Helm of Agir

Agir, lord of the sea.

Cheers.

More on Dwarves

I tried sketching some lower-class dwarf clothing. I like the east-west mix style of clothing found in Avatar: The Legend of Korra, so I tried recreating that.

Of-course, all dwarves need hoods. ;)

Cheers.

Dwarves and Armor

It's been a while. I haven't had a lot to present, although I draw as often as I can. Today is special, though. My players are just about to set off on a quest that will bring them into contact with the dwarves of the western mountains. As such, I've had dwarves on the mind and I've been sketching them out quite a bit.

In my world the dwarves were introduced to the world quite late, later even that humans, although their race is much older than the race of men. They lived underground for centuries, thriving, building vast kingdoms beneath the earth. It was not until the Black Tyrant began digging his great mines that dwarves at last beheld the outside world. Their culture had plenty of time to develop independently, which is why I decided a while ago that I wanted the dwarves' culture to be quite different from the cultures of the regions their mountains inhabit.

Tolkien created a lot of staples in fantasy. One of them is dwarven masked helmets. I'll probably be breaking a lot of traditional dwarven staples, but this is not one of them. For one thing, I think masked helmets are super awesome. For another, it fits with my conception of dwarven warfare (fighting in tunnels with no light means not a lot of reason for having open faced helmets). Originally I went for a "tribal" look. While I rather like it, I wasn't completely satisfied.

I tried a lot of different ideas. I had decided I really liked the lamellar plates, so I was sticking to eastern looks, but didn't like any of the results. I decided, "Whatever, I'll try it with a viking ocular helmet."  Which pretty much became the basis for the final design. I tried incorporating Central Asian elements into the final look of the helmet.

Overall, I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Cheers.

India Diary

A children's story I've written. There may be more of them in the future. Also, that story about the boy and the gnome is being worked on. I've made a lot of edits so it's pretty slow going, but I am making some progress.

***

Today I met a boy unlike anyone else in this godforsaken country. Ever since I arrived, this place has been a special hell for me. The constant, muggy heat makes me sweat gallons so that I am always thirsty. The city is hardly a city; it resembles more a country town with dirt roads and filthy, stinking animals everywhere I turn. And outside this city? A jungle. The canopy of which rises higher than the largest buildings in town, and is so dense you can't even see the sun if you wander in. Nothing like back home. And the people? They are the worst! Savages, really. It's true everything they say about them. The other children are the meanest little roaches on the face of this earth. They'll tease me, and sometimes hit me with sticks, but I can never give them what for as they always run off scuttling across stalls and scurrying under carts and I lose them before I've even begun to chase them.

My only consolation is that my parents have taken much pity on me, so that I am never in need of sweets should I wish them. Indeed it was because of my parents coddling that I met that boy. I was on the outskirts of town, flirting with the line between the city and the jungle. I am under strict orders to never venture into the trees, but outside the city palisade is the only place I ever get any peace. I had a lovely bagful of sweet round candies that I was very much in the process of enjoying, when I got this weird sensation. It was like a prickling on the back of my neck, like someone was watching me. I looked around, but could spy no one.  Unconcerned I turned back to my walk. I had not gone but a few steps when I thought I heard the rustling of leaves. I whirled around and there, right before my eyes was a most unusual boy. He was right behind me, and I had not even heard him coming. He grinned a big Cheshire cat grin, then grabbed a candy from my bag and ran off into the jungle.

Well I wasn't about to leave it at that, so I took off after him. I could see him just up ahead, weaving through the trees, grabbing branches and swinging himself along like those monkeys one sometimes sees playing amidst the old town ruins. I soon lost sight of him, and assuming he had run well off, stopped to take a break, wheezing from the exertion as I was. As it turns out, it was quite lucky I was wrong in assuming he had run off. As soon as I got my breath back I realized that I was quite lost. I couldn't see the sky for the canopy, and the foliage around me was far too thick to see the palisade. I figured, however, that I had not run too far off, and with some careful guesswork I chose a direction back towards the town. Well, it was not back towards the town I am sure. I saw neither head nor tail of the town after much walking and I was becoming tired again.

I laid down with my back against a large tree and popped another candy in my mouth. I was beginning to dread my predicament and my nerves were on edge when I heard a sound off to my right. "You again!" I cried, leaping to my feet, preparing to really show the boy what for. But it was not the boy. Out of the brush came a large cat. Immediately I recalled the stories my father had told me of man-eating tigers and I admit I froze to the spot, too terrified to either fight or flee. I cursed my ill fate and that boy who had lead me into this wretched jungle. The cat stalked towards me, its feet padding along silently. I could see its eyes watching me intently; I could hear its breathing; I knew in that moment I was a goner. When out of the blue came a screech so loud the cat gave a start and sprung back several feet, looking up as he did. Out of the canopy above came that boy, flying to the ground at an alarming velocity. He leapt from the lowest branch (some fifteen or twenty feet from the ground!) and landed between the cat and myself. He wielded a large stick and, hitting the ground in front of him, gave another ear splitting screech that sent the cat running into the bush. I learnt later it was, in fact, not a tiger, and that if it had been, neither he nor I would be around to speak of it. But it was plenty big enough, with teeth and claws, and that is all I have to say on it. I stood there, shaking like a leaf. The boy turned back to look at me, gave me another of those Cheshire cat grins, and grabbed a second candy from my bag. I did not resist. Apparently that was all the currency he required to be my bodyguard, for after that encounter he stuck with me as we made our way back to the village.

He is a very odd boy. He has dark skin, made darker by the layer of dirt which covers him. His hair is a bird's nest if ever there was one, with twigs and leaves sticking out of it. He wears no clothes, save a cloth diaper, and in this he seems to keep various things he finds as he walks. Twice I saw him hide rocks in there, for what purpose I have yet to discover. He doesn't speak a lick of English, though I'm not sure he speaks much of anything as he never said a single word during our trip, which took maybe an hour. He left me at the city gate and bid adieu with a wave of his hand, then disappeared once more amidst the trees. I made my way straight home to write down everything that transpired, and here it is, the whole tale. I don't think I shall go back into that jungle any time soon, but if I should see the boy around town I'll not hesitate to offer him a candy.