Lord of gubras Gahatenge

Gubras are popular if difficult pets. They are hard to tame, and have a reputation of being grumpy and only moderately child-friendly. Most famous today are the gubras of eastern Lozir. Many tribes hunt them for trophies or to keep them as pets; when one hunter's spear broke off in the proud gubra lord's flank, Gahatenge urged his kin to leave the treacherous humans, and return to the wild.

"Why I recall my kin? I am their lord, and you show so little respect for me - what will you do to them? I fear for my people. And as I see that some will not heed my command, I was right to."
— Gahatenge, to a listener

Some of those who followed immediately had to fight their way out, and since the command, meetings between wild and tamed gubras are even more difficult. While Gahatenge has a temper, he is a wise and far-sighted ruler, and it was expected he would forgive those who stayed; that he has not done so, observers find unsettling.
The lord appears as a muscular, tall southern man neglecting his hair, his elongated neck and pronounced teeth giving away his origin. He has been reported to hunt with his kin alongside humans, but not since his return call.

"I wonder why something as simple as a spearhead drives Gahatenge to such grim measures. He is a powerful warrior, and judging by his scars, surely he must have endured worse?"
— Wanailaka, wizard

Artists' notes
I like giving animals characteristics, reasons, and arguments that people simply can't follow. Animals might argue, why build a cathedral when a hut serves the same purpose, and at the same time insist a certain flower mustn't be eaten for obscure reasons. 

The Stairs of Grandrock

Gdera's northernmost country Grandrock is hard to reach because of its position high up its plateau, a series of cliffs and steep rocks making up its southern border, encompassing the entire land. This is not natural, however. Long ago, a placespirit - whose reason for existence is wildly debated - caused the plateau to rise, effectively cutting off Grandrock from the southern lands. Ages later, another placespirit enslaved anyone nearby to erect an elephantine staircase up the sheer cliffs. When the stairs were done, the remaining workers threw themselves off the cliff. Needless to say, the natives dislike the cliffs very much and won't even lead their flocks near it. To the unaware traveller though, the stairs are a blessing; their rise is perfect, and there are even niches to rest in on the long way up.

"Yes, we're safe from invasion. We were safe from Frullahan's insane expansions. Nobody enters the lands unnoticed, the cliffs are all but impossible to climb. As captain of the guard, I praise the stairs. As a being with a heart, I despise its memory."
— Quarin Tolmor, the queen's guard

The plateau is the most widespread relic known to remain of a placespirit, whose powers are normally restricted to their direct domain, which can still be very large, but not usually along an entire country's border. This has given rise to the belief the spirit was the result of a speaker exhausting herself to death with a spell, although there's no proof of that.
If the staircase itself is cursed is debated as well. There is an unusual amount of dead spirits around and on it, and the majority of those who die here become spirits. The Grandrockers take no chances and, while money doesn't stink, they much prefer traders arriving by boat or by Area over those that took the stairs.

"We have no friends. Our neighbours are scared, travellers are few, allies are too hard to reach because of the plateau. I hear some pity us, but they don't call either. We are quite alone."
— Penaka Ultor, citizen

Artists' notes
Every decent fantasy setting needs some monumental landmarks, doesn't it? There are a few in Genius Loci, but the stairs are among the useful ones, which I discovered while telling their story is worse to the natives than an entirely useless one. It's like employing knowledge gained through torture - you can't ignore it, but you feel dirty using it.

Art on deviantArt: Asgaan

The illustration previously published in the article on animal lords can now be seen on deviantArt as Asgaan, queen of the orlas.

Hallromms

Hallromm butterflies have thick pelt and long antennae, the six wings have a wingspan of half a meter, and the six legs are equipped with flexible toes that let them cling to nearly any surface. They are generally friendly and easily trained.
Dustships started using hallromm butterflies as messengers long ago, but nowadays they are popular everywhere, especially after new breeds proved to be more cold resistant. They carry letters in strap-on belly bags, and in some places heavy in short range messages the air is fluttering with hallromms. The butterflies insist on their own bushes to which they return faithfully - dustships keep those on one of the floating rocks.
Hallromms enjoy having their bellies stroked, leave tiny marks on elvish skin, and are mildly intelligent, at least enough to play with the omnipresent bugfairies.

"The bugfairies have painted the hallromms again. One almost lost an antenna trying to clean itself, but washing isn't a solution either, I'll break them to pieces. I'd ask the fairies to fix it, but I'm scared of what they'll do - probably paint the original colours back or something."

— Hetcal, Lozirian

Artists' notes
Originally hallromms (German: Hallrömm) were only found on dustships, but somehow a few years passed in Genius Loci while hallromms were around, and then they were popular on the ground as well. This is actually the first painting of them, I had just a few scribbles of their anatomy before.

Cities and settlements

Most of Kitas is rural, many peoples are nomads, and have settlements they only use half the year or even only tents. Notable cities are the three council cities for one - Gamahan in central Sawa, Plokin on Lozir's western coast, and Clom Vah in the Gderan Mahal Bay - gigantic cities dating back to the dawn of time, each over a million inhabitants large with uncounted visitors. It's here that all countries of the continent gather for talk and trade, and the council cities regard themselves not as power players but mitigators.
Secondly, the rhu'khach cities are the next oldest and therefore largest settlements. Recognizable by the ending -ei or -ai (like Agorisai or Eligei), their architecture is unmistakable, and their infrastructure is well-planned.

 "The architecture of Akosh and Ukosh is quite pleasant, even if the denizens are weird, but I like Nalvar's Isuanda best. It's beautiful at every time of year, and not as crowded as the council cities."

— Drasam Murish, traveller

There are many other notable towns and cities; there is some debate however, dating back millenia, if the likemindedness of city dwellers doesn't attract placespirits too easily, and thus, growth of settlements should be discouraged altogether. The inhumanity of seeing this through stops doubters from acting - usually - but the debate remains, and indeed, some peoples believe it firmly enough to not gather in settlements larger than small villages.

"The Discordant Cities have irked Zir again with a newly hired pirate fleet that Grimoga set on Henasset, but that attacked Ziranian traders, too. I don't think Zir will be forgiving about their idiotic politics much longer."
— Wekanar Hissomirr, Lozirian

Other famous cities are the powerful Nalsiir in eastern Gdera and Elisacett in its far south; the Tritowns Nini, Oryor, and Drani; Brighthold's capital Sokarnon; and the engineering school's home, Bargassa.


Artists' notes
Cities are such fun to invent and so painful to paint. Given that I arrived at a world pretty much littered with relics and ongoing spells like autumn leaves covering the forest floor, it might well be safer in the woods than in the cities, concerning otherworldly entanglements, where much fewer people have come through who could have left trouble behind.

Umarvas

Umarvas are creatures with rusty red fur, a dark dorsal stripe, and dark paws; they are about thirty centimeters high, have large bright eyes, and seem plump in their thick pelt. In the wild, these nocturnal animals are very shy; around humans, they can only be found in voice halls. Here, they are peaceful co-dwellers of the voices, ostentatively ignoring visitors. Umarvas can be found everywhere except southern Sawa.

"As if the voice hall wasn't creepy enough, around midnight all the umarvas got up, gathered in the garden and silently stared up to a dwarf woman in a frock, who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, then collectively turned around and returned to the hall. I've never slept in a hall again."
— Enipomor, mercenary

As mysterious as the umarvas are is their unnamed queen. As all her subjects, she seems to only talk to voices. She can be seen travelling with them and is most often spotted in northern Gdera. As a human, she has the appearance of a dwarven woman with umarva-coloured hair, in simple clothing and hairdo. The queen has a habit of quietly standing at the path's edge and observing, but leaves when others than voices come near. She has been reported to behave the same way in the Area, where she has been spotted frequently.

"Maybe it's not important what she's called when she hasn't introduced herself. I think you'll know when you call her her right name."
— Huun, voice

Artists' notes
Another animal lord, or rather, lady. Umarvas are another strange addition to the voices, who harbour so many secrets - from what makes the world go round to why only left socks ever go missing. I also enjoy quiet animals in games that you meet in the wild and for a change do not want to eat you.

Art on deviantArt: Gahatenge

The lord of the gubras has been painted to accompany a later blog article, and can now be seen on deviantArt: Gahatenge.
It also appeared on cgsociety.com, where you can also see sketches and wips of Genius Loci artworks.