A blog dedicated to the fictional universe in which resides the planet Karya, an otherwise high fantasy world that is analzyed through the lens of science fiction.
Run by a Goblin with a Problem (27, she/her 🏳️⚧️, DNI if you cannot communicate in good faith)
Welcome, new traveler of the Chaos! I know you may have lots of questions. You may not know where you are, you may not know where to go. Allow me, then, to introduce myself; I am Gobb'ola Mawwick, and you've stumbled upon my little study away from home. Where is my home, you ask? Why Karya, of course!
Stay a while, and feel free to peruse my grand library! The answers to your questions can easily be found, just look through the various sections to learn about my homeworld. If you don't see something that is listed, don't hesitate to Ask the Librarian (me!).
Enjoy your stay, traveler, and safe journeys on your future travels through the Chaos!
The Library's Catalogue:
Gobbi's Lessons: Learning the Basics of the Karyic Universe
I'm really proud of the direction my art style is progressing, and I can't wait to continue drawing more! While I work on the piece from the Tridactylocheiridae poll, I'll start making more polls for future pieces, starting with the following:
Which therrynichid genus would you like to see fully illustrated?
The hippogryph vote won, but with how many people also seem to want gryphons as well, I decided to make a compromise (and add on to my worldbuilding at the same time):
Current WIP - An Unlucky Hunt
I decided, what if gryphons and hippogryphs, two different genera of therrynchids whose lineages diverged millions of years ago, had evolved a predator-prey relationship? And, of course, it made me consider, "what would it be like if a gryphon attempted to peck off more than it could chew?"
Still a ways to go, but hopefully this should pique some of your interests :3
In the warm summer waters off the coast of some islands within the Hemfian Archipelago, a small pod of southern sea drakes (Dracana panoceana boreale). These archosaurs have truly diverged greatly from their pterosaur ancestors, being extremely well adapted for life in the water; this is in large part to their evolved ovavivipary, a feature shared with only one other species of tridactylocheirid, the sophont Dracans (Draconis sapiens). Being more closely related to dinosaurs than pseudosuchians, sea drakes are covered in a dense coating of downy coat. These feathers have evolved to both insulate the sea drake's body from the water, as well as to reduce drag as much as possible.
Across all D. panoceana subspecies, there is displayed quite a bit of sexual dimorphism; females tend to be notably larger than males, up to twice the size, but the latter's cranial crests are larger and more colorful than the former's. There appears to be a certain preferred body-to-horn ratio among sea drakes, however, more studies need to be performed.
Really enjoy making these! Can't wait to work on the next one ;3
I'm really proud of the direction my art style is progressing, and I can't wait to continue drawing more! While I work on the piece from the Tridactylocheiridae poll, I'll start making more polls for future pieces, starting with the following:
Which therrynichid genus would you like to see fully illustrated?
A mature southern juggernaught (Sirenosuchus australis) takes a quick breath and rests at the water's surface, as a pair of unknown quetzatlatoanis (potentially Pterophis notoensis) in the distance perform an aerial ritual as a territorial display. After spending most of the year in more open waters, this female has made her way back to the shallower coastal waters of her birth. While northern juggernaughts are ovoviviparious, retaining their eggs within their bodies until they hatch, southern juggernaught mothers will lay their eggs on elaborately crafted "rafts" of driftwood and kelp, nestling these into recesses of rock faces in order to keep them out of reach of most predators. These mothers will then stay with these nests of up to thirty eggs, maintaining them and fending off potential threats until they hatch.
Another art from the polls has been made! As I start the next one, I'll also begin new polls to see which genera you all would love to see in better detail next :3
Felt a bit weird making this, but outside of work and the pension, this is one of the only ways I can think of to get more income. Of course I don’t expect to get enough from commissions alone, but I hope it’ll be an extra push.
this im aware of, its not exactly ideal yes. it would require me downloading each part and manually stitching everything back together. for obvious reasons, id prefer not to have to do this.
this im aware of, its not exactly ideal yes. it would require me downloading each part and manually stitching everything back together. for obvious reasons, id prefer not to have to do this.
The first recorded words spoken by lesser dragons, during an instance of attempted extermination of one such individual in northern Iyos.
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Lesser dragons (Eudraco sapiens) is a species of Karyic non-avian dinosaur, whose genus is descended from an animal analogous to Earth's Scansoriopteryx. They are the smallest species of "true" dragons on Karya, with a maximum wingspan of typically no more than 10 meters, and a full body length, excluding tail feathers, of about 2.5 meters. Fully mature specimens possess short (appx. 0.3 meter) horns on top of their skulls, above the eye sockets; large eye spots on their wings from birth generally grow darker with age, and are possessed by both males and females of the species, functioning as a part of intraspecific communications. While unable to produce the anomalous oral projections by other Eudraco species - what are otherwise referred to as "breath attacks" - some individual E. sapiens are capable of not just mimicking speech, but understanding simple syntax; more recent research has revealed that they have rather high levels of cognition, not quite to the degree of modern sophonts but on par with some "demi-sophont" species such as kobolds.
This hasn't prevented them from being just as historically hunted as the non-vocal species in their genus, and although lesser dragons are currently the most populous species of Eudraco, it is still considered critically endangered.
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Finally done making this piece! On to the next art based on the public votes from before; hopefully I make these faster now that I kind of have a rhythm going, and (fingers crossed) the fifth Gobbi's Lesson will be finished by the end of June!
Do you have a Sona for your series? Or a main character perhaps? Id be curious to see what kind of human-aligned being exist in your world!
Gosh, this took me such a long while to think of, and honestly it makes me go to the drawing board as to who I want in further works of mine! Thanks, @brandywyne
So far, we really only have Gabb'ela Mawwick, my narrative self-insert for Project KARYA. An introverted individual, she resides in her own little pocket dimension that allows her to travel between a myriad of worlds (i.e. multiversal travel), allowing her to basically pop into any narrative. Right now, she really only serves to provide additional information and immersion into the various Gobbi's Lessons posts that I make; she may or may not have a further role in future stories!
While I do intend to create actual characters in the currently indeterminate future, right now I am focusing more on finishing the various slideshows and their accompanying art on the various flora and fauna of Karya. My own ethics for worldbuilding call for me to fully flesh out the barebones that a setting will take place in, before the characters themselves can be written. Personally removes a lot of the need for future retconning if, in my mind, I can start from the very beginning.
Working on the next creature art (ft. Eudraco pyrophorus, the spark dragon). I love how cute my animals end up becoming, despite some of them being apex predators of their environments. How some just seem to have have absolutely no brain cells
Decided to go a different route with the image for Eudraco prosapiens (the lesser dragon)! I promise I'm still active, just taking a while to get through a bout of executive dysfunction.
The US government has officially declared ‘radical pro-transgender groups’ to be domestic terrorist organizations. This will certainly remain for the duration of this administration, and may hold into the next.
This opens the door for not only the targeting of trans individuals, but also trans communities, the broader queer community, and even allies and family members of transgender people.
Everyone, be safe. Look out for each other. Cherish small wins, and moments of joy.
Surviving is more than grand acts of defiance. Living is in the small, the everyday, the imperceptible. Living is holding a hand, or being kind— little things that you don’t remember the day after. Love each other, and love yourself in equal measure. Tyrants are brittle things. Never has a dark time failed to end.
Working on the next creature art (ft. Eudraco pyrophorus, the spark dragon). I love how cute my animals end up becoming, despite some of them being apex predators of their environments. How some just seem to have have absolutely no brain cells
Working on the next creature art (ft. Eudraco pyrophorus, the spark dragon). I love how cute my animals end up becoming, despite some of them being apex predators of their environments. How some just seem to have have absolutely no brain cells
Yippee, finished the silhouettes of Karya's sophonts!
Legend:
A = Humans (Homo sapiens sapiens*).
B = Corvans (Cornix sapiens)
C = Papillans (Decorattinea sapiens sapiens)
D = Dracans (Draconis sapiens)
E = Vesperans (Fragilihomo sapiens)
F = Gigans (Magnahomo sapiens)
G = Griseans (Paenahomo sapiens)
H = Minans (Parvahomo sapiens)
I = Squamans (Simianguis sapiens); represented are the two body morphs
J = Cetans (Syrenus sapiens)
K = Aurans (Tenuihomo sapiens)
L = Ungulans (Ungulatus sapiens)
M = Ursans (Ursix sapiens)
*The species of human that resides on Karya is sometimes designated as Homo sapiens sapiens var. *karyaensis*, as opposed to Earth's Homo sapiens sapiens var. *terraensis*, due to nominal genetic differences between the two realities' humans.
Some additional context for those who need it:
Hi there! Project KARYA is a sci-fintasy setting in the works, in which, as I describe, "various iconic tropes found in fantasy and folklore/mythoi are viewed through the lens of science fiction"; the worldbuilding project intends to fully theorize "realistic" ways in which a variety of things, from organisms to magic and more, could exist. Today, we'll be taking a look at how each species of sophont (an organism with human-like cognition or greater) roughly compares to each other, with a quick silhouette size comparison.
What are traditionally treated as "races" in fantasy settings such as Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, and more are, instead, separate species in Project KARYA, largely to avoid the problematic pseudoscience behind and associated with the former. Each species may possess a rather "humanoid" appearance, however - outside of humans - they each possess a common ancestor outside of the genus Homo. Despite being inspired by some fantasy races, Karya's sophont species possess some variations that may cause some to consider them wholly different.
Aurans - Karya's "elves" - share a common ancestor with modern felids. Their long ears are capable of a wide range of movement, lending to expression of emotion in place of multiple facial cues. There are four digits on each hand and foot, ending in nigh claw-like nails; these, along with rather prominent, sharp canines, aid to the hypercarnivorous nature of aurans. While most cultures do not actively condone the hunting of other sophont species, they are more than capable of consuming other sophonts with the ease as a human may process and eat a cow or chicken, though this is often accompanied with certain rituals. Much like their felid cousins, aurans treat some plants in the genus Nepeta as an aphrodisiac and they also occasionally experience sudden, intense desires to expend physical energy.
Cetans - Karya's "merfolk" - share a common ancestor with the only other cetacean on Karya, orcas, in the form of Pakicetus karyaensis. Unlike their flippered relatives, the front limbs on cetans retained their digits and evolved to be manipulators, helping the species to craft tools and structures from their underwater environments. Some cultures are nomadic and roam in clans throughout the Pankaryic Ocean; the vast majority, though, reside in permanent settlements along coastlines, often no more than fifteen feet or so below the water's surface (with some notable exceptions after the advent of industrial glass production in early history). They do engage in both trade and piracy of terrestrial sophonts, and some have occasionally been hired by explorers to act as guides through uncharted/difficult-to-navigate waters.
Corvans - Karya's "crowfolk" - evolved from an animal extremely similar to Earth's Microraptor. They possess a beak lined with small teeth, and their three-fingered hands have become adept at manipulating objects at the expense of losing the ability to fly with their arms. Corvans are adept runners, however, and their feathers do allow for a mild lift to slow their descents from high elevations. Their coloration typically stays within ranges of black and white as modern crows, ravens, and magpies possess.
Dracans - Karya's "dragonfolk" - evolved from an animal extremely similar to Earth's Dimorphodon. They possess an interesting mix of both scales and fine, hair-like feathers akin to those on a kiwi bird. The former is typically limited to concentrated patches around the face/muzzle, hands, and feet; the latter, while usually short (<2 cm), they can sometimes elongate along the spine to form a kind of "mane", and a few mutations allow for "head feathers" to become quite prominent in both size and color.
Gigans, minans, and humans - Karya's "giants", "dwarves", and "humans", respectively - all evolved from an australopithicine ancestor, much like humans on Earth. Gigans are facultatively bipedal, being able to walk on their rear limbs for short periods but otherwise mostly traversing on all four limbs; they typically live in colder environments or in higher elevations. Minans evolved in a cold desert slightly warmer than Earth's Gobi, and retained dense hair that otherwise reduced or disappeared for humans and gigans, partly to insulate against the cold but also to protect against the biting sands from sandstorms; the thick facial hair they develop is often considered a sign of beauty in many cultures' women. Humans...everyone knows what a human is.
Griseans - Karya's "orcs" - share a common ancestor with orangutans, which unfortunately are extinct on Karya. Despite their large fang-like tusks, akin to an oni from Japanese folklore, and massive builds, they are just as gentle or violent as a human can be, and actually engage in less warfare than humans. While bipedal, griseans are also quite adept climbers, second only to gibbons; many cultures in Karya's tropics have adopted the custom of forming arboreal communities. Much like flanges of orangutans, mature griseans can sometimes develop growths on their faces, which, due to being rather cartilagenous, are often mistaken for bony horns or spikes.
Papillans - Karya's "mothfolk" - share a common ancestor with true moths and butterflies, being most closely related to jawed moths. Unique to them among other insects is the presence of organs analagous to lungs, allowing for greater oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. Their foremost and middle set of limbs end in clamp-like digits; the unequal sizes of the limb sets and their hands allows for an equal range of manipulation as the single, multi-fingered hands of other sophonts.
Squamans - Karya's "reptilefolk" - share a common ancestor with both lizards and snakes. Much like the latter, squamans exhibit quite the dimorphism between morphs, which generally follows a male-female split. However, reproductive organs are not necessarily tied to body morph, resulting in very unique stances on gender in many squaman cultures.
Ungulans - Karya's "minotaurs" - share a common ancestor with even-toed ungulates most closely related to pecorids (sheep, cattle, deer, antelopes, and giraffes).
Ursans - Karya's "bearfolk" - share a common ancestor with ursids, which have all otherwise gone extinct on Karya with the exception of Karya's "yetis".
My girlfriend pointed out that while that handmade gradient was absolutely impressive and stunning, it may have been too distracting to the eyes. So I changed up the background again to make it a little easier to analyze the chart:
And I'm now going to be using that gradient for my new page banner!
Definitely thinking that this looks far better. Thanks, love <3
