#xcom elder

[etherealvoidechoes]

Elder Raal’Maker in his usual garb before he gets injured and degeneration really kicks in and he’s forced into his sarcophagus early and takes on human shells. Had a strong tendency to let his glowing eyes show which frightened a lot of his workers until they realized he’s actually nice.

Got a good kick in the pants to get this finished and pretty pleased. Learning more and more as I toy with painterly pieces. Need to do some texture and material studies for practice and fun.

[etherealvoidechoes]

Colored some old sketches for fun ~

Just Maker and his various human shells and then him experimenting being in two bodies at once.

[etherealvoidechoes]

Some progress. Adding some new elements that’ll be associated with Va’lo’Fe’s chapter/division.

Gotta figure out if I’m gonna make the metal to his helmet shiny or more matte.

[etherealvoidechoes]

Long overdue sketches of Raal’Maker and his human shells. Plus a version of his Elder/Ethereal form. One day I’ll color these, but for now enjoy the sketches!

And probably spoilers in some backstory blabbering as usual.

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So the many faces/bodies of Raal’Maker. He rarely has duplicate shells and is always switching faces, ages, and slowly exploring body types(not pictured yet). He envies humans(and other species his kind hasn’t messed up) and their genetic diversity as that’s something his species has lost due to their own folly.

His clothing also frequently varies(though always sharply dressed), but all of his clothes have tech embedded in them to keep track of the health of his current shell body. He keeps meticulous records to see how fast he’s burning through his bodies and to see what genetic changes work and what doesn’t. Though when his Brethren get involved, he’s burning through a lot of bodies that day.

Now, Raal’Maker is a conundrum of an Elder. So different from the rest of his kind. Well, most of his kind. He gets his thinking from his mentor Va'lo'Fe, who just nudged that budding difference, that benevolence, inside of him. So if there’s an Elder you have to work under, you want to be under him(or any under Va’lo’Fe.) He values those who work under him and will fight tooth and nail to keep his brethren from taking you. Though that’s had mixed results with him currently being apart of the Earth occupation. He’ll get eventually some well earned revenge.

Back to the Earth occupation. Only reason why the other Elders haven’t kicked him from the Earth occupation is that they need him and his work on the Avatar project(and some other projects) as he strikes that coveted balance with his genetic manipulation of not pushing past thresholds when mixing species or breaking limits. And the other reason being Elder Va’lo’Fe. Va’lo’Fe is a high ranking(if not around the highest) Elder and they don’t want to cross him.

Personally, Raal’Maker thinks the Avatar project is a foolish endeavor especially with what is currently happening to him. How he’s burning his human shells at varying, yet increasing, rates. Also knowing how his kind will still be seeking to increase their power out of greed/self importance and to fight the future threat; he believes no matter what future species they find and try to engineer better bodies for themselves, it will all be for naught. There will be no bodies to hold back their increasing powers. They will be doomed to die in decaying bodies, like how they are now. Their own self-inflicted fate.

He finds their decaying condition to be almost poetic. How many species had they scourged in their quest to fix themselves? How many no longer resembled what they once were after being ‘perfected’?  How many had they driven to extinction because they were not worthy or fought back? Far too many for him to stomach. They deserve to die for all the pain and chaos they have inflicted for their own selfish quest they try and make look righteous. Reasons why that rebellion grows within him, but he bids his time.

Though he doesn’t want to die yet. No, no, no, there’s someone he has to meet again before he’s content with dying. Well two people. Commander Jynn and her other half. The Guide, the Ascended One. How he had to keep his Brethren from being so hasty when working with the Commander. They nearly killed her a few times until he was able to wrestle the project to be fully in his hands. Until he lost that when they wanted the ADVENT system fully online, with the occasional “maintenance” checks and “future preparation”.

But he knows that Guide is there in her somewhere, but just doesn’t know how to draw them out. But he doesn’t blame them for being so hidden with how the rest of his kind is searching for ones like them to dissect and repair themselves and to better upgrade the ADVENT system to work with the other species under their control. But he hopes they’re still there, bonding to the Commander, as he just wants to see them, to have one conversation to one that was so close to his species. Actually a different path his species could sometimes take under certain circumstances. An ‘ascension” of sorts.

[etherealvoidechoes]

Please enjoy an angry Maker burning through his human shells because his Brethren are being idiots again and testing his patience. (Also because I just really like these) (Also out of town so compiling all the sketches will be awhile)