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More beautiful pieces from Xander._.art!
The otter, Islah de Paradisio. Gotta love an athletic, cheerful optimist with a hero complex, right?
The oceanside village that Islah was born to was famous for one thing, something that was relatively unheard of in the rest of the world: it was peaceful. Genuinely so. Sure, it had the occasional monster or family drama to shake things up, but they happened so infrequently compared to anywhere else in the world that the place was idyllic. Outside of the lighthouse that stood just off the coast, the village had nothing of value for raiding hordes to pillage, and it was so inconsequential that it was never even put on any maps.
This suited the people of the village just fine, who filled their lives with sunny days and various sports, which the village seemed to collect from visitors. So it was with Islah's parents: her father was a fisherman and rugby fullback (among other sports), her mother was a farmer and luchador wrestler (among other sports).
In Islah's youth, her sport of choice was soccer, though she eventually added volleyball and - eventually - wrestling, like her mother. Outside of that, she simply contributed to life in the village - she grew to enjoy her father's profession of fishing, and kept her fellows in good spirits.
Though even in her teenaged years, she seemed destined for a bit more than village life. The murky marsh just outside of town was home to a small but crafty crocodile that had menaced the village for years. Though it had been hunted for after the deaths and destruction it had caused, it was always just fast and cunning enough to avoid the hunters. Islah was its final target. During an otherwise normal day, the crocodile made her a target and attempted to steal her away, only for her to wrestle it into submission under the waves. It's attempts to escape were foiled as she pursued it despite her injuries, finally putting an end to its reign of terror.
She would gain more of a heroic reputation years later, during her protection of the lighthouse that stood just off from the village. It was tradition in the village for a lottery to choose who would go out and care for the lighthouse, spending a year maintaining it. Through this lottery, she was chosen, and went out to keep it for the year. During the days of isolation, she had little else to do there between her work but to exercise and play with the tetherball placed nearby.
Near the end of that year, one foggy morning, the she spotted something below the water - glittering off the bright light from her ward. She would soon discover that these were weapons - held by a raiding party of merfolk who sought to destroy the lighthouse so that ships may crash upon the rocks. The merfolk had been suffering from a lack of food - overfishing around their home had put them in a dangerous situation, and this was thought to be the only solution. Though Islah was taken captive, she instead prompted them to try for diplomacy. Acting as liason between villagers and merfolk, a trading agreement was agreed upon as well as a reduction of fishing in the area. With a peaceful solution achieved, Islah's legend continued to grow before she even reached adulthood.
Her final feat of heroism within the village was in the defeat of an actual monster: a massive Dire Mosquito that was killing livestock and threatening people, spreading disease. Islah was the one that would eventually face it in combat, matching the swift flier's actions with an... unconventional... weapon: a weighted volleyball she had created specifically to hunt with.
To the other villagers, Islah's status as a folk hero was cemented. Though relatively minor in the scheme of things and absolutely minor when it came to the true world-ending threats that terrorized other communities, Islah was a legend in their eyes. Their encouragement would eventually prompt her to leave in search of adventure - after all, a hero should be helping people, right?
The otter, Islah de Paradisio. Gotta love an athletic, cheerful optimist with a hero complex, right?
The oceanside village that Islah was born to was famous for one thing, something that was relatively unheard of in the rest of the world: it was peaceful. Genuinely so. Sure, it had the occasional monster or family drama to shake things up, but they happened so infrequently compared to anywhere else in the world that the place was idyllic. Outside of the lighthouse that stood just off the coast, the village had nothing of value for raiding hordes to pillage, and it was so inconsequential that it was never even put on any maps.
This suited the people of the village just fine, who filled their lives with sunny days and various sports, which the village seemed to collect from visitors. So it was with Islah's parents: her father was a fisherman and rugby fullback (among other sports), her mother was a farmer and luchador wrestler (among other sports).
In Islah's youth, her sport of choice was soccer, though she eventually added volleyball and - eventually - wrestling, like her mother. Outside of that, she simply contributed to life in the village - she grew to enjoy her father's profession of fishing, and kept her fellows in good spirits.
Though even in her teenaged years, she seemed destined for a bit more than village life. The murky marsh just outside of town was home to a small but crafty crocodile that had menaced the village for years. Though it had been hunted for after the deaths and destruction it had caused, it was always just fast and cunning enough to avoid the hunters. Islah was its final target. During an otherwise normal day, the crocodile made her a target and attempted to steal her away, only for her to wrestle it into submission under the waves. It's attempts to escape were foiled as she pursued it despite her injuries, finally putting an end to its reign of terror.
She would gain more of a heroic reputation years later, during her protection of the lighthouse that stood just off from the village. It was tradition in the village for a lottery to choose who would go out and care for the lighthouse, spending a year maintaining it. Through this lottery, she was chosen, and went out to keep it for the year. During the days of isolation, she had little else to do there between her work but to exercise and play with the tetherball placed nearby.
Near the end of that year, one foggy morning, the she spotted something below the water - glittering off the bright light from her ward. She would soon discover that these were weapons - held by a raiding party of merfolk who sought to destroy the lighthouse so that ships may crash upon the rocks. The merfolk had been suffering from a lack of food - overfishing around their home had put them in a dangerous situation, and this was thought to be the only solution. Though Islah was taken captive, she instead prompted them to try for diplomacy. Acting as liason between villagers and merfolk, a trading agreement was agreed upon as well as a reduction of fishing in the area. With a peaceful solution achieved, Islah's legend continued to grow before she even reached adulthood.
Her final feat of heroism within the village was in the defeat of an actual monster: a massive Dire Mosquito that was killing livestock and threatening people, spreading disease. Islah was the one that would eventually face it in combat, matching the swift flier's actions with an... unconventional... weapon: a weighted volleyball she had created specifically to hunt with.
To the other villagers, Islah's status as a folk hero was cemented. Though relatively minor in the scheme of things and absolutely minor when it came to the true world-ending threats that terrorized other communities, Islah was a legend in their eyes. Their encouragement would eventually prompt her to leave in search of adventure - after all, a hero should be helping people, right?
Category Artwork (Digital) / Muscle
Species Otter
Size 2519 x 1462px
File Size 3.3 MB
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