I really do apologize for the lack of art this year. I am still busy with... something I will hopefully talk about in a month or two! Not art-related, but still exciting.
Anyways. OCs from my Drakorla setting, specifically the northern countries of the Pangea-like supercontinent they live on. I thought it would be fun to diagram some toxic personalities. Original meme is by @idolkilling, here.
Khenran is head warden of an isolated prison compound built into an abandoned mining complex. Gorgoss is their assistant and chief fixer/enforcer/torturer*. They have a close but impersonal relationship of mutual enablement.
In the south, a common way to punish criminals is to remove the upper canine teeth, often accompanied by mutilation of the muzzle and/or nose. A much younger, less careful Khenran was made scapegoat after the breakup of an extensive smuggling ring and cast out of civil society (sent north). She still carries a massive chip on her shoulder about it. Their false teeth and dyed blue fur are ostentatious and somewhat tacky, like their personality.
Gorgoss is a northerner who often goes unnoticed, despite her imposing size and bulk. She is deeply antisocial and has little interest in people outside of their use in a few specific activities. Khenran gives her full run of their facilities and anything (or anyone) the southern government won't follow up on.
Stoll and Kosif are devotees of the southern state religion, a martial cult that has turned its attention to occupying and civilizing the sparsely populated "wastelands" of the north. They had a short-lived, but passionate relationship.
Stoll's mother was a northerner who surrendered him to the outpost of Garseck***, hoping the church would be kinder than relatives who would be struggling to raise their own pups. His sire was a southerner. Stoll is gentle and submissive, though his appeasing personality masks a deep-set neuroticism. He is a hardworking scribe and minor clerical assistant, and tends to blame himself when things go wrong.
Kosif's scars are remnants of a childhood parasite infection. He tends to cover that side of his face when talking, as bared teeth and the association of facial scars with criminality tend to set people on edge. He is currently married to a high-ranking member of the torturer's guild while they collaborate on a treatise about causes for deviant behavior. Kosif is deeply bored and frequently travels to get away from his spouse and workload. The irony of his current situation does not escape him.
Kosif finds Stoll attractive and exotic, almost as exciting as a "real" northerner... and Stoll is so low-status that public knowledge of their affair wouldn't do much to damage his marriage. Probably. Stoll enjoys having a close friend who appreciates the art of writing <:) and such an important one, too! How fortunate!
"Throatslitter" Ulryss is an elderly northern mage infamous for her bad temper and extreme disregard for authority. She vacillates between periods of isolation, binge-drinking and abusing the hospitality of wealthy clans, and tense visits with the few adult children she's managed to maintain a relationship with. She's considered a useful, if erratic, member of her community, as her presence discourages ambitious upstart mages from imposing on people who mostly want to be left to their herding and hunting.
Her nickname, Throatslitter, substitutes for a clan or family name. In the north, it's impolite to address a person by their first name unless you know them well. Orphans are often given a simple, somewhat unflattering "face name" to preserve guest etiquette (before the circumstances that led to her super hardcore moniker, Ulryss was known as Hatchet Head).
"Starveling Beast" Dargatta su'Vull is the latest in a long and storied line of skinpriests, originating in a land where life is harsh and clan hierarchies even stricter. She's come out of isolation to liberate the north from barbaric southern invaders... admittedly a bit late. North and south have been peacefully exchanging cultural mores for almost a full century, recent tension notwithstanding.
Vull has an erratic and extremist personality, initially gaining momentum with firebrand speeches promising to reestablish proper deference to the oldest pantheon of gods. Attempts to stymie her campaign have been mostly unsuccessful: unorganized and undersupplied, it relies on the sheer overwhelming force of numbers, razing cities and destroying farms and fields as it slowly sweeps south. Her army has picked up a massive tail of displaced refugees, sick and starving, mostly following out of sheer desperation. It is a necessary scouring, preparation for better things to come, Vull claims...
Unsurprisingly, her reputation even among northerners is extremely poor. Many people are quietly hoping Ulryss will do something about Vull before she reaches another densely populated area. The southern church is keeping an eye on her while they work on an appropriate response.
*Licensed torturers** conduct state-sanctioned executions, keep extensive genealogical records, advise on healthy pairings during the annual breeding season, and... sometimes torture. There are strict protocols guild members are expected to follow.
**Gorgoss is not a licensed torturer.
***"ei Garseck" = "from Garseck". Stoll's sire is unknown, so this is the extent of his recorded family history. He is considered a poor candidate for marriage and/or breeding for this reason.