Heads gonna roll

Hopefully not the foxes

Off, off, off, off, off, off with your head!
Dance, dance 'till you're dead!

Yup

Dang!!!!!!

Yeah, you go ahead and do that. See what happens.

The plot thickens!

Poor Farin and Sekk'ral they both deserve better than this. They deserve the chance to be happy and live their lives the way they want. I fear not only losing Farin but also their relationship forever changing. They are so happy together with each other and now with everything I worry it will all change if they find a way to get out. How I keep praying for a happy ending where they both can live out their lives together.

Exactly. How can you stay in a romance with someone that failed to protect you from such devious thugs, that were initially looking for him! I agree that Farin should seriously consider breaking up with Sekk'ral if he somehow manages to get out alive.

No, he wouldn't know, but he would be certainly be suspicious.

And that would be enough.

With all that is going on, even if whatever that is were to happen, sekk'ral would certainly suspect this nasty little general had something to do with it. And sekk'ral left even before he met farin, so anything happening to him wouldn't make him right back to his clan. This would certainly enrage him quite a lot, and he would have the general's head, by his own hands that's for sure. And even if this happened, and if he never found out, i really doubt he'd return to the clan either way. So this "plan" of his would not end well, if it were to. Also, i do remember seeing on one of the english pages of the comic a bit ago, GS saying something about chapter 5 & the story of how sekk'ral's parents met, so i doubt this would be the end, and i don't think he'd make the comic end up like that, though the pages have all been done for this chapter. Here's hoping that the story does not end up going a tragic way, that really would be just awful. But we shall indeed see what happens in the coming months, been invested in this comic for some years now, and will certainly still be for the whole way.

Not only your heads, the prince will out of control.

those guys are even dumber than we could imagine...

Vrekkias' flop sweat indicates he's the weak link in this scheme.

Yes, Vrekkias is competent and unwilling, and yet K'horr is willing but incompetent. I wonder which will prove more dangerous to Ra'ghalek's evil intentions.

Did I call it? I had a feeling about Vrekkias cause of his sparkling innocent eyes!

HAHA!!! I never even considered Vrekkias having a 'tender innocence' or 'boyhood elegance' in his eyes before. On his driver's license, under the 'eyes' section, it must say "KIND." Ya know, kind eyes. Heh.

We could perhaps confront the author with your theory, if Vrekkias was designed with a slightly more friendly gaze than the other dragon warriors, you got some pretty good evidence for it so far. Being correct about Vrekkias trying to stop Ra'ghalek from killing Farin, even if it was simply to protect his own head from Sekk'ral's revenge.

I see that this action will lead to a war with itself again. I can hardly believe the Sekk'ral that will just let it go.

Some green ass face is about to look like tomato pulp in a near future xD

Ra'ghalek: "Sekk'ral will never know what truly happend here..."
Me: OH Really?! He'd cut your head off so you couldn't even speak!
To everyone: We'll see what happens next.

I can say one thing for certain: the general certainly is despicable.

Jesus Christ

Oh he will after what he did...

Still saying Vrekkias will turn and help Sekk'rai at some point.

Edit: Just noticed Vrekkias and Farin have nearly identical eyes. Neat :)

Oscar! Why hasn't our author won an Oscar yet? The staging of this scene is simply gorgeous. The battle of wits between the two dragons, one wanting to kill Farrin and the other not, is truly realistic. I know the blue dragon is on the fox's side, it's clearly visible, he doesn't want to be an assassin and tries to convey that to his boss, who is blinded by revenge against the prince. He respects Rag, but he also understands that even if the reason for Farrin's death remains a mystery to Sekk, the prince will still tear the palace to pieces. Gem, I don't know how you do it, but I'll tell you what I've told you a million times: you're a master director! You direct each scene with such genius and describe the characters in such a way that we, as an audience, don't want to take our eyes off the reading. I even love that you didn't end everything at the very first chapter, because that would have been too easy. Instead, you took it and expanded the plot to a scale that even Hollywood couldn't dream of such narrative twists! Gem, you're good, you're just a genius, I'm glad you're giving us something REALLY brilliant and profound in nature than just a story about a fox meeting a dragon and doing what he did in the first chapter, and that's saying a lot. I know your work is very hard, so I say: we're all with you! And we wish you continued creative success. And yes: this graphic novel WILL be in my collection when it's finished and you've posted all the pages. That will be my appreciation to you. I respect you as a person, as a creator. We all respect you! And we will support you always.
I apologize for such a long comment, but I wanted to put ALL the gratitude that overwhelms me here. Good luck to you, and may your story end the way you want it to. Sometimes I feel like you listen to our comments, that you see us discussing the story, but I don't want to try to influence what you write. It's YOUR story, YOUR novel, and it's not up to us to decide how it should end. We can only speculate, and the way you surprise us in terms of storytelling is worthy of respect. All the best to you, my favourite author and best friend.

Hell yeah, man! Preach it, brother! Testify! My Mate is on another level when it comes to furry graphic novels. The art style is also very endearing, beautiful, believable and down-to-earth. Farin truly looks the role of a young wayward fox, inexperienced in the ways of romance and just discovering his sexuality. Ra'ghalek plays an excellent villain, with rippling muscles and a masterfully crafted, sinister appearance. The shifting moral and political dynamics of Sekk'ral's responsibilities to himself and to his role as a prince, to avoid war, all hangs in the balance with Farin's life. The themes of peer pressure, sexual discovery, personal responsibility, misguided authority figures and inter-clan politics are all rolled into one giant literary enchilada of orgasmic phantasmagoria.

I wholeheartedly agree that if the furry art world had an awards ceremony, My Mate would certainly win, hands down, for best furry graphic novel. I knew as soon as I finished chapter 1 that this wandering youth of an artist from Argentina had concocted something innocently spectacular, the stuff of myth, even. Dearly, dearly, sincerely, special.

Your comment was a delicacy to read, Wertyda456. I indulged with each line, as if every sentence was dipped in cocaine.

A line in "Shadowlands" about C.S. Lewis says it best: "We read to know we're not alone."

Whoa! That's whole lotta high praise! Thanks, man! I'm always glad to hear people are enjoying my humble comic! ^_^

You deserve those words. Not everyone can come up with the way you did. This comic really is like a movie. And it opens very unexpectedly. At first you think, "Oh, it's just another story about interspecies intimacy," and then a waterfall of everything that could have been put together here comes pouring out at you, it's been said before. And I'm not going back on my word: it's a masterpiece story. I'm sure it will all come to a good finale, but it's a long way off. So good luck, and rest assured that if this comic is turned into a film, it'll win more awards than you can count.

TBH this is a much-needed breath of fresh air in terms of Furry Comics. Most NSFW furry anything typically has the main characters boning three pages in, running on horny lust and nutter butter spreading over two moist buns prolonged over the remaining 85 percent of the comic.

The drama, backstory, character personalities, and development, I haven't seen or followed a comic like this since The Golden Week.

you have some sense in your head Vrekkias. Use it! You know this order will be going too far!

Vrekkias may realise that the general is mad with thirst for revenge, but how will he convince him not to kill Farrin? A disobedient subordinate would be killed along with his prisoner. And we don't know if the king really didn't order the killing of someone his son loved, perhaps he said so offscreen, but we aren't shown that. And then, the general can deceive the prince by showing him Farrin's bloody bandage (it was mentioned in the comments) and it will upset Sekk, so much so that he will destroy everything he gets his hands on.

Killing Farin is all the Generals own thinking. Vrekkias seems to be the fastest out of the 3, speedster like him is helpful as an ally if anything.

The main thing is not to let the general realise that Vrekkias had already made a choice in favour of the one they stole the second time around... Wouldn't want the Farrin to be left without allies. After all, we don't know if the priest will appear again.

I agree, the author should be given an Oscar for such a plot. I confess, when I looked at the first few pages, I thought it was going to be another story about a fox cub meeting a dragon and them making *ahem* love, or roughly speaking, sex. And frankly, I put it on hold. But now I can clearly see that our Gem (if the author allows himself to be called that) has created a story so serious that it is impossible to tear yourself away from it. Seriously, I'm proud to say that this novel doesn't roll off the tongue, it feels like a film, like a movie. All the scripted moves are masterfully crafted, as if the author had studied to be a director and is now trying his hand at the comic book industry. I look forward to seeing what the author has in store for us each Monday. And he delights us by managing to both give us hope for a happy ending and, at the same time, to think that perhaps things will end in a darker way. Gem never gives us a chance to guess the plot, he does something every time that gives you, as a reader, goosebumps.
Now for what might happen. The General can wound Farrin, wet the fox's loincloth with his own fox blood and then hand it to Sekk. That's how he can trick the prince and then kill the boy for real. But that's just my guess. The author may be planning to do things a little differently.

Thank you! I'm certainly trying my best! ^_^

I think he is a bit Stupid what would he tell Sekk'ral why he died.
I mean he needs tell him he is Dead and i am sorry Sekk'ral would never belive that he just droped dead
he would know they Killed him.

And that’s how your Prince permanently leaves and never returns after slaying the lot of you.

Shout out to ShadowEveSong who correctly guessed that Vrekkias might actually try to help Farin in some capacity! Although Vrekkias has only apparently briefly spoken to Ra'ghalek, and has only done so out of concern for his own well-being, Vrekkias has indeed called into question if killing Farin is in everyone's best interests. Although Vrekkias does not have any other ideas on how to deal with the young fox, Farin will need to take all the help he will get at this point.

But Ra'ghalek seems to have an actual, shadowy plot in hand. He isn't going to just straight up kill Farin and leave his corpse in the middle of broad daylight. He has to make it look like an accident, or create a false impression that will exonerate the 3 of them from any suspicions. But will Sekk'ral really fall for such a scheme...? Sekk'ral is many things, but he isn't stupid. He knows Ra'ghalek is a total a-hole, and will not hesitate to do something evil if he thinks it will help his cause.

Some parts of Ra'ghalek's intentions are likely aimed at getting revenge on Sekk'ral. Ra'gahlek likely thinks that Sekk'ral is a weak prince and undeserving of his role as heir to the throne. Furthermore, Ra'ghalek likely also feels that Sekk'ral is overall just not suitable to be a dragon, since he cherishes life and respects all those around him, and has a very peaceful demeanor. The War General could see this as an offensive, puny lifestyle, and wants to punish him for behaving in a way that is not congruent with their culture.

I hope Vrekkias steps up to the plate and becomes more helpful to Farin, or perhaps maybe K'horr will screw up one of the phases of the plan and the whole thing will unravel, with Farin's life intact. Still, this has to be the absolute worst moment of Farin's life right here, hearing these 3 hostile, powerful dragons discuss the various ways in which they are going to kill him, while also keeping it a secret. I think he would instantly trade this experience for being in the tree jail any day of the week.

I agree with you, mate. I also believe that Rug wanted to be Sekk's lover himself in order to seize power. But then an obstacle appears in the form of Farrin, whom the evil general wants to eliminate. And I think he doesn't care about the King's orders. Hate is a dangerous thing... And I'm sure Rag will pay for his atrocities. And Vrekk will become Farrin's best friend and will be able to protect him, even at the cost of his life. As will Sekk, in fact.

Indeed, indeed, I have been wondering for the longest time where Ra'ghalek stands on the sexual orientation compass. We have not been given any hints to be honest, the author is being very tight lipped about what relationship Ra'ghalek might have with Sekk'ral in the past, if any.

It does appear to be the case that Sekk'ral is one of the very few dragons capable of harnessing and containing his hatred, if he experiences any at all in the first place. Most other dragons out there, The King, General Ra'ghalek, K'horr, they all thrive on pure, undistilled, unadulterated anger and insanity. Only Sekk'ral and the earlier dragon priest that was visiting with Farin seem to be inoculated against their species' internal vitriol.

Vrekkias does seem to be the least willing participant in Ra'gahlek's shadowy undertaking, with the assassination plot against Farin. Only time will tell how far Vrekkias is willing to go to save Farin, perhaps only because he is afraid for his own life, should Sekk'ral discover that Farin was murdered.

> "I think he would instantly trade this experience for being in the tree jail any day of the week."

Heh, you're right! At least in the prison-tree there were no dragons plotting his demise! :P

YES! I would take a sad Farin over a dead Farin any day, as I'm sure Sekk'ral would as well. Although, a crying Farin in the dead of night, holed up in the tree jail, this too is unacceptable. The power of his love must manifest soon and help him escape from this nightmare of an existence. Otherwise, what is the point of finding a mate? If you can't be with them other than a brief, early period? Or, if you must constantly undergo threats to your physical existence?

The one question I would love to ask Farin right now is if he thinks it was worth it to be with Sekk'ral for the time they had, only to be thrown down on the ground, entirely at Ra'ghalek's mercy...

Although, his one question for the world would be "Where?! Where are you Sekk'ral...?? Don't you love me...? Why haven't you saved me yet...!!"

That's a tough question to ask, and I'm sure he thought he would never need to ask it.

It's the eyes I tell you! The eyes are the window to the soul!

Vrekkias, to me, is a mediator, doesn't like unnecessary conflict if it can be avoided but is unsure of how to go about things after committing to them. I'm going to go back out on a limb and say that Vrekkias will need help himself to foil the plans of the other dragons in the clan and that help would most likely come from the priest dragon who was setting with Farin when he was initially captured. (EA - Hidden tunnel in a wall, trap door to the mountainside)

Chubby Dragon duder is more for thuggy fluffer, typical middle school bully type. No brains and will do as he's told without question to those he sees as higher ranking.

Ra'ghalek is the brains, cunning and always thinking ahead and taking his job too seriously. He reeks of the once soft-hearted whelping growing up, forced to endure a lot of hardships too early in youth and it's made him bitter. Could be seen as or even himself as an underdog and will do literally anything to get the superior's approval. Typically characters like this do things for marks, bounty, or cause it gives them short-lived pleasure.

What a clever ranking of Ra'ghalek and his minions! Certainly, exceptionally well done. I do agree for sure that K'horr is a middle school bully, he moves with the silky precision of a crab and allows his masculine girth do the talking for him. Brains in his direction are not seen very often.

Vrekkias is definitely less bloodthirsty than Ra'ghalek or K'horr. Perhaps this allows him to have a cooler mind, more open to intelligence and consideration of the future with some good impulse control. I wonder, he also has a less muscular frame, could he have a lower naturally occurring testosterone production that would cause this discrepancy? At least, compared to K'horr and Ra'ghalek. Maybe Vrekkias is like Sekk'ral somewhat, not as bad as Ra'ghalek or K'horr for instance, but not yet as gracious and compassionate as Sekk'ral. He might be more of a fusion of minds between Ra'ghalek and Sekk'ral, but not as buff, heh.

Yes... what to do with General Ra'ghalek. That piece of mountainous eye candy, the curves of a true barbarian that one. I also want to know more about his past, I think GeminiSaint said before somewhere that the audience would get a chance to glimpse into the hidden mysteries surrounding the friendship circle of these 3, and why they travel together specifically. It might be a chapter or so away from where we are now, though.

You really think Ra'ghalek used to be kind hearted, maybe? I wonder... we would have to go WAY back, although we did get a page in which Sekk'ral was showed to us as a kid. Only one page, though. I think that would be a cute addition to the novel, though. Kid Ra'ghalek and his early upbringing.

Make it happen, dear author!

I am sure that Farin will be protected one way or another. Heck, I would not be surprised if one of the General's minions will stand up to him. Or maybe even the Priest will come by and make sure that Farin is protected. >=(

The suspense is killing me

Again, assuming the prince is going to CARE. Your gonna die. Everyone within 100 paces of you is gonna die. Hell the prince may accept his fathers command solely on the condition that he get revenge just to make SURE your gonna die. He is a prince, you are a general. One is royalty, the other is a valuable pawn. You do not have nearly as much protection as you think you do.

Also, he, that is, the general, did not deserve her. If he only dares touch Farrin, that's it: all the dragons can be collected in different parts of the kingdom (of course no one will touch the priest, he helped the fox and his husband) piece by piece. Or ashes from their burned bodies.

:S

Maybe I am wrong but I doubt K'horr gave them any instructions to kill him

Hu ho.. I sense that he will try to blame the King.. the king will be killed by Sekk'ral and thus This General can claim the throne???

Damn this is getting dark.

Farin must live he must we don’t want a love story go to a blood bath and I think Vrekkias sense a Presence of the love that Serrkal has for him

I wished my OC could join in stop this madness.

why to i have the feeling this is gonne end in a dragon civil war

ah, raggie d. . . . .


. . . . .you'd better manage to come up with a superb plan that somehow leaves you-lot unimpeachable



though, even if you do somehow pull this off: wouldn't sekk'ral hold you responsible, if only indirectly, regardless — for your precipitating the circumstances which facilitated the death of his little foxy boy?

---

indeed: farin was right to be fearful

he, as an innocent bystander, who simply happened to be in the right place at the wrong time

Exactly, you said it perfectly. Sekk'ral would surely know something was linked between Farin's supposed future death, and Ra'ghalek's involvement. Sekk'ral has made it well proclaimed that he doesn't underestimate Ra'ghalek's intentions, never giving him the benefit of the doubt. I really wonder what happened between those two, early on. That made each of them hate each other so much, Ra'ghalek might be the only dragon that Sekk'ral truly hates. But, I can understand that Ra'ghalek hates Sekk'ral because he doesn't seem him as a true prince or dragon, he's too kind hearted and lacks the typical arrogance that is expected of drake.

hey there gt






ra'ghalek's just one of those typical, standard-issue psychopathic sociopaths — individuals like him don't really need a (good) reason to be hateful little shits

---

two things:

1.) yeah

"bloodline," and all that..
..but at the end of the day, who gives a shit about that?

what does that fuckin' matter¿


if sekk'ral doesn't want to deal with the royalty bullshit, while ra'ghalek (seemingly) does, then just let that fucker be the prince — and be done with it

a leader is what's needed

not window dressing — which, functionally, is all sekk'ral would be



1a.) maybe not an ideal scenario / compromise, but it's never necessary to personally make the sex together to sire some heirs

the end goal is producing offspring
not "consummating the act"

(what's the point of compelling someone to be in a marriage / role they'll be miserable with for the rest of their days, just to "keep up appearances" for other people who don't even fuckin' matter?)


all you need is the semen

most sexually-inclined men will masturbate (and "waste seed") at least once a month
or, they'll fuck around with someone else they'd rather "be" with

in the latter case, the "other person" simply knowing their partner is royalty and is making a compromise to fulfill their "royal obligation" should suffice the majority of the time, as for why the "errant royal" isn't handling their ejaculation in a "traditional" manner at that particular junction



for sekk'ral (and anyone else in his position)..
..i might consider "supplying some batches" just to shut them up and get them out of his scales



2.) i was, GT, digging raggie-d more back when he was appearing to be an Affable Villain; i had some hopes for him but ra'ghalek´s obviously long-since devolved

he lost me the first time he bullied some old man who was obviously only at 3/47th his own strength




for some reason..
..he still won't face sekk'ral head-on

is this because The King would have his head if he deigns even lay a finger on sekk'ral?

because he doesn't want to cause an international incident?

?

but, aren't k'horr, vrekkias, and ra'ghalek, each, all from the three other clans?
i thought?

Oh absolutely, Ra'ghalek is a deranged maniac, many times over. His body may be easy to look at, but his behavior is brutal to watch unfold. It does seem to be in his personality profile to be a selfish, arrogant, demonic bastard. All this thuggish chaos comes completely naturally to him, which means there is little chance of ever correcting it or stopping it.

I agree that the King should just disown Sekk'ral and adopt someone else as his son, that would make things a lot more simple. This new prince could get married off to Z'meera, and hopefully that would be enough to satisfy the peace treaty. Unless, the treaty calls for a 'first born' son or something of biological origin, then it wouldn't work.

I originally thought Ra'ghalek could just get adopted as the prince, but seeing as how insane he really is, I think this would be very counter-intuitive. Just imagine the kind of havoc he might wreck when he becomes King. Including destroying the fox village, for no other reason that his personal self-satisfaction.

Yes, Sekk'ral would sadly be miserable in such an arraigned marriage with Z'meera. Although he hasn't even met her yet apparently, his revealed sexuality and deep love for Farin would make such a marriage with a dragoness impossible. Even if it was a princess. Although, many others have commented that Sekk'ral should try to find a way to bring in Farin to such a relationship 'on the side'. Which may be the only plausible compromise at this point.

Yeah, the other problem is Sekk'ral won't leave any heirs likely, even if he does marry Z'meera, since he likely wouldn't be attracted to her sexually. Unless he agreed to do it for some political reason, then that would be a whole new part of the story perhaps, following Sekk'ral's children into the future and what they end up doing with their inherited kingdom.

You know, I completely agree with your sentiments on how Ra'ghalek is now so scary as a villain that his appeal to the audience has been divided somewhat. I used to also like him a lot more when he just a beefy, body-building drake who just happened to be in command. But now that he's pimp-smacked Aldus, and is trying to get Farin caught on fire, I fear I must also cast away some of my fondness for his mystique. Oh well, I can still remember the good times!

Good use of 3/47th as the likely fraction of strength between Aldus and Ra'ghalek, seems pretty accurate! I'm not sure on the heritage of the other three dragons, perhaps they did originate from other clans, but migrated to the Southern Clan. Maybe we will get some closure on this question in the future.

But, the ultimate cliffhanger for a chapter would be the start or end of a fight with Sekk'ral and Ra'ghalek! Especially if Sekk'ral seems to be mortally wounded. The audience would be forced to believe that Sekk'ral's death would be immanent, and would be worried about it all through the break between chapters!

this is some food for thought, i reckon


tl;dr — we aren't living in an ideal world..
..and, probably, never shall


the suggestions / compromises i offered up last week were nice and all; but...

...we sapient folk get ourselves into some rather.. ..silly, unnecessary predicaments, for unnecessary, silly reasons — don't we, gt?
we've.. ..an affinity for this, you could say

for flouting reason

(we employ our reasoning faculties, perhaps, only 3 out of 47,000 times
on average)





raggie d does not seem wont to engage sekkie.. ..though maybe the king will now grant him permission to engage his errant foe?
perhaps, leading to the scenario you laid out

for which, maybe, farin can become the Unexpected Hero
to save his big, hulking, drake

---

as far as leaving heirs go: again
who gives a shit?
just make some alternative arrangements and be done with it
´ain't no point in keeping around a royal who may very well be wont to sabotage operations from within

perhaps the damage sekk'ral would levy, in 2 days, may be even greater than anything a prince raggie d might ever manage in 2 decades

Indeed, as tragic as it is, Farin is certainly NOT living in an ideal world. His life is now a living hell, thanks to his chance encounter at the river. Only he could tell you if it was worth it or not, when the dust all settles. But perhaps that's what makes his adventure worthy of a graphic novel, the constant friction of his desire versus what he is actually able to get.

Raggie D', being the violent thug that he is, could always shrug his muscular shoulders and proclaim "Hey, I'm just following orders! Exactly what my King told me to do, nothin' wrong with that..." Of course we know how morally depraved his behavior really is, but he won't face any legal jurisdiction because of his choices. That's another shameful tragedy to add to the pile. The only reason The General doesn't want to 'wrastle' with Sekk'ral is the possible punishment coming down from the crown for harming the prince. If he could somehow get around that, then for sure, he would throw down and have some mud slingin' with Ole' Sekkie'.

Hah, that's a very interesting theory you have there about Sekk'ral and his willingness to cause havoc and destruction a thousand fold compared to what Ra'ghalek would do if he was prince. If Farin was killed, I mean. That might set Sekk'ral off into a Super Saiyan Broly type of situation. And there's no walking back from that... Would be a very 'Nuclear Armageddon' type of ending for the story, wouldn't you think?

Oh my god oh my god I can't hold it -I faint-

Farin, no...!

Not the fox! He's innocent in all this!

What a freak! Isn't even brave enough to face the consequences of his action!

The comic is great and I love following it. I also use it to learn Spanish!

There’s no POSSIBLE way that he wouldnt IMMEDIATELY know they were responsible. They could show him a suicide note in farins handwriting, and he wouldn’t believe it for a split second. I don’t want to say that it’s not a well thought out situation to write, but there just has to be more to it that we don’t know yet, cause they would NEVER be stupid enough to think this could EVER work.