cireks

Side blog featuring world/creature building for a future graphic novel project.

[cireks]

covered scavenger

[cireks]

Hi, I was scrolling through tumblr and stumbled upon your blog! I love all your creature designs! And the lore you’ve built around them is so interesting! I saw at the top of your blog you’re writing a graphic novel, if I may ask, what is the basic story that takes place in this world you’re building? It’s okay if you don’t want to share the details yet I’m just very interested.

Thank you! I don’t think I’ve really talked about the story much, though there are some posts with plot relevant info. I’m currently still in the middle of it and I’m a bit of a gardener type when it comes to writing (or maybe just inexperienced). Things may change. Here are the basics so far: A small group of people from two different government bodies; a hunter - Ariyet, a “Nymph of Bones” (something in the vein of a mortician/priest) - Coccyx, and their respective assistants Ginan and Nesme are sent to the far edge of the city state’s territory to investigate and put an end to these particularly vicious attacks by this species of intelligent animals known as cireks. Eventually it turns out that they are not regular beasts but cireks used by the local rebel forces gone rogue. Joining the hunt for the “stray troop” is a wild cirek named Feral who searches for his friend he believes has joined them.

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The corpse maid. The name comes from the old Ditovian practice of keeping these scavengers in a pool in the home for cleaning human corpses of flesh, a task so important the species is considered a sacred being or even a lesser god. Once all of the flesh has been consumed by these fish and only the pure skeleton remain the corpse maids are eaten in a ritualistic feast by the deceased's friends and family. However this practice, as well as keeping of corpse maids at all, is rare in modern times an only remaining among a few conservative noble houses.

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Ditovian artifacts

A. Ditovian skull with white gold mending. The skull belonged to a person of importance from a wealthy family. Ditovians sacrifice the bones of their dead, while a complete skeleton is necessary for a ritual it's not a requirement for the bones to be intact as long as all parts are there. Those with the means however can opt to mend broken bones with white gold, as well as bleaching them, for a more appealing appearance.

B. Lady Green amulet. The Lady Green is an entity of the forest, a spirit or a lesser god you may encounter while traveling. She may help you find your way home or she makes sure you're never seen again, the amulet is to help you gain control of that fate. The Lady never shows her face to those she appears before, no matter how you turn she will always face away from you. The amulet however gives her a face of a precious stone in the color of the dark unknowable depths of the forest.

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barbarian gun

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maggot priest

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living fragment

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Just two more. Footpad and Sorrel.

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what app do you use to write about your worldbuilding

Scrivener.

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4 more cirek portraits, these and the 2 before all belong to the "stray troop" a group of cireks originally a part of the rebel forces gone rogue. Their names are Fellow, Witch, Hunter, and Boor.

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Two cirek portraits, Harker and Cur.

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Some "fishes" that appear in Ditovian fish farms.

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some day I'll get around to posting an accurate map and an updated info sheet on the humanoids of this world but both tasks require a lot more work and thought.

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What are your favorite animals to use for inspiration and why?

I try to mix up what animals I use for inspiration. Most of my creatures are large-ish mammal-likes and I like to look at extinct animals for inspiration too. Not sure I have favorites but I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has picked up on patterns in my designs I'm unaware of.

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Nykren is a large aquatic predator that in contrast to its distant relative the karm hunts close to the bottom of rivers and lakes. It swims deceptively slow as it scans for prey, it is capable of great speed when launching an attack or a retreat. In each palm it has a highly venomous spine that kills prey within seconds. The long pale arms create a distance to the rest of the large body obscuring the context of the threat to its prey, giving the nykren that extra second of the attack that can make all the difference.

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Karm, also known as the river watcher, is a large freshwater aquatic ambush predator. It lays in wait for prey by shores or underneath low hanging branches of trees close to the water. The body is covered with growths which gives the karm the appearance of an algae covered tree trunk. The whole body stays submerged with only the eyes above the surface however it also uses receptors on the front of its face to detect disturbance in the water. With its powerful tail fins it can launch its body high up from the water to grab prey with its extendable jaws. In the water it will then coil its body around the prey to drown it and continue to twist its body in knots to tear off flesh.

[cireks]

May I offer you a hearty stew?