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.

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:

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.

Yes, the Prerarts are the kind of people who remember someone for sleeping. Well, someone being known to sleep for days in a row is a bit more to memorable than someone who really liked naps. His peers noted that he certainly did put a bit of art and passion into his sleeping and the rituals of preparing for it.

One time, his village was performing a periodic migration. Despite his attempts to discipline himself to be ready for this event, when the time to depart arrived, Raralara was fast asleep again, in a particularly long session. Irritated by his continued behavior, his village left him behind. Eight days later, he caught up to them. He told them he had slept for another day past the departure. After waking, he desperately searched for the others, apparently going those seven days of searching without any sleep. He had a few misadventures during his separation, and his telling of them endeared the others so much that he wound up becoming the village’s lead storyteller later on.

Though that is his most famous story, it was not really Raralara’s famous feat. There was a surprising side effect of his lengthy sleeping. It was hypothesized that he did not age while in deep slumber, as he wound up living nearly four full Prerart lifetimes. This went very well with his new role, so though in his legend he’s primarily called the “Sleeper”, he’s also known as Raralara the Storyteller.