Since late 2018 up until 2022, I have been wrestling with writing, constructing and shaping the world of < Murder The Crow > more specifically, the place known as Kingshaven through the eyes of my main character; Sadie mac Lir.
In this post, I’m going to provide an update on what is this series all about as well as breakdown the overall development so far. If you are new to my blog and you don’t know what is going on. This post will be a good guide.
Title logo may change, this is just a placeholder
I’ve thought about this a lot recently. In all of my posts about < Murder The Crow > I’ve included the name Kingshaven and Kingshaven Academy.
“But where/ what is Kingshaven?” I hear you ask.
Well, its just a name I decided to adopt and use to explain away where my characters and creatures live. The name for Kingshaven is mostly inspired by the Blue-eared kingfisher.
Named as Haven based on a real life location in my country; [Peacehaven in Genting Highlands] and loosely laid out in terms of environment from; [Mount Singai, Bau]
I was always inspired by fiction where the main characters go to a camp or school to learn and train in magic or combat. Preparing to defend themselves against other monsters who seeks to do them harm. Camp Half-Blood is a very good example in the fictional world. As a youth, I used to go to an annual year end Youth camp under different locations.
That sense of exploration, the atmosphere of being among youths. The mass gathering, the cliques, the participation of activities has always been my joy and my aim to recapture that magic once more in the Haven. Overtime, I decided to create an entire country/ island instead. Inspired by the playground world of To Aru; [Academy City]
I envisioned it to be an island that is wildly populated and untamed by ancient forests, mountains, rivers and caves and the city being a walled up place as protection from calamities and other horrible monsters adorned with artistic outdoor furniture. Standing on the edge of an unreachable cliff is the legendary tip of the buried giant obelisk that glows from day and night. Whose origin is still unknown but is the sole reason for the very existence of the Hoodlites and Salkites; The Mysterious Burning Core.
As a civilization, Kingshaven is considered as an advanced civilization but slightly out of time. Having most of their machines and devices being older than other parts of the world. While the world functions by science, Kingshaven thrives under the trade system of shards between the humans and the Hoodlites/ Salkites. Living under the influence of the STAB system as their version of science and source of power.
What started as just my former HPHM OC; Sadie mac Lir living in her own world. Specifically an ancient school known as; Kingshaven Academy eventually evolved into questions filled with more characters. Such is the case for Hector James Dagger.
As a way to make Hector stand out more against the other male characters. I decided to give him blacken out eyes. Despite him intended to look scary turned out to be well received by some of my audience. Calling him cute or handsome. Unintentionally ended up as the edgy cool guy character.
This gave me the confidence to come up with a new character to fulfill the ole saying “See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil” This eventually gave me an excuse to revive an old mate, [Jamie Ann Robyn] back from the void but still with no clear reason and story to her return.
Allowing me to shape the different types of people one will meet when visiting the Haven. The people at Kingshaven are slightly peculiar. While they are mostly human. They each have unique features on their faces.
Elvenlead - Elf ears with the perk of heightened hearing but with the drawback of temperature sensitivity.
Hollowaye - Darken out eyes with the perk of night vision or being able to see some unseen things but with the drawback of light sensitivity.
Grimmjaw - Sew mouths with the perk of needles containing venom but with the drawback of a tasteless tongue.
With these three conditions/ features. I was able to make a unique mark on the various designs found in my characters. It is a way for me to make my designs outstanding with the different features as well as the difference in head types.
As a personal note, the head shapes don’t define the boys from the girls. They are universally used by all. The noses are triangular facing up or down and they have mostly wide eyes. With that said, I have been testing out a more Chibi version of my characters which suggested [the Lite-noids] which I am hoping to bring back in some way or form.
- The Haven’s Creatures -
Aside from just [Hoodlites and Salkites: REBORN] There are also additional beings who shares the same form and loyalty to the Core in different ways.
The creatures found in Kingshaven are all creations of the Burning Core. Their powers are universally based on the STAB System and for some, they share more than one ability. To easily break this down, here are all the explored beings so far.
Hoodlites - group based beings, individualistic but united for the same duty and goal. The name means; hooded, little beings. Inspired by the Teru Teru Bōzu. The Japanese rain ghost talisman of blessings and from the Aos sí in Irish mythology. The fairy folks who acts as helpers and fierce guardians to kind humans that offers food.
Salkites - duo based beings, preferring to work with partners to achieve their goals with less. The name means; single focused and superior beings. Inspired by the Fomorians in Irish mythology.
[Cycatopus] - much less of a race rather, an individual clone race under Vox of The Red. They act as the physical embodiment of the white blood cell to the Lite-noids. Inspired by the Instagram logo but just for shits and giggles cause normal eyes is too normal.
Insight; As much as I wanted to stick the design to the name established for the Hoodlites and Salkites. I felt too restricted in terms of the variations I want to make which changed several times from fully limbed to just tails. These scrapped ideas will eventually lead to the new redesign of the Hoodlites being in a metaphorical hood/ persona. Changing the lore completely which I am very happy with.
The Salkites on the other hand is a later addition. They started out as fast slithering beings, similar to eels. More akin to the name itself which also suffered the same issues of being too restricted. In my desperation, I toyed around with the new Hoodlite design which prompted a new additional change of one eye to represent the new Salkites. A Yin to the Yang so to speak.
Next, we have the most recent addition; The Broncopod or Rudy. I loved the idea of a kaiju or monster that is very dinosaur based and so, by using an old idea that used to be for the Salkites. It developed to become an idea for the Broncopod.
I consider Sadie, Hector, the Hoodlites and the Salkites as the first phase to the development of the < Murder The Crow > Mythos. While the Cycatopus and Broncopod as the second phase. That said, My rule of thumb is, if it hasn’t reached digital stage. Its not considered as canonical and even if it has. There is a high possibility that I will change it for the better.
- Power Systems and Weapons -
The world of Kingshaven is solely powered by the STAB System which is short for; Stan, Tide, Ange and Bolt. Which is inspired and slightly altered by the real life scientific theory; The States of Matter.
This theory is the physical embodiment of material that can cause an effect to the world at large and is harnessed by the Hoodlites and Salkites With each being having one Burning Core and one ability. Their abilities each have a certain color and their effects are as addressed;
Stan (Solid) - Cubes that is similar to crystals. They are a lot tougher to break and they act as buildable bricks the user can use to build and forge new constructs.
Tide (Liquid) - Blast of water that is similar to goo or polyester. The material can also change in terms of its thickness with different effects. Often used in weapons since its the easiest one to find.
Ange (Gas) - Blades of pocket air that functions under its own laws. Its able to cause irritations, helpful for getaways. Its also able to increase and decrease the speed of objects it comes in contact with.
Bolt (Plasma) - Beam of charged energy that can break anything. Known simply as the strongest material, its also considered one of the most difficult element to capture.
These powers also leave behind shards. Small bits that the humans picked up to forge their own weapons and tools. Each customized and personified to the wielder's personality.
As for other skills and powers, there is also the various features found in the humans as well as their ingenuity to build more advanced weapons to defend themselves. Interestingly, I had this concept for making a popular weapon to be around the size of the sonic screwdriver like in Doctor Who but with the transformable option; Melee/ Range as seen in RWBY.
- Caw’s mythology: UNBOUND -
The intent of this post is to for me to give in to my demons for worldbuilding and allowing my ideas to take form in some existing record. All that you have read is a collection of my unbound creativity existing in a sandbox. Waiting to be used as props for storytelling reasons.
Taking inspiration from HP Lovecraft’s willingness to allow his correspondence to precure his props and world for their own interpretation. It is still an infant but its steadily growing and this is just the beginning.
At its core, < Murder The Crow > is as the title suggested. The mission to kill a certain creature/ person known to be as the Crow. Who is the Crow? I have no idea yet but I ask for attention cause when you least expect it. The Crow will appear and calamity will fall.
For now though, this is all that I have. If you wish to know more and join the Hood. Adopt a Hoodlite/Salkite now and hunt for the Crow together with Sadie and Hector. Let the hunt begin!
