Song of the Eastern Sands: Page 26
Whoever thought that the Sand Spiders might be being set up with their easy access to the Sunsgrovian embassy’s gold and riches and they would discover some dead guards on their way out (*cough*TRONN*cough*), well, congratulations! You win the contest! There wasn’t really a contest, and there’s no reward.
Also, I’m pretty sure those guards aren’t too happy about their predicament. Or at least they wouldn’t be if they were still alive.
For those who missed it last week, (and even for those who DIDN’T miss it last week), the cast section of the Western Deep website has received a MASSIVE update! Within the past week, we’ve also added a brand new set of portraits and bios for the main cast of the Song of the Eastern Sands chapters of the story (including Adventures of Cain & Yurk), so check ’em out and learn a thing or two!
As many of you may know, I worked on a game several years ago called Dust: An Elysian Tail. It’s been re-released in various formats since its original Xbox 360 days, appearing on PC, PS4, even iPads and iPhones! But later this month, Dust will be released in a brand new way: PHYSICALLY!
Thanks to the awesome folks at IndieBox (who also released an incredible Armello boxed edition a couple months ago), we’re finally getting a sleek, physical Collector’s Edition of Dust: An Elysian Tail! Not only do you get the game, but the cool thing about IndieBox is that each game comes with a whole suite of custom goodies. I’m not allowed to share any secret details, but IndieBox DID release a little video teaser showing some of their past goodies from prior IndieBoxes, and ending with a sneaky little shot of something fans of the game would probably be interested in lugging around… FOREVER.
If you want in, you need to subscribe to IndieBox! There’s only a few days left before they send the boxes out, so if you’re interested, follow this link to check out the details.
For guest art this week, I honestly can’t believe I never posted this anywhere on the site. I checked our media library for the website and couldn’t find it anywhere, but if I did post this before, I apologize for nothing because it’s so great! So, a while ago, Rachel did her version of Beck!
It’s probably not much of a spoiler for me to say that the events of this story tie pretty closely into events in the main Western Deep series, so cast crossovers are not outside the realm of possibility. Either way, it’s just fun seeing our favorite Lutren thief represented in Rachel’s style!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hn3gBV-nYc
Two bodies have been found!
AUGH
Time to leave
LESGO
YE
Wasn’t expecting THAT.
Guess those sentries didn’t do such a fine job of guarding that empty ballroom after all.
Also, Rachel Beck Is Not Scary.
Oh. Crap. RUN GUYS, RUN!!!!!
I suspect that this has been planned for quite some time–the secret source gaining Theo’s trust with good tips, and then this…. oooohh please, Sand Spiders, don’t get caught and killed!
On an artistic note, I just keep coming back to just stare at this page. It is so beautiful and dynamic ^^
As for the SOTES cast additions, thank you so much for the added backstory! I love Rook even more now. Will we ever see his backstory in comic or written form?
Another question. How do the inhabitants of the Four Kingdoms mark slaves apart from freebeasts? My guess is with a thrall ring, because Rook wears a scarf around his neck (which would hide the scar).
You know what would be freaky…if those guards were actually dead the whole time and they “just” now fell plop.
But now comes to question who did kill those guards? Perhaps an assassin is in the midst of this heist? Possibly trying to kill off important Sunsgrovian figure heads currently residing within the building (uh oh Janik)? Or maybe it’s just plain sabotage who knows.
I also seriously enjoyed reading through the cast bio for both stories, I figured Theo was like some master thief who fell out of his prime :p. And Rachel’s Beck is deceptively adorable.
Well, this changes everything. This is just…. Wow. Should’ve known to never trust Theo…. Nor that unknown, unnamed informant….
In other news, the cast’s bios were pretty fun to read and Rachel’s version of Beck didn’t give any nightmares! We need more of this.
Anyway, Theo’s bio kinda makes me feel sorry for the old guy– “several arrows to the right leg, leaving him with a permanent limp”
aaaand now I can hear him saying “I used to be a thief like you, until I took an arrow to the knee….” …and the rest of the gang just cringing at it
That just leaves me to question whether that small bit of detail was an intentional reference lol. Although I suppose that it was probably a common way for incapacitating someone before Skyrim ever made it “oh exploitable”.
“The Sand Spiders stood there stunned by the brazen display of dereliction of duty, witnessing the guards become overwhelmed by their almost disproportionate love for the Hostess(c) Fruit Punch.”
Also yay winning, internet winning!
That must be some fruit punch.
Here’s to hoping Theo didn’t intentionally send the gang off to their doom. :(
Also please forgive me if this has been answered before, but I have been wondering about the tattoos in the BTWD/SOTES universe. Are they actually some sort of hair dye applied to the fur, or are they actually applied to the skin with needles the way that tattoos are in reality? If it’s the latter then are they made of some sort of special ink? Because if a human being were to, for example, shave their head and get a tattoo on the skin there then the hair would eventually grow back and cover it up. In the future could we perhaps learn a bit more about the Ermehn charm tattoos and what they mean? Do any of the other species wear tats or similar body markings? And at what age do the Ermehn get their first tats?
Alex or Rachel did explain Ermehn tattoos sometime in the past in a page discription, comment or blog post somewhere. Good luck finding it though.
Here’s what I remember.*
The Ermehn body markings are not tattoos but some kind of long lasting ink applied to the fur, as you correctly guessed. They persist for a long time but eventually have to be reapplied or they will fade, maybe as part of some kind of ritual?
Some tattoos denote clan affiliation and others represent generic good luck charms. I don’t know which are which. More specific meanings have not been revealed anywhere as far as I know.
I can’t really remember when Ermen first get their tattoos but I have an inkling it might represent becoming an ‘adult’. ‘Adulthood’ being judged upon individual maturity levels more than specific age. Or something.
You can see some rough, tough, suicidally reckless lutren shark hunters with tattoos if you click on ‘Online Store’ in the navigation bar.
* But memory is fleeting, as Salvador Dali knew so all this might be bollocks.
Thank you so much! That was very helpful and I appreciate it. :)
I wish to complain about these guards wot I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.
Nonsense! They’re pining for the fjords!
I thought that SOTES was supposed to be a less dark take on the BWD universe. Then again, compared to the end of chapter two, this is actually quite tame. Point withdrawn.
Either way, looks like a setup. That’s one mysterious source to not trust again . . . assuming that they can get out alive, that is. And now that the plot has received its necessary injection of thickening agent, we have the pleasure of riding out the storm.
Finally, Rachel did a fantastic job of a Beck who will not summon unholy nightmares from the depths of the leadership’s souls, despite showing her teeth! Such an accomplishment is to be lauded, as is the excellent quality of the piece itself.
Agreed!
Here I was thinking Song of the Eastern Sands would be a cheery romp featuring a roguish ensemble down for some light-to-medium-grade Oceans Elevening but bugger me if that ain’t just the narrative Orthrus of Treachery and Murder rearing it’s ugly heads!
Waily, waily, waily!
Well, note to self: ‘otherwise occupied’ means ‘dead’.
Looks like clearing out is the best thing the Spiders can do in this situation. I mean, it’s very unlikely that the two-bit guards would have anything of value and sticking around with unknown hostilities and combat going on is a terrible idea.
I really like the way this page is set up, particularly the panel design and the way they’re inset into the reveal page. The moment of quiet horror on the part of the Sand Spiders and the minimal dialogue is a great choice.
…Veigue might be right on the money, because at the moment, Janik is just an assistant adviser under her father. At the moment, he’s the primary point of contact with the Vulpin and if that changes, I imagine Janik gets the role. It won’t be very goo if he dies, will it Veigue?
A physical release is so tempting- I’ll have to give this some thought. If only we weren’t moving in a couple weeks, lol.
I love the way Beck looks in your style, Rachel- she has a charming and playful air about her.
I bet that Tamian guard was really looking forward to his retirement.
Why, that would be the very next morning!
He found himself laughing at the thought (in the privacy of his own mind of course, outwardly he remained as impassive as a stone, as a good guard should)! He had never been one to dwell overmuch on what the future held; he was a soldier after all.
Soldiering had been his calling, had become his lifelong profession and a soldier would do what the job required of him, at a moments notice if need be.
What would be, would be.
A soldier should keep his mind in the moment. Such an ethos had served him well during his long years of service. But now that service was coming to an end. Soon there would be no orders or deployments, no strict daily routine; just a fair pension and all the free time in the world.
A daunting prospect for a directionless Tamian.
So he decided to give himself a direction. More than one, in fact! He was going to travel!
In a way he had already begun. As the twilight of his career approached he had requested the most far flung postings available. That is how he came to be guarding a dusky hallway half a continent away from any tree worth the name. But soon he would be free to go hither and thither on his own dime and in his own time! Such liberty as he had never known was just a day away!
He found himself laughing!
I bet that Lutren guard was really looking forward to being transferred back to Lutra at the end of his embassy secondment.
Why, that would be the very next morning!
His limbs were limber, his heart light and the long journey home would surely fly by. How could it not! For he was finally to marry his young fiancée come the summer solstice!
He couldn’t keep himself from imagining the sunrise-slow breaking of her smile, her rain-grey eyes and the rough feel of her favourite cockle necklace against him as they embraced!
And after they were joined in matrimony it was off to to the balmy glades of the Eastern Deep to honeymoon among dappled sunlight and fragrant juniper. He knew she loved the smell of juniper.
He knew where they were going to live too. A modest plot of land on the north bank of the Verodun, sold to him at cost by a doting uncle on hearing of his nephew’s betrothal.
The land was scrubby but fertile and even if you couldn’t see the sea you could smell it when the wind was in the west.
He smiled in the full knowledge that together they could make a life there, come what may!
By thunder, he couldn’t wait to wet his back in the waters of Mother Verodun once again. Nessa didn’t have a river and even the air here was dry. No matter; by tomorrow he would be on his way to better things.
He idly wondered if juniper would grow on the riverbank.
Trees you’re going to make me cry.
They will always live on in our memories.
Also on SotES page 22. They’ll always be alive there too.
I noticed the new favicon. Nice ;D
No! Not the dispensable background characters! But if Those Two Dead Guys are the only casualties in SOTES we haven’t done half bad.
Of course, this throws more shady light on Theo’s informant because while it’s possible he didn’t know it’s. Unlikely. And while we’re on this subject I still don’t trust Theo.
It’s kinda unexpected to see Beck taking charge like this, and the others seem to be listening. At least so far- I’m fairly sure Rook is the oldest and more experienced of this group. We’ll see how this goes.
Dangit, I hope there’s a couple of those Dust boxes left.
Also Cain and Yurk backstories, yess.