Chapter 3: Page 39
Welcome back to the ermehn side of things! It’s been a while since we’ve seen the likes of the Sratha-din or Kenosh, and I know folks have had a lot of questions about them. Like, for example, where the heck did they go when they fled Deltrada? Well, this is Lake Felnach, the very same that Hardin and Ashtor spoke of in Chapter 2 before the Sratha-din’s ill-fated (sort of) attack on the garrison.
I mentioned last week in the intermission post that I’ve had some ‘images’ in my head of specific scenes in the Western Deep story for a very long time. Snapshots, in a way, that I’ve used as a kind of compass to make sure the story goes where it needs to go. Quin alone in the forest in Chapter 1, the tesque fight, the Lands End Tavern, Hardin fighting the Sratha-din champion, Clovis’ introduction, all of these are ‘snapshot moments’ that existed in my head for a long time. Rachel has been expertly teasing them out and bringing them to life on the page as only she can, and many memorable moments have been captured that way.
Now, obviously not everything lines up perfectly — sometimes we’ll alter a scene around or add some additional layers to it because we see ways to improve things. The scene with the bandits in Chapter 2 for instance came about long after the original outline. Same with the Deltrada Garrison escape. But it’s always for the better.
Fortunately, this was a scene that I’ve had in my head for a very long time that Rachel was able to capture pretty much perfectly through some very simple written descriptions. We obviously set up Lake Felnach a while ago, but the way things can change along the way, it’s always important to be able to step away and change something if it isn’t going to work. This is one of those snapshots that worked even with all the other changes we’ve made, and I’m excited to bring the Sratha-din back into the story.
For guest art this week, I wanted to feature a really fun piece that Jerijune put together showing our favorite group of Nessian thieves: the Sand Spiders!
I love any image that shows the characters just hanging out, doing normal everyday things. In this case, it’s planning to knock over an embassy and steal a bunch of stuff, but hey, that’s what these guys do! Thanks so much for the amazing art, Jeri! We love it! :)
I’m sorry, but Kenosh’s sulky face makes the page for me. That’s kind of terrible considering this is a really uncertain moment for him but the word ‘sulky’ is never one I expected to apply to Kenosh- and yet here we are.
The decision to put Ashtor between Hardin and Kenosh is probably a wise one on Hardin’s part. We’re not even sure if introductions have been made yet, but in the ensuing confrontation there will probably need to be a level head keeping things steady. I’m not sure what Hardin expects from Kenosh but something tells me he doesn’t expect Kenosh to be as… opinionated and fiery as he is- Especially since he met him during the war before the PTSD could really set in- and there’s more than a little conflict brewing between those two. Kenosh had better watch himself- I’m not sure what his role in the whole revolution is, but I doubt Hardin considers anyone (except maybe Ashtor and Eira. Maybe.) too valuable to sacrifice.
The boat split ups in general I’m sure have some thought behind them- both in and out of universe. Namely, there’s a ranged warrior in both boats and the Ermehn scholars are split between boats too- another wise move.
I am wondering how Kenosh is carrying his sword, considering he left the scabbard behind in chapter two. Nothing like a makeshift sling made from the bones of your enemies, amiright?
Everything I have to say about the beautiful scenery seems completely redundant. Rachel, you never fail to deliver a beautiful, well-composed page. The way the setting sun reflects on the water is especially breathtaking- fantastic work with those clouds, too!
That’s not his sulky face. That’s resting face.
“Nothing like a makeshift sling made from the bones of your enemies, amiright?”
You can threaten their domain, you can invade their territory, you can kill their soldiers, you can backstab their general. But you steal a dog’s bones and IT’S PERSONAL!
No, this is more than just his usual grumpiness. I read his expression as extreme frustration/anger at the current situation, partly directed toward Hardin for directly/indirectly causing it by “not waiting.”. Compare him to Dak in panel 4 of page 20 of Chapter 3.
Wow! I thought we were going to switch back to seeing what Janik was up to, but this is even more exciting!
This strip has very good light and shadow effects. It really shows you took extra time working on it.
I like Jerijune’s new videogamey art in this page. Great detail! Great poses!
YAY, we get to see Hardin and his crew! I’m not sure if Kenosh is legitimately grumpy or that’s just his natural facial expression at all times… and Kenosh and Ashtor *on the same boat*?! I’m pretty sure it’s a visual pun for their viewpoints, lol. and Hardin better be careful with the boat– there’s enough salt to turn Lake Felnach into the Dunian equivalent of the Dead Sea… but still, that is an AWESOME page!
and thanks for featuring my art, Alex!! I can’t help seeing the Sand Spiders as phantom thieves XD
here’s the reference image: https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/a/a7/Persona_5_Hideout.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150206184822
and here’s the music I listened to on a loop while making it:
Kenosh and Ashtor are only grumpy because they don’t get to row the boat
Haha if this isn’t the reason then I’ll be disappointed. :P
I can’t help but feel sad about this entire situation. I still feel sick that Kenosh rekt (killed) his seemingly old friend. What is Kenosh’s relationship with Hardin? Is Hardin like an adopted son or something? He seems to be around the same age as Dak and Quin, if not slightly older.
Oh Kenosh, you still got that war prisoner face going even after all these years, except this time its all on you I guess.
This is definitely a beautifully captured shot here, the way the dusk sky is shown, the water, the angles! That confident determined face of Hardins. Kobb is just keep getting better and better with each page :)
Now the question I ask is how much are we gonna learn about Kenosh’s connection with the Sratha-din. I’m sure Ashtor is involved somehow and all I got with guessing is that these two met back during Kenosh’s time as a war prisoner. Perhaps Kenosh did what he did at Deltrada more as a sense of obligation? And just how long did Kenosh knew of Hardin’s plans? we’ll just have to wait and see I suppose.
Also Jeri, I love your scene pieces. You always make your art so fun to look at! Great Job :) !
Actually, I’m not sure Ashtor is involved. Because even Hardin doesn’t know what brought Ashtor to the Northern Wastes, which implies he came after Kenosh and Hardin worked out their plan. I could be wrong, but we’ll find out soon enough.
Yay the ermehn are back!! Is this anyone else’s first time seeing a new page about them?
Haha I do admit it’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Sratha-din outside of guest art :) I’m excited to have them back in the picture!
Also, Jane, have you considered getting a Gravatar account for commenting? Right now we have to manually approve every single one of your comments here because for some reason WordPress is flagging them as spam.
Great page! It’s very simple as a single image, but sometimes that’s just what we need. Excellent method of setting the scene and answering the question of where they went in one fell swoop.
Can’t wait to see the next page.
Lovely guest piece, too! It looks like the BWD RPG that I want so badly.
I don’t know why, but I’m suddenly imagining Hardin singing like he’s in an Italian gondola :v
*Hardin sings a folk song about how desperate the Ermehn are*
“Not helping.”
“But this one’s a classic!”
I really like this page. One boat has a very happy/satisfied Rathik at the front framed by the sun, the other has Hardin framed by clouds. It’s very, very interesting reading all of their expressions. With Bevan and Eira I can’t tell, but Rhosyn has the same expression as Rathik, only even more so. So clearly those two are perfectly happy with how the mission went. Neither of them seem to notice the tension between Kenosh and Hardin, not even Rhosyn who’s in the same boat as them. She’s too self-absorbed to pick up on the others’ feelings, or maybe she just doesn’t care.
not quite sure “self-absorbed” is the right word there- all the Sratha-din trust Hardin pretty well, and we don’t know how much of the final plan they know. I think she doesn’t really have a reason to worry about said tension- if worst comes to worse, they out number him six to one, after all.
I guess it’s just that some people (Eira, maybe?) would feel kind of tense/upset themselves solely because there’s tension and unhappiness between other people in the group, and Rhosyn is not one of them. She’s someone who is able to be perfectly content and unconcerned while others aren’t happy, as long as their feelings (a) aren’t her responsibility for some reason (i.e., those of kids she’s babysitting, or something like that) and (b) don’t threaten her own wellbeing or plans in any way (I guess (a) is really a subcategory of (b), as the kids she’s babysitting being upset would threaten her reputation as a babysitter, for instance). There’s advantages to both personalities I suppose, the first one’s being empathy and the motivation to make peace between other people, and the second one’s being the ability to not upset yourself about other people’s negative emotions when there’s really nothing you can do about them.
Kenosh and Hardin look like there’s some serious tension/disagreement between them, with Hardin’s will prevailing and Kenosh grudgingly submitting to it (at least for now). I love how Hardin’s expression is such a nuanced mixture of angry (at Kenosh for arguing with him) and happy (because he won the argument). I’d call it grim satisfaction but it’s a bit too happy. And then Ashtor, clearly looking annoyed at Hardin for arguing with Kenosh.
Yay! Back on the Ermehn side. I can die a happy man now.
Here comes Hardin! :)
I can’t help but feel sad about this entire situation. I still feel sick that Kenosh rekt (killed) his seemingly old friend. What is Kenosh’s relationship with Hardin? Is Hardin like an adopted son or something? He seems to be around the same age as Dak and Quin, if not slightly older.
Hardin is several years older than Dak and Quin (see Alex’s response to the first comment under the Cast page).
I don’t think Hardin is like an adopted son to Kenosh, but I suppose I could be wrong.
As for Kenosh and Clovis, I’ve never gotten the impression that any real friendship ever existed between them. They were “allies,” but only because the Treaty of Cenalou made them be. Although, I suppose they could’ve been friends before Kenosh was captured by the Ermehn and decided to hate the Canid? But again, I’ve never seen any indication of that, unless I’m forgetting something…
Hardin is Kenosh’s favorite son, while Dakkan is a distant third.
Aw jeeze, Kenosh and Ashtor are trying to out-grump each other, and my guess is that they end up tag teaming Hardin the very moment the boat ride ends. But why? With a single stroke of his sword Kenosh made Sunsgrove help the Ermehn, and from Ashtor’s point of view the mission was a perfect success…unless these are the only people to survive Deltrada. It just goes to show that you can get exactly what you want and still be unhappy!
(love the water effects btw)
This is a really beautiful panel. The perspective / depth of field really made this one pop out! And the color scheme. It’s just really good, lol! I really hope this will turn into an animated series someday…
First off, the page look amazing, second the fanart remind me a lot of Sly Cooper 3, mainly because of the “character selcetion” screen you have in that game, with the thieves in the hideout and stuff; now i’m wondering how a game featuring the Sand Spiders woruld be…