“This is all that remains of the Ahamkara, then. Even like this, in its silence, it could move worlds.”
This is a piece I made for the @onelastwishzine zine! This painting explores a sort of divergent scenario for the events leading up to the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon, in which Hefnd had been left to fester alone in his desire for retribution. Poisoned and corrupted by taken energies into a monstrous reflection of his former shape, he waits for the day when he can finally rest, and see his dear friend Naeem once again.
I had an absolute BLAST working on this project alongside all the other artists and writers who participated, I’m so happy with how this one turned out!
Please be sure to check out the full zine and the wonderful submissions from all the other creators!
The illusion that Naeem's got nothing going on behind those eyes may deceive Gaeren in the beginning because Gaeren is a golden retriever himbo, but the reality is that Naeem is psychoanalyzing whoever he's staring at and breaking them down on a molecular level so he can push their buttons later.
[ID copied from alt text: A digital drawing of Vere (she/her) and Naeem (he/him), two of my OCs, set against a geometric patterned gold background. Vere is a young, thin, dark red Tiefling with vitiligo-like patches of peach across her face, body, and horns. She has long, curly orange-pink ombre hair that is tied in a low ponytail. On her right (viewer's left) forearm, she has a series of thin lined floral tattoos going down to her wrist, before her hand turns into a skeletal one, made of only bone and tinted black towards the tips of her fingers. She is wearing a sleeveless pink and purple dress and has several piercings. In Vere's arms is Naeem, a small tiefling boy with wavy purple hair and a small set of pointed horns. The tips of his horns and tail fade to a smoky black. He is wearing a red t-shirt and blue overalls and is barefoot. Vere is holding her nephew on her hip, smiling as she looks toward the viewer. Naeem is curled close into his aunt's chest, looking off toward the left with a mischievous smile on his face. End description.]
Some new looks for an old friend (and also a new cute friend!) <3
Some concept art for some aliens I've been working on in my head that I finally decided to sketch out.
Some details:
- The aviin are a species from the arid world of Xyr, in the system of Mez. They are naturally cooperative, and culturally religious or at least spiritualistic. Many aviins see no issue with science and religion coexisting.
- The ryvol are a species from the arctic world of Zyr, in the system of Mez. Societally they are very meritocratic, sometimes aggressively so. They have an unusual jaw structure and so they tend to wear rebreathers to stop people from freaking out.
- The kydor are a species from the alpine world of Draz, from a system I don't have a name for right now. Extremely dimorphic as a species, female kydors are large and broad-shouldered, with a naturally protective instinct, and males tend to be lithe and agile and have a strong hunter instinct. Their naturally-matriarchal society is built as a martial dictatorship, but with no real class restrictions save those you can prove you belong to, usually through combat.
- The zotan are a species from a jungle world I don't have a name for yet. Outside of them living in pack/clan societies and their unusual quirk of short-ranged teleportation, I don't really have too much for them yet.
- The v'dak are a species that originally came from a tundra world that was destroyed by another, more powerful interstellar species. They are excellent climbers and have prehensile tails, and are naturally reclusive and individualistic. Their society, what little of it there is, focuses highly on specialisation and self-sufficiency, and for the most part each v'dak excels at one particular task.
- the naeem are a synthetic species that were created by a semi-precursor race known for their affinity for robotics. One of the two major synthetic races they left behind after their death, the naeem are, ultimately, small but incredibly sophisticated AI cores that can be slotted into various frames to perform functions. Designed to be an assistant species, but one that could be self-sufficient, the naeem often try to anchor themselves to an existing culture and help them through their path, but usually for reasons ultimately unrelated to the naeem those cultures tend to die out. Naeem society is based around fleet-clans, said fleets being made from all sorts of salvaged starships from the many cultures they've attached themselves onto.
