Drowtales: The Info Dump

[Miklus]

Maybe I have a paranoid personality, but I always assumed that all the demon worshippers and summoners where in it together. Except Kiels mother, and she got shanked. They might even all be controlled by some higher-up demon worshipper. What was the name of that woman that Sillice fought? It's all a grand conspiracy against the drow people! Wake up sheeple!....<_<....>_>

Of cause, there can only be one Empress...And evil people are notorious bad at working together.

I was just thinking that I would NOT like to be the next person to open the fridge. Then I realised that it would most likely be Snad and I smiled.

lol Or I can imagine Snadhya's surprised face when she opens her fridge and Demon-Naal pops out suddenly. Keep your fridge clean or unpleasant things grow there.

This reminds me why I never use the vegetable drawer in my fridge...

[HandofShadows]

I think this last page (Epiloge for Chapter 27) proves how big a bunch of (deleted) the Dorwtales team can be. And I say that admiringly I might add.

Spoiler

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At the end of the chapter they made it clear that Naal had been eaten by the glutton demon seed she had inside her. No one that we have seen has ever survived the seed/taint taking over, except in an old legend. This last page makes it clear that Naal is still alive inside there. A glutton demon is an eating machine and nothing more. It would not have picked up the plushie and held it like that. That's Naal no doubt in my mind.
It seems the demon did take over for a short bit, but then got beaten back. Which has left Naal rather "altered". But she is clearly not going to munch of the contents of the Freezer like we all thought she would. So Snad will not have any reason to check on this place anytime soon. And also here we are with strange occurance #3 in this area. #1 Ariel getting help when she fell down here so long ago. #2 Faen when she was healing Ariel and now Naal not being eaten by the demon against all odds.

[Hamilkar]

I think this last page (Epiloge for Chapter 27) proves how big a bunch of (deleted) the Dorwtales team can be. And I say that admiringly I might add.

I'm not sure how I should interpret the epilogue. Guess if some of Naal's personality remains, we will know it in due time. Maybe it's just a bizarre joke?

And now we have Vaelia's Path again, so it's time for some contemplation.

That was a good chapter, I must say. Even if TT did not accomplish much, they did work as a team and survived (well most of them) a dangerous encounter. That will forge them together.

So I'm still wondering what chapter 28 will be about. Ariel hasn't made an appearance since chapter 23, so I think she should be in the next chapter (Ariel: "Nooooo am I even a main character anymore!" *sob*), however if the comic would skip to her now, we're left a bit in the open what TT generally and Kiel and Chrystel, specifically are going to do when they leave the school.

Maybe I have a paranoid personality, but I always assumed that all the demon worshippers and summoners where in it together. Except Kiels mother, and she got shanked. They might even all be controlled by some higher-up demon worshipper. What was the name of that woman that Sillice fought? It's all a grand conspiracy against the drow people! Wake up sheeple!....<_<....>_>:

Ariel's half sister, the Nidraa'chal commander, you mean? The Nidraa'chal are the bad hidden society that is essentially surviving and operating through deception, when they are not slaughtering the population I mean.

I wonder how Snadhya is maintaining such a tight control over them though. Maybe each commander of them (not the rubble of normal troops, i.e. sacrifices) was given the promise 1. to survive with the 'special' tainted they received, the coming storm and 2. to be given a place at Snadhya's side when she is becoming empress. Every hidden Nidraa'chal member must be OK with the fact that her own clan will/can be wiped out in the process. Therefore they do not represent a group of nice people, and no, I can't imagine that Mel would fit in or go along with this.

[HandofShadows]

I'm not sure how I should interpret the epilogue. Guess if some of Naal's personality remains, we will know it in due time. Maybe it's just a bizarre joke?

Doubt it's a joke. That's what they have the chibi pages for. And I got a real depressing thought. Naal is in control and she intentionaly stays in the Freezer until she dies.

And now we have Vaelia's Path again, so it's time for some contemplation.

Back to DT's token human. :)

That was a good chapter, I must say. Even if TT did not accomplish much, they did work as a team and survived (well most of them) a dangerous encounter. That will forge them together.

So I'm still wondering what chapter 28 will be about. Ariel hasn't made an appearance since chapter 23, so I think she should be in the next chapter (Ariel: "Nooooo am I even a main character anymore!" *sob*), however if the comic would skip to her now, we're left a bit in the open what TT generally and Kiel and Chrystel, specifically are going to do when they leave the school.

I think it will be back to Ariel, but we are getting near the end of the year and there is supposed to be a 10 year time jump. So who knows where this is all going to end up. Going to be interesting to see TT buting heads with Ariel's group or ending up working together.

[Miklus]

Ariel's half sister, the Nidraa'chal commander, you mean? The Nidraa'chal are the bad hidden society that is essentially surviving and operating through deception, when they are not slaughtering the population I mean.

I wonder how Snadhya is maintaining such a tight control over them though. Maybe each commander of them (not the rubble of normal troops, i.e. sacrifices) was given the promise 1. to survive with the 'special' tainted they received, the coming storm and 2. to be given a place at Snadhya's side when she is becoming empress. Every hidden Nidraa'chal member must be OK with the fact that her own clan will/can be wiped out in the process. Therefore they do not represent a group of nice people, and no, I can't imagine that Mel would fit in or go along with this.

I don't think the Nidraa'chal are drow at all. In body maybe, but I think they are possesed by demons. Intelligent demons, I might add, that have eaten and replaced the original soul altogether.

The demon seeds in the young drow are the "children" of these demons. When the seeds blossom, there will be more demon-in-drow. Some might be mindless and used as troops, but some might be intelligent and look normal.

It is a logical way for the demons to stay in this dimension permanently and to reproduce. They use the physical bodies of the creatures that are already there. Since a drow is not born with a seed inside, it must be implanted later. Presumambly, the seed inherits some of the memories of the body when it takes over.

I'm guessing that Chrys has one of the intelligent seeds. I wonder what her face will look like if she ever figures out that a demon made a baby on her.

Or this may all be nonsense...I assume much.

[Hamilkar]

I don't think the Nidraa'chal are drow at all. In body maybe, but I think they are possesed by demons. Intelligent demons, I might add, that have eaten and replaced the original soul altogether.

The demon seeds in the young drow are the "children" of these demons. When the seeds blossom, there will be more demon-in-drow. Some might be mindless and used as troops, but some might be intelligent and look normal.

It is a logical way for the demons to stay in this dimension permanently and to reproduce. They use the physical bodies of the creatures that are already there. Since a drow is not born with a seed inside, it must be implanted later. Presumambly, the seed inherits some of the memories of the body when it takes over.

I'm guessing that Chrys has one of the intelligent seeds. I wonder what her face will look like if she ever figures out that a demon made a baby on her.

Well I also do have some opinion about what is true behind the scenes. And I lot times I tell people that I do not believe their ideas. Well I hope that I do not appear arrogant here.

Being said that, I believe your idea is interesting. But the more I think about it the more it seems weird to me. Rather than try to argue this out, I list 5 questions which are my major doubts of that thought. If anyone could convince me that the majority of my doubts are unfounded I'll seriously consider this.

Are now all, according to Miklus theory, Nidraa'chal the only hidden demons or all Sharen and Vlozress too?

To make it brief there are 5 doubts/questions about this theory.


1.Why do the demon taken over drow (appear tainted) not dramatically changing their personalities from before? (I want booood for dinner. From freshhh virgins!)

2.Why are all these heavy tainted people still in danger of being overwhelmed by their taint resulting in obvious mutations? (Naal, Naals former teacher)

3.Why did no Sharen during the Nidraa'chal war realize that they are battling demons in drow forms? Of course demons must have some special aura or special abilities when they fight to the death.

4.What's then Shasana's point? She should know and if she is a demon too, what is then the point of her warning?

5.Why are demons working together? Demons in DT are a mess. Either they are all mindless mana feeders or if they are intelligent, they can have some very very weird and random ideas, which could be completely different from the next demon. Here is some word of god about this. Listen to DT podcast #24 about the Vloz'ress from minute 56:45 to 58:15. Quite funny. In that podcast demons are a bit discussed in the late part.

I know that Kahless could fit into society undetected. Also that guy (down right) seems to be a not insane cray demon. However these could be exceptions to the rule.

[HandofShadows]

1.Why do the demon taken over drow (appear tainted) not dramatically changing their personalities from before? (I want booood for dinner. From freshhh virgins!)

How a demon that a drow acts is based on the original demon. Some demons are totaly animalistic (such as the glutton) and can never be anything more. Others absorb a portion of the memeory of the person they take over (how much varies from demon to demon and I think on the person they take over as well. A Devourer is like this. In one of the chapters we see one wearing armor and using a weapon IIRC).

2.Why are all these heavy tainted people still in danger of being overwhelmed by their taint resulting in obvious mutations? (Naal, Naals former teacher)

Heavy taints (in fact all but the safe taint) acts rather like a slow acting poison. As time goes on the taint will get stronger and stonger. As it does the demon gains more control over the body.

3.Why did no Sharen during the Nidraa'chal war realize that they are battling demons in drow forms? Of course demons must have some special aura or special abilities when they fight to the death.

They knew they where fighting demons some of the time. But the people that where the real leaders stayed in the background.

[Miklus]

1.Why do the demon taken over drow (appear tainted) not dramatically changing their personalities from before? (I want booood for dinner. From freshhh virgins!)

2.Why are all these heavy tainted people still in danger of being overwhelmed by their taint resulting in obvious mutations? (Naal, Naals former teacher)

3.Why did no Sharen during the Nidraa'chal war realize that they are battling demons in drow forms? Of course demons must have some special aura or special abilities when they fight to the death.

4.What's then Shasana's point? She should know and if she is a demon too, what is then the point of her warning?

5.Why are demons working together? Demons in DT are a mess. Either they are all mindless mana feeders or if they are intelligent, they can have some very very weird and random ideas, which could be completely different from the next demon. Here is some word of god about this. Listen to DT podcast #24 about the Vloz'ress from minute 56:45 to 58:15. Quite funny. In that podcast demons are a bit discussed in the late part.

I'll try to answer, although I admit I might not have thought this fully through..

1) Back when Chrys returns to the Sharen fortress after escaping, we breifly see a Sharen soldier called Sabrror (I think). He is heavily tainted and does not seem to be able to speak other than grunts. He appears only semi-intelligent. He has a sealing armour on, presumably to keep the taint from taking over entirely. But I think that has already happend and the armour is there to lock the demon inside and not spread and cause havok.

2) The taint is not a "vaccine", it is a seed that are ment to grow into a demon. It does not provide protection at all. It is a lie.

3) I think Sillice at least partly realised what was going on. The people she was fighting did have special auras. But it is hard to see where a tainted drow stops and a fully possesed drow starts. I is said somewhere that drow with the taint become cruel and resilient to pain. Look at Syphile and Chrys. Syphile's taint was cranked up a notch before she was sent on her suicide mission. Chrys surprised Ariel with her resilience to pain. It may be a gradual process.

4) ...Who is Shasana again...?

5) Most of the demons are animals. That gluton demon that ate all the emo elves probably just pushed through the gate on it's own initiative. But there are intelligent ones. Kiels mother talked to some of them back in chapter...four, I think. If they are intelligent, they can work together toward a common goal. That goal could be survival and reproduction.

Just to sabotage my own "theory", it does appear that Zala cares about her daugthers. At least she took the time to beat up their protector twins when they screwed up and even sent Yaeminira on a suicide mission out of spite.

I'll try to listen to that podcast, if my bandwidth allows.

[Ganurath]

I'm going to have to shoot down the theory that the Nidraa'chal are actually demons, for one simple reason. Vel'akar, the sentient demons that can range from feral sentients like Discordia to philosophical warriors like Upus to passing for Ver'drowendar like Khaless, obtain their capacity for cognition through the accumulation of a lot of power. The tainting technique that Shasana and Snadhya'rune developed involved summoning extremely weak seeds. The former tidbit comes from the wiki, while the latter comes a from a canon short story.

Besides, Vel'akar have the colored part of the eye and the pupil merged into a single red orb, while Ver'drowendar still have them split despite their both being red. You can see the contrast most easily when Naal struggles for control of her seed, but Khaless in Ver'drowendar disguise still has the telling Vel'akar eyes.

[HandofShadows]

Purple hair there just proved he is a (CENCORED).

[Miklus]

Besides, Vel'akar have the colored part of the eye and the pupil merged into a single red orb, while Ver'drowendar still have them split despite their both being red. You can see the contrast most easily when Naal struggles for control of her seed, but Khaless in Ver'drowendar disguise still has the telling Vel'akar eyes.

I can see what you mean. When the demon takes over fully, the entire eye turns red with a white ring or circle. So far I have only seen Discordia, Umpus and Naal with this feature. Sabrror and Laele may also have this. Snad and Zala does not have the fully red eyes (yet), so they probably still have thier original personalities.

Naal now have fully red eyes with a white ring, so her original personality (such as it was) is probably gone for good.

This Umpus guy from chapter 12 is the only intelligent demon in drow form we have seen, right? If there's one, there could be more out there.

[Hamilkar]

Well hello again,

I will not answer all counter points as I realized that this is quite difficult. If it is stated that they took over, and they are hiding it so good that nobody can realize this, than this theory can't be attacked by any counter argument! (Reminds me of the setting of most conspiracy theories, they are everywhere but nobody realizes it because of....)
Which doesn't mean I'll buy it because it's a matter of opinion what you believe. I admit it could be possible but this feels to me a little like overkill and they have been almost nothing in the comic to support that theory directly.

1) Back when Chrys returns to the Sharen fortress after escaping, we breifly see a Sharen soldier called Sabrror (I think). He is heavily tainted and does not seem to be able to speak other than grunts. He appears only semi-intelligent. He has a sealing armour on, presumably to keep the taint from taking over entirely. But I think that has already happend and the armour is there to lock the demon inside and not spread and cause havok.

Well this page you are referring to is from chapter nine, the last chapter that will be made new, because it don't fit to the rest of the storyline, for example Kiel's mother appears to be still alive in this chapter.
And I think Sabrror can talk, if he is the one heavy tainted in this page.

2) The taint is not a "vaccine", it is a seed that are ment to grow into a demon. It does not provide protection at all. It is a lie.

Which is true for the majority of the tainted drow according to Shasana. The question is does the demon take over when they still appear as drows OR will they take only over with quite obvious physical transformation of the body? That is actually the real important question, because if a demon takeover from tainting will always involve a quite dramatic body change, this theory is disproven. If not it's still a possibility only.

4) ...Who is Shasana again...?

Come on! She was quite recently in the comic and her information had a huge impact in the story. I mean the ancient dark elf, who 'invented' tainting, who taught everything she knew about that to Snadhya and was used to be headmistress of Orthorbbae, before Snadhya took over.


And now to Vaelia's path.

Well seems Vaelia will betray her people, again! (More bad karma)
What are highland raiders doing? Yes, they raid! What does raiding involve? Killing and plundering and maybe enslaving!

[Glass Mouse]

Come on! She was quite recently in the comic and her information had a huge impact in the story. I mean the ancient dark elf, who 'invented' tainting, who taught everything she knew about that to Snadhya and was used to be headmistress of Orthorbbae, before Snadhya took over.

Huh. I read on after Shasana's introduction and stumbled across this page. It kinda takes a new possible meaning after the discovery of Snad's freezer. Right?

[HandofShadows]

Huh. I read on after Shasana's introduction and stumbled across this page. It kinda takes a new possible meaning after the discovery of Snad's freezer. Right?

Interesting idea you have there.

[Ganurath]

Nah, she can't feel her body because Kha'less ate her, like she was trying to do to Lu starting with her arm. There weren't any drow'ussu in the freezer, and I think Chrys'tel or Shinae would have noticed if Kha'less was among the bodies present.

[Miklus]

I kind of liked the "invasion of demons from beyond" theory a la the movie called "They Live". But even I can't keep this together anymore.

OK, so it seems that Snad is running the whole thing. There must be two kinds of tainting, one for the Sharen family and one for everyone else. The Sharen type will be safe (I suspect that Chrys has the good kind and Shinae does not). The rest will be demonic footsoldiers. Or maybe Snad has included the two other sisters bloodlines in the footsolders just to get rid of them?

Meanwhile, the Vol'rez will summon the big bad demon. Then it's "night of the living demons" all over the place. Aren't the Vel'roz utterly destroying their own clan in doing this? For that matter, aren't the Sharen doing the same? There is only going to be a handfull of people left.

Who gets to control the demon army anyway? Snad...or Kharla...or the big demon?


As for todays page...Vaelia seems unimpressed with that guys fighting skills...Bob Saget would be proud.

[Glass Mouse]

Meanwhile, the Vol'rez will summon the big bad demon. Then it's "night of the living demons" all over the place. Aren't the Vel'roz utterly destroying their own clan in doing this? For that matter, aren't the Sharen doing the same? There is only going to be a handfull of people left.

The Vloz'res (or Vol'rez or whatever) are trying to summon the demon and let Karla devour it. Apparantly, she's able to do that.
This means that it won't be "big bad demon on the loose" but "ultra-über-powerful Karla... whom we control".
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

When it comes to the Snad and the Sharen, yeah... they are pretty much destroying most people in Orthobbae - and using those destroyed people to kill their opposition.
I don't think it is without merit when Shasana said that "[Snad's] foolish bid for power will destroy her."

[HandofShadows]

Meanwhile, the Vol'rez will summon the big bad demon. Then it's "night of the living demons" all over the place. Aren't the Vel'roz utterly destroying their own clan in doing this? For that matter, aren't the Sharen doing the same? There is only going to be a handfull of people left.

The demon that some of the Vol'rez want to summon will be able to contol people IIRC. If you can control the demon and Karla.

Also there is the Jaaldarya. They now have their hands on a bioweapon that can kill most anyone Drow gets infected. That is three very dangerous WMD's that can be unleashed on Chel.

And don't forget mini Diva. When she stops being so mini and gets even 1/3 of her old mana level back she is going to be a Person of Mass Destruction with all the old knowledge she now has (Not that she wasn't powerfull before). That makes four MWD's. And those are just the ones we KNOW of.

And just in time for the holiday Season the Drowtales version of the Nutcraker!!

[Ganurath]

OK, so it seems that Snad is running the whole thing. There must be two kinds of tainting,

So far, correct.

one for the Sharen family and one for everyone else. The Sharen type will be safe (I suspect that Chrys has the good kind and Shinae does not). The rest will be demonic footsoldiers. Or maybe Snad has included the two other sisters bloodlines in the footsolders just to get rid of them?

Incorrect. The two types of tainting are accidental and deliberate. The deliberate tainting is the one that the Vel'Sharen use, which is presumed to be safe but according to Shas'ana is going to backfire in a few decades, 25-50 years. Considering that about 20 years have already passed, if not more, things are going to get hairy fast. Perhaps the teacher who went glutton and tainted Naal is the first victim?

Meanwhile, the Vol'rez will summon the big bad demon. Then it's "night of the living demons" all over the place. Aren't the Vel'roz utterly destroying their own clan in doing this? For that matter, aren't the Sharen doing the same? There is only going to be a handfull of people left.

The clan was just a tool for Sene'kha to get the resources to perform the summoning. With Sene'kha dead, thwarting the summoning is just a matter of killing and/or converting those who were once loyal to Sene'kha. Now, the Vloz'ress are being taken over by Kiel, thanks to her crazy awesome plan.

Who gets to control the demon army anyway? Snad...or Kharla...or the big demon?

Nobody, as there will not be a demon army. If anything, there will be a demon swarm as the tainted lose control of themselves, which will prompt a crusade from the Kyorl'solenurn. I honestly think that the clan with the best odds of surviving tainting are the Vloz'ress. They were never about trying to beat or control demons, they just wanted to be ready for them due to their return being inevitable.

[HandofShadows]

So far, correct.
Incorrect. The two types of tainting are accidental and deliberate. The deliberate tainting is the one that the Vel'Sharen use, which is presumed to be safe but according to Shas'ana is going to backfire in a few decades, 25-50 years. Considering that about 20 years have already passed, if not more, things are going to get hairy fast. Perhaps the teacher who went glutton and tainted Naal is the first victim?

There is a way to make the taint safe though. It was described as "The seed (demon seed) must be crushed." I have not got a real good idea how that would be done though. Shas didn't give any specifics on how it works.

Fruit?

[Kiroth6]

If those rocks are all amber, they would be extremely valuable by human standards as well. I wonder why the village would think otherwise.

[Ganurath]

There is a way to make the taint safe though. Shas didn't give any specifics on how it works.

Exactly. She didn't give any specifics on how it works to anyone. That includes Snad and friends.

As for the sap, between its reactivity with mana and how much the villagers were able to muster in such a short timeframe, I imagine it's a more abundant variety of sap that comes from a mana plant. Basically, she got a bunch of magic syrup.

[Kiroth6]

If it was still in liquid sap form, it wouldn't be solid enough for him to hold in his hands like that. Note he asks what kind of stone it is. Amber takes a while to fossilize. Even though you can speed up the process, pieces of that size and clarity are extremely rare.

[HandofShadows]

If it was still in liquid sap form, it wouldn't be solid enough for him to hold in his hands like that. Note he asks what kind of stone it is. Amber takes a while to fossilize. Even though you can speed up the process, pieces of that size and clarity are extremely rare.

The people on the Drowtales forum had a long talk about this. That stuff is almost certainly some sort of resin.

And we have the cover page of the next chapter. Kiel may have gone over the edge and kept right on going.

[Hamilkar]

If those rocks are all amber, they would be extremely valuable by human standards as well. I wonder why the village would think otherwise.

If they have plenty supply of this stuff it can no longer be considered a luxury good by them. I recently heard that in Spain during Hannibal's times, the land produced so much silver that it was exported like crazy and the general population still did use pots and cups out of silver in daily life, because silver was so easy available. Also in history there were quite different standards how humanity did see the worth of something. Gold for example was seen as pretty by the Inkas so they collected it to decorate buildings. For the Spanish Conquistadors it was a matter of life and death. They were willing to do anything to get in possession of as much gold as possible, much to the Inkas (and Aztecs) dismay.

Incorrect. The two types of tainting are accidental and deliberate. The deliberate tainting is the one that the Vel'Sharen use, which is presumed to be safe but according to Shas'ana is going to backfire in a few decades, 25-50 years. Considering that about 20 years have already passed, if not more, things are going to get hairy fast. Perhaps the teacher who went glutton and tainted Naal is the first victim?

Well to be precise, there are three types of tainting then. Accidental, deliberate unsave and deliberate save because Shasana said herself, that there are some tainted to be saved whom been shown the true way. I expect she is referring to the higher up Nidraa'chal members with that. At least Snadhya must used a more safer tainting for herself, if she is not completely insane.

Exactly. She didn't give any specifics on how it works to anyone. That includes Snad and friends.

Who are then the selected few safely tainted if not some of Snadhyas underlings?

The clan was just a tool for Sene'kha to get the resources to perform the summoning. With Sene'kha dead, thwarting the summoning is just a matter of killing and/or converting those who were once loyal to Sene'kha. Now, the Vloz'ress are being taken over by Kiel, thanks to her crazy awesome plan.
Nobody, as there will not be a demon army.

Seems you were right here, when I look to the recent awesome chapter 28 cover. Kiel will surely cause some stir in the Vloz'ress when she tries to take them over. And Ariel will have to wait for her re-appearance a bit longer it seems.

[Ganurath]

Who are then the selected few safely tainted if not some of Snadhyas underlings?

Judging by the side stories, I'm guessing a few male slaves that were test subjects who are being kept aside for observation. Assuming they weren't executed, that is. So, functionally, just Shas'ana.

However, the Vloz'ress may have come up with their own alternative, judging by the lastest cover:

Vel'akar Demon: Two sections: Red within white.
Ver'drowendar Tainted: Three sections: Red within red within white.
Masked Kiel'nadia: Four sections: Red within red within red within white.

[HandofShadows]

Hey, that's not nice Kiel. We didn't do anything!

[Glass Mouse]

Hey, that's not nice Kiel. We didn't do anything!

Huh. For a moment there, I actually felt bad. I mean, I didn't do anything, but hanging around and watching her cry isn't exactly nice, either.

Meta-aware characters are always kinda weird to me.

[HandofShadows]

Meta-aware characters are always kinda weird to me.

Kiel is only aware that there is someone out there not who or what. Or she THINKS that someone is out there. Kharla is one one that probably has a lot more awarness seeing as her "dolls" have Earth type cloths.

[Hamilkar]

Meta-aware characters are always kinda weird to me.

Heh! At least Kiel can't hurt us physically!

What Kiel now needs is some stupid Vloz'ress which makes fun of her. Kiel is now into a dangerous metal state. I expect her to leash out to anyone who annoys her. Taking the cover into consideration it will apparently half of the Vloz'ress clan, who has to suffer.