work work work

1. Sidon is like 80? 90? here, he's restless for some outside Domain action, but I can't imagine his dad and the court being too eager to let him run around freely with like. All the monsters and such. So this is a compromise and the boy is rather grumpy about it lol.

The armor is very roughly based on unused designs from the totk artbook (we could have had Sidon with a cape TToTT)

2. Sidon is a pretty skilled warrior, but Bazz isn't the captain for nothing lol. I like to think Sidon relies a bit more on raw power instead of technique, which works well for slaying monsters, but not as much when sparring with someone who has actual experience and knows how to use his size against him.

(Bazz could be a bit less smug about it though. Seggin’s lessons were comparably painful, but the old man didn't waste time on stupid jokes at least).

(Also Sidon’s wearing his training set here, which is basically just an appropriately bigger version of the standard guard armor.)

3. Chill time in Sidon’s rooms~ bit rare these days, with both of them being so busy with work. Bazz only comes over when he really needs a break (it is a place where he's least likely to be randomly bothered) and Sidon will use the opportunity to get his hug quota.

4. Supportive bestie!!!! Bazz might be rather dry and not too eager to express his feelings, but he is not above being earnest when the moment calls for it,,,, and Sidon’s always just a bit flustered whenever it happens (and i mean come on, honest encouragement combined with gentle hand holding and tender bump on the crest, Bazz, you know what you're doing :v)

5. One of them famous Sidon’s Bone Crushing Hugs TM. Bazz is not a fan, but sometimes it's unavoidable. He endures, but does make sure to look extra displeased the whole time.

Idk, I've always been fast, which admittedly helped a lot once I started actually studying, so, yeah. A quirk of having twitchy hands and enjoying the process I suppose.

One thing that does make you actually much faster is building a visual library (so just drawing many many many different things and remembering them) so you don't have to think or problem solve as much.

For example, did you know there's a finite number of stock hand poses that will repeat for good 95% of your drawings? Just learn them all and boom, no need to waste time on problem solving hand anatomy ever again! Easy.

(Unfortunately, to use this hack properly you must first become very good at problem solving hand anatomy.)

As we know from Creating a Champion, the Zora are not actually native to Hyrule, as it is said that they "settled in Lanayru" more than 10 thousands years ago (let's save the question of "is 10k years of living in a place enough to be considered native to it" for another day).

I have major issues with the idea that basically nothing happened over this many years ( BotW and TotK seem to imply that the ancient era wasn't that different from the present day Hyrule), so I allowed myself to mess around with the world and such a bit more than I usually do.

Hyrule used to have a native Zora population - the River Zora. They inhabited wetlands and riverbanks and were semi-sedentary, travelling up- and downstream with the change of the seasons (basically they'd follow fish migration patterns). They could be found around Central Hyrule, Lanayru, Faron or Akkala, though the exact spread varied with climate fluctuations and flooding patterns.

They were roughly Hylian-sized, with the age span of 150/200 years, and lived in small communities of few dozen individuals (usually 2-3 families). They had okay relations with their Hylian neighbors (Hylians weren't too interested in wetlands and Zora didn't care about farmland or forests, so there wasn't much reason for territorial disputes) but would frequently fight each other for best fishing spots of the season.

The River Zora were quite well adapted to living on land - enough so, that aside from tadpolehood they'd rarely go underwater for too long, preferring to hang around in shallow waters. Because of this, their diet included stuff like plants, roots and mushrooms, not just fish and meat.

The River Zora had private homes (sort of, the main construction would be abandoned every season and possibly used by others in this time, but the expectation was that a family would be able to return) and had pretty strong sense of private property; fishing gear, tools, home furnishings etc belonged to an individual or their family and be hauled on rafts from one seasonal dwelling to the next.

They also wore rudimentary clothing, mostly simple capes and hoods, worn for the purpose of shielding from the sun and protecting the gills. Personalized handmade accessories would be crafted from leather, fibres and bronze and then gifted to other members in the community.

In general, save for internal squabbles, the River Zora were happy to chill in their wetlands and follow the patterns of nature. They very much lived in the present; while having extensive oral tradition of storytelling, they didn't really feel the need to create any historical records or even really write at all.

Now the ancient Sea Zora were a very different story.

I'll leave most of their biology for another time, when I go more in depth on saltwater Zora (contrary to River Zora, these guys are still very much around and haven't changed much), but the most important part is that they're Large and Sharp.

The Ocean-born Zora of the old times used to live in large hordes, freely roaming the waters, letting themselves be swept by the currents.

The group would be led by the strongest and most assertive individual and upon their death (or injury) would often split into 3-4 smaller ones, if there was no clear and worthy successor.

While for most it would seem like the Ocean Zora were just wandering aimlessly, they actually were in something like a perpetual state of pilgrimage, from one temple to another.

Now the concept of Zora temples is a whole thing itself that I will elaborate on more once I get to the Religion part of my lore series. For now, in big tldr, the Ocean Zora were (and still are) deeply spiritual, and they externalize it by building giant, elaborate temples. The purpose of the temple is 1. gaining favor with the deity; 2. marking the place as belonging to the Zora people; 3. establishing a fixed point allowing different Zora groups to meet and exchange information/resources/members; 4. storage of historical records; and finally 5. a mark of a Great Deed for the Zora leader who managed to complete a project.

A Temple takes anywhere from 50 to 1000 years to build, depending on location, size/skills of the group and available materials/tools (usually it's around 100-200).

Aside from Temples, the ancient Ocean Zora had little else to ground them, having very nebulous familial bonds and basically no concept of privacy or ownership.

At some point, couple thousands years ago, a group of Ocean Zora split off (succession crisis? territory conflict? not enough resources? who knows) from a bigger horde, went really far west for whatever reason, and made a landing on the shores of the Hyrulean continent. And then, of course, they set out to build a Temple, in the deep underground cave system of Lanayru province.

(The temple was for Nayru, as per custom of gaining favor with the local deity; the Ocean Zora subscribe to a very particular system of polytheism).

The construction took a long time, longer than anybody expected, for many reasons, and so, the new Zora had to occupy themselves with,,, living life in the meantime, which mostly meant getting acquainted with their River cousins.

By the time the Temple project was finished, the new generations of Hyrule-born Zora were no longer able to return to saltwater. If it was because of River blood, freshwater-developed eggs or Hyrule just being a cursed land intent on trapping its inhabitants forever, nobody can tell anymore. The reality was that the Ocean Zora had to suddenly abandon their free-spirited ways of life and find a way to settle in this new land forever. And so they did.

Over the years, they mixed even more with the River Zora, their traits combining into the Hyrulean Zora of the present day. The Ocean lineages quickly established themselves as dominant (they were bigger, stronger, had better weapons and were good at organising large groups) and slowly the River Zora either integrated completely or were pushed further and further out, until finally they were completely gone as a separate people. Eventually, the Hyrulean Zora community became as we know it today, concentrated in Lanayru's Domain, in the city that has since been constructed around the Temple that started it all.

The Ocean Zora also gradually lost their old ways of life, embracing parts of River culture (some sense of privacy & personal property, the idea of family units) and Hylian ways of managing things (such as establishing a royal line and a nobility class, having a specialized military and guilds etc).

While the freshwater trait seems to prevail over anything else (when a Hyrulean Zora has a kid with an Sea Zora the kid will always be freshwater, maybe with some salt tolerance), the Ocean blood seems to be almost equally as strong in terms of general physical appearance. The more specific Ocean traits such as extra fins, more vibrant colors or elongated features are less commonly passed down, but well-regarded if they manifest. All River traits (translucent webbing, face fins, dappling) seem to have disappeared completely, save for the little dots on Zoras' limbs and tails.

So yeah! The Hyrulean Zora are a mix between River and Ocean Zora, and thus kinda,,, uniquely neither. Zoras from other Domains call them Upstream (if they're nice) or Lake (if less so).

The Zora Royal Family looks so distinct from other citizens not for some magical royal reasons, it's just that importing foreign partners from Ocean Domains makes them have more Ocean blood and thus higher likelihood of manifesting Ocean-specific traits (size, unique features, uncommon scale colors). It is done on purpose, to justify the divine right to rule and stuff. Hence the arranged marriages and "you have to have a wife/husband to be crowned".

The theme is paperwork bc its what loosely connects these three unrelated drawings lol. Can you tell I wasn't very focused today.

Pic 1: The cut content from the army branches/ranks post, was supposed to show Rivan wearing his Lieutenant badge, but I got distracted by the opportunity to draw Bazz's office.

Rivan being lieutenant is very convenient for Bazz, since there’s very few people he trusts more, and he needs someone capable of taking over whenever he's away. Despite his goofy sunshine personality, Rivan is actually one of the more competent guards with lots of field experience, and people tend to listen to him just because he's too damn likeable.

He is completely hopeless at dealing with anything management or politics related though, so he can't be left in charge for too long. Maybe when the times are calmer.

Pic 2: What even is all this paperwork that Bazz keeps complaining about? Most of it is just really, really boring reports. Every Guard intervention in the city, monster patrol, suspicious activity, it all has to be diligently reported. Bazz then takes the reports, cringes at all the typos, and summarizes them into one big daily/weekly/monthly report that will be presented at a Council meeting. Aside from that there's training regimens, guard rotations for the week, inventory, reassignments, budgeting...

We can't forget the matter of actually being the -City- Guard either; a concerned/hurt civilian is supposed to turn to them for immediate help, and then it's decided if the case needs to be elevated or not (oftentimes this kind of legal proceedings generate the most paperwork).

Given the sheer volume of things that need to be written down, Zora actually do use paper quite a lot, it being by far the most convenient medium for daily use. Anything deemed worthy of long-term storage (in Guard's case e.g. monthly reports, yearly budgets, more significant legal cases) is sent to a scriptorium to be transferred to stone tablets.

Bazz is actually quite well liked by the scribes for being very succinct in his documentation. There's a dartboard with Sidon's face on it.

Haven't seen you in a while, Torfeau! She's the one who most often handles Bazz's paperwork delivery bc she's a good egg who doesn't read important correspondence.

Also an end-of-day Bazz's desk looks almost clean, wow.

Pic 3: While the required Guard paperwork seems overwhelming, it's pretty manageable once you get the hang of it and is not actually the case of Bazz's chronic lack of sleep. That would be snooping around in old government archives and making personal copies of anything that looks interesting, or is off-limits (which makes it automatically interesting). He just likes knowing stuff, okay???? No other particular reason >:U

Gaddison is the only person (to Bazz's knowledge) who knows the full extent of this operation, and she kinda begrudgingly respects it, just on the account of the audacity. Sidon has Suspicions, but something tells him to not look too closely.

+as a bonus, I recorded a timelapse of the bazz&rivan pic! its a mess bc I kept forgetting things and then its not even for the final version bc I remembered that cast shadows are a thing like. next day.

Okay, so the most important thing about the Zora Military is that it used to be so much more, in every sense of the word, than what we see in BotW. Present day Guard is the remnants of the old City Guard, which was the only branch that managed to survive with enough people and structure to remain operational.

But let's go through all these armor designs now.

1,2: Army - the biggest branch of the old Zora military, starting place of every recruit. They train for defensive and offensive combat, dispatch any serious threats before they can reach the Domain proper, and are in general the main projection of Zora military power.

Army consists of soldiers of all ranks who use all weapons (mainly spears and bows). Most of them are stationed outside of the Domain (the city) in forts. Army recruits can be transferred to other branches of the military.

Army officers are considered the most skilled Zora fighters and this is the place to be if one wants to make a political career, but needs some social power boost (Seggin's family got their titles by rising in Army ranks).

An Army Captain armor is the heaviest one, but surprisingly practical (e.g. short scarf, tall helmet fins that sty close to the sides of the head). They usually carry a sword.

The Army got wiped out more or less in its entirety in the first few days of the Calamity, being the main force fighting off the monster and Guardian waves.

Seggin joined the main army during the Calamity and was one of the few who managed to survive (somehow. man must be immortal or something because he definitely was not -trying- to stay in one piece)

3,4 - Border Patrol - much smaller branch, handling general oversight of the Zora borders and stuff like recon. Consists mostly of soldiers with scouting, communication and survival skills. They aren't really meant to engage in active combat, though are of course sufficiently prepared if need be.

Zora's Domain used to have many nasty border disputes with Central Hyrule in the past, so the Border Patrol's most important function is to stand where the border is and make a "don't try anything funny" face. They check travellers' and merchants' papers and in general look out for any threat that might come from outside the Domain.

(There's a special section of slightly-better-at-handling-salt Zora, who handle the sea-related stuff, like foreign guests).

They wear a standard armor, but with the addition of a knife and a pouch (meds, preserved food, writing supplies etc), since they often have to go deep into forests/swamps, which cuts them off from main supply lines.

The Border Parol doesn't use any ranks except footsoldier, corporal and captain (since they don't form large groups in the first place). A captain will wear the same gear as a footsoldier, with the addition of short green scarf and a more lowkey version of the finned helmet.

Border Patrol was the first one to fall when the Calamity struck, getting taken by surprise. They had the bad luck of being the first in line on the way to the Domain.

5,6: City Guard: branch exclusive to the actual city of the Domain, they are tasked with defending its walls (if anything reaches this far) but more importantly, keeping order inside the city. They also handle some menial disputes before they got elevated to higher instances. Second largest branch after the Army (though still much, much smaller). They use all ranks in their organisation and have the nastiest internal politics.

The Guardsmen wear just your regular armor and are required to use Zora Spears (no bows!). The armor of the Captain of the Guard is one of the fancier ones, since its main purpose is more to intimidate and command respect rather than be actually useful for fighting (the absolutely impractical wide-finned helmet!).

The City Guard is the only branch that managed to remain operational after the Calamity. Or actually, they were just lucky enough to be inside the Domain walls when the main event happened, and remained there for the majority of the war to protect the civilians (that's how Trello managed to survive without too much trauma).

Present day Zora Guard is a slightly restructured version of the City Guard, still mostly focused on protecting the city. Out of necessity they also handle some more essential tasks of Border Patrol or Army.

7: Royal Knights: very small, purely ceremonial branch. Their task was mostly to look good around the palace, stand guard at important events and accompany&protect the members of the royal family. Royal Knights would be scouted from Army recruits on the basis of their skill but also looks. They don't have ranks.

The Royal Knight armor is very much more looks than function, with the overly long sash and oversized plates. They are required to wield a trident.

During the Calamity, the Royal Knights either joined the army (like Seggin) or stayed with their charges and then got incorporated into the Guard. The position is no longer in use.

8: Temple Guard: kind of their own thing, serving exclusively in Lower Domain city temples. They use no ranks and are technically not part of the Zora Military proper (hence the blank armors). They all wear no helmets and are adorned with thin, white sashes.

With the Temple being underground, they were basically unaffected by the Calamity - they still do their thing exactly as they always did.

9,10: Zora Diplomatic Corps: Not really a proper branch (technically it’s just a politician+some army footsoldiers), but important enough to be mentioned.

Zora kept some alliances before the Calamity (mainly with the Hylians and the Rito), and a small diplomatic mission would be sent to maintain the link, negotiate, communicate any developments with the Domain etc. The group would consist of a dozen or so footsoldiers (though usually of slightly higher social standing and wearing more fancy armors) and 3-6 diplomats who handled actual talking. The diplomats were almost always also military, though they would remain unarmed as a show of peace.

The diplomats would wear a piece of fabricwear (usually some kind of cape) specific to the region. Both to show their good faith and respect and also because it was often necessary to shield the Zora from non-ideal foreign weather conditions. They are also the only Zora who wear the Royal Family crest with their outfits (being representatives of the Zora Crown in a foreign land).

After the tragic accident of the Hebra mission, shortly before the Calamity hit, all the other diplomats were pulled back to the Domain. All their members were absorbed into the army. After the war, the diplomatic program was never reactivated.

11: Support & Logistics: pretty straightforward, technically also not a military branch but absolutely crucial to its functioning. They handle supply lines, medical aid, repairs, budgeting, entertainment, transfers, anything that’s not swinging the spear.

Second in size to the Army itself (and it is pretty close!), consist mostly of civilians and retired/transferred soldiers (very common career path). They wear the symbol of the branch of their assignment and (since they tend to travel back and forth between the border and the city) have the right to bear arms with their civilian attire.

They were somewhat affected by the Calamity, since the supply lines had to be maintained during the active fighting and the Guardian beams didn’t care if a Zora wore armor or not. As a whole, they survived, but in massively reduced form and currently just service the Guard.

12: Major: a retired officer and member of the Elder Council, technically no longer part of the military but still having a major (haha) influence over its management. Majors’ input and approval is crucial for anything army-related, like budgeting, major strategic moves or promoting/demoting soldiers.

Okay, these were the outfits, now let’s talk ranks! From highest to lowest (and some notable character examples):

General - current Zora King, has absolute power, usually doesn’t fight (Dorephan, later Sidon)

Commander - current Prince/Princes; if unavailable/unable to fight, the rank is given to King’s chosen highly ranked officer; an extension of the General's power. Participates in battle. (Mipha, Sidon)

Major - an Elder who retired above the rank of a Lieutenant. Doesn’t fight but their approval is necessary for lots of stuff. (Seggin, Trello)

Captain - experienced officer, usually classically educated. Commands their regiment, answers to Commander/General. Can nominate for promotions. (Bazz)

Lieutenant - experienced officer with decent leadership skills, commands a platoon. Can be assigned acting captain if necessary. (Rivan)

Sergeant - their task is usually to protect the higher rank officers, but they can command a team (Gaddison, Capelo)

Corporal - an above-average soldier showing leadership promise. Commands a section of a squad. (Numien, Torfeau)

Guardsman - lowest rank

Guardsman trainee - a recruit too young to officially join. They participate in training but are not allowed on the battlefield. (Dunma)

OKAY that’s it for the basics of the (lol) Zora military. Unfortunately all my favourite guys are in the army so it had to be done. Now for the additional art~

Pic 1: When I said that the City Guard Captain’s armor is mostly for intimidation that’s what I meant. The intended effect is this flurry of fins, sashes and metal bits when the Captain is entering the scene, making them impossible to ignore.

After getting the armor, Bazz had to practice the correct stride and fin position, because the sash, as it turns out, tangles really easily.

The armor was worn in the field for a good while after the calamity (you’re the Captain of the Guard, you must wear the proper armor) but is not anymore. Bazz made sure of that. There might be a story here.

Pic 2: How Gaddison Became a Sergeant. She actually doesn’t wear the badge in public very often and only uses it when absolutely necessary. She doesn’t really command anything, but having it allows her to operate a bit more independently. 

Also! If Bazz opened with “I’m making you a Sergeant because I need you to do a thing for me” she would have refused and told him to go fuck himself. Thus the lying game, which made her drop her guard out of amusement (ha, he was trying something but I got him to be honest with me! what is this? more dubiously moral shenanigans?).