ARROGOND: Luna and Teria made the Urtts into our enemies.
PONTAGAR: Yet they are our enemies, Father.
ARROGOND: They needn’t be.
PONTAGAR: What … what are you saying?
ARROGOND: They can be what they were created for. Our servants, our chattel.
PONTAGAR: Ha! Father – that is a lot easier said than done. They’ve got –
PANEL 2
ARROGOND I know what they’ve got. We all do. But you know it was not the Urtts that awakened the dragons. It was one of our own ancient makers, a legendary sorcerer who has returned.
PONTAGAR: According to Ipola he’s dead –
PANEL 3
ARROGOND: Which leaves a very convenient hole in the Urtt’s power structure. Listen, son: The Urtts are barely able to control the dragons. They are like the Urtts themselves, created by our ancestors. We can use the old magick, just as he did, and take them for our own!
PONTAGAR: That’s … Father I’ve seen them, they’re – .
PANEL 4
ARROGOND: Hear me out, my son: What are we fighting for, after all? Are we fighting for the trees and the fish? Are we fighting to be nice and sweet and have a fairyland existence where we all love each other?
PONTAGAR: I thought we were defending ourselves, that’s all.
ARROGOND: This war is about survival, Pontagar. Erogenian survival. And we need to do whatever is necessary to ensure that.
PANEL 5
PONTAGAR: What are you saying, Father? I’m a simple man, so Please be very plain.
11 thoughts on “Plain Speaking – Page 1223”
SteinarB
That “Please be very plain” sounds to me like “you now have _one_ last chance to convince me you’re not a mad dog who has to be put down, please don’t waste it”. Pontagar does not seem amused.
Reservist
@SteinarB
Exactly what I thought too, mate. The speech is trivial, but the attitudes, the faces, the whole context screams exactly that. It’s not that he might not be amused, he is irradiating cold, calm, merciless wrath. The most fearsome kind of wrath.
Just_IDD
Pontgar is striking me as a bit whiny with his arms crossed defensively and his slightly hunched form. I don’t think he is speaking from a point of power.
EmmaC
I never loved Pontagar but… I feel he is not into his father’s boat… not yet or not fully. I am affraid that, if he’s against his father he won’t survive but I would be disapointed to see him just becoming yet again a villain. But, as JED is the master of subtelty and complex characters, I’ll wait and see.
Joe Fonebone
The mounted Dragon head on the wall is a nice touch. Brings the debate into perspective.
Reservist
@Just_IDD
Maybe because he is a bit hunched and crossed his arms because he is slightly buckling under the weight of realising his father’s betrayal to Erogenia and its gods and goddesses.
But to me, the last panel is pretty clear about where he stands. He will have none of his father’s antics.
Lora
Oh, Arrogand is really nuts. I don’t think Pontagar will reveal his stance right away; I think he might have learned the value of waiting for the right moment. But we’ll see. It does sounds like he’s giving his father a last change to withdraw these crazy ideas of old magick and betrayal, but I doubt Arrogand will do so. He’s too invested in his own scheming.
Some Ed
Or maybe Pontagar’s hoping that Arrogand will be just a bit more clear so that he can give a shorter report to her majesty. Also, a more explicit statement could convince some who were supporting Arrogand because he’s the local political leader that following him would be following a traitor.
There’s not many other people around, and they’ve probably heard this more than Pontagar, but there’s always hope, right?
Shyster
It is a crazy day when you know Pontagar is in the right. This old man is clearly a little late indoctrinating his son into his crazy heresy.
rocky
Oh wow! Finally! I haven’t been able to get to this comic for months. Turns out the “https” no longer works but the plain old “http” link does.
Lora
Yep, broke a couple of months ago. Really annoying, but so far a fix hasn’t been found.
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