Great to see so much story at once! You've made the most of these bountiful pages, with plenty of action, reflection, foreshadowing and some nicely unexpected tickling!
Glad you like the comic LBH, this one wasn't going to be so long at first but I was working on it and in the end that was the result. I'm really happy with this one it has a a lot of stuff and a lot of story.
The opening scene is quite intense! Cross-cutting is excellent between Lin and Mark, as they fulfill their respective duties! Lin proves herself a fearsome fighter and a hardy, loyal compatriot, toting poor poisoned Mark out of the battle zone and fretting about his condition!
Just a correction (maybe I wrote it bad on some parts of the comic) but his name is Jake. But don't worry about that. If you take a look at the outfits the two of them wear and you look at the first chapter you'll see that Lin came from the war division and Jake came from the tecnology division, they have some special skills from there. A part from that all of them are getting influenced from Raven's ways and that is shown on their work.
Raven's self-doubt is rather aching... it's interesting that Xelloin should inspire him with the confidence to attempt the cure, since we know she'll eventually betray him. Their mutual support might have led to a truly awe-inspiring team had her baser nature not eventually intervened.
Yep, I really wanted to make him sure of his failure, that's what I mean with him being more affected by what happened to his apprentice than it seems. And about Xelloin, she and Raven are really close to each other and they will be untill the point when all go wrong, that will make the problems worse in my opinion.
Raven's ability to manipulate the body functioning of others (heretofore seen only as a defensive power) is shown to have tremendous value in healing. It's surprising, but a logical extrapolation of Raven's personality... we've already observed his passion for curing depression through tickling, and this display shows the likely source of that inspiration.
Exactly, and now maybe can seem lika a diferent types of power, but when it all becomes explained you'll see that his powers all have the same nature and origin. And you are right, Raven really wants to help the others, he has the power to do it and he wants to use it. I think that's what make him weird.
That the effort should also exhaust him to the point of collapse is fine indication of his spirit of self-sacrifice... an angel unafraid to fly despite the wounding of his wings.
You got it perfectly, it's a very draining tecnique and let's him totally exhausted, but being like he is he won't put himself before the others if he can save them. The only reason he didn't want to do it at first was because what happened with his previous apprentice. Luckily Xelloin was there to help him.
The sad coda to this episode... Xelloin's eagerness to take advantage of Raven's weakened state and indulge her lust to dominate... clearly reveals the character flaws that will lead her to double-cross her benefactor. Raven's own flaws... his eternal optimism and willingness to forgive (if one can indeed look on them as flaws)... make it inevitable that she'll have her chance.
In dA, your observation has been overlooked, but you are totally right. Even nothing "bad" has happened in the end, Xelloin didn't take Raven in consideration during the satisfaction of her lust, she wanted Raven and she took him. At the end she realised, she stopped and she asked to be forgiven which Raven hasn't got a problem to do, but Xelloin "evil (and previous) side" can take over again and Raven efforts to convince her have been in vain this time.
