Page 1719…
Wow!
Right?
Right?
So. There’s been a LOT of questions. Let’s recap… shall we?
1) Nicodemus has tried on SEVERAL occasions to control, coerce, kill, subdue, or detain Alexander.
2) This last plea to join forces was also unfruitful. Alex just won’t help.
3) Arthur remained alive (in between worlds) thanks to Nicodemus and the Wraiths interrupting Merlin’s spell. This kept the throne filled until Arthur passed away. Giving Nicodemus about 1,000 years to rule while Arthur remained in Limbo.
4) This kept EVERY successor after Arthur out of Dreamland (because Arthur was technically alive)… up until Alex.
5) Daniel was the true King. He was the next successor that would have been kept from Dreamland just like every other before him (it’s NOT a bloodline thing… it’s a “chosen one” thing).
6) Because of a “cosmic mishap”, Alex (Daniel’s TWIN) grabbed the sword and was granted “temporary king status”.
7) At this moment… Arthur was released from his limbo. And finally passed away.
8) Alex tried a few times to give Dan the sword. Had Dan taken it… Alex would never be able to go to Dreamland again. (Orion explained this).
9) Nicodemus used his magic to essentially send the sword to the RIGHTFUL king “forcefully”. Something that truly wouldn’t be too difficult considering his status as the Kings’ adviser (and the one to ensure the NEXT king comes to power).
10) Why Nicodemus HASN’T done this already is simple. Why would Nicodemus want the TRUE king in Dreamland when he could deal with a “lesser” king.
11) Unfortunately… the “lesser king” proved to be quite a formidable foe (and his friends) and unwilling to listen to reason or logic.
12) Which leads us here. Alex has lost his key to Dreamland. He can NEVER use it again.
Hope that explains everything. And I HOPE the story isn’t SO complicated that I would need to explain this to everyone who reads it. Yikes.
The pitfalls of a larger story are, of course, some of the “seeds” I’ve planted hundreds of pages ago might be forgotten by now.
I hope I’ve done an adequate job in weaving a believable and compelling (if not at least entertaining) story.
I look to you all to help me with this. So, please, comment away and let me know your thoughts
Scott
DREAMLAND IS NOW AVAILABLE IN:
Oh my, that’s really put the cat among the pigeons…
I am so confused.
Elf is dead, eh? We know Nic’s wrong, and may know he’s wrong, about that… what else has he lied about today? Can anything he says be trusted at all?
Nope. No confusion here.
But now, I’m looking forth to seeing what Dan’s a-gonna do now that
Alex is thrown outta dreamland as long as they haven’t dealt with them portals and the nightmare realm. I daresay these portals seem to be the key for Nastajia & Alex to stay together.
Now, let’s look at how Scott, this terrific (hope this means what I think it means) story wright, gonna deal with this load of cats among em pigeons. ^^
well, alex is now part of dreamland story, the idea that he never goes back is a bit disturbing. Like a tv serial where the main character is suddenly replaced, this is not too much welcomed by the audience.
So it looks like Alex can NEVER come back!!!! Nastajia is lost to him…FOREVER!
Daniel can now come to Dreamland and he probably lacks combat skills and Nicodemus would realize that the true king is a coward….!
Or perhaps Alex is in limbo?!?
Does Nicodemus really think that Daniel will help hem more then Alex would do? I really dont think so myself.
I dont think Daniel is good with a sward, but in brains he knows much more. and will be dismiss Nic’s request as soon as he arrives in dreamland.
@mehdi, Alex can alway’s use the Port to comeback, i think.
What if Authur somehow survives? 😉
Oh, trust me. My jaw dropped to the floor on page 1717 the moment Nic made that announcement. Even if the seeds were spread among hundreds of pages, it had a big effect on me. 🙂
But that aside… Alexander! And Nastajia! :O
Ah, but hope is not lost! There is a portal somewhere…Merlin to revive…Nastajia’s parents who need to get back home….
Maybe they will take Alex back with them. Alex is a doofus in the waking world, but really was coming into his own in Dreamland. It would be a shame if he were never able to go back ever at all!
“The elf is dead”…
Dang, you know how to bait an audience!
Don’t forget, people have crossed the boundary between both worlds without the sword.
I literally gasped when Alex’ armor fell to pieces on the ground. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
And way to go Nic, forcing Alex to leave Dreamland with the idea that Nastajia is dead, as if he needed that extra kick in the stomach… 🙁 What now!?
oh….OOOOHHHHHHH…….
i think i’ve been thinking too hard. Nic simply transferred the Sword to Dan. he essentially ripped it from Alex and gave it to Dan. Perhaps if we were seeing this in the waking world, we would see the Sword necklace disappear from Alex and reappear on Dan? Scott, if i am right, a couple panels showing that might really be helpful.
so not reality warping powers (i thought he was rewriting a cosmic law!) but maybe something closer to multidimensional telekineses.
ALEX!!! *SOB*
I predict nastajia will go completely ballistic over this when she finds out. And I wonder of the elven armor is spelled to return to the elven kingdom if it’s wearer is gone. Hoo boy! This is gonna be a wild ride, I can just feel it.
I am hoping this is just another Nightmare Realm trick and this is playing on Alex’s fears again.
so Alex has lost the sword, the armor, and the girl… only at the lowest point in the story does the protagonist prove his worth by raising himself up from it. Alex must prove the hero not because he has these things, he must prove it despite NOT having them.
Gears are shifted. It’s go time.
cant wait for merlin to do his magic!!
Nope, it’s not too confusing! Although it might be helpful to say it more explicitly–that Nic released Arthur from limbo, and now the sword can return to the rightful king.
Never mind! The description that Scott gave explained what was happening. Thanks Scott!
There’s still hope for ‘Staj and Alex. After all, her parents crossed over into the real world. The division between Dreamland and the Waking World isn’t as solid as Nicodemus thinks.
Not necessarily lying, just prone to making a lot of inaccurate assumptions, like he has always been. So far as I can tell, when he has lied in the past, it has almost always been in service to what he saw as his duty, albeit through his own somewhat warped logic.
Not confusing to me, although the recap you gave does seem to be staving off a lot of confused comments.
I love that effect of the empty armor clanking to the ground. It adds some heavy finality to the situation. Oooooh, this is gonna be good. I’m getting anxious wondering what’s gonna come next!
Not terribly confused, but I DID appreciate the recap summing things up nicely.
Poor Alex… 🙁
On the other hand, if Nastajia’s parents can find their way to our world, maybe Nastajia can as well…
Scott, I could follow everything up until point #8. I’m curious to re-read Orion’s explanation of how kingship would be turned over permanently, if anyone has the archive link.
But point #9 bothers me the most. That Nicodemus can use magic at all is a bit of a surprise that caught many of us off guard, but not unexpected in fantasy. However, what I find most surprising is that Nicodemus has any power at all over the Sword of Kings. It suddenly opens up so many other questions. Who else had this power? What other powers does Nicodemus have? How did Nic come by this power? What are the limitations of this power? How did Nic even know he had this power? (I seriously doubt he ever “rebooted” this sword due to twin-fluke-inheritance on a regular basis.) I’m hoping these are questions you’ve already prepared to elaborate on in future parts of the story.
On a personal note, I had always believed the Sword of Kings was something truly human, beyond Nicodemus’ grasp. He could touch it, but never own it. It was a symbol of the true ruler, meant to have power over the pretend ruler. Even the sword itself denounced Nicodemus when it first spoke. To see Nic be able to tell the sword where to go… I’m just stunned.
Regarding point #9:
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/comic/page-196/
Regarding point #8:
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/comic/page-1138/
Also… check here:
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/comic/page-1144/
Alex can never come back with the Sword. However, the sword is not the only pathway. After all, the Nightmare Realm beasties aren’t using the sword, and neither were Nastajia’s parents.
He assumes or believes the elf is dead–but has not seen the body, ’cause she ain’t dead.
When to trust a liar is always a problem.
Let’s all pray that there’ll be a happy ending to this…!
If Nastajia ends up in Alex’s world, maybe he can take her out on the town,but first she’ll have to disguise those elf ears of her’s first! 😉
Poor Alex 🙁
I don’t think nicodemus cares at all about a sigle elvish princess lost in the nightmare realm. I only wonder if alex comes back will he arm up through the cold steel weapons catalogue?
“This Isn’t Over Nic! I’m gonna St. George you When I Come Back!”
Ok seriously am I completely missing something? Ever flipping one is saying Alex isn’t king EXCEPT the sword that proclaims the king; link it if I’m wrong but I don’t ever recall the SWORD say Alex wasn’t king and given my understanding I do believe as far as ‘rightful’ that’s the one vote that counts…
Why would she? Her parents never did. Folks will just assume she’s a cosplayer, or perhaps a Trekkie.
The sword wouldn’t disappear from Alex because it already disappears when he enters Dreamland. It would simply show up on Dan out of nowhere. Dan’s gonna be like “What the…? Oh no.”
My guess is when Dan first enters Dreamland he’s gonna be right there in the Nightmare Realm with Nic who will tell him that as the true King of Dreamland he must now don the armor his unworthy brother has left behind.
Yeah, this page has been confusing me since all this business with Nic sending Arthur on to release the sword to Dan started:
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/comic/page-1145/
Since Arthur was already gone at this point how in the world did Nic “release” him to transfer ownership of the sword to Dan? I’m just not getting it.
You’re doing a fine job of making the story easy to follow. =)
I’m sort of thinking Nic may be overestimating the strength of the Nightmare realm here. It may have a large army of demons, gargoyles, etc…but it’s going to be facing a military might that utterly dwarfs that of the ancient Egyptians they were used to.
Besides, humans are very vengeful creatures. Even if it came to the point where we were going to lose earth and be wiped out – we have the power to effectively destroy the entire planet and make it uninhabitable for thousands and thousands of years.
Scott, sorry, by doing it this way, forcing the issue, so to speak, really ruins what could have been the best dramatic moment in the series, when Alex realizes that Dan is the one needed in Dreamland, and willingly gives the sword to him, full well knowing what he’s giving up. But whatever…
That’s actually a good point. It would have been a wonderful way for Alexander to show how much he’s grown up and finally take real responsibility, rather than acting selfishly with no regard for others. I hope a moment like that is still forthcoming.
Honestly what’s bothered me most is Alexander’s character…I don’t admire him, sympathize with him, or want to root for him. I also have no clue what Nastaja sees in him. I’m hungry for proof that he’s not as worthless as he seems a lot of the time. I really want to like him, but moments like this make it difficult. All I can hope is that maybe he has to have everything taken away from him before he finally mans up and starts acting like a hero.
I am not excited about this, I admit I have hopes that you have some plans and sneaky maneuvers still up your sleeve. But a dreamland without Alex is a sad place.
Well, it would be too predictable. It’s what we’ve all been waiting for, so it’s as good as happened. Having read this comic for years, I’m almost sure Scott has some other, totally unexpected pivotal moment up his sleeve.
One question still bothers me, Scott. It’s not the first time our big red friend gets hold of the sword since his rebellion against Arthur. Why hasn’t he simply destroyed this pesky talking thing when he had the chance? A good doze of dragon fire combined with proper magic, and voila. No more human kings, never ever. Order and perfection.
About the plotpoints: everything makes perfect sense to me through what I`ve previously read, except point 9. The only thing that confuses me is why Nic would have the authority to decide who gets the sword, and why the sword would “listen” to Nic. It makes perfect sense to me WHY Nicodemus is doing it now and not before. He thinks he can deal with Daniel now when he comes to Dreamland. Alex won`t listen to him anymore. But why would the king`s former advisor be the one to decide who the sword goes to.
Like your avatar says: Don`t panic!
This is just a huuuuge obstacle they have to overcome. The relationship between Alex and Nastajia and Alex and Daniel are the heart of the story. Both these relationships have just now been dramatically impacted. But Alex is the protagonist and his coming to Dreamland is so important that I believe they will figure out a way to bring him back. 🙂
I must admit I agree with Thea up there – and with Nicodemus. Alex is not king material. Not even hero material. He has acted like a little boy throughout the entire series, allowing everybody to walk right over him, always trying to be “nice”. His idea of being king is a child’s play, defined by the very first picture we ever saw in this story – him and his friends flying around with no care in the world -, but the time for children’s games are clearly over. I have no idea what Nastajia ever saw in him. That said, I loathe Nicodemus and want him to be encased in carbonite forever.
“IS” clearly over. Sorry.
That’s a really-really good question… if that’s true, the sword is now in his hands 😀
He didn’t. He didn’t say “I release Arthur”. He said he’s just fixing things.
All he did was “reboot the system” so the sword went to the next in line.
Dan
Thanks Doug.
To be honest. That was my intention. But when it came down to writing this chapter… it seemed to contrived.
Alex had TOO much reason to stay in Dreamland. And there was NO logical reason to give up the sword to Dan. Not when Alex has displayed the ability to dethrone Nicodemus and reunite the land already.
Alex needed to be removed forcefully for Dan to take over.
I really wanted Alex to “grow” enough to do it willingly. To sacrifice his happiness for the “greater good”. But just couldn’t make it work.
Not with how the characters and situations currently are. It would have felt much more forced.
Hope that helps.
Thea. He’s grown. A lot.
He cares for someone other than himself… Nastajia.
But he’s only 19 or 20. He’s not ready to care for 2 worlds.
A lot of Alex is based on myself at that time. A dreamer. In my own world. Until I met my soon to be wife Donna (I was 19).
Suddenly a new world opened up. I realized there was someone ELSE in the world.
It would be 15 years later until I was ready to welcome some more responsibility (kids) and that’s just how some people are.
Daniel is a different kind of person. He thinks globally. He’s generous and kind by nature. Which is why he’s the true king.
This doesn’t make Alex bad (I hope not). It makes him… normal.
What started out as a story about a boy who went back to the land of his dreams has become an ensemble cast. This one boy is no longer “the hero”.
The hero is all of them. They all have their part.
Hope this makes sense.
I can’t say it’s right or wrong. But it’s what seems right for me and to the characters.
Good point. But I would think whomever created the sword (something I’d like to explore at some point) would have made something so important a BIT harder to destroy.
Oh. He has no authority over WHO gets to be the next king. He’s just “rebooting the system” so the sword goes to who it would have naturally had Nicodemus not done that thing with Arthur… and Alex had come along.
True. But Alex has never stated he wanted to be king. Quite the contrary.
He didn’t ask for any of this.
The ONLY reason why he’s fighting is for Nastajia.
And while that’s not enough to be a hero or king. It’s enough to him. And it’s enough for Nastajia. They will fight for each other. And that’s growth for both Alex and their relationship.
Alex was never meant to be King. Ever.
He doesn’t/didn’t. He officially died when Alex took the sword as a kid years ago. Perhaps that would have been clearer if number 7 had said “at that moment” instead of “at this moment.”
Well Scott,I hope you still have long range plans for Alex and Nastajia to(hopefully) reunite via the portals or some other means…!
Only today did I finally realize your icon is not Mike Wazowski, but rather the sword. I feel dumb now.
I can respect that. I don’t think it makes him a “bad” character either, just not the type of character I see eye to eye with.
As I said, I’m really looking forward to the moment(s) when he grows up. I suppose in this format, with a page or less a day and such a long story, it feels like a much longer amount of time to wait than if I were to sit down and read it all in one go. Such is the curse of web comics.
You’re doing a good job with the character development, don’t think you aren’t. I’m just impatient, kind of like Nastaja, to have Alex prove he can act like a real king. 🙂
I was thinking pretty much the same thing about the portals — and it’s Nastajia’s parents who know the secret! So, maybe she joins him in the waking world…
Ahhh…but we are nearing the end of this story, and Scott has a few tricks left up his sleeves I’m sure…for example, the portal that everyone has mentioned. 🙂
Or maybe he joins her in Dreamland. He has more friends there than he does in the waking world…and she has very significant ties to Dreamland (i.e. being the heir to the Elven throne when it appears Oberon and Titania don’t have any other children). Alex’s only ties to the waking world (that we’ve seen) are his mother and possibly his father…maybe his little cousin Joey. *shrug* While he’s friends with Nicole, I can’t see that the loss of that friendship would be devastating…and certainly he could continue to communicate with her (and ostensibly his family) through Dan. Nastajia stands to lose more if she steps through the portal.
I don’t think it’s fair to call Dan a coward. While he may lack in combat skills, he can get the “training” he needs to master his abilities in Dreamland from Alex when he’s awake (and Alex certainly would be motivated to help his brother…even if he ends up being bitter about being tossed out of Dreamland). Then again, he may have learned all he needs to know just from listening to Alex talk about his training with Orion.
Yes, Dan is not as “heroic” in appearance as Alex…and he’s not as headstrong as Alex…but he’s also smarter than Alex, so I’m sure he’d do a fairly decent job of things. The real trick is going to be getting over the shock of the transition and then determining how he will deal with Nicodemus.
I had that same thought. 🙂 But yeah…Arthur “died” when Alex took the Sword of Kings as a kid.
Dan ‘loans’ Excalibur to his brother. Alex uses the portal to return to Dreamland where the brothers fight together. (Or Alex must use Excalibur to defend the waking realm from the invasion.)
Does it really disappear when he enters Dreamland? I knew that the centaur’s pouch thingy (I recall the name of it, but not the spelling :P) disappeared, but I didn’t remember the necklace disappearing as well. 🙂 I need to go back and re-read some chapters I think.
How do I put this?
Oh, I know!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
But – but what about the ROMANCE?
Lamont
Everything makes perfect sense when this is read like a graphic novel – bunches of pages at a time over a much shorter period. We’ve been getting about a page per day…for YEARS. There’s bound to be confusion.
Personally, I adore Alex. He reminds me of how my husband was at that age. Goofy and sometimes self absorbed, but loyal, honorable, kind and generous. I have to disagree Scott (can’t win can you <3 ) Alex is definitely a hero. He's willing to put himself in harms way to protect the ones he loves, he holds his promises, and does what he believes to be right. He may not approach dire situations from a place of wisdom (I mean come on, he's 19!) but he does come at them from a place of love. So yeah, Hero all the way.
🙂
Scott, I think one thing that is missing in the arc is that it was never really clear that Nic, as an advisor, had any role in ensure the NEXT king’s inheritance.
Actually, I think that the link to Orion’s explanation of how the kingship would be transferred permanently via the Sword changing hands (point #8) is here:
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/comic/page-1320/
As an aside…I really miss the old Archive navigation. I remember being able to select a chapter, and then view thumbnails of the pages to find the scene I was looking for. Now, I have to select a chapter and click through each page to find something…which is time consuming and frustrating (especially when I realize I picked the wrong chapter about halfway through). 🙁
Is there any chance of getting that old archive navigation back?
All good Scott…… I’m just saying there’s going to be a LOT of unwarranted resentment by Alex toward Dan. Look at it this way, it’s like getting your favorite toy taken away from you and knowing (the way it looks right now), that you’ll never be able to get it back.
MEEP!! *is worried* On the one hand, I’m SO nervous for Nastajia and sad for Alex.
On the other hand, I’m SUPER excited for Dan to be able to enter Dreamland!!
Well going D&D nerd for a moment unique major artifacts (The sword of kings would definitely be classified as such) are often indestructible except for one extremely specific method (tossing a certain ring into a certain volcano comes to mind) it is quite possible that Nice dose not know how, or can not even if he dose, to destroy the sword
It looks like an all out invasion of the Nightmare realm is in order. The “Drunken Revenge” will come in handy.
God, yes. Just because he’s not all muscles and blonde-handsomeness does not make Dan a coward. Jeez.
Scott has already mentioned before that the true heir to the throne may have surprising natural powers in Dreamland that Alex would not have. I have super high hopes for Dan. 🙂
I believe it is the sword. So there is no necklace around his neck in Dreamland–he’s carrying the sword itself. In the waking world, the sword reverts to the pendant.
It’s the classic hero’s journey. 🙂 We’re “in the belly of the beast.” Scott’s doing great! 😀
Yes, but that’s what makes us grown ups. Plus, I give Alex MUCH more credit than that–he loves Dan. He’s tried to give Dan the sword. This is not Dan’s fault, and Alex will know that. Alex also knows about the portal. His separation from Dreamland is in no way permanent just because Nic says so.
Agreed. And the best stories always take everything away from the good guys before they can overcome the bad guys. This will make Alex stronger…he will have to be stronger.
There’s a portal.
I really like what you say here about Alex and Nastajia being enought for each other. Beautiful.
This is MARVELOUS!!! How will Alex recover from this? How will he and Nastajia get back together?? HOW WILL THIS ALL TURN OUT WELL?
I can’t wait for the rest of the story. 😀
Nic has VASTLY underestimated Dan. He is exaxtly what we need right now…someone who can come up with a battle plan that takes in the Nightmare Realm, Dreamland and Earth. That’s not Alex. That’s Dan.
AND…Nic has VASTLY underestimated Alex’s love for Nastajia. Putting her in further jeopardy will only turn Alex’s resolve to steel. Nic has just made Alex ten times stronger than before. And once Nas finds out? OMG…run for the hills, dragon! Run for the hills!
I just hope this isn’t heading for a His Dark Materials ending for Alex and Staj… 😉
This page just makes me sad.
Well, given that her parents are on EARTH, I kinda doubt he’ll never see her again. The whole portal deal, y’know.
Nic is such a drama king.
I am sooo loving this story.
Sorry I’m late to the party. I just started reading this week. I couldn’t tear my eyes off of it. I’ve been moved to laughter and tears with the characters. This is a dark moment for the story, sure. I’m heartbroken for Alex and Nastajia, but they have shown time and time again that they’re willing to go the distance, and beyond, for each other. I’m confident their story is not over. Time will tell if I have the patience for Scott to tell his story. 🙂
There’s one thing that still bothers me. The Sword of Kings has only, EVER, named Alexander as the King of Dreamland. The Sword itself said that “a usurper of the crown shall never possess” it. Orion (who, wise as he is, I don’t consider infallible) said Alexander was the sword’s “master” now. It still bothers me that Nicodemus has ANY shred of authority over the Sword, even though Dan is clearly not a “usurper.”
In any case, your characters and story have won my heart. I can’t wait to see where we all end up next!