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”. – – – – – For Springfield, IL readers, I am going to be[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
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
For those in the Springfield Illinois area, I will be showing two illustrations at Donnie’s Homespun on Saturday night. Come say hi!
I settled on Mor'Kama, since the story involves spirits and the Mor'Kama are the spiritual clan. Also as another reader pointed out, the Mor'Kama have yet to be spotlit in the narrative so here we go.
The Voice of Clan Jin’Sorai is fit to give me nightmares.
At the round table you can see the Voice (a leadership position which leads in-Clan matters) of the Mor'Kama, Tel'Dora, Jin'Sorai, and Sar'Teri (clockwise from top). Jin'Sorai and Mor'Kama are easiest to tell apart; Jin'Sorai are generally light blues and violet skin tones, and have a tendency for green eyes. Mor'Kama are pale greeny-yellow with coal-black hair, and do not develop body markings. Tel'Dora and Sar'Teri can look similar at a glance, but Sar'Teri generally have darker forest-green or olive-green skin tones; their markings are lighter in tone than the rest of their skin, and develop in geometric tendencies. Tel'Dora are a light green-gray to aqua and have stripe-patterned markings.
I feel super awkward making this strip the weekender. Also, the arrow key navigation bug with the comment box should be fixed now. Let me know if you still see issues.
The Clan of Laborers and Peacemakers (Sarnoth's law enforcement body) are also the Clan with the most control over industry, finances, and other resources.
To prevent some dialogue glutting, today’s transcript commentary talks a little more about the sarnothi clan structure. So as before, make sure to check the Transcript for additional worldbuilding. If you missed it last week, I posted a bonus sketch[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Sarnothi culture is divided amongst the four Major Clans discussed previously, but each Major Clan also has it's own system of sub-clans branched within it. Many of these clans, including the four Major Clans, began as families of influence within Sarnoth's government until they evolved into social and political entities unto themselves. The term "clan" is largely divorced from the concept of a family structure in sarnothi society and generally refers to the established political and socially-influential groups of the city's government. Almost all sarnothi belong to one of the various sub-sects of their Major Clan due to Sarnoth using a form of caste system with varying amounts of rigidity. However, the individual's surname is unrelated to the clan you are born into (or in some cases move into). For example, there is no Clan De'Madiea; Pohl De'Madiea is a member of Clan Sho'Shen within Clan Tel'Dora. Among Sarnothi, this sentence structure would not be confusing.
Bit of background on the Clans. Also, a few strips back a reader suggested using the uncolored pages as a coloring page. I meant to share that with strip #400 but spaced on it. 😡 Bit lat,e but here’s a[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The four Clans are loosely based on the premise of Mind Soul Heart Body (in the same order listed in panel 5). If I were to place them into a framework of the four classic Western elements, Tel'Dora would be Water (fluid and adaptable), Mor'Kama would be Air (restless and ethereal), Jin'Sorai would be Fire (passionate and dynamic), and Sar'Teri would be Earth (conservative and solid).
