CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

This thread is devoted to discussing secondary protagonists in _Cry of Justice_, and how they might be represented artistically. As in the main protag thread, each will get his own post.

While it's debateable whether any of these might be cover fodder, they would make for some great website art (assuming I already have good art for the main protags): and website art is what I most need right now. Gaekwar in particular was narratively designed to be an archetypical anime/manga character visually!

NOTE: for general physical characteristics of most Mikonese humans, please refer to the notes in the main protag thread for Portunista (as Dama). Unless otherwise noted, all secondary protags look like regular Mikonese humans.

Business things thread: http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=41642

General plot thread: http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=41649

Main protag info thread: http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=41668

Main Antagonist info thread: http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=41718

Dagon -- a fighting man (mid to late 20s) from the eastern nation of Krygy; Dagon lucked up enough to be the first subcommander chosen by Portunista. (His craggy good looks didn't hurt either... {g}) Dagon takes his job seriously enough to be marginally competent at it; but must constantly fight two inclinations: to be the real authority (safely) behind the figurehead, or to be _recognized_ as being the real authority. In short, he's just ambitious enough to be a nuisance; and just competent enough not to be dismissed. Deep down he realizes this, too--and he resents it. This leads him to try to compete with people he knows are his betters, as a way of defining himself.

Dagon does have some strengths. He isn't too bad as a fighter, although his self-serving attitude leads him to attack people who are busily engaged in dealing with someone else. He has some real organization skills, which could be developed further if he ever applied himself; and he has a knack for treating practical situations as puzzles, to be dealt with pragmatically. His troops tolerate him (barely). His weapon is a falchion, a talonshaped scimitar.

Visual cues: Dagon is described as being one of the two most physically imposing subcommanders, which in this case just means he's large and well-built. (It's hard to be more physically intimidating than Seifas... {wry g!} Which of course annoys Dagon...) Dagon may be a little too handsome for his size; he looks like someone chosen _for_ his looks (which he was) and not for his general level of competency (ditto!) This leads one character to nickname him 'doll-boy'. (He doesn't look at all effeminate, though. He _is_ clean shaven, however, as almost all the main characters are.)

This leads him to overcompensate a lot on some things. He wears a black and red fighting garb when on duty (mostly black, red trim), which makes him look more dangerous. He tends to be arrogant and scowly, or condescending, trying to put people down as a way of getting a bluff in. That was fine back when 'ista had only a few squads of soldiers, but it's running thin now that she has several companies, and he doesn't know what else to do, so he overcompensates further in his attitudes--knowing he's fast running out of time before he's dismissed altogether from command, or just knifed by a solider who believes Portunista won't care any more. (Jian is the only character perceptive enough to pity him for this; but if you're inspired with a way to bring this out in the art, give it a try.)

Clothes: as mentioned, the black and red fighting garb is what he'll be wearing in practically every scene. It's a tough leather fighting jacket and pants, something to set him apart at a glance as being one of the commanders. (It isn't leather _armor_, though, per se--that would be a hard shell.) He wears a normal shirt under this (buttoned or pull over, either one.)

Weapon: only one to speak of, the falchion. You've got plenty of leeway in designing this, so long as it's large, talon-shaped, and a scimitar of some kind. It may or may not have a sheath, and if so I haven't said where yet, so you're free to improvise on that, too. (I recently saw a weapon while playing LucasArts' Playstation 2 game _Gladius_, that I thought looked a lot like how the falchion should look; but sadly I don't recall what it was called. When-if-ever I get back around to playing that game, I'll try to hunt it up again.)

Dagon is not a subtle fighter, but he can be a sneaky one on occasion. He'll be looking to attack people already engaged, since that's safer. He can bull his way through a fight well enough, though.

Othon -- a fighting man (mid to late 20s) from the western island of Manavilin; Othon was chosen by the maga Portunista to be her second subcommander. _Very_ tall and strong, he also enjoys employing a sharp wit by reducing remarks to pertinent monosyllables. He takes his job seriously, and is a good commander (even a bit of a _leader_). The troops admire him, and respect him; the morale of his company is almost as good as Gaekwar's.

Othon was chosen by Portunista primarily because of his imposing presence (his nickname is 'the Implacable'); but also because she recognized that despite this, Othon is a kind soul who wants no more than to have a place in the world. This made him very useful to the ambitious maga: he helped keep her first subcommander (Dagon) off balance, so she wouldn't worry about plots. Even though Othon knows he was being used, and that 'ista had no substantial feelings for him, he has accepted the situation with tolerant goodwill, and remains loyal to his commander as he might to a younger sister.

Visual cues: Othon is the tank of the group. You won't likely run into a character taller or stronger than him (certainly not in Book 1.) You can overaccentuate this a little, so long as his proportions aren't ridiculous. Humans _aren't_ really supposed to be as large and strong as he is, and the people around him know it. Aside from being clean-shaven (a little stubble is okay if you like) I've left visual cues otherwise pretty loose. He doesn't smile much, but while he can look grim he doesn't usually look hostile. He shouldn't look stupid. He's someone the troops can easily look up to (and not just literally. {g})

Clothing: hardly described, but probably nothing special, even when he's on duty. When a fight is expected, he dons some fairly heavy armor (both chest and legs), but aside from being plate metal in reasonable places you're free to innovate. (He is _not_ wearing a full plate suit, though, such as late medieval knights might wear. Not yet anyway. {g}) Keep in mind that the brigade lives (for now) out in the back end of nowhere, and so only has portable quickforges for repairing armor; that's going to make a difference in how his armor looks after seasons of occasional fighting.

Weapons: in a way, it could be said that his _primary_ weapons are his special combat gauntlets. They're weighted, and when he clenches his fist metal protrusions are left over sticking out away from his knuckles. When he isn't wearing them (which is usually), they hang from special loops on his belt, where he can stick his hands into them and quickly bring them to bear. (There are other sharpened protrusions running _back_ from knuckles of the gauntlets, that help keep them locked in place when hanging from the beltloops. Getting hit by Othon, forward or backhanded, is A Bad Idea. {ggg!})

His main weapon in a formal fight, though, would be his edged mace. In effect, this is a _very_ sturdy two-edged longsword, with a spiked ball on the tip. (As a visual reference, check out the weapon being used by Brian Blessed playing Voltan King of the Hawkmen in the early 1980s _Flash Gordon_ movie with the Queen soundtrack and Max Von Sydow as Ming the Merciless. Like that. But more substantial looking. {g} And no, Jian does not look anything like Sam Jones, aside from also being blond. Acts a little like him, though. {g}) This weapon is, of course, completely impossible to sheathe, so Othon wears a special wooden framework on his back as part of his armor, from which he extricates the weapon when it's time to go to work. The framework rises above the back of his head; meaning, incidentally, that he has to hunch over constantly when he's standing in the 'basement' of the Tower.

Othon is good at parrying, with blade or gauntlets either one, and his parries tend to be tight and controlled. His attacks, by contrast, tend to be the sort of cowchopping swooshes you'd expect from someone his size and weapon type.

To recap again: getting hit by Othon is A Bad Idea. {g}

Gaekwar -- a fighting man (early 30s) from parts unknown but most likely the western Mikonese nation of Baroda. Somewhat cynical, Gaekwar often refers to people as cattle who follow complacently wherever they are led--for better or for worse. Some people with a more classical education (notably the juacuar Seifas) have noticed that 'gaekwar' is an obscure word for 'cowherd' (which is what he claims he was); this leads Seifas (among others) to suspect he isn't being entirely forthcoming about his origins...

A humble former cowherd probably wouldn't have Gaekwar's confident combat skills and exotic weaponry, either.

Gaekwar was chosen by the maga Portunista to be the third subcommander of her growing companies--also to replace his earlier peer Othon in the role of keeping first subcommander Dagon off balance (and of keeping 'ista's bedroll warm at night. {lopsided g}) Gaekwar takes the situation in stride, neither expecting nor searching for more out of the situation (which also makes him sufficiently attractive to Portunista); although deep down he has wished there was some reason to care more for her. He is a good commander, who could also be a good leader if he tried a little harder (which he doesn't care to do); he takes the competence of his company seriously, and weeds out those who are unwilling to work to be the best. The troops admire him, especially within his own company (who enjoy emulating his casual laid-back attitude).

Incidentally, he's about as close to being an atheist as anyone can be in Mikon; the sort of person who cares deep down about justice and does what he can to make a difference when the chips are down, but who has stopped believing there is any such thing ultimately as justice. (Not for his own convenience, but in what he might call realistic despair at the bad things which happen in the world. Bad things happen and then we die, the end. But he doesn't much tolerate people contributing to the bad things happening.)

Visual cues: anime/manga fans attend!! Gaekwar is _the_ consummate lanky somewhat scruffy anime 'western' hero. He also features those typical shards of hair hanging down over his eyes (this is specifically mentioned in the book as his 'ridiculous bangs'.) Have fun. {beam!} He smiles quite a bit, but it's likely to be bitter or wry or cynical. _Not_ hateful, though. He's a pretty good guy; he's just given up expecting things to work out, and this is reflected in his attitudes.

Clothes: Pretty normal. He wears a leather fighting jacket, but it isn't flashy like Dagon's; just enough for a soldier to see at a glance that he must hold a command rank. I expect it has a lot of browns. I don't recall any scenes where he isn't in this garb, either; it's something he can wear all day every day.

Weapons: for melee, Gaekwar uses a leafcutter axe. Its head is heart-shaped, and dull on its leading edges, but the edges on the backside of each curve (leading back toward the shaft) are sharp. This means that in order to cut someone he has to land a blunt blow, and then pull backward--but when he does cut, it goes horribly deep. It hangs shaft-down, resting on its sharp edges, from specially designed bits of metal on his belt. The shaft can twist half a turn releasing an interior spring which pushes the outer surface of the shaft revealing an inner surface, effectively doubling the length of the axe (and turning it into a two-handed weapon once locked back into place.)

Gaekwar's pride, though, is his disker--a contraption he wears strapped along the top length of his left forearm that fires palm-sized razored discs at high speeds over short ranges. (He makes sure to recover and/or restock them when he can.) The discs slide into a cylinder on the top of the back part of the weapon, and drop down into a shuttle that cycles fore-and-back to throw the discs, when he thumbs a small curved lever that (when out of its safety position) reaches around between his thumb and first finger. Although he can rapid fire them if necessary, in most cases this is a waste; he'll prefer to pick his shots, bap bap bap. Gaekwar might leave his leafcutter lying around somewhere, but not his disker; and he spends significant amounts of time cleaning and oiling the unique weapon. (A small triangular blade can be pushed out from below the mouth of the disker for emergency melee purposes, but this hasn't been used yet in the story.)

Gaekwar is a very skilled fighter, moreso than Othon (much moreso than Dagon), though not quite in Seifas' class. (No one is quite in Seifas' class... {amused snorf}) He trends a bit toward the acrobatic when fighting, due to the nature of his weapons.

Pooralay -- a short little fellow (shorter than shorter-than-average {g}), evidently in his late 40s early 50s. Poo is, umm, mysterious. {g} He seems to be an urban thug (from the plateaued Tafeltown); but is confident about out-stalking a juacuar in the forest. He is a killer, but goes out of his way to spare people's lives in a fight (sometimes). Quick, precise, lethal; loud and brusque--when he wants to be. Sometimes cold and calculating; sometimes hot-tempered. Sometimes ruthless; sometimes compassionate.

How much of it is an act? How much of _what_ of it is an act? Why is a thug searching for the Well at the End of the Wood? (What _is_ the Well at the End of the Wood??) Layers under layers...

If there is one thing certain about Pooralay, though, it is his loyalty to his friends.

_If_ one thing is certain...

Visual cues: Pooralay is _NOT_ a 'dwarf' or a 'hobbit', so get away from that right now. Joe Pesci in his prime is a good start. His black hair is always slicked back. (Some salt in there is okay; if it looks oiled or dyed, that's okay, too.) His face tends to be wrinkled a bit from smile marks, and maybe age, and maybe just because that's his physical type. He's usually very good humored.

Clothes: very grey, befitting a thug. He wears a well-tailored field-jacket (not a fighting jacket) with plenty of pockets. It isn't city-clothes, exactly, but he could visit a palace without looking entirely out of place. Thin black gloves.

Weapons: Pooralay is a knifeman, and fights with two long-handled daggers, holstered on his upper legs. He also uses throwing knives.

Poo's combat style is hard to describe. Short slightly stocky ninja-class?? Unlike Seifas he doesn't mind doing some leaps when he thinks it's a good idea. He's the only one of the main group who would really stand a chance against Seifas; maybe even an _even_ chance! (And he knows it. He and Seifas get along very well, though.) He's the kind of fighter who, seeing an enemy causing serious trouble across the field, would use throwing knives to dispose of other enemies along the way while rushing over to the fight--and would recover those knives, too, before arriving, without slowing down!


As you might have guessed from the exclamation points in my title for this post, I have a lot of fun working with Pooralay. {g!}