Recent world-building sketches! More world + characters info
Sketchbook pages of sketches and concepts )) from the top:
Zosia Jenot - young receptionist in Nirsk, Cerewa Federation; younger sister of the local police department archivist. She's mischievous, loves to gossip, collect pretty objects and ride her bike. She used to work at a post office before it got shut down due to military actions. She's currently saving money for further education
Andrieja Šafran (surname may change) - detective at the Nirsk police department, a hard-working woman who, despite her seemingly professional demeanor is a romantic. She loves to read - prose and poetry; she cares deeply about the city and it's people, even though the police obviously aren't liked. Even in the poverty and degradation of the area, Nirsk was the first place she's ever felt at home in. She favors her right leg due to an old contusion.
Maria Juric (ID photo) - the Jane Doe that started it all, the Ophelia fished out in Santa Nova, kilometers away from where her ID would initially place her (that would've been Nirsk), no ring finger, strange death and many, many unanswered questions...
Ewa - Nirsk PD's lawyer and legal advisor. She comes from one of the richer regions of Cerewa. She's between 40 and 50, very elegant and witty.
The three (lazily drawn) men on the top of the last page are other Nirsk PD police officers and Zosia's brother, the archivist, Seweryn Jenot. The symbols below are different ideas for what I would call religion in this universe. Or saints (kind of inspired by the cult of virgin Mary above Jesus in Poland); I do have some overall lore dumps on the saints.
Santa Nova, the country, is named directly after their favorite saint (cult of the red sun, strength, military power and quiet luxury, pride, physical strength, bee/ant worker symbols)
In Nirsk, some people worship Poemia Lunula; a sort of "banished" saint, who used to be a controversial figure during her lifetime. (I do have more lore on this! Although it still needs polishing); her symbols are: blue, moon, night-scented stock, dragonflies and of course- anything related to literature, poetry and history.