2024-03-18 - DMFA #2117 - Do not poke the murder-dragon

[Tapewolf]

Oh, now this is interesting.  I had assumed that M'Chek was one of Hizell's sons who had done well for himself, and that was part of the revenge motive ("'Cubi destroyed five of my sons").

It sounds like Hizell was actually one of M'Chek's proteges.

Now, does Cyra "insulting his reputation" mean defeating him by trickery in some kind of might-makes-right mentality, or is it because Cyra tried to disseminate what she'd learned about the soul-harvesters beneath the city and was shouted down?

EDIT: This also means that him discovering Dan exists and is happy would be very, very bad news for everyone even vaguely associated with him.

[WhyNot?]

Oh, now this is interesting.  I had assumed that M'Chek was one of Hizell's sons who had done well for himself, and that was part of the revenge motive ("'Cubi destroyed five of my sons").

I think that the loss of his children is about what Dimanika did. I did wonder after the last strip if the loss of his young children may have been what 'broke' him, if you accept the extreme evil he did beforehand as 'normal', but it seems like he's just always been like that.

[Tapewolf]

I think that the loss of his children is about what Dimanika did. I did wonder after the last strip if the loss of his young children may have been what 'broke' him, if you accept the extreme evil he did beforehand as 'normal', but it seems like he's just always been like that.

Absolutely, though nothing says Dimanika's clan had a lock on doing that.

[Starcat5]

I am still of the opinion that all five are still alive, and want nothing to do with the bundle of crazy that is their Old Man. At least I am hoping for that twist. Having Hizell kill them for being pro-Cubi is darker than I would like, but also acceptable. 

[HaDDea]

Ah, so this whole mess has been about Draconic Pride. Wonderful. The whole Dragon race has likely been unsettled by the fact that while extremely powerful, that power is very far from absolute. Cyra was a wake-up call to the dragons, but it is unsurprising that some are opting to try and hit the snooze button...

And Hizell has been a prime example of the Sunk Cost Fallacy because of the boast he made about destroying Cyra. It hasn't gone as he'd hoped, and his increasingly desperate actions to attempt to reach his goal have meant more and more repercussions for him, his family, and for the Dragons as a whole. In a way, he sounds a bit like Aliph and H-Ann...

Now, does Cyra "insulting his reputation" mean defeating him by trickery in some kind of might-makes-right mentality, or is it because Cyra tried to disseminate what she'd learned about the soul-harvesters beneath the city and was shouted down?

I think it was what Fa'lina mentioned: M'Chek was destroyed by a cubi; a simple, common cubi. Having your respected mentor go out like a punk might just be insult enough, and to have the cause of that insult gain tremendous power in the process would be considered intolerable.

EDIT: This also means that him discovering Dan exists and is happy would be very, very bad news for everyone even vaguely associated with him.

This is... very unsettling, but very true.

I am still of the opinion that all five are still alive, and want nothing to do with the bundle of crazy that is their Old Man. At least I am hoping for that twist. Having Hizell kill them for being pro-Cubi is darker than I would like, but also acceptable. 

Hm. This gives me a thought... what if Pyroduck is Hizell's only remaining offspring? I have wondered why he was attempting to "redeem" Pyroduck... what if this revenge plot has gone so pear-shaped that all he has left is his boast, his cult, and Pyroduck??

[joshofspam]

Oh, now this is interesting.  I had assumed that M'Chek was one of Hizell's sons who had done well for himself, and that was part of the revenge motive ("'Cubi destroyed five of my sons").

It sounds like Hizell was actually one of M'Chek's proteges.

Now, does Cyra "insulting his reputation" mean defeating him by trickery in some kind of might-makes-right mentality, or is it because Cyra tried to disseminate what she'd learned about the soul-harvesters beneath the city and was shouted down?

EDIT: This also means that him discovering Dan exists and is happy would be very, very bad news for everyone even vaguely associated with him.

It also does bring to question if Hizell might have one of those Crystal soul sucking rings under his city too.

Though that does bring into focus the city that the Soulstealers stole from a dragon too. After all, that crystal system that DP made to raise the Undead sounds an awful like what M'Chek used to steal soul. Did the Soulstealers find one underneath their city and DP use some things he learned from it to make his Undead spell?

[Tapewolf]

It also does bring to question if Hizell might have one of those Crystal soul sucking rings under his city too.

Perhaps, but it's worth keeping in mind that the mythos he uses as servants have a "freaky death-cult to Hizell" (1767) which makes me wonder whether they're willingly feeding their souls to Hizell upon their deaths.

[Vulpine]

I must have missed something; he's talking about losing all six wings and having the wounds cauterized, yet I see at least 4 wings in this strip.

[Tapewolf]

I must have missed something; he's talking about losing all six wings and having the wounds cauterized, yet I see at least 4 wings in this strip.

Only a clan leader has six wings.  Abel has four.

In Furrae they have advanced regeneration therapies and they have been regrown via some magical process.  In page 2030 he points out that they have no muscle memory so he'll need a lot of physical therapy before he can shapeshift with them.

In the current page, Jyrras is actually in a food coma and Abel is talking to him via dream-surfing to give them both some privacy.  Hence, Abel would likely have appeared with his wings present due to his own self-image even if he was still missing them in the real world.

[ProfesseurRenard]

I must have missed something; he's talking about losing all six wings and having the wounds cauterized, yet I see at least 4 wings in this strip.

Only a clan leader has six wings.  Abel has four.

In Furrae they have advanced regeneration therapies and they have been regrown via some magical process.  In page 2030 he points out that they have no muscle memory so he'll need a lot of physical therapy before he can shapeshift with them.

In the current page, Jyrras is actually in a food coma and Abel is talking to him via dream-surfing to give them both some privacy.  Hence, Abel would likely have appeared with his wings present due to his own self-image even if he was still missing them in the real world.

Remind me, didn't he need to have his eyes grown back as well? Let's hope he's not having as many problems with them, dream-surfing or no dream-surfing...

[Tapewolf]

Remind me, didn't he need to have his eyes grown back as well? Let's hope he's not having as many problems with them, dream-surfing or no dream-surfing...

He did, though that appears to be a lot more routine than regrowing headwings.

[Akisohida]

Remind me, didn't he need to have his eyes grown back as well? Let's hope he's not having as many problems with them, dream-surfing or no dream-surfing...

He did, though that appears to be a lot more routine than regrowing headwings.

So long as Abel remembers to not try changing his eye-color again any time soon.

[joshofspam]

Now that I think about it, this page also brings up some things that might link to something mentioned a couple of pages back.

How could Hizell have learned about Destania's relationship if she never left the Acadamy until she went after Abel's dad?

I suppose he could have tortured some cubi who had recently left at that time to get that information. But more likely (like Dan is learning) someone in the academy probably snitched on her.

There's also the whole information chaff that Domanika is putting out there to clog up on snitchlines. Could Destania have been the primary motivation for that?

[Liatai]

How could Hizell have learned about Destania's relationship if she never left the Acadamy until she went after Abel's dad?

"Talk of alliances was starting." That kind of political talk does tend to leak out as people gossip, especially at high-profile parties. Hizell doesn't need a 'cubi ear on his payroll to be able to hear about the case, as Piflak's parties are definitely not the only places he has informants. Though, someone selling out information about a child of Cyra to Hizell in hopes of gaining his mercy is definitely something that's not off the table, either.