One thing that I found really fun to work with in terms of the dialogue between Hani and Edwin is that it’s essentially on two completely different levels, refering completely different people and events, and yet still somehow manages to meet in the middle. VanCleef manages to hit the mark through a combination of luck and genre savvy (in spite of misinterpreting his own role), and Foonmall just reacts.
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Beyond the Tree, the Misadventures of Hani and Tiny 
Unless he’s about to hit another mark pretty darn quick he’s screwed. That said, part of me doesn’t think you should kill Cleefy off.
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Also, the way the two completely different situations meet in the middle is disquietingly eerie, but somewhat fairly amusing. Although I would question Hani’s intelligence if she is genuinely misinterpreting him as talking about ‘them folk from across the sea’, considering the chances that Edwin would have a flying clue about that lot are nil – and he doesn’t, hence why he’s misinterpreting his own role I guess.
With his talking he hit a weak spot by chance and if he doesn’t stop talking (which he is not able to i bet *g*) he is going to overstretch (? – do you say it this way in english?) it. The more he is talking the more he will show that he is just guessing. I hope Hani’s anger doesn’t make her blind for recognising that. On the other hand, when she is thinking he is affronting Tyrande, her anger may is rising that strong that even a cool headed VC couldn’t stand against it. Time for going scared VC!
This is honestly how I’d see VanCleef, He fights useing words and swords, hes like a double edged blade. He’ll try to find a weakness and then start attacking at it until he gets the advantage.
You’ve made him so awesome that I dont want to see him get killed off, but at the same time, I know it must be( if your following lore), I love looking forward to reading these everyweek :D
Extremely entertaining final act of the Deadmines chain of events here, Hani. This certainly was worth all the wait for it. You’ve managed to flesh out a great, but often overlooked, nemesis from the Warcraft lore. Van’Cleef almost seems to be fueling his own desire to fight Hani in this desperate final stand; what he says hits home for himself as well. Loving every frame; I can just picture Hani stalling a half-second between each new rage-induced attack as VC tries to keep drilling that nail of doubt home. In every way I imagine such a rogue would fight. Bravo, Hani, and keep up the great work you provide to us.
Xel
I think Van’Cleef is pressing Hani’s buttons in ways he’s not intending. He couldn’t know anything about her relationship with Tyrande, but instead assumes she’s just a pawn working for the alliance. My understanding of Hani is that she’s not entirely sure why she’s pressing on and choosing the direction she has, it almost seems like she’s fallen into these circumstances. Moreover, she certainly seems like the ‘soldier type’, who doesn’t really consider what they do, so much as the job gets done.
Van’Cleef is probably causing reason to question in Hani, and maybe hitting her where she’s her weakest.
I think you’re on the right track. Van Cleef seems to be both planting seeds of doubt and intentionally getting her into a state of fury. An angry opponent tends to be a less methodical one, a more reckless one. If she’s too reckless she may expose a weakness or a fault to be exploited.
Brilliant work.
VC needs to work on his ‘yo momma’ jokes :/
This just got very existential in its personification/anthropomorphism of Hani’s Confidence and Paranoia. Dave Lister would be proud.
Cha-cha-cha.
This is off topic, but was anyone else annoyed by Michael Sacco’s (wow.com’s lore guy) assertion that night elves are bumbling incompetents who have destroyed everything they’ve touched? http://www.wow.com/2010/08/24/ask-a-faction-leader-open-call-volume-2/ Cause I was. Especially given a lack of, “orcs are shortsighted toolbags”.
Grr. I’ll be in the Angry Dome.
I found it quite humorous. It’s clearly done in good fun. I play two different Night Elves. And really, except for Arthas and Deathwing, they pretty much are the reason for alot of Azeroth’s troubles.
To make a random aside here, actually; one thing that’s amused me is that people will always blame the Night elves for the sundering.. but never the high (or blood) elves. There’s an amazing irony in that.
That said, I don’t really take anything lore-ish from wow.com that seriously; I have a friend who keeps exclaiming annoyances about bias, and it’s ultimately the same place that in full seriousness tried to “explain” how Elune would be a Naaru.
Quite.
I read something on that too. Never took too much out of it tho. If Elune WAS a Naaru, you’d think she would have stuck around n guided the Night Elves a little more directly.
I remember haveing to correct my friend on that topic once, and how the Night Elves and High Elves were different at the time.
If Elune were a Naaru though you might think the elves would be more on the Light rather than Nature, but remember that Naaru and beings of the Light itself and Elune is belived to be a Deity of life. But all in all, it is questionable, Deitys come and help every now and then when they see if somethings wrong, and Naaru and dimension-travlers, so either one, she couldnt stick around forever.
The thing to consider though is that the neither High or Blood Elves existed at the time of the Sundering. So, how can you blame them for something that happened when their respective races had no hand in it?
Now the High Borne, the ones who’d evolve into the High Elves, they were present, but it’s probably more apt to see them as a social caste within Night Elven society and it’s that splintering within their society which helped contribute to what would become the Sundering.
Think about it.
Following the Sundering, the Night elves were essentially divided up into three separate groups.
First we have the fallen – the Naga and the Satyr, those who willingly conspired and followed through all the way. The ones that are truly to blame for the Sundering, but tends to go unblamed.
Second we have the exiles, those who wisened up enough to realize what Azshara and her ilk were up to and how bad it would be, but who refused to put aside the thing that had effectively just torn the world in half, and eventually went to become the High elves and Blood elves.
Thirdly, we have the present day Night elves who were comprised largely of the innocent and the repentant who had to deal with the whole mess and try to sort out the pieces after the sundering.
What you’re essentially saying is that it’s wrong to blame the children of the unrepentant and the guilty (which is a fair point), but at the same time it’s perfectly fine to blame the innocent and the repentant.
I’m sorry, but I don’t buy that.
Vancleef does take all the dirt out of Nhani’s soul and throws it back at her, he’s fighting her on a mental, emotional and physical level.
I hope Van cleef win :< Never seen him this bad ass before.
Nah, he’s totally getting pwn’t for all that stuff. We know what happened to the archdruid.
Haha, does this mean VanCleef is more powerful than the Archdruid? Cause we all know Hani one-shot him :P Shes just that epic.
Why is it that modern fantasy always translates power into actual combat-prowess these days. Just because you’re powerful (in the real sense, which is to say influental) doesn’t mean you’re an invincible combatant. The archdruid is a increadibly powerful man and a very skilled druid, but he’s no more difficult to kill or knock out than any other of us (especially when taken completely by surprise, like he was).
Same thing applies to Van Cleef, Gryan Stoutmantle or anyone else. They may be extremely powerful, respected and/or feared individuals, but they’re just as mortal as the rest of us. All it takes is one good (or bad, if one is one the recieving end) hit and it’s all over.
Vancleef is not more powerful than the archdruid, he’s just way better at reading and manipulating Hani (and you know… not surprised).
It’s actually a rather valid point, and one I was keen to pick up on when I was on the recieving end of an attack recently. I mean…Paladin, now a Sergeant, one of the regular faces around Stormwind these days (when I feel in the mood to put him there) and he can get overwhelmed when three ‘normal’ people hound him to the ground and starts pummeling the life out of him. I had him get away from it with a broken leg in the end (primarily because, after the break, the leader told the others to leg it…no pun intended, honestly) but it’s an example of no matter how epic you may appear you are still as mortal as everyone else.
Bear in mind we are talking about a guy who handled a possessed Death Knight and beat her down into submission. And actually wrestled with another at one point.
I know, I was just makeing a joke ealier, but honestly I agree with you, and also another great thing about these comics is that everyone is used into a real world type thing, no matter how powerful someone may be, a simple surprize hit can knock them out just as good as if they were fighting for hours and were finaly bested. Its amazeing reading these every week and seeing how much more ‘free’ than WoW
Damn.. he just dissed on Tyrande Whisperwind didn’t he? This is gonna hurt.
*Looks at title. Yes that music Is fitting for what’s going on here. This one Does tend to ramble on like Kefka did.