glass looks great and it just caught my eye the way she is holding it…just looked like there might be something significant about it… sorry to overread into it… =D

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