Cerintha, the Visi Sorceress
Cerintha was created by Cope, it can be read on Comic Genesis, ComicFury and The Duck Webcomics
Welcome back to the blog! As of writing this, the ancient webcomic platform Comic Genesis is defunct. I don't know if it will return or not (update: it's back up, woohoo), but it's been on death's door for a while so chances are many webcomics hosted on there will be lost to time. To commemorate it, I'd like to go over a completed webcomic hosted on the platform that's thankfully still available to read elsewhere. Hopefully this message becomes outdated since I have a LOT of webcomics on my readlist that use Comic Genesis.
Background
"Do I look dangerous?! Look at my sticky-uppy hair! It's stupid! I don't even know why it does that!"
Cerintha always adored the Roman Empire. She loves its culture, history, power, prestige and excess. She wishes to live there so badly that she learned Latin and converted to the symbolum nicaenum in advance. Once she resides there, she can live a cushy and comfortable life and drink all the wine she wants.
Unfortunately for her, she was born a visigoth barbarian in the restless times of the Empire's dying years. Romans and barbarians are constantly at odds with each other since the Romans want to conquer and enslave them.
That didn't stop Cerintha from joining the Roman legion, along with her best friend Hellebore… even though Cerintha's not totally equipped for the job. She's an excellent swordswoman, but she's also a bumbling, cowardly, and lazy soldier with an aversion to confrontation. She winds up deserting the army when the barbarous eastern hordes overran them.
This consequently made a rival out of Hellebore for breaking the warrior's unspoken pact. Now she follows Cerintha everywhere to kill her in an honorable duel.
A year later, our hero is serving in the visi army as a sentry, though she mostly just sleeps through the job. She doesn't care about the war, just wanting to be paid. Thankfully her strict and irritable captain Larkspur is around to whip her into shape the best he can. It's a tiresome job for Cerintha, but hopefully it will lead to her living happily in Roma.
In a roundabout way it did, just nowhere in the way she could've expected.
Before I go on, there are two things you need to know about how this fifth-century setting differs from our timeline. For starters, the gender roles are swapped with women in power. Secondly, magic—or more commonly called sorcery—is real. Only women are capable of harboring magic, but it's such a rarity these days.
I needed to mention this because Cerintha's status quo is permanently changed when the Empire sends their greatest weapon to the barbarians. Discordia. She's an unnaturally powerful sorceress, or more accurately a living superweapon known for her cataclysmic move heavenfall. She nukes the visi army after they attempted to assassinate her. Since Larkspur was searching for Cerintha, having fled in fear of Hellebore finding her, the two are the sole survivors of Discordia's wrath.
For once, Cerintha's incompetence played in her favor. However, she'd become far more crucial in the war once she encounters a mysterious sorcerer named Hemlock, who witnessed the disaster firsthand. To avert more disasters, she bestows Cerintha the Sky Relic, a magic artifact with destructive magic similar to Discordia. She's even able to use heavenfall, but can't control it.
Hemlock tasks her to meet her in Roma to compensate her as per their agreement, so that becomes Cerintha and Larkspur's destination. Although Discordia is largely dealt with by Hemlock, Cerintha's encounters with her do unlock the Sky Relic's destructive abilities that rivals the Roman sorcerer's.
Along with that, but Cerintha starts having cryptic dreams of a robed figure, stating how she's the herald of the goddess Atropa and that their fellowship will consume the world. As she comes to learn, these visions may be tied with the death cult the Cult of Atropa.
Cerintha can't wrap her head around such bizarre ideas, not that they matter much when she's on her way to her beloved Empire! Adding to that goal, the two want to find a sorcerous weapon that's capable of expelling the Sky Relic from Cerintha since she can hardly control such hazardous sorcery.
Thankfully they'd have their lead once they reach Roma, all while avoiding Hellebore. Empress Honey, leader of the barbarous eastern hordes trying to take over the Empire, wields a weapon capable of removing the Sky Relic.
Cerintha gets into plenty of shenanigans in Roma, including being temporarily elected as the new captain of their army. To jump to the meat of things, Honey is beaten not by Cerintha, but Hemlock. Turns out Hemlock isn't much of a saint. Not only did she lie about the gold she promised to lure Cerintha here, but she's actually an assumed dead Roman leader named Angitia.
Angitia massacred the Atropans to secure the Sky Relic they sought to use for destruction, keeping it for herself, but it wasn't something she could sustain forever. She chose wrong to bestow it to Cerintha, as her lack of control could actually lead to the end of all things. She decides to kill the visi and find a more suitable vessel.
Thankfully Hellebore arrives just in time to kill Angitia, at the same time Cerintha's powers go haywire and build up heavenfall… the perfect setting for a climactic duel between the two!
While Cerintha is capable of killing Hellebore as a shockingly competent fighter, ultimately she doesn’t want to. She considers Hellebore her only friend, but if she doesn’t face her she won’t stop hunting her. Since these may as well be her final moments, Cerintha goes with it and faces her friend. Cerintha is victorious in killing Hellebore, but couldn't delay her heavenfall.
Thankfully during the fight, the Sky Relic is channeled into Honey's sword. Cerintha uses it to banish the Sky Relic and destroy her own heavenfall, saving the world.
With that, the cultist apparition fades from her mind. Before parting, they give her parting words to help her grieve loss of Hellebore and convince her to live her life to her fullest. Even though Hellebore is gone, at least Larkspur is still around to keep watch over her. New adventures await the remaining barbarians, which are explored in the second book.
Cerintha isn't as involved in the story as she is in the prior book, but it's notable to go over.
Time has passed to the point that the Empire had become Constantinopolis. Even after saving the world, beating Hellebore, and proving that she can massacre entire armies, she's still a peabrain afraid of her own shadow. That being said, she and Larkspur do go on wild quests, like traveling to the temples of Aegypta to hunt for treasure.
Cerintha and Larkspur are currently trying to catch the fiendish Apate, who sent them on that wild goose chase, stole their gold, and left them to die in a temple with a living limestone statue known as the Ancient Wanderer. The hulking statue followed them all the way to Constantinopolis and the Romans are convinced she is responsible for this evil sorcery.
It vaguely lines up with visions an oracle named Adeona has, having seen Cerintha in her visions as an immensely powerful barbarian sorcerer in the future of a corrupt immortal sorcerer named Humati. Countless warriors fell to her blade, and destruction lies in her name, yet when their paths cross, Cerintha is nothing like she appeared in her visions.
While Adeona initially didn't see how Cerintha could be a threat, she was more convinced when she received visions of the barbarian massacring centurions before killing her. All the futures she saw were painted in blood.
Cerintha is eventually captured and Humati interrogates to explain how she weaponized the statue, but she's exposed to how much of a fool Cerintha is. When the Ancient Wanderer barges in, Humati figures out how to override its command. Now she's unstoppable in her crusade to kill all barbarians, starting with Cerintha who knows too much.
To stop Cerintha, Adeona splashes her with sacred waters she uses for visions, which is supposed to plague her with delusions that would drive anyone mad, then to death. These trippy hallucinations urged Cerintha that it’s kill or be killed, and she winds up massacring guards in retaliation and bloodlust, saving Adeona for last.
Thankfully Cerintha recovers by the time Larkspur finds her, and together they deal with Humati and the statue. Both are destroyed once and for all.
With all that crazy out of the way, they book it out of Roma to go on more adventures.
Experience and Skill
Cerintha is a coward and has a brain the size of a walnut, there's no denying that. Regardless, she's surprisingly really competent at fighting when she puts in the effort. She had fighting experience prior to serving in the army, having been taught swordplay by her parents and served in Roma's legionary for three years. It does occasionally seem like she bumbles her way to her victory, but she does have the talent and surprise factor to give her an edge.
She has taken down entire platoons singlehandedly and battled the likes of Discordia and Honey and lived. She somehow even outsmarted foes in combat, like when she influenced Febris to cut the rope tying her arms behind her back mid-combat (didn't account for her tied legs though).
When it comes to magic, she doesn't have much experience wielding the Sky Relic. This led to her nearly wiping out areas with heavenfall on multiple occasions. She did become more skilled in sorcery to the point where she could use it in combat, along with successfully ejecting the Sky Relic to thwart her own heavenfall.
It also shouldn't be understated how great she is at hiding…… and getting lost.
Cerintha is a coward and has a brain the size of a walnut, there's no denying that. Regardless, she's surprisingly really competent at fighting when she puts in the effort. She had fighting experience prior to serving in the army, having been taught swordplay by her parents and served in Roma's legionary for three years. It does occasionally seem like she bumbles her way to her victory, but she does have the talent and surprise factor to give her an edge.
She has taken down entire platoons singlehandedly and battled the likes of Discordia and Honey and lived. She somehow even outsmarted foes in combat, like when she influenced Febris to cut the rope tying her arms behind her back mid-combat (didn't account for her tied legs though).
When it comes to magic, she doesn't have much experience wielding the Sky Relic. This led to her nearly wiping out areas with heavenfall on multiple occasions. She did become more skilled in sorcery to the point where she could use it in combat, along with successfully ejecting the Sky Relic to thwart her own heavenfall.
It also shouldn't be understated how great she is at hiding…… and getting lost.
Equipment
The Sky Relic
Magical power comes from two sources: earthly or heavenly. Whereas earthly pertains to naturally residing in individuals, heavenly refers to an unseen magic firmament coating the entire world. The Sky Relic is a piece of that firmament. It's an ancient magic relic that was bestowed to Cerintha by Angitia.
Doubling as the herald of the goddess Atropa, the Sky Relic lets her access unfathomably disastrous sorcery. The cloaked cultist in her visions/dreams is actually a manifestation of sorcerous energy given autonomous form, imprinted on the Sky Relic by the Atropans. The Sky Relic becomes more restless more she uses magic, leading to more destructive potential.
Magical power comes from two sources: earthly or heavenly. Whereas earthly pertains to naturally residing in individuals, heavenly refers to an unseen magic firmament coating the entire world. The Sky Relic is a piece of that firmament. It's an ancient magic relic that was bestowed to Cerintha by Angitia.
Doubling as the herald of the goddess Atropa, the Sky Relic lets her access unfathomably disastrous sorcery. The cloaked cultist in her visions/dreams is actually a manifestation of sorcerous energy given autonomous form, imprinted on the Sky Relic by the Atropans. The Sky Relic becomes more restless more she uses magic, leading to more destructive potential.
Gladius
Swords are drawn pretty small in this webcomic, but this is indeed a Roman gladius. She's shockingly skilled at swinging that thing around, seasoned warriors are never prepared for her frantic strikes. Her gladius did break during her fight with Honey, but she has a more impressive sword I'll describe later.
Swords are drawn pretty small in this webcomic, but this is indeed a Roman gladius. She's shockingly skilled at swinging that thing around, seasoned warriors are never prepared for her frantic strikes. Her gladius did break during her fight with Honey, but she has a more impressive sword I'll describe later.
Knife
Okay I know I just said the swords are drawn short but I'm 99% sure that's a knife.
Okay I know I just said the swords are drawn short but I'm 99% sure that's a knife.
Sword of Mars
Forged for the god of war, it's an unbreakable gladius infused with heavenly sorcery. It has potential to banish sky relic into it by wielding it in combat. During Cerintha’s fight with Hellebore, the sky relic shifted into the sword, becoming its new vessel before unleashing it back into the sky in a burst of sorcerous energy. With this sword she can still channel sorcery with beams and electric zaps. It shattered when she impaled the Ancient Wanderer with it.
Forged for the god of war, it's an unbreakable gladius infused with heavenly sorcery. It has potential to banish sky relic into it by wielding it in combat. During Cerintha’s fight with Hellebore, the sky relic shifted into the sword, becoming its new vessel before unleashing it back into the sky in a burst of sorcerous energy. With this sword she can still channel sorcery with beams and electric zaps. It shattered when she impaled the Ancient Wanderer with it.
Abilities
Sorcery
Sorcery, magic, however you want to call it is present throughout the world. Sorcery is exclusive to women in this setting. Cerintha wasn't born with the aptitude for it, rather accessing it after becoming the Sky Relic's vessel. Since then, Cerintha has been able to use it in various ways. She can shoot sorcerous beams, omnidirectional zaps, infuse sorcery into her gladius, etc.
Sorcery, magic, however you want to call it is present throughout the world. Sorcery is exclusive to women in this setting. Cerintha wasn't born with the aptitude for it, rather accessing it after becoming the Sky Relic's vessel. Since then, Cerintha has been able to use it in various ways. She can shoot sorcerous beams, omnidirectional zaps, infuse sorcery into her gladius, etc.
CQC
She got them baps.
She got them baps.
Resistances
- Tracking and Clairvoyance resistance: When the oracle performed a ritual to locate Cerintha, this vapor vision of Cerintha's future self noticed and attacked the oracle. This hasn't really been explained yet.
- Madness manipulation resistance: Cerintha was splashed with sacred waters, which would've driven her mad with illusions. She recovered, not before going on an illusion-clouded killing spree.
- Tracking and Clairvoyance resistance: When the oracle performed a ritual to locate Cerintha, this vapor vision of Cerintha's future self noticed and attacked the oracle. This hasn't really been explained yet.
- Madness manipulation resistance: Cerintha was splashed with sacred waters, which would've driven her mad with illusions. She recovered, not before going on an illusion-clouded killing spree.
Techniques
Heavenfall
AKA Heaven's Wrath is a devastating sorcerous attack Discordia uses to wipe out entire towns. When using it, the clouds above appear to wind into a spiral before a massive ball of magic hurls down from the sky to decimate everything unfortunate enough to be caught under it.
Heavenfall is basically calling upon a piece of the magic firmament covering the whole world, and raining it down. The results are so devastating, that people believe Discordia is weaponizing heaven itself. Turns out, Cerintha can do that too after becoming the Sky Relic's vessel!
Her herald status makes hers extra deadly, like world-threatening deadly. Once it reaches a calamitous state, electricity starts crackling out of it like a lightning storm.
AKA Heaven's Wrath is a devastating sorcerous attack Discordia uses to wipe out entire towns. When using it, the clouds above appear to wind into a spiral before a massive ball of magic hurls down from the sky to decimate everything unfortunate enough to be caught under it.
Heavenfall is basically calling upon a piece of the magic firmament covering the whole world, and raining it down. The results are so devastating, that people believe Discordia is weaponizing heaven itself. Turns out, Cerintha can do that too after becoming the Sky Relic's vessel!
Her herald status makes hers extra deadly, like world-threatening deadly. Once it reaches a calamitous state, electricity starts crackling out of it like a lightning storm.
Feats
Overall
- Previously a legionary in Roma’s army for 3 years
- Massacred a bunch of barbarians chasing her
- Matched Honey in combat. She’s the only one to have struck down Honey in a frontal assault
- Killed Hellebore in a one-on-one duel
- Prevented a potential apocalypse by overpowering the Sky Relic’s heavenfall
- Avoided being killed by an Ancient Wanderer statue from Aegyptus
- Killed a bunch of guards while under the effects of the sacred waters
Strength
- Sent Hellebore flying
- Caused a wall-level explosion
- Can do the same heavenfall as Discordia, which can wipe out entire towns. The Sky Relic has more destructive potential than Discordia.
- The Sky Relic is capable of huge beam attacks, which easily disintegrate anything in its path
- Cerintha shot through a pillar
- Caused a string of small explosions
- According to Angitia, Cerintha's destructive capabilities are potentially world-threatening
- Her fight with Angitia caused the destruction of a temple
- Heavenfall can cause lightning storms
- Cerintha eviscerated Hellebore
- She stopped her own heavenfall with her sword as she ejected the Sky Relic
- Sliced through a bunch of guards while under the effects of the sacred waters
- Exploded the Ancient Wanderer in seemingly a building-level explosion
Speed
- Cerintha has high reflexes, easily able to dodge Hellebore's attacks
- Dodges Angitia's sorcerous beams
- Does a lil scurry where her legs have smear frames
- Quickly climbed up a tree
Durability
Scaling
Larkspur & Hellebore
The two closest people Cerintha has to friends (even though they terrify her), so she ought to scale to them.
They Who Must Not Be Named…… and other baddies!
The villains Cerintha faces against are often so frightening and notoriously powerful that simply uttering their names are a sign of misfortune to come. Some of her enemies don't have this luxury, but they're notable enough to feature anyway.
- Discordia set a village on fire
- Discordia destroyed a head
- Discordia wiped out the barbarian army with heavenfall. Due to poor framing and Larkspur being too distracted, the radius of the destruction is unknown. This attack regularly affects the clouds.
- Discordia destroyed a building
- Discordia is easily capable of destroying villages
- Discordia absorbed Cerintha's heavenfall right as it fell on her
- Discordia seemingly destroyed a city block
- Empress Honey threw a fish really far into the air, it returned to the Earth after 100 pages. It moved so fast it broke the sound barrier.
- Empress Honey sliced off an arm
- Empress Honey deflected a magic projectile
- Empress Honey survived being struck by lightning
- Angitia avoided being hit by heavenfall
- Angitia deflected one of Discordia's attacks
- Angitia set fire to the Atropans' village and killed nearly everyone in it
- The Ancient Wanderer consistently breaks through walls and falls through floors
Weaknesses
- Cerintha doesn't really grow out of being a giant coward
- More so the Sky Relic’s tool than its controller. She couldn’t stop summoning heavenfall before being knocked out
- As an untrained magic user, she couldn't relinquish the Sky Relic under her own power without dying
- By far the least intelligent character I’ve covered in my blogs so far
- She is really materialistic, caring about Roman wine and baths more than anything else
- Her greasy hands once led to her accidentally letting her sword fall
Matchup Potential
Cerintha vs Dave the Barbarian (Cerintha vs Dave the Barbarian)
(thumbnail by Vibe Check)
Vibe Check
Now this is a blast from the past! It's essentially a duel between exceedingly cowardly barbarian protagonists in spite their overwhelming power. It's been ages since I've last seen Dave the Barbarian so I don't know what the debate is like, but the general theme alone makes for a really entertaining fight.
There aren't many sword fights on Death Battle with an emphasis on comedy, so something like this would stick out. With Dave the Barbarian included, the narrator absolutely needs to be part of the fight. His talking sword Lula can add an extra layer of banter to this already funny fight. Given how many chase scenes are in Cerintha, I imagine the fight needs to include that before she locks in.
NEXT TIME ON WCAB… whenever I feel like it
