a textual interlude

Posting text, for a change.

I want power.

I want to be stronger.

He chanted those mantras in his head, over and over. He had been wandering in Purgatory for… he didn’t even know how long. At times it would feel like seconds, and at others it would feel like he had been stumbling around for tens of thousands of years. He wasn’t good at keeping track of time, but if he had to guess, it might have been close to five thousand years.

He had suffered a graceless defeat in the race, behind the twelve animals that had beaten him. Even the pig. And that was the part he couldn’t fathom, couldn’t forgive himself for. If he couldn’t even beat the pig – that cumbersome, good-for-nothing sack of meat – then he couldn’t even hope to accomplish a fraction of the things he had dreamed of.

And he had plenty of time to dream.

Not too long ago (or perhaps it had been a few seconds ago, he really couldn’t tell), a voice had called out to him. A voice telling him to find it, telling him that to find it would be to find a source of infinite power. That alone – the promise of greater power – had urged him on from his stupor, and gave him renewed strength.

I want to be stronger.

I want revenge on those who defeated me.

I want the world to burn.

He didn’t know how he knew, but he was heading closer to the voice with every step he took. There had been a constant presence in the back of his head since he first heard the voice, and it seemed to grow stronger as he went on.

After what seemed like an eternity, he arrived at a large cavernous opening on the side of a mountain. Chains criss-crossed over its entrance, and there were multiple talismans over it, to keep whatever was inside from breaking out. The voice whispered tantalisingly in his head, louder than ever. He had found it.

Cautiously, he approached the chains. A pair of red eyes glowed as he drew closer, and he flinched. The voice comforted him, reassuring him that it was nothing to be afraid of, and that he should destroy the talismans.

He reached out and tore a talisman from the chain. Removing one caused a chain reaction, and the remaining talismans fell to the ground in a fluttering heap. The mountain rumbled, and he could sense a massive being inside moving. The chains around the entrance collapsed, and he had to run back to prevent from being crushed.

The red eyes he saw earlier glowed with a stronger intensity. The mountain rumbled again, but it wasn’t the earth moving, it was the creature growling. He gasped and scrambled backwards as a clawed paw thudded on the ground in front of him, one of its claws nearly impaling him.

What emerged from the mountain was a being even he couldn’t have imagined. It had the form of a wolf, but it was clearly accentuated with demonic qualities. Spikes rose from the top and at the sides of its head, and at each of its limb joints. As it continued forward, he saw that it had two pairs of wings – a pair of huge, leathery wings grew from its shoulders, and a smaller pair of black, feathery wings rose from the middle of its back. It swished around a long, scaled tail, which was topped off at the end with a sharp, menacing curved spike.

The voice spoke in his head again, stronger than ever before. His head felt like it was going to explode, unable to contain the massive presence.

I promised you infinite power, and you shall have it. The voice said, resonating in his head.

Amazingly, the creature – the demon, he thought – dissolved into nothing more than a spirit, and drifted toward him. Without warning, it penetrated his very being. He screamed soundlessly, feeling the sudden agony of being invaded by such a powerful entity. Light exploded from his eyes, and suddenly, he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

When he rose, he was different. He was stronger, more powerful. The voice was there again, whispering its plans, telling him what to do. Together they would accomplish more than they would have achieved had they been alone.

He had finally gotten what he wanted. Soon, revenge would come.

Related post: http://zodiacbattle.blogspot.com/2010/06/artslam-34-37.html

Artslam 68-73

Tora and Mac exploring the Tiger Temple. I won't spoil anything just yet. ;)

I've had the idea for a while now, but since watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, I've been more inspired to flesh out the elements for this arc of the story more.

Two sketches which spawned while watching TLA... Tora = firebender. :P

Practice sketches for Russel, Nezumi's guardian. Also a failed sketch of a motorcycle.

Artslam 6-9

Hmm, in hindsight, combining this with Nanomango may have been a bad idea... Come on self, YOU CAN DO IT!

As promised, flashback!Tora and Inu's guardians. I made a few calculation errors while doing research, which is why I crossed out the writeups, but after thinking it through a little I thought it'd still be relevant. Anyway, the flashback chapter takes place in 1945, just at the tail end of World War 2.

The basic idea I have for them is that Victor will be so pissed off at Matthaus that he will force Tora to betray Inu, resulting in their falling out and the explanation behind Inu's grudge against Tora. I'm really looking forward to drawing them! (I'm sure there is a special place in hell for people who fangirl over their own characters.)

This is Steven and Kyle Warner, and they're brothers. Their family runs a dairy farm in outback Australia. (Victoria, to be precise) Their partners are Uma (the horse) and Hitsuji (the goat) respectively. They'll be making their debut in chapter 5, so I'm not quite ready to divulge their personalities just yet.

Somewhat old sketch - Nicole (Inu's guardian) and Russel (Nezumi's guardian) in their second arc outfits.

Page of random sketches! I should really draw Usagi more.

Artslam 2-3

I'm starting to write chapter 6 now, and it's a flashback chapter, so I went and sketched out Tora and Inu's appearances from that period. I find that I'm able to write the scripts easier if I've got the characters designed already. I'll be doing their partners tomorrow.

The basic idea behind them is that they used to be best friends (in the current timeline, they're rivals) but after Tora "betrayed" Inu, they started hating each other.

dragon king

Tatsu has two versions of his Brave Form - one is a humanoid, and the other is an anthro dragon.

I won't reveal yet the how and why, since it's going to be a major plot point later on. ^^

Brave Form

Brave Form is probably best described as "unleashing the animal's full potential through the cooperation of their partner".

In the days when the animals gathered purely for the Battle, such a thing did not exist. It was only due to Neko's recent interference with the world that has caused such a power to develop.

When an animal gains Brave Form, they will have enhanced powers and/or weapons, and adds a whole new arsenal of moves with which to attack with. Additionally, they usually take on a new appearance that proudly shows the land from which they originally came from.

The combined new strength of the zodiacs against the cat has yet to be seen...