Have you ever heard the tragedy of DeWebbius the Wise?
…
I thought not, It’s not a story the webbed would tell you.
I've had this bit of backstory running through my head so long I legitimately cannot remember if Ive already told it or if it just feels like I did. Running with it regardless.
Didn’t Pohl once tell Todd that he had to remove the webbing so he would be able to have the full range of motion to perform surgery, as a “human” doctor?
Or was that story BS and now we’re getting the real one?
And Todd not remembering even if it was told before isn’t unrealistic, so much has happened since then.
O.O i totally can´t remember *that* ever comming up in the story, and i´m fairly sure i would remember….plus i doubt webbing would stop him from being a surgeon, moreover who says he even *is* one? there are plenty of medical fields were you don´t need to operate, i´d say pohl would switch fields before mutilating himself….
no, removing of webbing sounds more like a form of punishment+humilation the sar´teri would use, to mark him as a traitor/criminal (in their eyes) – and to seriously hamper his ability to swim, so he can´t escape monster eels
If you go back to when they’re discussing what Sarnothi talk in Pluralses, and why he underwent speach therapy to stop doing so when speaking english, there’s a flashback to him causing confusion when he was telling a patient that he “removed kidneys.”
“Both of them!?”
It’s been discussed in the comments (see page 367), but not in the story itself, I think. And I don’t remember if Dave has ever stated or confirmed that it was for surgical dexterity — I guess we’ll find out real soon now.
it promises to be interesting. looking forward to it!
oh now im curious, give us that sweet lore™
Perhaps Pohl should learn to like grapes or at least hops. This seems to be a story that requires a fermented beverage.
Koumiss might be a good choice, if mead is still too plant-y…
mead is made from honey, how is that plant-y? and its relatively mild, can be mixed with milk, so it would make a good ‘gateway drug’ into the world of fermented drinks
It’s high in sugars. Sarnothi don’t like sweet. Pohl guessed that when Selkie threw up after eating the grape, it was likely ,a href=”https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie789/”>JUST the sweetness that triggered that.
Time for a trip in the Web-Back Machine …
Spoiler: he was exiled and they cut off his webbing so he couldn’t return. If not, then he removed it himself as a form of self-exile.
source: this story is predictable and I’m genre savvy.
Now the more interesting and meta question:
Who has never NOTICED that Phol’s hands have no webs?
In fairness, the last time we saw actual webs on a Sarnothi hand was over 100 pages ago, 1102, on Scar’s meat hand. More often a hand is drawn with the fingers not spread wide enough for a web to really be noticeable even if one was there. It’s a rare sight.
Selkie, four pages ago.
https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie1115/
…. Missed that one. >.>
I was aware of it so it must have come up, dunno if in the actual comic or just someone observant commenting though.
Huh, I never noticed that before.
Then again, I’ve never been known as the most observant of people.