Ayra Katrin Library Underground

It’s been a long while since I made a proper architectural update. Back to the Ayra Katrin Library, which is called “che keh-ah-bek-oh se ayra katrin le agwilcress” in ANP Kahwan (Agwil-Naryyd-Prerart language).

The two lower main floors of the library were constructed to artificially appear as being under ground and are enclosed by the perimeter road that forms the “tail tip” of Agwilcress. I’ve been building out these floor layouts to more thoroughly fill in the space. The main library and south tower are the only sections that rise above the third floor. The north underground section includes a first floor entrance and the kitchen. The south underground section includes a first floor entry into the south tower and bathing pools. Both sections also have restrooms, showers, and general gathering space. The are four residential sections, each with sixteen rooms accessed from a triangular atrium. The west and east sections are now officially dubbed the library’s wings. That’s where the latest major changes have taken place.

In this picture you can see the new layout for the wing, with bookcases that wrap around the buttresses and circular bookcase clusters to fill in the spaces between. The hexagonal space underneath the gazebo is now an enclosed reading room. New additions also include side passages that connect the wings to the underground sections. The wings initially only had one exit which went to the main library, but now they have three. There was also enough room to add a little alcove to each residence room that accommodates a private toilet and sink.

A view of the library wing. This is looking north along the passageway against the main library. There are light fixtures that sit atop the circular clusters.
In the wing, looking towards the entrance to the reading room.
The interior of the reading room.

You can see in the first image of this post that there’s some unclaimed territory around the south tower, so I might be expanding its lower two floors. I’m not sure there is enough space to make something out of the slivers of space on each side of the underground sections.

Ten Years – Reija in a formal dress

Today is the tenth anniversary of criticalsystemsdigital.com and its existence as a WordPress site. It is not, however, the anniversary of CSD or the existence of a CSD website. Prior to this current and long lasting iteration, the site was hand-coded in HTML, with some interactive pieces made in Macromedia Flash (rest in peace). I didn’t keep a full copy of the previous website, but I did keep a copy of the content text, and the first “post” was dated in October 2006. But that wasn’t even the first version… I have an early CSD logo image from 1999, so CSD being the name representing my creative output is over twenty years old at this point. I vaguely recall using “Critical Systems Inc.” as a name in a BASIC program I wrote waaaay long ago… so yeah, I’ve been doing this a long time.

But back to this particular milestone. In recognition of it, I remade the first image I ever posted on this site iteration:

The original was a 2D vector image made in Flash, before I went full open source and moved to Inkscape. At that time I already had started 3D modeling and had one made of Reija, but never modeled out this particular dress.

Miryin

I put some more work into Miryin’s model and tried my hand at Blender’s hair particle system again. You can see a major change I’m trying out here: giving the Felcae race a different lower face, making it more like a Gwil snout instead of a Pritar-like nose. In fact, the old nose was simply copied from a Pritar model and widened a bit. Here’s what that looked like:

The Felcae having facial features closer in resemblance to the Gwil (now adding the snout to the similar horns and ears), as well as the Felcae and Gwil both being herbivore races, suggests they have a closer genetic relationship to each other than to the other races. Note that the Gwil, whose name originates from the term “Dragon Children”, are not a race of reptiles, but mammals that evolved to not have any hair or fur. Felcae have their own genetic anomaly, having evolved to not have mammary glands.

Anjil

Anjil is an adept user of magical powers. He is a member of the Ayra Katrin, an organization of the best sorcerers, scholars, and engineers of the Seven-Star Nation. Anjil has shown exceptional talent and has risen up in the Ayra Katrin ranks quite quickly. He has even been able to teach his girlfriend Reija some magical abilities.

I used to have a blue and silver color theme for the Ayra Katrin (as seen in his staff… guess I might have an update to make), but changed it to golden yellow. This was mainly to differentiate them from the the Kylal family’s primarily blue (with teal and silver accents) color theme. The Syrsia royal guardians and the national army have a red theme which you can see in Reija’s uniform.

Oh, and to follow my recent theme of looking back at the history of characters, my oldest existing Anjil picture circa 2001:

Sheshai in uniform

In recognition of finishing yet another read-through of my first novel, I’m going to post more of the titular character. This time she’s in her actual House of the Hand uniform. I recently did some dental work so now she can show some teeth when smiling. I gave her some somewhat large incisors, which at least to me makes her even more adorable.

The full view of her uniform. Strapped to her legs are lurakal flasks, which are crystals used to store magical “charms”. Typically, the charm is made of concentrated purifying power, effectively acting as a purifying bomb to clear out unliving evil creatures when things get out of hand. Some have found ways to create different types of charms.

Sheshai needs some shoes. I also still have to learn how to work with outfits so they properly move with the body when posing, so she doesn’t have to stand there with her arms straight out…

3D modeling for a “real world” application

Showing off a bit of synchronicity between my digital and analog hobbies: I have used Blender to model and plan out my garden. From this screenshot you can have a better understanding of its layout. I just completed the eastern side on the right of the picture. I put in a little curve on the separation between the red rubber mulch pathway and the bed of decorative rock to account for the rounded edge of the big bed (and to keep things from being all right angles, I guess).

Summer Time, Outside Time

Not much posting going on here over the hot months. The bulk of my creative efforts has been directed towards the non-digital, especially the garden. It’s constantly evolving, starting with two beds in the first year in our house, but now having 12 square beds, a big bed (currently dominated by zucchini plants), a greenhouse, a row on the side of the greenhouse for outdoor pots, and a fire pit area. I’m currently working on the greenhouse-opposite side to set up another pot row and get it all decorated out. I have plans to build a shed on the end of the greenhouse, but it just got too hot for that level of construction. Next year I may also work on building a drip irrigation system for the entire garden (the greenhouse has such a system already) instead of relying on the existing lawn sprinklers.

I’m not completely avoiding digital creations – I just finished another run through the Sheshai the Purifier novel. Yet again, I found corrections and ideas to expand upon or better tell the story. No huge changes, though I did add mentions of another Great House, this one being the order of engineers called the House of the Hammer, bringing the total to six (Sword, Shield, Hand, Book, Eye, and Hammer). Doing 3D modeling here and there. I am working on something for the anniversary of this site switching to its current WordPress-powered form, which will happen in October.

Paying the tax

Pride has been more meaningful to me this year, as my partner officially came out as bi recently. I am straight myself… well, I guess depending on the definition, eh Sheshai? Speaking of her, coming to terms with things has influenced my novel by a significant amount. Though it’s written primarily to appeal to my cis-het nature, I wound up writing in a number of characters that don’t adhere to the ‘norm’. I hope it doesn’t come off as pandering and instead comes across as coming from an honest place.

Seros

Seros is a member of the Gwil Fire Clan, a rare subgroup of his race with red skin and markings reminiscent of flames. He was sent by the Order of the Eclipse to investigate reported disturbances in the holy land of Elehura. He is accompanied by his sister Nuzoko on the journey.

The Order of the Eclipse is a special organization founded through a collaboration of the Great Houses. Its members specialize in multiple disciplines of the Houses. For instance, Seros trained in monster slaying from the House of the Shield and magical abilities from the House of the Eye. Nuzoko loves to tease her brother for specializing in fire-based magic.

Seros is old-school. It is going on 25 years since I conceived the character. And yes, I have a copy of what may very well be the first drawing I made of him:

I guess I’ve made some progress on my skills over the years…

The Legendary Prerarts: Buridamer and Kemidamer

These siblings are the newest of the legends. They lived with the Agwilikans and Akelikans and took up residence in the forest city of Priagros, the city with the highest mix of Prerart-Agwilikan-Akelikan demographics.

Buridamer became deeply interested in the music his cousins were producing and tried his hand in making songs. Over the years, his compositions became quite popular and respected. Musicians started to play his songs regularly, including full symphonic performances in the capital city of Cresselecapera and the military headquarters of Agwilcress.

His sister Kemidamer was also interested in music, though in her case she would contribute to the art using her singing voice. Buridamer mostly worked in instrumental pieces, but Kemidamer convinced him to collaborate on lyrical songs that she could perform. As her brother’s recognition grew, so did hers. However, if someone wanted to experience her singing, they would have to visit Priagros, as the two siblings rarely ventured outside their home city. And visit they did; people would travel from far and wide for an opportunity to experience a concert of the Prerart siblings.

At the height of their careers, the Second War commenced. The two were mostly uninvolved in the fighting, except for one key event. A division of Akelikan Army soldiers were pinned down but unwilling to surrender or attempt escape. The siblings arrived and led a performance of their most emotionally charged songs. The sweeping music and Kemidamer’s sublime voice impacted the demoralized soldiers so much that they surrendered moments after the completion of the music. A majority of the soldiers defected, and the remaining were allowed to return to their homes after being disarmed. This event became the famous feat that propelled the two to become the legendary songwriter and singer of the Prerarts.

When the Lucan Hill Theater of Agwilcress was built, the architects included statues of Buridamer and Kemidamer overlooking the stage.