Comic Genesis Forums

Speculations follow:
Perhaps the little one saw something that nobody beleives (s)he saw?
Same thing that drove off the brownies mayhap?

Or maybe it really is all in his/her head, and this is just an example of Quentin's image with some people?

[...unWARP!!!]

Good evening.


Well, whatever it is, this is very likely Quentyn's next mission.

Of course this raises a question that has troubled and challenged artists for ages:
How does one draw a racoon with bags under his eyes?

Hopefully, this will lead Colin onto his next Questor adventure!

Gotta tell ya tho

The imagery of a sleep deprived kid knowing it's safe with Quentyn is a pretty powerful scene in my eyes.

Nice bit o' plot twisting

Heck yeah. I could almost see Quentyn taking his hat off and gently putting it on the child's head to keep light and noise from disturbing Colin's sleep, and then very quietly (John Wayne quiet) asking the room at large something like "Can anyone here tell me what has so frightened this child that he has come to me for protection?"
I'll go along with the "Whatever ran the Brownies off scared the kid, too." scenario for now, until Ralph makes fools of us all once again.

All I can say is that this was a wonderful way to begin the next adventure. Let's hope he doesn't require his sword for it.

Let's hope he doesn't require his sword for it.

That may prove to be a real problem. If Quynten and the sword are indeed tightly bonded, he may not be able to leave without it. Remember, it "came" to his hand, more or less un-bidden, when he needed it to free Nessie from the cage at the bottom of the river as well as to kill the gragums.


Shaaruuk

Plot advancement! Sweet, glorious plot advancement! My drool runith over.

[...unWARP!!!]

Good evening.


So...there is something....or someone...controlling the night terrors....

Well, as I understand it, technically, wouldn't that make them NOT night terrors, but just illusions?
BTW, I wonder (and we will probably find out next strip) whether they can't seem to dispel them, or whether they keep coming back no matter how many times they get rid of them? Perhaps it is a matter that there is some sort of relational difficultly between the child and his parents? This could be as 'minor' as their not being around much ("too much work to do") or as serious as physical abuse (unlikely, but that parent could just be 'playing it cool' in agreeing to have Quentin help out). This would prevent the necessary aspects of trust...

What is Quentin's rival's name? Rilian? Anyway, Quentin will NOT want him to find out about this... can you say "babysitting"? Actually, this job is something that really DOES require a true hero, it is just that that the requisite aspect of things is the REPUTATION and IMAGE as a hero. The mages comments to Quentin before they left for the dinner may have forshadowed this.

Add to this that Quentin has had a few night-terrors of his own lately... and he is a very good match for the job... even if it really IS nothing but a trust issue. For those few who may have forgotten, Quentin only got them recently because he messily killed 4 Gragum(sp?). The way I hear it, anyone who DOESN'T have nightmares after killing (at least up close and personal, a fighter pilot may be a different story) no matter how justified, is probably someone with an abnormal psychology.



BTW, some of those night terrors look reasonably detailed. This leads me to wonder, as far as art is concerned: Are illusions an easier medium to work in than pen and ink, oil paints, and/or stone sculpting?

DracoDei wrote:Well, as I understand it, technically, wouldn't that make them NOT night terrors, but just illusions?

Actually, they are illusions. Night Terrors is just the name given to them. Quite an appropriate term for such an upsetting phenomenon.

DracoDei wrote:BTW, I wonder (and we will probably find out next strip) whether they can't seem to dispel them, or whether they keep coming back no matter how many times they get rid of them? Perhaps it is a matter that there is some sort of relational difficultly between the child and his parents? This could be as 'minor' as their not being around much ("too much work to do") or as serious as physical abuse (unlikely, but that parent could just be 'playing it cool' in agreeing to have Quentin help out). This would prevent the necessary aspects of trust...

All I'll say is that an abusive parent is not very likely to let their child lie down just anywhere. They'd have to be in the bedroom, where it's "safe" for them. I'm not sure, but I think child abusers are control freaks as well.

DracoDei wrote:What is Quentin's rival's name? Rilian?

Rahan, my dear fellow. Someone I would dearly like to see getting creamed by Quentyn.

DracoDei wrote:Anyway, Quentin will NOT want him to find out about this... can you say "babysitting"? Actually, this job is something that really DOES require a true hero, it is just that that the requisite aspect of things is the REPUTATION and IMAGE as a hero. The mages comments to Quentin before they left for the dinner may have forshadowed this.

Very good point. That's probably the reason Colin fell asleep on Quentyn's lap. He perceives the young hero as a mighty warrior (and who's to say he isn't? 4 Gragum single handed... that's quite a feat), thus, he will see anyplace the Questor is as a safe place.

DracoDei wrote:Add to this that Quentin has had a few night-terrors of his own lately... and he is a very good match for the job... even if it really IS nothing but a trust issue. For those few who may have forgotten, Quentin only got them recently because he messily killed 4 Gragum(sp?). The way I hear it, anyone who DOESN'T have nightmares after killing (at least up close and personal, a fighter pilot may be a different story) no matter how justified, is probably someone with an abnormal psychology.

I'd have to agree on both points. Quentyn knows what it's like to have these things, so he'd be able to help the poor kid out. As for nightmares after killing...

My uncle went to Vietnam. He still has nightmares, and can't fall asleep without the TV on. Silence was deadly over there.

DracoDei wrote:BTW, some of those night terrors look reasonably detailed. This leads me to wonder, as far as art is concerned: Are illusions an easier medium to work in than pen and ink, oil paints, and/or stone sculpting?

I doubt Ralph or any of the rest of us would know. But, for the sake of discussion, I would think that'd depend on your skill with Lux, or whatever magic system you're using. Also, it would depend a good deal on how skilled you are in making said illusions. I imagine a young Raconan's imagination would be very good at creating detailed illusions of their worst nightmares. Little is more powerful than your own subconcious.

BUT....is Colin's 2+ nights without sleep related to the brownie disappearance? According to his mother and Lord Millfolk, both seem to have occured at almost the same starting point. Colin's night terrors beginning maybe 1 day (night) after all the brownies vanished. So the totally speculative question is: Did Colin actually see who or what chased off the brownies? If so, was it in reality or was it in a nightmare (2nd sight?) so intense that he can't shake it?


Shaaruuk


Slightly personal note: I too spent 2+ years in Viet Nam. My night terrors haven't bothered me in several years, but I still cannot sleep in a totally quiet environment.

StrangeWulf13 wrote:

DracoDei wrote:Well, as I understand it, technically, wouldn't that make them NOT night terrors, but just illusions?

Actually, they are illusions. Night Terrors is just the name given to them. Quite an appropriate term for such an upsetting phenomenon.

That is correct. The set 'Night Terror' is a subset of the set 'Illusion'. Or to put it another way, all night terrors are illusions, but not all illusions are night terrors.

StrangeWulf13 wrote: As for nightmares after killing... My uncle went to Vietnam. He still has nightmares, and can't fall asleep without the TV on. Silence was deadly over there.

2 things:
- My sympathies for your uncle and for Sharuuk. I want to clarify myself, however, by saying that I don't KNOW if that matchs up with the part of the psychology that I was thinking of when I wrote the original statement. I was refering to technically mis-placed guilt, rather than technically mis-placed self-preservational reactions.
- On a purely technical note: So the local fauna tended to quiet down when humans moved through, or what?

DracoDei wrote:BTW, some of those night terrors look reasonably detailed. This leads me to wonder, as far as art is concerned: Are illusions an easier medium to work in than pen and ink, oil paints, and/or stone sculpting?

StrangeWulf13 wrote: I doubt Ralph or any of the rest of us would know. But, for the sake of discussion, I would think that'd depend on your skill with Lux, or whatever magic system you're using. Also, it would depend a good deal on how skilled you are in making said illusions. I imagine a young Raconan's imagination would be very good at creating detailed illusions of their worst nightmares. Little is more powerful than your own subconcious.

I dunno... Ralph is very detailed in his backstory etc. and he is (no duh!) an artist so he might have considered this sort of thing before, and if not, well, maybe I have given him the idea to do so.

On a purely technical note: So the local fauna tended to quiet down when humans moved through, or what?

Yes.....very much so.

However, once we (humans) moved into an area, set up an emplacement and didn't show to be a threat to local fauna, the normal "night" and "jungle" sounds would resume, usually in less than half an hour. Once the critters got used to our presence and movements they would continue to "sing" even with the occasional trip to the "toilet tree". That actually became a sort of "early warning system" for us. As long as the sounds were there, you could pretty much be comfortable that for the most part, you were alone. If it suddenly got quiet, it meant there was something out there the bugs & critters didn't like and didn't want to attract. It also put everybody on VERY high alert. Nobody would move, but EVERYONE was wide awake, adrenaline charged and straining to hear the faintest sound.

I still love to go camping out in the wilds, and as long as I can hear the forest "talking" to me, I'm quite relaxed. It gets quiet, and I'm on high alert and with a weapon in hand. I guess the saddest part is that the biggest threat I can face when I'm out there walks on only 2 legs.


Shaaruuk

OooooKay.....I'm a bit on the slow side here.....I didn't realize that Colin and his mother were Lord Millfolks' son and wife. Since there had been other kids with their parents at the gathering, it never occured to me.

Gotta get me some more coffee or more sleep.....one or t'other.


Shaaruuk

[...unWARP!!!]

Good evening.


Since the night terrors keep coming back, then perhaps someone or something is channelling lux through the kid, with the night terrors as a side effect.....

...or, we could be on the brink of a new form of terrorism...

As long as everyone is tossing guesses around - what if Colin is another naturally powerful lux talent, who's night terrors are scaring off the Brownies? Not likely, but possible.

When I first read about the brownies, it took me a few seconds to figure out that they weren't talking about a type of home-made chocolate pastry.

Or, perhaps the grain merchants are employing human girl scouts to take care of the rats. (Sorry, I'm just in a silly mood right now.)

In european lore, brownies are small, mischievous sprites who will aid with household or farm chores in exchange for a dish of milk at night, or a bit of food. It was traditional to leave a small, baked cake-- a "brownie cake"--- on a plate for them to win their favor.
Hence, the invention of the Brownie.

Dumb question time from a non-artist.....

Can anyone tell me the significance of the white silhouettes standing around in Millfolk Hall after Colin entered?


Shaaruuk