Do you look at form before function? I always have difficulty designing fantasy creatures because I think too much about the anatomical reality of things haha
If I’m designing for something specific that needs to perform or behave in a certain way, then function comes first.
If I’m not, then most of the time I ping back and forth between the two until I find something I like.
@greekceltic put together some great OC interaction prompts with Jacky in Heth and I had to jump in with Jeih (and Ary).
There's one in there from Roach too, couldn't help chuck Jeih that way as well haha.
Scott wandered the halls. He was lost, the corridors kept changing, and he was no longer sure which direction he was supposed to be headed. He crouched down at an intersection and put fingers to the bridge of his nose. Think. Where was he last? He couldn’t remember. He watched the snow fall outside, watched the big flakes settle softly in the dark. Some of them drifted into the hall through the gaping holes in the rock walls, which should’ve been shielded but… they weren’t. He shivered, involuntarily. He hadn’t anticipated that the Locks wouldn’t keep North Cliff entirely insulated. The cold and the dark crept into his bones. He wondered if the unlit halls had an end, and if he could make it another 40 hours until the sun rose.
dragonsbloodsnowcone may we have some Beru lore??
Briefly - Beru is another team lead, like Scott, but from another empire (Gaithon). He's gregarious and fun, and overall a pleasure to be around. Sort of an opposite personality to Scott.
Gaithon is a much different empire to Eutharious. It's much smaller, older, and more cohesive, its peoples' relationship with the Locks is very different. Movallo is the resident Lockian diplomat. Traders are recognized and welcomed. Being *the* team lead is regarded as a prestigious job. There were no ulterior motives for that initiative, there.
Beru went through schooling and training for that job, and was chosen for the role. Unfortunately, early in his career the Lock that stepped up to watch out for him missed a beat - there was an accident and he should have died except that a smaller lesser will, Rylelion, happened to be around and stepped in. Beru was looped into Ry's will as a result. He still has control of his human body, but Ry is not beyond using him to communicate and do things - which was frustrating at first, until they got into a flow. Beru has no access to Ry's abilities, beyond not dying/having his body rebuilt if it receives enough damage, and he loses a little bit of himself every time that happens. He can talk to Ry internally here and there, and they've built up somewhat of a repertoire. For the most part he carries on like he normally would.
It is not the greatest existence, but Beru makes the best of it. His situation is ironic, given that Gaithon's previous team lead was caught doing some not so cool stuff and Movallo went out of his way to loop that lead into his will and intentionally disintegrate him over a painfully long period of time.
Outside of that - he becomes good friends with Scott, and gets involved with Jeih's shenanigans when Scott's team is finally introduced to his own.
Hi! I've been a massive fan of the locks since I was a kid on deviantart – seeing Jeih and Ary again felt like seeing an old classmate.
Lore question – can indomitable wills like Ary bring back people from the dead? I understand he has an almost deity-like attitude to humans, viewing us as curious things who live for barely a second to him. I also understand that Jeih wanting Aryion's attention by any means possible is maybe getting in the way, annoying him into a reaction.
Has Jeih ever gone that far to kill a human to get Ary's attention? Or does he understand that might put him in the doghouse or have such dire consequences there'd be no going back?
Ahh that’s fun! I’m glad they brought you some joy.
The greater wills can’t resurrect anyone. Any Lock can stave off death for another creature if they’re on the brink but it’s not without consequences, and it’s not something they typically do. Anything looped into will can be perpetuated until it’s eventually consumed. One could linger for a thousand years in that state, being slowly devoured. Or they could forget you’re there on a random rotation and blitz you. Or they get bored of maintaining you. It’s not a particularly desirable existence, even for exploratory people like Beru, who I’ve never talked about here.
Jeih’s killed lots of people in his wanderings, some in the hopes of getting a reaction or any kind of attention out of Aryion, and primarily during the time where he is slowly deteriorating. It doesn’t garner the reaction he expects, because he doesn’t know what Aryion is doing and he doesn’t know the greater will as an individual, truly. He knows better then to mess with key components, although he’s happy to threaten.
Hey, i have a question about Jeih :) Does his skin look like an golden Akhal Teke? or more metallic. What would it feel like if you touched the skin of a Lock?
It fluctuates, but generally he looks more metallic. Can be warmer, or cooler, or kind of shimmery.
They would feel too smooth - no skin texture would give them a dry-but-slick feel.
Why does Jeih think humans are gifted? If anything I would see it as the Locks or gifted or better then humans. Is it a specific traits he wish he had or?
I no longer remember the context for this question, but.
Jeih thinks humans are convenient. Short lifespans, generational amnesia, a cornucopia of rules and traditions and cultures to hide in, feed on, and play with.
Asking what Jeih smells like is probably a bad idea, but I'm asking about him anyway.
Locks don’t really have a noticeable smell, but I suppose if you stuck your nose up to one it’d probably the smell like cold with a touch of ozone. In Jeih’s early days you’d probably smell iron and copper and whatnot depending on the number of people he ate beforehand.
When he’s in a borrowed body he likes to be clean and fresh and vaguely citrus-sweet. It’s a light summery, uplifting scent.
You mentioning drinking coffee makes me wonder just how said thing would affect locks. I imagine if Jeih would drink Coffee and it did effect him in a way that makes him bounce off the walls Ary would have no end of the mischief... and certainly no end to the headache to come of a giant kitty lock bouncing all over while he tries to do work... XD My brain is weird I swear
Hah! Jeih will do that without coffee, 100% on a whim and especially if he thinks he can get a rise out of Aryion.
But to answer your question - it wouldn’t affect them in Lockian form.
Jeih is a casual coffee drinker when borrowing a human body, he’ll have it now and again but he does not appreciate the jitters.
What is Yahndrall's quirks? What kind of music would Hons listen to?
These are really good questions.
I don’t have anything super specific for Yahn, yet. After Hons blitzes him and Ary repatterns/heals him, Yahndrall loses a lot of who he was previously. Not sure he really has a direction, he’s a shadow of his former self. He’s much quieter, less confrontational, gives ground easy. He’s fairly agreeable to be around, if very reserved, and the team enjoys his occasional company because of that.
I... have no idea what music Hons would listen to. I get the feeling he prefers the music of the cosmos (or nature, if he’s planet side) and he’s not too interested in what material creatures have to offer there. He does a good job ignoring Jarovin’s songs for a while, which is a neigh impossible feat for Locks.
Is your character Red still around? What’s he got going on, I love him so
He's still around, I haven't drawn him in ages.
Last I left off I was going to change up his human form since Scott meets him briefly in the first book. But I'm not sure he ever shows up as human in Scott's arc. Most Locks don't bother with other forms, and I think he wouldn't, so it became a moot endeavor.
I've mostly been dwelling on what his space in North Cliff looks like and mulling over his personality. He's not so ostentatious as before. Intense in a different way, keeping in delicate balance with Jarovin and under the Emperor's eye, for the most part.
The cover art Other Worlds, my the soon to launch book on Kickstarter (chose my fanciest piece)!
Wētā Workshop's Jamie Beswarick and Greg Broadmore were generous enough to offer to write my forewords :)
A link to sign up for the launch this month: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ironspike/the-art-of-alex-ries?ref=exblsy
hello :0 i was wondering if there was a page dedicated to your lock species and all of their lore ? they have probably been my favorite species on the internet since 2016-2017? i was just curious if there was a place with more art of them and your ocs :0 they are all so cool
Thank youu glad you enjoy them!
I don't have a dedicated page for that. I post more on Patreon these days, lore and doodles and general worldbuilding. You can find me at Empire of Eels.
