Hidden in a sandstone alcove, the #CliffDwellings of #MesaVerde still feel unreal.
Kivas, towers, and stone rooms built with serious #AncestralPuebloans skill and patience. #Archaeology #CulturalHeritage
Swipe from wide to detail and tell me what you notice first. #NationalParks #HistoryPhotography #TravelPhotography #Colorado #SouthwestHistory #AncientRuins
Very quick sketches of two of my Star Wars OCs, here depicted during the Clone Wars---
Master Kivas was a Devaronian Jedi Master. His former Padawan, Kal Vaarian (a Togruta Jedi Knight), took his place as General of the 202 Clone company when Kivas died after a Separatist attack that wiped out half of the 202. Since his company was usually stationed on cold planets, he was always wearing very warm clothes; rather than with his lightsaber (with which he was extremely skilled anyway), Kivas preferred to fight with less... traditional weapons, such as his beloved battle axe. Both his axe and his lightsaber got lost after the attack that killed him, and Kal never managed to recover them.
Maava Norgas, a Force-sensitive Chagrian, never had a strong connection to the Force. She barely passed her Jedi trials, but since she could not offer much support in combat situations she was stationed as a librarian at the Coruscant temple. Her shy, humble appearance hid a deep resentment towards the Jedi and the system that basically deemed her useless, a sentiment that slowly turned into pure anger and hatred. She survived Order 66 by pure chance, and when she was offered a place in the new Empire with the promise of power and strength, she immediately accepted. Now she has become a Sith Inquisitor, actively hunting Jedi Knight Kal Vaarian in the Outer Rim.
SO HEY, now that I’m taking new Angels, I thought it’d be fun to draw up some new ones myself! Just like last time, I decided to draw up some guys I’d only mentioned briefly before, as well as one or two totally new friends! From left to right, we’ve got Luhton’iko’vidtekt, Kivas, Farnay, Kuso N’vos, Taumde Jolkirk, Belmigna Brik, and Juvrohk Dhandte!
All in all, these were super fun to design (I mean, hell, Devaronians always are for me), and I’m excited to develop them as characters more as time goes on! What do you guys think, though? Would you want me to develop any of these guys more? Do you have a favorite in the set? Do you think I should just get on with all the new Angels people have made and stop making new ones myself for once? Let me hear your feedback! :D
Just like last time, brief backstory blurbs for each of them are below the cut:
Luhton’iko’vidtekt (who usually goes by his core name Onikov, or just Oni) is a half-Chiss daredevil and stuntman turned fighter pilot, who joined the Angels after being arrested by the Empire for a failed stunt that “allegedly” blew up an Imperial munitions factory. He’s reckless, daring, and he’s probably been hit in the head one too many times, but nevertheless, Oni is more than happy to use his skills as a pilot for something productive, rather than simple self-destruction.
Kivas and Farnay are a pair of mechanics from Tikaroo, who joined the Angels after their shop, their home, and their whole city were burned to the ground in a vicious Imperial attack (which is a story I’m gonna write up soon). Originally, despite Farnay’s insistence on them joining, Kivas despised the Angels, thinking of them as nothing more than hooligans stirring up trouble where there needn’t be any. However, after losing his wife and most of what he owns to the Empire’s ruthlessness, he and his daughter now help to maintain the Angels’ ships and weapons so, in return, they can get bring justice to Devaron once more.
(Also, full disclosure, I’m borrowing Kivas and Farnay from a canon young readers’ book, since I don’t think they’ll be featured much more in canon and, really, they just fit so well into the Angels’ story :D)
Kuso N’vos was a private in the Devaronian Army, who followed her general, Markhor’sai’Malloc, when he and many of the soldiers under his command defected to the Angels. A talented sniper, strategist, and writer in her spare time, Kuso often struggled with the feeling that she was fighting on the wrong side, yet now she’s confident that, by helping the Angels, she’s contributing to a better future for Devaron.
Taumde Jolkirk (affectionately called “The Gravedigger” by his squadmates and “Tommy” by his wife, Belmigna) is a former Devaronian army soldier who joined the Angels a year or two after the cell was formed. A survivor by all accounts, Taumde’s fame came when he, during one of Devaron’s off-world campaigns, fought his way back to base using only a shovel (hence his signature weapon and his nickname), and now he uses his military expertise, strategic knowledge, and surprisingly lethal shovel to help free his home from tyranny.
Belmigna Brik is one of the Angels’ medics, who joined the cell after the school she worked at (a private school in Montellian Serat) was shut down for supposedly spreading anti-Imperial ideals. Before she was a school nurse, Bel served with the old republic’s Refugee Relief Movement (RRM), where she learned how best to treat wounded soldiers and civilians alike. Now, she uses that knowledge to help the Angels, and for once, she can take pride in her work and the soldiers she’s treating.
Juvrohk Dhandte is a member of Hes’s elite Archangel Squadron, where he fills multiple roles as a demolitions expert, strategist, and even negotiator on occasion. Originally a poor sulfur miner in Tikaroo working to support his younger siblings, Juvrohk joined the Angels after leading a semi-successful revolt against the Imperials who sought to enslave him and his fellow miners. He’s strong, proud, and fiercely dedicated to building a better Devaron for him and his friends.
It’s a quiet and remote place in northwest New Mexico, surrounded by sandstone cliffs. Wind whistles through the canyon at high speeds, churning up the sandy soil. While wandering around the high desert landscape of Chaco canyon, it’s hard to imagine that this area was once a major cultural center about a thousand years ago, where thousands of prehistoric people gathered. There is marginal rainfall, little vegetation, and so on, but something about this area was special to the Ancestral Puebloans and their descendants. Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico contains a staggering number of pueblos, absolutely spectacular archaeological sites with hundreds of thousands of artifacts, which were created by the Ancient Puebloan peoples, also known as the Anasazi. [read more]
Cliff Palace - The ancient cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park
Cliff Palace – The ancient cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park
The construction and refurbishing of palace was continuous approximately from 1190 CE through 1260 CE. Cliff Palace was abandoned by 1300, and rediscovered in 1888 by Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason.
Sandstone, mortar and wooden beams were the three primary construction materials for the cliff dwellings. The Ancestral Pueblo people shaped each sandstone block using harder stones collected…