#sanktis

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The Gods of Man

I am invited to an infodump/powerpoint party next month and I figured I’d use it as a chance to talk about my longterm obsessive worldbuilding project since I have a ton of info already and who else is going to listen to it otherwise, and I drew this because I needed some more cohesive visuals.

The individual stained glass panes were drawn about 5+ years ago or so (the last time I was able to sit down and draw a lot) Even though I feel like I can really tell they’re old and not at the same level I could draw them at today, I just didn’t want to redraw them atm.

It’s the surroundings that are new. I’m not really confident drawing locations/places but y‘know practice makes you better or something. I want to focus on getting better at it for sure!

[bugcowboyart]

Servants of the The Mad Goddess

Priests of the Mad Goddess in her threefold form serve their communities through couples counseling, officiating weddings, blessing births, incest tracking in small communities, adoptions, and clerical work for the other Mad Goddess sects.

Often called parrots because of their bright habits, these priests devote themselves to the quieter parts of love and its maintenance. The priesthood encourages individuals to foster familial and platonic love as devotion to the Goddess and each other.

In richer cities, priests might have heavily beaded and gilded feathers as pictured here in the capitol city, it is not uncommon in smaller cities to see wings made of quilted fabrics, complicated dye techniques, heavy embroidery, actual feathers or more depending on local availability. Guildsfolk fight over the honor to build the habits of their high priests when one is promoted, and retired high ranking habits are shortened to adorn priests in the lower ranks. By the time a set of wings is worn by a novitiate it may have been lovingly cared for by dozens of priests.

Aspirants and Postulants do not get wings, but instead wear embroidered, tasseled, and beaded cords that encourage them to meditate on the inherent connection of love across their lives and greater community. Because of their length and weight, the cords can become tangled, dirty, or even swing wide enough to cause harm if they aren’t carefully maintained and managed.

After taking first vows the cords are worn against the body as a personal reminder.

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The Sanktis Project // Lord of the Long Silence

Welcome to the world of Sanktis, my ongoing worldbuilding project that will eventually be a full narrative but right now is 50+ illustrations, 100 slides of lore, and about 5 pages of actual written story (which is funny because there’s already spinoff fanfic written by a friend that is longer than the “book” itself). I started around 2015 when I graduated undergrad, but the oldest drawing I still have is from 2016.

The story explores the story of three nations and their beliefs, a rising charismatic King in the north, and what happens to a priest when the beings they serve disappear from the world overnight.

These are concepts of the Priesthood serving the Lord of Long Silence—God of Death, the Dead, and Necromancers (represented here in stained glass).

While most death priests are not necromancers, those priests with the Silent Gift are called Bonedancers.

Bonedancers are brought to the temples as soon as their talents manifest after being sold, stolen, or surrendered by their parents. They are then trained in combat, performance, and ritual, before being matched into a bonded pair around puberty. These pairs, called Tethers, are not only more powerful, but their bond mitigates the immense risk of messing with the other side.

The Bonedancer Heretic in the third image shows off a pretty standard bonedancer habit; though they themselves are a character I’ll expand on in other posts if you’re interested! The other two show a standard priest and a high priestess! Habits vary regionally. The only standard is the scapular and the blank mask. Novices wear half masks!

More priesthoods incoming!

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The Sanktis Project// The Bountiful Mother

Continuing with my ongoing worldbuilding project with another priesthood! This time of the Bountiful Mother, goddess of agriculture, harvest, domestication, and livestock.

Those that serve the Bountiful Mother are a strictly nomadic and mostly solitary order of priests that have no set habit, their bronze tools are often the only identifying factor.

Each priest, called a Teacher, travels between settlements big and small educating the local farmers on domestication, husbandry, farming techniques, irrigation, or new crops. Hosting a teacher is a high honor for local farmers and they will compete elaborately for the chance, as it is seen to gain the Goddess’s favor.

It is said that these priests have an almost supernatural green thumb or affinity with animals, bestowed by the goddess herself.

The two folks represented here are Teachers of agriculture and livestock husbandry respectively.

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The Sanktis Project // Repentant Trickster Veledon

The god of Health and Healers, protector from disease began their godhood as a minor trickster. When their sole mortal servant begged the god l save her wife, Vel set out to steal part of the long silence’s power— the piece that effects the body.

Successful, the trickster went on to give healing to many, and devoted themself to their new position as god of healers (though sometimes they play tricks like sinus inversus or the like).

The Continent for the most part relies on a modified Miasma theory of disease— the idea that miasmas or “bad air” are the cause of contagious disease.

Clerics of Veledon spend the majority of their time organizing city infirmaries, lazarettos, plague quarters, and in rare times of war are voluntarily attached to army units.

Not all healers take holy orders, instead choosing to open private practices or specialty shops.

Magical healers in the order have a wide array of healing abilities—seers able to look inside bodies, burn out infection, detect cancer, or heal broken skin and bone. Surgeries are done with physical tools, magic-enhanced anesthetic, and healers to close. Non-magical healers serve in the order as surgeons, potion makers, nurses and in diagnostic capacities even without magical abilities. Potions and poultices are often made en masse by non-magic means and then enhanced or activated as needed by the magical clerics.

While germ theory hasn’t been figured out yet, magic and the knowledge of the body it reveals has been able to prolong lives and raise quality of living.