Exiern
Swords, Sorcery, And Then Some!
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Recent Comments
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Wow, 5 year was not kind to her.
If they wanted the childern also, why are they following Tiff’s brother, and or, the assassin from them.
I forgot to add, I wish Tiff did get a chance to meet her mom like this, I guess not a chance now.
Wow she really let herself go in five years. XD
Raised a ruckus to interrupt a coup? That is one brave old lady, I’d have slunk away quietly and made sure I saw nothing at all.
So, anyone think there is a traitor in the tribe who forged Tiff’s brother’s seal in order to finish the job on Tiff? Presumably Tiff’s brother qualifies as a new Big Man because he seized the tribe by force and not just acceded by default. Does Tiff’s brother have any kids, that could be one way to secure his leadership with the rebels, he gets to be the tribal Big Man at the price of not having kids to ensure there won’t be any question of dynasty building. Or maybe he just hasn’t outlived his usefulness yet in the way Tiff obviously has.
You are hearing the story from her perspective, so she still sees herself as a young woman regardless of the years.
Five years!? Holy crap she didn’t age well! I thought this story was from 20 years ago!
The matron is a strong woman and always has been, by the look of it. I hope her husband appreciated her, if only a little. What’s this about her returning from attending to him, though? Do the men and women live apart in this clan’s camp?
I can’t really bring myself to feel sorry for Raviner-Behr. =_= By all indications, he was a rapist.
Gillian, though… I feel mighty sorry for Gillian. What purpose could killing her have served? She was in no way in line to continue Raviner-Behr’s bloodline, considering she was an involuntary immigrant and kept as a slave. Did those assassins just go kill-crazy, or did they want to erase every single trace of Raviner-Behr’s existence?
And by the way? I don’t think the Matron “let herself go”. She lives in a harsh land and has to work hard. If anything, she has gone from beautiful to impressive.
If it was 20 years, then yes, she went to impressive, but 5 years? You do not get that, umm, ‘matronly’ in just 5 years by working hard
Maybe she works in the ‘palace’ (can’t remember what the chieftains building is called) but lives elsewhere, and her husband is ill/injured and she had to go check on him (maybe the scum thought she would be away for longer and would have time to kill the kids)
Oh, just noticed the title for this page, will be interesting to see another viewpoint/memory from another witness and find out which side Matron was/is on
Anyone else realize that Neils is Tiffs uncle? My guess is that Gillian is the sister Neils was talking about.
As for the traitors…looks like they’ve been ‘broken’. We saw the dwarf & the weretiger in previous pages and neither looks to be in good shape now. I’m guessing Typh’s brother took back the tribe and punished those that killed his father. Probably ordered the hit on Typh because he/she’s the eldest and therefore could try to claim leadership.
Guesticus makes a good point – the title is important. This page is from the matron’s memories – of course she thinks of herself as young and beautiful. She was probably as stout and rough-hewn then as is now, but not in her memory.
Her use of the world ‘children’ is significant. Melan-nee-Wyll and Typhan-nee-Tiff are siblings, although from the flashback, it seems Melan is older. Typhan seems to be favored by his father, though. However, if the coup was going to kill the ‘children’, but Melan is part of the coup (he’s older, not considered a child anymore), then we must conclude that there is at least one other sibling. I suspect it’s a girl, since Typhan has never mentioned her (he seems to have had a blind spot there). They may not have the same mother, either – I already think Melan and Typhan don’t.
Also, it’s possible that we’re way off, and the male barbarian in the coup isn’t Melan. Dan, pls correct me if I’m wrong!
The human among the trio is NOT Wyll-Line.
And Tiffany is, in fact, the older sibling, though only by about a year and a half.
@Inconsequential. Yes, I noticed. I was also probably the first to point this out.
@Guesticus. “Attending to her husband” can mean many things. She could have been tending his wounds/illness. They could have been “knocking boots” which is something you don’t do publicly. She could have been preparing his meal/ eating with him. None of those things would have been done in the throne-room.
Raising a ruckus to interrupt a coup really skirts the line between brave and desperate.
Oh, and as for killing Gillian, and the “children,” people who execute a violent overthrow usually try to eradicate the bloodline, if for no other reason than to prevent contention of the throne later. Or to prevent survivors from carrying out their vengeance.
Am I correct in assuming that Raviner Behr wanted to establish a dynasty, and that’s why they killed him? I don’t see why Typh’s mother is to blame however, unless she whispered into his ear and convinced him to try and create a kingdom. I guess that’s what the matron could mean by Gillian never fit in. Also, while it would make sense that Neils is Typh’s mother, I haven’t seen any proof for that yet. Can you show me evidence?
“Attending to my husband”? Perhaps she was “attending” to his grave?
Problem with the timeline–
They go into Raviner’s place, kill Gillian, then approach an unarmed Raviner. Why hasn’t he picked up his sword by this moment?
She sure went gray quick.
Because there were 3 of them. 2 probably struggled with the unarmed Raviner while the other killed Gillian.
Remember Raviner came to power through his abilities on the battle field. Even unarmed and outnumbered he wouldn’t be a pushover. Gillian on the other hand was a normal villager who was taken by force so she is unlikely to have had any combat training.
And another detail… Raviner-Behr actually didn’t HAVE a weapon. It was proof of his might that he bested every foe he faced unarmed.
My theory…the 3 of them (human, dwarf, & weretiger) killed Raviner-Behr and Gillian. The matron got the children out of there and the human of the group became the new chief. Both children were considered ‘banished’. Typh forged a name for himself, not returning to where his father had been killed (yet) but Melan grew, became strong like Typh did and returned ‘home’ before Typh. He then killed the human that killed his father and assumed the role of chieftan. This would explain why the dwarf & weretiger are still there, though apparently not in a good position (paying the price for their part in the coup?), and why we haven’t seen the human conspirator.
Servant lady has not aged well in 5 years….
That’s been a hard five years on her.
Things start to look a little inconsistent.
* The matron is old. She is strong, appears to be healthy but she is still an old woman. She is also very confident, and strong, confident women do not “let themselves go” while remaining strong and confident. They also do not think of themselves as young and willowy. The matron’s current appearance vs. her appearance 5 years ago does not make sense.
* Tiphan had the physique of an adolescent in the panel when he slapped Gillian. He would not be referred to as a “child” in a barbarian culture.
* Speaking of which, Gillian in that panel looked barely 5 years older than Typhan. Given her slave status, she would have trouble keeping such a youthful appearance, especially after bearing two sons.
* > It was proof of his might that he bested every foe he faced unarmed.
No. Just no. If I want to read a superman comic, I’ll read a f!!!!!g superman comic. Unless all his opponents were wusses extraordinaire, who impaled themselves on their own weapons through sheer incompetence, this just cannot happen. Particularly since *real* inter-clan warring will often put one in a two-on-one-fight situations. I am sorry, no matter how good you are, you do not defeat armed fighters highly skilled in the use of their weapons while barehanded (and yes, I do have enough martial arts training to have confidence in my assertion).
My theory is that by what evidence that we do have we can discern a number of things.
1. Raviner was ambition and with ambition comes arrogance so he thought he could easily conquer all of the barbarian tribes and peace would be assured. But with his ambition of creating a kingdom he left himself vulnerable to attack.
2. Because Melan is obviously the oldest it is possible that he was the one who kidnapped Gillian and presented her to Raviner, while at first he wanted her to submit to the new culture she refused. Raviner liked that and both fell in love, probably after Gillian gave birth to Typhan.
3. Because Raviner was in love with Gillian. When Raviner finally subdued the last independent tribe and brought it under his control he was acting more kingly and bringing reforms to the tribes to make them more “civilized”. A fringe minority saw this a threat to centuries of tradition and decided to kill Raviner and place a “true” barbarian into the position of chief and rule from behind. Meanwhile as Raviner was grooming Typhan to become the heir. Melan grew jealous and found the group and took over.
4. In which Melan orchestrated the coup but made it look like that someone else was responsible. In which that after he came of age and took the role of chief, no one would challenge him. Except now the newly formed kingdom is in disarray and due to poor leadership and a severe inferiority (Melan) complex. Melan decides to kill Typhan so that in the event Typhan returns and challenges Melan for superiority in which that in the event Typhan regains control of the tribe and thus rebuilds the kingdom and forges an alliance with the south if he married Peonie. Though in retrospect seems more likely that Tiff would take over and marry the king.
@Lurker: Well, you are free to not read it, but I will say that legends are not always painted out as they truly are.
@Korkman: I have already established that Typhan-Knee is the older sibling. Dunno what that does to your theory, but dem’s the facts.
Reviner-Bher must have been totally surprised or drugged as it did not look as if he but up a fight and from his history of battle it does not match with him being taken down by so little force.
I am glad to see this continued! I was worried that the comic was on a long sabbatical. đ thanks for keeping it going Dan and everyone involved!
Yes… it IS quite odd, isn’t it?
You people need to read the comic a bit more attentively and have more patience. I’m sure that all will be explained in good time.
@Lurker: There are several inconsistencies in your own comment: The man shown slapping Gillian cannot be Typhan-Knee, as Tyhpan-Knee is blond, the slapper is brown-haired. My guess is that it is either someone random, or Raviner-Behr before he got a new hairstyle. In the panel where he rides with his father, he seems to be a pubescent boy.
And I’m sure that you might have noticed, had you thought about it, that the “slip” regarding the matron’s memory as a young woman only five years ago was so obvious, that you’d have waited a bit more for an explanation of this blatant “inconsistency”, before writing your comment.
One of them was a shaman and hit her with an aging curse. I mean the protagonist is genderswapped, and IIRC Theresa/Thomas was a bit older when his change occured and he didn´t turn into an elderly lady.
Ok there i no evidence supporting that.
I know how to square all inconsistencies. A wizard did it (while bored or/and drunk).
Faden was watching all this on his magical equivalent of FOX and decided his reality tv show needed some livening up. He first considered abducting Simon Cowell from our world, but decided not to on account of Evil Overlord List saying to never kidnap anyone more evil than yourself, so just threw a big “confusion-bomb” into the whole thing.
I realise there is no actual evidence for this theory, but it can explain all observable facts.
A wizard did it!
@chemiclord,
> Well, you are free to not read it
Is that what you understood from my comment? Disappointing…
Let’s try again: Exiern is is good because it is Exiern. It cannot out-superman Superman, and by trying it will lose thae qualities that makes it Exiern It has nothing to do with whether I read it or not; it is not, and never was, personal. Constructive criticism does not require an answer, but if one needs to be given, it should be a variation of either of “thank you for pointing this out” or “I disagree with your opinion”; “don’t like it, don’t read it” is completely missing the point.
> but I will say that legends are not always painted out as they truly are.
Sometime, it is hard to discern legend from history. It is even harder, when the author drops out-of-character “hints”.
@Lleyn,
> The man shown slapping Gillian cannot be Typhan-Knee
Except that, when I asked who it was, chemiclord stated it was Typhan. I think he should know.
> the âslipâ regarding the matronâs memory as a young woman only five years ago was so obvious […]
So you claim that I am wrong about it? That’s possible, being human I tend to be wrong once in a while, and I can also miss the obvious. So tell me, what is your take on the situation? Why the discrepancy?
Damn, for got to close the italic tag.
Just another proof that I am far from perfect. Ironic, isn’t it?
Lurker, as someone else pointed out, the title may provide a clue as to why the old hag looks so much younger in just 5 years. “They also do not think of themselves as young and willowy” – oooor, maybe this one does. Otherwise, I think it would have been pointed out to be an artist-writer communication error by now.
And no, it’s not ironic.
Hmm….I don’t know why, but for some reason I’m starting to suspect that this woman IS Gillian. From the flashbacks, Gillian appears to have been early twenties…22 years later would put her in mid forties. While it’s uncommon to have gone completely grey (though she’s more white than grey) by the time one is 40, it’s not unheard of. The comment that “Gillian was already dead” may actually be a metaphor. The girl Gillian, as she was when she was brought there, was ‘dead’ by the time this transpired. She had finally accepted her place in that society and even choosen a new name. It would also explain her expression when she said the Typh learned to think of women as slaves from her/his mother….her expression seemed regretful, almost remorseful, like she was sorry she taught her son to be like that.
Or, I could be completely off my rocker here LOL
@chemiclord
When did the comic established that Typhan was the older sibling? I don’t know about you but I didn’t see anything or read anything to establish Tiff was the Elder by the contrary I think the evidence itself suggests that Tiff, Not Mel, is the younger one.
@Korkman: Let’s just say I have a pretty good idea.
Meanwhile, nobody’s noticing that Young Matron bears a remarkable resemblance to Peonie. The sepia-toning makes it unclear whether Young Matron is a brunette or a redhead.
Peonie’s mother, the Queen, is a redhead, you will recall.
If Matron IS the Luminary Queen, one can only speculate what “attending to my husband” means.
Chances are, I’m FOS. But if Matron is the sister of the Queen, things could get (more) complicated.
@Korkman: I -think- chemiclord knows what he’s talking about, seeing as he’s the CREATOR of this comic XD.
Lurker: “don’t like it, don’t read it” is a perfectly acceptable counter when someone bitches (excuse me, meant to say critiques) about something.
Sometime, it is hard to discern legend from history. Yeah, that was his point, glad you picked that up
GrimGhost, I don’t think the Matron is the queen, because the theater mother looked a lot more like her – but hard to tell with these sepia tone flashbacks.
@Chemiclord – “Yes⌠it IS quite odd, isnât it?”
Ahh. Either he was taken unaware by their treachery, or possibly Tiff’s mother was persuaded to drug him, which is why they killed her.
Nuh-uh. Look again. See the crabby-faced assassin’s resemblance to Typh’s unicorn? THAT’S the secret relation behind it all. đ
*g* Ah, you know what, I’ll just assume that nothing old cook lady says can be trusted. One panel, Tiff is brown-haired, next he’s blond, in one strip he seems to be an adult, in the next a boy, his brother’s not mentioned at all, and why exactly should barbarians feel “worried” that there’d be a barbarian king, unless they had something against Typh personally. Especially when it was stated that his father was their hope of reuniting all the Northern lands under one leadership.
But I still stand by my earlier comment: Instead of jumping ahead and criticizing the “inconsistencies” in the comic, do give the author a chance to tell the story in their own time and explain the mysteries when they seem fit regarding the plot-line. The “slip” about five years earlier was so obvious in combination with cook’s youthful appearance that several people remarked about it. But I won’t speculate, I’m content with sitting back and watching the story unfold.
Well, there are inconsistencies and it should be OK to discuss them. The fact that the inconsistencies appear to be intentional makes the subject even more interesting to speculate about.
So, apparently, Grina’s memory is all messed up time-wise. Maybe even her perception of Raviner-Behr (including chemiclord’s characterization — breaking the fourth wall seems to be a common technique in Exiern) is similarly exaggerated.
I suspect magical interference. Wouldn’t put it past the shaman to stick Gillian’s soul in Grina’s body in order to save her.
About the Chibiern strip currently up… Since when does Peonie swear by the name of Ash?
what all non humans look alike to you? Thats a completely different dwarf.