I’ve been wanting to do another insect character design for Moth to the Flame for a while now and I have a few in the works, I feel like I haven’t been able to finish much of these in between commissions lately. I’ve had the concept for him for a while too, but finally tackled the actual design. I knew I wanted to do something cool with the death’s-head hawkmoth, and this seemed perfect for it!
This is Cornelius, leader of The Heralds of Moirai. They’re a squadron of travelling coroners, providing confirmation of death and the removal and burial of corpses, both of his fellow insect brethren and of the numerous predators that hunt them. He is sometimes given the nickname “Atropos” individually, usually in hushed tones by those who dare not speak his name.
Atropos is the name of one of the three Fates in Greek mythology associated with death, and part of the scientific name for the specific hawkmoth he’s based on (acherontia atropos). With this idea in mind, I’ll eventually design two other characters to fill the roles of Lachesis and Clotho, and conveniently there are two other death’s-head hawkmoths I can use for that!
In the world of Moth to the Flame, what we know as a plague doctor outfit in our world is instead used as a form of camouflage; this squadron flies in a specific formation that imitates the shape of a bird, with Cornelius (and his mask) as the head. This helps them fly safely in the presence of birds and other large predators, and casts an ominous shadow below.
Cornelius is fully aware that his presence is unsettling, but is strictly business nonetheless. He derives neither joy nor sadness from his job, it simply is what it is. Much like death itself, he is inevitable. He is not a bringer of death nor an omen of it, but he always follows after it, sometimes being the last thing a dying being will see if he descends upon them quick enough. He’s not the comforting sort as a result, but he and his team believe that everyone, even those who kill and eat his kind, deserve dignity and respect in death.
