#irtike

Part one

As a follow-up to the last post, here are the character designs for the rest of the central figures in A Revised History of Erdas. While they come second to the Four Heroes in terms of importance, these people still have big parts to play in the story.

Shane

Shane's spot on this list needs no explanation. He is the redeemed villain of the first arc and even has his own book. In ARHoE, he survives the Battle of the Tides and goes on to be closely involved with the plot of the following arcs.

One important aspect of Stetriol in ARHoE is that all its people, despite their varying skin tones, are Aboriginal. There are Stetriolans with dark skin, light skin and everywhere in between. The ones with fair skin, such as Shane, have no connection to Eurans; their lighter features are a result of evolving in the far south of the continent, where the temperatures are much colder. When comparing Shane to a Euran like Conor, the differences are clear. Their features set them apart; Shane has a wide nose, full lips and thick hair, for example, which contrasts with Conor's narrow nose, thin lips and fine hair. Despite their similarly coloured hair, skin and eyes, they are completely different races.

Shane's light golden-blond hair is, under ideal circumstances, cut short. Likewise, he meticulously shaves his facial hair. Such is the way of Stetriolan noblemen. When his transformation began, though, his mental health took a sharp nosedive, and these practices of his fell by the wayside. Abeke and Rollan meet him in The Return with hair down to the base of his neck, bangs falling into his eyes and peach fuzz lining his jaw. He resumed his normal routines after Fall of the Beasts, as his mental state and self-image improved. He has fair skin that tans easily and often. His eyes change from their natural blue to yellow-green, larger than before and with slitted pupils. These eyes have an unsettling quality about them; many cannot hold his gaze.

He is broad, powerfully built and muscular, which is partially a result of fusing with Grahv. His height was also influenced by his transformation. Naturally, his final height would have been 5'10" (177 cm) -- very tall for a Stetriolan -- but he has gained an additional two inches since he began to turn and currently stands at 6' (182 cm). He is still growing, but the process has slowed down since the initial burst.

His nose is crooked from where it was broken one too many times (once by Meilin in Fire and Ice, once by Conor in The Evertree). His scars are few, and faint against the colour of his skin. The ones he finds himself tracing most often are the ones Abeke gave him when they met in battle at Muttering Rock. He knows she bears scars from that day, too.

The change began at the site of the crocodile tattoo that curled around his chest. By the time of The Burning Tide, approximately a year and a half after the Bile lost its effect, his chest, belly, shoulders and arms were covered in tough new skin and pebbled green scales. The leathery hide on his torso hadn't yet spread around to his sides, which is how Uraza's fangs were able to pierce him. His face is also affected; apart from his eyes, his eyebrows have been replaced by scaly green ridges, giving him the look of someone turning into stone. His fingers are tipped with savage claws, and his mouth is filled with bristling crocodile teeth. These teeth are so fearsome in appearance that he rarely smiles anymore. Short spikes appeared on his back after Fall of the Beasts, small enough that they don't tear his clothing. He hasn't yet sprouted a tail, to his relief.

His accent is unique to the people of Stetriol. It is not an Australian accent (which is theorised to have been brought over by colonisers from England). It is not easy to place, which works in his favour as a Redcloak. Still, Abeke knows it well, prompting him to communicate with her via sign language or change the pitch of his voice prior to the reveal.

His Redcloak attire consists of a long-sleeved shirt with a quilted black jacket over top (partially for warmth and partially to make sure his scaly flesh is hidden from view), black trousers, black leather boots and matching gloves. He wears his sabre in a brown leather strap slung across his body. A belt wraps around his waist, to which he attaches pouches for storing small items. His heavy red cloak is draped around his shoulders; it has a hood that he uses to further conceal himself. Lastly, his mask is how it is originally described: Featureless and made of smooth white wood. Shane the Conqueror dressed simply and openly, in an attempt to make himself seem honest, unassuming. King the Redcloak intentionally dresses to hide every inch of himself. There is not a flash of hair or skin to give him away. All that is visible are his eyes.

His beaded bracelet from the Gulf of Amaya, the one that matches Abeke's, is blue, turquoise and white. Like her, he stopped wearing it openly after he sabotaged their relationship, but always kept it close. Believing Abeke would have long since discarded hers, he was surprised and touched when he learned otherwise.

Worthy

Like Shane, Worthy is indisputably one of the most influential characters in the series. He has been present since the very first page. His role stays relatively unchanged in ARHoE, and he remains relevant in Path of the Heroes.

He has long, straight, dark brown hair and dark freckles dotting his pale skin. His hair is worn in braided styles, denoting his high status. After leaving Trunswick behind and becoming a Redcloak, he usually opts to put it in a simple ponytail. With the transformation, it darkens to black. His eyes change from their natural ice-blue to brilliant, feline golden.

As Devin Trunswick, he is well-built, albeit a little soft around the middle. As Worthy, he is considerably broader and more muscular than before. His final height would be 5'5" (165 cm) if not for the curse, which is actually causing him to lose height. He currently stands at 5'2" (157 cm), approximately two years after the Bile lost its effect. This change is rapid and worrying.

Euran earls like Eric Trunswick style their facial hair into a neat moustache and beard; Worthy doesn't fuss over his as much. At sixteen, he has a faint moustache and a few dark hairs on his chin. He leaves it alone.

Elda was, in actuality, a black jaguar captured in southern Amaya -- not the true spotless wildcat of Euran legend. Worthy is turning into a jaguar, a completely different species than Donn or Wilco. Like all people with the curse, the transformation began at the site of the tattoo, in his case on his right forearm. Sleek black fur covers the length of that arm, thinning and fading back into human skin near his wrist. The fur spreads around his shoulders to his other arm as well, and in a long stripe down his spine to join with his tail. His tail is fully grown by the time of Heart of the Land, but only measures about two feet in length. Large rosettes with a spot in the centre are barely visible under the inky fur. He has long, pointed fangs and retractable claws on both his hands and feet. His senses are much sharper, especially his hearing and night vision.

He has the same Euran accent as Conor, but less broad due to his background. It is still very noticeable, though, leading him to go almost completely silent as a Redcloak to avoid being identified as a native of Eura.

Since Redcloaks generally wear the same sort of uniform to avoid giving away both their affliction and their nationalities, Worthy's clothing is similar to Shane's. He wears less layers and looser fabrics than Shane, though, so as not to restrict his movement. A dagger is fastened to his belt, but he rarely uses it, preferring his own claws in combat. Fashioned after Elda, his white mask has round ears and a feline snout. His hooded red cloak makes him seem bigger than he actually is.

Tasha

Tasha is a much different character in ARHoE than she was in the original books. In this universe, she is part of the royal family of Stetriol as Shane's cousin. After the events of Fall of the Beasts, she succeeds him and becomes the first queen regnant in Stetriolan history. Even after returning home to rule and rebuild, Queen Tasha is a recurring character in the following arcs. It is for this reason, and her introduction as a main POV in arc two, that she is considered one of the central figures of ARHoE.

She also looks completely different from how she is canonically described. In the original books, she is white, with blonde hair and blue eyes. In ARHoE, she is the Erdas equivalent of Aboriginal Australian.

She has brown skin and long, thick, straight black hair, usually worn down or in a loose braid. Her eyes are dark brown. She bears a strong resemblance to her cousins, Shane and Drina; they share many of the same facial features, especially the intense eyes. When standing next to Shane, their relation to each other is unmistakable.

She gains some muscle from her adventures with Abeke and Rollan, but had a strong, toned build to begin with. Her final height is 5’3" (160 cm). This is above average for a Stetriolan woman, but not enough to be considered tall.

Ever fond of jewelry, she likes to wear necklaces strung with shells and large, hanging earrings in circular or diamond shapes, hand-painted with detailed designs, some with bunches of swan feathers hanging from the ends. She got the idea of wearing Ninani's feathers from Rollan. These would obviously be a disadvantage in a fight, so if she is expecting action she will preemptively take them out.

The tattoo of Ninani is branded on her right shoulder, wings outstretched and neck curved in an S shape. Since the bird is all white, she manifests as only an outline in tattoo form.

Tasha shares the same Stetriolan accent as Shane. As royals, their accents are somewhat more cultivated than the common folk's.

While on the run with Abeke and Rollan, she had to forego her long dress in favour of more practical clothes salvaged from the Tellun's Pride II -- a too-large white tunic and trousers, with a belt to hold them up. As queen of Stetriol, she wears a beautiful white dress with gold flowers embroidered along its hem and sleeves, sometimes with a possum-skin cloak draped over top, and a simple gold circlet as a crown. A feathered headdress and white face paint are worn for ceremonial occasions. The quarterstaff she trained and fought with, a Euran weapon made of ash, remains with her in her castle chambers. In its place she took up a royal sceptre, tipped with a marble swan. It serves as both a symbol of her sovereignty and a comforting reminder of the weapon she came to rely on.

Takoda

Takoda is included because he became a main POV in Fall of the Beasts, along with Tasha.

His hair is dark and curly, but he is required to shave it off as a monk. He has no way of doing this properly while underground with Conor and Meilin, so in the long months of their journey his hair grows to be about two inches long. He has medium-brown skin and dark brown eyes. His features are more Niloan than Zhongese, but still ambiguous enough to indicate that he is of mixed race.

He is naturally slender and willowy, but grows quite gaunt during his travels in Sadre. His final height is 5'5" (165 cm).

As a baby, Takoda received the tribal marks of his mother's people, the Belawa of southern Nilo. Unlike the deep grooves of the Yufandi, Belawa scarifications are raised bumps on the skin. Two rows of the small marks form a wide arc around Takoda's right eye, beginning above his brow and ending at his cheek. Usually, both sides of the face are marked in this way. Takoda's particular style signifies that he is Belawa on only one side of his family.

Like in the original books, his tattoo of Kovo stretches from his neck to his collarbone, a location that is impossible to miss. It does not, however, extend up to his jaw. Takoda doesn't like the placement very much, but luckily for him, Kovo rarely confines himself to the passive state.

He has a southern Niloan accent, with minimal influence from his Zhongese father.

In his monastery, he wears his signature blue cotton robes, fastened with a white sash, and sandals. When he temporarily joined the Greencloaks, he switched to the practical travelling clothes that everyone else wears -- tunic, trousers, boots. The tunic he chose was blue, like his old robes. His travelling cloak doubled as a blanket.

Irtike

Irtike is included on this list because, much like Tasha, she has an expanded role in ARHoE. She was a part of the Greencloak expedition to Stetriol in The Evertree, was infected by Zerif in Fall of the Beasts, and all throughout, has an important role as Abeke's cousin. Finally, she joins the main cast in Path of the Heroes.

She has cool-toned dark brown skin, darker than Abeke's, and dark brown eyes. Her short, coily dark hair is worn in the Yufandi style of braids and adorned with wooden beads. It sits at about neck-length, and she lets them hang loose around her head. Her resemblance to Abeke is not as noticeable as Tasha's to Shane; it takes a few moments of studying her face to realise the similarities. They both favour their mothers, who were sisters.

She is slight in stature; unhealthily thin in Nilo, but filling out to a more average build after enough time in Greenhaven. Her final height is 5'2" (157 cm).

Her tribal marks are similar, but not identical, to Abeke's. Irtike has the same three vertical grooves on each cheek (meaning that she is Yufandi), but only one on her forehead (meaning that she is Marked). She lacks the additional two forehead notches that her cousin has, which are for Rain Dancers.

Her tattoo of Mikak curls around her ankle. She wanted her spirit animal tattoo to be in the same place as her mother's.

As a former inhabitant of Okaihee, she has a western Niloan accent.

Irtike was so accustomed to the fierce heat of Nilo that the much milder climate of Greenhaven Island was a massive change for her. It took her months to acclimate, and even now she still prefers to wear several layers. She typically wears a fur-lined coat or woollen shirt with brown trousers and brown leather boots. A small, fur-lined bag to hold Mikak in is secured to her chest. She is very fond of her thick travelling cloak, and is usually seen wrapped up in that rather than a regular green cloak.

Song

Empress Song deserves a place here, as she was the main villain and a recurring POV in arc three. Although she is taken for dead in Path of the Heroes, her demise cannot be proved, and she haunts the arc's narrative.

She has tan skin (a lighter shade than Meilin's, due to her spending so much time indoors), long, straight black hair and dark brown eyes. She places a dangling, jewelled hairpin (called buyao) in her hair, one that sways as she moves. For public appearances, both as princess and empress, she powders her face, neck, hands and any other exposed skin, applies rouge to her cheeks and red gloss to her lips, and draws her eyebrows. For Song, a full face of makeup is like a mask that she can hide behind. Few have seen her without it.

Her petite stature belies her true nature. She stands at 5' (152 cm), which is somewhat short for a woman from her part of Zhong.

Her ears are pierced, and she wears dangling pendants made with gold, pearls or cut glass as earrings. She especially loves her glass earrings, admiring the way they catch the light.

Seaspray’s long body twists up the length of Song’s upper arm in tattoo form. His tail snakes around her elbow, and his head rests lovingly on her shoulder.

She has a refined central Zhongese accent, like Meilin.

The silk robes she favoured as a princess were in dazzling shades of green and blue. As empress, her formal wear includes a rich purple robe, lavishly embroidered with dragons and phoenixes, and a heavy, ornate fengguan (phoenix crown) made of gold and precious stones. Her headpiece holds her updo in place; it is a notably stiffer style than how she wore her hair previously, half of it loose and streaming over her shoulders with a bun at the back of her head.