Line #160 Webcomic/Aurora2019


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6edd967d_f293_4c3d_b424_41cc7c940d2f.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Our heroes]] -- L-R: [[ChronicHeroSyndrome Kendal]], [[LittleBitBeastly Falst]], [[SquishyWizard Erin]] [[DemonicPossession Ruunaser]], and [[GreenThumb Alinua]]. Not pictured: [[ChromeChampion Tess]] and [[EmpoweredBadassNormal Dainix]]]]
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4	''Aurora'' is an ongoing [[HighFantasy High]] {{Fantasy}} webcomic started in April 2019, written and illustrated by Red of [[WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions Overly Sarcastic Productions]]. The story begins when an entity known as the Collector steals the soul of the god Vash and departs with it. However, Vash’s body is not ready to die and somehow develops an entirely new consciousness. This unique being, who eventually names himself Kendal, finds aid and friendship in Alinua, an elf who has spent the last ten years living as a hermit and struggling to control her dangerous magic. The two of them set out to rescue Vash's soul, gathering more allies - and more problems - along the way.
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6	As of New Year's Day 2024, the second arc has begun with a short interlude. It is updated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
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8	The webcomic can be found [[https://comicaurora.com/ here]]; a mirror also exists on Tumblr, [[https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/654546833938497537/intro-ch1-p1-7 here]], as a backup in case of site difficulties. The official Twitter account (run by Red) can be found [[https://twitter.com/AuroraWebcomic here]]. If you want to talk about the comic, you can go to the [[https://discord.gg/hJMABqSz9z discord]] or the [[https://www.reddit.com/r/AuroraComic/ subreddit]]. Additionally, a fandub ([[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr9IVB6eSJ6Yqm8nsAqKg3g here]]) was planned, but canceled after a few chapters were recorded. Other forms of media with a similar name can be found [[{{Main/Aurora}} here]].
9	----
10	!!''Aurora'' contains examples of
11	* AlienSky: The nighttime sky contains two moons: a blueish-white moon called Shield and a slightly smaller red moon called Sword. The stars also regularly move and change positions.
12	* AllThereInTheManual: The website has a collection of "extra lore" pages that provide additional details about the setting from the POV of the Aseran Academy. Most of the details have since been revealed in-story, but there are a few that are yet to come into play, such as the existence of [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting "unstable"]] and [[VoluntaryShapeshifting "shifter"]] ferin in addition to "hybrid" ferin like Falst.
13	* AltText: Every page has one, usually Red making snarky comments about her own work. A few notable ones...
14	** The [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/0-1-1/ very first page]] shows [[VisualTitleDrop a colorful aurora]] across the night sky, lampshaded in the AltText:
15	---> ohhhh, THAT'S why it's called "aurora"
16	** [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-1-24/ 1.1.24]]:
17	--->vash: JUST FOLLOW THE SOUND OF MY TORTURED SOUL ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED MILES UNDERGROUND. YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN [=YOUUUUUuuuuu=]
18	** [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-2-13/ 1.2.13]]:
19	--->magical hazmat suits are my favorite fantasyland thing
20	** [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-2-17/ 1.2.17]]:
21	--->awhaaat? inviting the mysterious stranger to join you on your quest? unprecedented! unheard of! the fantasy genre has never seen anything like it!
22	** [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-10-32/ 1.10.32]]:
23	--->[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons old god yells at cloud]]
24	** In general, Red is also fond of stating that [[BlatantLies everything is fine]] in the AltText of pages in which the party is facing some sort of peril.
25	* AlternateCalendar: Explained in detail on the comic site [[https://comicaurora.com/the-calendar/ here]], but the short of it is that the Aurora world's years are 380 days long, divided into 28-day months/[[CallARabbitASmeerp sindahlans]] with three extra days before the next year. The beginning of each sindahlan is marked with a FictionalHoliday that honors one of the conceptual gods.
26	* AlwaysABiggerFish: Tynan is an impressively powerful [[ShockAndAwe storm god]], obliterating Zuurith's manifestation in a single blow and requiring the entire expanded party to keep him at bay. Even when [[TeenGenius Erin]] proves to be able to make headway against him and strike at his power source of the city's fear, he just turns into a [[ScaledUp dragon]] and forces him into a suicide attack that knocks him out. Unfortunately for him, knocking Erin unconscious lets [[spoiler:The Void Dragon]] take control of his body and he is NOT happy that Tynan has assumed his form.
27	--> '''Void Dragon:''' You have made a mistake, little god. [[ImpliedDeathThreat You will not make another]].
28	* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Humans are for the most part limited to real-life skin tones, but elementally-adapted populations can possess skin in multiple striking hues. Elves likewise tend to have colorful skin as a baseline trait, most often in sky-like colors such as blues, purples, and pale greys. As a consequence, even background characters have a wide variety of skin tones ranging through the whole color spectrum.
29	* AnatomyOfTheSoul: Rather than comprising the traditional parts, souls are made of soul energy, which "weaves" together into a more structured form. Generally, the greater the mind, the more complex the soul is, with plant souls having hardly any structure while gods' souls are virtually impossible to unravel.
30	* AndIMustScream: The people of Vash have to be released by him in order to cross into the afterlife. However, since the Collector has kidnapped him in order to dissect him, they are now trapped in the mountain that crushed the city.
31	* AndThenWhat: The argument that talks Falst out of his attempted prison break. Freeing these people when the only place for them to go is in to a city that hates them won’t actually help, nor would it fix the problems that created the prison in the first place.
32	* {{Animesque}}: The art style is somewhat reminiscent of anime and manga styles.
33	* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Most gods are these to specific areas or phenomena, such as a valley or city. There were also these for the six elements the world is based on, but they "died to create [the] world."
34	* AntiMagic
35	** Spelleaters are serpentine creatures that feed on ambient magic, hampering nearby mages' ability to cast spells. They're normally small and can't absorb much magic on their own, but ones grown to unnatural sizes with life magic can create sizable areas where magic simply doesn't work.
36	** Soul energy actively resists magical manipulation, which is why mages can't manipulate other people's bodies in this setting (ex: a stone mage can't shatter someone's bones). Notably, soulcrystal accumulates soul energy at a very fast rate, making it perfect for constructing protections like magic hazmat suits and mage prisons.
37	* ArtEvolution: While already quite pretty at its beginning, Aurora's art dramatically jumps up in quality around chapter 5 as the lineart and shading become smoother and more coherent. Other aspects like glow effects and backgrounds also grow more complex and detailed as the comic goes on.
38	* ArtShift
39	** The comic takes on a sketchier, simpler style when showing mythological events, like Tynan's original defeat or the formation of the Paladins.
40	** A different style with scratchy lines and coloring is used in Falst's backstory.
41	* AsYouKnow: During the fight against Doctor Jolon, he prefaces his exposition about Ferin with this.
42	-->'''Doctor Jolon:''' Let me tell you a story I'm sure you're familiar with.
43	* AshFace: On Tahraim's coaching, Dainix releases his pent-up anger in a huge scream and blast of fire. Tahraim, as a smith god, is left with only some ash and cinders on his face.
44	* AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption: While standing on the prison mountainside, Tess tries to warn Alinua and Falst about Tynan, pointing towards the clouds in the distance as she does so. Right at that moment, a prison guard appears from the same direction she's pointing towards and catches them.
45	-->'''Tess:''' But look, if you know where Erin is, you have to tell me.\
46	'''Falst:''' Oh yeah? Why?\
47	'''Tess, pointing towards the clouds:''' Because of that!\
48	'''Guard, [[spoiler:actually Caliban]]:''' HEY! You can't be up here! WE HAVE INTRUDERS!\
49	'''Tess:''' Oh, well, not THAT. It's another- You know what, never mind.
50	* AuraVision: When the Void Dragon looks at Alinua, instead of her physical body, he sees [[spoiler: Primordial Life]].
51	* BagOfHolding: [[{{Precursors}} The Ancients]] discovered a way to [[AlienGeometries fold space]], which they used to construct buildings and bags that were BiggerOnTheInside. Though the method has been lost by the story's time, a few bags of holding still exist, like Erin's satchel and the Vault entrusted to the Junior Archivist.
52	* BarbieDollAnatomy: [[ZigZaggingTrope ZigZagged]]. Shirtless male characters are drawn without nipples, but Alinua's chest is [[GodivaHair deliberately]] [[SceneryCensor hidden]].
53	* BarredFromTheAfterlife: The souls of the citizens of Vash-the-city can't be released until Vash-the-god formally releases them. As Vash is unavailable, that means they're all currently trapped in limbo screaming for help.
54	* BeneathTheEarth: The inside of the planet is riddled with caverns and tunnels, the remains of the Stone Primordial's circulatory system. They're also full of creatures that were once regular people or animals that were corrupted by a mysterious force that is implied to be [[spoiler:the Void Dragon's power.]]
55	* {{Biomanipulation}}: Life mages can encourage the growth of living things, which can be used for [[HealingHands healing]]. It is also possible to use life magic to create [[{{Mutants}} chimeras]], but doing so is forbidden.
56	* BlackoutBasement: A non-video game example appears in chapter 20. Falst and Dainix fall into an underground Ancient structure and must find their way out. They only have a small lacrima for light, as Dainix doesn't dare use fire for fear of [[StuffBlowingUp hitting a gas pocket]].
57	* BlessedWithSuck: The Chimeric Plague. Children with the plague are extraordinarily talented life mages, able to heal and encourage plant growth since birth. However, they always end up losing control of their power and explode into a wave of raw life energy, which both kills them and mutates into insanity anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast.
58	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The smith god Tahraim refuses to create weapon capable of taking a god's soul for the Collector, but only because "[he] was worried she's continue to stagnate if [he] gave her an easy shortcut to power".
59	* BluffTheImposter: Invoked. In Windscrest, Kendal asks the magistrate to ask him something only Vash could know to prove their connection.
60	* BreathWeapon
61	** Dragons are the most common users of this, with different varieties having different effects. For a few examples, a burrower wyrm's breath disintegrates stone, a crystal drake's breath causes rapid crystal growth, and a whispdragon's breath is a [[SuperScream sonic attack]].
62	** Magic can also be used this way by mages, with fire-breathers not being unheard of.
63	* BreatherEpisode: {{Zigzagged\|Trope}} with chapter 11. Most of the gang gets to relax while Kendal takes a nap, with Erin gently helping Alinua through some emotional turmoil and Falst having a quirky run-in with Tess. On the other hand, Kendal is experiencing a WhamEpisode, [[spoiler:as Vash [[DreamSpying brings in him to eavesdrop]] on the Collector, who turns out to have accidentally brought Primordial Life BackFromTheDead and is searching for a way to ''destroy all souls'' to free her]].
64	* BridalCarry: In the dungeon arc, Falst and Dainix do this to each other a few times:
65	** When the gas pocket explodes, Falst carries Dainix out of the way.
66	** When Falst is injured after the cave crawler fight, Dainix carries him out of the room.
67	* CallARabbitASmeerp: Weeks are referred to as sefs, and the 28-day months are called sindahlans.
68	* CapitalLettersAreMagic: Quite a few names of ancient or powerful things and beings are just capitalized words. The Storm, the Dragon, Life, the Caves, the Ancients, the Vault... The list goes on and on.
69	* ChekhovsGag: Before going to the Paladin archives, Erin explicitly tells Falst not to rip the fancy cape he's giving him; Falst only snarks in response. Come the next chapter (after Falst and Alinua have jumped off a mountain), we see [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-13-28/ Erin's look of sheer disappointment at his ripped cape]].
70	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Most of the protagonists have a variation of this, with Kendal as [[MartyrWithoutACause one end]] of the spectrum and Erin at [[ConscienceMakesYouGoBack the other]].
71	* ColorCodedElements: The six forms of elemental magic all have specific colors that appear in [[PowerGlows glow effects]] associated with active magic, [[PowerCrystal lacrimas]], and glowing eyes during magic use. These are green for life, [[YellowLightningBlueLightning yellow for lightning]], orange for fire, purple for wind, blue for water and pale jade green for stone.
72	* ColorCodedSpeech: Most people speak in regular white speech bubbles, but otherworldly beings like gods or the Collector, have speech bubbles in their color scheme. (Even though Vash speaks with a blue bubble, Kendal's speech bubble is an ordinary white.) Several exceptionally powerful entities, including the Void Dragon and Primordial Life, don't use bubbles at all, but rather large block letters.
73	* CoolBoat: Erin's academy friend Tarren gifts him one for the journey to Helm. The ship is the first in the world to be made of metal instead of wood, being transmuted and waterproofed to protect against rust, and it's equipped with wind and water lacrimas to continuously push it through the water at record-breaking speeds.
74	* CoolSword: Vash's sword Kendal (from which the character Kendal got his name) was forged by the smith god Tahraim after Vash defeated the storm god Tynan. It was forged from an ingot and a jewel that Vash had used to replace his right hand and eye, respectively, in the battle against Tynan. The jewel at the hilt glows the same color as Vash's eyes.
75	* CooldownHug: When Alinua wrestles with her out-of-control life magic in chapter 2, Kendal hugs her and manages to put an end to the episode. She calls him out for his recklessness.
76	* CreatorCameo: Red has admitted that she's done this "at least once". For instance, she's the woman with the red cape looking at a sword in [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-14-2/ 1.14.2]].
77	* CueTheSun: The last shot of arc 1 is a sunrise as the heroes rest from their tribulations and prepare to move forward.
78	* {{Cult}}: The Paladins are a group that follows the religion of the [[{{Precursors}} Ancients]], believing that the world and the Twins were created by a pair of dragon gods. Specifically, they worship the Light Dragon, who's supposedly in conflict with the Dark Dragon. The general consensus is that they're rather strange to follow these mystical dragon figures as opposed to other gods who are definitely real. Erin is particularly offended by the fact that they may have believed in the Light Dragon for long enough to have [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly actually created their dragon god]], [[spoiler:at least until he [[DemonicPossession discovers firsthand]] that the Dark Dragon is ''real''.]]
79	* CurbStompBattle
80	** Vash tries to fight [[OutsideContextProblem the Collector]], presuming that she's an ordinary mortal mage. She crushes his city, ignores his attacks entirely, and tears his soul out in one stab.
81	** At the end of Chapter 15, [[spoiler:Tynan shrugs off Zuurith's attempts to assert his authority and calm his people, then destroys his incarnation with a single bolt of lightning, after which Zuurith is too overwhelmed by the terror and chaos permeating his city to reincarnate quickly]].
82	* CypherLanguage
83	** The most widely-used writing within the world is a runic alphabet that roughly matches up to English, though a few letters like C and Q are absent because other letters stand for their sounds. [[https://aurorawebcomic.fandom.com/wiki/Auroran_runic_alphabet This page]] contains a key and some text fans have translated.
84	** There is also a [[https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/700945247308513280/sooooo-how-much-of-this-is-right separate cipher]] for the Ancient alphabet.
85	* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Kendal eventually figures out that he can [[spoiler:let himself be possessed by Vash, who is much better at using the powerful starfire in his sword and bones. Unfortunately, summoning Vash requires Kendal to ''stab himself'' with the sword, and the possession is temporary at best. Once the situation with Tynan is resolved, Vash wants Kendal to never do it again.]]
86	* DeadpanSnarker: Falst embodies this trope to a tee, dishing out sarcastic remarks to nearly everyone he interacts with. ''Especially'' Erin.
87	-->'''Erin:''' Do NOT rip this.\
88	'''Falst:''' Me? Break your stuff? Never.
89	* DeathWorld: [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-6-17/ The caverns]] beneath the surface are full of winding paths and tunnels, some of which are flooded, full of magma or molten metal, or saturated with poisonous air. The habitable parts are full of monsters and even if you manage to avoid them then the energy surrounding the place will eventually corrupt you and turn you into one of them.
90	* DesolationShot: Used at the end of the Zuurith arc to show Tynan's destruction.
91	* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler:Erin]] has the misfortune of getting possessed by a golden-eyed being upon entering [[spoiler:the Storm of Magic]]. Still, he manages to warn Kendal to run, showing he's FightingFromTheInside.
92	-->'''[[spoiler:Erin]]:''' GET AWAY! '''RUN!!'''
93	* DescriptionCut: After the magistrate of Windscrest is convinced of our heroes' legitimacy in chapter 4, he alludes to the [[{{Mutants}} possible dangers]] of life magic...
94	-->'''Luran:''' I am responsible for hundreds of lives. If I had a reason to suspect you posed a danger to them... And, well. We all know what unscrupulous life mages are capable of.\
95	''[Cut to Kria, whose injuries Alinua had discreetly healed earlier]''\
96	'''Kria:''' ...Huh. I feel super healthy for some reason.
97	* DisproportionateRetribution: This is very common in Zuurith-the-city, as Zuurith-the-god is a ControlFreak who thinks of himself as the embodiment of law and order. You can be arrested and sent to the city's massive prison for little crimes, from trespassing to happening to exist near the city when Godless.
98	* DoomedHometown: The unfortunate fate of the city of Vash, which gets massacred early on.
99	* DownerBeginning: Chapter 1 introduces us to an entire city on the brink of starvation from repeated chimera attacks, and then The Collector wipes said city off the map and steals the soul of its god. The god's newly-independent body is only able to make a feeble attempt at rescuing him before passing out. Thankfully, the story gets much less bleak from there.
100	* DragonVarietyPack: Dragons reproduce via parthenogenesis, adapting to the environment they will hatch into by absorbing all available elemental energy. Fire dragons are the "typical" dragons with four legs and two wings, burrower wyrms are entirely ground-based, wyverns have four legs and four wings, crystal drakes have crystalline bodies, whispdragons are tiny and have butterfly wings, stormdrakes are pointy all over, and sea serpents reside exclusively in water. The one trait these varieties share is that they all have a BreathWeapon of some kind.
101	* DreamSpying: Happens in chapter 11, when Kendal sleeps for the first time and [[spoiler:Vash, using their PsychicLink, takes advantage of the opportunity to reveal the Collector's motivations]].
102	* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference:
103	** Alinua's ears used to be drawn a lot bigger in the beginning of the story. In addition, her hair took a long time to settle onto a final drawing style -in the first few pages she's on, she has more wavy hair than outright curly hair, and it progressively gets curlier over the course of the first plot arc. Her eyes were also gray in that arc, but there's a plot related reason for that.
104	** Erin had goggles and a cape with an orange gem on it in Chapter 4, but they're nowhere to be seen when Kendal and Alinua actually meet him one chapter later.
105	** The way Tess's shininess gets drawn has evolved quite a bit between her various sneak peek appearances, up until she gets introduced for real in the zuurith arc.
106	** Red's art has evolved so much between Vash's first appearance and his second appearance that Vash's first appearance in Chapter 1 retroactively becomes this trope.
107	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The early arcs of the comic were quite different from the later arcs of the comic.
108	** There's more internal monologues in the first two mini-arcs. After Erin's intro monologue in Chapter 4, however, internal monologues are rare and we don't get another one until Erin's monologue in Chapter 16.
109	** Red used to do double updates or multiple pages on one update semi-frequently. After Chapter 7, however, she stopped doing it.
110	* EldritchAbomination: The monster at the end of the dungeon arc is possibly the most bizarre, terrifying creature introduced in the comic so far. It's a slimy, oily mass with many reaching arms, and it has the ability to scream. It also has eyes and bones, too. When it touches Dainix's face, it does ''something'' that makes him have bad flashbacks and leaves him badly shaken.
111	* ElementalDragon: Dragon eggs absorb elemental energy from the environment while gestating. These energies determine the traits and abilities of the hatched dragon. Examples include the Lightning-influenced storm drake Tess fights in Chapter 7 and the Stone-influenced burrower wyrm Falst encounters in Chapter 11.
112	* ElementalPowers: The world is made from six elements -- wind, water, fire, stone, lightning, and life -- and mages can learn to channel any and all of them, although mastering more than a few is a difficult and rare feat.
113	* ElementNumberFive: Besides the main elements of wind, water, fire, stone, lightning, and life, each corresponding to a dead Primordial, mages have long suspected the existence of a "seventh element", which is confirmed to be [[ThePowerOfTheVoid Void]] when [[spoiler:the still-living Void Dragon, which the others died to imprison, manages to possess Erin in a plan to regain freedom. Interestingly, the existence of his counterpart the Light Dragon, which gave mortals free will to foil the Void Dragon's plot to free himself from his prison using them, implies that an ''eighth'' element also exists that even the greatest mages are completely unaware of.]]
114	* EmergingFromTheShadows: Upon introduction, Alinua is shrouded in shadow, her eyes visibly glowing green. However, we see her full face after she introduces herself to Kendal.
115	* EmissaryFromTheDivine: Emissaries are mortals born with their souls connected to a particular god. This relationship is not chosen by the god or the mortal, and only the mortal's death can end it. The only emissaries introduced in the comic so far have been emissaries of city gods, who have a special intuition for some aspect of governance and assist their god in that area. [[https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/661807987816579072/do-non-city-gods-get-emissaries Red has established]] that other types of gods also have emissaries; emissaries of nature gods usually serve as intermediaries between the nature god's domain and the local mortal community, while emissaries of conceptual gods are rare, legendary figures with extraordinary powers.
116	* EveryoneIsBi: [[WordOfGod Word of Red]] is that the constant for the world is bisexuality.
117	* EvilIsHammy: Most baddies are pretty subdued, but Tynan the Storm God ([[RedBaron The Shadow of Thunder, The Storm That Would Be King]], etc.) is not one of them, especially once he [[spoiler:[[ScaledUp turns into A DRAGON]] during his fight with the party]]. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that he draws his power from people's fear of him. His theatrics are fun, but they're also a tool for him to maximize people's terror.
118	* EvilIsPetty:
119	** PlayedForLaughs when TheRant for 1.13.34 claims that the Void Dragon's true plan is to misshelve everything in the Paladins' archive and leave ring stains on their tables.
120	** The Void Dragon brutally attacks Tynan for [[spoiler:taking on the form of a dragon. As the original dragon that the Twins based all other dragons on, he seems to view the voluntary assumption of his form as some sort of plagiarism.]]
121	* EvilIsSterile: Not necessarily evil, but chimeras can't reproduce as a result of their unnatural nature. According to some, this is because they don't have the "Blessing of the Twins" since they weren't created by them.
122	* TheExile: In the Helm-west city-states, exile is the most common punishment for serious crimes, although what crimes are defined as "serious" varies from city to city. Vash annoyed some of his fellow city gods by welcoming people who had been exiled from other cities if he thought their punishment was unwarranted.
123	* ExtraEyes: Several examples:
124	** The collector's chimeras have one eye on each fold of their head, for a total of 3.
125	** A few of the gods shown when Ilia mentions them to Kendal have 3 or 4.
126	** The blob monster is full of eyes, and uses as many as 7 at once.
127	** Primordial Life has ten on her face. When the Void dragon sees Alinua as her, they're also visible [[EyesDoNotBelongThere in her hair.]]
128	* FailedASpotCheck: The stone sentinel is absolutely ginormous and uproots several trees as it gets itself off the ground, yet somehow Kendal and Alinua don't detect it until it's right behind them.
129	* FairyDragons: The official Tumblr briefly [[https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/621408391703691264/what-are-some-other-subspecies-of-dragons describes]] the cat-sized Whispdragons, with beautiful colorations and butterfly wings.
130	* FantasticRacism: Ferin, people cursed into lycanthropic or BeastMan forms, are deeply feared and distrusted in human and elf societies. They're seen as inherent threats to others' safety and to civilization, and often considered to be essentially animals. When they're tolerated, this is often on the basis of their perceived threat level. "Prey ferin", with the nature of more docile animals, can make a life in urban areas, but "predator ferin" are usually forced out into the wilderness. Acceptance has been growing over time, and in more metropolitan areas ferin can live with a minimum of distrust, but it's slow going. Part of the distrust is because Ferin are incapable of being mages, and since the condition is genetic, and magic so integral to society...
131	* FantasyWorldMap: Viewable on the [[https://comicaurora.com/world-map/ comic site]]. Red has shared more detailed information about political boundaries and plot-significant locations on her tumblr.
132	* FertileFeet: When Alinua first appears, plants grow wherever she steps. Also used in chapter 20 after she's been channeling stupid amounts of energy to heal Kendal.
133	* FirstEpisodeTwist: It's impossible to talk about Erin in detail without mentioning [[spoiler:that he's possessed by the Void Dragon]].
134	* FloatingContinent: The Archipelago Nimbus, an airborne island chain that was magically lifted from the surface several centuries ago and is now home to the cloud elves.
135	* {{Foreshadowing}}
136	** In chapter 6, Kendal notably survives [[spoiler:the Void Dragon's attacks]] with no lasting effects, while anything else was almost completely obliterated. Twelve chapters later, we find out that [[spoiler:Kendal is one of the few, if not ''only'', living beings with no Void in his elemental makeup]].
137	** Chapter 13 has Kendal meeting Dainix, who talks about how emotions can be directed and used as weapons, as well as how fighting your emotions weakens yourself. Come chapter 15, we learn that, [[spoiler:as a Crucible, Dainix's fire powers are fueled by his emotions, and his attempts not to hurt anyone with them end up hurting himself]].
138	* GardenOfEvil: The life section of the Storm of Magic is an overgrown swamp full of [[EverythingTryingToKillYou extremely dangerous]], constantly mutating plants and animals.
139	* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Tahraim yells at Zuurith to literally [[PullingThemselvesTogether pull himself together]] after the latter was [[spoiler:on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle from Tynan]].
140	-->'''Tahraim:''' Pull yourself together already! Sheesh. Embarrassing.\
141	'''Caliban:''' Just leave him. We got what we needed.\
142	'''Tahraim:''' I know. It just seems like such a waste. He's acting like it's the end of the world.
143	* GiantCorpseWorld: The planet is made of the merged bodies of the six elemental primordials, with Stone's hearts being the core.
144	* GilliganCut: In Chapter 5, the golden-eyed entity [[spoiler:retreats back into Erin]], causing him to pass out. Kendal gives Alinua PuppyDogEyes and she begins to insist that they are ''not'' staying with him. Cut to Kendal sitting by a fire late at night with [[spoiler:Erin]] sleeping nearby.
145	* GladiatorGames: Prisoners in Zuurith can serve as gladiators in exchange for a reduced sentence.
146	* GlowingEyes: So, ''so'' many. Kendal when he's talking to Vash or using Starfire, Alinua when she's channeling Life, ''any'' mage when they're casting, Dainix when he's transforming, Falst and Trusk in the dark, the Chimeras, ''all gods''... it'd be faster to list the characters whose eyes ''don't'' glow.
147	* GlowingEyesOfDoom: See above.
148	* GodivaHair: Used for the purpose of Alinua's modesty during her dream sequence, starting on page [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-15/ 1.20.15]].
149	* GreenThumb: One application of Life magic is speeding plant growth.
150	* HairTriggerExplosive: The fusion of fire, wind, and lightning is a luminous gas that explodes at the slightest disturbance.
151	* HalfHumanHybrid:
152	** {{Downplayed\|Trope}}. Each of the three Elder Races can reproduce with the other two, but with the Ancients long gone save for traces of their blood in the other two races, this essentially means that humans and elves are the only species that can reproduce with each other. Each of the Younger Races have their own mechanisms of reproduction and cannot interbreed.
153	** Played straight by Hybrid Ferin, who are a stable combination of human and animal traits.
154	* HeelRealization: At the [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-34/ end of chapter 20,]] Falst realizes what an jerk he's been when he sees the look on Dainix's face.
155	* HeroicRROD: Happens to Kendal after the end of the Zuurith arc. It seems that [[spoiler: stabbing himself to summon Vash]] was a bridge too far, and now he's comatose. Ties in with HeroicBSOD because [[spoiler: He's also angsting over his failure to defeat Tynan himself or fully restore Vash]].
156	* HorrorHunger: Part of cave corruption is the victim becoming ravenously hungry and developing cravings for a specific food. This can range from something fairly harmless like root vegetables to [[ImAHumanitarian people's bone marrow]].
157	* HulkingOut: A special version of this applies to Dainix, which also lights him on fire.
158	* HumansAreAverage: Of the three Elder races, elves have a deeper connection to the elements, but they are frailer and have an imbalance in their elemental affinity, being closer to Lightning and Wind than the rest of the elements. Meanwhile, Ancients are the most durable of the three, to the point that while elves and humans had to hide in the caves when the elemental winds were still too strong, the Ancients could come out completely unharmed. However, this durability cost them the ability to connect to the elements at all, and thus, they couldn't use magic. Humans are a happy middle between the two, being more resilient and balanced than elves while retaining the ability to use magic, which results in them being the most adaptable of the three.
159	* HumansAreSpecial: [[spoiler: The reason for this is the Void Dragon's plan. He needed beings that could support his presence in their body, unlike elves, while being able to manipulate the dead Primordials' essence, unlike the Ancients. Humans, being exactly that, were the Dragon's chosen people to liberate him from his prison, as seen in the prologue where he rejoices at the Twins creating the first human while elves and Ancients could be seen already created in the background.]]
160	* IKnowYourTrueName: Truename magic does see use alongside standard elemental magic.
161	** Each of the six elements contains a higher property, such as transmutation for fire and communication for wind. These higher properties became accessible to mages when the respective primordial's truename (which is separate from their great rune, which is a ''representation'' of their truename) was discovered. [[spoiler:The Collector was the one who discovered Life's truename, [[GoMadFromTheRevelation making contact with the primordial's mind]] in the process and setting her on her soul-destroying mission.]]
162	** Truenames can also be invoked to manipulate smaller-scale souls. This is usually only useful for necromancy by reforming ambient soul energy into a simulacrum of a once-living mortal, but [[spoiler:the Collector figured out she could trap souls in knives inscribed with their truename]].
163	* IceMagicIsWater: Water as an element has the ability to mimic properties of others. Ice is formed by it mimicking stone.
164	* InstantRunes: Mages use runic circles, which block out outside influences on the elements they're controlling and manifest as glowing letters written in elemental energy.
165	* InstantSedation: A purple soporific powder sometimes appears that has this effect. Alinua uses it to sedate [[spoiler:the Void Dragon]] in chapter 7, and Shrike's mercenary team instantly knocks out Falst with miniature bombs of the stuff.
166	* ItsQuietTooQuiet: After Falst and Dainix enter a large, uncomfortably empty room in Chapter 22, Dainix notices that something is wrong because there's a large entrance to The Caves in the room they are in, yet there's no cave crawlers in the room. Why? [[spoiler:Because there's a giant slime monster on the ceiling that has been killing everything that enters the room.]]
167	* JoinedYourParty:
168	** Kendal and Alinua decide to start traveling together at the end of Chapter 3
169	--->'''Kendal:''' But you're free to go wherever you want, you don't need to--\
170	'''Alinua:''' Hey. Do you want to go alone?\
171	'''Kendal:''' Not really.\
172	'''Alinua:''' Me neither. Easy choice.
173	** Erin joins in Chapter 6.
174	--->'''AltText:''' whaaaaat a new party member that's craaaaazy and so unpreeeedented
175	** Falst joins the party at the end of chapter 10.
176	--->'''Kendal:''' Well, we're going to be traveling east for a while. Until you figure out where you want to settle down... Do you want to come with us?\
177	''({{beat}})''\
178	'''Falst:''' Sure.
179	** Having been looking for Erin since chapter 11, Tess finally joins the party in chapter 15.
180	--->'''Erin:''' That should give them time to reconsider.\
181	'''Tess:''' Ahh, I've missed that attitude.\
182	'''Erin:''' We'll reminisce back at the embassy. Move!
183	** Dainix joins the squad in chapter 17 to help them fight Tynan.
184	--->'''Kendal:''' Dainix!\
185	'''Erin:''' You know him? Perfect!
186	* KeepAway: The Life lacrima Falst wants to use gets wrenched around by the party.
187	* LetsYouAndHimFight: The arenamaster makes [[spoiler:Kendal and Dainix fight each other for the sake of the prison's reputation]]. Neither participant is very happy about this.
188	* LightningCanDoAnything: While the properties of lightning ''magic'' are well-explained and documented, being struck by natural lightning somehow sparks any [[IncapableOfDisobeying Unsparked metal-caste]], giving them a sense of agency they had been missing. The process also turns them into a lightning mage when most elemental links are naturally in the soul.
189	* {{Lilliputians}}: Red has briefly described a couple tiny species on her tumblr.
190	** There's a race of plant fairies who tend to flowers like shepherds tend sheep. They stay hidden from humans and elves for the most part, but a few people, particularly herbalists and potion makers, are friends with them.
191	** A short story that Red wrote introduces a species of telepathic rodents (though it's not entirely clear if they're mice, rats, or something else). More so than the fairies, they are very afraid of regular-sized people; their minds are almost completely alien to their telepathy, and their bodies are so big compared to them that they refer to them as the "[[HumansAreCthulhu Long Shadows]]".
192	* LimitedWardrobe
193	** All the main characters have been wearing the same clothes since they were introduced. Kendal has been shown wearing the same clothes for the longest amount of time out of all the party members, since he began existing in a white shirt and brown pants almost two in-universe weeks ago.
194	** {{Downplayed\|Trope}} when Erin starts wearing a differently colored shirt in chapter 19, but his overall look remains unchanged.
195	* LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces: [[TheMaker The Twins]] are prolific creator gods. They started out with three Elder Races, two of which (humans and elves) have survived into the present day and branched off into numerous elementally influenced subgroups with distinct traits and abilities as well as the various [[BeastMan Ferin]] lineages. Then there are the Younger Races, later inventions of the Twins who include the centaur-like [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/2-1-2/ gladestriders]], the winged [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-4-11/ cloudchildren]], the [[https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/635164669073588224/ merfolk]], and others.
196	* LockedOutOfTheLoop
197	** PlayedForLaughs in chapter 11 after Kendal wakes up from his dream and [[spoiler:shares what he learned about the Collector]].
198	--->'''Erin:''' [[spoiler:SHE discovered Life's truename?!]]\
199	'''Alinua:''' [[spoiler:She's WORKING for Life? Life WANTS this?!]]\
200	'''Falst:''' Your boss is a god? Oh, was that one common knowledge? You guys don't tell me stuff.
201	** In chapter 12, Kendal attempts to keep a low profile in order to protect the rest of the party in the case that Zuurith decides [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence his very presence is a problem]]. Only Alinua is informed of this, leaving Erin and Falst to believe that he's only doing it because Zuurith "isn't the place to practice being mortal" with Erin's delicate mission on their hands.
202	--->'''Alinua:''' But why not tell Erin?\
203	'''Kendal:''' He'd think Zuurith would listen to him. I'm trying to AVOID a diplomatic incident.
204	* MadeOfIndestructium: Adamant is the perfect fusion of the six primoridals' forms and cannot be destroyed, [[spoiler:not even by the Void Dragon]], only unmade. [[spoiler:As adamant is the only thing keeping the Void Dragon trapped in the center of the planet, he needs [[MasterOfAll Erin]] to unmake it and be free.]]
205	* MagicAIsMagicA: At its core, magic happens when mages direct pieces of the Primordials' dead souls/bodies according to their will. A mage's abilities are determined by the presence of links to a given element in their own soul. The [[ElementNumberFive seventh element]], [[PowerOfTheVoid Void]], is the only one that cannot be controlled [[spoiler:as the Void Dragon is actually still alive]].
206	* {{Magitek}}: The Ancients were unable to do magic, but they more than made up for it with their lacrima-powered automatons, which were built for transportation, entertainment, and all sorts of other purposes. They were durable enough that they are sometimes unearthed mostly intact. A few are even still functional, though these unfortunately tend to be the war machines they built, which then have to be destroyed.
207	* TheMaker: Mortals were created by the Twins, two deities seemingly separate from the Primordials and the mortals' gods. [[spoiler:In a twist, it seems that the actual creator deities in this cosmology are the Void Dragon, the SatanicArchetype of the setting, who was trying to free himself from imprisonment by commanding the Twins to create mortals, and his GoodCounterpart, the Light Dragon, who gave them consciousness and free will.]]
208	* MartyrWithoutACause: Alinua and Kendal both have shades of this.
209	-->'''Kendal:''' Why did you do that? You could have died.\
210	'''Alinua:''' [[YourDaysAreNumbered I'll die anyway.]] But I...don't get many opportunities to do anything good. That might make this all worth it.
211	* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent:
212	** When Kendal and Alinua meet with the magistrate of Windscrest in Chapter 4, a tapestry depicting Vash's battle with Tynan is visible on the wall of the magistrate's office. Tynan would not be introduced until Chapter 10, and the full story of his history with Vash would not be told on-panel until Chapter 12.
213	** On the walls of Jolon's clinic in Chapter 9, [[spoiler: there are diagrams comparing human and ferin characteristics, foreshadowing Jolon's interest in studying the ferin curse]].
214	* MenacingHandShot: We get one of Falst’s dad right before he [[spoiler: kills what’s left of his wife.]]
215	* MercyKill: In Chapter 8, Alinua puts a feral chimera out of its misery by magically draining the life from it.
216	* MindRape: Looking into the eyes of the blob monster makes Dainix and Falst relive their worst memories.
217	--> '''AltText:''' it's time for everyone's favorite game, "find the tragic backstory!"
218	* MultiArmedAndDangerous:
219	** A panel showing an [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-7-7/ assortment of gods]] includes one who appears as an armored figure with four arms. [[AllThereInTheManual Red has said]] that this is Skieron, the god of a city near Vash.
220	** In life, Primordial Stone is shown to have had six arms, which they used to wield a massive sword and shield [[spoiler:against the Void Dragon]].
221	* MundaneUtility: Magic is used for all sorts of things, including everyday problems. For instance, here's the junior archivist [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-14-23/ using paladin magic to open a high-up window]].
222	* NamedWeapons: Vash named his sword "Kendal", literally meaning "right hand", because it was forged from a piece of metal that he used to replace his incarnation's actual right hand during his battle with Tynan. Centuries later, Vash's independent vessel adopts this name for himself, [[MeaningfulName signifying]] how he sees himself as Vash's weapon.
223	* NoSocialSkills: Applies to both Alinua and Kendal.
224	-->'''Kendal:''' You've talked to people before, right?\
225	'''Alinua:''' [[TheExile Yeah, like, ten years ago]]. [[WalkingTheEarth I'm kind of out of practice]].\
226	'''Kendal:''' That's better than NO experience. [[ReallyWasBornYesterday You're literally the only person I've ever actually talked to.]]\
227	'''Alinua:''' Yeah, but you have centuries of Vash's experience to draw on!\
228	'''Kendal:''' It was easier for [[TheParagon Vash]]! People respect gods! I'm just... some guy.
229	* NoodleIncident: Vash apparently flew over the Storm of Magic once, which he was able to do because he was friends with a dragon. Kendal doesn't get to elaborate any more than that before he and Alinua spot some purple explosions in the distance.
230	* TheNoseKnows: Some kinds of [[BeastMan ferin]] have a stronger sense of smell than humans and elves.
231	** Falst, a lion ferin, is able to smell that Kendal isn't human, and later smells [[spoiler:the sedative powder that Shrike's mercenaries use on Tess]] from some distance away. However, it's later shown in the underground complex that his olfactory sense is not infallible, as he mistakes the smell of cave crawlers for Dainix's medicine and only realizes what's happening when they're right above them. This trope also gets {{deconstructed\|Trope}} as Falst rants about the powerful and foul odors that regular people don't notice.
232	** Shrike calls in her friend Trusk, a cow ferin, to sniff out Tess, Alinua, and Falst among the crowds of the city of Zuurith.
233	* OddShapedPanel:
234	** When Alinua uses her powers to attack the Sentinel, the panels at the bottom half of the page are divided by what looks like cracks, mirroring Alinua's plants breaking its stone body.
235	** As Falst goes into a frenzy attacking cave crawlers, the panels showing the present fight don't take up the entire page, revealing his memories of his DarkAndTroubledPast behind them.
236	* OhCrap: [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-18-8/ Written all over Tynan's face]] when he realizes that [[spoiler:Kendal managed to summon Vash into his body]] in chapter 18.
237	* OhMyGods: Erin, [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-6-17/ frustrated]] by Kendal's single-mindedness, grumbles, "Wys, give me patience". The [[https://comicaurora.com/the-calendar/ extra lore page]] identifies Wys as the god of balance and temperance.
238	* OneEyedShot: The camera is focused on Falst's eye as he wakes up from the powder bomb in Zuurith.
239	* OneWordTitle: Gets a VisualTitleDrop in the [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/0-1-1/ very first panel]] showing a colorful aurora across the night sky.
240	* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Normally, a person's soul unravels after their death and rejoins the ambient soul energy that permeates everything, meaning that traditional ghosts don't really happen. However, most people's souls are linked to a god, who has to sever the connection when they die. If for whatever reason that doesn't happen (like how Vash can't release all of his dead people on account of being kidnapped), then their souls are [[BarredFromTheAfterlife forced to stick around]].
241	* OurSoulsAreDifferent: The in-universe explanation for souls is that people are concentrated amounts of soul-energy, with gods having extremely high amounts of soul energy. How Kendal factors into all of this has yet to be explained.
242	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Although vampires as a species don't truly exist within the setting, the lore page on the "seventh element" mentions "Upyre", a victim of cave corruption who gained a thirst for blood.
243	* OutsideContextProblem: The slime monster in the Ancient underground complex appears out of nowhere to menace Falst and Dainix with no prior events or information even hinting that something like it exists.
244	* PiecesOfGod: All living things are composed of the mingled essence of all the Primordials. Mages are prevented from manipulating the primordial matter in an organism by the soul barrier. [[spoiler:The Collector's endgoal is to unravel every soul in the world to free Life's essence from every individual living being, as she believes that Life is in constant torture when bound up in so many smaller forms.]]
245	* PowerCrystal: Lacrimas, crystals inscribed with magic runes and used to store large amounts of elemental energy. They're typically used to produce a specific magic effect on demand, with their runes restricting the ways in which their stored energy can manifest -- for example, a fire lacrima can be "programmed" to only release light without heat and serve as a light source or a life lacrima meant for medical use to only regrow lost tissue -- but ones without these limitations are essentially limitless spell batteries and potentially very dangerous things.
246	* PowerFloats: [[spoiler:Alinua]] actually rises into the air when unleashing her full powers.
247	* PowerIncontinence
248	** Alinua has extreme difficulty controlling her life powers. One boy born with powers like hers accidentally incited the last chimera plague that killed countless people, including himself. In Chapter 3, after [[spoiler:undergoing a strange transformation, she has a much better control over her powers]].
249	** [[spoiler:Dainix's Crucible abilities]] start going wild in chapter 15 as a result of suppressing his emotions for so long. After some impromptu therapy from Tahraim, he has better control, but is still getting used to using them.
250	* PrisonersWork: Zuurith's economy relies on this, tragically. The prisoners can choose between working in the mines or fighting in the arena.
251	* PunchCatch: After his attempt to talk to Falst goes wrong thanks to Alinua and Erin, Kendal grabs Falst's hand and ''snaps his wrist''.
252	* TheRant: Red blogs in the space below, usually to make witty comments like those in the AltText.
253	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Mid-chapter 18, Vash calls out Zuurith for fixating on their rivalry and his pride over his people during the catastrophe that was Tynan.
254	--> '''Vash:''' You can stretch your body to the breaking point, but you can never really leave your city. But I don’t have a city anymore. All I have is a body and a sword. Whatever I became when my city died - I’m free. [...] I tried my hardest to save my people, and I still lost them. Did you even TRY? If you don’t start protecting them - ALL of them - I WILL come back here and protect them from YOU.
255	* RediscoveringRootsTrip: After getting her spark, Tess traveled all the way back to Ironhill to reconnect with her family, but found that it wasn't her home.
256	* RoboCam: We briefly get to see from the perspective of a still-functioning automaton [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-19-21/ sizing up Dainix and Falst]].
257	* RunicMagic: Runes are complex patterns of dots and looping lines (except for stone and lightning runes, which consist of angular patterns and dashes) used to shape and direct the flow of elemental magic in objects. They're thought to have been the language of the Primordials. Runes allow magic to be reliably channeled in specific manners, without the risk of accident inherent in manually redoing a single ritual again and again, by providing strict limitations for what magic is called upon and how and to what degree when the runes are activated -- for example, a set of fire runes may be used to create a FlamingSword by specifying for flame to be created around the blade, burn continuously and spread no further. Each element also has a unique master rune that simply gathers ambient magic and stores it within its object until deactivated. Master runes are often inscribed on lacrimas, magic-storing crystals marked with other runic patterns to be used as directed spell batteries, or tattooed by mages upon themselves to provide them with a constant source of magic for their spells. Active runes glow in their associated element's color.
258	* RunningGag: Almost every one of Tess' appearances prior to her joining the party has featured her punching out a dragon, with the AltText for the accompanying pages joking about how she wins in a fight with a dragon every time. [[spoiler:She's positively delighted when Tynan [[ScaledUp takes the form of a dragon]] and promptly starts whaling on him]].
259	* SadisticChoice: Following Zuurith's {{Character\|Development}} [[TookALevelInKindness Development]], [[spoiler:the Collector appears in his city and offers him one: tell her how Vash's soul escaped her lab, or let his citizens be slaughtered at her hands. After [[TakeAThirdOption his attempts to fight her off]] [[SubvertedTrope do nothing]], he chooses to tell her about Kendal.]]
260	* SelfGuardingPhlebotinum: The stolen life lacrima is inscribed with unknown spells, making it too dangerous to touch for risk of mutations.
261	* SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] and [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]. While all the villains faced so far have either been armored or inhuman, Kendal and Dainix spend a lot of time shirtless, and Falst and Alinua have a few scenes. Played with by Erin, who only starts showing some skin once he's possessed.
262	* ShadowedFaceGlowingEyes: Alinua when she's wearing her hood. Less diagetically, Falst, Trusk, and the cave crawlers get this as well.
263	* ShamingTheMob: Paranoid after the destruction of Vash, the citizens of Windscrest attack Kendal and Alinua. Fortunately, [[WingedHumanoid Kria]] shows up to de-escalate the situation and loudly admonishes the townsfolk for attacking when she had already given them a clear description of the Collector.
264	* ShoulderSizedDragon: Housecat-sized [[https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/621408391703691264 "whispdragons"]] exist in the setting. They are rarely kept as pets due to their tendency to emit a painfully loud, high-pitched cry when distressed.
265	* ShoutOut: The bottom-left panel of page [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-19-2/ 1.19.2]] references the {{WesternAnimation/Reboot}} season 3 opening [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_903744xh8 "Firewall"]].
266	* SickeningCrunch: Falst's poor, poor wrist when Kendal performs the PunchCatch.
267	* SicklyGreenGlow: Life magic emits an ominous green glow. It might seem weird, considering what it's mostly [[HealingHands used]] [[GreenThumb for]], but then you realize what [[{{Biomanipulation}} else it]] [[{{Mutants}} can do]].
268	* SingleStrokeBattle: Tynan is fond of these, destroying the incarnation of the Crow's Head Plains with one sword slash and disintegrating Zuurith's in one massive bolt of lightning.
269	* SpeechBubblesInterruption: In the tree, Kendal talks about leaving soon, only to be interrupted by Alinua saying "You can't leave."
270	* StealthHiBye: Falst and Alinua have a bitter argument about what to do about how Zuurith treats Kendal before both look over the cityscape together. In the first panel of the next page, Tess appears behind them, much to their shock.
271	* AStormIsComing: While the party is in Zuurith and meet with several setbacks, Tess notices a storm on the horizon, which turns out to be Tynan.
272	* SuddenlySpeaking: [[spoiler:Falst encounters a [[TechnicallyLivingZombie cave crawler]] and rhetorically asks it a question. It responds.]]
273	-->'''Falst:''' What kind of nightmare are you?\
274	[[spoiler:'''Cave crawler:''' sssssSSSSSTARVING]]
275	* SuperMode: Alinua enters this whenever she uses her powers beyond small tasks. Unfortunately, she has extreme difficulty controlling them when this powerful. [[spoiler:After gaining better control over her powers, Alinua's SuperMode upgrades to ''Life herself'' using her body to interact with the world]].
276	* SuperHumanTrafficking: Metal-caste children are popular targets for slavers, in part because their metal skin gives them SuperToughness, but moreso because they haven't yet obtained their Spark; without a sense of agency or personal drive, they are IncapableOfDisobeying any orders. Exacerbating this is that trauma or terrible circumstances, like being a slave, can prevent them from ever awakening their Spark. [[spoiler:Tess was one such slave, and she was only able to obtain her Spark and escape after [[LightningCanDoAnything being chosen by the sky]].]]
277	* TalkToTheFist: Tynan tries to monologue about Kendal about how doomed he his, only for Kendal to slice him in half, taking Tynan by surprise for a brief moment.
278	* TearsOfJoy: Alinua sheds these [[spoiler:after her magical transformation which gave her better control over her power and allowed her to no longer view herself as a monster]].
279	* TechnicallyLivingZombie: Victims of Cave Corruption, caused by [[spoiler:too much Void energy]], develop cravings for living matter, mutate, and degenerate into monsters.
280	* TechnicianVersusPerformer: Erin is an InsufferableGenius from an academic background, while Alinua is a naturally-gifted self-taught life mage who may be tied to some sort of supernatural entity [[spoiler:which is later confirmed to be Primordial Life herself]]. When they're discussing technique, things get a little heated.
281	-->'''Alinua:''' I'm just saying, a runic circle for EVERY incantation seems very overcomplicated. Sometimes time is of the essence!\
282	'''Erin:''' And I'm telling YOU that safety is by DEFINITION not "overcomplicated"! A haywire healing cantrip can do terrible things to a person! [[BodyHorror What if you were trying to mend a broken bone but you filled the fracture with stomach lining instead?]]\
283	'''Alinua:''' How could you possibly screw up a broken bone THAT badly? Bone already wants to grow more bone! Just feel it out and help it along a little!\
284	'''Erin:''' What do you MEAN "feel it out"?!
285	* {{Telepathy}}: Lady Niluca [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-5/ mentally communicates]] with the Junior Archivist from a distance. It is elaborated by Red on her tumblr that this is a common ability for Paladins.
286	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: Alinua brings the group bread and soup at the inn, but they leave to talk to Jolon before they can eat it. Though Alinua doesn't think she would've liked it anyways.
287	* TheyWouldCutYouUp: Erin worries his academic colleagues would rather study the Void Dragon than imprison him, so he has the group visit some monks with expertise in the field to do it instead.
288	* TorchesAndPitchforks: When Kendal and Alinua arrive in Windscrest, they are immediately greeted by an angry pitchfork-wielding crowd who assume they caused the destruction of Vash.
289	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Red often posts sneak-peek future panels on the webcomic's Twitter. They're usually appropriately secretive, but sometimes veer into full-on spoil territory.
290	* {{Transflormation}}: Iras, a chimeric plague carrier who was born in the vicinity of Vash, turned himself into a tree when he lost control.
291	* TraumaButton:
292	** Erin inadvertently pushes this for Alinua when he casually mentions how uncommon cloud elves are outside of the [[FloatingContinent Flying Islands]]. It turns out the reason she lives on the surface is because when she was born her birth parents ''threw her off the edge''.
293	** Kendal gets this when facing another Chimera for the first time after the Collector used them to lure out Vash.
294	** Falst gets this to the extreme when fighting cave crawlers in the ancient bunker, as it brings back memories of [[spoiler: his mother's corruption]], causing him to fly off the handle and start mauling instead of focusing on survival.
295	* TrickAndFollowPloy: Well, as much as elemental Air can be tricked, but Erin sends a messenger bird to Tess only so he can follow it to her location, and does the same for Kendal later on.
296	* TuckAndCover: During their first encounter with [[spoiler:Erin possessed by the Void Dragon]], Kendal protects Alinua [[spoiler:from a blast of Void energy]] this way. Thankfully, no lasting damage is inflicted.
297	* UnfulfilledPurposeMisery: How Kendal feels when he isn't able to restore Vash or defeat Tynan.
298	--> '''Kendal:''' If I were stronger, I could fight through the caves and save you from the collector. But this is all I am, and it isn't enough. And if I were weaker, you could've undone me and reclaimed your body once and for all. But here we are. You crafted me for a purpose I can't fulfill. [[DespairEventHorizon All I ever gave you was false hope.]]
299	* VisualTitleDrop: The [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/0-1-1/ very first panel]] shows a colorful aurora across the night sky, lampshaded in the AltText:
300	--> ohhhh, THAT'S why it's called "aurora"
301	* WakingUpElsewhere
302	** Chapter 2 opens with Kendal waking up in Alinua's cave after passing out from blood loss.
303	** Chapter 5 ends with Erin waking up by Kendal after having passed out from [[FightingFromTheInside fighting the Void Dragon]].
304	* WeHardlyKnewYe: {{Exaggerated\|Trope}} when ''all'' of [[DoomedHometown the people of Vash]] get slaughtered within the first twenty pages.
305	* WhamShot: Falst and Dainix are finally pulled out of the underground complex, and it seems the main threat at that point is the slime monster. [[spoiler:Then Erin finds the nascent stages of void corruption in Falst's wounds.]]
306	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Comes up near the end of the first arc when Dainix and Falst fall into the Ancient underground structure and have to fight the likes of [[{{Magitek}} Ancient automatons]] and [[TechnicallyLivingZombie cave crawlers]]. While Dainix is willing to destroy an automaton if necessary, he prefers to avoid it, and he is horrified when he realizes that cave crawlers [[WasOnceAMan used to be ordinary people]] to the point of hesitating to kill one while it's actively trying to eat him. On the other hand, Falst has no qualms about killing either one.
307	-->'''Falst:''' WHAT are you DOING?!\
308	'''Dainix:''' It - they - they're PEOPLE!\
309	'''Falst:''' NOT ANYMORE!
310	* WhoWritesThisCrap: The AltText, in the voice of a snarky reader, likes to poke fun at tropey elements of the story.
311	--> '''AltText:''' the big glowy bit? a weak point? what hack designed this thing
312	** Played with in the fight between [[spoiler:the Void Dragon and a fully transformed Dainix. The Void Dragon is surprised that Dainix can completely turn into fire]], and comments that [[TheMaker they]] didn't design humans to do this, adding a mocking "Really, who would?" right after to show their contempt for the concept. Red, however, takes it personally.
313	---> '''AltText:''' "who would?" listen asshole I'm right here
314	* WingedHumanoid: Cloudchildren, a humanoid species that was artificially created a few centuries before the comic's time, resemble small elves or humans (they're never over four feet fall) with either avian, chiropteran or insect wings, and are fully capable of flight.
315	* WizardingSchool: The Aseran Academy trains {{Science Wizard}}s like Erin as well as scholars in other non-magical fields.
316	* WreckedWeapon: Tess blocks one of Tynan's blades with her forearm, shattering it in half. {{Justified\|Trope}}, as Tess has tough metal skin and Tynan doesn't actually have any sturdy materials in his storm domain to make his swords with.
317	* YearZero: The prologue is set in "Year Zero".
318	* YellowLightningBlueLightning: Per this [[https://comicaurora.tumblr.com/post/669355442894405632/whats-the-difference-between-blue-and-yellow post]] on the official Tumblr, Lightning has two physical aspects that repel themselves and attract the other and are yellow or blue. Most of the lightning magic seen uses the yellow aspect, but blue is used occasionally, like [[https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-6-25/ here]].
319	* YourSoulIsMine: The duly-named Collector steals souls. She notes that she has stolen hundreds of mortal souls, and has since lost interest in them, but the idea of stealing the soul of a god (namely Vash) excites her. We eventually find out that she vivisects them to find a way to [[spoiler:destroy all life on the planet.]]

Context Webcomic / Aurora2019