#venatir

[iskelan]

Valitar’k’Venatir and Razsagal’s first meeting from my old fic “Buried alive”.

[iskelan]

Young judicator Sakhiva’k’venatir walks around Laci province on sunny winter day.

[iskelan]

Valitar and Marijar chilling together after body switch incident. Didn’t draw them for a while.

[iskelan]

Sakhiva’k’venatir working on her scarf.

[iskelan]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

While I’m reposting my untranslated StarCraft fan fiction to AO3 I got inspired to draw some illustrations with my OCs. Takotos and Sin’khera met after a thousand years.

[iskelan]

Hello! I'm a huge fan of your art and your protoss headcanons, and I was wondering whether you have a map of Aiur during the Aeon of Strife? Like where did each tribe lived?

En Taro Adun, brave son of Aiur! That is a very unexpected question - thruly not many out there care for these so I eventually stopped posting much protoss content BUT actually I do have a map of Aeon of Strife Aiur! I must say it is an old one, based on even older one, where my older fandom fellows extrapolated the shorelines of Aiur from poor screenshots from 1998 ingame cinematics, so it may not correlate with new canon images at all. Here is the basic map after I processed it by drawing some depths and mountains - putting it here so the tribal borders may look more understandable due to their natural habitat borders. No toponimics included, but I sure do have a number of fancy names for oceans and mountains, just never had a chance to introduce.

Here is the map of tribes as I settled them after lots of discussions with @intaier and writing some fiction that many times involved geographic specifications of each tribe. These include as well Kanimai (black) and Sheddar (teal). I will give some brief information on each tribes position in the conflict. Shelak the knowledge keepers are blessed by Xel Naga tech to isolate themselves from all conflicting tribe. A great wall of weapons defends them on the south, high mountain on the north-east, ocean on the west. They don't share their techs and legacy of Xel-Naga with others, staying loyal to their gods and teachers, and merely wait until the conflict ends. Akilae tribe dwells in broad but relatively warm northern regions and are in constant conflict with neighbouring tribes Auriga, Sargas and Velari. As the ones who first discovered the truth about gods, they believe they were blessed by truth and avoid any alliances with those who "never guessed". Auriga as a tribe of noble sailors keeps their hands strong on the volcanic islands and inner shores of Gizar ocean. They are in constant war with Sargas and Akilae, but eventually closer to the end of Aeon of Strife the will unite their forces against Ara and Velari. Their ongoing efforts on the seas eventually conquered them part of the Oshekh sea shore, which was historically held by Ara only. Sargas Empire expands through wide and unfriendly mountain grounds which passed through many natural cataclysms, which forged this tribe as one of the most independent among Protoss, which was the reason they were the last to bend under expanding unity of Khala, and it was brought to their ground with another massive conflict. In fact, many of Sargas willingly cut their nerve-cords even back then to resist annexion, but it didn't help. Venatir and Sheddar tribes live in the almost coldest regions of Aiur, preferring cold to be their natural protection - in my headcanons although Protoss are warmblooded, they can't really stand temperatures too low, especially the ones who always inhabitated warm regions like Ara. While Venatir shamans went up to the mountains, hunting and mindcontrolling animals, Sheddar chose cold swamps, where they sewed clothes and crafted medicines from local unique plants. Both tribes were isolated from the major conflict most of the time, until Auriga ships brought Sargas warriors to the Oshekh shores, and these decided to make a maneuvre through the mountain grounds - something that won't scare off a true Sargas. That resulted in alliance, which provided Auriga and Sargas warriors with powerful mental support from Venatir shamans, which could stand Ara mind-control techniques most effectively. Sheddar medicine was also very handy. Ara tribe occupied the most warm tropical region of Aiur. They consider it a gift of gods and hence proclaim themselves the most worthy Protoss, legit to rule all the others. Their rituals and mind-control techniques make it quite possible for them. Being physically fragile, they can successfully manipulate huge armies, even into destroying themselves as they did many times with Auriga invaders. Furinax tribe dwells in colder lower shore grounds. They are peaceful tribe, willingly submissive to Ara, providing them with materials and workers in exchange to protection of their shores. Their part of Gizar is full of colder streams, so in fact this protection is rarely needed - Auriga are attracted almost solely to warm Ara grounds. Velari tribe, dwelling in subtropical half-deserted area accepts Ara dominance and exists in submissive alliance. While they are genetically close, it sometimes occur that Ara take the most mentally powerful Velari in, and descends mentally weaker but physically stronger Ara into ruling positions among Velari. That, along with Furinax submissive position, results in forging stronger bonds between tribes, and after Khala comes this brings the base of Protoss caste system. Also it resulted into high amount of high templars among them in future. Kanimai, as well as Venatir and Sheddar, preferred to

stay away from the conflict. But unlike them they weren't always a tribe - more likely they are refugees from the Ara submissive territories, which preferred independent existance. Not that Ara oppressed them much - but being their allies meant being part of the conflict. They existed separately, and after Khala they became that one tribe which could give birth to Protoss of any caste with equal probability.

This all is a very brief and fragmented retelling of bigger picture, and I hope it's not conflicting within itself. Aiur history keeps living and developing in my mind always and I really hope I will manage one day to finish all the unwritten stories of Aeon of Strife I once started. As a treat here's one of my recent sketches on topic - young Ara cultists trying to confuse the mind of Auriga invaders but failing because a Venatir shaman is on their way, fully resistant to their influence.

[iskelan]

En-Taro Adun, Judicator! Once again, I ask for your wisdom.

I noticed writings on your drawings, mostly on caduceuses and clothing, and I'm curious if they mean something and if they do, do you have a guide on how to read them?

Long story short - No. Right now I don't have a decent "protoss dictionary", but for sure I was developing one decades ago, while we were a very small, but active group of fans - things from the same time where we got the map of Aiur from.

You can check out this post for short descriptions of protoss written languages I commonly use in my art, mostly Cheamendu, Sacred Judicator cipher (implied Khalani) and Sendji. And I guess it's that sacred cipher you're asking about.

This is one of the favorite things I was working on - it's nothing like traditional human language (unlike the others I named - they existed in protoss society before Khala, hence they were applied to more common social and cultural interactions), since it's about shaping personal images within Khala vortex. This languge dominates in Judicator society and is used to mark their status in all the ways. Also it is believed it has power of blessing and cursing (like Terran runes). So it's not used to transfer messages, but more as an instruction of how to read something in Khala, how to find certain events, emotions etc. in Protoss common memory. Like the "En Taro" formula, but wider and more complex.

Here I will try to explain the meanings I put into them on this example of older art of Takotos'k'Venatir from another massive picture.

The big symbol on his background is schematic tree with frutis of knowledge - the symbol of Venatir Tribe and their unity with nature and earth of Aiur. The branches of the tree are also hands of a Judicator - two stripes on each sides symbolize fingers - so they carry this knowledge, they are bond to it. The stripes on the upper part of the tree are the levels of ascenscion. Takotos reached the highest 9th grade and became member of Supreme Court of the Conclave, hence bringing the greatest glory to his tribe. The oval shape here is Worlds Egg, symbolic container of supreme knowledge, which only Judicator after 5th grade may achieve. It has also it's sublevels, but they aren't pictured here.

Further to his caduceus - same on the bottom part, claiming his tribe and status, and above it is his name written in Sendji. As I see it - each time a Judicator gets his new grade, his caduceus is remade into new one with new carvings, so that it's metal will always preserve his memory since the very day he obtained his first grade and touched the caduceus for the first time.

And his scarf is another interesting part. Apart from the tradition that makes Conclave members carry pieces of cloth with lots of sacred markings on them, Venatir have a tribal feature of wearing long scarves, very convenient to decorate them with such embroidery. But the sense is the same - those symbols are very specific metaphoric milestones of personal experience. They clearly show all moments of balance and imbalance, and Takotos had quite a story of these. When I was drawing them, I was basically thinking of various events from his life and reforming them into energy flows, so I don't think I could translate each of these right now - it is implied that they are to be read when you are standing close, able to touch the fabric and read the energy imprint around each of pictures. In other words - whatever you can imagine when looking at these, correlating it with Judicator philosophy and ways.

I must confess, that since I haven't developed this concept much through last years, I sometimes do draw things very randomly, referring to my own senses and memory only. The whole Judicator cipher was born in very unstable state of mind and initially it wasn't mine, but I found logic in these and was allowed to use them in my concepts - as I was considered as a wise Judicator that can be trusted such knowledge :) So I allow myself to invent more of this stuff and use it as I see it. Like on this recent sketchy image of Aldaris' caduceus (on the lower part of the picture is his memory of youth where he touched the caduceus for the first time) - the bottom part isn't about his tribe, but more about him being a War Councilor, and also his caduceus contains writings on Djurana, presumably - names of his soul sister and daughter. Because Judicator may choose what he wants to see carved on his caduceus, as long as it contains no lies or blasphemy.

I hope I could give satisfying answers to your question. And may Adun watch over you.

[iskelan]

I have no idea what to draw. I’m dead and empty inside, totally done and out of inspiration. Because reasons. So when I look inside myself I see only... something like this. Valitar and Marijar in childhood, younger is 6 y.o., elder is 13. One loves his brother and desperately wants some emotional response, the other is all inside himself, his multiple complexes and sociophobia. No connection to Khala yet (in my universe little protoss are capable to enter the great unity only when they’re around 40 - before it is not only too difficult due to insufficient length of nerve cords, but simply dangerous to their unformed personality), and therefore no understanding between these two. A little family drama.