More of the Sies

Ergonoid Spearsman

This post will elaborate more on the world of Sies.  We will look at some of the minor characters who figure into the story and provide a little background on them.  First up is the Ergonoid Spearsman, a guardian of a nomadic group of people who shun all outsiders, happy and angry alike.  Ergonoids are an aquatic people spending half their lives on land and half their lives in the sea.  They make their temples at a depth of fifty meters which they free-dive to in order to observe their rituals.  A master of the trident and other polearms, the Ergonoid Spearsman can easily dispatch a foe with his weapon on land and in water.  On the spectrum of happy and angry, the Ergonoids are neutral.  The Ergonoid Spearsman’s emoticon is B|.

Salazar the Lonely Hermit

Salazar the Lonely Hermit was once a happy lord whose lands consistently brought plentiful harvests.  One day the Angries blighted his lands and Salazar lost his favorite flowers.  Although the Happies restored his land to its original bountiful nature, Salazar still mourned his favorite flowers that were lost.  Unable to become happy again, Salazar retreated into the mountains to mope in solitude.  On moonlit nights, he emerges from his cave to cry soulfully while he watches the night sky.  Salazar was designed by Ryan Herriman, one of the first Siesians.  The emoticon of Salazar is u_u.

Dub Dub the Warrior of the Dance

Dub Dub the Warrior of the Dance is an ally of the Happies.  His power is such that he never tires of dancing, which he uses to lure his enemies into dance competitions that rage for days until they inevitably collapse of exhaustion.  Dub Dub was once a vain practitioner of the dance, seeking only to advance his own reputation.  Flambytoes showed him the error of his ways and from then on, Dub Dub has been an upright individual.  His emoticon is naturally :P.

King Giffle the Sad Monarch

King Giffle the Sad Monarch is ruler of a large realm yet still he is constantly plagued by the belief that his countrymen secretly hate him.  Living in fear of being disliked, he never makes any decrees nor does he arbitrate in any matters.  Instead, King Giffle stays holed up in his castle, sulking and wondering why people hate him.  In truth, his subjects do not hate him and think he is a considerate if ineffective king.  In some aspects, King Giffle could be compared to Ukhed because of his brooding.  The difference however is that Ukhed blames others for his predicament while King Giffle is always introspective.  The emoticon of King Giffle is :<.

Wumbley the Captain of the Indifferent Pirates

Wumbley the Captain of the Indifferent Pirates is not a seeker of adventure, though he likes such monikers.  He leads his band of pirates from island to island with the constant promise of treasure and mischief-making.  Every time the opportunity arises, however, Captain Wumbley decides to take a nap instead.  Usually his men decide to go off without him, which Wumbley does not mind as much as he pretends to.  Fiercely independent but without motivation, Captain Wumbley and his pirates could be considered allies of the Angries but they are far too undependable.  His emoticon is :l.

Roarlor the Hideous Swamp Creature

Roarlor the Hideous Swamp Creature lives in a swamp close to the high seas.  Although he is a solitary creature, Roarlor is nonetheless a kind being and a friend of the Happies.  He is also quite powerful, especially in the swamp where he camouflages with the green plant matter.  On rare occasion, Roarlor will leave the swamp to help his allies.  When he does, his appearance usually scares the denizens of the land of Sies.  He has even caught Mooflor the Scary off-guard and scared him.  As scaring people is never Roarlor’s intention, he mostly stays in the peace and comfort of his own swamp.  Roarlor was designed Ryan Herriman.  His emoticon is 87.

The Cave of the Man Who Got Really Out

The Cave of the Man Who Got Really Out

He ran into the cave…

And took out some matches.

He shared one with his friend.

They hold hands so they don’t have to get lost.  A man was trying to get out to kill them.

They ran down the path…

And fell into a pit when his torch dropped.

When his torch fell to the bottom it hit the magic ground and turned into a monster.

The guy who was chasing them got eaten and the monster can’t walk anymore because they gave him poison to drink.

He accidentally touched the button by purpose and he got wine to drink.

A door was closed.  Nobody gets the treasure forever because they forget the key.

He climbed a rope which leads up to a secret door in the ceiling.  Now he’s got a way out!

The end of this great book.

Download this great book.

Sies

Sies the Blissful

Way back in high school, circa 2000, I created a character based on a commonly used emoticon in the chat room I frequented.  The character was called Sies (pronounced ‘SEES’ as in ‘ she SEES you’,  If you can’t tell already, his emoticon is :D (a big smile).  There was something appealing about the simplicity of Sies, so I created more characters based on other emoticons.  The characters were divided into two distinct groups, the Happies and the Angries.  Minor characters were also developed, but by this time the trend was starting to die off.  The rest of this post will discuss the various Happies and Angries.

Erty the Happy

Erty the Happy is happy like Sies but taken to such an extreme that it sometimes can be a problem.  In his possession is the Happy Wand, an artifact that radiates pure joy.  The Angries are constantly plotting ways to steal the wand and hide or destroy it. If not for the watchful eye of Pootems, such a dastardly deed would have already transpired. Erty’s happiness is best utilized rejuvenating the lands after they have been blighted by the Angries. In times of peace, his happiness can be a liability because it becomes over-abundant and out of control. The emoticon of Erty is also :D.

Pootems the Judgemental

Pootems the Judgemental is the keeper of the sacred word that makes the enemies of the Happies cry. Although he is ranked among the Happies, Pootems is nonetheless very serious and judgmental. He is the judge and punisher of the Angries. Diminutive in stature, Pootems is nonetheless one of the most powerful beings in the realm in both strength and cleverness. For this reason, Pootems is the adviser of the Happies. Pootem’s emoticon is :o.

Flambytoes the Adventurous

Flambytoes the Adventurous was originally a minor character and not part of the Happies.  However, he became a very popular character due to his shape, emoticon, and nifty rocket feet.  Thus Flambytoes came to be part of the Happies. Flambytoes is the fastest character.  He is also the only character with the ability to fly and is often seen as a messenger of the Happies, conveying their messages to others and reporting back news of the realm. Of all the Happies, Flambytoes is the most faithful in his service to Sies. The emoticon of Flambytoes is ^_^.

Mooflor the Scary

Mooflor the Scary is small like Pootems and almost as powerful and clever. He might be considered the leader of the Angries due to his propensity to cause unhappiness. Mooflor’s favorite hobby is to hide along commonly-traveled roads and jump out to scare people as they pass by. When not scaring people, Mooflor plots mischief against the Happies, such as stealing Erty’s Happy Wand. His emoticon is >:€.

Ukhed the Angry

Ukhed the Angry is the largest being in the realm and also the most angry. Fortunately he is also quite lethargic and seldom acts on his anger. Instead Ukhed broods in his cave and curses others for behaving in ways that he feels are an affront to him. Ukhed is dim-witted and selfish, only doing things that he thinks will please himself.  None of these things turn out to bring Ukhed much pleasure though and, in the end, he finds himself back in his cave blaming others because he is not happy.  When Ukhed is motivated enough to join Mooflor’s cause, he can be a powerful ally and their mischief-making usually is successful for a time. Ukhed’s emoticon is >:[.

Borchax the Mysterious

Borchax the Mysterious is the least seen and least understood of the characters. Some might count him among the Angries because of his inherent creepiness and love of dark places. Really though, Borchax is neither angry or happy because he is too mysterious to be pinned down. He is the manifestation of risk, gambling, chance, and the double-slit experiment. Borchax tends to show up when he is least expected and his appearance causes profound changes in any story, though always indirectly and never because of anything he has purposefully done.  His emoticon is 8E.

My Greatest Obstacle is Always Myself

Id Monster

I was swimming in the ocean when I was attacked by a Great White. I struggled with the shark and was able to kill him although he bit off my hand. I returned to shore where the tribe people celebrated my victory. I went to stay with my girlfriend and we sat under a waterfall enjoying the pleasantness of the situation.

Sino-Boogarian Doodles

Kung Fu Master

This post is about my current style of doodling, which has been heavily influenced by Chinese characters.  The story begins in 2004 when I first started to study the Chinese language.  I was attracted to Chinese primarily because of its written characters.  They are visually appealing to me because they are glyphs.  Each character has an intrinsic meaning unlike the letters of the English alphabet that need to be combined to form words.  You can literally see the meaning of some characters.  Some examples are: 木，火，山，手 (wood, fire, mountain, and hand, respectively).  Other characters have patterns which suggest their meaning.  For instance, three dots on the left side of a word suggests a meaning related to water or fluidity.  Some examples are: 酒，海，渴，流 (alcohol, sea, thirsty, and flow, respectively).  The symmetry and shapes of Chinese characters really speak to me.  The more complicated the character, the more I like it.  Perhaps for this reason, I chose the Chinese name 钱达友.

Volcano

Let me stop here to disclaim that I do not think I write beautiful Chinese characters.  In fact, most Chinese probably would look at my characters and recognize right away that they were written by a foreigner and/or a small child.  However after writing thousands or tens of thousands of characters I began to get a sense of the atomic parts of each character.  As I acquired this knowledge, my doodling began to evolve and incorporate the strokes used in writing Chinese.

Let me stop again to disclaim that I almost used the word “draw” just now, when what I really mean is “write”.  This is a common mistake that Chinese students will say.  Indeed I do feel like I am drawing when I write Chinese.  Maybe that is what I find so enjoyable about it.  I’m not writing an essay, I’m drawing pictures!

So anyway, my doodles changed.  I guess there is not much more to say about that, for now. Throughout this post, you can see some examples.  The rest of this post will be on some back story of each doodle and my vision for them in the future.

Fincon Master (the Hexacant)

The Fincon Master, also known as the Hexacant, is an evil magician who lived long ago.  His powers were such that he could control the Fincons, small flying menaces that individually were not dangerous, but in swarms could devour entire armies.  For a time, the Hexacant was revered by his people and his wrongdoings went unnoticed.  His injustices were eventually outed by a young man who would later become the Chief.  The Hexacant fled into the caves where few would follow.  He journeyed deep into the earth pursuing arcane knowledge.  In the lair of the Borchax, he met his doom.  Ages later, a group of adventurers would undertake a perilous mission to recover his body and restore him to life.  The mission would cost all of them their lives.  But that is another story.

Hut

Deep in the jungles of the Shadow Island, there was a hut that few had ever found, and fewer yet had ever approached.  It sat on a raised wooden platform and was ringed by the heads of seafarers who were unfortunate enough to be marooned on that island.  The denizen of the hut was the steward of the island’s one lake, a portal to the land of the dead.  Everyday the lake’s waters restored it’s guardian’s to youth.  This blessing came also with a curse which caused the guardian to live in constant fear and suspicion.  For their reign lasted only as long as they were not slain by the next steward, in the same manner by which they had inherited the position.

Elementalist

The Elementalists are worshipers of fire in all its forms, the highest of which are the stars of the heavens.  For this reason, they are sky watchers, tracking the movements of all the stellar objects.  The Elementalists believe the future is written into the stars.  Their astronomers are said to predict future events by tracing the constellations and chanting aloud.  In actuality this tradition is one of story telling: the greatest bards inspire claims of divination because they have internalized the stories in all their forms.  The eyes of an Elementalist have their own magical properties.  They are imbued with the fire of sight, giving them the ability to see in the dark.  They can also read the magical runes of the Elementalists which are invisible to laymen.

Adventurer

So what is my vision for all of this anyway? Well as you might have read, I do have lots of loose story elements and random doodles.  I hope to someday compile these tidbits into a full length novel (or at least a compilation of short stories which form the basis for a mythological universe).  Eventually, I would also like to design a role-playing game around these elements.  I hope you enjoyed them.

Sources:

Zhongwen.com – Awesome Chinese resource

The King of Nemi – I shamelessly ripped this motif.