auranova26 - Tumblr blog

auranova26 · 4 months

Text

Fundamentals of Magi Artes and Magic

In Cryas Chronicles (and to an extent Cryas Darkstalkers), magic has been a phenomenon that has prevailed for many eons in countless civilizations across the realms of the universe. Many cultures have described, observed, documented, and spread their own understanding of this peculiar ability that many lifeforms have been able to perform. In the purest understanding, magic is the ability for one to manipulate many forms of energy and the forces in the universe to heed their commands. Some cultures saw this as this work of supernatural forces beyond their understanding while others came to see these abilities with a rational, open mind worth time to study and truly understand. As the eons marched on and people discovered different forms of magic, 'disciplines' or 'elementals' of these artes were understood. While they go by different names, for the sake of you dear reader, here they are in a way you can understand: Fire, Ice, Water, Terra, Lightning, Wind, Dark, Light, Ethereal, Aura, and Astral.

One might be curious as to what these disciplines are. Fortunately, what they are and how they work will be presented

Fire and Ice share the same form of energy that is used to cast these artes: Heat energy. Where the difference lies is how the heat is manipulated. Performing fire artes has the user concentrate heat in whatever manner is desired. Ice meanwhile has the caster move heat away rapidly from an area at a need volume for the desired effect. Many forms of fire artes do take on the look of flames in various shapes and size, but the key feature is being able to concentrate that heat properly. Commonly, ice artes involve freezing particles of vapor and air to create ice crystal of various shapes and size for the need effect, though sometimes just the lack of heat to a certain degree can be more than enough. To a degree, both disciplines are intertwined enough to where some manipulators of heat will learn artes from both elementals.

Water and Terra both use the force of gravity in order for the needed artes to be performed. At its basics, these artes require the user to both understand how to manipulate gravity and then the property of the desired substance to then move for the wanted effect. The better their understanding of gravity manipulation, the larger quantity and speed at which the substance can be moved. Due to water and the land being the most common around for users to use, that is how these elementals got their names despite using the same force. However, there is a big difference between moving liquid particles and solids around. Practicing this is key to use either water or terra elemental.

Lightning is an elemental that involves the manipulation of electrical energy. Via this discipline, casters can either cause bolts of the largest and fiercest lightning to the smallest sparks of electricity, or even manipulate magnetic fields for whatever use is wanted.

Wind elemental is the ability for one to manipulate the force of the surrounding air to create various forms of wind-based phenomenon. Varying the manipulation of air pressure can lead to gentle gusts to even violent twisters under the casters control.

Dark elemental is a peculiar form of magic that involves the manipulation of energy to vibrate. In essence, the creation of sound waves. While sounds are a constant in the lives of those in the universe, the particular soundwaves crafted by dark magi artes tend to involve inducing emotional response from the victim. Sometimes it can be pleasant or sometimes it can instill dread. It is up to the caster to manipulate sound for what they want.

Light magic is the manipulation of electromagnetic radiation in order cast various artes. While light is something we all see and can perceive, manipulators of light can command the various wavelengths of this energy for many applications. From clusters to concentrated rays of energy, the possibilities are endless.

Ethereal and Aura are an interesting pair of elementals as they use exactly the same energy, and both involve using that energy in the same potential ways. However, where the difference lies is how both source their energy, of which is known as spiritual energy. Spiritual energy exists primarily in a 'soul'. A soul is an extremely condensed cluster of energy that has tightly bonded in a bizarre fashion. Due to this occurrence, the energy that combines into these clusters take on special properties. These properties can potentially allow for the phenomenon intelligent life has come to interpret as a 'conscious'. While this energy is forged in by this occurrence, it doesn't have to just exist in a soul. Should something force the bonds that hold a soul together to break, the spiritual energy can scatter. No longer in its cluster, in time the spiritual energy will eventually convert into other forms of energy. It can last longer if it can inhabit other lifeforms, but in time it will lose its properties and breakdown into other forms of energy. While both elementals are capable of making use of this scattered spiritual energy, the primary draw of their abilities is the ability to maneuver through the bonds of a soul and siphon fractions of the immense well of spiritual energy. The key difference is the soul used: Ethereal draws on using the soul's of others while aura draws from the user's own soul for power. The ethereal elemental can use as many souls as needed, but due to each soul bonding in different ways, their wells to draw from need to be understood before they can cast any ethereal artes. Because an aura caster's soul is innately familiar to them, it is significantly easier to draw from this well. However, improper handling of this flow of spiritual energy can potentially be fatal. Either elemental is capable of numerous feats due to the immense amount of energy but can be dangerous is not properly learned.

Astral elemental is regarded as the oldest discipline of magic. The name of the elemental draws inspiration from the thought that all energy from the dawn of time came into existence due to the birth of stars and the cosmos as a whole. Primordial, raw energy that flows everywhere. In time, this energy and the forces of the universe allowed for the realms that would come to be. When astral artes were figured out and understood better, this allowed others to find their way to other forms of manipulating the forces and energies that exist.

Making use of Magi Artes requires one to train themselves to understand the fundamentals of the chosen elemental's discipline of manipulation. Some are only capable of one elemental; others are capable of many forms. Some individuals are natural gifted to use magic, while others require hours upon hours of training to even begin at a basic level, if they are even capable of doing so. As time marched on, people found a desire to regard certain magi artes into what are known as 'tiers'. The idea is to give people a benchmark idea that artes of a higher tier have much better effects or power, but also require better stamina and skill to even use these magi artes. The tiers of Magi Artes as follow:

Tier 1 = Neophyte

Tier 2 = Intermediate

Tier 3 = Master

Tier 4 = Arcane

Tier 5 = Mystic

Tier 6 = Ultima

Magic Artes require knowledge of the arte, stamina, and the knowledge of the needed amount of energy or force required to manipulate. With practice and experience, casters can use artes of any tier more efficiently so long as they understand their limits and the risks with each elemental. Many magi artes do require the user to be still and focus in order to properly manipulate their elemental of choice, which can be risky depending on the urgency of the situation. With that in mind, some casters found a way around this with the use of Arte Reserves. Inducing a Magi Arte into an object, casters can instantly make use of Magi Artes in situations with practically no time wasted on incantations. However, Arte Reserves are limited and thus users must keep in mind how many are still in stock lest they find themselves in a dangerous situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Consider this a revision of this lore blog here:

I'd rather not completely delete this blog for the purpose of looking back on things and... well cause I don't feel like it. 😅

#auranova26 #cryas chronicles #cryas darkstalkers #lore #worldbuilding #magi artes #arte #magic #energy manipulation #force manipulation #elemental #this will be on the test

6 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 4 months

Text

Magic of the Spirit

This lore blog is to make an addendum towards this blog as after a rousing discussion with a great friend, I have completely considered a new clear-cut idea of what is aura magic.

The idea I have had with magic is the concept of manipulating energy or forces in the universe to lead to varying effects. Everything else was relatively clear, but aura felt a bit vague. In discussions with a friend, ze had asked me about the idea of soul magic in regard to Jedah since he has a big thing for it in the original Darkstalkers. And well, Jedah does play a big role in Cryas Darkstalkers. First of all, that had me consider the idea of what is a 'soul'. For both Cryas Darkstalkers and Cryas Chronicles, a soul is a cluster of energy that has tightly bonded in a bizarre, unknown manner that can lead to the ability for what we interpret as 'consciousness'. As an analogy, think of atoms: within an atom are particles that help create the atom and make up all different kinds of substances in the universe. Also within them is the potential for an immense amount of energy. Of course, playing recklessly with such stuff can lead to disastrous results.

Magic that uses this spiritual energy involves users weaving carefully through these bonds and siphoning the energy within the soul to use for varying purposes. What I've had as a spark of imagination is this idea: Soul and Aura magic use the same source of energy for their discipline of use. The difference is how they get this spiritual energy. Soul magic involves using the souls of others while Aura is the use of one's own soul. This plays on the idea I already had when it comes to Fire and Ice magic. Those forms of magic both use heat but involve moving heat in different manners to get the desired result. The precedent is there, and I don't like the idea of basically conjuring a new form of energy and just have that magic be the use of this made-up energy with no explanation. Make use of what exists and interpret it based on what I believe.

In essence the use of spiritual energy for magic exists in both realities, but the difference is generally more prevalent. Soul magic is without a doubt the most common form of spiritual manipulation in the Cryas Darkstalkers mythos, while Aura is prevalent in the Cryas Chronicles mythos. But both forms are capable in each.

With this epiphany, I do need to consider some ideas for Cryas Chronicles with this new knowledge. Soul magic is possible in it, but... the idea of souls is not a very prevailing concept that is widely accepted. That mythos is not as supernaturally crazy as what can go down in the Cryas Darkstalkers mythos. If Soul magic exists, and perhaps there are those who can use it, it would likely have a different name and such. Just differences in ideas and culture. Oooo, this is quite exciting! 😆

#auranova26 #cryas darkstalkers #cryas chronicles #lore #worldbuilding #soul #spiritual energy #aura #magic

3 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 6 months

Text

Cryas Chronicles: Explorers of the Darkest Days

Been on my mind again, so I wanted to finally write something down in regard to this story idea I have been on and off about. As the title suggests, this story is in regard to my OC mythos. However, Crays Chronicles: Explorers of the Darkest Days is meant to be an AU focusing on my OC Norocier as she ends up in a world of Pokémon.

What is the premise you may ask? As stated, this is set in a world of Pokémon. However, this world is like a pseudo mystery dungeon like world in the sense that there are no humans: only Pokémon inhabit this world. While Pokémon do have some semblance of societies, none talk in the way we would assume. Primarily, they communicate as many animals would with varying means to communicate. Of course, with Pokémon there more magical/fantastical means of how they can, but still in the realm of not really 'talking'. With no humans around, there is the interesting aspect that Pokémon don't refer to themselves by the names that we as readers would know them by. And that is a key thing to keep in mind. In the following paragraphs, I'll give a synopsis in regard to the setup of the story and setting.

The colossal known as Eternatus awakens from a deep slumber as an unknown, but powerful source of energy beckons them from their millennia long stretch of rest. Drawn to what had awaken them, Eternatus happens upon a pond of a violet, thick liquid substance that lay before them. While the titan had never seen such a substance before, they can feel the incredible almost intoxicating energy emitting from the alien liquid. In no time, Eternatus feasts on the liquid, voraciously absorbing it into their energy core. Upon the completion of their meal, the creature could feel a great high of energy as the liquid empowered their core. However, as quickly as they enjoyed this rush of energy, something unpleasant was noticed by the giant. The energy levels in them were rising without any sign of stopping. As the continual rise in energy flooded their senses, Eternatus began to feel pain. Seeking to relieve this excess energy, the colossal would unleash beams of energy from their core to help with the extra energy. They have had incidents like this before, so no worry. But this was futile as the chain reaction of this substance with their energy core still continued unabated. In fact, it was getting worse as the energy levels continued to rise to painful levels that the dragon had never felt before. Again, they would unleash powerful beams of energy one after another with greater ferocity. But again, the reaction kept going. Not only was the titan panicking now from the pain, but the energy levels began to force the dragon to assume their true form. Not only was this in response to the unfathomable amounts of energy in their system, but it was also a means to relive themselves of this excess energy that they so desperately were trying to stabilize. However, the form was not only different than what they recalled eons ago, their energy core continued to grow wildly out of control. Dwarfing the hills and mountains in the immediate area, the legendary colossal unleashed a barrage of beams of unstable energy from their core and many orifices. With the ever-escalating energy in their very essence and the many beams tearing through the sky and land, the fabric of space-time was beginning to bend to the cosmic level amounts of energy being unleashed in the given vicinity. And this wouldn't go unnoticed.

From their domain in a realm between the threads of reality, the violent hermit known as Giratina would come to attention as they felt powerful shockwaves come out of nowhere. While these waves would not come to harm the beast, they did cause aspects of their Distortion Realm to be forever damaged and warped beyond recognition. This unprovoked attack upon their domain absolutely enraged the demon. So enraged were they that they immediately sprang into action to not only find the source of the shockwaves, but to make the source pay dearly with their life as retribution. It took mere seconds to find the source: somewhere in the main realm of reality, coming from an incredibly powerful source unlike anything Giratina had ever witnessed or felt in their primordial existence. Despite this potentially dangerous foe, it did not falter the renegade's absolution into making this malefactor pay dearly for what they had done. As they flew through the boundaries of the nexus, they entered main realm of reality to bear witness to their colossal foe. But not only that, but the renegade also caught sight of two other beings they had not seen for aeons and not ones Giratina was particularly pleased to see. The embodiment of the fabric of space and the flow of time respectively, Palkia and Dialga had also come from their homes in the realms beyond. Due to the near cosmic levels of distortion and bending of the aspects of reality going on in this single area, these primordial dragons had also come to not only investigate but put a stop to it before it reached apocalyptic levels. Despite their hatred for their siblings, Giratina set aside their feelings toward Palkia and Dialga in order to take down the current target of their ire. The trio of creation would unite for the first time in countless eons to take down this threat to reality.

Each dragon made use of their primal force of energy at full throttle in order to take down this energy dangerous titan. Palkia with a motion of their arms rend the fabric of space. Dialga roared with such a ferocious battle cry as it disrupted the flow of time. Giratina coated in the shadows of the nexus would attack with deadly force against the titan. However, while their attacks would damage the titan, it did little to stop Eternatus as it continued to unleash beam after beam, crying out in pain as they had at this all but lost control of their body. Despite this, the trio would continue their assault with steadfast resolution. For what felt like an eternity, the trio would continue to fight, here and there dodging and tanking hits from the pained titan. Despite the damage they would sustain, they would fight through the pain and continue to attack the titan. When they all but seemed like they were each at their near breaking point, the foe they all rallied against suddenly stopped. No longer did they hear the cries of pain, no long was there the storm of beams that laid waste to the land. It all just stopped. The trio witnessed the mountain sized titan change form into a relatively smaller form than what they fought against. While Giratina still in their mind sought to kill the creature in front of them, something else beckoned them to leave. It wasn't just the sheer exhaustion and pain that made them leave, but something else they nor their siblings noticed during the fight. As Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina all left for their respective domains to rest and recover, something would fester in all three of them. Unknown to them since the moment they came to fight Eternatus, they had been exposed to a form of energy radiating from the titan's core that begun to mutate, nay... corrupt their bodies. Not only would they be influenced by this intoxicating alien energy, but others would as well as the ripples of space-time during the colossal's desperate attempt to save their life would echo far beyond the immediate area. The giant would once again slumber, their form forever changed.

In another realm far beyond the reaches of the current crisis, Norocier had been going out for a stroll among the trees in a forest in the realm of Umbralus. She was taking this nature walk as a chance to relax from her daily life with her family. Ever grateful to have those she could not only call kin but communicate with in their own way, she did sometimes enjoy a bit of time to now see the wilderness in a new light. No longer was she just another beast out in the wilderness only seeking to survive, but now she was truly living and had been doing so for the better part of the last decade. Finding a nice spot to sit against a tree and allow her mind to contemplate many thoughts, she would eventually find herself dozing off to the sounds of the gentle breeze that snaked through the trees. With her eyes closed and her mind further drifting from consciousness, the Corrian would fall asleep; A nap to relax amongst the foliage before heading back home to her family. But unknown to her now sleeping mind, fate had different plans for her. Having awoken from her sleep, Norocier would realize very quickly something was wrong. The scents of the area were different to anything she ever smelled in Umbralus. As she looked at the sky, the alignment of the stars was not to what she was used to. Not only that, no crystal in sight for as far she can see. Norocier would come to a grave conclusion: she had somehow ended up into another realm while she slept. Perhaps a portal or distortion in space-time caused this to happen. But the matter at hand was not to figure out how she got to this unknown land, but to figure out a way home. Wondering for some time, Norocier would eventually catch the scent of something that caught her attention. While it was a familiar scent, it was one that filled her mind with dread. Upon finding the source, she was beyond all reasonable doubt at what she was looking at: Corriyami.

A general set up for the story. Effectively, Norocier via space-time distortions ends up in a world of strange creatures she has never seen before. Beyond that, she also happens to arrive as this world has been ravaged by the effects of Corriyami that somehow ended up in this world. Likely a result of those space time distortions. While that is an issue, her main problem is getting back home as she has somehow ended up in this alien realm. Eventually, she will come across and fight many of these strange creatures. Some of the ones she faces are those who have fallen victim to Corruption while others have been mutated by it. As she eventually befriends some of these mutated Corrian creatures, Norocier and her pack embark on a journey with several goals: aid those they come across, help her pack as they come to grips with their mutations, and find her a way home. I have more stuff in mind but hopes this gives a good idea of what to expect with blogs regarding this Cryas Chronicles AU story. :)

Art made by @masterartlocked! Give them a big thumbs up for helping make art for this project and just being there for me to throw ideas and get feedback. Thank you Nicole! 🥹

#auranova26 #cryas chronicles #pokemon #explorers of the darkest days #norocier #corriyami #corrian #eternatus #creation trio #au

10 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 7 months

Note

OI-!

Aura- San! Writer to writer, light and darkness, two peas and a pie! Just wanna say happy spooky month!

Oh, hello there ole chap. Happy Month of the Spoops to you as well! 👻

#answered #month of spooks #spooptober

4 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 8 months

Text

The Bigfoot Tribe

In the lore regarding the Sahrijinn, I made mention of the Bigfoot Tribe. Honestly, kinda stumbled into the idea, but I felt it would be a cool way to introduce not only how their race left Makai, but also just happened to be friends with this effective race of powerful magic users.

If you wish to read up about the Sahrijinn, check it out here:

With that said, let me take the time to talk a bit about the Bigfoot themselves. Like all non-humans, their origin was in Makai. Originally, their fur appearance was not like the type of creatures they would eventually come to be commonly known and seen as. While still stocky creatures, their fur was much shorter. Bigfoot beings were a simple race that had simple principles. They did believe in strength but were not inclined to be aggressive. If anything, they were a friendly bunch... so long as you do not give them a reason to go feral. If you were courteous to Bigfoot people, they would return the courtesy. Give them food and they will quickly become your friends as the exchange of food is considered a sign of goodwill and friendship in their culture. Even with all the general kindness and friendly nature of the Bigfoot, they still were natural born warriors. While not inclined to be aggressive in conquering, they would sometimes pass the time by sparring with one another. It served both as a way to not only bond with others but even was used in courtship among the members of the Bigfoot.

The Sahrijinn were the first to establish peace with the Bigfoot. Since then, the two have stayed together as close allies. Via cultural exchanges and interactions, the Bigfoot would become excellent sparring partners among the warrior Ifrit and great allies if conflicts were to occur. In exchange, the Sahrijinn provided protections to the Bigfoot Tribe and taught the Bigfoot the ways of magic. This would lead to the Bigfoot tribe to eventually discover the art of Cryomancy as they learned of Pyromancy first from the Ifrit. This alliance and mutual growth would come to help once the Exodus of the Sahrijinn would occur. While the Bigfoot could have easily annulled their alliance considering they would put their race at risk, they refused to abandon their Sahrijinn friends. Deserting a friend is the worst offense among Bigfoot culture. They aided the Sahrijinn, providing further muscle and numbers to the fleeing Sahrijinn. While some Bigfoot were killed in the initial fleeing, the fallen were never forgotten by their kin. The Sahrijinn would hail the Bigfoot warriors who gave their lives on the journey as the greatest of heroes and made sure their names were kept in record.

Once out of Makai and onto the realm that would eventually become known as Earth, the Bigfoot and Sahrijinn would initially travel around together for quite a while. The Sahrijinn wanted to help the Bigfoot Tribe find a new home upon this unknown frontier of a new world. It took time, but eventually the Bigfoot found a spot they liked as it had quite an abundant source of food and water. While the Sahrijinn would leave, they always kept in touch with the Bigfoot Tribe as the millennia went on.

As time went on and as the land changed, the Bigfoot would also slowly evolve from the species they were. As the climate of the territory they settled in changed, their fur would change overtime to become a much longer and thicker coat to acclimate to the colder climate. This came to be handy once the Ice Age eras of Earth occurred throughout their time in this realm. Once the last major Ice Age happened, the Bigfoot Tribe would eventually be split off as the area they came to settle were separated by a land bridge that was broken apart by the end of the last Ice Age. The lands the two tribes would settle around would eventually become present day Canada and Siberia. In time though, they would reestablish contact with their separated brethren. This was accomplished by basically domesticating a species of seal over the years. With some aid from the Sahrijinn, these seals were eventually trained to be able to deliver messages at great speeds over the vast ocean that separated the two tribes. Granted, while the Marid could have reunited the two tribes, the leader of the Bigfoot at the time felt it was best to establish their tribe across both lands. That way, there were more safe places that the Sahrijinn could visit along with their own race. Plus, the Bigfoot already put in effort with befriending their seal friends and making their villages.

Things went well generally for the Bigfoot tribe. While they did have run ins with some aggressive creatures and even the ancestors of humans, they generally were in good numbers and health across the two artic territories. However, the one thing that the Sahrijinn feared would happen finally came to happen. The Gate opened up in the lands of the Eurasian continent. While it has been eons since the Sahrijinn and Bigfoot had escaped Makai and established civilization on Earth, the Sahrijinn were still fearful that their pursuers were possibly after them. This fear led them to believe they would not be safe in this realm and eventually devised a plan. In time, the Sahrijinn created the realm of Jannah for themselves. They would inform the Bigfoot tribe of the arrival of beings from their old homeland. While this was a surprise, they would not budge. While they appreciated the offer of being given a new home in Jannah, the two leaders of the Bigfoot Tribes both agreed they would stay on Earth. It was their new home, and they already had many friends across the land. They would not abandon their new friends. They urged their Sahrijinn friends to go on without them, which they did. However, the Sahrijinn did at least promise to keep in touch and always welcome the Bigfoot to visit should they ever want to. This was done by allowing the Tribe leaders knowledge of the location of the portal to Jannah, which was in what was Central Asia.

The Bigfoot Tribes of Canada and Siberia would have their fair share of run-ins with 'Darkstalkers' of the old homeland. However, while some were aggressors, some were passive and surprised about the presence of these strange creatures. Not only cause the Bigfoot were the only other species that could talk, besides humans, but because the language the Bigfoot spoke was basically Old Makaiin tongue. While the Bigfoot would still play cautious, they would eventually come to befriend the Darkstalkers that were respectful and provided food. However, they would never make mention or speak of anything regarding the existence of the Sahrijinn as the two tribes would not betray their oldest friends.

Beyond the new Darkstalkers that came to live on Earth, the Bigfoot have long had contact with many human civilizations over the years that would brave the artic lands that the Bigfoot called home. While many of the first nation people of Canada and Siberia would generally be on great, mutual terms with the Bigfoot, many of the humans that came from more 'civilized' lands were of a greater mixed bag. Some with aggressive intentions while others of curiosity. In general, the Bigfoot would keep hold of their lands, protecting them with vigor, even aiding their friends of the first nation and Darkstalkers variety. In the simplest sense, the Bigfoot Tribes were bros to all they considered friends.

That should hopefully give some good insight into the Bigfoot Tribe as a race. I hope you do enjoy and as always, I am happy to answer questions regarding lore of Cryas Darkstalkers. Till next time! 😄✌️☃️

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #lore #auranova26 #bigfoot #sahrijinn #worldbuilding

3 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 8 months

Text

The Sahrijinn

In Cryas Darkstalkers Cast Bits 3, I had made mention about a race of beings known as the Sahrijinn. I want to discuss about this race of beings from Makai as they are quite important in terms aspects of world building. So first of all, what is with the name? Sahrijinn is the combination of the words sahri (سحري) and jinn (جن‎,). Sahri translates to basically 'magical' while jinn is a term many of have heard. Sometimes, jinn are angelized into the word genie. However, I was really against the idea of using that term genie. Still, the idea of the Sahrijinn are these magical beings who have quite the skill with magic of varying kinds depending on the different Sahrijinn among their race. Among the Sahrijinn are the Marid, Jann, Ifrit, Sila, Vetala, and Shaitan. Let us briefly talk about each group of the Sahrijinn.

Marid have the ability to bend spacetime and thus are able to create portals. However, they generally are limited to areas within the dimension they are in. They do however have a sensitivity for nexus points which can allow them create portals to areas outside the dimension they reside in. However, should enough energy be used, Marid can create brief nexus points to other dimensions if they are aware of other dimensions in the universe. The Marid were the first to find the nexus point to the afterlife of Makai, Inkai. They also used their abilities to open the nexus point that would eventually become the Gate. Marid have the capability to manipulate gravity, part of the reason for their ability to warp spacetime. This can allow them to fly without the need for wings or use of wind. Another notable trait of the Marid is their generally smaller size compared to the other Sahrijinn. However, the Marid are capable of entering into a state of being that increases their size exponentially known as the Unbound State.

Jann are beings with a powerful affinity for the wind. This allows the Jann to be capable of powerful forms of wind magic, from the lightest of breezes to the most devastating windstorms. This wind magic also allows them to control the atmospheric conditions of the areas they are in, inducing different forms of weather. The Jann have an affinity for desert areas, preferably finding oasis to hang around in. While they lack wings, they can fly via the use of wind currents. Due to almost being one with the wind, the Jann have a natural love for travel. During the exodus from Makai, they helped lead their fellow Sahrijinn as they traversed the unknown lands of Makai till finding a nexus point that would become the Gate. Once on Earth, they helped in making the first explorations of the ancient world. Their findings helped the Sahrijinn when it came to forming their own realm.

Ifrit are those who have a love for fire and battle. With their control over the heat, they are capable of producing using various forms of fire magic. Interestingly, they are capable of also absorbing heat, both from living beings and the air. Their bodies are capable of absorbing a high amount of heat, though when reaching critical levels, they must expel out the excess heat lest it prove to be fatal. Among the Sahrijinn, they are great warriors with a knack to fight and employing different battle tactics on the field of combat. Ifrit were the ones to help establish the first sense of civilization among the Sahrijinn, both in the ancient times in Makai and later on once the Sahrijinn left Makai.

Sila are shapeshifting beings that like to mimic the form of other beings in the name of fun. While they can be tricksters and like to get involved with others, they do have generally good intentions or just want to have fun. Once the Sahrijinn left Makai, they were among the first to interact with the ancestors of humans. Their interactions would lead to the first hybrids of Sahrijinn and humans.

Vetala are natural born psychics. Their psychic capabilities range from telekinesis to mind reading. Not only do they have these psionic abilities, they also have quite the high degree of intelligence. They purse to learn much in the way of knowledge no matter how big or small. Even in death, their stubborn pursuit of knowledge will lead them possess bodies, preferring the bodies of the recently deceased so as to not compete with control of the body. While they theoretically could keep doing this so long as they have a fresh supply of corpses, they usually only keep this up till they are content with the knowledge they know. Their incredible intellect helped lead to the creation of the realm for the Sahrijinn.

Shaitan are known for their way to weave words and sway conversations. While they lack the psychic abilities of the Vetala, the Shaitan have been noted of having a very uncanny ability to read the body language of others and get into the heads of the ones they converse with. This made them quite powerful in the form of political affairs during the time in Makai and later on with many other beings on Earth. Magic wise, they are fully capable of making use of dark based magic. Not only that, but they also have the ability to make use of various toxins that they can form from within their bodies. They can use these toxins to defend themselves should they be in a tight spot. The toxins from within a Shaitan can cause various effects from nausea to as serious as muscle spasms and temporary paralysis.

With all that knowledge laid out, let me give a brief history regarding the Sahrijinn. In the ancient times of Makai, the Sahrijinn came upon a strange ore that was discovered by some Jann. Upon interacting with the ore, it showed them strange visions of what was later interpreted by some Vetala scholars as potentially the origins of Makai. Among this, it also made them aware of the existence of the soul, the essence of an individual. Not only this, but the visions also showed of a realm where the souls go to rest. Thinking it best not to walk around with a piece of ore as they desired to find this realm, it was eventually carved into a gemstone to be fitted onto a ring. This ring would be known as the Ring of Isis. Eventually, the Sahrijinn found the nexus point to Inkai, which would be opened by a Marid. There, they marveled at the otherworldly land they saw before them, feeling the strange energy emitted by this realm. Not long afterward, they came upon some souls. From them, the Sahrijinn were amazed to learn that these souls were of the ancestors of many beings long ago. Learning of their ways, their knowledge, and even piecing together more about the potential origins of the lands they walked, it was a wonderful time for learning all sorts of knowledge. However, this wouldn't last forever.

At the time, the Sahrijinn were a powerful tribe. While not the largest in number, they had the advantage of having the greatest magical potential together as a race. Because of this, they brokered treaties with other tribes. Among them was with the Aensland Tribe, led by Zeruru. While he wasn't the friendliest, he stuck to his word with the treaties that were placed. Eventually, word of the existence of Inkai was spread. While initially with good intentions to spread knowledge of the collective origin of all, this eventually led to a great conflict. When others were shown Inkai, among them being some emissaries from the Aensland Tribe, it was soon found out that souls had power. Not only that, but they could also be absorbed to obtain power with the consequence of destroying the soul. When the Sharijinn eventually found out about this, several Marid not only sealed the portal to Inkai (trapping some demons who were in there) but managed to use their power to move the nexus point somewhere else. While the souls in Inkai could be safe from further tampering, this could not stop the now known knowledge of soul absorption. The leader of the Sahrijinn of the time, Solomon, confronted Zeruru about this. As the argument grew heated, Zeruru killed Solomon, not only absorbing his soul, but also taking the Ring of Isis. This not only led to the discovery of the great power held within a Sahrijinn soul but sparked a major conflict as other tribes sought after power. In time, many of the allies of the Sahrijinn turned on them and those who did stick with them would either be wiped out or eventually turn on them for their own safety. The only ally they had left were the Bigfoot Tribe. While the Sahrijinn were powerful and the Bigfoot were incredible warriors in battle, they were easily outnumbered by the sheer number of tribes. Eventually, they sought to flee, find another nexus point and leave these lands behind.

It took time, but they eventually discovered a nexus point in a far-off island of a great mountain. There, the Marid opened what would become the Gate. However, to deter pursuers, several Ifirt and Shaitan used their combined abilities with fire and toxins to ignite the mountain. Once they passed through the Gate, all of the Sahrijinn imbued their magic into several Marid to scramble and seal the Gate. Hopefully, the other tribes would not be able to find them. Finding themselves in a new land, they eventually acquainted themselves in this new realm. Luckily, the species here were not of any problem as they were practically like animals. The Bigfoot tribe would eventually go their separate ways, bidding the Sahrijinn good luck. As time went on, the Sahrijinn would discover a species of great intrigue. Primitive at the time, these beings would be the ancestors of humans. Several Sila were the first to interact with these beings. In time however, the Sahrijinn felt it best to eventually isolate themselves from all other lifeforms, still scarred by the events that went down that caused them to leave their homeland. While it took much time, they eventually found a new nexus point that led to a pocket of nothingness. Based on both their memories of their old homeland and the new lands they saw on what would be known as Earth, they constructed a new realm for themselves in this void. Jannah, the realm of the Sahrijinn, was to be its name and the new home of the Sahrijinn.

While mostly keeping to themselves, the Sahrijinn still visited the new realm they found, interacting with creatures and what would become humans. Infact, several of the various Sahrijinn would eventually mate with these beings, eventually producing hybrids. Over the years, these hybrids would eventually dilute the Sahrijinn blood they had. However, it would remain, potentially being the basis for humans to have the ability of magic. Some of the Sahrijinn in time also sought to stay in this new realm permanently, integrating with these beings and hybrids.

Sometime after they did establish Jannah, the Sahrijinn were visited by a strange, but otherworldly race of beings. These were the Angels, observers of the universe and carrier of the souls to Reikai. The Sahrijinn were without a doubt frightened by these new beings but would be calmed when they realized these ethereal beings were not hostile. If anything, the Angels were curious by these new beings they see before them. Despite no words beings said, the Sahrijinn, felt further calm as the Angels merely only observed them for some time before eventually leaving. This wasn't the last they saw of them as they would see them again as their fellow Sahrijinn would die. The Angels would come to retrieve the souls of the dead. While anxious at first, they eventually came to realize these Angels were taking their fallen to a new afterlife, one for this reality. It wasn't Inkai, but elsewhere.

I hope you enjoy this world building bit! This is important beyond just establishing some prehistory of Makai, but also some backstory of this race as eventually a Sahrijinn will be a main character in Cryas Darkstalkers. Feel free to ask questions and I will be glad to answer. Till next time ya'll! 😄✌️

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #lore #auranova26 #sahrijinn #jinn #ifrit #marid #jann #sila #vetala #shaitan #makai #yeah the bigfoot are really nice people

8 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 8 months

Text

Cryas Darkstalkers Cast Bits 3

I figured for this one, I'd make it a bit shorter to talk about some individuals who have some big influence on aspects of Makai. They aren't in the primary role of characters, but they still are quite important to either world building or to some characters.

Belial Aensland:

Look, the lore makes him out to be this like omnipotent individual. Make no mistake, he is still a powerful individual in Cryas Darkstalkers, but he is more so specialized in certain aspects rather than being omnipotent in everything.

He still is quite the large demon. In a way, he is like a titan golem.

Due to the nature of his towering size and obsidian like body, he is physically strong and durable.

Magic wise, he has the ability to open the Gate with ease.

Belial also has a powerful spell known as Scalephoton. In essence, he concentrates raw energy into a projectile of varying size and intensity and fires it at blinding speed. He has perfected this spell to potentially catastrophic proportions.

The greatest extent of his magical abilities is the ability to bend spacetime in order to create portals to Earth or areas beyond the nexus.

Despite these traits, he is not invincible. While Demitri in the end didn't stand a chance, he still managed some good hits on the titan. Galnan, one who at one point had greater magical potential than Belial, would not challenge Belial's rule despite his dislike of the House of Aensland. While Jedah has a godly healing factor and the potential to overpower Belial if he can absorb enough souls, the amount needed would make it easily noticeable before he could even make 25% of his goal. In essence, with the exception of Demitri, all nobles see challenging Belial as tantamount to suicide.

He still has the general idea from the main lore of viewing Makai as an extension of his own body. He chooses not to be a proactive, iron fist ruler of the realm. Merely, he seeks to let things be, only intervening if things get out of hand with others trying to incite major disruptions.

Till his death, he wears the Ring of Isis. It plays a bigger role in Cryas Darkstalkers.

The reason for him dying is not because of his battle with Demitri or sending that onion head and his castle to Earth. It was because of the third Soul Shard he kept within himself.

Due to the bizarre nature of Morrigan's Soul, the Soul Shard did not sit well with staying in Belial. But he used his powers to keep it contained in him as he believed this one was safest in him while the other was in a special pocket dimension. However, the Soul Shard would fight back, effectively poisoning the Ruler of Makai.

Belial raised Morrigan with the same amount of attention that he had with ruling Makai. He only really intervenes if things get out of hand with her. He merely keeps her around to ensure the House of Aensland would have a new ruler.

The only people he converses with in regard to secret matters are his servants Mudo and Lucien. Those two demons have been loyal to the House of Aensland since sometime shortly before Belial became Ruler of Makai.

While he will punish Mudo and Lucien if they fail a task he ordered, he never threatens them with death or severe pain. Merely a minor punishment that is basically a slap on the wrist.

Zeruru Aensland:

Oh boy, since there is hardly anything about him beyond his name and being the first Ruler of Makai, I got my work cut out. However, there is quite a lot of important aspects about him in Cryas Darkstalkers in regard to the history of Makai.

2 million years ago, current records state that was the general time period when the current systems were set in place for society for generations to come. Under Zeruru's leadership, he and the nobles set up the general structure of society and rule that would be held for eons. However, there is more to this.

Before all of this, Zeruru Aensland was merely the ruler of a large tribe of many races, but primarily succubus and incubus. While the succubus and incubus were the original members of the Aensland Tribe, others were forced in through conquest or some via ensuring loyalty.

Once the discovery of souls and empowerment via the absorption of souls was discovered, Zeruru was the most vigorous among the leaders to hunt down the Sahrijinn as they had the most power.

While the Sahrijinn were able to mostly escape Makai, they couldn't take all their possessions. Chief among them was the Ring of Isis.

The Ring of Isis showed Zeruru visions of the nature of Makai as it did the Sahrijinn. However, this knowledge was ignored as heeding it would not allow for the quick acquisition of power that many sought from consuming souls.

After the foundation of society in Makai was formed, Zeruru would keep the Ring of Isis and repurpose it. It was to show the sign of those who would rule Makai as the Overlord.

Upon his death, his soul was absorbed by the ring. Future Aenslands who donned the ring would be unknowingly influenced by Zeruru's desire to keep the Aenslands in power and to adhere to his desires and will.

The nature and origins of Makai were kept hidden, only possible to be known in the realm of Inkai. However, that realm's nexus point has alluded the nobles for eons.

In time, the Sahrijinn were forgotten by many over the many millennia. All thanks to Zeruru.

Mudo and Lucien:

Loyal servants of the House of Aensland.

They were in the servitude of the father of Belial. Upon the proclamation of Belial's father, they were to serve Belial.

Despite their roles as servants and generally placid natures, these two are quite powerful demons.

They are not related by blood, but the two are inseparable.

They were the ones to proactively raise Morrigan since she was a baby. Despite her rather aloof nature, she genuinely cares for Mudo and Lucien as they are basically father figures to her. Plus, they understand her nature.

They handle the affairs of Castle Aensland. Ensuring all the other servants perform their tasks from guard duty, housekeeping, and meal prep.

During Morrigan's reign as Ruler of Makai, these two would also take to handling the political affairs while Morrigan was away. When she does return to rest, they are able to coerce to perform her duties, which she will do till she is bored and leaves again.

Galnan Voshtal:

Head of the Noble House of Voshtal.

Regarded as not only quite intelligent, but also cruel and callous. Even his own family are safe from his cruelty.

Late in his life, he had somehow stumbled upon the nexus point of Inkai far from the general Makaiin populace. Having access to a wealth of knowledge and souls, Galnan would keep this realm hidden from others.

In discovering Inkai, he also discovered the Inkai Beasts. Among the group of strange creatures was one who called themselves Ozom. He would come to serve under Voshtal for some time, acting as both a guide and interpreter of the Inkai Beasts.

Galnan's power was able to rival that of Belial. While he heavily desired to rule all of Makai, making his disdain of Belial known, he would not lift finger against him. Despite his great power, he was still dwarfed by the golem titan. Not only that, while Galnan knew more spells than Belial, whatever Belial had was enough to fatally wound the head of Voshtal.

While Voshtal at least acknowledged the intellect of Jedah, he found him to be nothing more than a childish whiner.

Voshtal's family despised him due to his blatant abusive behavior.

Even though he was several thousands of years old, his health slowly diminished till he died.

Ozom:

Ozom is originally from the Realm of Inkai. He is an Inkai Beast.

Unlike many of the beast there, Ozom is one of the most evolved Inkai Beasts with far more complex abilities to think.

He has the ability to control the Inkai Beast's nervous systems to make them bend to his will.

While not necessarily powerful, one of his most potent abilities is his ability to plan and manipulate individuals. He has an excellent sense of charisma and is excellent at stringing people along in conversation.

In a sense, Ozom is a full-blown sociopath.

Ozom was the one to orchestrate the death of Galnan. During servitude to Galnan, he found out how the Voshtal family loathed the patriarch.

In collaboration with the family of Voshtal, they would slowly poison Galnan. In return, they would gain control of the House and allow Ozom to consume the soul of Galnan.

In consuming Galnan's soul, his manipulative nature was amplified as was his desire for more power.

He would come to serve Jedah, with the full intent of controlling the House of Dohma. Jedah had no living family.

His charm worked on Jedah, but he wasn't able to fully fool Jedah's other closest confidant, Sierra De Gilman. Still, he took his time to not arouse suspicion.

Once he managed to kill Jedah in Inkai, he would come to control the House of Dohma. While Sierra was suspicious, nothing would be done as she was aware of how Belial worked.

Ozom would relish his time as the Head of Dohma. While he still kept to keeping to affairs regarding the lands and political affairs, he was a detriment to those in the lands of Dohma.

His actions and hunger nearly caused the extinction of the Soul Bees. However, he kept them around still as their honey was a valued export.

Taking in Zabel as his servant on Earth was merely a way for him satiate his hunger for souls as he had to make sure the Soul Bees were kept alive.

While he had plans to also kill Belial and take control of Makai, his ultimate goal, that would never come to be.

Though he was able to kill Jedah, he didn't know that the Shinigami individual was able to resurrect.

Helpless in Makai, he was killed easily by the silent, yet enraged Jedah.

Despite feigning enthusiasm for Jedah's philosophical and political ideology, he did find a genuine love for music.

I likely will try to redesign Ozom in some fashion.

Sierra Del Gilman:

Head of the Noble House of Gilman, her intellect is capable of rivaling that of Galnan.

Since she is only really named and has some description of her in the lore guide, I have full liberty regarding her design.

I will be going for some form of owl demon design to coalesce with her intellect. On top of that, will also look towards influence from Fecto Elfilis.

Magic wise, she knows all sorts of spells.

She is a close friend of Jedah Dohma. The two both agree on how the affairs of Makai are not ideal as it will lead to ruin overtime. Factors like Belial's general passive rule, the stagnant nature of society, and how the lands have slowly over millennia gotten slowly more hostile over time based on records.

She has made an effort to collect any historical records regarding Makai and from whatever can be obtained from Earth.

Due to her collection of knowledge of things from Earth, she caught the attention of the heir of Aensland, Morrigan.

Despite how different both are, Sierra and Morrigan managed to forge a friendship. This friendship would ignite a flame in Morrigan in fueling her desire to visit Earth for thrills and pleasure.

Not only would she bring souvenirs for Sierra, but she would ramble about what she did and found there.

She is well acquainted with Mudo and Lucien. They engage in civil and friendly chats.

Sierra was once called to Belial. He made it clear he is not happy with Morrigan's bouts to Earth and is aware her friendship with Sierra is the start of this. However, he makes doesn't punish Sierra for this but makes it clear that if Morrigan is killed on Earth, Sierra will have to answer to him.

While Ozom was in rule of the House of Dohma, she made efforts to help those in the land of Dohma, especially the Soul Bees when things were getting bad for them.

She is capable of flying of her own accord. However, she also can float and fly via magic.

She chooses to adhere to her power via treaties and discussions with others rather than general warfare. However, she still assures her armies are well trained in magic.

She has the power to open the Gate.

That should do it for now. Hope you enjoy this Makai addition to lore! As always, feel free to ask questions if you are curious. Till next time!😎✌️

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #auranova26 #lore #makai #belial #aensland #zeruru #ozom #galnan voshtal #sierre del gilman #mudo and lucien #demon nobles #demons #id say this is some cool stuff

4 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 9 months

Text

Zabel Zarock

Oh wait, I do have designs of Zabel for Cryas Darkstalkers. However, after some thought, I will likely change his design some more. I do love the idea I have for his hair and general shape. However, I would like to add more to give him that feel of a metal head. Some accessories and stuff and change some aspects of his clothing. But yeah, marvel at the Death Rocker. Also Le Malta is there. He is a funny blorbo. Also, he is an Inkai Beast.

#darkstalkers #cryas darkstalkers #zabel zarock #lord raptor #le malta #zombie #ghoul #metalhead #long tongue #you can see his nips #the second piece was a gift for my friend Weeb #auranova26 #auranovaart

10 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 9 months

Text

Cryas Darkstalkers Cast Bits 2

Check this out to see some information regarding some of the other characters I discuss about:

With that said, time to get into some more characters. Again, just some brief enough notes about each major character and their role in Cryas Darkstalkers.

Bishamon:

Same general backstory he has in the main timeline. A samurai who unfortunately fell prey to the temptation of the demon armor Hannya and demon sword Kien.

For decades, he went on a rampage throughout Japan, causing mass terror to the innocent civilians of Japan. Valiant warriors tried to stop this rampaging demon but would merely be more sacrifices to the bloodthirsty specter.

At some point in the late 1700s, he would have learned of the lands of China. Learning that such a landmass was far bigger than Japan, the demon relished the thought of oceans of blood and souls flooding the lands, ready to be consumed.

His activities would eventually reach the ears of Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling, who would eventually track down and confront the heinous samurai from the east.

In essence, Bishamon would serve as the real first big threat the sisters would face in their journey, especially after they finally got a good feel as jiangshi warriors.

While it is a difficult battle as the samurai is quite skilled and empowered by the souls it has consumed, the sisters would prevail with their combined skills, tactics, and powers.

Upon defeat, the demon armor and blade lose control of their host, releasing Bishamon's soul. While the sisters are prepared to destroy the spirit in front of them, they would be stopped by Bishamon's wife, Orin. She too is a spirit, having cast aside her body to continue clinging to the mortal realm in order to find a way to free the man she loved.

Bishamon is found out to be fully aware of what has happened during his time under the control of Hannya and Kien. He wishes to repent for his failure to resist the temptation of those two caused the deaths of countless lives.

The four would eventually seal the cursed armor and blade in a special tomb per Mei-Ling's design. Bishamon and Orin vow to make sure none would tamper with the tomb so no one else would fall to the temptation of Hannya and Kien.

From then on, the couple would seek to work together to cleanse Bishamon of the sins that weigh heavy on his heart and soul.

Bishamon and Orin are basically the first allies the sisters make.

Pyron:

Serves as a major villain during the time frame that serves as the Vampire Hunter part of the mythos.

He is still an alien that was born on the planet Hellstorm. His evolution leads him to become an energy-based lifeform that takes the form of a living flame.

While he initially reveled in his self-proclaimed ascension to godhood via consuming his home world and traveling the cosmos to seek strong warriors and worlds to consume and fuel him, he eventually grew bored as he didn't get to have a good challenge.

Being a warrior at heart, while he did like to win, he more found pleasure and meaning in life via a rousing battle. Even when he limited his powers to be on equal footing with the many warriors he fought, he wasn't given the best showing and still triumphed.

In a sense, I see Pyron like a Saiyan. What he wants is a good fight. His godhood was more of a hinderance as he was the most powerful. But by being the most powerful, he had no worthy foes. Thus, his life lacked meaning. While he had bouts of dread over the prospect of no worthy battles, he would never allow himself to wither away. The only way he would die is via in battle.

I still have it so far that he did visit Earth at one point. However, I am not sure when he will in my mythos. Certainly, it would still be far in the past, but I am not feeling the time of the dinosaurs.

He is far more vulnerable to magical based attacks.

Jedah Dohma:

Serves as a major villain for the time frame of Cryas Darkstalkers that would be the Vampire Savior aspect of the story.

He actually has two people that were confidants of his. Ozom, like the original timeline, and now Sierra de Gilman.

Ozom is still a conniving, power hungry manipulator that eventually gets Jedah killed via a ploy he manages to play on Jedah. However, it will not be involving the Gate as the idea of that is different in Cryas Darkstalkers.

Sierra is a noble of the House of Gilman. She is an intellectual and philosopher. She actually forges a genuine friendship with Jedah as they have many discussions about the nature of Makai, political affairs, the future, their interests, their thoughts about various subjects, and doing what they can to assure their lands were kept in high spirits.

Jedah has the ability to hear souls. He has explained that souls give of special sound waves that sound like a song. In this way, he can learn about the individual, such as their lives, abilities, and aspects.

Jedah has noted of a very dull humming sound that he has never been able to pinpoint. It has come at random intervals and appears to be the hum of a soul.

His body is still that of a special, sentient liquid. With this, he can perform many physical alterations to his form for appearances, offense, and defense. The form he presents himself in is one of his choosing.

His traits and abilities are linked to his ability to wield souls. The more he can absorb, the more powerful he can get. While many beings can do this as well, Jedah is unnaturally gifted in this aspect.

Physically, he is not the mightiest. His magical abilities can become quite potent. His ability to manipulate his blood to create many forms of weaponry and attacks are incredibly versatile. However, what makes him a truly dangerous individual is his godly ability of regeneration thanks to his ability to utilize souls efficiently and his liquid body.

He plans out his goal far more carefully and thoughtfully in this mythos. In a sense, you could say he is stronger in this mythos due to not basically bum rushing his plans.

The Soul Bees still serve as minions for him in order to help carry out his plans.

Q-Bee:

She, along with her race, will get major redesigns. I am not a fan of the design she and the Soul Bees have.

'Q-Bee' is just a title. As for an actual name she has, she doesn't have one.

At the time of Jedah's revival and eventual creation of the Majigen, the current Q-Bee is a marvel of rapid adaptation. During Ozom's reign of the Dohma Lands, he nearly drove the Soul Bees to extinction. This triggered some drastic changes in the mindset of Soul Bees. While they are primarily driven to eat, reproduce, and survive, the ones who become the Q-Bee of the hive would slowly gain better intelligence over the decades of his reign.

While Q-Bee is not an intellectual, the one during the events of the Majigen has the ability to better plan things out for the survival of her race beyond instinctual reproduction and consumption.

While she serves Jedah, she only does so out of necessity and to ensure the survival of her hive. However, she and her Soul Bees are grateful of the chances for more meals under his command.

Under Jedah's orders, she and her fellow Soul Bees eventually lead to the death and consumption of many of the servants and families of the Noble houses. The only exceptions are Morrigan, Demitri, and Sierra.

Q-Bee rarely ever speaks using 'I'. Instead, she commonly uses 'we' or 'this one'.

I am so far thinking of potentially 3 different types of Soul Bees. Q-Bee, the largest of the Soul Bee race that have the capability to reproduce and are the most capable in combat. P-Bees, smaller Soul Bees that aid in the care of young Soul Bees, along with maintaining the hive. P-Bees can still fight as well and are not to be trifled with. Then I would think there are smaller Soul Bees that basically serve as Drone-like Soul Bees. They merely exist to serve the Q-Bee in combat. I'll figure things out more.

Lilith:

She probably has one of the biggest changes in Cryas Darkstalkers in regard to how her story goes and motives. Brace yourself for some big notes because I have given a lot of thought to Lilith as she is a big player during the time of the Majigen stuff.

Lilith is still born as a Soul Shard, one of the thirds from Morrigan's Soul. In a small pocket dimension of Belial's creation, this fragment of Morrigan's soul was left to basically rot, away from Morrigan. However, because Morrigan's soul was rather abnormally strong, even a third of her soul was able to do unusual things, beyond the fact that Morrigan even survived the soul shattering with no ill effects. Because this happened when Morrigan was young, the soul had cloudy fragments of Morrigan's memories that played effectively at random and on loop. This goes on for centuries, this shard only 'awake' for intervals to recall these memories. Not only that, to just be 'aware' that it was still around.

Lilith is found by Jedah still, but things are different regarding circumstances and why he allowed her a body. As Jedah was creating the Majigen, in the boundaries of the void, he heard the faintest sound of a soul. Upon discovering it as he realized the odd place it was in, he realized it was just a shard. By listening to the soul shard's broken song, he realized that it belongs to Morrigan. But the odd thing was this shard somehow had a sense of self awareness. Broken and primordial, but the fact it had a sense of knowing it existed was remarkable. Here is the difference: He only gave the shard a body in a strange sense of both mercy and curiosity. At the time, he had an argument with the only other being that was a friend to him. A close confidant. Unlike Ozom however, she never backstabbed him. However, she (Sierra) was against Jedah's plan and told him to reconsider, especially as Belial was out of the picture. But he refused. Despite his plans meaning she will also become one as well, he gave her a chance of mercy to live out her remaining time as an individual, unlike the other nobles who had already been slaughtered and sacrificed to the Shintai (except Morrigan and Demitri). In a fleeting moment, he allowed this shard to have a chance to experience life, even if fleeting.

In Cryas Darkstalkers, Lilith doesn't seek to return to Morrigan. The idea I am going with Lilith is basically like the Replicas in Kingdom Hearts, a subclass of Nobodies. To put it simple, Nobodies are beings without hearts…initially. They have a body and soul but lack hearts. However, they in time would develop new hearts as they would begin to forge new bonds and create memories. In time, they become whole once again. In this case, this is what I am going for with Lilith. In essence, she isn't a succubus. She is effectively a Soul Shard. She has no soul of her own initially, just a body and mind. But in time, something would start to trigger in her. However, this doesn't mean she still doesn't seek Morrigan. She seeks her for different reasons this time about. See after she was given a body and was with Jedah for some time, as she dreamed and her mind began to solidify, she then could truly wonder about this girl she would see in her dreams. Jedah never answered her, merely telling her they were just her having lucid dreams. But Lilith didn't accept this. In time, she would leave Jedah as she got fed up with not getting an answer. She needed to know because for her simply, she doesn't know who she is. She only can vividly remember meeting Jedah, him telling her the name she has, and that she was wondering around in a daze till he found her and nursed her to good health. She thinks this girl holds the key to who she is. Upon meeting Hsien-Ko, Mei-Ling, and Caisla (OC of mine, will explain at a later day) in the Majigen as she wondered around, the sisters would think the girl she is seeing in her dreams might be Morrigan. That is Lilith's catalyst to join with the trio, along with the fact they were willing to help.

The body she initially has is at the mercy of Jedah. Her body was the amalgamation of part of his blood and part of the shard's power. His magic and what the shard had is what keeps her body together. At any moment, Jedah could just end her if he so wishes, but he chooses not to. However, his death would result in the collapse of her body, which isn't discovered till it is too late.

She has a familiar in the form of a bat made of energy. Unlike Morrigan, she treats this bat like a friend and is very close to them. This bat familiar is eventually named Ori.

No, she doesn't use the last name 'Aensland'.

Huitzil:

In Cryas Darkstalkers, both the name Phobos and Huitzil are used.

Phobos is the name of the robots that Pyron commands.

Huitzil is the name given to the last remaining Phobos unit in existence. He is named by the homeless Mexican boy, Cecil.

He follows the kid as when he was found amidst some rubble by Cecil. Somehow, he causes the Phobos to become active. However, their memory has been heavily damaged, and they lack a master to listen to. Upon seeing the child and eventually running diagnostics and calculations, the unit makes the decision to follow the child as its new servant.

Overtime, Huitzil and Cecil form a genuine bond close to that of brothers.

They get wrapped up in the events of the Majigen because a portal opening in Mexico near them allowed a Soul Bee to take the child as a snack. Huitzil would follow the kidnapper in order to save Cecil and exterminate the Soul Bee. However, they would wind up stuck in this strange realm.

Hoo boy, quite a lote. That is all for now. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I'll be back in time with more bits of lore and stuff. 😎✌️

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #auranova26 #lore #bishamon #pyron #jedah dohma #jedah #lilith #lilith darkstalkers #q bee #huitzil #phobos #lilith is honestly really cool and it is a shame how botched she was #also thank you kingdom hearts for cool lore ideas

11 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 9 months

Note

Is BB Hood in this universe? If so, what's her deal?

First of all, thank you for your question and being the first one to ask!😆🙌

Next, allow me to answer this question. BB Hood is in this mythos as an antagonist. In a sense, not only is she the whole idea of 'humans being monsters' or 'wolf in sheep's skin' ideas, but she is also a high-functioning sociopath. She only cares about her desires and sees everyone else as a tool for her to use for her own gain. There are at least two exceptions to this: her grandmother and her dog Harry. Granted, while the dog is part of her tactics of deceit, she does care for the dog to keep it healthy and cared for.

As for when she shows up, she is active during the events of the mythos when Jedah is doing his whole thing of getting worthy souls. In the Majigen, she basically serves to be a persistent antagonistic force to the group of characters who have banded together to go confront Jedah and get out of this new realm. While only human, her vast arsenal of weaponry and combat tactics make her a danger to everyone involved.

The only other thing I can add is that I personally see that she doesn't have a real name and it is never known. BB Hood and Bulletta are aliases she has gone by. I personally like Bulletta, but either name works in Cryas Darkstalkers. As for her age, I don't have one fully in mind, but she is intended to not be an adult. Probably teenager years. As for her country of origin, while I don't have one in mind, I'd probably go for her being European, specifically from the areas of the Nordic regions or even Russia.

While it isn't her current design as of yet, have this old sketch of Bulletta I made some years ago:

#auranova26 #cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #lore #bb hood #bulletta #this is my first time answering a question and I feel excited #my time watching casual criminalist make me think bulletta will be fascinating to think about #go watch casual criminalist

13 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 9 months

Text

Cryas Darkstalkers Cast Bits

So, I only really have designs for the characters I have shown via lore blogs. However, I already do have thoughts for many of the other cast. So rather than wait till I have designs to make longer lore blogs, I'll give brief snippets about how each have changed for the mythos and their general role.

Jon Talbain:

He is still a werewolf, born in the wilderness of the northern forests of the United Kingdom.

His father is still Baraba Kreutz, while his mother now has a name: Cathwulf Talbain. Cathwulf has a pet dog, an Airedale Terrier known as Norward.

He still has an ordeal of being unable to fully control his werewolf form. It is via the help of many of the years that he eventually can learn to control his Qi and control his bestial form.

He will have a fairly northern accent thanks to his mother.

He does learn martial arts from a Japanese master he finds in the mountains of the main European continent. The master does go by the name of Gallon.

He does eventually become friends with Felicia and becomes a relative mainstay in the Rose household from his travels. Their relationship is strictly platonic, despite Ramona making sly remarks about Jon being a fine man for her daughter.

Victor Von Gerdenheim:

Victor's 'birth' year is changed to 1831. No current month or date as of yet.

Honestly, aspects of his lore are inspired by the story he had from the Udon mythos. One of the very few things I can praise about those comics.

Professor Gerdenheim sees Emily and Victor as not only his creations, but also his children. He wishes to use his knowledge to further improve them, especially Emily since her 'heart' is defective compared to Victor's.

He and Emily both speak fluent Germen, but eventually learn English. Victor does tend to talk in the third person, but eventually learns to better improve his speech over the decades.

After the events of Victor and Emily's introduction into the mythos, their goals both involve making their father proud in their own ways. Victor wishes to get strong to help protect the village and his big sister from those who would cause harm. Emily wishes to follow in her father's footsteps to continue his research so that one day his studies could be fully realized and help the people.

Demitri Maximoff:

He is born in Makai.

He plays an antagonistic role, generally being a menace and nuisance to the various protagonists in the Cryas Darkstalkers mythos and eventually to even a few individuals from the Cryas Chronicles reality.

After his failed coup against Belial, he, his castle, and those in it were banished to Earth as a sign of humiliation and contempt for the vampire lord. Not only that, but the vampires who remained in Makai were under heavy watch.

However, there was another added thing in Cryas Darkstalkers. Belial cursed Demitri that so long as he lived, Demitri's power would always never be able to reach its full potential no matter how blood he consumed. Not only that, but he couldn't pass through the Gate to return to Makai.

With no knowledge of the curse, Demitri's time on Earth is spent trying to feebly regain his power and more to once again rechallenge Belial. However, he does seek to try and make a base of operation on Earth.

Despite not being at his full power, he still proves to be quite a powerful creature of the night.

His hatred of Belial extends to Morrigan. In essence, those who bear the family name of Aensland are his mortal enemies and must be crushed under his heel so he can take the throne and power of the ruler of Makai.

He does still have his harem of women. They are Patricia, Elizabeth, Francoise and Angelica. They are the ones that he gives the best treatment to in regard to their duties him compared to all his 'loyal' subjects.

His clothing is gonna be changed. Despite my desire to make fun of Demitri and see him as this dumb onion head, I will take him seriously enough in my mythos. Thus, no skintight clothing. It was and still is stupid looking.

Despite being a Makain by birth, I will likely try to design him with some sense of coding to a region on Earth. For exactly where, I still need to think about that.

While he does speak in a way to give a sense of regality to his mannerisms, he is not above going more brutish and animalistic in his tone when the time calls for it.

Zabel Zarock:

His birth year will be completely different to better match the idea of when he rose to stardom as a metal musician. For now, a current year of 1968 is in mind.

He is born in Australia, but this time will have an accent and speech mannerism to match that along with his cultural love of metal.

He becomes a zombie at a relatively young age, in his early 20s.

Despite the short time span of becoming a zombie, he amasses power at an unbelievable rate.

He begrudgingly works under Ozom, with Le Malta being Ozom's middleman to insure Zabel upholds his end of the bargain.

Despite Le Malta's initial role, he actually grows to have a good friendly, brother like relation to Zabel. Zabel does treat him like he would anybody else but does grow to like his company.

Lord Raptor was his stage name when he performed. He still goes by that name a lot during his concerts as a zombie and when out killing for souls. Only a few people are aware of his real name of Zabel Zarock.

NO, he and Hsien-Ko are not a couple in this mythos. However, I would like to give an idea of what I plan. This next bullet point will be longer, but I need to stress this very badly.

Upon his first encounter with the sisters in the brush of Australia, he merely saw Hsien-Ko as just another jobber out to kill him. A buzzkill basically. Despite being stronger than her, something about her willingness to keep fighting despite being badly injured and losing sparked something in his heart and mind. Her ferocious fighting spirit lit a flame in him that made him respect her and even grow to find this sheila as quite the catch. He would throw the battle to let her 'win' and eventually make his escape after teasing her with his honest answer as to why he allowed her to live and win. I want to explore the idea of his crush on Hsien-Ko being built on his respect for her after that first encounter. While the sisters clearly would want him dead since he is a murderous menace, the dude proves to be too slippery to fully kill. If anything, he basically likes to annoy her when he can come across Hsien-Ko. Not only to see her react but catch more glimpses of her.

Zabel is basically a chaotic antagonist. While he generally is a terrible individual, he is quite the goober with how he just lives by his own rules. However, there will be times where he does lend a hand to Hsien-Ko based on the circumstances. It is not often but does occur.

After his first encounter with the Shao sisters, he has no intention to harm or kill Hsien-Ko. By proxy, this is the same for Mei-Ling, but only because she is related to Hsien-Ko.

He wants to gain enough power to kill Ozom so he can be free from him and just go about living his undead life his own way. He does hope that maybe in time, perhaps he could even somehow get his sheila to aid him in killing Ozom.

Sasquatch:

His father is the leader of their tribe and is known as Tundra.

Their tribe is located in the artic regions of northern Canada.

The Bigfoot race once lived in Makai, but eventually left via a gate that no longer is active. The original location of the gate that brought their ancestors to this land is regarded as a sacred place and holds major cultural significance.

I am still uncertain how big of a character and role he will play in the overall mythos, but the sisters do encounter him and the Bigfoot during their travels through the North American continent.

Rikuo:

I'll be honest, I don't really have anything in mind. He will get a redesign and his people will live near the region of Brazil. But overall, the merkin and Rikuo play no major role. Just will do things to build the world and stuff.

Oh, I guess I will refer to his race as Merkin. I could say Merfolk, but I already refer to Felicia's race as Catfolk. So, want to spread things out with my vernacular.

Anakaris:

Same as Rikuo, but I do at least have a story event in mind with him. But again, he is a minor character in the grand scheme of things.

Likely, time travel will be eliminated from his lore since I do not want to deal with such story elements. But still, Anakaris will be quite the powerful pharaoh.

And yes, he still has commandments.

Okay, I think I will stop here for now. Just give you a taste of lore cast bits. I'll give some more at a later date. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to elaborate. 😉

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #auranova26 #lore #demitri maximoff #zabel zarock #lord raptor #victor von gerdenheim #rikuo #anakaris #jon talbain #sasquatch #lore bits #lore dump

9 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 9 months

Text

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling Lore Bits 2

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling are polylingual. Both sisters are fluent in Manchu (their first language), Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.🗺️

Mei-Ling can also understand well enough Burmese, German, Spanish, and Japanese. This comes down to mostly because of allies and friends over the years who speak these languages.

Both sisters can read the writings of the Crylesh and Ech Tung languages.

Both sisters have an accent to the way they speak outside of their native Manchu. However, due to being alive for so many decades and exposed to many cultures in their travels, they are fully capable of masking their accents when needed.

When speaking with each other, Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling will default to Manchu.

During their travels, Hsien-Ko likes to wind down by doing a bit of artistic hobbies. From ink sketches to wood carving, Mei-Ling likes to see her sister find a way to express herself and encourages her.🎨

Yes, Hsien-Ko will have her big sis be a model for her when she wants to practice painting people. As her skills and techniques developed, her paintings of her sister got more and more beautiful. This makes Mei-Ling very bashful of seeing herself being painted in such a way. 😊

The coffin that Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling use can fly relatively quicky. However, it is limited by the energy that Mei-Ling can put into it via her Qi. To combat this, Mei-Ling goes through exercises of a mental and physical nature to help her.

Via training, she is able to further efficiently channel her Qi to help fly the coffin for longer periods of time. Of course, there are nights where Hsien-Ko will let Mei-ling rest so she can build up energy for when it is needed.

Also, Hsien-Ko pulling the coffin still helps her build up strength and stamina as the bed/storage unit of the Shao Sisters is still heavy. Plus, she wants to help her sister out whenever possible plus see the sights of the world as they explore.

There are the rare times when Mei-Ling will pull the coffin herself by hand. While not able to pull it physically for the long distances that Hsien-Ko can, it is needed when going through a settlement. Plus, further helps her build stamina and strength.💪

Sometimes, Mei-Ling will do it purely to help her train when she and Hsien-Ko are already far out of the range of human settlements. Hsien-Ko will cheer on her big sister, which Mei-Ling appreciates.😆🙌

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #auranova26 #lore #mei ling #shao #hsien ko #chinese #jiangshi #language #lore dump #hsien-ko #mei-ling #manchu #big sister is getting strong #hsienko the artist #electric boogaloo

9 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 9 months

Text

Mei-Ling Design Notes and Inspiration 2/2

If you stumbled on this randomly, please go read part 1 first before engaging any further. Please and thank you.😊🙏

With that disclaimer said, now we gotta talk about the Dark Embrace Burst for Mei-Ling. To be frank, most of the origins of how I came to give it to her and Hsien-Ko is basically already stated in Hsien-Ko's design notes, so you can go there to get an idea.

However, I would like to talk about some aspects of Mei-Ling's design in this form. The first time I drew her, it was super simple.

The first big note of change was with @capyguava rendition of Mei-Ling.

The additional markings on Mei-Ling's face were honestly beautiful, so I reworked her face to incorporate some of those ideas. Later on, made a render that fully showed of some other details.

The markings at her legs and feet and the mirror on her back. Having the mirror on her back was not only a call back to how the mirror was on her in her main timeline design, but also just really love the idea of how all that Qi and Corriyami in her body just sprouts out from there. This shot from her ref sheet shows off how there are some changes to the mirror as the story progresses.

The latest full render of her Dark Embrace steps up to show how her shadow can really look.

However, I want to give special notes to these two commissions made by O_C_o_r_v_o and aamiraglia.

I love the ideas they gave with the way her shadow can look. Like a flame or like water. It is sublime and I want to keep these in mind for future illustrations. Last note about the shadow: the shadow dragon. While the form her shadow can take is only limited by Mei-Ling's imagination, I really want to note the dragon. In a way, it is a form of catharsis for Mei-Ling. Utilizing the form of a dragon to bring down those who oppose her and Hsien-Ko. But also, it makes her feel connected to her mother as the shape of the dragon is similar to their mother's dragon form. The memory of that night is still quite strong. Makes it feel like her mother is aiding her in battle. It is ferocious in appearance, like Mei-Ling in this burst. But it is still eerily beautiful in a way with its majesty, like Mei-Ling.

Now to talk about Mei-Ling when she was human.

Off the bat, she doesn't really look that different compared to the major changes Hsien-Ko underwent when she became a jiangshi. However, I still wanted there to be some kind of difference. The biggest thing would be her hair. This is where Murai Shinobu comes back into the picture. I cannot say enough my love for her designs of Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling and how much her 'Share' doujin means to me and helped to influence some aspects of the sisters for me. In a way of tribute, I wanted Mei-Ling's hair as a human to have the same general style that Murai draws for Mei-Ling: a straight bob cut.

Overall, rather normal and nice for this young mystic warrior. Her hair color was also different. While Hsien-Ko as a human had cool shades of black hair, I wanted Mei-Ling to have more warm shades of black for her hair. Not too drastic a change in hair color when she becomes a jiangshi. Her eyes were also changed. Again, kind like what Murai did, I went for some shade of brown for Mei-Ling's eyes. As for her clothes, once again a bianfu. As a twist, the colors of this bianfu are the reverse of her later beizi's color scheme. Also gave her red trousers as to keep her whole color scheme being very warm and vibrant.

In Darkstalkers, some crossover games they have appeared in, and even a number of anthology stories, Mei-Ling has been shown to be able to move and talk. To represent herself, she has a simple cartoon face of a pair of eyes and a mouth.

That is all well and good, but I wanted to go further. I got inspiration from this very funny random sprite of a card of the sisters doing a costume swap.

With that swap, Hsien-Ko became the ofuda. However, her ofuda form has her hair and a hat. I wanted to do the same for Mei-Ling. My first time drawing that is shown in the 'Jiangshi Tongue' piece I made.

Expressive and cute. However, when going about making the ref sheet, I stumbled upon this picture made by the wonderful artist skm_nnm.

I adore the idea of Mei-Ling being able to fly like a little paper spirit! Which… to be fair she is. So that detail is now part of her ofuda form for Cryas Darkstalkers. Some tweaks here and there, namely making her still feel like she is paper being and thus flat but giving enough details to her hair and hat in this form.

That should wrap things up with this very long two-part blog. I hope you can understand my sheer love and adoration for both sisters, especially showing a lot of love for Mei-Ling as she really deserves it. 😊💛

Lot of searching and thinking with an end result I am super proud of. I hope you take care and have a good day!

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #auranova26 #mei ling #shao #chinese #jiangshi #beautiful woman #mystic #spirit #design notes #she is such a cutie #look at her fly and emote #dark embrace

8 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 9 months

Text

Mei-Ling Design Notes and Inspiration 1/2

Unlike her younger twin, Mei-Ling actually went through a large degree of changes compared to both versions of her design in the main timeline. Honestly, went through a large degree of some research and thought to get to the current design that I now have for Mei-Ling. I hope you find some of these notes interesting and fun to read.

I say two designs, but technically Mei-Ling has like 3 designs: Vampire Hunter, the Darkstalkers OVA, and Vampire Savior. Really sad the only full body look of her VHunter design is literally her sprite. The illustration of her Hunter design from one of the covers of a Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers comic by Udon is quite the beautiful pin up shot, but makes the mistake of giving her the bracelets she has as part of VSAV design. Oops.

Her design is honestly not that different in the OVA compared to her VHunter design. Only big differences are the color of her clothes under her robes, her pants being a different color, the main color of her robe being a defined orange color, and how her hat is both taller and is both orange and yellow. Actually, sounds like a lot really, but design of the clothes themselves are not that different.

Her VSAV design is a general overhaul of the Hunter design. I can only imagine the reason that was done is because they had to animate her for the 'Detached Souls' Dark Force and it might have been a major pain in the ass to animate her robe and sleeves. It isn't bad, but I hate the hat and prefer her robe being open rather than closed. It is genuinely surprising that despite being a non-playable character, the team gave her a different design. A nice consolation.

OH RIGHT, I need to talk about what my thought process was. Sorry, just needed to note all the interesting design things regarding her different designs. So, I generally have stuck with the design she had in VHunter as I just prefer it more compared to her VSAV design. I might have given a jab to the artist who made that pin up of her for that Udon comic. Let me retract that cause I did basically the same thing when I first started drawing her back in 2020. Tweaked the colors here and there to my liking and made her sleeves not as large, but generally the same idea.

Later on, added a little detail on her clothes that I saw an artist by the name of Murai do with her interpretation. This won't be the last I will bring up this artist, hoo boi.

At one point, I changed the sash around Mei-Ling's waste to be an Obi Sash as to make things easier for me.

Around mid 2021, when I was getting more serious about my Cryas Darkstalkers mythos and even further with my love and obsession with the Shao sisters, I went about the process of giving them a makeover, truly trying to give them distinct enough designs. While Hsien-Ko was not too different as her core design was basically near perfect, there was a lot of room for change for Mei-Ling. I mean hell, she had different official designs anyway, what is stopping me from going ham. I mean hecc, look at this concept sketch when they were considering her design change from VHunter to VSAV. Quite a bit of thought. However, I wanted to go further.

Since I wanted to flesh out the sisters, I went about thinking about their potential heritage, the time period they were alive in during the Qing Dynasty, women's fashion at the time for the potential social status they could have been in at the time, the occupation they were training for, and the fact that…well they are Chinese. Since Mei-Ling gives the vibe of being very into her culture and wanting to maintain it, I wanted her clothing to both show off her heritage and her role as a Xianshushi Mystic. Hsien-Ko is said to be more 'modern' in her mannerisms compared to her older twin, so why not have Mei-Ling be more traditional. The first thing to get us on track is to start at the beginning. Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko were born in 1730 in China during the Qing Dynasty period. In my research and with corroboration with a friend of mine, I decided that the Shao sisters would be a mix of Han and Manchu, two ethnic groups that were the most prevalent at the time period. Their mother was Manchu while their father was Han. However, since their father was killed before they were born, they were more influenced in the ways of the Manchu people as they grew up. The Shao family in themselves are not among the imperial courts or the elite. However, because they have provided a great service over the centuries, they are given more leniency and not treated like the common folk. Plus, with eventually being trained to become Xiānshù warriors as their mother saw great potential in them, that helped to influence them as well.

To start with, let us begin with the robe. So, to my understanding in the main timeline Mei-Ling was generally based on the idea of Daoist priest attire. Doing some searches, jiangshi films did feature such priest like characters with that general idea, even with the color. However, I wanted to do a bit more looking. In my search, the open robe design that her VHunter and my design go with is something referred to a beizi (褙子).

Some parts of Daoism do have their priest having an open robe design, but also the beizi in general was a form of wear that the Chinese people did wear.

It was around during the time of the Qing Dynasty and according to Wikipedia, it was something that was dominant among the Han women of the time. A nice way to acknowledge her Han roots. Yellow doesn't seem to be really a thing with actual Daoist priests' attire, but it just fits Mei-Ling so well, I stuck with that color. While the beizi is prominent with having long sleeves, I decided to trim it down enough to where it ends past her elbow, kinda like her VSAV robe's sleeve length. Ey, giving some credit to that design. As for the trimming, this card I came across showed it in a neat way where it is actually not just flat but has some dimension to it. I liked that and went with it, along with the idea of the trimming being orange.

The hat is loosely based on a hat known as a guānjīn, shown on the far left of this image.

The main timeline version was certainly not one to one about it. But honestly, I like the stylized, simpler idea, so I used that as a base. I took a lot of observations and notes from the way the OVA hat is drawn. However, I just prefer the hat to be one color, so I stuck with yellow. I liked the yin-yang symbol as well, so kept that too.

Another minor detail about Mei-Ling's beizi are these almost padded looking pieces of cloth that follow her trapezius to around the middle of her shoulder. Honestly, I just made them up. These concept sketches I made show me coming up with the idea as I was thinking of her design. It just looks cool and neat.

On to the garment underneath.

With the Shao sisters also being Manchu, this is where some of the influence kicks in. The Manchu wore a set of clothing known as 旗裝 (qízhuāng). The specific kind that the sisters wear falls under something known as Bianfu (便服). Mei-Ling's bianfu is stylized to be a robe that is the length of a magua.

The sleeves are loose and long enough to reach her wrists. The main part of the robe is rich red color while having trimmings and a collar of a lavender color. Contrasts nicely against her beizi.

You may be curious what is going on with the cloth around her waist. Honestly, it was only put there mostly to help solve an issue I had with Mei-Ling's design: the bagua mirror. So, in this shot from the OVA, it is held up by a set of straps.

Ok, fair enough. But the issue is that nothing from the front suggest that those straps even exist. The mirror may as well just be magnetically attached to her a la video game style. In my concept phase, I was wondering what to do. One thing I did notice that was really cool was from the story 'Monsters and the Secret of Immortality'.

Granted, the design of Mei-Ling in that story is wildly different from any incarnation of Mei-Ling, but it presented a neat idea: her mirror was holstered at her waist. Not only that, but it did also look a lot more like a bagua mirror in its design. The mirror's design in this story set the base for how I design the mirror, though I only have two rows rather than the typical three. However, she is wearing attire that doesn't really fit with either her Han or Manchu roots, so I needed to come up with something more fitting to her culture. In my research, I did stumble on something that fascinated me.

What you see is not the original image that inspired me, but still illustrates the idea. Cloth at the waist held in place by a ribbon. I honestly don't know if that idea of garment has a name, but it struck a chord: Have the mirror hang around her waist.

Unlike any official design of Mei-Ling and to differentiate herself from Hsien-Ko, I decided to switch from the baggy trousers to a more straight cut pair. Looks nice and smooth and still goes along with the kind of trousers they wore in that time era. The color I chose just honestly meshed well with her bianfu, plus is warm compared the cool colors of the trim of her bianfu.

While the wristbands she has for her VSAV design are cool looking, something about them just doesn't mesh well with what Mei-Ling is supposed to be. While yes, she is a weapon master (and likely taught Hsien-Ko all she knew about weapons), she is presented more as the mystic of the duo. They look rough and tough. Honestly, would look better on Hsien-Ko in all honestly since she is in the thick of battle. However, I still wanted her to have something at her wrist. I chose to go with a simple orange jewel bead wristband. Simple and elegant for her.

So, if the mirror was moved to hanging around her waist, is there nothing at her back? For a while, there wasn't anything. But eventually, the idea of putting some kind of design back there did come to mind. Eventually, I landed on this design.

Her ref sheet goes into to detail about it, but to put it simply dragons have a big thing with their family considering their mother upon using the Art of Unusual Transformation turned into one. According to what I found via searching Japanese sources, primarily the Japanese Wikipedia entry for Hsien-Ko, there is mention of their mother transforming into a golden dragon. That is very cool since the OVA and a few anthology stories show this.

Mei-Ling's official hairstyle is best described as a bob cut. I went with the OVA as a general base, but slowly overtime adjusted it.

On both sides of her hair and near her hairline, there are these basically fangs. Despite her being more human in appearance, I thought it was still a nice idea to subtlety add some mildly wild elements to her since she is non-human. A bit crazier are these two pincer locks of hair. Honestly, I just took what was already part of her official design and exaggerated it into something cool. For some asymmetry, one is larger than the other. As for the general shape of her hair, I did fan it out more for volume as to make her hair different from her human form.

Mei-Ling's general body shape. Honestly, besides making her distinct from Hsien-Ko as they are both fraternal twins, I just wanted to really make her unbelievably beautiful. In a way, considering hardly anyone gives her the time of day because she is non playable, I just like the idea that she is actually very voluptuous and gorgeous. So that is why she has the general proportions she has. I wouldn't say she is skinny or the typical anime proportions: She is just fit, well endowed, and curvy. Among the Cryas DS cast, the only character that is around her breast and butt size is Felicia. As for why she also has tone to some parts of her body, the fact is she was conceptualized with that as you can see with this concept sketch of her official design. Mei-Ling has just about everything going for her in terms of looks.

Whenever she has appeared in games or media, Mei-Ling has had a multitude of different eye colors. I personally just stuck with green, like the OVA did. Green just looks nice on her, really makes her face mesmerizing. Specifically, I wanted the shades of her eyes to be more of like jade.

For now, will need to end things here for the first part of this design blog as I have used the permitted 30 images for a blog and the last bits require more images to explain things. So be sure to head to part 2, the final part right here:

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #auranova26 #mei ling #shao #chinese #jiangshi #mystic #mei-ling #design notes #i love her too much #that is why there is so much info and pictures #beautiful woman

7 notes · View notes

auranova26 · 9 months

Text

Hsien-Ko Design Notes and Inspiration

One thing about Cryas Darkstalkers is my desire to not only write and think of the characters differently based on official information and headcanon, but also try to redesign them to fit the world I imagine and their personalities in the mythos. Today, I want to talk about my process and notes regarding the official design of one of the main protagonists of Cryas Darkstalkers: Shao Hsien-Ko!

Compared to her original version, she actually isn't too drastic of a change. Honestly, her original design is already really well done and awesome. However, I had some ideas and thoughts to make her stand out from the original. For the foundation I stuck with the design of her from Vampire Hunter/ Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge.

If you were not aware, Hsien-Ko basically has two official designs. This version of her and the one from the official art for Darkstalkers Resurrection. I chose the Hunters design as I generally really love the overall idea of the qipao for this version of her. The DSR version goes for a qipao with two flaps, front and back. I am not a fan of that on top of the change to her hat where she has a bell on the top rather than a ball.

Now what about that necklace she wears? Probably the most notable feature of her, I actually do have an inspiration. The idea of the necklace stems from the story 'Monsters and the Secret of Immortality'.

Hsien-Ko's overall design is interesting in that story as she is portrayed as much wilder and psychotic in her demeanor. But I also think aspects of the design are… well too busy. But among the design elements, the necklace caught my eye the most. In Cryas DS, to mirror the… well mirror that Mei-Ling has, Hsien-Ko wears the necklace that her mother wore as a physical memento of her on her journey to save her. The character on her necklace was changed to 邵 (shào), her family name in Cryas Darkstalkers. Now while in the main timeline it is 少 (shǎo), I already was too used to 邵 that I decided to stick with that pronunciation and way the character is written.

The two yellow strings that follow along the side of her breasts and torso were inspired by a piece of art I saw that showed an idea of strings on her qipao, granted they were much smaller elements. I would share the art, but honestly unless it is official art, my art, or art I commissioned, I would rather not share. Even with giving credit, it just wouldn't feel right. However, one piece I will share is this:

The way Casa drew Hsien-Ko here, specifically the way the strings were attached to her qipao were different compared to how I originally did it. I loved the idea and made that official to her.

What about the flower on the flap of her qipao, you may ask? Honestly, I never came across a design that inspired me, it was more so something involving the origins of Hsien-Ko's name in Chinese, 仙姑 (xiāngū). Her name derives from the Xian that is among the pantheon of the Eight Immortals of Chinese mythos, 何仙姑 (hé xiāngū). In tellings of the story, the Xian is said to hold a lotus flower and in general seems to have a strong association with the flower. Because I wanted to still add something more to Hsien-Ko without getting too extremely away from the core of her generally simple design, I thought it would be lovely to add a lotus flower design to her qipao. Not only pretty but tapping more into her Chinese roots. While her old hanfu and dudou have a more traditionally designed lotus flower, the one on her current garb is a more stylized take on the flower, courtesy of Mei-Ling.

Another minor detail, but one I wanted to still bring up. The story 'Lei-Lei (Hsien-Ko) Returns' by Takashi Mibu is another excellent anthology story centering around the Shao sisters. I love the general expressions they draw Hsien-Ko in, really showing off her fangs. But what I wanted to bring up is the trim on her qipao. You can see here that rather than be flat, it is made to have volume. Like a stuffed trim. I liked that and rolled with it.

While initially I somewhat stuck to the general shape of Hsien-Ko's hairstyle in the main timeline, it evolved into something more wild and less rigid. As time went on, while the general idea of her hair fanning out reaching towards the length of her shoulders was still the same, the shape it took on was more claw and fang like. Wild you could say. While not exactly the same, these characters Daisy and Sabrina were ones to sort of plant the seed.

The idea of describing it as wilder, I say I can still somewhat also point to 'Monsters and the Secrets of Immortality's design of Hsien-Ko for that.

Because I genuinely get sick of Hsien-Ko being draw in such small/thin/…. well anime proportioned manner, I wanted to go back to what Vampire Hunter established in official art and her sprites in game: her muscles. Granted, I took it a step further as I altered the general shape of her body to be more muscular and wider build. One could say thicc, I prefer warrior build. I can point to three sources that I think of when I think of her body shape. Kratos from the modern God of War era, a sketch my friend @yourweebmystic made some time ago, and the way an artist who goes by the name Rayluaza draws the character Chi Chi. To show an idea of Rayluaza's way of drawing strong women, I'll share a commission I got from them of my Hsien-Ko. Honestly, Rayluaza did a perfect representation of what I believe for Hsien-Ko in Cryas Darkstalkers in terms of her body shape and build.

That sums it up for Hsien-Ko, but there is more to her than her base state. Let's take a moment to talk about the design elements of another notable power of Hsien-Ko in Cryas Darkstalkers: Xié è De Yōngbào/Dark Embrace.

The Dark Embrace Burst was based on something for one of my OCs in terms of a Burst they have of a similar name: Ebony Embrace. Now that individual is a single person, but Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling are two people who are closely connected. In essence, like as jiangshis, they are two halves of the idea of this whole Burst. Hsien-Ko is the wild, raw power of it. Her upper clothes tear away only because that is where the shadow attaches to her body when Mei-Ling attaches. The hat vanishes to help accentuate the wild look to her. Seeing her hair full on. The markings? An underlying thing about the Burst is its connection to the substance, Corriyami. Norocier, a Corrian, is a being that was born from the substance. In a way, it is a physical manifestation of those with this kind of Burst would look like if they were Corrian. Now the markings took on different ideas over time. Two sources I can fully acknowledge that helped to steer the course of the markings were these two pieces.

The first is done by the artist tana_taka_3rder and the second is done by my friend @capyguava

A small detail, but still important to me. Initially, Hsien-Ko's eyes in the Burst were more so based on the idea of glowing eyes I saw with the likes of Anti Form and Rage Form Sora.

However, when I saw this art that was made by Alejo, I then went with the idea that their general eye shapes stayed the same. When in most states of mind/ levels of emotion, they had lines to represent their iris. But when sufficiently enraged or in a high state of negative emotion, they disappear to give off a more intimidating appearance.

While art tends to vary between artists about the eye color of Hsien-Ko officially, I stuck with Yellow. I feel the color contrasts well, even compliment her blue skin. Plus if you think about Chinese color theory and beliefs, one of the ideas is that yellow is symbolic with heroism. This is something very prominently used in the Kung Fu Panda series as the main protagonist Po is seen quite a lot with the color yellow. The villain of the first film, Tai Lung, had Yellow eyes. This went well where he felt like a wronged individual. A hero in his own mind. And many scenes with heroic moments or those of triumph feature the color a lot. So honestly, I think it stands Hsien-Ko sticks with that general idea as well due to her Chinese roots.

Oh, I should probably explain the ideas behind Hsien-Ko's human design. So of course I wanted her to look like a Qing woman of the 1730s-1740s since that is the time period she was alive. Skin tone and eye color were for the more typical tones that a Chinese individual could easily have. However compared to Mei-Ling and her mother, she has a bit more melanin to her.

So fun fact, in reality there really wasn't any kind of uniform for a martial artist during those time periods… or even later on in history. They would generally fight in their day clothes. So, while pertaining to the general dress idea of the Qing period, I still wanted Hsien-Ko's clothes to still look comfortable and easy to move around in. The colors scheme just works for her since she has some association with those colors. And even in some sprite art for Hsien-Ko in VHunter, her qipao was red, so a nice nod. As for her hairstyle, that was inspired by the design I saw in the Tetsujin Drama doujin. I think it is a nice contrast to what would become a much wilder hairstyle that grew from her original style.

Hopefully this gives you a good feel for the ideas I had behind redesigning Hsien-Ko. For any artist I credit, please check them out and show love to their art!

#cryas darkstalkers #darkstalkers #hsien ko #shao #chinese #jiangshi #design notes #auranova26 #weeb and alm are super awesome and I love my friends #hsien-ko #I love hsien-ko a lot if you couldnt tell #night warriors #vampire hunter

18 notes · View notes