Another pretty consistent and important issue in this comic is how characters never take responsibility for their actions. They can do whatever they want, as they’ll always have the thousand and one excuses to avoid taking responsibility. The biggest offender right now is Kargo, as it is the most recent, but it’s not the only one. Like I mentioned in the previous entry, Kargo is not taking responsibility for his violent tendencies and lack of control, because it wasn’t him, it was the spirit’s curse that his mother gave him. Knowing such a truth didn’t even deserve a reaction other than sort of feeling relieved, because see? It wasn’t him the one who murdered two innocent merchants, hid their bodies, stole their wares and acted like nothing had happened. It was the spirit.
Another flagrant case is, naturally, Rogio. Rogio is even worse because the author has completely ignored things Rogio did and say in order to clear his image. Rogio wanted to join the party that ultimately killed Zilas, which’s mission was finding Kargo and Ferah and bringing them back, and Rogio led the search party that looked for Alva’s sister. He could have used the trust Ranach had in him and his rank to go alone and actually help that female, but he didn’t. He was willing to take her and the pups back to the tribe to be raped and abused just like everyone else. Rogio didn’t care, and when the author decided he wanted to make him good, suddenly he had tried to help the Asmundr pack, which is a lie. Rogio was totally on board with Ranach’s plan to pick the Asmundr pack one by one, and he would have been a happy Meteor if Ranach hadn’t insulted him by placing Ronja in his position. Remember what Rogio told Ranach? That he thought they would lead together? He was angry because he didn’t get what he wanted, not because he was a good person.
The worst offender, however, is Roamer. Roamer never took responsibility for Zilas’ death, even when he indirectly caused it by being a fucking idiot and telling his family to move to the village where Savas had been killed by Kargo. After knowing of Zilas’ true fate, Roamer still managed to blame his family and then he told Ronja that Zilas’ death was meant to be. No, it wasn’t. Zilas was an idiot for ignoring Roamer’s advice, but Roamer was the one who told his family to move there, and he still refused to take any responsibility for his own actions. He still refused to admit he was an idiot for suggesting it, and that it was his fault that Zilas is dead. That’s only one example of the many times Roamer has refused to admit being wrong or having any responsibility about things he caused, but he’s, by far, the character that abuses blaming others the most.
If you pay attention, you will notice these characters are completely devoid of any emotion. Yes, they act like they have emotions, but their behavior is akin to that of a computer. There is something that triggers an action, and characters respond to it, and when it is over they just forget about it. That’s not how people behave. Kargo, to cite an example, should have been shown consistently worried about his uncontrollable, violent outbursts. It shouldn’t have been a one time thing, it should have been something consistent throughout the comic because it is an important part of the character. Rogio should have been shown blaming himself for Fuss and Jonna’s deaths, since his refusal to collaborate and act as a lure could have made things harder than they needed to be. Yet he never even thought about it. Actually, Rogio is such a flat, two dimensional character it makes Bella from Twilight look fleshed out. He has absolutely zero emotions. He’s worse than a robot. It’s not about concealing his emotions because of Meteor culture. He simply has no personality. That’s why there is no conflict, because characters need to care for there to be, and they just don’t. They can’t.
Kargo approaches Rogio and, just like that asks him if he loves Roamer. Well, as a change it is a positive one. Kargo seems to be realizing he has been acting like a monster and wants to make amends, he wants to let Roamer be happy with the man he has chosen to be with. It would have been nice if this had been more fleshed out, but as usual, lets just rush through things to get over them as quickly as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want pages and pages of purple prose telling me how much Rogio loves Roamer, but it would have been nice if Roamer told Kargo that he loved Rogio and to stop meddling in his issues. He didn’t, he simply told Kargo that Rogio is not proud of his past, something we haven’t seen because Rogio has no personality, and that he had expected to remain friends. That’s it. He never told Kargo that he loved him and he had chosen to be with him, and nor will Rogio. Worst part is this is coming out of the blue yet again.
“We are both being careful and making sure we don’t rush anything. I do care for him, very much, and I hope to one day say those words to him…”
See? This is exactly what I’m talking about. This is not consistent with what we’ve seen. The thing is, their supposed love story was rushed. They had a one night fling because both were depressed, which I’m ok with since it is something that can happen, then Roamer wanted some time to think while he returned to Midnightgarde to tell Kargo and Ferah that he was staying. When he got back he was all hugs and kisses with Rogio, which I interpreted like he had decided to give the relationship a chance. Rushed, but ok, I can buy that. After that, well, we’ve seen them acting like a pair of lovebirds, splattering paint all over their faces, swimming in the lake and having a great time, hugging, kissing, and being, generally, a couple. For Hircine’s sake! Rogio wanted to keep it a secret because gay couples are not accepted in the tribe, and just a few pages later he said fuck it, and hugged Roamer in front of everyone.
So where is this coming from? Why is Rogio suddenly refusing to say he loves Roamer, and why is he saying that they’re both being careful? They’re not. They’re acting like a couple. It’s not like in this world you get married or anything, so there is not much taking it slow here, and Roamer is living with Rogio anyways, which is the closest to marriage you’re going to find. Taking it slow is not what we’ve seen, this is again a bunch of telling and not showing, because what has been shown is not consistent with what Rogio is saying. So what? He’s not telling Roamer he loves him? That’s not important, dude, it’s how you act. I’ve said it plenty of times, loving someone is not about words but about actions, and actions speak much louder. Rogio’s actions speak that he does, indeed, love Roamer because he’s willing to overcome the shame and fear of rejection of being gay in order to show him how worried he was and how relieved he is that he’s alright.
Why does this author need to make things this complicated? Why can’t Rogio just tell Kargo; “Yes, I love him and want to be with him”, and that’s it? Why do we have to get so many words to, ultimately, not say anything? Because right now it seems like Rogio is saying he cares about Roamer but is not sure if he loves him or not, thus he’s trying out to see if the relationship convinces him. I have a feeling the author is opening the door to a possible love triangle, Roamer reconciling with Kargo, and Rogio being turned evil in order to justify Roamer dumping him and going back to his ex, because these are the vibes I’m getting here. I think I’m wrong, I don’t think this is the author’s idea, but all this clearing out Kargo from all blame after making such an effort to edit old pages to turn him into a stalking monster, and now Rogio being unable to clearly say whether he loves him or not, I can’t help but feel there is going to be something there, and I don’t want it.
I hate love triangles based on the rivalry of the two males who want to hook up with, well, the third male in this case. I think it’s been overdone, and it always turns the two contesting males into controlling assholes who are unable to respect the choice their supposed loved one has made. This is how it went down in Twilight. Bella wanted to be with Edward and was very clear about it, and Jacob wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept pushing her. The books place us straight into Bella’s head, and we know what she’s thinking all the time. She never admitted to loving Jacob, not even in New Moon. All the time Edward was her only obsession. Only when Jacob pushed himself onto her and force kissed her did she even consider maybe liking him, but not before, and it was a bullshit that came out of the blue just like this one and Ferah’s superpowers.
“Thank you…”
Thank you about what? He outright told you he doesn’t know if he loves Roamer, you stupid moron. Oh, for Hircine’s sake, these people are idiots!
“Break his heart and I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
To demonstrate that he’s sincere about making amends, Kargo just threatened to kill Rogio. Nice. This is exactly why I’m so pissed off about the spirit’s gift, even when I do accept that there is evidence in the story to justify it. The author is using it to excuse Kargo’s violent behavior, and despite it being a power that can and does hurt people, even innocent people, Kargo hasn’t learned shit. He embraces his violence with glee, he feels no remorse about killing innocent people, and even now, knowing that his lack of control could have supernatural causes, he doesn’t hesitate at threatening Rogio. His lack of control almost made him actually kill him, and he still doesn’t care. This is our fucking good guy, for Hircine’s sake! I’m not saying he should be the purest of souls, but he should show some character development. He isn’t, he’s as stagnant as everybody else because this author does not use literary resources to make his characters grow, he uses them to patch up plotholes and to change past things he doesn’t like without going back to edit, which is pretty much the same as patching up plotholes. You saw it in the previous entry, knowing that he’s a fucking out-of-control werewolf made Kargo feel relieved, because he’s not guilty of the deaths, it’s the beast he can’t control, so fuck it. By the Nine, not even Twilight’s Edward had this lack of self awareness!
(chuckles) “Oh, I believe you.”
What? WHAT? WHAT IN OBLIVION? Rogio almost got killed by Kargo, and he thinks it’s very funny that he’s threatening to kill him? Do you think the victim of a violent partner would find it funny if they threatened to kill them after being on the brink of death due to a beat up? Even if the other person was joking, the victim would be terrified, because they know they’re capable of doing it if they want to. It’s not an empty threat, it’s something very tangible and real. Rogio shouldn’t be laughing, he should be terrified, and he could even become obsessed with pleasing Roamer due ti the fear that Kargo would attack him if he failed. This discussion is not coming after a verbal argument. I could have understood it, more or less, if all these two had done was insult each other, but that did not happen. Kargo attacked him, badly wounded him, could have killed him had Roamer not intervened. What is Rogio laughing about? Spending days in the ICU because he decided to date Roamer? Oh, yeah, and Ferah is smiling because, fuck everything!
So we jump into a completely unrelated page, and I don’t even know when this is supposed to be happening, or what’s going on. Actually, I had to go back to check I hadn’t skipped a page, because I don’t know what’s going on. In the first panel we see a huge fire and, around it are Ronja, Vigr, Vandi and her pup, Akleja, and Ferah. Vandi and Akleja seem to be playing, while the others just stand there looking at the fire. Kargo approaches, looking as confused as I feel right now, and Ferah rushes towards him excitedly. Naturally, Kargo asks what all this is, and I’m asking myself the same, what in Oblivion is going on?
“A well-earned break. We deserve to not think about starvation and Ranach for one night, and just celebrate that we’re here, together.”
HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can’t be serious. By the Nine, this author can’t be this oblivious about the things he himself writes. These dogs haven’t been thinking about Ranach nor starving more than two times ever since he threatened to besiege them. The only two times the starving thing has been mentioned was when the novas became restless and almost trampled Ronja, and another time she mentioned it to Roamer. As for Ranach, they tried to get rid of him, they couldn’t, Fuss and Jonna died, and the next mention was when Ferah and Kargo arrived and nothing came out of that. What have we seen this dogs doing? Well, they’ve been seen talking, painting, talking, Kargo being mad at Roamer, talking, Kargo attacking Rogio, talking, lighting a bonfire to dance. Yep, that’s about it.
We’re back at the start of the comic, where the Asmundr pack would complain about starving but nothing was ever shown. All we’ve seen in relation to the siege and the dangers they’re facing are just a couple of mentions here and there and that’s it, but no direct consequence. These dogs are supposed to be rationing, but they all look fat and healthy, and we haven’t seen them actually rationing, we’ve been told that they’re rationing. If we hadn’t been told we wouldn’t even know, because nothing is ever shown.
It’s not just that we never see them actually starving, or worried about it, or skinny, it’s also the fact that we don’t even see them do anything about it. When Ranach and Ulfr threatened the tribe, they locked themselves up and refused to go out, and nobody even mentioned the consequences of doing so until the nova became restless. If I recall correctly, it wasn’t even Fuss the one pointing out that the antelopes were restless because they knew they would starve if they weren’t moved to the summer pastures, I think it might have actually been Rogio, which means the tribe didn’t think about it at all. That happened quiet a while after Ranach set siege on the tribe.
Right after that, it seemed like Ronja said; “oh, yah, maybe we should do something about this!” and tried to think up a plan to get rid of Ranach. After venturing out and ending with both, Fuss and Jonna dead, they just stopped trying. Yes, just like that they decided they couldn’t defeat Ranach and they never attempted any other plan based on what they had learned already. For Hircine’s sake, they didn’t even think of getting a runner out to got and find help at the Capital or something, the guys who have a team of trained bounty hunters.
After Fuss and Jonna’s death, the dogs were seen painting. Yes, fucking painting on the pelt of a nova because if you’re going to starve, be creative about it and waste resources on something that’s fun but ultimately useless for your survival. Then Ferah and Kargo arrived, and Ronja asked for them to help against Ranach. Well? It’s been over ten days since that happened, winter is approaching fast and, what have they done? Well, Kargo has been fighting with Rogio and Roamer, and Vandi has told them that they’re gifted by a spirit. Yep, ten Oblivion be damned days later they still haven’t sat down to make a plan in order to get rid of Ranach and save the tribe. Guys, Ranach threatened Ronja in page 297, that was around 242 pages ago, and nothing, absolutely nothing has come out of that. In what is almost half the comic, these people are not only not anywhere closer to defeating Ranach, they do not even have a plan or have even tried anything beyond that one single time that ended with two dogs dead. They’ve just decided to sit there and starve to death, and we know it because they’ve been telling us because, again, this has never been shown.
So what in Oblivion are you talking about, Ronja? You do not deserve not to think about Ranach or starving. You guys actually need to start thinking very seriously about that and do something already. By the Nine, it’s not just that she’s an incompetent leader, which she is and very much. The problem is also in the rest of the tribe. They’re all so passive, they barely have enough proactivity to keep breathing because if they had to think about it and actually do something, they’d all suffocate. Nothing is happening, they’re not trying anything, they’re not even trying to talk to Ronja about doing something. The comic is rushing through this plotline, as usual, by not stopping where it has to stop to develop it further, and whenever we’re reading about the Meteor Tribe it’s usually about a completely unrelated topic. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t sidetrack from the main plot at all, but you need to get it moving, and you need to develop it by paying it the necessary attention. The worst part about all this is that, as usual, it will get resolved in a blink by the magic of some rushed up deus ex machina, because that’s what the author always does. This guy has written almost 1000 pages worth of comic between the two of them and he’s still making the same mistakes he did back in Asmundr.
I was thinking that, maybe, he’s extending this to turn it into a bigger Idiot Plot, in order to make the tribe suffer. That is, lets make them not do anything so we can see them having a hard time. The problem with this is that it’s an outright Idiot Plot because it was caused by the characters being idiots. Another problem is that it doesn’t really work unless you show the characters having a hard time. However, I think that is not right. I think that what really is happening is that he doesn’t have a clue of what to do with the comic, which is a direct consequence of not outlining the plot before he started writing. So he’s basically just writing stuff that comes to his head and is not even bothering to develop any of them, because he doesn’t even know where he wants to drive them to. This is an utter mess, full of underdeveloped plotlines that never get anywhere and which get resolved without much hassle in order to move to the next thing. Now he wants to play with the love triangle, so the siege is secondary, and to remind us that there is actually a siege, lets show dogs dancing with the excuse of not thinking about a siege they weren’t thinking about in the first place.
Author, just because you have Ronja tell us this, it does not make it true when you have refused to consistently show us.
Anyways, lets move on with this horrid page. Ferah asks Kargo to dance with her, and Kargo says that he’s good, and Ferah insists. Ronja then intervenes and tells Ferah that she will dance with her. Ferah is not sure this is a good idea, as it could make Ronja go into labor, and Ronja says that she hopes so while showing a huge belly. I kind of liked that part, if only because it feels natural. I’ve seen plenty of pregnant women that, by the third trimester they can’t wait to just give birth and get it over with. It makes sense as the huge belly and the baby moving is uncomfortable, and since the uterus has gotten so large it presses on other organs, such as the bladder. The major complain I’ve heard from pregnant women is sleep, because it is uncomfortable to do so with a huge belly and because they need to pee every few hours.
Kargo looks towards the fire, and there is a rather well done panel where we can see Vandi, I think, out of focus at the front. Behind her, into focus, are Rogio and Roamer approaching each other with a smile. They both place their heads together and Kargo lowers his ears and looks sad. His expression is fairly well done, to be fair, even if it’s another head closeup. Rogio and Roamer turn around, looking like they’re having a great time, and they join Ferah and Ronja in the dance. Kargo smiles tearfully.
So, this is what this whole section was about. Kargo is finally accepting that Roamer has chosen someone else and is growing as a character by being happy for them and leaving behind his abusive, jealous ex partner tendencies. I can’t really argue against this because it is a positive, much needed character growth. The problem is that it is too little. The way Kargo has been acting can only be defined as monstrous, not because of his lack of control and violent tendencies, but mainly because of his lack of self reflection and remorse. It’s not that Kargo killed two innocent merchants, it is the way he acted afterwards. You can’t just redeem a character like that by having him accept that his ex is happy with someone else. While it is something to be praised, it is not enough in Kargo’s situation, and it will never be enough because the moment where he had to show regret is long past. No matter how much the author tries to redeem this character, or Rogio for that matter, it can’t be done because of the way they both previously behaved.
As the dogs are dancing around the bonfire, the camera moves towards the wall where we get to see Ávanti’s hand suddenly appearing to grab a hold of it. So it seems the creature has already learned that she can, indeed, climb walls. Who would have guessed? This also brings me to another question, where in Oblivion are Galti and Fremja? Aren’t they supposed to be manning the wall to raise the alarm if anyone comes close to it? What happened? Did Ronja allow the wall to go unwatched just so everyone could enjoy their little party? How can these people be so incredibly incompetent!
Look, by the time I’m writing this it is the first of January, so we’re pretty much in the middle of Christmas, as those celebrations in my country still go on for another week. While many people party and celebrate with their families and friends during those days, there are plenty of people who have to work, such as the police, hospitals, air control and so on. The reason for this is that people will get sick, crime will continue happening and planes are going to fly even during the festive days, so you can’t just have a hospital go unmanned for two full days because it’s Christmas. These people are besieged by Ranach and his pet monster, they’re supposed to stay vigilant at all times because it’s not like Ranach is going to send them a letter to tell them when he plans to attack. They can’t just leave the wall without vigilance. The very fact that Ranach managed to get so close to the tribe has nothing to do with his cunning as a villain and everything to do with the fact everyone in the Meteor Tribe is an idiot. Surprising, right?
The worst offender here is that everyone was happy to chill out by the bonfire. Nobody in the whole tribe, not Fremja, not Vigr, not Rogio or anyone for that matter, said that maybe someone should stay at the wall just in case. All of them left their posts to go to the party, as if nothing could happen despite the tribe being besieged by a dark wizard and the monster he had summoned. I am perfectly aware of how important it is for troops to keep morale high, but that doesn’t mean being idiotic, incompetent or otherwise careless. Soldiers do chill out, but they take turns to keep the walls manned and vigilance high, just in case there could be an attack. Keeping your attention low because you need to relax and have a good time could mean having your whole squadron completely wiped, which I’m guessing it’s not very good for morale. It really doesn’t take any sort of expert in the military to understand something so basic. For Hircine’s sake, if these people needed instructions to keep eating, they’d starve.
The camera goes back to the bonfire in an image that looks very unbalanced, due to the fire being at one side almost totally hidden, with Vandi and Akleja dancing just besides it in a place that’s too close to be comfortable. The forest is right behind them and, at the other side, we get to see a purplish glow. Kargo notices it and tells Ronja to look at the sky. The final panel shows several dogs, Roamer and Rogio among them, all looking at a sky that seems to be in flames. Indeed, there is a fire going on in the walls, although that huge glow is more akin to a forest fire, which is huge, than to the little fire Ranach lit in the walls, but we’ll get to that.
Before we move on, I have a feeling this whole scene falls again into Plot Convenience. The author wanted Ranach to launch an attack on the tribe, and instead of making him cunning enough that he managed to outsmart them, he resorted to making the whole tribe utter idiots so his very basic plan of climbing the wall could work. There were plenty of ways this could have been done which would have been way more exciting, such as Ranach using stealth to get rid of the guards at the wall, using subterfuge, or by something more complex such as using herb fumes against them, or insects, or anything just to force them to open the door. By the Nine, there is magic in this world, there is absolutely nothing that couldn’t possibly be done. I used to have a Mage the Ascension character who was capable of doing all sorts of incredible things, although he naturally got hit by the paradox more than once due to using non subtle magic. Using his powers combined to get into a heavily guarded building or to escape a dangerous enemy was truly exciting. It really doesn’t require anything other than imagination and enough research to make it as believable as possible.
Ah, so there is Galti, chilling out with Alva and wondering if the forest is on fire. Apparently Ranach didn’t beat enough sense into him, considering he’s one of the wall’s guards and he’s having a great time by the bonfire while the wall remains unmanned. Rogio, who also has zero sense into him, realizes that this is Ranach’s doing, all while looking afraid. He is yet another character who should have known better before agreeing to this, because he’s the one who knows Ranach the most and knows what he’s capable of. To be fair, both Kargo and Rogio should be neurotic enough that they should have voiced out their concerns to Ronja, and suggested not leaving the wall unmanned just in case. I’m sorry for repeating myself but I’m honestly baffled that nobody in this tribe pointed out what a stupid idea it was to party while leaving no sentinels on the walls. Anyways, the first ones to react are Kargo and Ferah, who rush towards the wall.
“Rogio, you are the strongest one here next to Kargo, (…)”
Oh, cool! Ranach is finally going to see that Rogio is alive, and the shock of that should give Kargo and Ferah enough advantage to get rid of him for once and for all. It’s about time Ronja realized what an important asset Rogio is to actually win this battle against Ranach.
“(…) go with Vandi and protect the cave entrance!”
Or you can do just that, because it’s not like Rogio being the strongest dog next to Kargo, could be useful in the fight against Ranach or anything, right? Ronja, you’re an idiot.
Lets talk a bit about this, because as strategy goes it sucks big time. Rogio is the strongest dog next to Kargo, and he’s also one of the most experienced ones since he was actually the warrior’s leader back in Arenak’s time. He should not only be fit to fight but also as a commander to impart orders and to serve as motivation to the troops fighting at his side. The best way to keep Vandi and Akleja safe is to keep Ranach from moving one inch into the tribe’s territory, and the best way to do so is to use the best warriors they have against him. With Rogio, Kargo, and the rest of the most experienced warriors, there is no way Ranach can win that fight, and Ávanti could be dispatched by sheer numbers alone, or maybe not as supernatural creatures go by their own rules and we don’t know Ávanti’s well enough. If the vanguard falls, what do you think Rogio alone could do against both Ranach and Ávanti? Nothing. The moment the vanguard falls Rogio, Vandi and Akleja are lost for good.
The problem here is that Ronja isn’t even doing it to protect Vandi and the pup because, when Ferah and Kargo arrived at the tribe she told her to hide, but did not tell Rogio to protect her. Do not forget all she heard was Galti howling that there was someone at the door, but she didn’t know who. It could have been Ranach, but since the author knew it was not, Rogio didn’t need to be hidden. That’s exactly the reason why she’s now telling him to go with Vandi, because it is Plot Convenient to keep Ranach from noticing Rogio is there, that’s it. The first time it still made Rogio a total coward, but at least it made some sense. After that, Roamer was supposed to use Rogio’s scent to lure Ranach, but that never happened for no reason at all. It simply got ignored.
Now, when it would be most critical to use him to distract Ranach, he gets pushed aside just so the villain doesn’t notice he’s still alive, well, and living in the Meteor Tribe. It’s gotten to the point it is so obvious it feels forced. The biggest problem is that it shouldn’t be possible for Ranach not to notice that Rogio lives there. Dogs have a very acute sense of smell, and they’re not only capable of picking up traces that would go unnoticed to every human, but they are able to know whether a scent is fresh or not. You might be inclined to say that well, Rogio lived there so Ranach would think that it is his old scent still lingering, but the thing is Ranach is a dog, not a human. He would instinctively know that the smell is far more recent than the two months he’s been supposedly absent from the tribe. For Hircine’s sake, Kargo is going to his encounter, Ranach should be able to smell Rogio on his coat since they’ve had a fight only ten days ago. Smells linger far longer than that, even if you can’t perceive it. Dogs can.
“The rest of you, get to the wall!”
Naturally, Rogio is having none of that, and just like he did with Ranach in the past, he complains to Ronja because his place is with the rest of the tribe. Nope, just kidding. Rogio walks away, head low and looking like an absolute coward while Roamer walks in the opposite direction. Roamer is off to fight Ranach and Rogio, instead of staying by his side, walks away. Rogio knows he could distract Ranach enough time for the others to deliver the killing blow, and he simply crawls away like an Oblivion be damned coward. The tribe is in dire danger and Rogio hides in the fucking rearguard, away from danger, because he’s too intimidated by Ranach to fucking face him. This was a very good opportunity to show Rogio manning up, standing by his tribe as the Baron he is, fighting off his fears to protect not only the tribe’s members, but also those he loves, like Roamer. He doesn’t. Any growth he could have shown here, any redemption, is tossed down the drain because his feelings are more important than the welfare of the tribe. Lets see how his feelings shield him from death when Ranach breaks the vanguard.
Lets move on before this pisses me off any more. We see the wall, and two very large blue sticks aflame right next to the wooden logs. In this panel we can see the wall going right through a forested area, and we get to see trees being very close to one another. In the first pages we got to see ghouls walking over branches. Care to tell me how in Oblivion they didn’t get inside? Because there are no torches keeping them out, it’s just a wall going through a forest, which kind of makes them useless. There is a reason fortifications were placed in high, clear areas, because you wanted to have a good view to see if anything was approaching with enough time to get your men ready. While it is true dogs, aside from Rhov and Raela, don’t climb trees, that doesn’t mean they can’t use the trees to hide their approach. Also, if I recall correctly, the wall was initially placed in an open section of the crater, which meant it had high, rocky structures at each side. This place keeps changing for no reason. Make up your mind, dude!
The following panel shows Ávanti helping Ranach climb the wall. I don’t even know how that is supposed to work. That thing is high. How in Oblivion did Ávanti climb on top of the wall, then reach down to hold Ranach and pull him up? I’m not even going to speculate, we saw the wall plenty of times in the past. It’s huge, which means it is physically impossible for Ávanti to reach down and grab Ranach. The thing is, Ávanti has teleporting powers. Maybe she can’t teleport herself, but we’ve seen her teleporting entire groups of people. What was keeping her from teleporting Ranach inside the walls? Aside from the fact the author keeps forgetting about canon stuff he himself inserted into the story.
The new page opens with Vandi and Akleja hiding among straw while Rogio tells them that, if something were to happen to him they’re not to come out and they should stay there until someone comes for them. Yep, it’s not like dogs can’t smell them hiding there or anything, so surely they’ll be safe if they stay very still. Look, I’m not even going to wonder where in Oblivion the cave is because, quiet frankly, I’m beyond caring about trying to figure out the map to this place. However, we do know the crater is huge to the point it has a full forest, several lakes, rivers, plains, caves, tunnels and secluded areas. I am perfectly aware that dogs, and probably Ávanti herself, could track Vandi down using their acute scent but, couldn’t she have gone hiding into Zilas’ shrine? For example. Or maybe gotten lost in one of the tunnels? By doing this, Rogio wouldn’t need to be in front of the entrance to protect her, which would anyways be like placing a bright panel pointing into it. He could be out there fighting in the front lines to protect their tribe.
Sorry to insist on this but, in war, there is a point when the life of a single person is not worth risking defeat, and Rogio’s place is not there, it is in the front lines adding to their manpower to bring up their chances for success. When there is a large disaster, be it a natural one, a terrorist attack or even an act of war, doctors will prioritize the survival of those with the highest chance upon those more gravely injured, because the manpower is limited and if they spend too many resources trying to save someone who might or might not survive, someone who would have survived had they received the attention in time could die. It is a tough choice, I know, but the survival of the many is a higher priority to the survival of the few. It’s not about right or wrong here, it’s about the lesser of two evils.
Anyways, lets move on. We get a panel where we see Ávanti, and I’m not really sure what it is supposed to be for because it adds nothing, it’s just a closeup of Ávanti. The next panel shows her looking worried into the distance, as if she had sensed something, and I correctly guessed that it was Rogio who she had sensed. I’m left wondering whether she might have smelled him, or if it’s something more spiritual. Either way, this brings me to speculate whether Ávanti might be the beast that destroyed Rogio’s pack, and I’m going to call guarshit very hard on that, and you’ll see why. If you remember correctly, Fuss told us that Ávanti was a wolf cursed to never find love, not even by her own family, and that she was put in shackles by the one she loved. The secret of her summoning was passed down by Meteor Tribe Jarls, that is, from the first one, Bródir, to Arenak, to Ranach. We also know that the dogs arrived to Aedra 30 years ago. While the timeline is not clear, this event must have happened somewhere at the beginning, before Bródir’s reign came to an end, because Bródir knew how to summon Ávanti and already dabbled in dark magic.
Rogio, on the other hand, said that someone angered a local spirit and it destroyed the tribe, whether it was the person who angered the spirit, or the spirit itself, it is not clear. I have a feeling the author is going to tell us that Rogio is, indeed, the male who Ávanti was in love with and he’s the one who put her in shackles and cursed her, which sorry, but it doesn’t make any sense. Like I said, Ávanti’s summoning was passed down from Bródir to Arenak to Ranach. Rogio was found bleeding and nearly dead by Ranach. While these dogs are immortal, this would still imply that Bródir, Arenak and an adult Ranach were living at the same time in Meteor Tribe, and even though it is possible, it is still stretching it a lot. Actually, if you look at the wiki, Aira’s age is 34 years old, while Rogio’s and Ranach’s age is 5 years old. Ávanti is much, much older to fit into Fuss’ narrative, because Arenak reigned for somewhere around 16 years, which means Bródir was long gone before Ranach was even born. This implies it is not possible for her to be the one that destroyed Rogio’s tribe and wounded him, so I honestly don’t understand why she’s so keen about going after him.
However, lets imagine for a moment that she is indeed the one who destroyed Rogio’s tribe. The first thing that calls my attention is that she’s a wolf, not a dog. Why would a liulfr be living with a pack of dogs in Aedra? Because she’s not an akiulfr, since the first akis are Jahla and her brothers, and the aliens didn’t know Ranulfr could impregnate Lifa. As we’ve already stated, Ávanti is much, much older than the first akis. Why would the aliens bring liulfrs to Aedra along with the dogs? Well, it could have been the green aliens, but Fuss’ story implies she was a normal neperdur, not a cursed liulfr, as she was cursed to become a beast by the one she loved. We also know neperdurs are not native to Aedra, and even if we ignore all of that, we’re back to the fact that this has never been established. There is no evidence that any neperdur, aside from Ninmah, ever lived in Aedra, there is no evidence that the dogs knew of the existence of the akiulfr, and there is no evidence that any wolf ever lived with a tribe of dogs in Aedra. There is no reason why they would want to anyways, as liulfr, which were present on Earth, were sadistic, violent and dangerous monsters incapable of love and incapable of forming anything resembling a pack.
Still, could it have happened? Well, by now it is clear that there is no way to make this hypothesis fit into the narrative, but lets imagine for a second that there was indeed a neperdur living with a tribe of dogs in Aedra, that she fell in love with Rogio and was therefore cursed to never be loved by anyone and put in shackles. This would imply Rogio was lying to Roamer when he told him someone had angered a spirit and it had caused the destruction of his whole tribe, wounding him in the process. The question here is why would he lie about that? Why not simply say the truth? If this is actually the case, he must have had information about Ávanti that would have been useful to the tribe, and he still chose to not say anything.
Well, you might be tempted to say that someone in his tribe dabbled in dark magic and attempted a summoning that didn’t go the way it should have, and I’m willing to accept that because summonings gone wrong is something I’ve seen enough times in The Elder Scrolls. Yes, it can happen. However, what little we know about Ávanti is that Ranach uses his blood to keep her under his control, and if you look at the pictures, there is a vial of blood hanging from her neck, which I can only assume is Ranach’s. Hypothetically, this link should be strong enough that it can’t be severed. However, we see Ávanti looking into the distance with a concerned expression. Ranach asks what is it, and she growls at him furiously and jumps off the wall to run with an angry expression to where Rogio is. Ranach asks where she’s going and tells her to stay there, but she ignores him. That is such a strong emotional response from Ávanti that it implies there is something going on there, something else other than a summoning gone wrong. I don’t think that if she destroyed the tribe due to a wrong summoning and left someone alive, it would have been strong enough to make her break her bond with Ranach and disobey.
Could Rogio have been the summoner? Well, yeah, I will be willing to accept that she’s going after him because of that, but again, why lie to Roamer? Even worse, why not say anything to the tribe? If he is, indeed, the summoner, he must know many things about the creature that would have helped the tribe in their fight against Ávanti, and he still chose to not say anything. This implies that he’s an even bigger culprit of Fuss and Jonna’s death than he is already, because that information, knowing exactly how to fight her, could have helped them survive. Aside from the implications inside the story, which are serious enough, I fear this is, yet again, the author having another “brilliant idea” and tossing it into the story despite it not having been established, nor foreshadowed in any way. I fear he’s going to force Ávanti be the monster who destroyed Rogio’s tribe without having planned it out, and all the author is making is opening plotholes the size of the observable universe and turning Rogio into an asshole and a disgusting, selfish, moronic person, who is so worried about shielding his feelings he doesn’t give three fucks about anyone else.
Lets finish this page and this entry for that matter, as the following pages will be the battle against Ranach and, ugh, I really can’t explain with words how horrible it is. As Ávanti leaves, Ferah and Kargo reach the wall and growl at Ranach, who turns towards them. Yep, cool, just tell him that you’ve just arrived. It’s not like him being distracted would have been a good opportunity to attack. By the Nine, these people are so stupid!
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