#need to brute force myself into remembering how to draw humans consistently in a way i like soon

[fleouriarts]

art is fucking stupid. objectively it should be easier to draw one species (human) than to learn how to draw several mammal species and adapt them to a bipedal stance. so why have i hated most of the human art ive done the past few months. make it make sense

[vorthosthewillis]

Planeswalker’s Guide to Stawthese

     Stawthese is a fan made plane, created by yours truly. It actually started as a D&D world simply called the Wastes, back when I played 3.5 with my college buddies. It grew, expanded, and evolved over time but sadly after leaving college I haven't had time or a group to play with, so the Wastes were left in a distant corner of my mind. Fast forward to when I began writing the first short story for Finn, and vainly thought to myself,  “What if I made the Wastes into a plane? That would be so cool!” Spoiler alert: it wasn't. There was too much of the world, too many stories I wanted to retell, and most importantly it derailed Finn’s story. So I scrapped it, and tried again. I wrote the story I meant to write, and the Wastes were reduced to a cameo through the name of Stawthese (an anagram). Since then, I have begun looking carefully at Stawthese, and deciding how it can be influenced by the Wastes while still standing on its own. I have even written a few short stories based it now, and introduced the smart but reckless goblin pyromancer Libs, the shape-shifting albino dragon Kia, and several citizens of Kel Tol.  But... I wanted to be able to show you all more. I started this, and well... Hope you all enjoy this look into the backwater plane of Stawthese!

    Stawthese is a plane hidden from sight and recovering from the ravages of war. Sometime around 800 years ago, a massive, plane-wide war erupted, destroying most of the world and its people, forever shaping the rest. The cause of the war and most details about it has been lost to time, but one thing’s for certain: the world as a Planeswalker who visits it now is very different then what is might have been. On top of all this, a planeswalker known only as Faults unleashed a powerful and massive worldspell with the last of his oldwalker powers over Stawthese during the Mending. This spell effectively has placed a shadow over the plane, hiding it from view. It is still very much possible to planeswalk to and from Stawthese... its just finding it in the first place that is almost impossible.

    Stawthese is a small plane with one large landmass and a host of small islands surrounding it. In roughly the middle of the main continent stretching from northeast down to the central west is a massive mountain chain, called the Bacctoc Mountains. The Bacctoc Mountains are so high that the snow there never melts, causing them to receive the nickname the “white backs”, a term generally used by every race but the dwarfs. The dwarvish legion of Stawthese make their home here, and between their might and their bonds together, they are not a force to be taken lightly. It is said that they are strong enough to take all of the lower half of the main continent if they so wished, and many wonder why they haven’t, given the reputation they had before the great war. No one wants to be the first to ask this to the dwarves, though.

    On the western side of the continent, just below the Bacctoc Mountains, is the region  called Khedive. This region can largely be split into two parts; the northern half consists of foothills that eventually become the Bacctoc Mountains,  while the southern half becomes more flat and littered with lakes and streams that originate in the foothills. To the far west are steep cliffs that let out to the sea, while to the east is a giant canyon that stretches all the way into the Bacctoc Mountains, simply called the Khedive canyon. Because of this the only real ways into Khedive are through the mountains or to the southeast, which leads this area to usually be somewhat isolated. This isolation was pivotal to the survival and exploding growth of the goblins. Nearly going extinct before the great war, now the goblins not only have thrived, but also established all of northern Khedive and a large portion of southern Khedive as their homelands. What’s more, interactions with several artifacts left from the great war have over time magnified the intelligence of roughly a third of the goblin clans, most notably the Quickhands clan. While they are not geniuses by any means, these particular goblins clans are still far smarter than the others, and should not be underestimated.

    The southeastern edge of Khedive skirts just below the Khedive canyon and becomes the region of Sashev. Sashev is a small but long wooded region, fueled by streams from Khedive that flow through it and empty out into the ocean. This area is not claimed by any one race, rather pockets of aven, humans, elves, and goblins can be found throughout it, though aven mostly to the east and goblins mostly to the west. While small, Sashev stretches along the southern coastline, and if you want to reach the various islands to the south or east of the main landmass, you'll either need a pirate or you’ll have to go to Kel Tol, the only significant  town in Sashev. A heavily fortified port town consisting of mostly humans and aven, Kel Tol is itself a remnant of the great war and the time before it.

    North of Sashev and east of the Khedive canyon lies the great forest region of Wurin. The forest is another remnant of ages past, as though the entire region is a enormous forest, the innermost sections contain impossibly tall trees, high as some of the smaller mountains and several centuries old. In this innermost sanctum is the ancestral home of the aven, and is fiercely guarded. The outer sections of the Wurin forest are slightly more varied, with aven and elves alike. Numerous beasts make their homes within the Wurin forest, including the terrifying, always hungry wurms. In the past half century however the elves have become more withdrawn and aggressive, and so the outer edges of the forest have become even more dangerous with both beast and elf hunting visitors.

    Two grasslands surround Wurin, one to the northeast called the Land of Dragons, and one to the south and west called Raalo. Raalo is mostly flat grasslands, with small forests interspersed throughout. Humans primarily call this area their home, though the rare elf, aven, or dwarf family can be found if one looks hard enough. The humans of this region live in various small villages and towns, the biggest (called Azel) lying on the literal edge of the Khedive Canyon. Multiple roads pass through Raalo, whether going between towns, north to Wurin or the Bacctoc Mountains, or south to Sashev. The regional in general is usually bubbling with activity as the main crossroads for most of the civilized world. In contrast, to the northeast of Wurin lies the Land of Dragons, a grassland that quickly develops into rolling hills and then the foothills of Bacctoc Mountains. This area is largely deserted, as not only is it out of the way of civilization, but also people still remember why it is called the Land of Dragons. While it is commonly accepted that dragons were wiped out during the great war, beforehand this region was the home of the oldest dragon of that time, a brute named Drazir. The two biggest draws of the region are the Bone Coast, where ancient bones and other treasure common washes ashore, and the Visho Pass, which leads all the way north through the mountains to what lies beyond. Here is where the only settlement in the Land of Dragons exists: the dwarven fort of Visho Bastion blocks any access to the pass from both the north and south, and is where the military might of the dwarves can easily be seen.

    The area north of the Bacctoc Mountains has been uninhabited since the great war. It is also by far the largest region on the mainland of Stawthese, rivaling the size of all the other regions below the Bacctoc Mountains combined. This area is called the Wastes, at least by those who still remember it exists. The dwarves of the mountains guard the area with extreme prejudice, and it is believed no one other than the dwarves have been there in centuries.  What it looks like, as well as what might be found there, has been lost to time.

    Beyond the mainland of Stawthese lies several islands. Far to the southwest lies the isle of Traxyln, were supposedly you could find strange creatures with human faces, lion bodies, and wings called sphinxes who trade with those who come but also guard the isle from any who wish to go further inland than the beaches. The Ontrican Archipelago lies just to the southeast of Sashev, and while it is a chaotic paradise for pirates and outlaws, the furthest and largest island in the archipelago (known as Ontrica) contains the largest collection of history and knowledge from before the war and also about the various strange artifacts that have appeared since then.

Directly south from Sashev is three desolate islands called the Three Widows, though no one alive knows why. Ships going from Traxyln and Ontrica take extra time and go north of the widows though, as south of the widows is a gigantic whirlpool known ominously as the Chimney. Though its exact size is unknown, it is estimated to be at least as big as the region of Raalo, and ships that go south of the widows run the risk of getting trapped in its grip long before even seeing it. Though legends tell of those who survived (and some must have some point, or else its existence would not be known) no one in this time who has left to explore the Chimney have ever returned. Though other islands exist around the mainland, they are either small, unknown, not named, or all three.

Races of Stawthese

    There exists five major races of Stawthese  (humans, dwarves, elves, aven, and goblins), as well as several other species scattered through the land.

Humans

    The humans of Stawthese originated from the islands of Ontrican Archipelago, and eventually spread throughout most of the mainland. Dark-skinned, lean built, and cunning brains describe the vast majority of the humans, who despite not having a natural home region on the mainland have made their presence known. They control the Ontrican Archipelago, hold the most power in Kel Tol, and are plentiful throughout Raalo. On the island of Ontrica, humans are almost the sole inhabitants, and if nothing else control the city of Morfe, where the histories of the world are stored and studied. They can also be found on the isle of Traxyln as devout servants to the mysterious Sphinxes, though once one enters into service, they may never leave.

    Like most worlds, humans can be found in all colors, though they can be found more commonly in one color or the other depending on location. For example, humans are more common in blue on Ontrica, white in Raalo, green in Sashev, and in both red and black on the archipelago. In general though, they do seem to be slighter more common in blue than any other color.

Dwarves

    The dwarves of the Bacctoc Mountains are a mysterious group with little known of their current status. Before the war, they were extremely militant, and were carving an empire both in the north and west of mainland Stawthese. They were most territorial over their home mountains though; it is thought that at that time the dwarves nearly killed off the goblins and perhaps did succeed in killing off the vishano, both of which shared the mountains with the dwarves.

    While most historians of Morfe agree that the dwarves were not the instigators of the great war (in fact, what can be found makes it seem like no race instigated the war, so how or why it started is still a significant mystery), it can definitely be stated they were one of losers. After the war, the dwarves retreated fully into the mountains, and to this day only small delegations leave to trade down in Kel Tol or live in self-described exile, usually far from the mountains in Raalo. Even those in exile will not speak of their home region, though. What is known beyond their military might is the stories of their teamwork, fellowship, and strong bonds together, both from bits of history found and what can be seen from dwarves living among the rest of the races. Dwarves living in communities outside of the mountains work hard to be useful and important members of their communities, and make faithful friends.

    The dwarves of Stawthese are primarily in white and red.

Elves

    The elves of Stawthese live a story of tragedy and corruption, for while the dwarves might be considered one of the losers of the great war, of all the surviving races the elves suffered the greatest loss. The elves’ home region is in what is now known as the Wastes, and all elves in the modern age are refugees. Some have taken residence in the Wurin Forest, while others now live far south in Sashev. The vast majority though moved underground, hidden below Khedive and Wurin, and stayed there for centuries until recently.

    All elves have dark skin, dark blond or light brown hair, and the characteristic elf ears. However, the elves underground have skin that is black as coal and true stark white hair. The most startlingly difference is their eyes; the eyes of the elves underground have slightly grown in size and become bright yellow. These elves actually have trouble seeing in bright sunlight.

    Within the past half century, the underground elves have become aggressive and are attacking goblin sites in northern Khedive. Within the past thirty or so years that strange violence and aggression spread to the elves within the Wurin Forest. In the modern age, the only place where you can reliably talk to elves and not expect violence is in Sashev, but many are beginning to wonder if it will be a when and not an if for whether or not they will also fall to the mysterious violent streak.

    While they were originally green, the elves of Stawthese, especially the more violent ones, are now in both green and black.

Aven

    There are actually two species of aven on Stawthese; more traditional ones by multiverse standards, and then the flightless ones, which some call by the derogatory title the “Clipped”. Both originated in the ancient and giant trees of the Wurin Forest, but at some point even before the great war the two species began to split.

    The traditional, hawk-like aven more closely resemble the aven of Alara over places like Tarkir and Amonkhet. The flightless aven however, have stunted wings that cannot support them in flight, and over time their bodies became larger, fat looking to someone new to the plane. They have slightly longer necks with narrow beaks as well as significantly stronger and larger legs, and so look down on the other races, in both a figurative and literal sense. Traditional aven value their intelligence and can be found the archipelago, Wurin Forest, and even a few tribes in the Khedive Canyon, while the Clipped have developed a strong affinity to nature and live predominantly in the Wurin Forest and Sashev. Unlike most aven in the multiverse, the Stawthese aven commonly eschew family structure in exchange for personal growth, only living in communities for necessities. How that personal growth is obtained depends on the species though; traditional aven believe they choose their fate while the Clipped believe that fate played games and screwed them, and they must grow with what they have.

     While the traditional aven can be found in blue, the Clipped are more common in green.

Goblins

    The youngest of the major races, goblins before the great war shared the Bacctoc Mountains with the dwarves, and were almost extinct by the time the war began.  In a sense, they could be considered the “winners” of the war. When the dwarves retreated from the western part of Stawthese, and the Khedive canyon was formed near the end of the war, the surviving goblins moved into Khedive and flourished. On top of this, some goblin clans began collecting relics and artifacts from the war, and a few were still active. Though their true purposes are still not known and most of them have vanished over time, what is known is that they began to change the goblin clans holding them. Nowadays, the goblin clans of Khedive are firmly established as a major race, and while not geniuses the goblin clans who once gathered artifacts, especially the Quickhands clan, are intelligent and curious where they fit in the greater world.

    While there used to be eight goblin clans, sudden and devastating attacks from the underground elves within the last half century completely killed off a large population of goblins before the rest united against the elves. There are five surviving goblin clans.

The Rockcrush Clan live in the far north of Khedive and regularly raid into the Bacctoc Mountains against the dwarves. They are firmly red. 

The largest clan, the Hilldust Clan, lives in north and central Khedive and leads an offense against the elves. They are firmly red. 

The Cliffjumper Clan inhabits the sheer cliff faces of Stawthese’s southwest coast. These goblins have developed fascinating ways to hunt and fish the ocean, and are both red and blue.

The Quickhands Clan used to live in northern Khedive, but elvish attacks nearly destroyed the clan and now the remnants live near the border of Sashev. The most intelligent of the clans, the majority are thieves, but are also currently the representatives of goblins to the rest of the modern world. They are both blue and red.

The final clan, the Blindgut Clan is a small clan of all blind goblins in northern Khedive. Why they are all blind, and how they survive is unknown. They are in red.

Other Races

    Several other races exist on Stawthese, though nowhere near as common as the major races.

    On the distant isle of Traxyn, sphinxes have been found. However, they refuse entry onto the isle, allowing visitors only onto the coast. Because of this, and the fact their servants never leave the island, nothing else is known about them.

    Though necromancy does exist, it is very rare and commonly hunted down once discovered. While it is rare to find a zombie, it is not impossible, particularly on some of the more obscure islands in the Ontrican Archipelago.

    Historians report that there used to be other races before the great war. In particular, there appeared to be Minotaurs who lived north of the mountains as well as Vishano, which the Visho Pass is supposedly named for. Both are assumed extinct.

    Dragons also existed before the war. While reports vary on exactly how they looked, all agree on the ability which made them supremely unique: they could shapeshift, from their dragon form to the form of either human or elf depending on type of dragon. While some were selfish and wild, like the legendary dragon Drazir, but others were considered to be champions and protectors of the smaller races. They fought with the dwarves during the great war, but then vanished near the end. It is assumed they were killed and are extinct, though with their abilities it cannot be confirmed.

Notable People of Stawthese

Titus Soie

    The human Titus Soie is in name the governor of Kel Tol, but in practice is the de facto leader of Sashev. Titus was a pirate for almost 30 years, and a captain for nearly 20 of those years, so he is no stranger to leadership. However, he is getting older and has given up the chaotic nature of the sea, both in the literal and figurative sense. He has seen the chaos of the Ontrican Archipelago,  and vows to not let it infect Sashev. Titus has actually been the driving force of establishing actual communication between races in recent years.

     Titus, like the walls of his city, protects and shelters his people as much as he can. He is white/green.

Maya Patel

    Titus employs a guard to help protect Kel Tol and its citizens, one of which is the elf Maya Patel. While not a magic user, Maya is a skilled fighter, utilizing dual custom-made hand crossbows in order to mow down enemies. While Maya is an elf, she has lived her entire life in Sashev and is fiercely loyal to Titus and Kel Tol. However, that loyalty only extends to those two and people she considers friends; those against her or even just those who don’t fit into those categories will find no help or mercy. She is acutely aware of people's opinions of elves, but unable to convince them they are wrong, she has chosen to hate the racists in return.

    While she used to just be a simple guardswoman, she has recently uncovered two secrets that  could propel her into the spotlight:  dragons still live, and there is other worlds than Stawthese. She is green/black.

Winu Roluc

    There is no leader of the aven, but there is an aven in charge of keeping the ancient and giant trees of Wurin alive. Winu Roluc is a traditional aven who has spent time with both the elves and others of her kind in order to learn how to harness the power of nature to keep the inner forest of Wurin safe from wurms and other creatures. Winu understands just how important the ancient trees are to the ecosystem as a whole and works tirelessly to keep the proper spells intact to protect them. While she is an expert on the trees, she is less than perfect handling actual people, and unless they can hold an intelligent conversation, she generally will just fly away.

    Winu focuses on drawing strength from nature in order to create massive spells. She is blue/green.

Libs Quickhands

    Even though he is still young, the goblin pyromancer Libs Quickhands is widely considered by goblins as the only reason reason the Quickhands clan still exists today, as he used his pyromancy abilities to kill an invading elvish army. He has gone on to become the first ever official goblin representative invited to Kel Tol. Libs is intelligent yet impulsive, eager to learn yet mostly naive to the dealings beyond Khedive. Unlike the majority of his tribe, Libs is a terrible, terrible thief. 

    While pyromancy is Libs’s primarily ability, he also has learned some basic mind spells, namely how to counter other’s mind magics from affecting him. He is red/blue.

Steric the 5th

    The current Lord of the Dwarves goes by the title Steric the 5th. He has never left the Bacctoc Mountains, so no non-dwarf has ever met him, but much can be told just from his actions. Steric has been the Lord of the Dwarves for 134 years, and during that time has increased trade with the rest of the world by nearly triple what it was before his rule. He has also established communication and representation with the rest of the modern world, namely through sending a representative to annual summits hosted at Kel Tol in order to keep peace between the races. At the same time however exiles from the mountains have nearly doubled, and Steric has reinforced the Visho Bastion to the point of it being a massive, supposedly impenetrable fort. What his plans are for the dwarves are unknown. He is white/red.

Kiaantho, the White Scale

    There is only one known living dragon in the world, and even then only a handful know of her existence. Kiaantho has no intentions of revealing her presence to the public and typically stays in her human form and by the name Kia. Even then however, Kia stands out; she is albino, and as she is only 300 years old, she appears as an albino human teenager in her human form (whether that is due to her age or under her own control is unknown). She is an accomplished actress in order to protect her identity, and in reality she is a passionate friend and ally who often sees the long term benefits that others cannot.

    The question has arisen that if she was born 300 years ago, then there must be other dragons. However, Kia rarely talks about her past other than to state her age, and never the circumstances of her birth. Whether or not she is as clueless about her race as the rest of her world remains to be seen.

    All Kia wants is to be treated as an equal and (other than her friends) be left alone, but if her secret gets out that she is not only the last dragon, but also one of the most powerful creatures on the plane, she may never get that wish. Kia is red/white.

Planeswalkers of Stawthese

    There is no known planeswalker originally from Stawthese, however there are two non-native walkers that currently reside here.

Finnegan Olleg

    Finnegan Olleg, more commonly known as just Finn, is an elf from the world formerly known as Mirrodin. Finn lived through the fall of Mirrodin to the Phyrexians, and only sparked at the end of the war. His first walk actually took him to Stawthese, deep into the Bacctoc Mountains where he almost froze to death. Since then, Finn has created a home on Stawthese, living in the Sashev region right beside its border to Khedive. The fall of Mirrodin laid heavy on Finn for a long time, and only recently has he begun to move on. He has developed a friendship with the goblin Libs Quickhands, and is slowly willing to interact with the world at large.

    While Finn is a somewhat decent hand to hand or one-handed weapon fighter from his experiences on Mirrodin, he truly shines in his magic. Finn’s power set is almost entirely defensive, and he is most proficient at redirection and hexproof magics. Finn is green/blue/red.

Faults

    Little to nothing is known of the planeswalker called Faults. Faults is an oldwalker, from before the mending, whose magical speciality is controlling others. It can physically control others like a puppet, mind control others, or even just completely rewrite the person’s mind and soul as devoutly loyal to Faults. It uses this ability to create its self proclaimed “experiments”; one such experiment (admitted by Faults) being the quickening of the Great Aurora through controlling and manipulating Oona and almost every fairy under her mere days before the Mending.

    The Mending caused Faults to search for a way to prolong its “godhood”, leading it to Stawthese for unknown reasons. What no one else knows is that Faults was present for and most likely participated in the ancient great war, and so its return is likely connected. In addition, it has spent the majority of its time since the Mending corrupting and transforming first the underground elves and then the Wurin Forest elves into believing Faults to be their literal god and following its every command. Its next move is unknown.

@actualborossoldier, @baldore-of-the-boros, @foilmountain, @confused-phyrexian, @gigaguessmtg, @the-foxwolf, @nantukohunk, @erybia, @triumviratethree, @ anyone I forgot. If you want added or removed from the list let me know!

With this out of the way, the next short story is in my sights. It may be a direct continuation of Stand in the Rain, or simply the next in the “series”. Regardless, I promise to start working on some answers. If certain things are really causing you to scratch your head, let me know and I will see if , story/plot  permitting, I can reveal them sooner rather than later. Good night!