Ask Lady A.

[ladyanaconda]

Ladyanaconda (@ladyanaconda)

Check out Ladyanaconda's commissions and portfolio! | Name's Silvana. I'm a freelance artist, and aspiring author. Country: Mexico Age: 30

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[ladyanaconda]

How would Hylurg respond to criticism over their warring conqueror culture being a lifestyle of greed, the Empire's people being called out as "never having enough"?

They don't care what people think, as long as the Hylurgian Empire thrives.

[ladyanaconda]

I recently got in the mood of imagining Hylurg as some alien version of Imperial Japan, at least in the way they present themselves + conduct their business out in the known universe. My thinking mainly stayed within the matter of names, at least. I'm already imagining calling certain/particular elements of the Hylurgian presence in the Japanese language as:

Hylurg (the planet): ハイラーグ星 (Hairāgu-hoshi)

Blood Emperor Grigon: グライゴン・血天皇 (Guraigon chi-ten'nō)

Alternatively, he'd be called "Grigon-sama" (グライゴン様), "Heika" (陛下), or "Denka" (殿下). The latter two, I wasn't sure how to translate the original titles "Your Wrath" and "Your Bloodness", so I put in the aforementioned terms as they are for simplicity's sake.

Prince Glordon: グロードン・王子様 (Gurōdon ōji-sama)

Blood Empress Asthra: アストラ・血皇后 (Asutora chi-kōgō)

And of course, she'd also be addressed as "Asthra-sama" (アストラ様)

Shaak'vi (goddess): シャックヴィー・大神 (Shakkuvu~ī ōkami), シャックヴィー・大御神 (Shakkuvu~ī ōmikami), シャックヴィー様 (Shakkuvu~ī-sama)

If Hylurgians aren't saying her name, they'd refer to her as "Saikō Megami" (最高女神) - which means "Supreme Goddess", "Megami-sama" (女神様) - plainly meaning "Goddess", or even just "Kami-sama" (神様) - simply "God".

The Noble Houses: 貴族の家系 (Kizoku-no-kakei), or just 貴族家系 (Kizoku Kakei)

House Grimnt: グリムント・家系 (Gurimunto-Kakei)

The Grimnt Dynasty: グリムント・王朝 (Gurimunto-Ōchō)

Resila (the capital city): レシラ首都 (Reshira-shuto)

The Hylurgian Empire: 大ハイラーグ帝国 (Dai Hairāgu Teikoku)

If you want to give it a more dramatic flair, it could alternatively be called: 大ハイラーグ星帝国 (Dai Hairāgu Sei-teikoku), which upgrades the name from "Empire" to "Star Empire"!

After all that naming, I felt in the mood to envision the Hylurgians' carapaces as their own form of samurai armor! 😁

Wow. You've certainly done your research!

Just a thing. The consort is referred to as 'Empress' (or Emperor, if he's male), or simply 'Consort'. Blood is only added when adressing the ruling monarch of the current dynasty, Grigon in this case.

In other words, Asthra would be 配偶者アストラ (Asutora Haigūsha) or 女帝アストラ (Asutora Nyotei)

[ladyanaconda]

Do Polar Dorceans use sleds while out travelling on the ice? 🧊🛷

Pretty much, especially to carry tools and game. But while they're mostly made of wood, the runners are made of the same metal as southern hunting gliders, so they're anti-gravity.

They can be driven like snowmobiles

[ladyanaconda]

In the days between Fayluna arriving at Kumak's village to visit him after his injury and then Besteel picking her up, did she spend her time learning from the other villagers how to hunt on the ice - maybe with them directly and personally teaching her?

She got to know Kumak's brothers and village. She learned a lot about Polar Dorcean culture and their hunting methods, but her red fur made her stand out in the background, so she didn't have a good time hunting.

The cold came from slipping into a hole for fishing.

She decided she'd bring the girls along the next time.

[ladyanaconda]

Do Hylurgians have a concept of 'war crimes'?

In their case, it's doesn't have to do with violating rights. So far, I can think of these:

Using the Hylurgian Armada's resources (ships, troops, etc) without the knowledge and explicit approval of the Blood Emperor.

attempting to take the life of any member of the Royal Family.

Attempting a coup against the Blood Emperor and failing.

Sabotaging the Hylurgian Empire's military campaigns, be it intentional or not.

They're court-martialed at best, or executed at worst.

[ladyanaconda]

Did the accident Kumak survived involve him trying to protect or rescue his brothers from the snowstalker while on the glacier? I imagine both brothers felt just as terrible/guilty about their big bro's near-death as much as Fayluna did. (And if Fay even remotely thought the two were partly responsible, she'd give them a tongue-lashing and then some...)

Maybe one or both brothers, Fayluna, or any of them combined thought of going after that snowstalker since that creature was what forced Kumak into ending up the way he did.

But of course, Fay likely would've thought that the cold she caught from staying with Kumak in the north was "worth it"! 💪🤧 (Contrary to Besteel's disagreements...)

Yeah. The youngest brother, Basik, and Fayluna wanted to go after the snowstalker; however, Kumak regained consciousness for long enough to forbid it. He did not blame the snowstalker for acting like what it was.

Yup, it was worth it, though Besteel did give her a talk about running off without telling anyone.

[ladyanaconda]

Would Grigon have a liking for Earth countries with a history of imperialism?

Absolutely, if only as potential learning tools for new tactics to use against his enemies. He'd be particularly interested in the Roman Empire.

[ladyanaconda]

Since Polar Dorceans live in the Arctic, if not the North Pole, does that mean their home is built entirely on sea ice? What use do they have for actual land, if any?

They don’t build their villages on the sea ice because it’s unpredictable and it melts on spring. Instead, they build temporary igloos to act as bases during the ice hunting season. The main villages are on land.

[ladyanaconda]

Here’s some more Grigon concept art, though this one is more centered around the carapace.

I feel like some of these designs could be variations of the Hylurgian carapace for different purposes such as mining, metalsmithing, ship maintenance, etc.

[ladyanaconda]

For a Polar Dorcean, how bad would it be for their health if they stayed south of their home climate during the warmer seasons?

They run a risk of overheating, as their thicker fur and blubber aren’t meant for high temperatures. Granted, it wouldn’t outright kill them, just make them VERY uncomfortable.

[ladyanaconda]

At what point did Fayluna realize that she didn't want anything bad to happen to Kumak and found out she cared about him more than she wanted to admit? Did Besteel feel that way toward Kumak too?

When he didn't arrive the next winter, she had the feeling something was wrong. She tried to ignore it, but as days went by, the foreboding only grew—she didn't want to admit it, but she missed him. That's when one of the Polar hunters revealed Kumak was involved in an accident involving a glacier and a snowstalker; he was grievously injured.

Fayluna didn't think about it: she took the next ship to the Frozen North, all the way to Kumak's village—and her red fur caught everyone's eye. Kumak and his younger brothers were in the healer's tent, the former in a critical condition. Fayluna couldn't bear to see Kumak in that state and broke down, begging him not to leave her.

When Besteel came to pick her up a few days later, he was not happy to find his baby girl cuddled up with Kumak.

She got a cold from the trip.

[ladyanaconda]

I wonder if when the Hylurgian Armada were developing their carapace tech, the initial stages ended with creating full-on cyborgs by building the tech around an individual's body, permanently grafting machinery to their bodies as part of learning how to make the two elements work together. It probably couldn't have been pleasant for the test subjects involved.

Thousands of Hylurgians died or their bodies got mutiliated with the first prototypes of the nervous system connection feature, but thanks to their sacrifice, the carapace is the technological marvel it is today.

A monument was erected to honor their sacrifices.

[ladyanaconda]

I know all of Fayluna's cubs were girls, but not regarding that, how many cubs in total did she have?

Three.

[ladyanaconda]

How fast can a Hylurgian run as their carapace allows? Ditto for how high and far they can jump.

Hylurgian carapaces are very slow and heavy: they were designed to be war tanks that can take and cause lots of damage, sacrificing speed and agility in the process. To counter this, they’re equipped with the propulsors Grigon used to fly out of the Communiverse.

Even with those propulsors, the carapaces don’t run very fast, and they certainly can’t jump.

[ladyanaconda]

Imagine if Kumak excelled at housework and/or hunting to the point that he proves better than Fayluna and Besteel combined!

I'll bet the latter would have more than a few words to say to him about that - the thought of that polar stranger succeeding him as the next "Masterful Dorcean"!

While Kumak is an exceptional hunter, his reputation means nothing amongst the forest tribe because his skill in ice hunting is useless in the forest. Likewise, Besteel’s reputation as a hunter means nothing amongst Sea Dorceans because his skills are useless in the ocean.

And it’s very unlikely anyone will ever surpass Besteel. He wasn’t only the first to kill a vipanther, he was also the one who saved Orbona (he had help, but Dorceans usually omit the others in their songs)

[ladyanaconda]

Fayluna and Kumak in a nutshell.