Author: Cal

Tattoos: part 2

Posted on December 7, 2019 by Cal

Body markings mainly serve an out-of-universe purpose of helping the audience to more easily tell non-human characters apart, but also have justified reasons in the world. Tattoos are extremely common for Arkan characters and are basically coat of arms for the family. The color, position, and design of the tattoos vary widely between cultures and even families, but similar styles obviously exist within close areas. The designs are designed primarily with the men in mind, as they are the ones whom the family line is passed down. Women generally receive father marks, which is about half of their family’s mark – they will later receive the other half of the mark of their husband to symbolize a unity of the two families. It is seen in poor taste for the father mark to be unnecessarily large compared to the husband’s or not leaving enough space for the wife’s other half, though this tends to happens more often than it would seem. Some families, especially wealthy ones, tend to make it almost a competition who can have the largest markings. For the reader this may not be shown in full as it will distract from body language.

Some powerful women that are unmarried may have the entire father mark. It is extremely difficult if not impossible to remove tattoos. They tend to be in areas easily viewable with clothing such as the face, arms and tail (though again for reader clarity this may not be accurately represented). Non-permanent body paint is also used in some circles, often for war or events.

The high Renes view the practice as barbaric. Note that they also treat their ridges in ways that the Arkans think of likewise. Other Arkans also may not tattoo as heavily, like the Otigos. 

Designs can change somewhat over generations, and some add in major family events on the tapestry for instance (e.g. grampa killed a bear so we’ll show him killing a bear in the design from now on). They also change if they find their design is at odds with the popular trends, and can also ‘suddenly’ change to just coincidentally mirror those in power or royalty. Royalty and nobles hate this and will charge commoners if they find their mark to be infringed and the line is often extremely blurred.

People of the Wind on Amazon!

Posted on September 21, 2019 by Cal

Great news. People of the Wind is now available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle versions! Glad to see my work finally out there in the great beyond. I will try to always keep the comic available to read for free on this site, but purchasing a copy definitely helps me out. It’s always better to have a print version anyway! New chapters will be released similarly as they are finished. Hopefully in the future I’ll make some sort of compendium once I get enough material.

If you are interested in buying a copy, either click the link at the top of the page or visit here. It really helps a lot to keep the site available for everyone. Please leave a review if you enjoyed it!

A narrow path

Posted on September 7, 2019 by Cal

“…and so the Ascendant became the Incarnate, and all who saw her were amazed…“
Verse 2410b

The room was filled with a thick and strong-smelling fog. Powerful drums like a beating heart echoed all around. The dark room seemed like another universe to the huddled children. Tense seconds and minutes… a hissing sound…

THOOM

The kids shrieked. Before them stood Oraq, the God-empress herself. Cloaked in sparks and lightning – just like the stories! Her pearl war mask shone with an aura as a tell of her unearthly power. Each methodical step she took seemed deafeningly loud in the cavernous room. 
She slowly raised her armored hand and pointed with authority at the group. Each child felt that she pierced solely them. Her words were slow and mighty.

“CHILD OF CONCORDA! FROM MY THRONE IN PROVIDENCE I HAVE DESCENDED AND COME TO YOU! WILL YOU PROVE YOURSELF AS STRONG IN RESOLVE AS YOUR ANCESTORS?” 
Cold sweat. Though fearful, the children stammered a staggered ‘yes’.
“WITH RESOLVE, CHILD. WHAT IS THE SPIRIT OF MAN?”
The teachers chanted and the children followed. All knew the words by heart.
“Sovereign empress incarnate! Our call is to carry the eternal flame!”
“WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?”
“To light the new age! That all may see the glory of Allano!”
“WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?”
“That our children may carry the flame forward! To succeed in their spirit!”
“AND THE NAME IN WHICH WE REJOICE IN OUR TRIUMPH?”
“To our queen, God, and ancestor!”

As suddenly as she appeared, Oraq vanished. The choir leader began chanting the familiar hymn The Bravery Lost and the children began to sing along.

Though muffled through the walls, it was just possible to make out moments of her partners’ booming song. Walking behind the curtain and onto the street corner behind the odeon, Malatye sat down and removed the pearl mask. She shook her frills and took a deep breath. The thing was so stuffy. If Oraq’s helm was like this one, no wonder she had such resolve. Thank the Gods for a breeze.

“You dishonor Her by making Her into a tame plaything.”

The actress looked over her shoulder. There stood a small elderly woman, a cold disapproval on her face. Malatye now found herself the one being pointed at.

“Do not mock the Incarnate with such blatant irreverence.” said the woman. Malatye sighed. Heard this before. Countless times.
“Look, I know what you’re going to say-”
“Do you?”
“…Our portrayal of the God helps the children understand Her better.” she sighed. “ We know our portrayal isn’t real. We aren’t trying to- hh- cheapen her calling or her message–”

The woman spit at Malatye’s feet.

“The God is so far beyond us that any portrayal is mockery! How can you claim to follow her path if you do the very thing she despises?”
“How is helping the children understand our faith despicable?”
“Man is not on the same level as the divine! You’re playing a puppet! You’re giving them false standards! They can’t save themselves without knowing the true goal!”
“The goal? ‘Our call is to carry the eternal flame? To light the new age? That all may see the glory-’”
“-How can you speak those words?”
“Because they’re true?”
“Don’t mock me-”
“Elder, please… why can’t you let us teach in a way that helps the kids? Ask any one of them- ”
“You are destroying them beyond the grave!! How DARE you take away their right to ascend?”

Silence.

“…I respectfully disagree, elder.” Malatye said, quietly.
“The God would never be played by some slave. You must be the one in charge. Is this what now passes for piety? You lead the children in worship? A weak-willed whore like you? Selling yourself to false standards of eternity?” she scowled. “…You will never be able to free yourself.”

Malatye narrowed her eyes.

“If She could save herself then there’s hope for all of us. Or have you forgotten your teachings as a child?” the actress said firmly.
“The Incarnate found the path.”
“And so can we.”
“She was the God.”
“She was once mortal too. And she had no one to show Her the path. But I will show them in a way they understand.”

Another moment of silence. The woman simply turned and walked away.
Malatye looked to the sky and held her rosary tight. Oraq would understand. Surely…


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The butterfly effect of technology

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Cal

An idea. Technology doesn’t progress in the same sequence in Motherland as in real life.

People in real life often take for granted that technology progresses as it currently does. Many feel it as this inevitable thing but I disagree. without specific people with specific ideas, specific inventions would never have come along at the same time, and they never would have influenced others in the same way. There is no reason something like the compass couldn’t have been invented centuries earlier or later than when it was. The vast majority of people only know about inventions because they are already known and recorded. Say the concept of global magnetism was never discovered. Do you think you could invent a compass single-handedly without ever seeing one before or knowing the mechanism of its function? I never would. I only know about it because someone told me, who was told by someone else, who some where back in the depths of time was discovered by some sharp (and perhaps a bit lucky) individual who caught something that everyone else missed. I think that’s incredible.

As far as we know, the world population didn’t even hit 1 billion until the 19th century. We have septupled in population in just over a hundred years. Some estimates place the entire world population at 1000AD around the current population of the United States. Think how much more rapidly group knowledge and learning occur in the current environment compared to the days when cities of 30,000 were considered massive. I don’t think we’re smarter now than we were in the past, we just have more access to the knowledge of people before us to build on.

When it comes to technology as related to different eras, I see the same pattern constantly – especially from european-influenced works – history is inevitably shown as going from: ancient -> classical -> medieval -> renaissance/neoclassical -> industrial -> modern -> future. This is hardly the only way it could have gone (and it only represents the sequence in a small corner of the world anyway). I want to play with this concept a lot in the comic. Not to mention the Motherland world is not earth – different wildlife, climate, seasons, chemistry, etc. This changes a lot. I threw around an idea that fire is either nonexistent or difficult to create due to the atmosphere composition. Just imagine life on earth if fire wasn’t a thing. Apart from the obvious like heat and cooking, imagine trying to forge metal without fire. No metal means no tools, and much later down the line no industrial revolution. Coal and oil would be useless commodities. But what if electricity was discovered early? Lack of fire would mean coal generators to power the current wouldn’t be viable, leaving hydroelectric generation as the primary source. Maritime nations having access to electricity while neighboring regions without river or sea access would drastically change the balance of power practically overnight. The butterfly effect can be extremely pronounced with even minor changes.

Obviously the effects are different in the Motherland world, but just think about it as an example. Who is to say some bright individual wouldn’t come up with an alternative to fire that no one had ever thought of? What if a unique chemical compound from alien fauna not found on earth combusts without access to oxygen? What if the planet has ready access to geothermal power? Tons of possible ideas and solutions. Just because something wasn’t done in real life doesn’t mean it couldn’t be done. What if the cure to cancer is the one mundane compound everyone overlooked? What if the secret to time travel is peanut butter? How would you know?

Humanity is much more naive about the world than it likes to think. I’m okay with that.

Character concepts 4 – armor again

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Cal

Did some more concepts. looking again at a lot of real life designs, these have elements influenced by a variety of asian and middle-eastern pieces from cultures like the Mughals. It’s difficult to come up with original designs that are practical, because most of the practical designs people came up with in the past were already made. Generally if you can think of a ‘unique’ design there is often a reason it wasn’t used historically. A major issue with a lot of fantasy armors is they are often impractical on or off the battlefield, sometimes both. Designing a bulky suit of armor to provide ultimate protection might work for its intended purpose but would be extremely heavy, hindering its user in combat. Not to mention something oft forgotten – you end up wearing a suit of armor out of battle much more than in battle. I doubt anyone would want to wear an extra 60-100lbs (or theoretically more in the case of many fantasy designs) any more than they had to especially when marching on foot, sitting down for dinner, etc. People in real life sure didn’t.

People tended to wear what they could get away with and what they could afford. Armor was expensive and difficult to manufacture, especially large plates of metal. European knights were often wealthy and could afford plate armor, the lower status footsoldiers and such as far as I know generally wore cheaper materials. Mail and lamellar was cheaper and easier to make than plate armor or more people would have used it. I’ve heard that some cannibalized common tools like scythes into helmets and such in emergencies which wouldn’t surprise me. Thick fabric is also much better at protection than many people think. If something was useless in real life it quickly died out, but even a crummy helmet is better than none at all.

Feudalistic societies don’t really exist in the current Motherland setting and the economics of resin production and crafting is different than that of metal (easier to create large sheets), but the general principle of cost and practicality is still very applicable. People are still people even in alien lizard land.

Character concepts 3 – armor

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Cal


(click to view larger)

some armor design concepts. on the whole metal is rarely used in Motherland due to a variety of factors, but the majority of regions have access to substitute materials. these alien ‘resin’ compounds are mass-produced from several species of wildlife and have no true real world analogue, though most have properties somewhere in the realm of rubber, chitin, ceramic, and polymer. among a myriad of other uses, they are used to make armor and weapons. it’s a big goal of mine to have some crazy setting weirdness and still try to make designs that make sense. I’m heavily basing armor and weapon designs off of real life ones since they actually work instead of hypothetically work.

pretty much all of the armor shown here would be ‘elite’ models that would be very expensive to create and own. common soldiers and guards would make do with much less. chainmail doesn’t really exist per se due to the tensile properties of resin, the city guards in ch 1 were using scaled or spined hauberks which is much cheaper than plate armor but still fairly effective. many of the (wealthier) renes shown were using plate armor which was inspired by the designs of real life armenian cataphracts, the manicas in particular. i just think they look cool.

The best defense

Posted on June 8, 2019 by Cal

ATTENTION
REWARD OF 800 TO 3000 KEPA TO ANY PERSON OR PERSONS WHO CAN BRING EVIDENCE OF THE CAPTURE OR KILLING OF KAVAN PIRATES AND SHIPS IN THE WEST SANDHAN TO THE AUTHORITIES OF VALKAPA. PLEASE REPORT TO GUILD OUTLETS AT ORO, MERAN, AND SANNA FOR MORE DETAILS.
SEAL OF THE PORT AUTHORITY IIIII–III–IIIIII—


Jeers and swears flooded the forum.
“What we need is another WAR!! Enough of this shit!” It was Noran again. Of course it was. The crowd roared in agreement nonetheless.
“If the militia can’t handle it, we need the regime to step in!” said another. More cheering.

Hannowatha rolled her eyes and sighed under her breath. The guildmaster screamed for order above the rioting. Thank the heavens. After a moment the noise died down.

“We know, okay? We know. We are hurting too. I lost two of my shipments last year, don’t you think that pisses me off too?” rebuked the guildmaster. Mumbles from the crowd. “Look, we don’t have the manpower the Kavans have. You all know this. It’s been this way for-”
“Are you saying we should just sit and take it in the–”
“Enough! ENOUGH! I swear on the heavens, if you all don’t– hh! …Look. I am going to slowly and calmly talk this through. Lobbying will not be accepted until after I have given the word! Are we clear?” the guildmaster stressed the last syllables with purpose as the guards adjusted themselves to appear more imposing.

More mumbling from the crowd. Hannowatha tapped her tail. Come on…

“Okay. We are here to address what to do about the ‘Kavan issue’. Piracy has gone through the clouds in the past few years compared to what it used to be. Again, we know many of you have lost cargo and even hands to the raiders, and we know that this has impacted your trades in the extreme. We suspect much of this is sanctioned by the Kavan government in an attempt to harm Deltani competi–”

This time the shouting lasted for several minutes before order could be reestablished. Several of the more violent protesters were beaten by the guards and dismissed. Noran was one of them, thankfully. The exacerbated guildmaster continued his address, more of the same. Everyone knew most of his content already.

Hannowatha’s husband leaned over to her.
“What I don’t get- is why the Avato navy isn’t more aggressive about this. Or just let ours do it. Why don’t they shut this crap down?”
“Other than it would mean helping the Deltanis?” she whispered in an irked tone. He rolled his eyes knowingly and chuckled.
“Yea yea… But it hurts them too. If we’re getting hit this hard I’d hate to imagine what Rokur or Tontako is feeling right now.”
“Uh. Yeah.”
“Is Avato scared of pissing off the actual Kavan government or what? Cause if they’re- er- the pirates- …if they’re supported by the government… and surely Avato know if they are… then maybe they’re worried that killing these pigs would make Kavan retaliate officially?”
“Wouldn’t that be a bit extreme for Kavan?” Someone behind interjected, “It’s basically like declaring war at that point. Would they really do it? I mean Avato could probably take them-”
“-Well I don’t doubt that their land troops could, but I’m not as sure about the navy…” her husband trailed on. Hannowatha stopped paying attention.

Nothing was really getting done. Anywhere, it felt like. She was just angry that their family’s shipments inevitably came under attack and confiscation by the Kavans and it was killing their livelihood. But as to why the upswing in frequency was happening was just speculation. No one had a clear picture of the politics behind the scene. Most people in the crowd were just talking to each other at this point. As her husband trailed on about his theories she began to listen to the guildmaster’s vain attempts to persuade his audience. He started to wrap up. She elbowed her husband and he paid attention.

“We are already filing our official protest with the Deltani government. I know for a fact that around 30 other ports around us are doing the same. They have the ear of Avato. I have confidence we will see results very soon.”

Bureaucracy to the rescue. Again. Fantastic.

“On the bright side, when our trade is hurting theirs hurts too. That might make ‘em pay attention.” whispered her husband. Great.

The guildmaster began to end his lecture. Some more minor speeches, some questions from the crowd as a formality… The whole gathering itself was really just a formality. Just to let the people know the Port Authority was aware of the issue. What made people angry is they just couldn’t do much about it, and the Authority knew this. People began to leave. Just had to pray that Deltani could afford to mobilize enough forces to defend its people and their trades from the eastward scum. And that Avato wouldn’t get in the way. Again.

Again… ugh.

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He did not speak

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Cal

“He was the height of two men. He never spoke. His face? His helmet? His head was of resin. The steel man. He was not a man. Armor and sinew as one. Again he did not speak. Acted only. He acted against the trio. Helpless as newborns in a tempest. The man carried all three away. To bury? To consume? His intentions… his own…
I ran.”

THE ARMORED BEAST WAITS IN THE FOREST. HE WAITS TO KILL AND DEVOUR ALL WHO COME INTO HIS SANCTUARY. THOSE THAT DOUBT HIS REALITY OR HIS PURPOSE ARE FOOLS AND NOTHING MORE. GAZE NOT INTO HIS EYE OR FORFEIT YOUR LIFE. FEAR THE SILENT GIANT. THE FOREST IS HIS. LET HIM HAVE IT. YOUR LIFE IS NOT WORTH THE RISK.

⊗ BY THE ORDER OF THE OF SANVIKKA SETTLEMENT, TEL-ET OTIGOS

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The smell of resin

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Cal

“Rrrgh… …great.”
“Hm?”
“Messed up. Didn’t get it straight.”
“It happens. Just try again. It’s not a big deal.”

It was a big deal. Rokur was just being nice. We were on a pretty tight schedule. The client was coming in less than a week to pick it up.

“How can someone be so big and have such skinny arms? Is he a dusa?”
“Hehhh… heh.”
“I can’t even seam it. Look how much space there is.”
“Lemme take a look at it. …can barely read these measurements. Heh. Too bad they’re mine. Twenty-eight four?”
“Yeah. …Hopefully.”
“Heh. And his bicep is a fourteen… oddly shaped guy. Yeah, this happens sometimes where the pauldron has too much overlap to move properly and it won’t give you enough room to meld it. This is my fault, we shoulda sp- er.. cut a half or so off these. We’re gonna have to recast both. mm.”

It really wasn’t his fault. I didn’t catch it either.

“Ugh. Do we- hh- need to recast the entire s-”
“Nah. No. I think we can keep the rest. Just melt the two halves and cut the template down that much.”

I went ahead and melted down the two plates into the blend. Was still pretty pissed but I was also glad we didn’t have to redo even more work. Powdered up the mold and poured the hot onto the template. Made extra sure to cut down the excess this time. It doesn’t take that long but there’s so many pieces on the entire pauldron assembly that it adds up under a deadline.

“Good.”
“Thanks.”

Needed to hurry. Don’t get sloppy though. Made sure to paint the trim the exact blue he wanted (the highs are usually picky about that sort of thing) before gluing and seaming. You need to paint before you glue or else you can’t get between the seams and it looks bad. Handed it off to Doa so she could paint and cut in the coat of arms. I can do basic designs in a pinch but animals and stuff give me trouble. She was way better at it than Rokur or I were. Sat in her corner, working silently and diligently as always. I’m glad he was with her, it’s always nice to see a couple compliment each other so well, especially with their work. My wife’s talents aren’t really in the workshop but she cooks well, so can I really complain? Anyway.

The sun sets as we (finally) connect the pauldrons and barely finish the whole manica. I try both on to see if the articulation works well. We’re good to go thankfully even if it’s way bigger than my size. Was going to pull my ridge out if we had to redo it again.
Rokur is mostly done with the main cuirass. He finishes another layer on the haidate and calls it a night. I still love the smell of the newly hardened resin even after these years. Probably an acquired taste.

“Geez. Finally.”
“Hehh. Well. Glad that’s out of the way. …Wait.”
“What”
“Are you sure that was supposed to be a fourteen?”
“I-”
“Kidding. Kidding. Sorry. Everything’s good. ”
“…Geez… almost hadda heart attack…”
“Hehh. .. Come by for dinner? Just eggs but we need to make them so you can show up aft-”
“-Ah- sorry, Iona is waiting for me.”
“Right.”
“-Actually. Why don’t you come over to us? I know she’s made enough. Stew’s ready too. She’ll be glad to have you.”
“Oh. We would love to. Thank you.”
“See you there.”
“I’ll lock up and get my coat.”

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Shavali

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Cal

“…it seemed that even the stars were in a rage, and that the fires rained from every corner of the sky, so that in days the wicked kingdom was in ruins. Shavali turned his eyes toward that window of the heavens and boasted, mocking Athaclem to strike down his chosen son if He were displeased with the despicable actions Shavali touted as achievements. Before he could finish his peace, the ruler was utterly erased.”

The Chronicle of Yuo 115:52

Few prouder men have walked this world than the old ruler of Lothis, the infamous lord Shavali. Born of no regal blood, he was chosen under influence of a vision by the 16th Prophet of Lothis to defeat the current despot. Incredibly, he was able to eradicate the old regime with the support of the people.

What followed was nearly twenty years of even harsher oppression than his predecessor. Though born a commoner, he was a master of playing both the political scene, and that failing, the military. It is said that nearly one in ten of his people died under his rule. Only by the intervention of the gods themselves were the people of Lothis spared.

Was it all true? It is difficult to say. Regardless, kings and rulers of all positions have studied this short account for centuries for insight and introspection. How could one from a poor upbringing have such little sympathy for his own kind? Or was it because of his background that he sought to distance himself from his past? Was Shavali just a pawn to show that commoners are not fit to rule? Is the tale only a lesson to not mock the gods?

Who is to say?

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