Sarnothi have a saying for when someone passes away unexpectedly or otherwise “before their time”: they are said to have “repaid the debt of the eels”.

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For Springfield, IL readers, I am going to be showing a couple illustrations at Springfield Renaissance III tomorrow night. The event is at Donnie’s Homespun inside Vinegar Hill Mall from 8:00-11:30 pm. Should be a fun time!

In my very early iterations of Sarnoth they were a more directly high-fantasy magic-using people, and a very common multi-purpose cantrip that would have been used regularly in the comic was "Han Shin Jian Tho". Eventually I moved towards a more magitech-y theme for Sarnoth, but Han Shin Jian Tho was still something bouncing around my mental notes. So when I needed a name for the Eel Spirit, I jumped right away to repurpose the former "magic phrase" into his name. Back when I teased an early drawing of "The Maiden and the Eel Spirit" I had not yet worked out the Eel Spirit's proper name. Which is why it wasn't mentioned back then. XD