Quick sketch of my Changing Moon lunar Jaxith.
He was the first exalted character I made and I’ve been wanting to draw him again, and still plan to have a more finished piece (and maybe some of the story from the campaign, which lasted over a decade overall.) But this one I did in preparation for an exalted secret santa, because it’s fun! :3
Anyway, he physically switches genders fairly frequently, between male, female and agender mostly. He rarely changes pronouns but also doesn’t have much preference for what pronouns are used for him.
For whomever is drawing him for the secret santa, feel free to draw Jaxith whatever gender you want. :3 Outfit design is also pretty unimportant so feel free to do whatever is easiest/most fun for you. :3 (I’m also pretty inconsistant about his Moonsilver Tattoos and was pretty lazy about them here.)
I am completely unsure of what else might be handy for this without just... spewing a bunch of information?
Which I might add later, but I gotta get drawing on some other projects too. :o So, if you need more info, maybe just ask @shiftingpath to ask me and I’ll edit the post. :3
Edit: #3 second character and expansion on Jaxith posted below. :3
The game Jaxith was from had gone on for several years before I entered, and continued several years after and through two editions. (First and Second) It was a campaign that borrowed from a lot of other games and settings and changed dramatically over the course in a way only possible when you have a large cast of exalted PCs. At some point I want to go into detail about the campaign itself.
Jaxith himself was a complete pacifist, never killing anyone, approaching every problem and potential enemy with empathy, and often used storytelling, song and metaphor to convert others to his points of view. (He could fight, too, but as a master of Crane Style and Dreaming Pearl Courtesan style, his focus again was on subduing not killing)
He’s passionate, idealistic and determined. His compassion burned him before, and he was betrayed and even tortured throughout the campaign in some pretty brutal ways, but luckily lunars are above all else, amazing survivors, and he ended up making friends of a lot of his would-be enemies. :3
Physically, he’s got silvery hair with a purple section of his bangs because... I liked the colors, honestly? Look this was a long time ago. ;P He’s also got golden catlike eyes, and pearlescent scaled tail and wings. (The wings are partially feathered at the upper parts) In the back, his hair is usually kept in silver beading, but he’ll loosen it sometimes too.
His usual outfits very between dancing outfits and a set of light Moonsilver armor.
Jaxith’s totem animal is basically a Western Dragon. (long story, but worked within the setting of that particular campaign. :P) Because of that and his personality, the other players nicknamed him “Jesus Dragon”.
After second edition came out, our Storyteller took a break from the main campaign to run an abyssal game in the same world, though taking place on what was basically a copy of Morrowind. (I won’t get too into it but he turned Dagoth into a fascinating, multifaceted character that was our Death Lord and made me want to play the game and I was so dissapointed by the “real” Dagoth when I finally played it. But I digress)
The character I played in that second game was Lotus.
(I should not costume design is my weakest thing, and I haven’t drawn him for literally years. It’s really late and I’m doing this right before bed so I decided against spending a lot of time on outfit design. Sorry! >.< He usually wears really fancy, slightly western styled clothing, or dark armor. Clothes not super important.)
For the campaign, we were clearly going to be the villains, and there was a lot of interesting characters and backstories I’m not going to get into here but will probably write about later in a different post.
I’m drawn to high compassion characters, which manifested in a very different way in Lotus than Jaxith. After having to deal with a lot of awful shit (again, nother post) as well as some more personal fuckery on behalf of the Neverborn themselves. As a result, he saw the death he brought to those around as a gift, the destruction of Creation the only way to end suffering. He was a loyal person who had suffered repeated abuse and betrayal, and overall completely hopeless.
The abyssal campaign went on for a couple years where the party basically started a new hyper destructive zombie plague and spread it across Creation and almost brought down the world... at wihch point our storyteller ended it and we went back to playing the good guys again and struggling to undue the vast destruction we had caused, and fight our incredibly pwoerful other characters. (It worked out really well, not sure I’m making that clear.)
Anyway, Jaxith had the background that gave him memories of his last exaltation, whereas Lotus had unbidden oracle and would be randomly haunted by visions of the future. My storyteller decided to make Lotus Jaxith’s Lunar Mate, and through a lot of shenanigans, Jaxith was able to redeem Lotus. (Again, a story I’ll tell another post at some point but it’s like 4am and I’m so tired right now)
Lotus can be drawn either as a Midnight Caste Abyssal as he was at the beginning of his campaign, or a Zenith Caste Solar as he became when eventually redeemed.
He has a sapient Scythe of Moonsilver and Soulsteel (which also gets transformed into an orichalcum and moonsilver scythe when he becomes a solar through shenanigons. ) that can transform into any string instrument (His preferance being a violin.)
He also has a ghost tiger familiar that stays with him both before and after his redemption.
And thirdly is a strange teddy bear wearing an outfit that’s a mockery of his own, including holding its own tiny Scythe. This is a “gift” given to his entire abyssal circle, and the voices of the Neverborn whispers through it, and can even animate it. This one wouldn’t be there post his redemption.
for the dream daddy game, i just fiddled with a dad character i already have. illich lorthern, biologist/researcher at a local university, and can be bribed into giving lectures if needed, but only under dire circumstances. he’s younger, happier, and with less magic this time around. and also all his fingers.
... the other pictures are because i went a bit crazy and de-aged his children along with him. and doodled amanda because she is the daughter you got in game. :D
Jaxith spent his entire life dedicated to helping his family. With many members of his family being too injured or sick to work themselves, Jaxith took the responsibility and did odd jobs around his town, while also tending to his family. When the Ashion army began recruiting, Jaxith saw an opportunity to get larger funds to support his family with.
He left his sick family in the care of the other members of his family that could also support them, and enlisted at 16. He wasn’t the most skilled in the beginning, but found himself being selected by Willow to join her squad.
Not having the responsibility of his family on his shoulders and being around others his age for once was uncomfortable in the beginning for Jaxith. It however didn’t take long for him to love the freedom of it and the company of his team. He still keeps up a responsible mind, but lets himself indulge in childish games and pranks with the others.
Jaxith is closest with Sebastian, who he was quite intrigued with upon first meeting. Although they struggle to properly communicate with each other at times, they also understand each other like no one else does. Jaxith helps Sebastian with learning how to speak the language of Ashion as well as write it. In turn, Sebastian teaches him his language.
Jaxith can control fire, and while it isn’t as strong as Rhodeia’s ability is, he still uses it effectively
Jax stirred his vat of chili, smiling proudly. He’d offered, or rather insisted that he be allowed to make dinner. He was still eternally grateful for Illich’s generosity in letting him live in his home, making him part of his family. There was not enough gardening, wood chopping, or cleaning he could do to make up for it. So he decided to try his hand at cooking. His lack of a good sense of taste...was a problem. But he was following the recipe carefully. And occasionally paused and forced Illich to taste test it. So far, so good. And so far it smelled amazing.
Finally it was ready. Illich sat in his chair, reading one of his braille books as Jax picked up a couple towels to protect his hands and lifted the pot from over the hearth.
“Looks like it’s ready! Probably needs to cool a little bi-” he cut himself off, his mouth falling open as a familiar whisper crept into his mind. The pot dropped from his hands, clattering loudly to the floor as Jax stood frozen, staring. “No...no...no…” he whispered, clamping his hands over his ears.
After all these years, that voice. It was changed now, but still, the way it tugged at his very essence was all too familiar. For so long he gleefully followed that voice, slaughtering innocents, reveling in bloodshed. But he had a purpose, a drive, he enjoyed it. And now here it was again. Calling to him. The Lich King needed him. The pull was too strong. The Lich King needed him.
“He needs me...he needs me…” Jax muttered, frantically, almost gleefully. He hurried from the room to gather his armor, before pulling open his gate to Acherus.
