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More from The Boss
Dreamed up [quite literally] a new character the other day! Likely going to turn her into a DnD character if I ever play a campaign.
There's a LOT of heavily referenced art on here, I'm not afraid to admit that. Helped me learn how to draw her a lot quicker than trial-and-error! I take no credit for the referenced poses.
EDIT: July 2023
I finally got Bane's story down, here goes >:)
[Backstory incoming, old and slightly outdated]
Bane's village is nestled cozily in a deep mountain valley. It's not very big, as the world outside is teeming with dragons and other predators. It used to be bigger, but a slow, insidious cultural shift weeded out hundreds of civilians. The village, desperate to stop being hunted by the dragons any time they stepped outside their borders, turned to the church. At first, it was harmless. Rabbits would pray to their goddess, Orineu, for protection and guidance. [Orineu translated: 'Gold and Snow', a female rabbit from hundreds of years ago that had snow-white fur and golden hair. It is said that for her entire life, not a single rabbit died from dragon attacks.]
Over time, the leaders of the church grew greedy and black-hearted, and began exploiting the pious. Asking for more tithe, extorting favors, and eventually making the populous believe that 'if you do not hand over everything you own and your life to Orineu, you will be slaughtered.' They went as far as making certain 'nay-sayers'... 'disappear'. Telling the townsfolk that they were killed by dragons just outside the borders of the village because they were not faithful enough.
Over time, whispers arose of Orineu being reborn.
So all first-born daughters, ESPECIALLY ones who were born albino, were to be handed over to the church to be raised pious, kind, and submissive so that the goddess may inhabit their body, return to the world of the living, and deliver the village from the jaws of the drakes. Some believe she'll slay all the dragons, others that she will take the rabbits from the valley and deliver them elsewhere. Regardless of what the public believes... the church keeps these daughters under tight watch, and raises them with horrid stringency, never allowing them to see their parents more than once a year. [If their parents even visit them.]
The church requires that all female rabbits follow certain rules. Never cut your hair, never be promiscuous or 'unclean.' Never eat before everyone else has been fed. Never eat when the sun is up [only Orineu may do that]. Never bear a weapon. Your ears must be worn down, never up and alert. Tail wagging is seen as un-ladylike and is discouraged. Women are for bearing children. Etc etc.
The church believed Bane [who has forsaken her old name] would be Orineu's chosen vessel, because of her striking resemblance. Blonde, gold hair as bright as hers is very uncommon among her people. But, the church did not WANT her to be the new vessel. She was loud, dirty, rude, hard to control, and was always wandering out towards the borders when she wasn't being watched.
So... to avoid her being Orineu's chosen vessel, they berated her, were much more strict with her than her fellow janes, and generally ostracized her from her peers. She wasn't old enough to understand what 'abuse' was... but she was smart enough to know she was being treated differently.
One day when one of the head-janes [mistresses] was trying to tie her hair up and keep Bane still, she ran off. She'd had enough. She fled into the wilds, and the head of the church told them to leave her be. There was no helping her now.
She fled far, far into the mountain-wilds, until her legs gave out. She spent the night out in the untamed plains, after finding a rock to hole up under. Unfortunately, her cries drew... unwanted attention. Before morning could break, she heard a predator sniffing about. She panicked and ran, but whoever had found her was hot on her trail no matter how many clumsy 'escapes' Bane made. Eventually the chase made its way into a drake graveyard, littered with bones. Bane nearly made it out, but wound up catching her long hair on an old tooth, ripping her still half-made braid off. With her arm bleeding, and her hair now a mess, she hid under the skull of the biggest drake skeleton she could find.
The dragon that'd been hunting her wasn't far behind... but now their pace had slowed. They were skulking about the bones, sniffing and overturning them as they paced along. Closer and closer they drew to the young jane, so close that Bane could feel the drake's footfall gently shivering through the earth beneath her paws. She huddled down and braced for the worst.
But the drake was too busy staring at the shed braid of golden hair that Bane had left behind. The sun, just rising over the sandy hills, made it glitter and shine like the finest golden silk. The drake sniffed at it, along with the small spatter of shed blood Bane had left on the bones.
The dragon paused... and listened. It could hear Bane's fearful breathing and fluttering heart nearby, easily within reach. But instead of crushing the massive skull and snapping up such an easy snack, the drake speaks.
She asks for the jane's name. No answer. She asks if she is from the nearby village. No answer. She asks if the jane... is a child.
Bane almost answers, but before she can, the drake speaks again.
She comments that she is wise for staying silent. But she can tell that she is a child.
... And how could a mother bring herself slay a defenseless child?
After a long pause, she tells the jane 'I will not kill you this day. You are merely a pup, not even a proper morsel, there would be no point in killing you.' Though, there's something soft about her voice. 'I sense a strength in you that I do not see in others of your kind. A fire that could blaze across the wilds and keep you safe where others would fall to the blade of even the clumsiest fangs. Hone that strength, stoke this fire. I want to see what you are capable of, little one.'
She walks closer.
'But know this. I have the scent of your lifeblood deep within me, now. Should you waste my blessing, and quench this fire within, I will devour you the next time we meet. I will hunt you again in ten years' time, and when I do... I expect you to give me a hunt worthy of the annals of history. If you cannot, you will be devoured. If you can... I promise to make you the most feared, powerful rabbit in the valley OR the wilds. Go now. Return to the wilds, or your village, or wherever you wish. But wherever you go, I will find you.'
And she leaves Bane alone, to fend for herself. When Bane creeps from her hiding place, her braid is gone... as is the drake.
Her 'body' returns to the village. But her heart and mind remain in the Wilds.
And the rest is history.
[STORY SUMMARY [SPOILERS]!]
The church thought Bane [previous name abandoned] would be the descendent and new vessel for the spirit of Orineu: their 'holy saviour' goddess figure. Like Orineu did in the past, the village and the church is counting on her reincarnation to deliver them from the increasingly-hungry jaws of the drakes that plague the valley.
But Bane was nothing like Orineu. She was crass, vulgar, dirty, and never followed the rules. The church decided she was not fit to be Ori's vessel, and began to ostracize her from her young female peers. Her best friend, [decide later, 'X' for now], was her only solace. She would sneak away from the higher-ups and mistresses to keep Bane company when she was being unfairly separated from her peers and punished.
One day, Bane ran away from her convent, into the wilds. She was found by a dragoness, Kaldaro, who hunted her down into a valley of drake skeletons. In the chase, Bane nearly lost her braid of golden hair, which caught on a sharp dragon tooth. After scenting her hair and blood, Kaldaro stopped and spoke to the child. She promised her that 'I shall hunt you again in 10 years. If you can best me, I will take you under my wing and make you the most feared beast in the valley or the wilds.'
Bane tried to go back to her convent, to find out that not even a week later, she'd been pronounced dead. X tells her that the church higher-ups had already replaced her with... her. X wasn't sure if she believed she was Orineu's reincarnation... but that she wouldn't know until she was an adult. Bane, furious and conflicted, runs off to be adopted into the village... in secret. She's taken in by the local apothecary, who hides her away after hearing her story.
Bane grows into a powerful young jane, who trains to be a survivalist for the next 9 years. At 21, she hears the descendent of Orineu has been officially chosen, and that they will be christened that night. She attends in disguise, and watches her best friend, X, be sworn in as 'Orineu'.
But, as they get ready to burn her to try and bring on Orineu's spirit, Bane objects and causes a scene. The villagers are shocked and appalled by this jane's outburst, and the fact that she looks so much like Ori, despite X being sworn in before their eyes. Why was a less striking individual being sworn as Ori? Why not this jane?
Bane grabs X and drags her into an alley to make sure she is okay, but X seems frightened of her. She reveals who she is, but X seems more afraid. Bane is hurt and confused, asking why she's afraid. She knows her, they were best friends. X lets it slip that the church warned her of Bane, that every Jane knew her name as a cautionary tale, and that if she were ever to return as a vengeful spirit, that they were never to speak to her, or they would be doomed.
Before anyone from the church can properly ID her, Bane runs away into the wilds, chest burning in agony and betrayal.
Caught off-guard in her agony and grief over what's going to happen to X, Bane nearly loses her life to a drake attack. It cuts her arm deeply, leaving nasty scars that permanently part her fur.
After bandaging herself, Bane resolves to find Kaldaro early. The tenth year is almost over... but she figures she'll get the upper hand if she attacks early.
After tracking Kaldaro down, the two fight. Though... it doesn't look like a 'fight' so much as Bane attacking Kaldaro relentlessly while Kaldaro watches her carefully, dodging every attack. She looks at her old scars, her freshly bandaged wound, her movements, weapon mastery, everything.
Finally, she pins Bane and stops her assault. Bane expects death, but instead is met with a tired old drake's story of Orineu... her best friend.
Kaldaro's old mate was a cruel drake. He killed their son for being 'weak', and demanded that Kaldaro step down as the leader of the valley drakes so they may slaughter the rabbits and enslave them to forever feed their ravenous hunger. Orineu, a rabbit of the valley, and Kaldaro, a grieving mother, put an end to his tyrranical ambition, and slayed him in the valley of bones, where Kaldaro and Bane 'met.'. His very tooth is what nearly cut off Bane's braid ten years ago, and what made up the blade she wore on her chest.
Kaldaro's story shattered Bane's entire world, as she found out that Orineu did not slay drakes of old. She worked with them, befriended them, and made a long-standing peace that over 100's of years, had been forgotten by both rabbit and drakes alike.
Kaldaro takes Bane under her wing, and promises to keep her safe. But Bane's heart is aching to make sure that X is okay, despite the betrayal she felt. Kaldaro hates the thought of going back to the village, but she helps Bane sneak in once the church elites have loosened their security. Bane, who has now been turned into a horrific ghost story among the villagers, sneaks in and finds X. They talk, and Bane discovers that because someone [she] objected to X's crowning as Orineu, that her fate may have been altered, and they must check into her ancestry more carefully before they can officially test her. Bane begs her to leave, X resists, and is only snapped out of her brain-washed mindset when Bane gets it through to her that 'either you become Ori, or you die. And Orineu WASN'T a goddess, she was just a jane like them. There is no reincarnation.'
Though her world is shattered, X had her doubts about the centuries-old practice of 'testing' young janes by burning them to make way for Ori's spirit. She breaks down, fearing for her life, and Bane helps her escape after they reconcile.
They are stopped just within the city walls, by the church officials that made Bane's life a living hell. They attack her, restrain her, and beat her. She fights for her life, but is unable to escape from them until she sees them threatening X. An unbridled rage, ripped raw from her chest from everything in her past coming to a head, bubbles into a furious new magic. Flames erupt from Bane's jaws as she burns the priest alive, bringing upon them all the agony that they've caused so many young janes through the church. Bane and X escape to Kaldaro, who flies away with them into the wilds.
After talking, they reach an impasse of what to do. Bane feels responsible for the village, if she's truly the descendent of Ori, and wants to burn the church to the ground. X wants to free the janes in the convent, and to liberate the village. However... Kaldaro makes a compelling point that 'none of this is your responsibility. You are two young janes, barely blossoming into adults, and you cannot even rescue yourselves right now. You have much to unpack before you could ever hope to change an entire way of life for a whole village, so the best they can do right now is SURVIVE and figure themselves out FIRST. There is no shame in survival.'
They both argue, but Bane, who's lived her life fighting for the past 10 years, backs down first. She agrees that this problem with the church is bigger than the both of them... and they need to heal before they can ever bandage someone else.
Bane asks if they can at least take 1 person with them, the apothecary that took her in as a child and raised her. Kaldaro seems hesitant before Bane jokingly tells her 'maybe they can help you with that bad hip of yours.'
The four leave the valley, and disappear into the wilds...
For now.
There's a LOT of heavily referenced art on here, I'm not afraid to admit that. Helped me learn how to draw her a lot quicker than trial-and-error! I take no credit for the referenced poses.
EDIT: July 2023
I finally got Bane's story down, here goes >:)
CW: Religious abuse, cult behavior, trauma, death, sacrifices
[Backstory incoming, old and slightly outdated]
Bane's village is nestled cozily in a deep mountain valley. It's not very big, as the world outside is teeming with dragons and other predators. It used to be bigger, but a slow, insidious cultural shift weeded out hundreds of civilians. The village, desperate to stop being hunted by the dragons any time they stepped outside their borders, turned to the church. At first, it was harmless. Rabbits would pray to their goddess, Orineu, for protection and guidance. [Orineu translated: 'Gold and Snow', a female rabbit from hundreds of years ago that had snow-white fur and golden hair. It is said that for her entire life, not a single rabbit died from dragon attacks.]
Over time, the leaders of the church grew greedy and black-hearted, and began exploiting the pious. Asking for more tithe, extorting favors, and eventually making the populous believe that 'if you do not hand over everything you own and your life to Orineu, you will be slaughtered.' They went as far as making certain 'nay-sayers'... 'disappear'. Telling the townsfolk that they were killed by dragons just outside the borders of the village because they were not faithful enough.
Over time, whispers arose of Orineu being reborn.
So all first-born daughters, ESPECIALLY ones who were born albino, were to be handed over to the church to be raised pious, kind, and submissive so that the goddess may inhabit their body, return to the world of the living, and deliver the village from the jaws of the drakes. Some believe she'll slay all the dragons, others that she will take the rabbits from the valley and deliver them elsewhere. Regardless of what the public believes... the church keeps these daughters under tight watch, and raises them with horrid stringency, never allowing them to see their parents more than once a year. [If their parents even visit them.]
The church requires that all female rabbits follow certain rules. Never cut your hair, never be promiscuous or 'unclean.' Never eat before everyone else has been fed. Never eat when the sun is up [only Orineu may do that]. Never bear a weapon. Your ears must be worn down, never up and alert. Tail wagging is seen as un-ladylike and is discouraged. Women are for bearing children. Etc etc.
The church believed Bane [who has forsaken her old name] would be Orineu's chosen vessel, because of her striking resemblance. Blonde, gold hair as bright as hers is very uncommon among her people. But, the church did not WANT her to be the new vessel. She was loud, dirty, rude, hard to control, and was always wandering out towards the borders when she wasn't being watched.
So... to avoid her being Orineu's chosen vessel, they berated her, were much more strict with her than her fellow janes, and generally ostracized her from her peers. She wasn't old enough to understand what 'abuse' was... but she was smart enough to know she was being treated differently.
One day when one of the head-janes [mistresses] was trying to tie her hair up and keep Bane still, she ran off. She'd had enough. She fled into the wilds, and the head of the church told them to leave her be. There was no helping her now.
She fled far, far into the mountain-wilds, until her legs gave out. She spent the night out in the untamed plains, after finding a rock to hole up under. Unfortunately, her cries drew... unwanted attention. Before morning could break, she heard a predator sniffing about. She panicked and ran, but whoever had found her was hot on her trail no matter how many clumsy 'escapes' Bane made. Eventually the chase made its way into a drake graveyard, littered with bones. Bane nearly made it out, but wound up catching her long hair on an old tooth, ripping her still half-made braid off. With her arm bleeding, and her hair now a mess, she hid under the skull of the biggest drake skeleton she could find.
The dragon that'd been hunting her wasn't far behind... but now their pace had slowed. They were skulking about the bones, sniffing and overturning them as they paced along. Closer and closer they drew to the young jane, so close that Bane could feel the drake's footfall gently shivering through the earth beneath her paws. She huddled down and braced for the worst.
But the drake was too busy staring at the shed braid of golden hair that Bane had left behind. The sun, just rising over the sandy hills, made it glitter and shine like the finest golden silk. The drake sniffed at it, along with the small spatter of shed blood Bane had left on the bones.
The dragon paused... and listened. It could hear Bane's fearful breathing and fluttering heart nearby, easily within reach. But instead of crushing the massive skull and snapping up such an easy snack, the drake speaks.
She asks for the jane's name. No answer. She asks if she is from the nearby village. No answer. She asks if the jane... is a child.
Bane almost answers, but before she can, the drake speaks again.
She comments that she is wise for staying silent. But she can tell that she is a child.
... And how could a mother bring herself slay a defenseless child?
After a long pause, she tells the jane 'I will not kill you this day. You are merely a pup, not even a proper morsel, there would be no point in killing you.' Though, there's something soft about her voice. 'I sense a strength in you that I do not see in others of your kind. A fire that could blaze across the wilds and keep you safe where others would fall to the blade of even the clumsiest fangs. Hone that strength, stoke this fire. I want to see what you are capable of, little one.'
She walks closer.
'But know this. I have the scent of your lifeblood deep within me, now. Should you waste my blessing, and quench this fire within, I will devour you the next time we meet. I will hunt you again in ten years' time, and when I do... I expect you to give me a hunt worthy of the annals of history. If you cannot, you will be devoured. If you can... I promise to make you the most feared, powerful rabbit in the valley OR the wilds. Go now. Return to the wilds, or your village, or wherever you wish. But wherever you go, I will find you.'
And she leaves Bane alone, to fend for herself. When Bane creeps from her hiding place, her braid is gone... as is the drake.
Her 'body' returns to the village. But her heart and mind remain in the Wilds.
And the rest is history.
[STORY SUMMARY [SPOILERS]!]
The church thought Bane [previous name abandoned] would be the descendent and new vessel for the spirit of Orineu: their 'holy saviour' goddess figure. Like Orineu did in the past, the village and the church is counting on her reincarnation to deliver them from the increasingly-hungry jaws of the drakes that plague the valley.
But Bane was nothing like Orineu. She was crass, vulgar, dirty, and never followed the rules. The church decided she was not fit to be Ori's vessel, and began to ostracize her from her young female peers. Her best friend, [decide later, 'X' for now], was her only solace. She would sneak away from the higher-ups and mistresses to keep Bane company when she was being unfairly separated from her peers and punished.
One day, Bane ran away from her convent, into the wilds. She was found by a dragoness, Kaldaro, who hunted her down into a valley of drake skeletons. In the chase, Bane nearly lost her braid of golden hair, which caught on a sharp dragon tooth. After scenting her hair and blood, Kaldaro stopped and spoke to the child. She promised her that 'I shall hunt you again in 10 years. If you can best me, I will take you under my wing and make you the most feared beast in the valley or the wilds.'
Bane tried to go back to her convent, to find out that not even a week later, she'd been pronounced dead. X tells her that the church higher-ups had already replaced her with... her. X wasn't sure if she believed she was Orineu's reincarnation... but that she wouldn't know until she was an adult. Bane, furious and conflicted, runs off to be adopted into the village... in secret. She's taken in by the local apothecary, who hides her away after hearing her story.
Bane grows into a powerful young jane, who trains to be a survivalist for the next 9 years. At 21, she hears the descendent of Orineu has been officially chosen, and that they will be christened that night. She attends in disguise, and watches her best friend, X, be sworn in as 'Orineu'.
But, as they get ready to burn her to try and bring on Orineu's spirit, Bane objects and causes a scene. The villagers are shocked and appalled by this jane's outburst, and the fact that she looks so much like Ori, despite X being sworn in before their eyes. Why was a less striking individual being sworn as Ori? Why not this jane?
Bane grabs X and drags her into an alley to make sure she is okay, but X seems frightened of her. She reveals who she is, but X seems more afraid. Bane is hurt and confused, asking why she's afraid. She knows her, they were best friends. X lets it slip that the church warned her of Bane, that every Jane knew her name as a cautionary tale, and that if she were ever to return as a vengeful spirit, that they were never to speak to her, or they would be doomed.
Before anyone from the church can properly ID her, Bane runs away into the wilds, chest burning in agony and betrayal.
Caught off-guard in her agony and grief over what's going to happen to X, Bane nearly loses her life to a drake attack. It cuts her arm deeply, leaving nasty scars that permanently part her fur.
After bandaging herself, Bane resolves to find Kaldaro early. The tenth year is almost over... but she figures she'll get the upper hand if she attacks early.
After tracking Kaldaro down, the two fight. Though... it doesn't look like a 'fight' so much as Bane attacking Kaldaro relentlessly while Kaldaro watches her carefully, dodging every attack. She looks at her old scars, her freshly bandaged wound, her movements, weapon mastery, everything.
Finally, she pins Bane and stops her assault. Bane expects death, but instead is met with a tired old drake's story of Orineu... her best friend.
Kaldaro's old mate was a cruel drake. He killed their son for being 'weak', and demanded that Kaldaro step down as the leader of the valley drakes so they may slaughter the rabbits and enslave them to forever feed their ravenous hunger. Orineu, a rabbit of the valley, and Kaldaro, a grieving mother, put an end to his tyrranical ambition, and slayed him in the valley of bones, where Kaldaro and Bane 'met.'. His very tooth is what nearly cut off Bane's braid ten years ago, and what made up the blade she wore on her chest.
Kaldaro's story shattered Bane's entire world, as she found out that Orineu did not slay drakes of old. She worked with them, befriended them, and made a long-standing peace that over 100's of years, had been forgotten by both rabbit and drakes alike.
Kaldaro takes Bane under her wing, and promises to keep her safe. But Bane's heart is aching to make sure that X is okay, despite the betrayal she felt. Kaldaro hates the thought of going back to the village, but she helps Bane sneak in once the church elites have loosened their security. Bane, who has now been turned into a horrific ghost story among the villagers, sneaks in and finds X. They talk, and Bane discovers that because someone [she] objected to X's crowning as Orineu, that her fate may have been altered, and they must check into her ancestry more carefully before they can officially test her. Bane begs her to leave, X resists, and is only snapped out of her brain-washed mindset when Bane gets it through to her that 'either you become Ori, or you die. And Orineu WASN'T a goddess, she was just a jane like them. There is no reincarnation.'
Though her world is shattered, X had her doubts about the centuries-old practice of 'testing' young janes by burning them to make way for Ori's spirit. She breaks down, fearing for her life, and Bane helps her escape after they reconcile.
They are stopped just within the city walls, by the church officials that made Bane's life a living hell. They attack her, restrain her, and beat her. She fights for her life, but is unable to escape from them until she sees them threatening X. An unbridled rage, ripped raw from her chest from everything in her past coming to a head, bubbles into a furious new magic. Flames erupt from Bane's jaws as she burns the priest alive, bringing upon them all the agony that they've caused so many young janes through the church. Bane and X escape to Kaldaro, who flies away with them into the wilds.
After talking, they reach an impasse of what to do. Bane feels responsible for the village, if she's truly the descendent of Ori, and wants to burn the church to the ground. X wants to free the janes in the convent, and to liberate the village. However... Kaldaro makes a compelling point that 'none of this is your responsibility. You are two young janes, barely blossoming into adults, and you cannot even rescue yourselves right now. You have much to unpack before you could ever hope to change an entire way of life for a whole village, so the best they can do right now is SURVIVE and figure themselves out FIRST. There is no shame in survival.'
They both argue, but Bane, who's lived her life fighting for the past 10 years, backs down first. She agrees that this problem with the church is bigger than the both of them... and they need to heal before they can ever bandage someone else.
Bane asks if they can at least take 1 person with them, the apothecary that took her in as a child and raised her. Kaldaro seems hesitant before Bane jokingly tells her 'maybe they can help you with that bad hip of yours.'
The four leave the valley, and disappear into the wilds...
For now.
Category Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Rabbit / Hare
Size 1854 x 1029px
File Size 1.57 MB
First of all: love how you mention your references here and it's very inspiring, that's lovely to see.
Second but more important:
This is a very, very intriguing sounding backstory for a character! Love the concept of someone being hunted down by a higher force, avoiding it through trickery and cunning and finally ending up in their fangs, but in a different way than they first anticipated!
If the question is alright: how did she manage to draw the attention of said dragon so she's promised a death by the jaws/claws/might of said dragon?
Oh and obviously: absolutely gorgeous piece of artwork! The influence with Judy is visible, but she's very pretty on her own, unique and definitely a cool character design!
Second but more important:
This is a very, very intriguing sounding backstory for a character! Love the concept of someone being hunted down by a higher force, avoiding it through trickery and cunning and finally ending up in their fangs, but in a different way than they first anticipated!
If the question is alright: how did she manage to draw the attention of said dragon so she's promised a death by the jaws/claws/might of said dragon?
Oh and obviously: absolutely gorgeous piece of artwork! The influence with Judy is visible, but she's very pretty on her own, unique and definitely a cool character design!
1: Thank you! A recent-ish incident made me realize I really should credit any heavy referencing I do, even if it's from a movie or something haha. Heavy referencing shouldn't be something people shy away from, so long as credit is given to the original! It's a great learning tool :3
2: THANK YOU I was super fascinated with the 'plot' the dream dropped in my lap, I couldn't not make it into something.
I am MORE than okay with that sort of question! I usually love talking about OC lore hahaha
OKAY SO bear with me, the set-up is imperative.~
Bane's village is nestled cozily in a deep mountain valley. It's not very big, as the world outside is teeming with dragons and other predators. It used to be bigger, but a slow, insidious cultural shift weeded out hundreds of civilians. The village, desperate to stop being hunted by the dragons any time they stepped outside their borders, turned to the church. At first, it was harmless. Rabbits would pray to their goddess, Orineu, for protection and guidance. [Orineu translated: 'Gold and Snow', a female rabbit from hundreds of years ago that had snow-white fur and golden hair. It is said that for her entire life, not a single rabbit died from dragon attacks.]
Over time, the leaders of the church grew greedy and black-hearted, and began exploiting the pious. Asking for more tithe, extorting favors, and eventually making the populous believe that 'if you do not hand over everything you own and your life to Orineu, you will be slaughtered.' They went as far as making certain 'nay-sayers'... 'disappear'. Telling the townsfolk that they were killed by dragons just outside the borders of the village because they were not faithful enough.
Over time, whispers arose of Orineu being reborn.
So all first-born daughters, ESPECIALLY ones who were born albino, were to be handed over to the church to be raised pious, kind, and submissive so that the goddess may inhabit their body, return to the world of the living, and deliver the village from the jaws of the drakes. Some believe she'll slay all the dragons, others that she will take them from the valley and deliver them elsewhere. Regardless of what the public believes... the church keeps these daughters under tight watch, and raises them with horrid stringency, never allowing them to see their parents more than once a year. [If their parents even visit them.]
The church requires that all female rabbits follow certain rules. Never cut your hair, never be promiscuous or 'unclean.' Never eat before everyone else has been fed. Never eat when the sun is up [only Orineu may do that]. Never bear a weapon. Your ears must be worn down, never up and alert. Tail wagging is seen as un-ladylike and is discouraged. Women are for bearing children. Etc etc.
The church believed Bane [who has forsaken her old name] would be Orineu's chosen vessel, because of her striking resemblance. Blonde, gold hair as bright as hers is very uncommon among her people. But, the church did not WANT her to be the new vessel. She was loud, dirty, rude, hard to control, and was always wandering out towards the borders when she wasn't being watched.
So... to avoid her being Orineu's chosen vessel, they berated her, were much more strict with her than her fellow janes, and generally ostracized her from her peers. She wasn't old enough to understand what 'abuse' was... but she was smart enough to know she was being treated differently.
One day when one of the head-janes [mistresses] was trying to tie her hair up and keep Bane still, she ran off. She'd had enough. She fled into the wilds, and the head of the church told them to leave her be. There was no helping her now.
She fled far, far into the mountain-wilds, until her legs gave out. She spent the nights out in the untamed plains, after finding a rock to hole up under. Unfortunately, her cries drew... unwanted attention. Before morning could break, she heard a predator sniffing about. She panicked and ran, but whoever had found her was hot on her trail no matter how many clumsy 'escapes' Bane made. Eventually the chase made its way into a drake graveyard, littered with bones. Bane nearly made it out, but wound up catching her long hair on an old tooth, ripping her still half-made braid off. With her arm bleeding, and her hair now a mess, she hid under the skull of the biggest drake skeleton she could find.
The dragon that'd been hunting her wasn't far behind... but now their pace had slowed. They were skulking about the bones, sniffing and overturning them as they paced along. Closer and closer they drew to the young jane, so close that Bane could feel the drake's footfall gently shivering through the earth beneath her paws. She huddled down and braced for the worst.
But the drake was too busy staring at the shed braid of golden hair that Bane had left behind. The sun, just rising over the sandy hills, made it glitter and shine like the finest golden silk. The drake sniffed at it, along with the small spatter of shed blood Bane had left on the bones.
The dragon paused... and listened. It could hear Bane's fearful breathing and fluttering heart nearby, easily within reach. But instead of crushing the massive skull and snapping up such an easy snack, the drake speaks.
She asks for the jane's name. No answer. She asks if she is from the nearby village. No answer. She asks if the jane... is a child.
Bane almost answers, but before she can, the drake speaks again.
She comments that she is wise for staying silent. But she can tell that she is a child.
... And how could a mother bring herself slay a defenseless child?
After a long pause, she tells the jane 'I will not kill you this day. You are merely a pup, not even a proper morsel, there would be no point in killing you.' Though, there's something soft about her voice. 'I sense a strength in you that I do not see in others of your kind. A fire that could blaze across the wilds and keep you safe where others would fall to the blade of even the clumsiest fangs. Hone that strength, stoke this fire. I want to see what you are capable of, little one.'
She walks closer.
'But know this. I have the scent of your lifeblood deep within me, now. Should you waste my blessing, and quench this fire within, I will devour you the next time we meet. I will hunt you again in ten years' time, and when I do... I expect you to give me a hunt worthy of the annals of history. If you cannot, you will be devoured. If you can... I promise to make you the most feared, powerful rabbit in the valley OR the wilds. Go now. Return to the wilds, or your village, or wherever you wish. But wherever you go, I will find you.'
And she leaves Bane alone, to fend for herself. When Bane creeps from her hiding place, her braid is gone... as is the drake.
Her 'body' returns to the village. But her heart and mind remain in the Wilds.
And the rest is history.
[Apologies for the long answer, people asking about Lore stuff is like uncorking a bottle LMAO]
2: THANK YOU I was super fascinated with the 'plot' the dream dropped in my lap, I couldn't not make it into something.
I am MORE than okay with that sort of question! I usually love talking about OC lore hahaha
OKAY SO bear with me, the set-up is imperative.~
Bane's village is nestled cozily in a deep mountain valley. It's not very big, as the world outside is teeming with dragons and other predators. It used to be bigger, but a slow, insidious cultural shift weeded out hundreds of civilians. The village, desperate to stop being hunted by the dragons any time they stepped outside their borders, turned to the church. At first, it was harmless. Rabbits would pray to their goddess, Orineu, for protection and guidance. [Orineu translated: 'Gold and Snow', a female rabbit from hundreds of years ago that had snow-white fur and golden hair. It is said that for her entire life, not a single rabbit died from dragon attacks.]
Over time, the leaders of the church grew greedy and black-hearted, and began exploiting the pious. Asking for more tithe, extorting favors, and eventually making the populous believe that 'if you do not hand over everything you own and your life to Orineu, you will be slaughtered.' They went as far as making certain 'nay-sayers'... 'disappear'. Telling the townsfolk that they were killed by dragons just outside the borders of the village because they were not faithful enough.
Over time, whispers arose of Orineu being reborn.
So all first-born daughters, ESPECIALLY ones who were born albino, were to be handed over to the church to be raised pious, kind, and submissive so that the goddess may inhabit their body, return to the world of the living, and deliver the village from the jaws of the drakes. Some believe she'll slay all the dragons, others that she will take them from the valley and deliver them elsewhere. Regardless of what the public believes... the church keeps these daughters under tight watch, and raises them with horrid stringency, never allowing them to see their parents more than once a year. [If their parents even visit them.]
The church requires that all female rabbits follow certain rules. Never cut your hair, never be promiscuous or 'unclean.' Never eat before everyone else has been fed. Never eat when the sun is up [only Orineu may do that]. Never bear a weapon. Your ears must be worn down, never up and alert. Tail wagging is seen as un-ladylike and is discouraged. Women are for bearing children. Etc etc.
The church believed Bane [who has forsaken her old name] would be Orineu's chosen vessel, because of her striking resemblance. Blonde, gold hair as bright as hers is very uncommon among her people. But, the church did not WANT her to be the new vessel. She was loud, dirty, rude, hard to control, and was always wandering out towards the borders when she wasn't being watched.
So... to avoid her being Orineu's chosen vessel, they berated her, were much more strict with her than her fellow janes, and generally ostracized her from her peers. She wasn't old enough to understand what 'abuse' was... but she was smart enough to know she was being treated differently.
One day when one of the head-janes [mistresses] was trying to tie her hair up and keep Bane still, she ran off. She'd had enough. She fled into the wilds, and the head of the church told them to leave her be. There was no helping her now.
She fled far, far into the mountain-wilds, until her legs gave out. She spent the nights out in the untamed plains, after finding a rock to hole up under. Unfortunately, her cries drew... unwanted attention. Before morning could break, she heard a predator sniffing about. She panicked and ran, but whoever had found her was hot on her trail no matter how many clumsy 'escapes' Bane made. Eventually the chase made its way into a drake graveyard, littered with bones. Bane nearly made it out, but wound up catching her long hair on an old tooth, ripping her still half-made braid off. With her arm bleeding, and her hair now a mess, she hid under the skull of the biggest drake skeleton she could find.
The dragon that'd been hunting her wasn't far behind... but now their pace had slowed. They were skulking about the bones, sniffing and overturning them as they paced along. Closer and closer they drew to the young jane, so close that Bane could feel the drake's footfall gently shivering through the earth beneath her paws. She huddled down and braced for the worst.
But the drake was too busy staring at the shed braid of golden hair that Bane had left behind. The sun, just rising over the sandy hills, made it glitter and shine like the finest golden silk. The drake sniffed at it, along with the small spatter of shed blood Bane had left on the bones.
The dragon paused... and listened. It could hear Bane's fearful breathing and fluttering heart nearby, easily within reach. But instead of crushing the massive skull and snapping up such an easy snack, the drake speaks.
She asks for the jane's name. No answer. She asks if she is from the nearby village. No answer. She asks if the jane... is a child.
Bane almost answers, but before she can, the drake speaks again.
She comments that she is wise for staying silent. But she can tell that she is a child.
... And how could a mother bring herself slay a defenseless child?
After a long pause, she tells the jane 'I will not kill you this day. You are merely a pup, not even a proper morsel, there would be no point in killing you.' Though, there's something soft about her voice. 'I sense a strength in you that I do not see in others of your kind. A fire that could blaze across the wilds and keep you safe where others would fall to the blade of even the clumsiest fangs. Hone that strength, stoke this fire. I want to see what you are capable of, little one.'
She walks closer.
'But know this. I have the scent of your lifeblood deep within me, now. Should you waste my blessing, and quench this fire within, I will devour you the next time we meet. I will hunt you again in ten years' time, and when I do... I expect you to give me a hunt worthy of the annals of history. If you cannot, you will be devoured. If you can... I promise to make you the most feared, powerful rabbit in the valley OR the wilds. Go now. Return to the wilds, or your village, or wherever you wish. But wherever you go, I will find you.'
And she leaves Bane alone, to fend for herself. When Bane creeps from her hiding place, her braid is gone... as is the drake.
Her 'body' returns to the village. But her heart and mind remain in the Wilds.
And the rest is history.
[Apologies for the long answer, people asking about Lore stuff is like uncorking a bottle LMAO]
It's taken me SO long to respond, but I have to because your answer is so elaborate and I am in love with that!
I am pretyping this before reading the backstory, but I read the "uncorking a bottle" thing and I absolutely adore that. I love creativity (I'm a furry, so d'uh) and reading the thought that goes into a character, even in prose, is wonderful!
So...
Now I shall consoom and return with more lines!
Post read:
THAT WAS AMAZING!
Thank you very, very much for sharing this story with us <3
I am pretyping this before reading the backstory, but I read the "uncorking a bottle" thing and I absolutely adore that. I love creativity (I'm a furry, so d'uh) and reading the thought that goes into a character, even in prose, is wonderful!
So...
Now I shall consoom and return with more lines!
Post read:
THAT WAS AMAZING!
Thank you very, very much for sharing this story with us <3
The much longer answer is now right above your comment on the page, BUT! The short answer is:
The drake was a mother, and couldn't bring herself to kill a child, especially when she wasn't hungry. That, and she seemed to have other motives that Bane couldn't have known about. Regardless, the mother drake wanted to see if this pup could learn to fight for her right to live, instead of hiding away in a hole in the valley like all her other kind.
The drake was a mother, and couldn't bring herself to kill a child, especially when she wasn't hungry. That, and she seemed to have other motives that Bane couldn't have known about. Regardless, the mother drake wanted to see if this pup could learn to fight for her right to live, instead of hiding away in a hole in the valley like all her other kind.
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