Not Gilligan's Island

Here is my first sketch of the Island of Rheza.

Rheza itself is a collection of the main land and several small islands inhabited by the Rhe'zan people.

It is to the west of Arbea Major, the continent where the majority of Emersus Project takes place. Book 2, Spirit Shear, takes place on Garz Isle (bottom right corner).

The islands in the middle are the "disputed territories". These are the main source of disputes between Rhe'zans and humaneks and is where the majority of conflict between the two races take place. The reason for the conflict is a lot older than anyone can remember but the most modern of reasons being the vast resources of precious metals that can be found on the chain of islands.

The reason humaneks consider Rhe'zans to be ruthless because, in addition to defending/attacking in the disputed territories, they have often mounted assaults on areas of Arbea Major. However, within the disputed territories there is a permanent humanek military instalment at Port Lintz.

Enjoy!
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Cat commandos

Here's a final look at the Rhezan people:

This guy should have a tail

They're definitely a feline species and will have tails. I've based the look of their facial masks and stripe patterns more on the look of a golden tiger than any other big cat. I think it gives them the fierceness but I find the colouration of the golden tiger to be quite elegant.

The Rhezan's have various classes. The ruling class, the cleric, warrior and working class. All classes are identifiable on sight. 

Ruling and mystic classes have long chin hair (nemil) and manes. The ruling class are set apart by a patch of fur on their forehead that looks like a crown. Clerics (including mystics, clergy, traders and craftsfolk) keep the long fur on their forearms shorn and their nemil braided depending on their area of work. 

Cleric

nemil alternative braiding

young royal

Warriors have long manes braided down their back but must keep their nemil trimmed. They also have the long fur on their left arm short for the use of shields in combat. The working class keep all hair trimmed and are not allowed to grow long manes (longer than shoulder length). 

 

With all the classes, the length of their hair is born of necessity. With workers, working in the sun and dealing with machinery, a lot of hair would only be a hinderance. With clerics it would not do to have the hair on your arms (or chin) falling into inks or potions constantly. But the nemil is a symbol of wisdom so they often keep it braided and tucked it into their collar when working.

Farmer's close crop

Mangy old farmer

 


Female Rhe'zans do not belong to any class as, in their society, woman are revered as subordinate to men. However, women of working classes sometimes do keep their manes cut short for ease. They do not have forearm hair at all and have less broad shoulders than males. They also have different colour manes to males.

Enjoy!
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Mapology

Mapology is not a word... at all.

But what do you call it when you develop the mythology, language and culture of a land by creating a map?

I'm updating the first map of Arbea Major which is in 'Black Star' (see initial sketches of the continent). However, as the story of Emersus Project grows so does the world in which Gemmy lives. But, to really give the world a coherent depth I've had to expand it in ways that might seem superfluous but actually have a deeper impact on the world I've created on the whole.

For example, the language of the people in the North is Germanic, where as the further south you go they become more Latin based. And as the story and world expands out to the western isles of Rheza, they have a language all their own. Oh, and and if we cross the ocean to Arbea Minor languages there have a Nordic quality. So, how does that influence naming conventions of towns and places of importance? How do culturally important sites come into play?

It's all very exciting and fun and the favourite part for me was asking friends to help me 'name that place'. I got so many great suggestions that I couldn't decide which ones to use so I've just chosen to use all of them. But this presented a challenge of how each suggested name fits in with the phonemes of the cultural linguistic landscape. So, throw in some creative spelling and invented mythology and all the places make sense.

Even more fun is through this exercise I've created stories and histories about each of the places on this map. They'll also come with the history that my friends have imbued them with for whatever inspired them to come up with the names.

My favourite invented sites are the 'faels' which are historic sites much like Stonehenge, one of many prehistoric standing circles found all throughout Britain. I had an idea for these sites but not a name for them. These are marked on the map with squares. The names were inspired when a mate suggested the name 'Gabbro' which is a type of volcanic rock.

And fear not, friends, there is more mapping to come! I still have yet to draw out in detail the island of Rheza and its landmarks and cities. So if you don't see your name suggestion here it will be included some where in the story. My biggest challenge was the suggestion of 'Fearweebo' but I nailed it!

Enjoy!
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Gemmy and Sem class photo

So, one of the big changes in the book is haircuts!!

I love doing fresh drawings of the characters before I start writing about them. I feel when you're sixteen how you feel on the inside and the changes that are taking place are reflected on the outside. Not so much style, but your attitude, and both Gemmy and Sem have plenty of attitude. Although, by the time I finished 'Black Star' I'd already started leaning towards these changes as demonstrated in the book's frontispiece.

Anywho, after much ado with, at his mother's insistence, Gemmy gets a 'proper' haircut. It's a bit 90s Joey Tribbiani from Friends, but hey, they live in a world with anthropomorphic cat and salamander people. However, despite the respectable trim, he's still less than meticulous about keeping it neat and can't manage to get his cow-licks under control.

Sem on the other hand stays true to form with a less than planned hair style. She's let it grow out, more out of indifference than anything (plus it's easier to put into a pony tail on the sparrein field). But she still proudly sports a self-sheared fringe to keep her hair out of her eyes. Our girl stays as laissez faire as ever. Although she's still not kicked the bad mascara habit.

Enjoy!
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Do you believe in magic?

If each of the books has a theme, Black Star is definitely 'science' and Book 2 is definitely 'magic'. With this in mind I've decided on a working title for Book 2 - Spirit Shear. 

In Arbea, magic is referred to as 'mysticism'. The symbol for magic is a composite of the Arbean glyphs for power and 'spirit shear' which is a combination of the symbol for 'heaven' and 'destruction'.

The concept of 'spirit shear' comes from the archaic idea that the use of mysticism is some how drawing on the power of the gods. 

Enjoy!
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