AWW.... So cute.... I'm going to cry now. Seriously, this is one of the most touching moments.... Well why, why did the king forget his own words when his son decided to marry the fox instead of the princess?

The King is doing his duty as the "heart" of his clan. It's Sekk'ral that's forgotten these words when he entered into self-exile and gave up his position. King Dragon is still doing everything he can to protect his people - it's Sekk'ral who only selfishly cares for only one person and not for his clan.

And here we have it, the ultimate dillema that sire William Shakespear himself covered, the questionability of love and its niche naive and unstable nature, on one hand lies duty that's crude, cold and logical and on the other is a concept that can only be described as completely pathologically whimsy, the penultimate dillema of every tragic story, shall the hero accept their own selfish nature and live for what THEY desire, or will they sacrifice their own heart and do what's better for the greater whole, and what makes me so bloody angry, why it always has to come up to a choice, why can't a compromise be made, and the simple answer I so painfully desire to deny is, it's sometimes impossible to make a compromise, even if one searches beyond the seven seas and seven mountains and goes to the very edge of the world, the answer is, there is no choice, as both paths lead to doom, despair in its truest of forms, an endless pit with no way to crawl out without the help of a miracle, we can only surf the vortex of despair so long till we have to face what we dread the most, ourselves and our own nature, as wholesome as this scene may be, it also shows the duality of everything, on one hand we are told that our health is that which matters the most, on the other the world demands us to sacrifice our health in order to enhance it for others and we constantly are forced in these situations, forced to chose a side, I've grown sick of having to choose and having to see others be forced to choose between a rock and a hard place, it's why I've been "hating" on this comic for like 10 or so pages but why I also keep comming back, to see what's going to happen, thus the sentence I shall now say, you can recognize a great author or artist, if they can make you feel deeply conected to their art and by far Gemini is one of the best I've ever met, even if I am bitter it's not bitterness meant to hurt, despite my full knowledge that it may given the situation and sounding of the sentences I make.

A hero will sacrifice you for the world

But

A villain would kill the world for you

Holy shit!!! That was an amazing literary analysis! And brutally honest inner soul searching! You totally nailed it, man. I agree wholeheartedly that GeminiSaint is an absolute sorcerer when it comes to creating engaging characters to lure you into his universe. I told him once, every time you put pencil to paper, you are doing more than drawing, you are casting a spell.

If his work can elicit such an overwhelming response from a reader such as what you just posted, then it is further proof of his growing mastery of the industry.

It does seem impossible for Sekk'ral's father to offer any compromise. He cannot fulfill the war treaty and have Sekk'ral marry Z'merra without also alienating his own son's wishes to instead lead a quiet life with his fox boyfriend. Only time will tell what ultimately happens. If the end has a halo of sunlight, or a scorched wasteland of nuclear radiation.

ZuxunGold, the emotional catharsis in your critique was extremely powerful. I am very proud of you for unleashing this hurricane of purely correct and ethical rhetoric. You totally blew me away! I was never expecting that! Very poetic usage of beyond the 'seven seas' and 'seven mountains', 'surf the vortex'! Deeply entertaining, looking forward to more! Really killer effort, loved it, man.

Rock on, ZuxunGold!

“Where there is no hope, it is incumbent on us to invent it.” - Albert Camus

I preffer to say that where there is no hope, there is despair, and from within despair, new hope is born

That´s how I see perservearance

Very well, fair enough! Well met ZuxunGold!

Perhaps human tenacity is a rainbow with no ending, after all. The light cannot exist without the dark. Only in the blackness of night can we see the stars

All that I can say is, well said

"...I have a pure hearth... but a deep rage has awoken a primal power inside of me..." ... Super Sekk´ral incomming.

Thats what sekkral has been doing this whole time.

Wow this is a father son moment, also he was right he followed his dragon heart

Yeah. Except the father, because of all the events, forgot that he was teaching it to his son. Good thing Sekk reminded him of that 21 pages ago.

I disagree. The King notes that Sekk'ral will become the heart of his clan. The heart gives life. By refusing his arranged political marriage, he does the opposite of giving life to his clan. Indeed, he dooms his clan to death, and wishes to abdicate the throne. If your heart decides to do what Sekk'ral did and abandon you, then you probably wouldn't be happy about that, would you? I'm still firmly on the side of the King here. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made for the good of the whole, and as Prince, your comfy life prior to this is more than recompense for this paltry sacrifice.

Until GeminiSaint outright tells us that it's impossible for Sekk'ral AS KING to have a concubine on the side of his arranged political marriage (something seen numerous times in history), it's hard to see why he's so opposed to it, to the point of potentially starting war and entering into a self-imposed exile. At this point, the only thing I'd accept is that Dragon mating is similar to Preying Mantis or Black Widow sex - great for the female, but doesn't end well for the male. At least then, he's weighing his decisions against his very life so a bit of selfishness is to be expected and can be reasonably excused.

Farin and King train during the break.
King: My boy, aren't you tired?
Farin: No, Dad, I'm fine. I have to be in shape when it's time to show me on stage
King: You're a very good fox, Farin. I'm so proud that my son chose you.
Farin: Come on, why are you embarrassing me?
King: Don't lie, you like it.
Farin: A little bit. But you're nice too. You taught my husband everything a dragon should be able to do.
King: But I separated you. Farin, what if my staff killed you?
Farin: Daddy... Don't share the pelt of an unkilled bear. The fans will wait for the moment when we tell them what they want.
King: Farin... my sweet boy.... (hugs him and cries)
Farin (soothingly stroking the king on the back): Daddy... why are you crying? I'm fine. I love you.
King: And I love you too. But when I think of all the pain you've endured...
Farin: Never mind. I'm not angry.
King: Farin, as your father-in-law and second father, I won't let anyone hurt you. By the way, where is my grandson?
Farin: Sekk took him home. The boy needs to rest. Our little protector. He's been working very hard.
King: I agree. I promise he'll get his moment of glory at the award ceremony.

Aww this is a nice little BTS dialogue. I love how the king and Farin are doing a training session and now Farin and Sekk'ral are fathers to a child. I bet the princess of the West Clan Z'meera is their Surrogate mother and gave birth to the first ever Fox/Dragon Hybrid. Now that sounds like a fun piece to draw!

Or maybe they adopted him. Until there is a full picture, I can only write notes like this. But I'm glad you like it. I hadn't really planned to continue, but I decided to do so later on. There will be a new piece today.

All lessons that the king apparently 'forgot' in the present time. facepalm

But, I'm pretty sure that once Sekk'ral knows what those three did to Farin, I doubt he will let his heart do the thinking.

Ok, so we're doing this now....
So thats why you beat the crap out of your son. Because he followed his heart.....wait, that doesnt add up!

He was so good back at this point....wonder what happened :(

Kind of contradicts the image that has been created about dragons so far. Interesting.

It makes you wonder when it all went so wrong.

Since almost everybody will undoubtedly comment on the characters, I would like to focus on the scenery. ^^
I really like the balcony/main entrance of the dragon clan's castle/den. It's obvious that only a creature that can fly will be able to enter or reach it. But the first panel gives us a very nice impression of the grand scale and size of that thing. I really like that balcony-styled entrance... it reminds me a bit of a flight carrier or (to go back to some well known comics/Mangas) "God's palace" from "Dragonball"!!! ^^
It really has some floating, divine, majestic touch to it.
Also, I like how the rock texture was drawn - simple, yet effective.
^^

Haha yeah, you know what, I never would have thought about the floating palace where Kirin from Dragon Ball was hanging out, but you're right. The curvature of the archway, the door frame style, it reminds me of that place from Dragon Ball. Good call, man.

I wonder if there are other entrances as well? It would seem the southern dragon clan would be pretty Spartan in personality if there was no entrance for elder dragons that cannot fly anymore, or for children that have not yet learned to fly. I wouldn't put it past these barbarians lol.

I'm pretty sure that there's also something like a lower entrance with a "staircase" of some kind. ^^ After all, the younglings might not be able to fly yet... and they also need some way inside... except... except if the parents grab them and fly them around!!!
XD
I think the parents would rather carry the kids and that's it. ^^"

BUT your point about the elder dragons also makes sense... I doubt that they would be forced to stay inside for the rest of their lives!
XD

I have to be honest, Young Sekk'ral is just adorable. We have been treated to two different flashbacks that show him as a kid, and the scenes are just totally solid and very entertaining to read about. I wish we could get the same treatment for Farin, all we have at this point is a display of him as a baby fox pulling on Aldus' beard, which was indeed quite poignant.

Though, we also had the time in which Farin was shown to be helping Surin that one time he got injured back in the day, that was a cool scene as well. Luckily Author GeminiSaint is willing to feed us, the baby chicks of his audience, with enough backstory feed-pebbles to satisfy our curiosity.

The thing is that it's by following his heart he finally managed to strike a blow to his father during his duel... His father may have flaws, he is wise too.

This is such a sweet moment between those two.

Practice what you preach your highness

Okay but am I the only one who thought the strongest muscle was...

<3

Damn, young Sekk'ral is just too cute. Especially those puppy dog anime eyes in the middle right panel, I... I find myself transfixed... I know I can see the universe in his gaze if I look deep enough... The ethos of youthful hope mixed with the tragedy of childhood ignorance. Sekk'ral was always a force of nature to be reckoned with, and the warmness of his personality, even during his elementary school days, is still all too powerful.

I still can't get over how Daddy looks aged and slightly wrinkled, as if the past 15 years (or so roughly) have not significantly made him look any older than he already did, back then, during that sky side chat on the castle balcony. Maybe we don't give Daddy enough credit for trying to run an entire country. Right now, he is teetering on the edge of soft-core villain and possible supporting character to Team Farin. Really, you have to admire GeminiSaint for developing the character to walk such a fine line, like the tight rope of a spider's silky thread. Bravo, sir.

I need to ask, are we inside the memories of Daddy? Or is it Sekk'ral who is thinking back unconsciously to this timeframe, while his mind is all jelly from being pummeled into the ground by Daddy himself? Or even further, is the author simply showing us this scene because it is critical to the audiences' understanding for oncoming future theatrics?

The bitter irony is that Daddy might not be taking his own advice. Trusting your heart, that is exactly what Sekk'ral was already doing. But what happens if 'trusting your heart' turns two dragons against each other and causes a brutal duel?

What then, Daddy? Do you already have your answer? As your son lays bleeding on the floor?

Gothic... Well done as always! I didn't write extensively last time, but... You did a great job, as always! Indeed, the king may have forgotten what he taught his son. And when Sekk left home, it was the beginning of his anger for his father. I'm always happy to see your comments here. You're right, there's more than a bond of friendship between us. We're like two brothers already. I'm grateful to you for supporting me. I'm happy to support you too, buddy. I so wish I had followed the comic when it first came out. I stumbled across it, but I'm just now realizing how cool it is. And even though a lot of people say this comic book is going the wrong way, I disagree. Gemini is just good, drawing a new page every week is incredibly difficult. And I respect him as someone who doesn't give up on his novel for a minute. I lacked stamina in my time, and Gemini has it. Gothic, I'm really glad I met you, glad to have your support. I hope to see you next Monday in the pages of this novel. We'll get to the end of this novel together!

It's great how art can bring people together... aye?

Yes, sir

Indeed, exactly as we have discussed before, burning the midnight oil. Although it is true we are complete strangers, from opposite sides of the world, we share a bond thicker than that of family. We belong to the My Mate Groupies, and as such have entered into a sacred brotherhood which will define the rest of our days on this island called Earth.

We follow Farin and his band wherever they go. My Mate world tour! The journey may be long and fraught with tragedy, but we persevere none-the-less, listening to the siren song of Farin and Sekk'ral's forbidden romance.

Though, it is also true that Farin's subjection to K'horr's fatal bear attack is by far the most controversial thing that has happened so far in this graphic novel. But thankfully, I had your stalwart shoulder to lean on when it happened. I could barely pick myself up off the floor after reading that page....

It's a promise. Let's make it to the end, together. Whatever happens, we'll see it through.

(young:sekk has farin's eyes
{so, i reckon, these two were destined — irrespective

Haha. It seems they have more in common than was initially realized. I have a feeling that other parts of Farin's anatomy will be shown to be compatible with Sekk'ral's body. These things take time, though.

Still waiting on that Ra'gahlek magazine centerfold, though. Alas, my dreams will wait another year...

🤔.....

you reckon, GT?

Haha. If I ever come into possession of such a dazzling headliner like that, you'll be the first to know, Don Masic.

It's honestly hard to believe that such a kind king could rule over such brutish dragons.

Not all of them are brutish, as evidenced by the Priest existing! ;)

cutting onions ever here

Sekk'ral is essentially, born into slavery with what some say. He is not allowed to have his own life, would end up being unhappy & even miserable because he is restricted to just that life of "royalty", and cannot live his own life. Even if he did become king, was made to go ahead with that purely political, arranged marriage, he could end up being an unhappy miserable king in a loveless, forced marriage. Which might even lead to him making poor decisions, because he was forced into a life he had no control over, born as a prince, which pretty much translates into being a slave, as he cannot have his own life, cannot go out on his own at all. A life sentence of which he has no choice over at all. Born without the kind of freedom he'd want, to live his own life. Sacrifice any kind of freedom to do what is right perhaps, but it'd be a miserable existence for him, never really living the life he'd want to because of the royalty he were born into. Which can sum up many royal lines from many ages ago, some are fine with those duties, but not all would want that. And thus, they'd forever be unhappy, knowing they are not allowed to live their own life, but are born into a prison. Born into the chains of something they have no control over, and must sacrifice their whole lives because of this. Might be the "right thing" in some cases, but one should be able to actually live a good life, instead of just existing.

Indeed, being denied the right to choose your own romantic partner is pretty damn cruel. Which would result in the "loveless, forced marriage" as you mention. Further, the audience could liberally interpret these 'chains' to represent sexuality as well, since it is something we are all born with and have no choice over. A dark master that we are forever condemned to serve...

So the fox is dead now?

Sure talk about muscles to your jacked up little kid.

i look forward to finding out what, exactly—at some point in the intervening years—came to corrupt count draykula's heart, to what it is

Gosh, I can hardly wait to learn more about the clan and the state it is in. 8D
And why Sekk's refusal to honour an arranged marriage is such a blow to the clan and why his dad continues to hammer at him to continue with said marriage.

There is so much we do not know yet, but all shall be revealed. 8D

(Though, I do hope Farin won't be dead anytime soon... ;n; That'd be the worst thing to do tbh. >.<; )