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Starting February 1st ALL new Exiern pages will post ONLY to Exiern.com and Our Patreon. Please read and support us there!
Swords, Sorcery, And Then Some!
Howdy, New Readers! Thanks for reading Exiern!
Written by Scott T. Hicken with art by Antipus, the comic updates Mondays. Please check out the Archive to enjoy the earlier adventures of Typh and Peonie!
Exiern contains mature themes and is best for readers 18+.
I’m not sure how Coriander plans on winning, unless he thinks his ‘boost’ is that much more potent.
But he seems to have chosen Olivia so that if Peonie dies, he loses no one of consequence to himself.
…Why didn’t he choose Tiff? Or Neils or Bohr? …Is there some requirement that you chose an individual not expressly trained in martial combat?
…looking back, Teresa was considering Olivia, apparently. Perhaps Coriander saw that, and is expecting whatever trump Teresa had planned to work for him.
@50 refuge: It would still go in the chest. The whole point is that the orb goes next to the heart, remember? It’s why Peonie doesn’t think sparring Olivia will be possible.
Pierce the orb and you pierce the heart.
As for why Typhan-Knee did that, probably because he didn’t think Peonie could move in that dress. Move fast enough to avoid a sword to the heart i mean.
@Jake: Actually, as i’ve pointed out, piercing the orb =/= piercing the heart. A properly-executed and timed stop thrust could go right through the orb and no more than scratch the skin behind it.
And the North Wind has proven its ability – even when wielded with murderous intent – to completely destroy clothing while leaving a wearer who doesn’t deserve death or dismemberment totally unscratched.
@Fairpointfan: But you forget that the orb is right next to the person’s heart . So piercing it does = piercing the heart. It’s why Peonie thinks a magic sword won’t make much of a difference.
@Jake: Technically speaking, if someone taller than P-cups was fighting her, they could pierce the orb and only stab part of her… um.. chest as well, with the right angle. She has much more surface area for orb exit, so to speak.
And while marring the royal boobage should also be a crime punishable by death, at least it would spare anyone’s life in the duel.
Suddenly I realized exactly what Peonie meant about being able to pursue alternative legal action if she loses. This is an ecclestiacal trial, specifically within the purview of the church. But if, say, a Catholic priest molests an altar boy? That’s NOT a purely internal matter. It’s also a criminal felony under secular law. In other words, even if the cardinal wins the ecclesiastical trial, he’ll still have to contend with secular judgement.
Of course, from what we’ve seen of this guy, I doubt he’d have any problems whatsoever with tearing the country apart by pitting the faithfully religious against secular authority just to save his own neck. He’s already established his intention to turn an innocent person into a meat puppet to kill or die for him.
The blade has to go through the orb, not the chest the orb is encased in. If the orb sticks out that far, can’t they just go in sideways and miss the flesh?
Yes, @WingedBeast, oil believe they could accomplish the maneuver you describe. However, for either combatant to perform the feat you describe would almost certainly require the other combatant’s cooperation. How likely is that if both are required to fight zealously for their assigned opponent?
Is anyone else curious about what the wedding guests and such are thinking seeing this? A church hancho doing this kind of stuff: throwing spells around, attacking other religion guys, doing strategies that are tantamount to ‘last ditch of the super guilty’ and so forth… He might win the battle, but it’s a royal wedding with a bunch of VIPs
Piercing the Orb doesn’t mean skewering it completely. It just requires penetrating the outer shell, which appears to extend beyond the skin of both participants. Would piercing the shell but avoiding the skin be a difficult maneuver? No doubt but we have seen Typh denude Theresa while trying to cut her to pieces so the Northwind can do the job if Peonie can wield it with sufficient control. We don’t know what Olivia’s skill level is, which could be considerable.
I think in’s interesting that Typh doesn’t seem concerned for Peonie’s safety. Maybe the lessons have been going well. On another note, that is NOT a bustle.
@Brandi THANK YOU. By literal right, it is a bustle… according to the dictionary. According to the fashion definition? …Not so much. You can call it a formal skirt (or formal length skirt if you wish) but not a bustle. There’s hardly any fullness at waist and barely any below waist level. As someone who’s studied fashion history, I criticise the editor of this page. Sorry.
Yes, @DavidK, bustles come in many shapes, but Peonie does not appear to be wearing one. Instead of Google images, try Wikipedia. Ruff apears to be tearing away nothing but cloth: a skirt and a petticoat.
North Wind can pass through Olivia’s body slicing the orb in half with out harming Olivia. Lt former Capt lover boy was wearing armor and Typh sliced his armor in half with out harming him plus what Typh did to Teresa.
Olivia classic bad choice. She just throw the Fight to Make certain he loses..Oh she will die? So? She a A!s Hat But I do not think that will slow her Down.
@ Jonathon Wint Actually if understand things correctly the spell forces them to fight to their full ability, meaning Olivia cannot simply throw the fight
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I see now, P-cups clothes are made out of paper very thin paper.
Um…what? Why did Typh do that?
===
Where does the orb sit if the combatant is male, and doesn’t have boobs the orb can snuggle into?
Plus, Bad Taiming’s very well taken point. I’ve never seen fabric tear that easily.
And Peonie? Typh just offered you a magical sword. Take it, you little fluff brain.
Oh, hey:
CaptXpendable wins the clothes-shredding prize.
Good call.
===
After a moment’s reflection, I suspect Typh is doing this to improve Peonie’s agility.
Still not clear what Peonie’s plan is. Does she really think a few sparring lessons equals combat experience.
I’m equally unclear on Coriander’s choice of champion. He must think Peonie will hesitate to kill a friend–or he has hooks into Olivia.
I’m not sure how Coriander plans on winning, unless he thinks his ‘boost’ is that much more potent.
But he seems to have chosen Olivia so that if Peonie dies, he loses no one of consequence to himself.
…Why didn’t he choose Tiff? Or Neils or Bohr? …Is there some requirement that you chose an individual not expressly trained in martial combat?
…looking back, Teresa was considering Olivia, apparently. Perhaps Coriander saw that, and is expecting whatever trump Teresa had planned to work for him.
@50 refuge: It would still go in the chest. The whole point is that the orb goes next to the heart, remember? It’s why Peonie doesn’t think sparring Olivia will be possible.
Pierce the orb and you pierce the heart.
As for why Typhan-Knee did that, probably because he didn’t think Peonie could move in that dress. Move fast enough to avoid a sword to the heart i mean.
@Tegani: Again, Coriander doesn’t know Typhan-Knee well enough to want to pick him. He hasn’t seen Typhan-Knee fight.
More importantly, Olivia is Teresa’s lady in waiting, a much more important target really.
Jake I would still choose the one with armor rather than dress
sorry i meant sword rather unarmed but when criandor first saw tiff she had an armor i think
@Jake: Actually, as i’ve pointed out, piercing the orb =/= piercing the heart. A properly-executed and timed stop thrust could go right through the orb and no more than scratch the skin behind it.
And the North Wind has proven its ability – even when wielded with murderous intent – to completely destroy clothing while leaving a wearer who doesn’t deserve death or dismemberment totally unscratched.
Anyone know why the speech balloons disappeared on Tuesday’s (12/29) strip?
is it just me, or has Typh started acting like a gay-best-friend around Peonie since they came back from the north
@Fairpointfan: But you forget that the orb is right next to the person’s heart . So piercing it does = piercing the heart. It’s why Peonie thinks a magic sword won’t make much of a difference.
And the orb isn’t clothing.
@Jake: Technically speaking, if someone taller than P-cups was fighting her, they could pierce the orb and only stab part of her… um.. chest as well, with the right angle. She has much more surface area for orb exit, so to speak.
And while marring the royal boobage should also be a crime punishable by death, at least it would spare anyone’s life in the duel.
Of course, Typhan-knee could have just girded Peonie’s loins and avoided the whole clothing ripping thing…
…
…do I hear chanting? And why do I see pitchforks on the horizon?
The look of accomplishment on Tiff’s face is pretty epic.
Suddenly I realized exactly what Peonie meant about being able to pursue alternative legal action if she loses. This is an ecclestiacal trial, specifically within the purview of the church. But if, say, a Catholic priest molests an altar boy? That’s NOT a purely internal matter. It’s also a criminal felony under secular law. In other words, even if the cardinal wins the ecclesiastical trial, he’ll still have to contend with secular judgement.
Of course, from what we’ve seen of this guy, I doubt he’d have any problems whatsoever with tearing the country apart by pitting the faithfully religious against secular authority just to save his own neck. He’s already established his intention to turn an innocent person into a meat puppet to kill or die for him.
See? There it is. North Wind in P-Cups’ hands. Everything will be fine if she just *trusts the blade*. It never fails its wielder.
The blade has to go through the orb, not the chest the orb is encased in. If the orb sticks out that far, can’t they just go in sideways and miss the flesh?
What? You are knit picking about the dress tearing too easily?
Just let them tell the darn story!
Yes, @WingedBeast, oil believe they could accomplish the maneuver you describe. However, for either combatant to perform the feat you describe would almost certainly require the other combatant’s cooperation. How likely is that if both are required to fight zealously for their assigned opponent?
Is anyone else curious about what the wedding guests and such are thinking seeing this? A church hancho doing this kind of stuff: throwing spells around, attacking other religion guys, doing strategies that are tantamount to ‘last ditch of the super guilty’ and so forth… He might win the battle, but it’s a royal wedding with a bunch of VIPs
Piercing the Orb doesn’t mean skewering it completely. It just requires penetrating the outer shell, which appears to extend beyond the skin of both participants. Would piercing the shell but avoiding the skin be a difficult maneuver? No doubt but we have seen Typh denude Theresa while trying to cut her to pieces so the Northwind can do the job if Peonie can wield it with sufficient control. We don’t know what Olivia’s skill level is, which could be considerable.
Is it just me, or is Tiff looking up P-Cups’ dress? 😀
It’s possible that Tiff staid away until now so that there was no chance at all that Corri could pick Tiff
I think in’s interesting that Typh doesn’t seem concerned for Peonie’s safety. Maybe the lessons have been going well. On another note, that is NOT a bustle.
It’s P-cup’s dress. Of course it tears easily. She probably had it specifically designed out of an easy-to-tear fabric.
Maybe the sword will just split the orb and leave her unharmed?
@Brandi THANK YOU. By literal right, it is a bustle… according to the dictionary. According to the fashion definition? …Not so much. You can call it a formal skirt (or formal length skirt if you wish) but not a bustle. There’s hardly any fullness at waist and barely any below waist level. As someone who’s studied fashion history, I criticise the editor of this page. Sorry.
@Jenny What is it called then?
Bustle: I suggest the following – google “bustle”, look at images section… what it is depends on era, lots of variety.
Yes, @DavidK, bustles come in many shapes, but Peonie does not appear to be wearing one. Instead of Google images, try Wikipedia. Ruff apears to be tearing away nothing but cloth: a skirt and a petticoat.
@Meps98 As close as the orbs to the heart? Not likely
North Wind can pass through Olivia’s body slicing the orb in half with out harming Olivia. Lt former Capt lover boy was wearing armor and Typh sliced his armor in half with out harming him plus what Typh did to Teresa.
Olivia classic bad choice. She just throw the Fight to Make certain he loses..Oh she will die? So? She a A!s Hat But I do not think that will slow her Down.
@ Jonathon Wint Actually if understand things correctly the spell forces them to fight to their full ability, meaning Olivia cannot simply throw the fight