Page 1471…
Thank you for the wonderful feedback yesterday.
This was a big crossroad I wasn’t sure about adding to Dreamland.
Hopefully I can work Excalibur into the story properly.
I really wanted to give Daniel his time. His story.
I have 7 more chapters left in the series. So there’s MORE than enough time.
If I can make it work.
Also…THANK YOU for helping us make it to the next bracket of the Comic Mix thing.
We’re now up against Least I Could Do… truly a daunting task.
Lar and Ryan have been so wonderful this last year as they are hosting the Dreamland Chronicles.
Essentially SAVING us from going off line.
I’m really going to hate THRASHING them in the next round.
🙂
Seriously, though. We don’t stand a chance. And if I have to lose…I’d love nothing more than to lose to these two fine gentlemen and their fantastic comic.
Oh…
And I did another painting…
A noble sentiment… but I have to wonder, how is a sword in the hands of a college lad supposed to do much of anything towards restoring peace to the world in modern times? Does Niviene really expect it to do that? Does she know what our world is like today? Does Scott plan on writing this story in a direction where a sword CAN do that? If so, I am curious how he manages it.
Congrats on coming in second so far. If you DO come in second though, hopefully it will be a close result! 🙂
Loving this story arc by the way.
What, no scabbard? 😛 Now for a spectral wolf to leap at Dan and transport him to a snowy field where a skeleton teaches him a sword trick.
That painting reminds me of Lady Bracknell.
Sorry, can someone please give a summary of how Arthur expected a sword (a weapon) to bring peace?
Thanks~
BTW: You’re winning by a landslide so far in the voting
BTW that’s really hard: Swinging a longsword with one hand like that. Just saying. I like the type of story that’s unpredictable. I really don’t know what could happen next. It’s such a creative story! Great job Scott!
I have no idea what happens next EITHER!
Ack!
🙂
Well…you see…there’s EXCALIBUR…and…um….everyone’s like “cool! Excalibur” and…well…
…sigh. I got nothing…
Ew, even if you win this round, you are going up against XKCD next. I’ll do my part, but yeesh, that’ll be a tough fight.
As for how is he supposed to do it with a sword in modern times? The sword doesn’t have to be the catalyst. It wasn’t in Arthur’s time. It’s a symbol. A symbol that Arthur thought could motivate people in a good way and instead the motivation turned to greed and powerlust. That motivation could be what Daniel needs to bring about those changes himself and not necessarily with the sword, but because he has the sword giving him that motivation.
It’s a Magic Sword. A wizard did it ( literally) 🙂
And Scott, you’re right about Ryan and Lar being cool guys. Met them at GenCon last year.
Who wants to fight against it? particularly in Arthur’s time, who would want to fight a king with a magic sword? no one fights, ergo peace. ish. not sure how it would work in our time, but hey, it’s not like Merlin could predict bombs, right?
@Acies maybe that’s why he returned it…
@AnamCara no one ever said it was magic….
Especially since, in some versions of the story, Excalibur’s scabbard was even more valuable than the sword–it kept the wearer from cuts and jab wounds.
A sword of state, worn to diplomatic functions, that helps the wearer to be a better statesman and negotiator?
Niviene: “Ieeeeee!”
Nicole : “Dan! Watch where you swing that thing!”
Niviene: “Dive! Dive! Dive!”
🙂
I’m saying because it’s a magical sword. jk. Throughout history, the only answer to violence has been violence. There’s a meme that Violence solves everything. Unfortunately it’s true. By common standards, we’re still a pretty young race. We still cling to our primitive instincts. The most powerful person is regarded as an Alpha and given the respect of their peers. Some bow down to those with power while others try to take it. It happens in the animal world as well. Now, onto the sword specifically. As it was stated before, Excaliber is a symbol. It symbolises the power to destroy the enemies of the people, yes but it also symbolizes the hope that maybe one day, the foes that continuously try to destroy their way of life will realize the futility and either live with them in peace or leave them alone. The Excaliber is “embedded” with Arthur’s noble vision. It is an inspiration, a muse, a “symbol”, Dan may not use the sword itself but he can go into politics and use the chivalrous notions set forth by his predecessor to, hopefully, change the world for the good. Or just use magic. Sounds good either way.
Off the top of my head, a weapon can bring peace by cowing enemies. A magic item can inspire peace in any number of ways. A magic weapon’s magical properties might be weapon related (helping with the cowing), or the weapon side might be mundane utility for an item with otherwise unrelated magic effects, intended to be wielded by a king in a rough and tumble period of history.
Alternatively, if there’s an incarnation of Pure Evil handy, the pointy end goes into that?
……………only -sniffle- seven -sniffle- chapters? Kinda makes me sad. But I’m really interested to see where this is going. And, like everyone else, I’m curious to see if this’ll let Dan in to Dreamland. Even if it’s only for a day.
How long before we go back to Dreamland and see how all of this sits with Alex?
With Dan as the true king,what will this mean for Alex?
Of all the objections that I could have imagined, I would never have come up with Dan’s.
Definitely made me smile.
Your comment today makes me wonder how much the story has changed/evolved from your original outline, Scott. It’s not a bad thing… I’m just curious… 🙂
How was a sword supposed to do that back then?
I still don’t trust her. It all seems too convenient.
This exchange is great, but I think Nicole who had been so vocal about the reality / plausibility of Dreamland would react more. Actual physical PROOF, a mermaid, all of the lingering doubts about Dreamland essentially dispelled. Wouldn’t she be freaking at this point? The doubt has slowly been eroded, but this is a major change in perspective.
By bringing Nicole out here with Dan, Scott created a resource for the story.
I expect he will use that resource as the scene develops.
So… wait… if Daniel has Excaliber now, then does that mean that Alex has given it to him? Or does Alex have a totally different sword???
If everyone had a gun, wouldn’t you be MUCH nicer to people? Sure, some could use it for not-so-great purposes, but if every single person you knew (including yourself) was even expected as a social norm to have a gun, you’d be quite polite to them, i’d think.
As for Excaliber, it really was more a symbol of power than peace. But nobody would want to fight against a great knight with a magic sword unless they really, really had to. So, therefore, no wars, etc, whatever. Means peace, right?
But it did have amazing lore around it. If a lady in a lake gave it to him under such amazing circumstances as those, I think everybody would automatically assume that it was magical, as the lady in the lake probably was since normal humans can’t live underwater. The unknown is frightening and sometimes dangerous.
your right, because i actually do have a long two handed sword like that, i tired swinging with one hand, can’t be done, i had to use two hands.
Well, that would be because it is a TWO handed sword. They kinda did design and make long swords for one handed use to. Kinda why they weren’t super long, like a claymore, or heavy for cleaving thru heavy armour. Then there is the whole balance thing. And you also have the whole forged by dwarves and elves thing, who said it was plain old steel? Plenty of potential for enchantments to make it “lighter”, never mind what Merlin might have done to it too.
Over in Gunnerkrigg Court Parley, not realizing just how horrifyingly SHARP the sword Coyote created out of one of his teeth was , took a casual swing with it and sliced Robot’s steel body in two. I hope Dan is more careful… O_O
We’ll have to see what Excalibur does in our world. If it can compel obedience in all who see it, for instance…
The Sword of Kings exists mainly in Dreamland, although it manifests as a small pendant in the waking world. It’s apparently as old as Dreamland itself. Excalibur is a much newer blade, a sword Niviene had the Elves and Dwarfs create for Arthur’s use on Earth. They’re different things.
As someone who has done some sword techniques as part of aikido, I have to say that someone who is entirely untrained swinging around a real, sharp blade like that is incredibly dangerous. Especially because swords are heavy, and he’s swinging it around with one hand even though it appears to be a two-handed sword (single-handed swords like rapiers tend to be much smaller and lighter).
I’ve accidentally hit myself wielding a wooden practice sword (which is significantly lighter than a real one) often enough to know that what Dan’s doing here is likely to get him severely injured. 😛
Actual Excalibur lore does say it is a magical sword that was unbreakable with an edge that could not be dulled. Whether or not Excalibur had other magical properties was not detailed, but was eluded to throughout Excalibur lore.
This works well because it means in the dreamland Chronicles tale those other eluded-to-but-not-defined qualities can be whatever Scott wishes them to be to fit the story…
I personally think granting wisdom and the ability to perceive (and possibly effect) creatures from the dream world (and nightmare realms) to be excellent qualities to use.
Wanged my knee near seriously with a bokken. Was playing around with a friend’s kendo gear and almost did something permanently stupid. 😛
The Comic Mix thing… I happen to love BOTH The Dreamland Chronicles AND Least I Could Do. Farkle Snap.
Well, voted for this comic, cause this one has a Comment Section. 😛
At least swords were commonly used back then. These days? Nope.
Ah. Never got to sword play in Aikido. Just a bit of Jo staff.
But wanted to say “Hey! I trained in Aikido too!”
🙂
I think the word you’re intending there is ‘alluded’, not ‘eluded’. Unless you mean the traits are eluding description or something.
Still, good insight.
I do wonder why Nicole isn’t being jumpy while he swings that thing…
Hey mom I’m home after midnight and have a very expensive looking sword! Hope you don’t ask where it came from because I’m not telling you Goodnight!
1553 to 1065 in favor of Least I Could Do right now…we need more voting!!!
Not entirely true. I own a Claymore, a 1.5 hander, a Flamberge and some more assorted swords of high-quality.
A well-made sword has the balance as close to the Quillion as possible. Mostly done by using a weighty pommel. A well-forged blade is rather thin and more flexible than the pakistani Stainless steel atrocities called “swords” that are only meant for hanging on a wall and looking good.
A quality sword can be balanced on one hand, a centimeter or two under -or above the quillion, depending on the way it’smeant to be used. A zweihänder is not for both hands because of it’s weight, but because of the extra speed and leverage that can be reached by “tilting” the blade in a strike. IF the balance is right!!
Just one example. It’s not all as straightforward as it may seem. I have seen guys (and gals!!) do things with an 11kg 1.80m (!) Flamberge, that I didn’t thought possible. There’s a reason that Swiss LandsKnëchte were so prized in armies. ( they usually got twice the pay of ordinary swordsmen)
-Nicole is suffering temporary cranium-overload, and is not home. Speak your message after the “i don’t believe it” and she will call back when brain and body are again coöperating.-
Thank you… 😛
Asian&european swords are quite different. Aikidi is not exactly the same as re-enactment and/or the European school of swordmanship. A good norman 2-hander is not as heavy as it looks, although, i have to agree, swinging that thing in a flat plane, without “looping” it at the end of the swing, is not only dangerous for the surrounding environment, but also múrder on your wrists… ( been there, done that..).
try to explain a strained wrist to ayour ICT collegues, nót as the result of RSI, but the result of hacking a chicken-shed to pieces, “just to see wat a true, sharp blade can do” 😛
I have a two handed sword as well, about 30 – 35 lbs. I can swing it one handed but it takess massive muscle control to get it to stop when you want it to AND those are muscles you never use. Once you get the hang of it, it’s a little easier but a normal large claymore would be nearly impossible to manoeuvre like that. Fortunately, that’s not a normal sword.
As sad as I’ll be to see this story end, it is better in the long run to have a definite, planned-for end to a story. The alternative would be a never-ending story, with the author eventually running out of ideas, yet dragging the story onward, and the quality degrades tremendously after that…
That’s the point. A claymore was used to cause blunt trauma, the armoured knight being “the brake”, and then use it as a , well, lance, basically but to get it up to speed, it was wielded in a continuous figure of 8 . Once you get the hang of that, you can imagine why the scots (and irish) were so feared by the british knights.
If You got a claymore, or a good, hefty zweihänder, you should try that. Just make the swing a continuos figure of 8,, with every “O” of the swing next to Your body.
Any good balanced sword will suddenly feel pretty light.
PS: don’t try that indoors. I had to explain a missing piece of concrete in my ceiling…. Yes, swords can do that… 😀
Voted 🙂
I agree…. I would most definitely hold that w/ both hands and strongly discourage anyone from swinging it in the dark, untrained, just to “test it out.” It seems a bit arrogant to test it out anyways. Should give more respect to the sword and the situation, instead of just “hey! The sword is mine now! Sweet! Let’s test it out!” Sounds more like something that Alex would do. The fact that Niviene didn’t say anything I took it as a sign that she’s actually evil and hopes that he’d cut himself by accident >_> <– look of suspicion. Or maybe she's one of those who suck up to the king by never criticizing anything he does, and then betray him at the end… dun dun dun
So… I tried to vote in the comicmix tournament, but I couldn’t figure out how to do so. 🙁
Meanwhile on TWC.
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“Choose your weapon.”
“I choose Excalbur the sword!”
“Okay, I choose….. the shotgun.”
“What, you can’t–” BANG.
Hey all!
Sorry for the delay in today’s page. My computer went KABLOOEY!
Trying to get it up and running.
The page was rendered. I just need to get the files off of it.
Sigh.
i love the lighting in the last two panels….
Ah, well, that’s technology for you.
No biggie, i am a patient man..
Excalibur was and is a greater symbol than it ever was a sword. Think just how much change (good or ill) the Cross or a Flag has caused in the world and neither are even as useful as a sword.
As drawn, excalibur is going to be between 2.5 and 3.5 pounds, assuming forged as a fighting and not show sword. Second point of interest, is that it would not have been much sharper than an average Ax. Unlike the classic Japanese blades, European blades had to be able to handle bashing their edge against large solid sheets of metal armor, something a highly honed edge is bad at.
None the less, randomly swinging a 3 foot or so sword around is unhealthy for anyone in the area.
I am starting to think that your computer just doesn’t like us. First it takes forever to render some pages. Then it goes AWOL (as my niece would say “it esploded”)…yeah…the comp definitely doesn’t like us. 😛
Oh, the cross was “useful” enough in it’s time. As a sword is meant to efficiently slice and stab and parry, a cross was meant to cause a great deal of pain before death, and worked well for the purpose. The man who died on the cross, and his followers–they’re more why it became recognized as a symbol.
Funny, that kind of hope for caution after what happened in Gunnerkrigg went through my head as well…
XD
The sword… a weapon for harming others… a mark of distinction of the noble to set them aside from the common rabble…
The only peace you could bring with such a thing is the peace of the grave.