<!– Global site tag (gtag.js) – Google Analytics –>
<script async src=”https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-22856846-2″></script>
<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag(‘js’, new Date());
gtag(‘config’, ‘UA-22856846-2’);
</script>
<!– Global site tag (gtag.js) – Google Analytics –>
<script async src=”https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-22856846-7″></script>
<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag(‘js’, new Date());
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+.
Yeah, there were several of us who pointed that out–but I have to add, this may not be arbitrary. Unicorn’s may, by their nature, be UNABLE to carry non-virgins. That could mean that by Uni’s lights, Typh is the unreasonable one, trying to force the noble steed to do something against his nature. It would be like someone forcing Typh to marry Urtica for the good of the realm or something.
“hell of a royal couple”–I think I’ve said such a thing myself, but unless she agrees to it, and is willing to go full in on the deal, it would sexual slavery. Further, the Unicorn might well act the way she does because being touched by a sexually impure person HURTS. For all we know, it might kill her. I don’t think the creature acts the way she does because she’s merely a prude.
I think so although I can’t recall reading that in unicorn lore. Maybe the unicorn can help with that and quickly before Typhan-Knee dies of internal bleeding.
And may I say, I do admire Typh’s insistence that Peonie is in some sense purer than she is, that for humans, purity is not one-dimensional. But for whatever reason, it is the only dimension that unicorns are sensitive to.
And, uh, Typh? You can get lower–you are still propping yourself up on one arm. A cop would continue to beat you while ordering you to “stop resisting.”
“Being a virgin doesn’t make you ‘pure’.” By our standards, it is at least only one of several possible criteria. But by some standards in many cultures, it is one of the most crucial elements of moral purity, and is not to be discounted.
I’m thinking about the fact that Unicorn depictions have changed over time. The ancient Romans described them thusly: “A very ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its body to a horse, with the head of a deer, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, a deep, bellowing voice, and a single white horn, two cubits(inches) in length, standing out in the middle of its forehead.”
And prior to that, many translations of the “Re’em” of the Old Testament interpret the creature as a unicorn of sorts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re%27em
And then there’s the fact that the whole thing about virgins is in regards to how to TRAP a unicorn (which was considered less “beautiful and magical and pure” and more “horrifically powerful and dangerous magical monster”). The unicorn was literally attracted to the women… and would approach, put its head in her lap, and then fall asleep. IF they first bared their breasts so the unicorn could suckle on them a bit first. (And that’s assuming the unicorn didn’t intend more than that with the poor girl)
So really… the whole “refuses to touch a non-virgin” thing? That’s a recent invention… and under the circumstances, I don’t blame Typh for being decidedly pissed at such boorish behavior (even in the Chronicles of Narnia, where everyone was very prim and proper and British and with attitudes that today are considered “troubling” at best, the unicorns were still expected to be as civilized and mannered as anyone else)
Cubits have never been inches, as far as I’m aware.
A cubit is the distance from the speaker’s elbow to the tip of their middle finger. A handy unit of measure for personal use, as most people have two one cubit measures with them always. Damned useless for anything involving communication, since it can realistically be anywhere between about 8 inches (dwarfism) and two feet (guessing, based on the tallest person I’ve met having a cubit length of somewhere around 22 inches, and he was only 6’10”.) For the purpose of this comment, I’m pretending children don’t exist, because historic documents I’m familiar with that referenced cubits seemed to ignore their existence. But I refuse to pretend that women don’t exist, because they’re awesome. But since arm length doesn’t vary much between men and women at the lower extreme of dwarfism, they don’t really change the range.
It’s not that women and children don’t exist, it’s that they didn’t work in the construction trades at the time. (Although a seamstress might use a cubit to measure cloth. Dunno. )
Yeah, sorry – I pulled that from an article and failed to notice that whoever posted it was completely oblivious to the actual length of a cubit as compared to inches. But yeah… point remains. Unless the unicorn is literally unable to bear the touch of a nonvirgin (due to OCD or physical discomfort or something), then the unicorn is just being a self-righteous puritanical jerk – and even then, he’s being rude about how he goes about it. Here is a link to an website about gentlemanly behavior. Questions of sexual equality aside, note that the emphasis is on being civil towards ALL women, regardless of their station:
Of course, the repeated emphasis is that a gentleman should be courteous and considerate of everyone, regardless of their station – someone who thought nothing of being rude to the waiter or the shoeshine boy was no gentleman. But the point is still: even if the unicorn literally cannot bear physical contact with a nonvirgin, he doesn’t have to be rude about it.
“even if the unicorn literally cannot bear physical contact with a nonvirgin, he doesn’t have to be rude about it.”
Hey, just because you literally could not bear the touch of this red hot poker doesn’t mean you have to be rude about it. And I’ll note that while this unicorn seems to be smarter than most horses, he’s still not human, and is not subject to human social standards.
Yes. Which is supposedly one of the sources of the unicorn legends in the first place. How they ever became associated with horses I don’t know, but remember that “hippo” means horse as well, and yet the hippopotamus doesn’t look that much like a horse either. I suspect they called anything on four legs a horse back then, and the image stuck.
I am Curious …
I would like to know the completed sentence Typh was going to say before GRAVITY cut her off … knocked her down … dragged her down … prevented her from finishing the sentence.
… just a reminder i believe in a flash back to when typh was a young man on raids with his clan he tried to rape another young man but was i think either caught in the act and stopped before finishing or stopped before it happened, so i think Typhan-knee is on about how peonie’s partners have been willing while the few times typhan-knee has tried was non consensual so i think that is why Typh is confused by the unicorn’s behaviour.
A bit more than that. Typh presumably failed to actually penetrate his male victim. But he tried to rape women as well (and failed due to his inability to achieve an erection), before killing his victims. He’s done a lot of horrible things. By comparison, Peonie has never been evil, cruel, or unjust. As you said – all of Peonie’s partners have been willing. Typh’s not happy about the double standard. “She gave other people pleasure, and you reject her – but I massacred entire villages and you think I’M the pure one!?”
Oh, I should add – it’s not just that Typh is pissed about the double standard. It’s also that Typh is… filled with self loathing. Not because of the transgenderism, but because of the “My Daddy made me slaughter people and treated me as a disappointment because I never actually raped anyone” thing. It’s not fun, laying in bed at night and trying not to think about things you’ve done that you’ll never forgive yourself for.
Be a Producer!Your name/title with an optional SFW hyperlink will be posted prominently HERE following the close of the month! You’ll also receive monthly mailings from Exiern’s author, Scott T. Hicken!
Like i figured, it’s because of Peonie and Typhan-Knee has had enough of it.
Yeah, there were several of us who pointed that out–but I have to add, this may not be arbitrary. Unicorn’s may, by their nature, be UNABLE to carry non-virgins. That could mean that by Uni’s lights, Typh is the unreasonable one, trying to force the noble steed to do something against his nature. It would be like someone forcing Typh to marry Urtica for the good of the realm or something.
In all fairness, I think Typh and Urtica would make a hell of a royal couple, if they didn’t kill each other five minutes after the ceremony. 😛
“hell of a royal couple”–I think I’ve said such a thing myself, but unless she agrees to it, and is willing to go full in on the deal, it would sexual slavery. Further, the Unicorn might well act the way she does because being touched by a sexually impure person HURTS. For all we know, it might kill her. I don’t think the creature acts the way she does because she’s merely a prude.
Isn’t there something about the touch of a uni’s corn being healing?
I think so although I can’t recall reading that in unicorn lore. Maybe the unicorn can help with that and quickly before Typhan-Knee dies of internal bleeding.
In some lore, yes. In other lore, no. In the lore of this specific comic, I don’t think so, but maybe.
Unicorn horns are supposed to cure/neutralize/detect poisons. I don’t recall any myths about them being able to handle blunt force trauma.
Yes, that’s what I read. I’ve read nothing about them healing wounds.
Ah, yes, I think that’s what I had in mind, thank you. I’ll note in passing that that is also related to purity, although not sexual purity.
And may I say, I do admire Typh’s insistence that Peonie is in some sense purer than she is, that for humans, purity is not one-dimensional. But for whatever reason, it is the only dimension that unicorns are sensitive to.
And, uh, Typh? You can get lower–you are still propping yourself up on one arm. A cop would continue to beat you while ordering you to “stop resisting.”
Being a virgin doesn’t make you ‘pure’
“Being a virgin doesn’t make you ‘pure’.” By our standards, it is at least only one of several possible criteria. But by some standards in many cultures, it is one of the most crucial elements of moral purity, and is not to be discounted.
As Typh just pointed out, they may be a virgin, butt P-cups is purer than they are
Ah, yes, I think that’s what I had in mind, thank you. I’ll note in passing that that is also related to purity, although not sexual purity.
Aargh, replied to the wrong post.
I’m thinking about the fact that Unicorn depictions have changed over time. The ancient Romans described them thusly: “A very ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its body to a horse, with the head of a deer, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, a deep, bellowing voice, and a single white horn, two cubits(inches) in length, standing out in the middle of its forehead.”
And prior to that, many translations of the “Re’em” of the Old Testament interpret the creature as a unicorn of sorts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re%27em
And then there’s the fact that the whole thing about virgins is in regards to how to TRAP a unicorn (which was considered less “beautiful and magical and pure” and more “horrifically powerful and dangerous magical monster”). The unicorn was literally attracted to the women… and would approach, put its head in her lap, and then fall asleep. IF they first bared their breasts so the unicorn could suckle on them a bit first. (And that’s assuming the unicorn didn’t intend more than that with the poor girl)
So really… the whole “refuses to touch a non-virgin” thing? That’s a recent invention… and under the circumstances, I don’t blame Typh for being decidedly pissed at such boorish behavior (even in the Chronicles of Narnia, where everyone was very prim and proper and British and with attitudes that today are considered “troubling” at best, the unicorns were still expected to be as civilized and mannered as anyone else)
Cubits have never been inches, as far as I’m aware.
A cubit is the distance from the speaker’s elbow to the tip of their middle finger. A handy unit of measure for personal use, as most people have two one cubit measures with them always. Damned useless for anything involving communication, since it can realistically be anywhere between about 8 inches (dwarfism) and two feet (guessing, based on the tallest person I’ve met having a cubit length of somewhere around 22 inches, and he was only 6’10”.) For the purpose of this comment, I’m pretending children don’t exist, because historic documents I’m familiar with that referenced cubits seemed to ignore their existence. But I refuse to pretend that women don’t exist, because they’re awesome. But since arm length doesn’t vary much between men and women at the lower extreme of dwarfism, they don’t really change the range.
It’s not that women and children don’t exist, it’s that they didn’t work in the construction trades at the time. (Although a seamstress might use a cubit to measure cloth. Dunno. )
Yeah, sorry – I pulled that from an article and failed to notice that whoever posted it was completely oblivious to the actual length of a cubit as compared to inches. But yeah… point remains. Unless the unicorn is literally unable to bear the touch of a nonvirgin (due to OCD or physical discomfort or something), then the unicorn is just being a self-righteous puritanical jerk – and even then, he’s being rude about how he goes about it. Here is a link to an website about gentlemanly behavior. Questions of sexual equality aside, note that the emphasis is on being civil towards ALL women, regardless of their station:
http://walternelson.com/dr/presence-of-ladies
Of course, the repeated emphasis is that a gentleman should be courteous and considerate of everyone, regardless of their station – someone who thought nothing of being rude to the waiter or the shoeshine boy was no gentleman. But the point is still: even if the unicorn literally cannot bear physical contact with a nonvirgin, he doesn’t have to be rude about it.
“even if the unicorn literally cannot bear physical contact with a nonvirgin, he doesn’t have to be rude about it.”
Hey, just because you literally could not bear the touch of this red hot poker doesn’t mean you have to be rude about it. And I’ll note that while this unicorn seems to be smarter than most horses, he’s still not human, and is not subject to human social standards.
That’s a description of a rhinoceros.
Yes. Which is supposedly one of the sources of the unicorn legends in the first place. How they ever became associated with horses I don’t know, but remember that “hippo” means horse as well, and yet the hippopotamus doesn’t look that much like a horse either. I suspect they called anything on four legs a horse back then, and the image stuck.
I am Curious …
I would like to know the completed sentence Typh was going to say before GRAVITY cut her off … knocked her down … dragged her down … prevented her from finishing the sentence.
… just a reminder i believe in a flash back to when typh was a young man on raids with his clan he tried to rape another young man but was i think either caught in the act and stopped before finishing or stopped before it happened, so i think Typhan-knee is on about how peonie’s partners have been willing while the few times typhan-knee has tried was non consensual so i think that is why Typh is confused by the unicorn’s behaviour.
A bit more than that. Typh presumably failed to actually penetrate his male victim. But he tried to rape women as well (and failed due to his inability to achieve an erection), before killing his victims. He’s done a lot of horrible things. By comparison, Peonie has never been evil, cruel, or unjust. As you said – all of Peonie’s partners have been willing. Typh’s not happy about the double standard. “She gave other people pleasure, and you reject her – but I massacred entire villages and you think I’M the pure one!?”
Oh, I should add – it’s not just that Typh is pissed about the double standard. It’s also that Typh is… filled with self loathing. Not because of the transgenderism, but because of the “My Daddy made me slaughter people and treated me as a disappointment because I never actually raped anyone” thing. It’s not fun, laying in bed at night and trying not to think about things you’ve done that you’ll never forgive yourself for.
On this maybe at some point Typh will give the Unicorn to someone who meets BOTH standards like how the sword was given away.