GUDIK: … No. I can’t. It’s impossible at this point.
TETHIK: You must!
GUDIK: Tethik, I make a lot of allowances for you, but don’t you dare ever tell me what the king “must” do.
TETHIK: Then don’t listen to me. Listen to your own common sense. I know it’s in there, buried somewhere under your thick-headed arrogance.
TETHIK: If you don’t leave off this folly now, Kivalia and Erogenia may very well fall to the Urtts. A thousand years of history, all we’ve built will be razed by the enemy to make their own hellscape in Shuach’s image. Then what a nice little petty kingdom you will have here in Greymouth to defend against our enemy that’s stronger than ever!
GUDIK: How am I supposed to do it!? You understand I’ve spent the better part of a year making dead corpses and live enemies of these people. You think they’ll let me just walk away?
Shall we just say, “Oh, sorry - this is Greymouth? We thought it was Greenmouth! Our mistake. Have to pop off now. You don’t mind tidying up for us, do you? There’s a good chap!”
YANORA: Really, dear, it’s not the time to try to be witty.
GUDIK: Mother -
YANORA: And fail.
GUDIK: You see? This is why I’d rather be at war than at home.
29 thoughts on ““M” is for the many things … Page 1068”
Salisria
Gudik makes good points, especially about not wanting to be near his sharp-tongued mother. Also, holy wars have the disadvantage of being difficult to stop. He needs something to keep the Draconians busy. Perhaps the Sun Tribe?
Prairie Son
I wonder how hard that guard is trying not to laugh. This has to be the best show he’s seen in months.
Shan
Well, in the same way the actors playing guards in Life of Brian were told they’d be fired if they laughed during the Biggus D scenes (they really wouldn’t have been, though they didn’t know that), I imagine it’s a similar principle for him, though for “fired”, substitute “killed” and “would” for “wouldn’t”.
Reservist
Killed just for laughing at an inopportune moment? O_o
Descartes
Just finished watching 3.5 hours of Louisa May Alcott on PBS only to find her quoted here. Coincidence…or synchronicity?
Freelance
<__>
I guess you could say Gudick is caught between the Shuach and a hard place.
…
…
…
I’m not apologizing.
khms
You must!
Freelance
I refuse to apologize for great puns.
Horrible puns, I’ll run away laughing maniacally.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAaaaaaa….!
Lora
Why do I have a feeling Tethik will now have to find a way to disentangle Gudik and his army from this without the Dragonians attacking their retreating backs? Ipola might be of some help, too, here.
EmmaC
I feel like Lora is right. I wonder how much of this Ipola and Yanora planned ahead.
On another aspect: Gudik is real tall! I thought Tethik was seated but nope! Does he have some Erogenian in his blood? Or was his father a fine specimen of Kivalian? Because Tethik is certainly not small so, how tall Gudik must be?
SeanR
He…does look like he might have some lion tribe in him.
jd.
I’m waiting for my theory about Zonn having fathered him to be disproved. It won’t be quick, I expect – after all it came up only four pages ago – but patience conquers all (provided you live through it, of course).
hwyla
Well, he IS considerably taller than Tethik – a man called Longshanks. The only person taller is Thann.
Prairie Son
Yanora does have a dab of Erogenian in her distant ancestry, hence her profile.
EmmaC
So, how do you think poor Maldik felt when he was young…. The big gorgeous brother and him. I feel there is more than one layer of suffering for Maldik. Not that it excuse in any way what he did, is doing and will do. But still, poor guy.
jd.
Echo the compassion, sis. I already mentioned this kind of character whose sole reason to exist is to give the readers someone to hate, and I always feel sorry for the character as an abstract if not as a real person. (I think I’ve mentioned that recently about Therik.)
jd.
If I may, sibling, busty women are quite common in Kivalia as well. Look at Melida, Thann’s mother, for instance: https://barbarianprincess.com/comic/the-odd-couples/page-836/
Also, the ladies of the court were nicely buxom too, I thought: https://barbarianprincess.com/comic/good-old-fashioned-lover-boy/page-85/
(None so extreme as Zona or even Ipola, but still.)
Prairie Son
No, JED has explicitly stated that Yanora is part Erogenian. Tethik is pure Kivalian, which is why he had a better claim on the throne than his cousin’s husband.
jd.
Fine, I didn’t remember that.
But I didn’t challenge it either. My point was merely that her bust might not be entirely due to her Erogenian lineage.
Reservist
“JED has explicitly stated that Yanora is part Erogenian.”
Oh? I didn’t remeber that either.
Reservist
How do you know Yanora has distant Erogenian ancestry, please? O_o
jd.
On the one hand, I’d think both Ipola and Yanora are way too smart and adept at politics not to have planned the mission to its fruitful conclusion.
On the other hand, maybe they knew there was little they could do besides sending the best councillor Gudik has to convince him back. (And maybe Yanora might promise to dial down the wit for some time if Gudik does relent?)
… Ooooh, it just hit me and I love it. Gudik could promise to make amends, and as a token of his goodwill send a hostage to Greymouth. Who would be best suited for that but the queen? He can leave Greymouth behind for the nonce, kick the Urtt’s butts with Ipola and the Erogenians, and be rid of his mother for some time. That would be a masterpiece. (That being said, I think Tethik will have to come up with it. Or maybe Thann. I would love that even more. I can picture Ipola’s expression as she mulls the notion over and declares, “It could be done.” And Yanora looking dramatically crestfallen and quoting “Et tu, Ipola?”)
jd.
Somehow I’ve always felt that Tethik’s looks reminded me of Mr. Spock.
And now there’s this third panel. Especially the left ear.
Also, I knew it! I knew that Gudik’s partial motivation for this war was to get away from his mother. Surprisingly enough, that makes one field of action in which Maldik’s approach turns out to be better. (Less people killed, if nothing else.)
Raoullefere
Only in the short term, as Tethik reminds us. Only a stupendous moron (Maldik, not you, jd) would think otherwise.
jd.
I beg to differ, Viscount brother, but first let me elaborate on what I wrote. I only meant that in view of getting away from Yanora’s jabs, Maldik’s approach turned out to be better than Gudik’s since it appears to cost less, both in terms of lives and money. Of course, Maldik actually going to Yanora to taunt her ( https://barbarianprincess.com/comic/what-family-doesnt-have-its-ups-and-downs/page-368-2/ ) defeats this purpose, but then there’s a reason Ipola calls him a fuckwit.
(Also, I meant that at least half in jest. Apologies for not writing that clearly enough.)
As for the long term, Maldik may have to release Yanora eventually, but Gudik will have to come back from war as well.
And naturally, I didn’t account for the alliance with Urtts in my evaluation of Maldik’s approach, because that wasn’t the point. I mean, he could contrive a scheme to jail Yanora without conspiring with centuries-old enemies, couldn’t he? Oh wait…
Marcusoterra
The guard IS getting a lot of angle time and he’s looking hard at his King. I mean, for him to hear all that laid out like that. That Guard has to have family back home. He’s looking hard at his King and how what decision he’s going to make.
Jean
Easy, Kingie. Since you’re on a holy war, you declare you’ve “had a powerful vision sent by the blessing of Thrasu” (because Thrasu surely would want the people saved, which is what Tethic, Yanora, Ipola, etc, are all there to get him to do) and you state that “The vision commands this war to end here, as I have been deceived into attacking you, leaving both of our kingdoms damaged and vulnerable from lost lives. But now, by Thrasu’s blessing, the illusions have fallen, and the true enemy is revealed: the Urrts, who are the true heretics, and who must be slain grieviously and thorougly for the injustice of deceiving us into attacking our southern brethren–points of interpretation of the holy writings is as nothing compared to the very literal threat of being devoured by our mutual enemies–if you follow me north, then you follow to fight along my side; I go north now to deliver justice to these deceivers and devourers to make them pay for this foolish, regret-filled war.”
…and then you skeedaddle, duh!
jd.
A very good point, lady sister!
He doesn’t even have to go all mystic about it; he might just claim that newly acquired intelligence indicates this “holy war” was engineered by Urtts to weaken the kingdom in this time of strife, and that, unbelievable as it sounds, some of the clergy were misled by their ruse.
Then apologize profusely, negotiate reparations and go to fight a more enjoyable war. (And maybe send Yanora over as a hostage, as I suggested above. I predict that after five weeks the Draconians will accept any terms just to get rid of her.)
Jean
I like your thinking!
XDDD
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