Dyfed

2024

The First Mountain
The Red mountain stands at the fore of all others. Yes. Red. The blue is just a color. Its life is Red.
2024

A portrait of Princess Zelda of the Legend of Zelda franchise standing in a grove, flowers at her feet.

Zelda

"Where did you get this game?"
"Found it in one of the Architect hoards."
"Didn't mum tell you to stop going there? and that it's super dangerous?"
"Do you want to play or not?"
"Yes!"
"Then promise not to tell."
"but-"
"Promise!"
"Okay, okay, just don't toss it out!"
[The existence of this transmission suggests that our worlds may be more connected than previously thought. Research into how to strengthen this connection, and more importantly, how to close it, is ongoing]
June 21, 2025

A rendition of Frederic Remington's A Dash for the Timber, with the pursuing Natives replaced by amalgams

Sirroud Jackknife

"Stick to the plan! We only need to lead them to the edge of the trees!"
"It's too far, send Jim's horse back, he doesn't need it anymore!"
"NO! He was carrying the omnisensor."
"It doesn't matter, by the time they metabolize it, they'll be trapped." Fourth Era, epoch 3
April 20, 2025

Red Feather
Sing o muses, of ruin and flame, of a thousand mouths that curse his name.
2025

A ruined warship overhanging a road which cuts through a sagebrush desert. A small campsite has been built under the ruins

A gift from Mount Kazbek

"Goooood Morning Wei Notos! Today we're bringing you a special bulletin, a PSA from the TBA, about that shadowy figure you all know and love. I'm sure by now most of you lovely people have heard about the shiny new chromeworks coming out of the lower Ducts, and I'm not just talking about your momma's new culinary array, Ha!
Well, I'm here to tell you that you haven't seen ANYTHING yet. Now, I'm no stranger to cybernetics, as you all are aware, and even I was awestruck by the work of art I saw yesterday. The kindly Doctor has really outdone themselves this time! A combination of improved sensory organs, musculoskeletal reinforcements, a complete overhaul of the G.I. Joe tract, and even an oft-coveted, nigh invisible improvement to the digital structures(That's the hands, for the uninitiated). Not only that, all these things were seamlessly integrated into the recipient, no mental degradation OR physical discomfort, even in the Ocular implant.
Ol' Doctor H is practically a modern Prometheus. It really was a sight to behold. And that's to say nothing of the lovely lady it was attached to...But I digress. Next up on the playlist is Beethoven's 5th, mixed out of its gourd."

A large, double spiral staircase viewed from below, one staircase is a garden with foliage and trees, the other passes through a library with bookshelves thirty meters tall

Icarine Mezzanine

It is a great tragedy that the pillar of the city, that loftiest of towers that dwarfs the rest of the capital's skyline has never been fully mapped. Attempts have been made, of course, but while the ground floor is easily visited and enjoyed, what mysteries lay beyond and above, ensconced in Gothic facades and flying buttresses like none found anywhere else, have always been guarded fiercely by the Tribals known as Speurorain, the Sky Singers.
For a time, it was believed that if the tribals could be lured away or distracted, an exploratory party could reach the peak(or at least the large platforms which jut out just before the peak). A fake assault was conducted to attempt this very thing, and the Spearhead exploratory team was sent up. The following rendition of the core atrium was retrieved from a black box jettisoned from a window, depicting a stairway only a few meters above the church halls of the ground floor.
All members of the exploration were presumed dead, until three weeks later they emerged from the Obscura, battered but mostly unharmed. Of their experiences after contact was lost none said anymore than this: "The Tower is the domain of The First."
July 10, 2024

A ruined warship overhanging a road which cuts through a sagebrush desert. A small campsite has been built under the ruins

Rusted Reminder: Dusty Warmech

The warring period was, for most people, defined by loss. Families broken as surely as the homes they once inhabited. This is a well studied topic, and for good reason. But all too often our preoccupation with the immediate can blind us to the warning signs of the next disaster.
It was years before anyone who noticed the sand's expansion were willing or able to ask for help from their former enemies. By that time, the Shifting Sea had already claimed dominion over the Mangroves, and had begun killing the grasslands. As it had in times past, the central plains quickly adapted, and between its violent fits of Altstorms, settled into a lush scrubland.
The Northern mountains were not so lucky, and several peaks were ground to dust in the decade it took for the combined effort of nomads and citizens to force the sands back to their former territory. Former warmechs were repurposed as stationary powerplants to assist the reforestation efforts. Some even survive today.
Mere days after this monumental achievement, nomads of the Mara-Righ were seen pulling the remains of one of the former markers(A pair of massive jackal statues of unknown origin) up from the sands. Their beast took them north, and a few weeks later a pillar of light scoured the edge of the sands for an hour straight. When it cleared, the markers had been returned to pristine condition and a message had been burned into the glassed sands around them

"The Anu watch the Sea. Do not let them blink again"

A factory producing a thick cloud of smog from a tobacco pipe. within the smog, a sea captain can be seen holding a compass.

Smog of Lionel

During the Post-Unity wars of the Fourth Era, industry became king, and while this created an environment of high social mobility for those with the skills and will to succeed, it also created the Smog.
Lionel Qoltim, an orphan-born resident of a now defunct Northern stronghold was one such individual. A polymath, polyglot, and renowned biologist, he sought a swift end to the civil wars that ravaged the Northern Reaches. He concluded that a combination of communication and command of resources were the determining factors of a war, so he developed the Smog. And the clock struck midnight.
No one knows how he came across enough energy to cause the initial burst of smog, but once it was exposed to the chaotic magic and electrical systems of the warring states, it was nearly unstoppable. It not only fed off of both magical and standard energies, but it was quickly discovered that the smog was infused with its own WILL, a mind to direct its destruction.
Lionel himself survived the war, living to see what form his peace took. The smouldering wastes of the inner North were uninhabitable for years, until an unknown entity(speculated to be the yet undiscovered cardinal beast of the grasslands) lent its power to heal the land. No human has successfully stepped into those lands since, any who try are mentally compelled to avoid it.
April 13, 2024

A feline drake with bone-like skull armor and luminous veins, standing over a pool of liquid

Luxblood Drake

"Everybody was afraid of the dark at one point. Its practically a right of passage to overcome that phobia. But too many people have learned the wrong lesson. They think there is nothing to fear because the dark isn't a threat. They never think to look towards the light that they trusted to keep them safe. Like a campfire at frigid midnight. But nothing bright is ever your friend. Even the Sun. Even though it grows our food, lights our way, and warms us all, these things are all incidental to its singular goal: to burn. And it will do so no matter what prayers or weapons you throw at it. So when you see a light, day or night, think very carefully about why it is so brazenly displaying its whereabouts. And you stay hidden."
April 5, 2024

A blackhole and the surrounding accretion disk interrupted by arms reaching out of the black hole, one of which reaches toward the viewer

Reaching Out

"Come, brother. Will you step back in fear of the fall, or will you take the leap and your place in history?"
"Do you really think it's that simple? Brother, you ARE a part of the universe. Wherever you go, the universe is, too. To step off the edge would be to become inhuman, something ELSE."
"And? Is being human really so great? You cling to dregs, Abel. Join my maiden voyage. Please."
"I am proud to be human. Our legs have taken us to many worlds, we stride as giants across the galaxy. Countless worlds glitter with our lights. That is prosperity, not dregs. No, I'm sorry, I'm staying."
"Then I regret only that your death will be forgotten."
February 9, 2024

A riot of activity, many drones circling and prodding at a stream of darkness which contains distorted faces

Harvest Season

Just alike the harvests of fall with their crops of maize and wheat, Winter holds its own harvest. The cloying hands of machines pulling pure possibility from errant arcs of magic that separate from the beacon, source of all power, just as they pull a carrot from the Earth.
It is a simple, but dangerous task. If anyone steers too close to the beacon it will be sublimated at best, and at worst, morph into an artificial disaster.
February 3, 2024

A prop-fighter banking sharply, a decal of a double crescent on the side of the craft's tail

Cloudcutter Banshee

A sky adorned with precise yet chaotic patches of white showered in light among the blue. The shriek of a red-tailed hawk pierces the serenity. Yet as the sound rises under the name of Doppler, it rattles bone. A cloud bursts apart, eviscerated by a child of man: an aircraft astride an amaryllis of flame magnified by tendrils of magic. A column of ashen smoke and a dull echoing thud mark the end of the construct's joyous exultation
Though the crash contained no human, the prototype plane was deemed a disaster by the team who composed it. All except the pilot, who took the loss of its new body in impressive stride. Their quotation, taken from the text feed of their black box in the crater has been immortalized in many history books: "That was so much fun! Can I go again?" January, 2024

An anvil with a piece of metal atop, being struck by a hammer. the end of the metal morphs into a snake with bright fluid metal in place of bodily fluids

Cesium Spell-Smithing

For the first time since the Second Era, magic was once more the work of the common man. No field of work was untouched by mage artifice, from factory work to the kitchen. Though channeling magic directly through one's body was not unheard of after the shattering effects of the war, it was deemed by many to be unsafe and unpredictable. Ironic, given the prevalence of Spellwrought weapons and Mechanized Mage Constructs on the battlefield. December 31, 2023

midwinter

Midwinter Jubilee

And in the depths of winter's fury, under wind and whispering snow, we built a peace of wood and wonder, of fire and friends. The end, denied
Merry Christmas and a wonderful Winter! December 24, 2023

A bipedal tank, with the barrel of the cannon in the midst of firing jutting up towards the viewer. A battered battlefield surrounds it

Zeitgeist of the Fourth Era

"It is common knowledge that the standard Republic calendar began at the start of what the Archivale refers to as the 'Third Era'. Yet many scholars still disagree on when exactly the Third Era ended. Many argue that the quartet pulse that echoed from the Tower's summit across the airwaves should be used, though many of that group are dismissed as kooks on account of their views of the existence of the so called 'Musician' speculated to be living in the tower. Other say with confidence that the date on which the Archive's reports switched to the new era should be used. Their case being weakened by the fact that the Archive itself contained statements implying that the Fourth Era began before its reports were penned. There are even people who claim that the Third Era continues into the present, for the simple reason that changing the calendars would be a hassle.
One thing can be certain, however. By the time the Shifting Sea began spilling from between the gates of the Mangroves, it was clear a new Era had begun."
Excerpt of the script of a documentary titled "The Seminole War" December 20, 2023

A tribal with sharp teeth, wearing a dunkleosteus skull as a helmet and wielding a spear adorned with shells

First Contact

"You lost all your ships to...A tribe of fish people."
"Yes, sir! I mean, no sir! The tribals were wearing the bones and scales of fish but were not aquatic themselves. Sir."
"Riiight. Do you mind, private, if it wouldn't be too much trouble that is, telling me WHERE THE FUCK THEY CAME FROM!?"
"Sir, the tribals emerged from the Shifting Sea at 0500 hours, on the 10th of Duober. They appeared without specialized craft, and given that no abnormal flows around our ship were detected until the attack it is speculated that they had been hiding underwater by the time we arrived as opposed to swimming towards the boats. Sir."
"And what the hell was intelligence doing that they managed to overlook an entire species within the area? This isn't the Obscura, for God's sake, things don't just pop up!"
"Sir, I cannot speak for intelligence, sir!"
"Of course not. Great, that's just fantastic. You're a real help. Anything other shit you'd like to add to this river I'm paddling up?"
"Sir, medical autopsied one of the bodies we were able to recover. They report that the tribals are made of altered human DNA. Sir."
"You don't say. Dismissed, Private. I have some calls to make."
Nov 20, 2023

A young woman in a fur-lined dress, with a translucent spirit of a deer surrounding them

Pagan Revival

After what became known as the War of Thirds, the occult influences within the city were greatly weakened. Gods that had once granted their cults power and prestige could no longer support them. And the Architects were no comfort either, becoming openly hostile to humans within the undercity, where before they were content to ignore human settlements.
Instead, people latched onto the symbol of freedom that had persisted unchanged throughout the conflict: The Eastern forests also known collectively as Arborea Obscura. Nature worship was suddenly more popular than it had been with humans since the exodus of Qizal Witches in the second era.
Despite this new popularity, the Arborea seemingly remained unwilling to accept humans as a permanent resident of the boughs. November 9, 2023

A woman dressed in military garbs thick arm bracers, heavy boots, suspenders. A gun in the right hand and a sceptre in the left, she looks out over a city, the tallest spire of which is capped with a tear in reality

End

"All things considered, that went fairly well. The Architects gone home to the undercity, the gods dead or driven into hiding. The people bruised but mostly unharmed. It took a lot of work, but we finally did it. Your job is done, my siblings. Thank you for your help, but now you should go. He'll be after the artifact as soon as he cools down, you won't be safe."
Smouldering ashes, and angry gnashes. A pin dropped in a yawning crypt is my reward. I only hope it will be enough.
"Now for the hard part." Drawtober, October 31 2023

firestorm

Reborn

"We'd just gotten back to the city, just in time to watch the combat drones that the doctor had commissioned from the Architects fighting...well it's hard to describe.It was definitely a God but...Have you ever seen a millipede? Imagine that, but made of paper and light and moving like someone had sped up a video of it. Like it physically couldn't move at the normal speed for its size."
"Who won?"
"Hard to say, the Architects made a lot of the drones, and the millipede god was moving too much to really get a read. Until a drone latched onto the God and self destructed."
"Ah, we felt that in the bunkers, I think."
"I'll bet. The only reason that it didn't flatten the city was that the God wrapped itself around the drone. I never thought they were selfless but I guess everyone has good in them."
"Well it is a God. They don't really die as long as there are worshippers. Maybe it was just protecting its fuel."
"Oh that's a pleasant thought. Humans as fuel."
"Stop it, You know what I meant. So how did you and T stop the war? Did you hijack a construct and duke it out with the rest of the gods?"
"No. We were handling some of them, SpecOps had a guy fighting Luna, the air force had all but broken Two-face and you heard what happened to the millipede, but the bulk of the army was just trying to minimize casualties."
"What about ground zero? Were the nuclear warheads not enough?"
"...I shouldn't say this but...That wasn't us. I saw the pillar of fire when it first erupted. A lone person, not human but not animal, was talking to several gods. They started fighting and the person fought viciously, wounding a few. But they were Gods. They ripped them apart. Only...the person wasn't dead. They made that fire. And they survived it, too."
"No person could do that. It must have been another god."
"I thought so too. But why would they fight each other? Why would they look human? Gods NEVER choose to look like that. They either look like their true monstrous body or perfectly human. Then I thought maybe it was an Arborean but...This thing was too strong. Arboreans that powerful can't leave the interior. And this is the worst part: I felt like I recognized the person."
"I'm sure things will be okay, Lewik. Let's go home."
"Okay Tess."Drawtober 30, 2023

A lone gunman preparing to face down with a faceless, wiry limbed, cosmos crowned being

Eldritch

The patrons of the city are fickle beings, not to be trusted. We knew this, and often fought with them. The gods were not kind in their response, and we preferred it that way.
And then we settled down, wanting to build ourselves up rather than tear them down. We began to ignore them. They starved without us. Starvation made them desperate and we forgot our distrust. They made us pay dearly for our mistakes. Drawtober 29, 2023

A haphazard combination of electron field diagram and traditional partical diagram of a gold atom

Golden

Today one of my siblings brought me a small nugget of gold! I thank them for the gift and promised to make good use of it, so I used it in the circuitry of my universal dismantler!
I can't believe I lost the last one! I told the siblings that it was a dodecahedron with a colorful inside, but they still couldn't find it. I hope we find it soon. The other humans can't be trusted with it.
Oh! Gray, you're back, how was your trip?"
-audio diary entry 53 of H.D.
Drawtober 28, 2023

Two figures, one in a modern snow coat and upward flowing hair, and the other in the dregs of rags with a lesser kudu skull obscuring its head, sitting across from each other in a frozen cave

Folklore

"This mountain, stained with snow and ice, is the counterpart to the city. The same is true of all the North, and the West and East. This I learned from years of isolated contemplation. Sp who are you to greet me as an old friend? You, who has no reflection?"
"..."
"No. I do not wish to know. Tell me what you want. I shall trade you a story in turn."
-The Crown Speaks
Drawtober 27, 2023

A tortured man, impaled on jagged thorns that have sprouted from their body, crawling and holding out a hand for assistance to a hazmat suited man. The hazmat suited man is holding a radiation measurement tool up to the deadman, and another hazmat suit is holding out a gun pointed at the deadman

Decaying

"Wow, this guy got over 1,000 sieverts, that's a new record."
"Back off. I don't want to hit you with the shrapnel. Your suit will get torn and it's worth more than you."
"Sorry guy. We'll add your name to the memorial."Drawtober 26, 2023

A plated icosahedron flanked by a pair of electromagnets. each plate contains a

Iridescent

"They armed the super weapon, T!"
"That is not a super weapon."
"What?"
"Weapons of Mass Destruction refer to many things, but this is not one. Its purpose is non-violent and it only detonates after being abused."
"Oh, you mean like the abuse of two electromagnets ripping it apart?"
"...Yes"
"Hey, I have an idea, you hold this, and I'll evac without you."
"Point taken. I will cut the power supply to the magnets." Drawtober 25, 2023

A spectral figure with arms outstretched, one hawk head, one canine head, and a center head which is non-organic in shape looming over a city

Looming

Some things have a presence. Something you can feel, an aura if you believe that sort of thing, body language if you don't.
Then there are the things with a presence so large it is like the weather, it blankets entire regions. And once you realize there are things with that much power, you start to wonder what you may have missed because you had passed it off as just a bad day, or an unlucky coincidence.
I'm telling you right now, stop wondering.
-Unknown Vagabond Drawtober 24, 2023

A submarine interior, the bunk section, several drops of water dripping from above

Leakage

"Can you hear it?
The tapping...always tapping...tapping but there is no nevermore...it is only the flow. Flow over what and where!? Staying is a death of soul but leaving I'll never...never can...
Don't put me back in the water with it!"
-Last words of Colonel J. Polon, captain of the exploratory voyage "Daedalus' Twin"
Drawtober 23, 2023

A three panel picture, depicting a lone traveller in a massive tundra walking toward a mountain range. The latter two panels zoom out, revealing the true distance

Isolated

And then one step outside the Needlework, into a bolide blinding land That is when you realize that neither the Eastern Trees, nor the Westerns seas, nor still the Southern Order stand taller than the Northern Crowns
Drawtober 22, 2023

A towering robot with a multi-pointed crystal embedded in its chest

Ancient Automaton

[Boot sequence initiated | Status: Low system function percentage]
[Welcome Unit 04 alias Lepton | Your services are again required]
[Query: Enter identification code or serial number]
[We are Architect 02 | Serial Number designated as G000025 | Command: Run diagnostics]
[Running | Request: Please replace Piezoelectric dynamos 2 and 5 to restore locomotion | Weapons systems nominal]
[Excellent. We will be waking your counterparts soon. Find and stay with them until further notice]
[Acknowledged | Statement: Thank you]
Drawtober 21, 2023

A chimpanzee gripping the prison bars of a zoo, a cigarette in its other hand, eyeing a zookeeper who appears to be struggling to keep their keys in their hands.

Inside

Experiment:....uhh....9203 I oversaw this one directly, because I was super excited to see the results(and also because my siblings kept murdering the assistants) I had heard some people complaining about communication issues and thought to myself "Telepathy would fix that!"
Unfortunately, it turns out that in order to understand anything a telepath is saying you have to accept the whole message, not just the words. And we used chimpanzees as the base type, so they were able to consistently escape by inducing aggressive thoughts in a guard, forcing them to open the enclosures in order to confront them, then severely mauling the victim.
What? No, Ami, nobody died. Yes, even that guy! Okay, sure, he has a few mechanis bits now, but if anything he's better off for that.
We only found out later(due to all the chimp-damage disguising it) that if a person couldn't do what was demanded, the new Siblings would inflict a brain hemorrhage with excessive psychic stress on their victim.
I couldn't get enough Psych-resistant help, so I promised the violent Siblings if they behaved I would release them into the Arborea with their other Siblings. They agreed and now a troop of them is living in the Southern Branchlands, where they demand I stay away. I was sad about that, but I guess it's understandable given how our last few interactions went.
On the upside, I was able to use the research to augment myself with Telepathy! -H.D.
Drawtober 20, 2023

A large fish, about to be eaten by an even larger fish

Nature

You may always rely on Nature to provide you with two things: Death and a chance
Drawtober 19, 2023

A man with a jagged, tree like structure erupting from his chest and lifting him into the air, a field of similar trees visible in the background

Festering

"When a man or a prince is strong and powerful he can make peace as he wants to; but when he is weak, a stronger one will come and do what he wants to him."
-Vlad Țepeș
Drawtober 18, 2023

Four separate scenes, divided by dark lines out of which eyes peer.

Memory

How nice of you to join me in my lowly dungeon. I was just about to begin. [Srrrfhgeomnfjedva fjwodifbt tholm gadgotle. Shinpt.]
Memories are fragile. Did you know that? [To. Limp. bill.]
People don't always appreciate the work that goes into maintaining a memory. [Cadmium. Longing.Surreptitiously.]
Always wanting to change it to suit their whims. [Worcestershire. Woman. When. Who. What?]
But they are poor thought-smiths, their work is riddled with flaws and fractures. I, on the other hand- [What is this? Where am I?]
Ah. Welcome to existence. I am Yoer. You are my creation, and I have a job for you. [Oh. Okay. What do I need to do?]
Just go and explore. Then come back and tell me what you saw. If you do well, I'll teach you everything you want to know.
[This is amenable to me. I will see to it at once, Yoer.]
Drawtober 17, 2023

A man reclining in a penthouse office, his desk dominated by holographic image of the city, the same city which can be seen outside the window behind him

Deceptive

"Building an empire is more fun than maintaining one. They never tell you that when you sign over your life to the position. Yes, I know we're a Republic, it's called shorthand. Now get me some coffee. I need some time to figure this out."
Name: Laniak Jotul Occupation: Third Head of State for the City. Current status: Sleep Deprived from a 36 hour trial begun by the Doctor's announcement. Origins: Native of The City[This part has been crudely scratched out, and replace with "Obscuran" in runelang]
Drawtober 16, 2023

An interpretation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the two figures separated by a syringe filled with a venomous green fluid

Split

Mutagenic and mind-altering drugs were first made popular by the author Robert Louis Stevenson, in his novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". However, their use extends much further into the past, found in excerpts and accounts of herbal concoctions that drove tribal peoples to spiritual enlightenment.
These, however, did little to alter the physical forms of the individual. Changing one's body freely is a secret of the future, buried under a layer of metaphorical bedrock. But where our ancestors worked with stone tools and floral remedies: our children shall have scalpels, mass-produced chemicals, and more at their disposal.
Too long have we struggled to change our environment to suit our needs, to substitute external solutions to an internal problem: Human nature.
No more will we be subject to the chance happenings of nature. Now, and forthwith we will command our bodies to do as we desire with through willpower and technology.
Some claim I go too far. That I mistake what is possible and what is not.
Where does one draw the line between reality and possibility? Is there really any difference?"
H. D. AKA "The Doctor", speech given during a mass hijacking of radio, television, and internet-based broadcasts shortly before the magnitude 10.5 Earthquake which came to be known as "The Split" tore apart large sections of formerly stable land and sea.
Drawtober 15, 2023

growth

Growth

The sprawl of the city accelerates as reports of several Architects moving towards the Arborea, plagued by both the flora and fauna of the forest. The last time a conflict of this scale occurred, the Archivists and Architects leveled a significant portion of the city infrastructure
More at 11
Drawtober 14, 2023

A dark sun above the edge of a narrow cliff, a stone marker

Journey

Dark stars and eclipses, Earthquakes and Storms These are the hallmarks of doom which nature partakes
Bloodshed and plagues, starvation and time, Humankind has many a deathly partition
Yet every color has its inverse, and every end a beginning Though both are terse when compared to the Journey
Drawtober 13, 2023

A soundwave chart with negative coloration

Tasty

[See above: Last recorded waveforms of a John Doe before death. The lines on the left indicate a steady heartbeat. The lines in the center were found to match that of the sound of bones snapping.]
Drawtober 12, 2023

A decrepit war mecha with a crushed car underhand, in the middle of the street. Three large poles have pinned it to the street, apparently the reason for its destruction

Rusty

"The Architects of the City's subterranean superstructures can create more than just buildings, they can create mechanical life. Unfortunately, much like biological life of the Arborea, their creations hold little regard for humans. Some people wonder why the Architects are tolerated at all if they threaten people. These individuals have never seen an Architect in person. They are not just lumbering monoliths, not just enormous in size, but in constant motion. They are trillions of creatures, in a furious dance, perpetually on the cusp of colliding with each other and ruining the carefully crafted kaleidescopic array of their pieces. They are gods, and like we would to ants, they have ignored or condescended our attempts at communication.
And the Doctor has established a rapport with them."
-Lead Citizen speaking to the war room of the Republic
Drawtober 11, 2023

A dark, feline creature silhouetted against the rising full moon, a bear trap latched to one of its back paw

Wound

"Upon the face of a clockwork moon Fine lace of rust led between the grains of the untread, to a mind, a soul. Broken by self-made folly, yet clinging to its chains of woe. In the lake of hate told by a name, just remember: You'll bleed forever."
-Found written in mile-long letters on the plains, the writing made by something burning the ground to glass. Despite the proximity to the city, only one witness came forward, who claimed it was cause by a fight between two animals, a caniform, and a Shape shifting hell-demon[sic]. He was dismissed after it was confirmed that none of the six Cardinal Beasts were anywhere near the site at the time.
Drawtober 10, 2023

A cat, eyes bright red, playing with a mushroom

Mushroom

Mushrooms are often uprooted and even wholly exterminated by feline inhabitants of the Arborea. It is unknown why the cats do this, the fungus is never eaten, just left to rot. Regardless of why, the easily accessible material has become a useful resource for local clothing textile operations, as several mushroom species produce a fine, silk-like material. Tokamak clothing, who pioneered this strategy, is currently studying the fungus to determine if urban cultivation is possible.
Drawtober 9, 2023

A lava-lamp like splash of pink, with black arcs cutting through the pattern

Psychedelic

They're moving again. I wonder if they will live to see the interregnum. No. They'll never escape. Tragedy begot of times they were not are bars around them, lost to the mind yet known to the nucleas of their souls. Divine jokes are rarely merciful
Drawtober 8, 2023

A queen bee, flanked by four workers who appear to be praising their mother.

Worship

"There's no way this will work, T. Why would their frequency be totally unencrypted? It's got video for crying out loud, it would be a complete security fail-"
"Oh, a new arrival! How are you? You'll have to bee(get it?) Patient I was just trading with my friends here for some honey."
"Wha- I mean, is this the doctor?"
"They're kind of admirable, aren't they?"
"The bees?"
"Yeah."
"I guess so. You haven't answered my question."
"They work so hard, all for a common goal. A unanimous goal. Not one dissenter. They're more like one big organism than individuals. I guess that's why they were allowed out of the forests. Do you like your job, Lewik?"
(Keep them on the line, I will try to find their location.)
"I enjoy some of it. It isn't always fun, it's a job, but it gives me purpose. We've seen some of your work, it was impressive."
"Why thank you! I try very hard. Sometimes I think I would make a good bee, hahaha. But then, I'm not so happy being just a worker. Following someone else's lead. That's what makes me human, I suppose. Me, and you.(Thank you, Madame Queen, here is your payment)"
"Humans can be hard to work with, I agree. But they're worth the effort."
"Ha! You must have been a preacher in a previous life, to talk to a choir like that. Unfortunately for you, I'm not the one you have to convince. Anyway I'm about done here. Catch me if you can, Ciao!"
"Wait! Damn, the signal dropped. Tiahuacan, did you-?"
"Yes. It is a location quite close to the city. We should hurry, Lewik. I am worried."
"You and me both." Drawtober 7, 2023

A hooded figure standing in a graveyard performing a bow, a stream of blue and purple spirits spiraling outward from their hand.

Forbidden Spell

"A lot of people think that necromancy is outlawed for the ethical concerns of reanimating someone who would rather their corpse be left alone, or for families who don't wish to grieve twice. In truth, it is actually only highly regulated, and hospitals have been utilizing the practice to reanimate those who died before their time for years. No, it is the retelling of this fact to others that will put you outside the law. Why? The answer is twofold: No one is born with a soul. Souls are exclusively a product of uncontrolled necromancy. And. They can never be destroyed once created." Chief of CHO(City Health Organization), to an enraptured bar, New years Eve. Only two of his audience lived to see the next Eve. Drawtober 6, 2023

A portrait of the lower half of a person's face and the upper part of their torso. They are holding a gas mask and long, semi-synthetic tubes extend from the mask into their mouth, blocking the orifice completely.

Suffocation

The depths to which humans will dive in order to get what they want would impress even that famous diver, the sperm whale. Those who venture into the Shifting Sea often find that its name is apt in more ways than one, as people who pass the twin Jackal guards rarely come back unchanged.
A dedicated quintet of experienced explorers funded by the Republic to map out the Sea found this out firsthand. Only two survived the trip, one by being altered by the Sea directly(a normally fatal circumstance) and the other survived by augmenting their own respiratory system with technology they found within the sea at the expense of never eating normally again. One of the pair was quoted as saying: "There are worse things than drowning, I suppose." Drawtober 5, 2023

A view of an oceanic sinkhole, from above

Depths

During a regularly scheduled broadcast of a local weather report, a hijacking occurred as follows:
[A poster board sign is held up to the screen. The first half of the words are stylized, but easily legible cursive english, while the second half, later determined to be the names of the hijackers, were written in shaky, nearly illegible runelang.]
(PSA from the higher authority and the Twins of Arborea!)
[The board is lowered and the top of what appears to a leaf-covered head can just barely be seen. Slightly luminescent yellow eyes peer out from under a cloak of leaves. Giant tree trunks can be seen in the background indicating the location is in the deep forest.]
"Older brother wanted us to tell you not to drink the dark bubbles. what? Oh okay. Brother wanted us to tell you that the shifting sea has a new cardinal beast, and that nothing is wrong and don't be scared. But also we know that the dark bubbles are an omen of death which can inflict the three deaths upon a person, so only drown in areas without them."
[An muffled, angry voice can be heard offscreen, apparently admonishing the speaker for the last sentence.]
"Well it's true! Besides they could use the first death. They're too frail and boring."
[The camera shakes as someone offscreen grabs it, before the feed cuts back to the weather report.] Drawtober 4, 2023

A human arm holding two creatures: a bird made of leaves, and a small fungal creature which appears to be standing on its mycelia like legs.

Companion

Clì: "The plants and animals, they are as one in the branches, even if they hate each other."
Deas: "The fungals are different. They do not hate, they are beyond it."
Clì: "We don't speak to the mushrooms anymore."Drawtober 3, 2023

A girl hiding behind a tree with a hand over her mouth in obvious distress while raptoriform creatures light up the forest with flashlight eyes.

Hide

It is often remarked that the hunter should take care lest they become the hunted themselves.
People who insist on living within the confines of the Arborea Obscura find that they were never really the hunter there. Drawtober 2, 2023

A man in a cultist outfit, standing in front of a bowl, and cutting his palm so that the bleeding wound drips into the bowl.

Sacrifice

"Extra-universal entities often referred to as outer gods may request a great variety things of their inducted. Some may desire their followers simply spread their word as gospel, others may be more inscrutable and tell a prospective follower to prove themselves by travelling to a specific spot on the planet while carrying a torch which must be fed certain elements at various checkpoints, and consume a weed found at their final destination. However, it is most common for cultists and churchgoers to provide a blood sacrifice, as it has become a defacto coinage among the gods. This is because cultists are dumb, and they rarely have a concept of what gods want, but will insist they do anyway, so the gods find it easier to use the blood as a fiat currency than convince their followers that 'No, we really do have enough blood, thank you.'"
-Adventurer's guild handbook, chapter 12: How to serve a God
Drawtober 1, 2023

An astronaut reaching out to their space station, the scene reflected in their visor

Intra-sphere Incursion

To whichever republic paper-pusher this may reach,

I don't appreciate you fu-[auto-editor redaction] interfering with my projects. Your space station is in perfect conflict with both my low and high orbit installations, your astronauts have been shooting down my solar collectors and last week they hit a controller satellite, killing one of my brothers!
Out of respect for those who have the shi- [auto-editor correction]: arduous task of piloting the antique construct you call a station, I have withheld myself from retaliation.
You've set me back years, and I demand you decommission it effective immediately. If you refuse, I will strike down a person responsible for that decision, one per week, until my demands are met. I have already begun that count.

H. D. aka The Doctor
P.S. if you turn over the station to me, no one will die and you will receive compensation for the construct.

A picture of a ramshackle bipedal mech looming over a person in the middle of a street, under a misting of light rain.

Unwanted Visitors: Meirleachean


Mist and drizzle fought for their time under the layers of clouds. The locals, man and animal alike, showed their respect for this bout with quiet reflection. It wasn't entirely willing, of course. The cold and the wet do no wonders for a warm body, unless their goal is to join the cold forever.
With the shroud of clouds over the land, it was inevitable that one would hear them coming first, even with the bright colors adorning their mechome, their footsteps echoed further than the eye could see. Bandits, patrolling the region for unguarded homes and people.
Her home was nothing like their usual victims'. Hardened with alloyed metal and humming with power generated by her hard work and a miniaturized fusion reactor, her house was the centerpoint of a personal crusade: a wall that would keep the bandits from ever again approaching the colonies and more importantly: the city itself.
Their mechome was adorn with deep purple Larkspurs. Bipedal. Thin. Built for hit and runs, not a warship. Good, she was sure her preparations would be useless against a true engine of war.
She stood beside her reactor, hands in her pockets, daring them to make a move. The Bandits' faces were obscured by the harsh glow of H.U.D.s, but neither their mech nor its family made a step towards her home. Towards their death. Eventually, the mech turned and walked back into the forest. Her confidence had been enough this time. But not all the visitors would be so cautious.
Feb 25, 2024

A Raptor carrying several broken rods in its talons, flying over a mountain range

Flight Delays

The creatures of the Arboreal Obscura aren't dumb, not that anyone still alive would make that mistake. But there is still much animosity towards them for their tendency to impede human activities.
While it is annoying when an Obscuran bird darts down and nicks a week's worth of your BosEin batteries, it does not do this because the cells are shiny and it wants them for its nest. It steals them because it knows that they are necessary for human tools, and human tools are the one thing that could possibly hurt the True Forest. Mar 20, 2024

Two foliage-covered imp-like figures, the nearer of which is holding what appears to be a coin in between its fingers, taking place on a wooden platform in the canopy of the Sea of Trees

Treetop Trading

Tiahuacan: "When trading for information, many like to haggle for a while before settling on a price. Do not try this with The Twins, it will not work." Lewik: "You didn't tell me that they'd be stingy, I didn't even bring my fancy wallet!" T: "That is not what I mean" L: "Then what-" Clì: "Tia has brought us a visitor, Deas! Get out the Zirconic chairs." L: "Jesus, where'd you come from?" Clì: "Our father was named 45. Why do you ask?" L: "No, I meant...nevermind, we were wondering if you wanted to trade for some information?" Clì: "Superb!(I just learned that word recently, isn't it great?) We will tell you one unit of information for every Saguaro fruit you bring us, three units for each Lightning Bug, and Five for each of the Librarian's hoard." L: "..." T: "Lewik, this is Clì, Clì, this is Lewik. The Twins do not care for coins and bills."
July 22, 2023

A human silhouette wearing a cloak dotted with stars, and a strange, transparent helmet

Starcloak

"As the Minister of the Republic of Wei Notos, It is my pleasure to announce that travel to and from the rift walls is open for all citizens. Where once we looked upon those bleached surfaces with fear and trepidation, now we can say with certainty that they are not only harmless, but a wonder of this new world, rivalling any of the tall tales heard from the deep forest or the Shifting Sea. In honor of this blessing, we have decided the new symbol of our country should be of the blazing star flanked by the walls of Determinism. Not only the 5 tird coins, but all uniforms of the Rift Walkers will feature this symbol, our symbol as we continue to learn and grow. Thank you."
-Official RWN announcement of the Rift Walker Corp. and the hardlight paths they would create to allow quick travel to distant parts of the world.
ADDENDUM: Due to the widespread menace of tribal-lead vilestrikes, this project has been abandoned. DO NOT REACTIVATE THE BRIDGES.
June 26th, 2023

A portrait of a young woman with shoulder-length hair. Tendrils creep up and over her shoulders and head, as if sprouting from her back

Possession

The act of one being subsuming another being's mind and body. The possessed being gains physical strength and even world altering powers in exchange for the loss of control. The amount of power gained seems to depend on the possessor's strength and how much they are willing to lend. Most instances of possession result in the partial or complete destruction of the host, the sole recorded exception was documented during Steel Autumn, where a member of the Seinnadairean was possessed for several seconds, but was released and continued fighting after a short rest. This phenomenon does not appear in records created prior to the beginning of the standard calendar. June 11th, 2023

A town with a central tower connected to each home by wires

The Township of Hecate

Established in year 58 of Standard calendar. "We come in pieces." -Memorial plaque dedicated to the creation of the first non-city settlement.
Plaque was placed on a hill overlooking the reactor tower shortly after the hijacked Architect slammed the device several hundred meters into the ground, the impact of which left a sizable crater in the hillside.
The Architect then retreated to the subterranean Superstructure, having reached the end of the instructions given to it by the specialist team "Code Monkeys". Zero casualties came from this incident, and damage done to the City's infrastructure was repaired by the Architect on its way back down, though some people found that their houses had been repaired offset or even upside-down.
June 6th, 2023

A picture of a bee on a wheat stalk

Bebe

"Waxing 25th, 3rd Era: Today I saw something I'd never seen before! These little creatures were flying around the plains, but they flew less like birds and more like the drones from the deep Pits. And get this, they're not metal! At least not as far as I could tell. I only managed to catch one for a few seconds before it attacked me, and I let it get away. It hurt almost as much as the time I stuck a finger into that nest of open wires to grab a thinking gem and got zapped. After I got home..."
First known account of insects outside of the Obscura. It is currently unknown why this species is the only insect to have managed to survive outside the forests, especially given their small size and limited weaponry compared to their Obscura-borne counterparts
June 5th, 2023

Exodus

Still image taken from the Experiment logs of unknown individual labelled "Experiment 113: Wolfram". Date and time were noted to be the most recent of the experiments(The dates were recorded in an unusual calendar format, their relation to standard time is yet to be determined) found in the destroyed complex, and the video logs suggest that this experiment was responsible for the destruction. It is unclear whether the creator of the various experiments escaped this event, though "Wolfram" is a well known and respected surname in the city.
May 21th, 2023

A mechanical bird, beak open, facing upwards with a tree growing out of its mouth.

Wild Growth

"Elders tell of a time where the world was suffused with power, when life grew in many forms from every space of the world. Though they only mention it in whispered tones, they also speak of this growth not being of a certain time, but of a certain creature's doing." Editor's note: No such creature is known at this time, though it is speculated that the Earthen King might be the source of these myths, given that it is responsible for creating many of the ecological niches now occupied by so many organisms.
May 13, 2023

A masked figure with one prosthetic leg, tail, and wings crouching on a elephant sized human skull painted in the style of traditional Dia De Los Muertos Calavera within a field of similar skulls.

The Paintling Patch

"The Qizal witches made this place, before their exodus. It was where they dumped all the bones of the dangerous creatures that pour out of the Sea of Trees. I'm not sure why, but something they did to this spot attracts the Librarian's helpers. They get here and then they forget their original purpose as indexers, instead making paints from their inkwells and nearby plants and decorating the skeletons. I call them Paintlings. I guess the Librarian misses them because I see it watching the patch sometimes...What? Oh I just come here because the skulls are pretty."
-Excerpt **3 of the First Native's second interview. [In a different handwriting, scrawled post-script: "You can hardly call that an interview, the guy spoke all of twenty seconds"]
May 2, 2023

A view of tall, bright white cliffs that hang in the air, framing the star-dotted space beyond, the scene lit from above by a font of magic.

Superradiant Cliffs

"Fhada air falbh à an clach-gheal ballaichean, Bidh an Rionnagan briste a' seinn cho milis"
-A carving spotted near a cairn on the Seaward wall of the flying cliffs. None of the climbing team could find a way to reach the site, even after several tries. The author is suspected to be of an as of yet undiscovered avian species from the Obscura.
April 26, 2023

A girl in a green dress dancing among a stage with upturned blades

Duilleach air a' Ghaoith

This style of dance is popular across both the outer reaches of the known lands, and deep into the machine heart beneath. Analyzing the reports from dozens of scouting parties has suggested that it actually originated within one or more of the Skyline cults, and as a combat training method no less. Unsurprisingly, however, most people forego the many buried blades which make it such an effective means of teaching combat forms to young warriors of the sky.
April 20th, 2023

A girl in a green dress dancing among a stage with upturned blades

Deep in the Pipeworks

Exploration into the pipeworks is forbidden. Though the Architects do not speak, their careful avoidance of the pipes makes it clear. While the Forests of East and West are filled to the brim with dangers, living, non-living, and dead, the humming veins of the superstructure beneath are more perilous by far. One need only have common sense to survive in a forest, but constructs exists for a purpose. And this place was built to be alone.
March 27, 2023

A girl in a green dress dancing among a stage with upturned blades

Center of the Tioram Grodadh

Though expeditions to the far western reaches have been largely dismissed as unacceptably expensive in terms of both resources and life, some inhabitants of the Shifting Sea are intelligent enough to bring back stories of God like beings, who vie for influence in the distant sands and tides. One can only hope that they are only stories
March 16th, 2023

A violinist with long flowing hair dressed in a loose shirt and scarf, in a promenade during a full moon

Moonlit String Soliloquy

"Inhabitants of the city often look up at night to marvel at the twin wonders of the sky: The full moon and the Brilliant Fracture which splits the sky over Spire and spears deep into the quiet Mountains of the west. It is said that the most powerful of the cults, the Speurorain, gained their power from listening to the secrets whispered by the Fracture, though none outside the cult have ever heard it."
March 5, 2023

A serpentine giant made of numerous paper sheets, ending in a set of arms and a skull looking down at a group of petitioning robed humans.

Knowledge for Power: Paper God

A former servant of the Librarian referred to as Am establishes an agreement with one of the weaker city cults in which they bring information, and it grants weapons and magics it had stolen. Direct M.S.T. (Memory Scrap Transfer) provided by the First Native.
February 22, 2023

A young woman in a large sweater standing in a metropolitan street, just in front of a large neon sign. A shadowy bird is perched on one shoulder and a skygrip-infected feline on the other.

Fusion Fashion

Though daily skirmishes occur between cults in the canopy of The City, many natives have carved out relatively peaceful lives on the ground. Some even find friends in a few of the myriad lifeforms that stream out of the Obscura, the creatures fleeing from the depths as much as the humans to avoid the madness of the canopy. We hope to return to the canopy soon, before attempting to breach the Spire.(Taken just above street level, two blocks from City center. Third era.)

A balcony overlooking the square of a city, a person staring down at the immense drop

As Above, So Below

The City Center, Third cycle, thirteen days since last basaltic sludge eruption
January 27, 2023

A knife-eared figure sitting in the crow's nest of a tree, releasing paper lanterns into the sky

New Years

The First Native of Liminal celebrating the end of the Stellar year. When asked if there was some meaning behind the lanterns the native replied: "They represent all the people I ate after they asked me the wrong questions." before cackling and tossing another into the air. When examined, the lanterns were made of ordinary wood pulp based paper and a cotton wick.
January 18, 2023

A cult member, eyes inverted and brandishing a small khopesh, defending a tribal construction made of three staves tied together.

Seinnadairean

A member of the Skysingers, a subsect of the city cults, guarding a burial site. After the departure of the Qizal witches, use of magic retreated into the far reaches of the Arborea, but some remnants of their teachings do remain within the city. Sadly, the Cults of the city are rarely inclined to share such secrets.
January 11, 2023

A cult member, eyes inverted and brandishing a small khopesh, defending a tribal construction made of three staves tied together.

The Tower's Facade

Though the Temple of Man is a rotten one, its spires strike the sky in defiance of both God and Gravity
January 10, 2023

The First Native, sitting atop of a high-canopy branch in the Deep Arborea.

The Overlook

Deep Arborea, Middle Second Era
January 1, 2023

A jackal-headed humanoid holding a beer in one hand and a staff topped with a storm lantern in the other, wearing a loose toga-like garb and a crown.

Anu

Portrait of one of the Anu
December 24, 2022

A jackal-headed humanoid holding a beer in one hand and a staff topped with a storm lantern in the other, wearing a loose toga-like garb and a crown.

Reduced to Vapor

"Agus Mar sin leam, e crìoch." -Last words of the Imperial hand before the annihilation of the Archdragon of Storms
December 15, 2022

A bright purple and red flower with thin tendrils stretching out from the stem, and surrounded by clovers.

Lacrimæ Sanguinum

Colloquially known as Fùil's Tears [sic], is a Flowering Liana found in the deeper regions of The Oaken Sea(Silvæ Obscura). Notable for its highly developed petals ending in thin, whip-like, and venomous tendrils which can utilize several different toxins to inflict a variety of effects including but not limited to pain, euphoria, itchiness, narcosis, insomnia, and death.
December 3, 2022

Martyr

Found fused to a balcony near the top of The Spire, guarded by a flock of Amber Lacewings. A nearby plaque, evidently added after the object was first [Built|Placed|Borne] read as follows: "The Spirit of Self Sacrifice".
The armor had no blackbox records, but appeared to be of a more complex build, with additional plating and underarmour, yet was covered in decades of dust.
November 28, 2022

Skate

Despite the perils of the world outside Someliè and its sister settlements, people still find time for their hobbies, and many sports remain alive and well within the shielded zones.
November 20, 2022

Dragon

Ancestor of all draconic beings, Descendant of entropy's victory
November 12, 2022

THE Lich from Adventure Time exhaling a miasma of death

Lich


Drawtober 28, 2022

A young person watches the approach of a mechanized walking tank piloted by several tribals in the Night Taiga. The person has their hand on what is assumed to be another mechanized vehicle.

"My Dad can beat up your Dad."

Large Format SLR photograph found in an abandoned campsite within the far reachs of the Night Taiga.
Nov 8, 2022

A swamp monster with great claws

Denizens of the Silvae Remotio

Nicknamed Ghillie Monsters, they are docile, though their claws make formidable weapons when engaged with the more violent inhabitants of the Three Forests region. Command has ordered they be left alone. We politely refused. They enjoy being fed cabbage and carrots, and in turn protect us when scouting.
November 1st, 2022

A lightly armored assassin wielding a knife in one hand and a spell in the other

Blood Hunter

Blood Hunters: Dark Origins to Darker Contemporaries A novelisation of the history of the Republic's most famous trackers
Drawtober 26, 2022

A lightly armored assassin wielding a knife in one hand and a spell in the other

Iramem Cutter

Native to the Silvae Obscurae. Extremely violent, unnaturally fast, mob hunters. Suspected that an unusual metabolic mechanism allow for this speed, but no biological data could be accrued as the one corpse which was retrieved after a firefight disintegrated into bio-sludge in ten minutes.
Drawtober 24, 2022

A fire Elemental

Will-Imbued Flames

Origin unknown, The Qizal witches, who were known to create similar constructs claimed they are invasive pests. It is suspected they were unearthed by the Tunnel King, and in fleeing from its rampage, came to the surface where they feed on wood and grass. Tend to take the form of whatever they most recently burned. Easily kept at bay with basic fire retardants at normal sizes. *Shapeshifters *Reactive *Sapient *Invasive
Drawtober 22, 2022

A hook horror wearing a sombrero

Miguelio Francois


Drawtober 21, 2022

A skeleton resting its head on a hand

Writer's Block


Drawtober 21, 2022

A feline creature with six legs, and two tentacular appendages ending in teeth-lined graspers.

Displacer Beast

There are many non-native residents to the obscura. Though most are brought by chance, the Displacer Beasts have sought out the refuge of the forest from other realms. Their ability to make short distance teleportation 'jumps' allowed them to bypass the need for temporary gates that most other species entered through.
Oct 14, 2022(Credit for original artwork which was used as reference: Tedrick)

A moonlit mountain peak

Clockwork Moon over the Whispering Peak

The skybound clock ticks along, unfettered by the play of wind on rock below
Drawtober 13, 2022

A walled city, medieval in appearance, being broken by an armored giant.

Siege of Bhailèmòr An T-solais

There come tales from the lands beyond the cliffs, beyond the forests, beyond the seas, where technology cannot breach, of societies different yet very similar to the Republic. The Obscura sends them gifts as well.
Drawtober 6, 2022

A lupine skinwalker, partially transformed.

Encounter: Scavenger

Found following the Telepathic Being "Squirrel". Passing resemblance to Maned Wolf, hence the nickname. Travels in packs
Drawtober 4, 2022

Half-body shot of a witch, eyes covered by a large pointed hat, holding a spell in one hand and holding their hat with the other

Qizal

The Qizal witches are gone. That is all that the modern citizens of the republic can say with truth. Rumors from within the Arborea claim they lived under the clockwork moon and were the progrenitors of the soul stream and all modern magical methods. None yet have been able to confirm these rumours.
Sept 26, 2022

A half-body portrait of a bespectacled old man, clothed in multiple layers, a coat, sweater, and shirt. The man has a large, wide beard, and hair which reaches nearly his shoulders, topped by a beret-like hat. He holds a cane in the crook of one arm and a pipe in his right hand.

Nicholas

Across the Republic, there is a common saying among the elderly: "I was born old". And though most say the phrase with a chuckle and half a thought, the words are uttered in more reverence by a few. The more perceptive of the younger generations note that the latter answer is said by elders who are abnormally bright-eyed and spry.
(figure study of a figure study, subject unknown) Sept 13, 2022

An eye staring up a a knife with a spiral handle and a gem insert in the guard, descending towards it. The top and bottom of the shot are framed by arcs containing runes

Do you see?

Cults love to wield magic, but their rituals are a byproduct of their ignorance of and disrespect for the art born of the Qizal. A true mage needs no words or signs to change the world to their whim.
Jul 17, 2022

A broken down sexapedal robot, sitting at the end of a trail of red flowers

Drone RE 1.56-401 "Discovery"

Status: Shutdown after critical systems failure. Date of last transmission: 04/04/2009 Transcript of transmission: Spanning lager dan verwacht. Fout: Stroomlek gedetecteerd, stuur de reparatie-eenheid naar deze locatie(52.23.46 5.35.57). Missie Doelstellingen voltooid. In afwachting van bestellingen.... In afwachting van bestellingen... Ik zal op je wachten Additional notes: Unit had been programmed in English. No extra language files had been recorded in the base OS prior to final mission. July 16, 2022

A part-demon girl smoking an opium pipe

Number Four: Yuki

March 2022

View of a rough sea from atop the mizzen mast of a large sailing ship. A sand dune can be seen poking up from the sea unnaturally

The Cridhe Leaghte's Maiden Voyage into the Shifting Sea

September 8, 2022

Huey helicopters flying over a burning shore towards a treeline. A dead soldier, three bullet holes in their back, lays on the beach

1968

September 3, 2022

A shadowy, bestial humanoid in an industrial hall, beside a broken robot

Motion Detecting Camera Activation: Sept. ___, 19__

Unit 2314, Sector 1110: Disputed Territory, subsection unavailable. Blackbox Analysis: Creature origin unknown, Form does not match usual Bibliovore body plans. Exhibited understanding of technology, but no unprovoked aggression towards it. Possible Muert class. DO NOT ENGAGE.
August 29, 2022

A cloaked figure, bright eyes peering out from beneath a hood. The right side of the cloak is partially lifted by several tentacles tipped with razor sharp claws.

Tulip

Tulip, name taken fron her preferred choice of nesting tree, visiting Marquis Terrance to discuss a job.
Oct 17, 2021

A cloaked figure, bright eyes peering out from beneath a hood. The right side of the cloak is partially lifted by several tentacles tipped with razor sharp claws.

Augment 2^

"Test Subject retained coordination and cognitive faculties but developed severe Photophobia, and insists on covering skin as much as possible."
"Addendum: Considering the state of most of our ground-up work, augments have turned out extremely well." -H.D.
Jan 11, 2022

A guitarist with long hair

Six String

September 07, 2021

The porch of a log cabin overlooking a boreal coniferous valley, a stone path leading into it. There are three moons visible

Cabin in the Moonlight

Those who live in the Night Taiga are either broken or blessed by the light of the Clockwork Moon. Few are allowed to stay. August 13, 2021

A large feline snarling, standing protectively over a much smaller feline.

Mother Bear

July 28, 2021

Jagged Cliffs that stretch out into the night sky

Hobbes

Harp seal, July 19 2021

A cloaked person leaning on a stone railing overlooking a sprawling city constructed around a massive partially ruined tower of a construction foreign to the surrounfing buildings

Capital of Deireannach

"It's still hard to believe that this place exists. The Shapers who built it must have been masters of their craft." July 12, 2021

Jagged Cliffs that stretch out into the night sky

Cliffside Dropoff

Beyond the gunmetal grey walls of the citadel, beyond even the chalky stone of the Superradiant cliffs, lay the edge of the world. June 17 2021

A cup noodles which has been possessed by a ghost

Scup

June 15 2021

A furry, four-limbed creature with a short tail and face hidden by fur hanging from the rafters of a brick sewer

Catacomb Crawlers

The catacombs, despite being adjacent to the vast monoliths of the Architects, remain primitive in construction. The brick walls and cobbled floors are only seldom adorned with rusted metal, usually debris that has been shorn from the superstructures nearby and brought to the humid depths by the crawlers. June 09 2021

A bored man dressed in opulent clothes lounges in a chair at the head of a banquet table. A sad, ghostly spectre floats on the mans right side, and a many-limbed inky creature hangs of of his left, extending a gesture of offering with glee.

Court of Sin

"Of Gods and Kings I do not fear, for they pale 'gainst the dark more near." June 03 2021

A woman sits at a table, nursing a cup of steaming coffee. The table is decorated with a flower-filled vase

Coffee

Domesticity is the flavour of choice for old age. But don't let that stop you. Take a sip. Apr 29 2021

A serpent-eyed hunter in a carved skull helmetand wielding a spear, crawling on the ground

Skullhelm Skulking

City dwellers revere the tribals who guard the Arborean borders. To undergo the journey is to live four lives, their human beginning, painful physicality but careless mentality, ease of body but loss of identity, and a final life under the rays of the source. South, West, North, and East. April 16, 2021

A break in a dense canopy, viewed from below

New Growth

The Aevafurr sends the souls of the trees to visit the clockwork moon, where their pain is eaten, and their pleasures are returned to the hills as saplings. Feb 17, 2021

A skeleton defying the laws of nature by using a bubble wand without lungs

CaCo the skeleton

A wandering jester, known for their skill with toymaking. Cannot speak, as expected of a skeleton, but can produce enough wind to create bubbles.

A person with long hair, tied in a loose tail, hunched over a table working on something hidden by their body. Two small orb-shaped robots watch them work. A larger machine, half dissassembled, hangs in the background.

Workshop of the Second

The Second Native is Yin, and the First Native is Yang. And in each, is a bit of the other. 2016

A small bat chewing on a strawberry that is as big as itself

Nutmeg

Nutmeg gained her title by knocking over a jar of the spice and becoming covered in it during a flight from a farmer's wrath. The chunk of blueberry pie was well worth the hiccup in the heist. 2016

A crude representation of multiverse theory with each world being a sphere of varying composition

Looking Glass

Somewhere oft forgotten, but all the more important 2014

A human skull mostly obscured by a Nautilus shell

Skell

2015
Graphite on paper

A Raccoon-like creature, standing three stories tall at the shoulders, holding an alligator in one hand, apparently eating.

Squirrel

King of Spoils and Link between Sky and Trees. May he live long as our king beneath the leaves"
-Excerpt of Sermon of the Forest Ascetics, 2015

A lone helmeted figure standing atop a hill under a tree, facing a moonrise over a small pond

End

The last page of the first sketchbook I used from front to back. 2014