V14 – Pg41
Blackmail
Hello you!
As some commented on the last page, Herne plays to win. Like the Gods of old, worship could well be substituted for ‘fear’, as Herne manipulates those he sets his gaze upon to do his bidding.
Woden can only operate in the World for brief periods, before his abdominal wound starts to opening again. Is it beyond Herne’s ability to heal this wound? Of course not. Will he ever do so? We’ll see.
Voting time!
Can I ask you to fire off a vote for VANGUARD on Top Webcomics? It’s appreciated. Being in the top 100 really helps bring traffic into the site.
Dan
Herne would only do it if desperate and needed a full strength Woden on the field. The head strong old man is much easier to keep under control with a permanent injury. Something he can jab a metaphorical finger into every now and then to remind him of his place.
Its why he picked Jordana I think. She’s young and has a very impulsive personality type which makes her easier to manipulate. She seems smart though. I have a feeling with enough time she will learn how to play the game and might even trump Herne a time or two. After all the god does want something and apparently its only something a mortal can give.
I like the clever way you’ve managed to bring dead characters back into this book. It was a hell of a shocker to me when you killed off pretty much your entire heroic cast in one go. Glad to see some familiar faces returning in a way that feels right for this world and not that typical revolving door of meaningless death and ressurection we see in Marvel and DC comics.
Good and faithful illustration of the divine dynamics at work. Well done.
When Woden refused to desert his team, he said “no” to his Patron Power. This offends what the Greeks would call Herne’s “time” (accented i and e – https://ssl.uh.edu/~cldue/3307/time.html ). You can see the consequences. Herne could and would reverse them if and when it suited him, but he doesn’t need to right now.
Jordana said “no,” so Herne’s response is an Offer She Can’t Refuse(TM). One could hardly expect anything else. Herne tolerates no such conduct. And he is not bound by human morality, let alone the Jewish or Christian morality which still sits as our own culture’s default.
TL;DR: “…a vicious bastard who dinnae f-ck a’boot.” As seen from a certain point of view.
So Woden is also the Fisher King.