Rune

Page three. Justin knocks Rune’s sword out of his hand, knocking him off balance so much that he falls backward.

Unfortunately, this early in the comic, the reader probably can’t get the full implication of this action. Rune and Justin are master swordsmen, so much so that they’re using real blades while practicing.

Justin is teaching Rune a lesson – that his infatuation with Jalina is putting him in danger. If he wasn’t distracted and angry, Rune would have easily blocked Justin’s blow.

Justin’s prediction foreshadows Arklomene’s curse and ties in with his later comment about how he didn’t expect Jalina to be the one wielding the blade. I call these “stitches” – two disparate points in the story that reinforce each other, making the whole work cohesive. When writing, I will frequently think of small details to add in earlier to make a stitch. That’s why I need to write something completely before posting it in installments. I certainly rewrite and make changes as I go, but I need to know where the story is going to get a satisfying amount of setup and payoff to plots, themes, and characters.

A note about the art: I never found a technique that I liked for the motion lines. I drew them in Photoshop, trying various brushes and effects. I used them sparingly for that reason, but in the first panel I wanted to convey that the sword was sweeping in a very fast arc, and a motion line seemed the best way to do that.