Reporting In - And Get to Know Veshal!

Sorry about the recent lack of new content! I have been blessed with a few commissions over the last two months, and those have absorbed all of the energy and working ability my weak little body can muster. My health has experienced an unfortunate downturn, but luckily, I think I am on my way back up.

My family has had a VR headset lying around for a few years, and it hasn't been working for quite some time. Last Wednesday, I finally factory-reset it and got it working. I bought myself Beat Saber, something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and by so doing provided myself a means of light, low-intensity, and customizable exercise. Exercise has been difficult for me for a while, and having the opportunity for a little activity every day is a huge blessing. Already my energy is up, even if my arms are sore.

I've been doing my classic PC-gaming in my free time to recharge, as well. Anyone who knows me knows that I love my narrative RPGs, and there's a lot to learn about tone and storytelling from such games. I intend to talk about them more in future posts (and YouTube videos--which won't be coming until after I've finished this round of commissions, but will come!).

The vivrialics article is still in-progress. It's long and requires a looooot of editing, but it is on its way!

There's something I'd like to start doing in these posts. Anyone who reads my blog posts almost certainly follows me on social media and already sees and probably interacts with my posts. However, between Twitter's character limit and Instagram's heavy focus on images and videos, social media sites aren't the best for sharing lore and character information. I'd like to share more about the characters of Bloodkin: Sins of the Mother, in a place where they're easy to find and offer as much (spoilerless) information as you could want to start getting to know these lovely boys and girls.

Meet Veshal!

What better place to start than with the main character? Introducing (properly), Veshal Garmar! I should warn you, there is some potentially uncomfortable stuff in his bio; Bloodkin is a tragic and at times dark story, so if you see something that you don't want to read about, feel free to nope out.

At 17 years old, Veshal is considered an adult by arkhel standards, but unfortunately, few people are willing to see him as a "real man." He is what is known as a "half-breed," as his mother was a Chekorusian arkhel and his father was an Emeralian arkhel. Mixed-breed arkhel are sterile and therefore often seen as less valuable to society than their purebred counterparts. At the same time, they are highly fetishized, especially ones that are not considered "ugly" for their mixed appearance, and often find more acceptance in society by participating in sex work, especially the young men (as females are sexually dominant among arkhel).

Additionally, Veshal belongs to a small religious sect known as Elamsharanism, named after the mother goddess Elamshara. Veshal converted at age 14, enamored with the idea of a god who loved him like a child, wanted him to be happy, and saw him and his body as no different from a purebred's. This is a Syennean sect, and Syenneanism in all its forms is still seen by many Tanyarans as a foreign religion. Converting is treated as an act of severe blasphemy, rejecting one's ancestors and the true gods of nature as believed in by Tanyaran Amicticism. However, even among Syenneans, Elamsharans are considered strange, even outsiders. Elamsharanism preaches pacifism, which directly opposes Tanyaran values of martial strength and military might, especially among men. Other "strange" beliefs include the vital importance of honesty and oath-keeping; charity even to the lower, kinless caste; and chastity before marriage (which is "fine enough for nourts," but a bit weird to many arkhel). While more broadly acceptable than pacifism, these tenets are not as highly valued in Tanyaran society as they are in this small religion, and as such they are seen as a bit odd and old-fashioned.

Veshal doesn't help his case by dressing "like an Alvitan," in styles that do not adhere to the culture around him. He does so in part because he simply prefers the northern styles, but also because of a deeply ingrained fear of letting his body be seen. Throughout his youth, he was keenly aware that most people saw him as incomplete, since he was a half-breed, but potentially valuable in sex work. Complete strangers and family friends alike seemed to expect a very specific career path from him well before he reached adulthood, a career path that others talked about mockingly and suggestively, and it made him very uncomfortable. Accustomed to being objectified, he has developed a deep shame and discomfort with exposing any part of his body. On top of that, he has some scars that he would rather keep hidden (the specifics of which are not shown in the above illustration, to avoid spoilers).

Once he reached adulthood at age 16, he enrolled in the Te'an Academy of Vivrialics, a school dedicated to science and especially vivrialics. He is not the vivrialically Brightest person, but slightly above average and plenty capable of manipulating Threads and shaping krialin. He is specifically studying the medical applications of vivrialics and wants to become a healer, hoping to help people and offer aid to the needy and often left-behind kinless. Most of his fellow students see him as an outsider, but he is tolerated.

The main exception is Gulnel Iltelsan, about a year older than Veshal and apparently the pinnacle of what a young Tanyaran man should be. Nevertheless, although he sees Veshal's behaviors and beliefs as peculiar and "unmasculine," he accepts them as quirks and offers friendship without judgement. They met soon after Veshal arrived at the Academy, and they have been friends ever since; although he is too shy to admit it, Veshal values Gulnel immensely and sees him as his first and only true friend.

Poor Veshal is a lot more traumatized than he lets on, but he pushes through, wanting nothing more than to spread love and kindness to the lost, the lonely, and the ostracized. He wants to make a difference in his society, uplifting the downtrodden kinless. That will be an extremely difficult task, especially being perceived as an outsider himself. The question of Sins of the Mother is, does he have the determination and strength of will to carry out his dreams in a world that may shun him for it? And if helping others requires a change in himself, will he be able to choose between his ideals and his identity?

So that's Veshal in a nutshell. It's not a whole bio (some things will have to be revealed in time, in the comic itself), and it's not properly edited, but I hope it has offered some interesting insights into his backstory, his character, and his awkward place in Tanyaran society. If you have any questions about him, feel free to ask me on social media, or comment on this blog post!