Hey everyone! I know it's been a while, but just because I've been away from this blog doesn't mean Comalan has been sleeping. As we kick things off a third time, let's start with the a new art feature. You may recognize the following picture from our new temporary banner, but I figured I would post the full version as well as some backstory.
For starters, you'll notice that the banner version is cropped and sloppily resized compared to this one. That's because the full version is huuuuge and the four characters in the center were the most necessary to include in an image that represents what Comalan is.
But with those details out of the way, I'm sure you'd love to know just what you're looking at. Well, in the Third Age, Comalan takes a deep spin towards the science fiction elements that were originally used only to slightly enhance the story. In this section of the timeline, we are going for a more harmonious blend of fantasy and sci-fi in our story line.
These characters are part of the Starlight Crusade, which represents a worldwide effort to resist the assimilation efforts of a species from another world. The Sho'kai from the planet Mennon are an aquatic species that has invaded Comalan once before and attempted to terraform the world by flooding it in water that was laced with mutagens meant to force people to live underwater. Their invasion was successfully repelled by the combined might of the world's five great nations: Resta, Galeon, Midania, Tanis, and Heron.
But the mutagens left behind by the Sho'kai had the unintended effect of reviving a long-dead plague known to the people of Comalan as the "Curse of Suffering." Many would die painful deaths before being offered hope by two important figures. The first was Gyanda Maloran (an older version of the protagonist from this story), who revealed the previously undiscovered method of healing the once-deadly plague through blood magic. The second was Tir Apollo, who spearheaded the effort to adapt the spacefaring technology left behind by the invaders to a worldwide counter-offensive. It was these developments that allowed the great nations to unify and form the world's most powerful army.
The characters shown in this picture are:
Umi Karn
Umi is the captain of Heron's spaceship, the Gyandala. She is the eldest daughter of Ulva Karn, who is the reigning Lord of Heron's most prosperous province, and is married to Sun Jun, who is the first pyromancer to emerge since their ancient art was revived by the Avatar of Chaos. Since becoming a pyromancer in her own right, she has begun to strip down ages-long cultural barriers in her country, which once had no place for female warriors.
Kartal Marle
Kartal is a templar from Resta who commands the kingdom's Goodwill Company, a group known for lending military aid to Resta's allies. His company serves aboard Midania's ship, the Karashartal, despite recent social unrest between the two countries. While he must focus on keeping the peace between his men and the Midanian crew, he also worries for the lives of his wife and son who are currently stranded on Mennon.
Atunis is the captain of the Karashartal and the Avatar of Midania's matron goddess, Salica. He is a stalwart companion to many, including Kartal and Tir. He shows a deep concern for the people who were taken to Mennon, most of whom he counts among his friends. While he is deeply uncomfortable with space travel for personal reasons, he remains a source of comfort to the other members of the Crusade.
Although she was born in Heron and currently lives in Resta, Tir captains Galeon's ship, the Selon Res due to her technical contributions to the Crusade's fleet and because she was recently named the Avatar of Crane. Through hard work and ingenuity, she has earned the title of Fleet Commander, naming her ship the fleet's flagship. She hopes to use this influence to create an opening through which she may redeem the betrayal of her predecessor as an Avatar, Richard Broger. Since coming across evidence that the Betrayer might not have been acting of his own free will, she must balance her desire to save Broger with the good of the fleet.
Gyanda Maloran
Gyanda is a spellwarrior and blood mage who became the third man to receive the vaunted title of "Archknight." He commands Resta's ship, the Morta, as well as the massive coven of blood mages that staff all five ships. He has fought against Chaos himself to seek redemption for his many mistakes in the eyes of mankind. His participation in the Starlight Crusade is inspired by many things, including his obligations to the people as the Archknight, his campaign to legalize blood magic, and his fear for the safety of his wife, who is among the people trapped on Mennon with the sho'kai and the Betrayer.
Benedicte Zeringue
Benedicte, or Bene as he prefers to be called, is a mercenary employed to serve on the crew of Tanis' Amologra. Despite his long history as a conman, he jumped at the chance to serve in the Starlight Crusade because the authorities of this forest nation promised substantial fees to anyone willing to commit to this presumed suicide mission. Together with his friend Bolreck, the two bring a unique set of skills to a nation that was starved for warriors.
This beautiful image was digitally drawn by my fellow contributor, Volt. I'm sure there will be more to come, but this will be the only one posted by me.
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