Page 1042…
Happy Monday!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend.
Pay attention this week. We start to get into the history of Dreamland.
It’s just a taste of what’s to come later in the chapter. But there’s lots of hints.
Also…here’s the last of the vote incentives.
I’m considering doing some sketches each day. Of Dreamland characters.
Just to see if there’s any interest as vote incentives. I’ll try today to work up some and I’ll post tomorrow.
I’m also working on a permanent time and day to do the Livestreams. So it’s easier for people to be there.
Any thoughts?
Thanks all!
Scott
Someone is pissing off the sword. I get the feeling thats a bad idea… still wonder what is happening with Alexander and case of the dragony fire. 😛
Wait…is it just me, or did Nicodemus just admit he wasn’t the king? lol. Interesting slip-up from being surprised, eh?
Not so much of a surprise now that I think about it, but it still didn’t stop my brain from immediatly going ‘Oh SNAP!’
I don’t think Nic liked that very much. And I’m pretty sure the sword nor Alex really care, except personal feelings of immense satisfaction.
The sword: ‘You are not the king. Alexander is.’
Alex: ‘Dude, you just got owned.’
Is Paddington standing or sitting? All but Nastajia and Nicodemus seem to be sunk into the ground.
The ground is bumpy there. Paddington and the others around him are slightly behind a small ridge.
The Fellowship of the King could more than likely lay the smack down on that big red lizard. All he’s got is flight, size, strength, and fire, where Alex has flight, (harder to hit) size, strength, nearly invincible armor; a pretty elf with magical arrows and m4d h4xx0r b0w skillz; an incredibly strong rock giant who can Mexican hat-dance on Nicodemus’ head; and a fairy with enough magic to blow up small countries.
Dude, they’re already level 99, with maxed-out stats. Take him OUT.
Was Nick supposed to say the bit in panel 3? Shouldn’t the bubble be blue?
and it is now proven
!!!!!!!!!
That was my reaction when I saw this. Man, this is epic. You really outdid yourself this time. The whole page looked awesome.
He’s always known he wasn’t the king… He’s merely been trying to convince/brainwash everyone else into thinking he was… And as far as slip ups go, that’s not much, considering he’s among people who are trying to “take down the usurper”, so obviously, he’s not telling them anything new…
What’s new, is that since the sword cannot speak, apparently, unless in the presence of the king, that means that Alexander is actually nearby, and not at the bottom of the canyon, in a smoldering heap, as Nic expected…
And also, presumably, alive, since his presence is allowing the sword to speak, and I doubt the mere vicinity of the king’s corpse would do that…
This also clears up another question: Dan is not the king, who is merely cursed away from Dreamland, but it has now been confirmed by the sword itself, that Alexander truly is the King of Dreamland! (He just needs to grow into his role, a little… 😛 )
Ok, the sword? That I didn’t expect. Neither did Nicodemus it seems…
Well, there goes the theory that Daniel is the true king of Dreamland.
Well considering a) all parties present know that he’s not the true king and b) the sword just called him an usurper, I think it’s safe to say he’s not worried about keeping his secret with this crowd.
This dragon just got BUUUURNED~!
No, Nic is saying the sword shouldn’t be able to talk.
Sigh. So much for computer geek reader fantasies. I guess he’s just a nerd after all! 🙂
I’m guessing Nic was going to complete his sentence with “dead” (meaning either the 600 year dead king or Alexander) or “me” (in which case the sword has just contradicted his royal slitheriness.
nice presentation Scott. I commend you.
Voodoochief
Whee! A talking sword! Can it sing too? XD *yeah yeah Looney Tunes nostalgia*
Wait…so, if a usurper is not able to take the sword of Kings, then how come Alex’s mom was able to take the sword necklace from him, huh?
lol
… who is now going to faint… LOL
so looking forward to his reaction. 😀
probably because she never tried to use it for evil plans.
if the most negative thought about it was “my son’s too old for this kind of stuff now”, there wasn’t much reason for the sword to object. maybe it knew it’d come back to him in due time. 😉
also… was it wise for the sword to just say that? I mean, there’s a good chance that nick knew (or at least suspected) all along, considering the circumstances. but having it confirmed, won’t nick try to get rid of alex more actively now? poor fried little guy. 😉
and looking back to history, where many dreamland kings were also men who became immortalized in human history, what does that mean for alex? is he the odd one out, or will he become a “great man” there, too? the latter sounds rather unlikely to me… so far. 😛
Awesome, told off by a sword. Wait a minute holy crackers it’s talking. This is going to get crazy soon.
Also, today’s vote incentive is an awesome picture!
Talking sword, or one that’s using telepathy? Either way, nice 🙂
The red border on the speech bubble is a little confusing. It should be blue.
After reading the other comments, I realize that the third panel is actually Nic speaking… but it just seems a little awkward. Especially the last sentence.
Also it is king versus [b][i]king.[/i][/b]
And my attempt at html code did not work out. 😛
And thus…Nick is busted.
I HAVE JUST HAD A REVELATION! You know how we all thought there was a chance for Dan to be king and that Alex might need to become more important in his own world to match up with the legacy of past Dreamland kings? Well…because they are identical twins it’s like they are two halves, Alex will be the king of Dreamland and Dan will become important in our own world! TA DA, It’ll all work out and no other major changes for Alex’s character (even though he still has a ways to go before he’s king worthy) and Dan still plays an important role. just my 2 cents.
Not to be nitpicky…but shouldn’t the line be “An usurper” not “A usurper”?
Yes, it should be “An usurper.” I was just about to post that comment but decided to read down and see if anybody else had already said it. 🙂
The sword seems bigger in Nic’s claws than it does in Alexander’s hands…does it resize itself for some reason?
Oh, dear, Nicky; that doesn’t seem to be exactly what your plan called for.
taking the sword away in real time and not in Dreamland might play a factor in that as well. Whether the sword has any real power when Alex is awake has yet to be seen (by what I can remember) so taking the sword away when he’s awake should be easy. Like candy from a baby 😀
Wow, didn’t see that coming, particularly the statement of who the king is. No ambiguity there. And since a usurper (an usurper just sounds wrong, sorry) can’t wield the sword, and he has it in his claw right this minute, I’m thinking it’s fixing to pull its own little hat trick. Great page!
yes it should be ‘An’ not ‘A’ but did the dragon take grammar lessons as a child? who knows. Maybe in his excitement he faltered with correct speech. 😉
I love this comic! Wooot! ^_^
Also? I think that one word spoken by the sword could very well be a greeting/announcement of Alexander’s imminent return to the fray. Cue The King!
I see what you mean, since the bubble appears to point to the sword, even though it is actually supposed to point to Nicodemus, who is behind the sword. The talk bubble should be moved a bit, in my opinion, so it obviously points to Nick instead of the sword.
Aw YEah !!!!
Next time try right-angle brackets like this.
ALEX IS THE TRUE KING!! The sword has spoken, Nic- exit stage left go banish yourself somewhere!
For me, that’s Roger Rabbit nostalgia.
I thought it was wrong looking at it but, sounding it out, I think it should be a usurper. Although it is a vowel, the consonant sound made by a vowel determines what should be used. Purdue agrees, check the website in my name.
I pronounce it with a Y sound at the beginning, and Merriam-Webster tells me that’s correct. Therefore, “a usurper” is not an error.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed I think that Dan is unable to dream because of Nicodemus, who has been blocking kings from Dreamland for 600 years. However, Alex shares the bloodline but wasn’t noticed as another child because he is a twin. So if Dan will never be able to enter Dreamland the title would pass Alex as the eldest son.
The ‘A’ is sometimes chosen over an ‘An’ is cases like this for fluidity of speech, especially dramatic speech. If you play both versions over in your head, you’ll realize ‘A usurper’ sounds much better.
Fraternal twins not identical.
That’s a Neo-Woah moment if I’ve ever seen it. Nico’s guard is down, now wouldn’t be a horrible to dogpile that fool. Though, they might just be as stunned. O_o
Niiiiice…
If you don’t mind me saying so..
If you had put the last panel as the vote incentive, EVERY LAST PERSON would have voted. Nuff said.
COOOLNESSSS!!!!!!
That’s it. Nothing else. Dying for tomorrow to come. 😀
*squee* Quite excellent!! This has made me much happier and can go to studying with a lighter heart! Way to go Alexander! XD
interesting… I too thought it would be Dan, since Alex just is such an airhead most of the time.
That’s … actually a pretty cool theory …
😉
Beautiful job on that eye – the whole thing looks amazing – but that eye comes across really well.
As for the vote incentives – I’m going to vote anytime I see the option – but I was wondering if there was a way to get ‘reverse’ of these images. I know I can flip it – but that messes up the text on the bottom and such. But all my icons are on the left side of my screen, so even though I love today’s desktop – and would replace the cityscape I currently have up – Nic’s face would be blocked by my icons if I did.
I rather like the current vote incentive … 😛
But yeah, that would make a good vote incentive too …
Talking sword and Alex officially named as King. I just squeed like a little girl! lol!
Can’t wait to read more!
K
You can do that easily in Paint (and probably any other more sophisticated image editor as well): copy the text portion (as a rectangle) -> flip the image -> paste the text block over its reversed self.
Suhweet!!!!!!
Can’t wait for tomorrow.
And, I’m wondering, did everyone hear the sword pronounce Alex king, or just our pal Nic?
Staying tuned ….
I don’t necessarily disagree, but… how much [i]more[/i] actively could Nic’ try to get rid of Alex?
I mean… he burned him out of the sky with fire. I think any “escalation” by Nicodemus would likely be negligible at this point. 😉
Bah. {i}more{/i}?
Or more?
Holy cow. Awesome. First time in a long time my jaw has absolutely dropped from a reveal.
It is indeed…
I will always trust you people over myself when it comes to grammar.
But it “sounded” more natural without the “n”.
I won’t say what’s right or wrong. Just that this sounded more natural.
Either way, I suspect this is rather stunning news to Nick himself …
😉
I was thinking 3 amigos LOL
Ok, lest think about this a bit… when we started this journey, Nic was guarding the sword in a secret or hidden cave that apparently only humans (and dragons) could enter. Alex was able to pull out the sword. if Dan was supposed to be King, could Alex have pulled the sword?
I’m sure nic already knew Alex was the true king when he pulled the sword all those years ago..
If you follow the link in Kaden’s username, it takes you to Purdue Online Writing Laboratory, and explains quite clearly the distinction between using “a” and “an”, and it emphasizes that it does indeed work phonetically.
And since the “u” in “usurper” is pronounced “you”, using “a” is the correct way to do it.
Wow. All I can say is…OH SNAP!
The only problem with that is that the background behind the letters won’t match the surrounding image anymore…
The sword doesn’t seem to speak from itself. Its voice is heard in the air by all present, as is seen by its speech ‘cloud.’
Thank you all!
So glad you’re enjoying it.
I am so happy to hear Alex is definetely king. He deserves it for all he’s done and will do in Dreamland.
Friday night at 8 CST is great for me for Livestreaming.
Even in the presence of those who already know it, Nic admitting that he is a usurper is still pretty amazing.
Fascinating lead into the next page, Scott!
Interesting that no-one here has thought of the idea that, rather than completing Nic’s sentence by stating the king is Alex, the sword might have been ignoring Nic and saying his name as in ‘Alexander, this is your cue, time to jump back in’. Just a thought. I like thinking out of the box.
The sword does not resize. It’s a trick of perception. It looks smaller when Alex wields it because he generally doesn’t hold it upright the way Nic does. Check back a few pages to the scene where Alex is getting ready for an overhead chop and compare the size of the sword to the length of Alex’s body. It’s nearly as big as he is. Also, you may be picturing Nicodemus as being bigger than he really is. He’s not exactly the biggest dragon that ever came along.
Kristle, historically in this comic, Nicodemus’ speech bubble is alway yellow with red lettering and border. The color combo is unique to him. The sword’s speech bubble is similarly unique in color selection. It’s a pretty neat tool, really. I’ve seen other web artists do the same thing with bubble shape and font selection.
The sword has spoken!
WOW! Just, “WOW!”
Wow.
Another hole in one (and really, that never gets old!).
– Fr. Maurer
Heh, dragon got burned.
then why was he so incredulous in panel 2 and 3? either he has a short memory or, even as he suspected something, he never really believed alex could be the king. denial can be a powerful thing. 😉
Mm, at first I thought “me” as well…but that doesn’t make any sense, because why would he say that? If Nick was king the sword would still have every right to talk. “Dead” makes more sense (though out of character for Nick)…perhaps a foreshadowing of Alexander’s timely appearance in the next scene? idk.
Btw Scott, that was an awesome vote incentive. 🙂
It’s finally said! Wow, the eye and detail of the sword blew me away. I can’t wait to see the history of Dreamland play out over the next few days. (btw Nick, wrong adjective :mrgreen:.)
I still think that Dan would have been king of Dreamland, had it not been for the curse. It’s very likely that Nicodemus was responsible for the curse, and it’s been keeping the rightful king away for generations. However, it probably wasn’t worded well enough to account for twins (identical or fraternal).
So the mantle falls to Alex. While he may not have made the best peacetime ruler of anything, he actually has more of the necessary qualities to take down the dragon than Dan would.
I’m also betting that, should this conflict end the way we all want it to, Dan will indeed be King. Alex will be content with a hot elven princess and being Champion.
😯 So ol’ Alex is king, huh? Way to go, Nicodumbuttocks…
All hail Alexander and your right Raidur.
2 thoughts.
1] Nic has just been definitively informed that he has failed to kill Alexander.
2] Presuming that the sword’s single-word proclamation was heard by all, there are now five Dreamlanders who know the identity of the King.
3] It’s distinctly possible that Alexander did not actually hear the Sword of Kings, so that he doesn’t actually know that he’s the King.
Possible reactions from Nicodemus to those thoughts.
1] Retreat, taking the King’s weapon with him.
2] Attack those dreamlanders around him who have heard the ploclamation, hoping to destroy those who heard both sides of the conversation.
3] Shift in grand strategy from semi-covert operations to open rebellion, using the entrenched habits of obedience and the temporary power of naked fear to compel Dreamlanders to go against their sovereign.
Currently, the King’s Companions are a drastic minority that could conceivably be taken down by raw force. The longer the King’s insurgency would last, the worse it would be for Nicodemus, since any ally that Alexander gains becomes an enemy to Nicodemus, and anyone who commits to neutrality is a suporter lost to Nicodemus.
I agree. The best king, like any leader, is the one with the qualities that fit the needs of the time. Daniel, right now, may be a wise adviser or minister of state, but Alexander is already growing in his ability to act decisively, to choose well and with the heart, and to inspire others to follow–which all will be essential to bringing down the Usurper [Boo! Hiss! Boo! Boo!] and restore good rule to Dreamland [Yay! Rah! Wa-hoo!]
Yep, it’s a great idea usability-wise — but nothing trumps where the tail of a talk balloon is going, visually. I’m used to Nic’s “voice” and even so, with both the sword and Nic talking in this scene, I was confused.
If I were Scott, I’d move the tail of the balloon to go over the crowd (and the sword) to Nic’s head, rather than across them all to the sword.
The theory fits but there’s one factor left out — Alex was dreaming because he had the sword, not because the curse missed him. As soon as his mom took the sword away, he stopped dreaming too. He only just started again when he got the sword necklace back.
So I think they’re both equally affected by the curse, and the sword is the antidote.
There’s a difference between physically taking the sword, and actually claiming it as your own like Nic just tried to do.
Or he thinks Alex is dead, therefore not present.
Ok. NOT what I had expected
Crap. Finished it in 3 days. Hurry up and post more please. I kept clicking it expecting to get another comic and the same one popped up over and over. Curses. Now I have another comic that I’ll constantly check. Hmph. 😛
Wow. Best incentive ever.
Welcome, fellow Dreamer!
Take comfort in the fact that Scott is a rarity among webcomic artists: his updates are legendary for their reliability, and his communication with his readers is unequaled. Plus, he updates Monday thru Friday, so you know another page is coming tomorrow!
In the mean time, be sure to click that awesome vote link up there, and pick up your even more awesome vote incentive. And be sure to go back through the archives and read all the comments; we are a unique and quirky bunch, well worth a read!
I thought of that, and I’m sure that folks besides myself with artistic ability above zero could come up with something better.
But in this case, the section in question would be a small, nearly unnoticeable strip at the bottom of the picture, which, when used as a wallpaper, will likely be covered by the Start Bar anyway …
😉
Haha, I already voted. Thanks for the welcome though. I doubt I’ll go back and read all the comments. WAAAY too much time. 😛 Got things to do. But maybe when I’m bored I’ll be able to go back and read a few.
Welcome!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the first 1000+ pages.
I hope you’ll enjoy the next 1000+ pages as well.
🙂
You’re too kind, Tekserver.
Thanks for always helping out with everything!
Actually, not quite: Alex was doing just fine, dreaming his way into Dreamland [i]without[i] the sword from a young age (I forget if it was 4 or 7, or so) until 12.
Once he found the sword, it appeared on him the next morning as the sword pendant on the chain, which his mom took away, dissatisfied with his explanation of how he got it. Once she took it away, Alex stopped being able to dream his way into Dreamland, until such time as at the beginning of the story, when his mom gave him back the chain and pendant, which allowed him to go into Dreamland again.
In other words, Alex became dependant on the sword to go to Dreamland once he got the sword. Until that point, he was quite able to dream his way there, unaided. He was not in any way restricted by any curse.
just a question- how is Alex on fire? I mean, metal doesn’t exactly burn, but I suppose it could be magic. Cool how Alex cut the giant rock pillar in half though.
My thoughts were the liquid that ignites the fire gets on him.
Like in a flamethrower…Nicodemus mixes chemicals when breathing fire.
Yeah seriously the comments are part of what makes this comic. Highlights for me are the ‘fine page’ and any and all Princess Bride quotes.
I agree with the above commenters about the suggestion to modify Nic’s speech bubble in the third panel. I actually had no problem following, due to the colors you use for the speech bubbles, but looking back I can see that it would be easy to get confused anyway, and think that maybe you had made a mistake. Scott, if you were to move the arrow in the speech bubble to above the sword, it would be foolproof.
Uh, not that I’m calling anyone a fool. Figure of speech and all that!
*[ this ]
If you’re doing 1024×768, it is covered up by the task bar/Start button. If your resolution is higher than that though, I’m not sure. I’m guessing not.
Assuming the fairies aren’t dead, they would be one force that would never listen to Nicodemus over Uncle Pastaccio’s niece (aka the one and only Kiwi). That would be a considerable number of Dreamlanders who wouldn’t listen to him. I also doubt the Rock Giants or Orion’s people would really be all that scared to listen to Nicodemus, either. Plus, assuming the dwarves still exist, they will no longer listen to Nicodemus. You’ve got a good number of the population that Nicodemus has completely either tried to annihilate (so, any remaining survivors will attest to this fact and fight with Nicodemus to the death before doing his bidding), or he’s just completely ticked off (Orion’s people, for instance). The only creatures/people who will listen- those from the Nightmare Realm, which I suspect is actually Nicodemus’ true home to begin with.
Scott, a fine start to the week after the usual Friday cliffhanger! 😉
Actually, it’s
Weird, it cut out. are the brackets you want to use….
UGH! These guys! > <
I have to admit that did catch me off guard. So far I’ve been utterly convinced that Daniel would be the king of Dreamland with Alex as king of the elves and Dan’s champion and protector, as brothers should be.
Or maybe if it even can dance it could be a “Singing and Dancing Sword” from Munchkin by Steve Jackson Games 😀
I can tell you for sure that at 1680×1050, the logo is still covered by the Start Bar …
😉
😳
You’re welcome!
i just finished looking over the last couple of pages again… ANd this is the first time that I ever noticed this… on the hilt you can see flying unicorns and an, I assume, angels, blowing on their horns… and I don’t mean the unicorns so don’t try and misinterpret it that way please
When the following word begins with a vowel, the word is “an” as is “an apple”. When the following word begins with a consonant, the word is “a” as in “a cat”. Following this rule, this would be “an usurper” rather than “a usurper.”
Thanks a lot guys, now I suddenly wanted to check on all three XD
The rule is not whether or not it begins with a vowel, but a vowel sound. “A usurper” is correct. Just like “an hour” is appropriate, even though “hour” starts with a consonant. This is understandably much more confusing to those who are not native speakers of English.
Yes, everyone. Let’s stop fighting and listen to the talking sword.
And then the sword flies away, gathers an army of “inanimate” metal objects, and kills nick with the army ?