Once a concubine to a powerful warlord, this austere, perceptive owlin dabbled in illegal spy work to build skills that would allow her to escape a life of servitude. Though still hunted and ever-paranoid of being recaptured, she risks her newly-earned freedom in a world she barely understands to attempt a daring rescue - saving the mentor who helped her begin this new life.
Say hello to my beloved kung-fu kicking shaolin owlin! She's easily one of my favourite characters I've ever rolled up for D&D and Pathfinder. There's something just incredibly badass to me about a nimble, acrobatic archer who can unleash brutal taloned kicks in close-quarters without ever dropping the bow. She's an eastern barn owl, and very heavily inspired by Fang Runin, the protagonist of R. F. Kuang's excellent dark fantasy novel The Poppy War.
A massive thank you to ZzombieCat for their incredible work on this piece 🎨
YOO? JIANG’S PARENTS? yes it took me a whole year but that’s my fault. they don’t serve a big narrative role in my story, but I knew I wanted to design Jiang’s parents at some point in time. maybe i’ll be using them sometime in the near future.
Short bios! Sun Xing, former warlord of the Sun Xiao clan, a meticulous and burly warrior. Xing led his warriors to defeat the forces of Daiyun, Delun’s father–at a cost though. Xing was responsible for burning down Delun’s village, and killing his family. (talk about sins of the father trope being dumped on jiang </3) Jiang would look up to his father all the time, as he quickly earned his father’s respect and a place in his army. It wasn’t until Jiang was mature enough to realize the rather aggressive, war-glorifying, and imperialistic beliefs and traits his father carried.
Liu Ahui, wife of Sun Xing, and devoted mother. Despite her cold and intimidating exterior, she was much more reasonable and compassionate compared to her husband. We can thank Liu for being Jiang’s moral compass growing up, as she would often scold Xing for feeding the wrong ideas into his soon-to-be-lord son. Oh, and she taught my boy the art of sword fighting <3
So there's this frankly incredible lil webcomic I love called Winged Warriors by @kabukiaku. It's about badass owl warriors in Ancient China and the personal dramas between them in times of war. Of course I'm going to love it. When I found out the artist takes comms, I couldn't resist the chance to ask for Lìhuá to be fully realised in amazing Winged Warriors style! It's a more cartoony approach to her design, and one I absolutely adore.
A huge thank you to @kabukiaku for this one; it's still one of my favourite pieces I've gotten of my girl, I couldn't be happier with the results! And if you guys haven't already, PLEASE go give Winged Warriors a look. It absolutely deserves your attention 🦉
So I have been reading an amazing comic called "Winged Warriors" by @kabukiaku , and was inspired a great deal. It's a great mix of birds like Owls, falcons, eagles, and hawks in the imperial Chinese era and it is an amazing read so far!! The designs of the characters in the story are epic, and the storyline is engaging and keeps you invested in each character and I look forward to future chapters! And so I couldn't help but make a fan character of my own for it!
Based off the Brahminy Kite, here is Suyin! She is a pirate by blood, specializing in dual hook swords and part of her Father's crew. Their piracy is well known across the region, as they have a tendency to attack military ships and stealing the supplies, weaponry, and goods. Hope ya like and please if you have not, give @kabukiaku 's "Winged Warriors" story a read. You will not be disappointed!
Once again I say it’s so incredible to see fan ocs be made!!! This one is absolutely gorgeous 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you so much for reading my comic!!! This oc is so well designed, and it excites me too that she’s a PIRATEEE ✨
... Lìhuá gestured to his body - his scales. It sent her mind wandering. A poor habit, but the memory called to her; sandstone courtyards, open and grand, adrift in a world of clear blue skies above. They swam in mists that comprised a never-ending ocean of white, out to beyond to the horizon. On the stone, divisions of ragged dragonborn men, black and gold of scale, drilled tirelessly. With each swing of a spear, they bellowed a chorus, responses to their commands in perfect, harmonic unison. Each cry from the bottom of their lungs saw them draw upon strength and technique in equal measure - up, sweep, reset, lunge, reset, down. She'd watched it so many times she was certain she could perform the drill on-command, if only asked.
If there was a mistake, or a mistimed shout or swing, everyone would get pushups. Everyone. And pacing back and forth at the front would be the conductor of their great, tiring, endless dance, and a source of a deep, booming voice. Some captains liked to scream and project fear and awe. They yelled and threatened and told men they would be no better than pincushions, sent home in boxes, unless they mastered their weapon right there and then. But there were ones who were simply firm and confident; possessive of a quiet, burning resolve, and an assurance that their men would inevitably become one with but patience and time. They were the best ones. They were the ones whose men returned home from war.
As a young girl, Lìhuá often daydreamed - quite naively - about joining the army. She envied the soldiers who drilled in Fort Morae's yards, picturing them marching out the gates as one and seeing the great world out there beyond the mountains. She so dearly wanted to be among them; to see lands that ignited fireworks in her imagination, to see peoples that weren't prissy magistrates, stone-faced eunuchs or boring servants of the lord. It couldn't be a poor trade - she'd be just as faceless among the ranks of a battalion as she was among the women of the castle. She'd be in stuffy armour in the midday sun, but she really hated being indoors anyway, made to wear silk clothes she hadn't chosen for herself. She'd never be a soldier, but if she was, she could have such excitement in her life. She could be free. Even just getting to swing a spear with the recruits would bring her some joy. Of course, concubines-to-be were forbidden from even touching weapons, and so she could merely sit under shaded roofs, cheek-in-palm, dreaming of another life where Heaven might've given her a different role to play...
Of course, that wasn't always how things were going to be. In a far future from then, as an on-the-run and free adult, Lìhuá would come to practice with a few other martial arts forms besides the bow - some armed, some not. For weaponry, she trains the jiàn (straight shortsword), the qiāng (spear) and the chángdāo (long saber, featured in this piece). Though she no longer fantasizes about being a soldier after witnessing war atrocities first-hand, she still enjoys the meditative nature of weapon forms.
Commissioned work, painted by the excellent SoVkA 🎨
Tooling around with an Owlin design. Melanistic barn owl with some stylized colorization. Not sure what she does yet :thinking: pondering creating a spellbreaker to see what that build looks like.
Tooling around with an Owlin design. Melanistic barn owl with some stylized colorization. Not sure what she does yet :thinking: pondering creating a spellbreaker to see what that build looks like.
