Genius Loci races: Raganaj

The six-winged raganaj are the tallest race of Kitas, standing an average of two and a half meters. The stripes on their thick fur convert into blob shapes towards the front. Colours go from dark chocolate to pale gold, the stripes from faint orange to dried blood, their green eyes provide nightvision. The feathered wings allow silent flight. While the upper wing pairs are used for lift, the lower, smaller wings are for steering; the pawlike, clawed hands lack fine dexterity.
Psychologically, raganaj enjoy their physical gifts, and use them to their advantage in life and work. Many raganaj are fighters, soldiers, or guards, or work in strength-demanding crafts like smithing or carpentry. Dancing is popular with raganaj - and their audience, which enjoys the extra movement flight adds. However, raganaj are equally often found in social work like politics, psychoanalysis, and as bards. All raganaj dislike confined spaces.

"The bard sung tales of love and despair, and many a tear was shed at his words. His fur shone like an aura in the tavern lights, and gave an eerie sense to his voice as if it came from a half-wake dream."
— Errinnö Silversmith, villager

Most interesting about raganaj is their companionship with the solano. These small, plump creatures come to a raganaj in his early teens and form a strong bond. Cosmologists have theorized that the raganaj spirit might be divided or lacking, and completed by a solan. Others simply see a special friendship; however, raganaj without a solan are regarded as defective. The raganaj themselves believe it's the solano that make them peaceful - more peaceful than a born warrior might be otherwise, and that their little friends open their hearts to others. Raganaj indeed have a sense for romance and aesthetics, making them successful in working with people.

"Tineet, get back here! NOW! No, don't go in there! ... oh, damnit."
— Brashame, to her solan

Artist's notes
I gave much thought to the anatomy of raganaj. How their flight works (it probably wouldn't, in our world. But then, a pterodactylus had a wingspan of seven meters), how the wings would fold, how they would dress, and how it would be to others, having flying neighbours twice your size. I especially like the idea of giant war-creatures being romantic and soft-hearted.

Dead spirits

"The lonely dead know only anger, and vengeance, and their own will. They are not some romantic idea that obeys logic and society, their goals are often enough inachievable, and they cannot be reasoned with. I will teach you how to capture and unite them with the Great Spirit, and that is the only way we have of dealing with them." — Collector Novi Blue Seas, to her apprentice

Among the several kinds of spirits on Kitas, dead spirits are the most common "artificial" ones. Dead spirits come into being from people dying under bad circumstances - murder, intense pain of mind or body, while obsessed with one thought, from incorrect or missing burial rituals - or simply because they believe they must become spirits. Dead spirits are wrathful and insane. They are obsessed with getting justice and will leave when they get it - which may be as easy as setting up a tombstone. In harder cases, spirit collectors are called. Dead spirits have the general shape of their former self, but strangely dislocated in places, with bones shining through and a clearly visible dark heart. Only powerful spirits can attack, but their presence always causes discomfort or damage - from headaches to heart attacks. All dead spirits will attempt possession.


Artist's notes
Ghosts and haunted places were among my favourite stories as a child, from poltergeists to banshees, Wiedergänger, Aufsitzer... the dead spirits of Genius Loci have many of those powers. They are not helpful at all, not to be trifled with, and can be encountered anywhere, which should be a lot of fun in stories to come. Darkhearts are powerful enemies of freedom, and therefore the dark heart suited the dead very well (I am very glad I had this idea).

Genius Loci races: Elves

"Everyone is different, but elves are more different than others."
— kitaian proverb

Elves are indeed a strange folk. Their bodies work differently; what is normally edible or harmful kills or heals an elf. Some say it's because elves are slow inside - maybe they are right, elves live for over eight centuries. But then, no-one is as fast as elves. Their speed, balance, and elegance are legendary.
Elves have nearly black hair, green-circled black eyes, and beastlike features - all of them; for elves all look the same, like twins. Actual twins are one person in two bodies, extremely rare, and quite feared. There are no half-elves; children of elves are elves as well, and elves are more often than others subject to racist prejudice.
Elves can be voices for their entire lives. They can communicate with spirits easily, and many spirit collectors are elves.

"The most frightening person I can think of? An elven twin assassin."
— Oyofe, mercenary

Elves depend on an intact environment. A long unchanged town, even bustling with people, will do just as well as a beach or forest. It's fresh destruction that affects them; mining, logging, large construction sites. Many elves are engineers and architects to ensure a nature-friendly process.

Mentally, elves are often absent, or seek solitude. They long to understand a wisdom that seems just beyond their reach, making them prone to mental disorders like obsessions or paranoia. They partake in society less and less with age, focusing on their meditations.


Artist's notes
Every good fantasy setting needs elves; I found them the most difficult race to design. I dislike the over-powered elves of common fantasy: unbelievably beautiful, overly smart, and - of course! - magical. I wanted the Genius Loci elves to be a people than can be interacted wit, that can appear as normal inhabitants of the world, yet retain some of the mysterious qualities of traditional elves. I think they turned out okay, with the similarities in appearance and spirit affinity. By the way, elves are equally often mages and wizards.

More Starmaker

"When we looked down into the valley, the ground gave a sigh, then moved upwards and stretched, until a gigantic figure stood in front of a watching sky. Slowly, she turned towards us, and we tried hard to grind time to a halt before we would have to meet her gaze."
— Junikälla Honi, traveller

Artist's notes
The plan when painting Starmaker usually is to create a portrait, put it in absurd scale or unreal surroundings, and then add abstract and strange elements until it's creepy enough. I often think her to be clad in white, but I like her in black as well.

Elementarians: Fleeters

Fleeters are one of the four kinds of elementarians, associated with each of the elements. Fleeters personify water, the power of the north. They are of jellyfish-like consistency, but very large and can walk on land, although they prefer to swim. Fleeters are playful, enjoy the company of river spirits and children, and are the first to help when a dryad enters the lands. Helping the dryad, that is.

 "A fleeter lives in our river and attends our summer's end festival each year. And every year it floods the entire city hill in its excitement, and is then crestfallen to see that we don't like our homes to swim away. It always helps to clean the next day."
— Grehja Sumin, Sawan craftswoman

Fleeter water is said to have healing powers, and fleeters often settle disputes (compromise is a principle of the north); they also innocently rearrange the landscape they live in, making them the elves' nightmare. As all waters, they wash out the ground, and fleeters are filled with tiny specks of gold that make them glitter.

"The fleeter of Chirahoni river ended a speaker war before it reached its peak. The people of that land are so grateful, the fleeter can easily be considered the wealthiest of them all."
— Dret, historian

 

Artist's notes
Fleeters had a wide range of inspirations, from the Nightwalker of Princess Mononoke to centaurs some thing I saw in a "Tales of the Darkness" comic once. I wanted to avoid a too dragon-like appearance and overworked the concept a few times. It may still not be done, but I definitely like their character.

Nature spirits

There are several kinds of spirits in the Genius Loci setting, the most common being nature spirits. They live in natural objects and landmarks - from small plants to mountains, from rocks to major lakes and rivers - but some very old artificial objects have attracted a spirit as well. There is no hierarchy between nature spirits; the size of their living place and their power are closely related, but no spirit can make his place change out of its nature, like affecting the shape of a tree.
Nature spirits resemble a floating skull with a handful of segmented tails. They are usually friendly and playful; they speak little, but giggle a lot.

"Being led by nature spirits to get somewhere is a tricky business. The bigger spirits don't like to leave their homes, and the smaller ones seem to enjoy your company too much to just lead you to where you want to go."
— Cyma, traveller

Artist's notes
Nature spirits don't die when their home is destroyed, but they will be grumpy about it. I wanted Genius Loci to be largely free of religious conflict, and turned to animism. On Kitas, people apologize for destroying natural landmarks or killing animals; the spirits in turn don't take revenge (usually). And of course the kodama spirits from Princess Mononoke were an inspiration. Threr is only one spirit per tree in Genius Loci, though.

Genius Loci races: Dwarves

Dwarves are small, strong, sturdy, and a very colourful - and hairy - people. While only men have beards, the pelty soft hair has to be tamed, for dwarven hair never stops growing. If they don't just shave to save time,  dwarves like to wear elaborate fashions with multiple braids, combs, and needles. Colours can be changed with nutrition; eyes, hair, and the spots can all be changed. Unaffected, dwarves have maroon eyes, mauve hair, and light blue spots; since they require quite a lot of sustenance, though, that is a rare sight. Dwarven hands are sensitive and delicate, dwarves never lose their bearing, and - a source of many interesting building habits - can see through stone. This, of course, makes them expert miners; but dwarves also like to be cooks or surgeons, or singers, for dwarven voices carry far and wide.

"After Plokin was destroyed, it was mostly dwarves who rebuilt it. Within only a few years there was a new, thriving metropole. Conspiracy theorists say they also made it so that they can look through every wall. You can believe it or not, but the richest citizens of Plokin are dwarves."
— Bereban Djife, innkeeper

The dwarves' autophobia is legendary. They are deeply afraid of being alone, and the few that actually do live or travel by themselves are noticeably odd. Because of this, dwarves tend to live in cities rather than remote villages and have large families, and since they also live for up to four centuries, the clans have extensive family trees, often spread over many countries. Dwarves have a liking for parties and festivities, often take part in large-scale projects, and love to travel.



Artist's notes
I love how the dwarves turned out to be, and the exotic appeal of their colourfulness. Since I always wanted to have things a bit more different than your average fantasy settings, it was clear that my dwarves would not be silly drunkards, or be only miners and smiths. Artistically, it was the first race I decided would have different facial proportions, and spaced their eyes much wider than humans'; I like the effect of it, they look familiar, but definitely not human. And their hairdos are great fun to paint.