Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, Mk. XLIV: Stunt Bro and Hella Jayden

[AgentofOdd]

There Are Four Dominics!
Seriously, this counting book is messed up (Future Link)

I'm wonder how Mookie will explain how a prophet with a half assed message about the nature of the world ended up becoming a revered figure. I heard better lines from drunken sessions debating Star Trek.

[Trazoi]

I'm wonder how Mookie will explain how a prophet with a half assed message about the nature of the world ended up becoming a revered figure. I heard better lines from drunken sessions debating Star Trek.

I'd like to believe Luana's trolling Dominic until he wises up and hands the trinket over to a Luanian capable of a proper theological discussion.

[Acanous]

Oh man, if Luana trolls Dominic like I troll Starcraft 2, we're in for a long, painfully funny arc now.

[random11]

From the newspost:

These out-of-panel visions are a blast. I hope you folks enjoy them as much as I do.

No we don't!
It's just the same info-dump, but restricted to less speech balloons, therefore MUCH slower.

Although I don't think Dominic enjoys the ominous tone of this larger-than-life vision.

Dominic probably doesn't enjoy anyone who appears larger than him in a vision.

[Acanous]

yeah, but usually when someone is bigger than Dom in the mindscape, he gets even bigger shortly after.

[Oracle_Hunter]

You're a bit too quick to jump. The legend is Luana is the First Seer because she saw a vision of God. This fits: first she was Luana Croft and discovered ancient ruins and learned their secrets, then she became a seer so she could have a squiz at the head honcho upstairs.

Became a Seer how? She was the First -- there wasn't anyone else to teach her. Heck, all the other Seers popped into existence the same day so what did Luana do aside from steal some Ancient Wisdom for her own?

Oh yeah, she stole an intensely valuable bracelet and claimed it was her all along. She didn't even mention that this city existed to anyone!

[NEO|Phyte]

Became a Seer how? She was the First -- there wasn't anyone else to teach her. Heck, all the other Seers popped into existence the same day so what did Luana do aside from steal some Ancient Wisdom for her own?

Oh yeah, she stole an intensely valuable bracelet and claimed it was her all along. She didn't even mention that this city existed to anyone!

Seers aren't mages that go around scrying (Don't recall if there was a term for this), seers are the ones that get random visions. She was tomb raiding, found the whatsit, BAM, vision of God.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Seers aren't mages that go around scrying (Don't recall if there was a term for this), seers are the ones that get random visions. She was tomb raiding, found the whatsit, BAM, vision of God.

Actually, Seers are mages who go around using Second Sight. You'd think people who get Visions would get a special name but because Visions are uncontrollable it is entirely possible that you would not even need to be trained in magic to get them. This makes Dominic doubly weird because he gets Visions all the freakin' time and rarely even uses his Second Sight anymore

[Nerd-o-rama]

I think the timeline goes something like:

1) Luana goes to Eldariat for treasure or whatever
2) Luana discovers Ancient Wisdom
3) Ancient Wisdom gives Luana the Very First Vision (at the same time it gives one to several other people all over the world) of Heaven, which blinds her and inspires her to become a prophet.

Yes?

[random11]

I think the timeline goes something like:

1) Luana goes to Eldariat for treasure or whatever
2) Luana discovers Ancient Wisdom
3) Ancient Wisdom gives Luana the Very First Vision (at the same time it gives one to several other people all over the world) of Heaven, which blinds her and inspires her to become a prophet.

Yes?

Or she got the first vision with the other seers, and THEN went to the desert because of a vision, leading her to the ruins and the necklace.
I don't think the timeline was set anywhere.

If only there was an arc dedicated for world building with a focus on the religion...

[Trazoi]

Became a Seer how? She was the First -- there wasn't anyone else to teach her. Heck, all the other Seers popped into existence the same day so what did Luana do aside from steal some Ancient Wisdom for her own?

To be fair, we know hardly anything about Luana or what she did so there could be a reasonable explanation for this. At least theoretically. All I'm saying is you're jumping the gun. We can all see the Luana backstory has primed that gun, cocked that gun, and is aiming said gun squarely at its foot - but it hasn't fired yet. Give it another day or two.

Edit: Well, at least for the "this should have been covered in the Luanian religion building arc" part. Really sucks for Jayden that she doesn't get to meet her prophet; she really needs the faith boost. Guess it's her fault for not being a Deegan.

Oh yeah, she stole an intensely valuable bracelet and claimed it was her all along. She didn't even mention that this city existed to anyone!

Judging by the outfit, Luana looks to be quite well off. She's DD's Buddha. She a Callanian princess.

[Mr. McGician]

Well, at least for the "this should have been covered in the Luanian religion building arc" part. Really sucks for Jayden that she doesn't get to meet her prophet; she really needs the faith boost. Guess it's her fault for not being a Deegan.

This has been bothering me too. Why is it that Dominic, who has never displayed any interest in Luanism, or religion in general, the one who gets this special amazing vision? What about all those priests who have studied Luanism their whole lives? I guess they're just not good enough.

Or maybe Luanism has diverged from Luana's original message and thus a non-Luanist is the safest person to carry this forgotten wisdom.

Actually, looking at this comic again, I think I can make a guess: Luana discovered the words and founded a religion based on what she thought they meant. Then later on, she discovered their true meaning but died before she could tell anyone. Now she has the chance to deliver the real message, and she picks a non-Luanist to tell it to because a Luanist probably wouldn't believe it.

[Myrdhale]

Or she got the first vision with the other seers, and THEN went to the desert because of a vision, leading her to the ruins and the necklace.
I don't think the timeline was set anywhere.

If only there was an arc dedicated for world building with a focus on the religion...

Remember people, she died right after these words!

[Nerd-o-rama]

Or she got the first vision with the other seers, and THEN went to the desert because of a vision, leading her to the ruins and the necklace.
I don't think the timeline was set anywhere.

If only there was an arc dedicated for world building with a focus on the religion...

She saw a vision of God, so I'm assuming it was inspired by the text talking about God's face and whatnot. Just a guess, admittedly.

[Traab]

This has been bothering me too. Why is it that Dominic, who has never displayed any interest in Luanism, or religion in general, the one who gets this special amazing vision? What about all those priests who have studied Luanism their whole lives? I guess they're just not good enough.

Or maybe Luanism has diverged from Luana's original message and thus a non-Luanist is the safest person to carry this forgotten wisdom.

Actually, looking at this comic again, I think I can make a guess: Luana discovered the words and founded a religion based on what she thought they meant. Then later on, she discovered their true meaning but died before she could tell anyone. Now she has the chance to deliver the real message, and she picks a non-Luanist to tell it to because a Luanist probably wouldn't believe it.

Because none of those wonderful luananians are going to be central figures in this horrible travesty that is about to take place. I get the feeling luana is going to warn dom about the coming storm of souls and give him advice/aid/cryptic messages about how he-dom the mighty can save the day.

[Gez]

Remember people, she died right after these words!

Or merely became blind.

[random11]

Remember people, she died right after these words!

When she learned the truth about these words, not necessarily when she read them.

Isn't it amazing that it is a direct info dump of talking heads, and we STILL get almost no information?

[random11]

Or merely became blind.

I'll find it very strange that she is the main figure of an entire religion, but no one knew she was blind.

[NEO|Phyte]

Waitwaitwait.

Luana is blind.
King DJ is blind.
I think everyone can see where I'm going with this.

[Traab]

I'll find it very strange that she is the main figure of an entire religion, but no one knew she was blind.

They know the king is blind, so they dont feel the need to mention it every time they talk about him. Probably the same thing here. They can just say "the prophet luana" They dont have to say, "the prophet Luana, who is about 6 foot 4, 160 pounds, blond hair, walks with a slight limp, and is blind."

[random11]

They know the king is blind, so they dont feel the need to mention it every time they talk about him. Probably the same thing here. They can just say "the prophet luana" They dont have to say, "the prophet Luana, who is about 6 foot 4, 160 pounds, blond hair, walks with a slight limp, and is blind."

It seems like the kind of information the reader should get long before this event.
It's very bad story telling if all the characters know an important detail, but the readers have no idea about it.

If it's common knowledge, there were plenty of opportunities to supply it, like as a remark Jayden tells Stunt, or as a religious quote like "she was blind, but saw everything".
Not every piece of information has to come as a "twist".

[Traab]

It seems like the kind of information the reader should get long before this event.
It's very bad story telling if all the characters know an important detail, but the readers have no idea about it.

If it's common knowledge, there were plenty of opportunities to supply it, like as a remark Jayden tells Stunt, or as a religious quote like "she was blind, but saw everything".
Not every piece of information has to come as a "twist".

True, I thought of that myself as I was rereading my post. I was thinking back to see if anything of the sort had ever been mentioned before. Even perhaps a picture of her with a bandage across her eyes or whatever and realized there wasnt really even a hint till now.

[Welf]

Oh man, I had forgotten about the eggs. They're probably going to figure into this somehow. Probably King DJ is after them because of their amazing power.

It seems like the kind of information the reader should get long before this event.
It's very bad story telling if all the characters know an important detail, but the readers have no idea about it.

If it's common knowledge, there were plenty of opportunities to supply it, like as a remark Jayden tells Stunt, or as a religious quote like "she was blind, but saw everything".
Not every piece of information has to come as a "twist".

Maybe kind DJ is Luana? And the creepy alterism that turned her into an evil orphaned elected politician can only be countered with Luna's Wonder Eggs?

[rocketpony]

This has been bothering me too. Why is it that Dominic, who has never displayed any interest in Luanism, or religion in general, the one who gets this special amazing vision? What about all those priests who have studied Luanism their whole lives? I guess they're just not good enough.

We don't actually know that! Heck, seeing the prophet could be like literally the most trivial part of the whole faith. We, uh, we don't know these things.
THINGS WE KNOW ABOUT LUANAISM

Spoiler

Show

• They like somebody called "Luana"
• Despite suspiciously monotheistic language, they are pantheistic.
• "Faith rituals" which work by setting science.
• Literally everbody loves them.
• Luanians aren't big on elaborate design. (which makes the prophet here even more hilarious)

No, the big thing here, remember, is that good people go to Heaven, and as soon as you go to Heaven you self-destruct. What are we to conclude? That Miranda Deegan, who is a Deegan I might remind you, was somehow wrong about something, or that the dominant setting religion (of which Dominic is not a strong adherent) is founded entirely on lies, and their beloved prophet is either trapped in a twisting limbo (WITH NIMMEL!?), or the burning fields of Hell itself? WHO CAN SAY?

[Oracle_Hunter]

No, the big thing here, remember, is that good people go to Heaven, and as soon as you go to Heaven you self-destruct. What are we to conclude? That Miranda Deegan, who is a Deegan I might remind you, was somehow wrong about something, or that the dominant setting religion (of which Dominic is not a strong adherent) is founded entirely on lies, and their beloved prophet is either trapped in a twisting limbo (WITH NIMMEL!?), or the burning fields of Hell itself? WHO CAN SAY?

Oh, that's a good one

I'm saying either:
(a) She selflessly trapped her soul in her favorite bling sometime after dropping it in the Lost City, leaving said city to establish her religion, and returning to the desert TO DIE. She did this in case there was a Big Problem that required a Deegan to solve.

(b) This is a time-traveling Vision, from when Luana was alive. Dominic has had them before

[Traab]

Oh, that's a good one

I'm saying either:
(a) She selflessly trapped her soul in her favorite bling sometime after dropping it in the Lost City, leaving said city to establish her religion, and returning to the desert TO DIE. She did this in case there was a Big Problem that required a Deegan to solve.

(b) This is a time-traveling Vision, from when Luana was alive. Dominic has had them before

Im thinking a combo, its a chunk of her soul, attached to the necklace so she can give her vision to the ultra seer who will solve all problems forever.

[Barefoot Monkey]

No, the big thing here, remember, is that good people go to Heaven, and as soon as you go to Heaven you self-destruct.

No, not as soon as you go to Heaven. When you reach the point that you're no longer clinging to existence and you're ready to let go of your identity - then you explode. This results in reincarnation as someone completely new or possibly as a tree.

Incidentally, I notice that Lok Tar Klo Tark didn't explode when his soul "died".

[random11]

This has been bothering me too. Why is it that Dominic, who has never displayed any interest in Luanism, or religion in general, the one who gets this special amazing vision? What about all those priests who have studied Luanism their whole lives? I guess they're just not good enough.

Just a guess, but since "the face of god is the heart of magic", maybe the religious power isn't about faith, but about magical power, especially powers of seer since that's the same power Luana had.

Of course, that contradicts Jayden's temporary fall from the denouncing her faith, but that was like, yesterday, now it's a new rule.

Maybe kind DJ is Luana? And the creepy alterism that turned her into an evil orphaned elected politician can only be countered with Luna's Wonder Eggs?

It can be a week from today, or even a month, but mark my words - there will come a time that we are all going to wish that this was the answer.

[Trazoi]

Dominic screws up once again.
Future Link: "Curse you Nike, you have bested me again!"

Summary:

Luana: Important treasure is important. That's all I have to say. Ta.
Stunt: Do you mind? I've a mission to complete.
Dom: No. I'm Top Deegan and your mission is over.
My Little Sauron: Target aquired.
Rilian: I'm surrounded by idiots.

[random11]

Dominic screws up once again.
Future Link: "Curse you Nike, you have bested me again!"

Summary:

Luana: Important treasure is important. That's all I have to say. Ta.
Stunt: Do you mind? I've a mission to complete.
Dom: No. I'm Top Deegan and your mission is over.
My Little Sauron: Target aquired.
Rilian: I'm surrounded by idiots.

So we wasted four days of our lives for more or less this:
"I am Luana, I come in a vision long after my death to tell you this important thing: keep doing what you intended to do anyway"

Stunt still cares more about other stuff than the quest.
At least this time it makes sense though since it's a long time friend, and he DOES want to avoid responsibility in this mission.

I wonder if anyone in town will remember they need to arrest Stunt since he was exiled.

Oh, and I don't know who is watching, but I guess that should teach Dominic a lesson about remaining in his house with zero protection when he is chased by at least a king who is also an arch-mage, and the beast (he isn't aware of the others yet, but aren't these two enough?)