Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 2

I think I’ve been threatening you with this page for like two weeks now. Maybe three.

Below the cut to spare your RAM:

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Table of Contents

Back to Page 1

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Image description:

A four-panel, black-and-white comic page. The panels are arranged from top to bottom, equally sized.

Panel 1: A man dressed in a kimono and breastplate stands at a window looking out, with bright moonlight coming into the room behind him from another window. His hair is in a topknot and his ears are long and pointed. The silhouette of a giant bonsho bell can be seen in the room.

Caption: The three hundred and fifty-first year of the reign of the emperor Ohomata,

Panel 2: A young woman lies on a bed, with bright moonlight casting the shadow of a window and the tree outside of it across her body. Her hair is long and loose, and her arms are wrapped in bloody bandages. To her left, an old woman with slightly pointed ears kneels beside the bed and washes more bandages in a basin.

Caption: Son of the raging earth and the lamenting sky,

Panel 3: A hallway with two windows, each showing the silhouette of a tree. A young woman with her trousers rolled up to her knees and her hair in a bun sweeps the floor. Between the windows, a scroll hanging on the wall shows a large, hairy creature with blunt fangs, antlers, and a face like a mask, seated in a meditation pose.

Caption: Vessel of the gods and holy father of the land.

Panel 4: Two men sit on the floor at opposite ends of a low table underneath a window that shows the silhouette of a large tree. Three ceramic bottles, two upright and one overturned, sit on the table between them. The man on the left draws one knee up and pinches the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger; he holds a small cup with his other hand. A curved sword with a long handle lies on the ground beside him. The man on the right gestures broadly with one open hand, while the other rests on a similar sword tucked into the sash around his waist. Another cup sits on the table in front of him. Both men wear loose trousers and kimonos.

Caption: May his reign endure forever.