#rollan

In its place he takes up a greatsword. Made by the Redcloaks' gifted blacksmiths, the blade is a deadly work of art, gleaming silver, double-edged and nearly as long as he is tall. A sword that could cleave a man in two with one fell swing.

Shane adjusts to it readily, combining his swordsmanship with his new, incredible strength. He may carry a smaller weapon with him in case of close combat, but his greatsword is the one he charges into open battle with. This behemoth of a sword kept the Great Leopard at bay for a dreadful, heart-stopping moment.

All the good swords have names, the smiths tell him, and Shane listens. He names the greatsword after his fallen crocodile. Grahv.

Grahv is not even a name. It is a word in the Stetriolan language that means something akin to monster or demon. Shane loathed his Bile-bonded spirit animal, and even after subduing him, his fear remained; the reptile was naught but a tool, to be used and promptly put away.

Shane had little respect for the animal while it was with him. He is not as understanding of the natural way of things as Abeke. When Grahv burst from the water and snapped his jaws around the kangaroo's head, he could not see an animal that needed to feed like all the rest. He saw a soulless creature that thrived on inflicting pain and terror. This is why he felt no remorse for binding the crocodile to his will for so long. He was completely, utterly devoid of empathy for the creature.

And at first glance, Shane choosing the same name for his sword seems callous. The sword, an inanimate object, is an uncomfortable reminder of how Shane viewed his spirit animal.

Rollan can say what he likes. The truth is, Shane reveres his sword. From the moment he first saw it, it filled him with awe. There is nothing that invigorates him more than the steel ringing when he pulls it from its sheath. He treats it with the dignity he now knows the crocodile deserved, spending hours polishing it, sharpening it, cleaning his enemies' blood and entrails from it as he nurses his own wounds. It has become a part of him in the same way that the crocodile itself is taking over his body. An extension of his arms. A heavy weight strapped to his back. It has saved his life, Abeke's life and those of his people many times over.

This time, he is using Grahv for good.

Before I begin, I just need to preface this by saying that this is deeply, deeply personal. I was going through some serious shit when I read these books and I inadvertently ended up trauma bonding with Conor's character. I will touch on some of my own experiences, just for my issues with the books to make sense, so here's your warning for:

Childhood bullies

Mentions of the american foster system

Antisocial personality disorder (apd)

Anxiety

Discussions of severe trauma and the effects it has on children

As well as just a general warning for canon topics such as war, canonical character death, and near death experiences

I will also touch on my problems with Devin Trunswick/Worthy, so i just need to clarify this now: I DO NOT HATE WORTHY'S CHARACTER. On the contrary, I actually find him to be one of the most compelling figures in the story. HOWEVER, I am going to talk about the shit he did to Conor in a not very nice way, as well as how I would have handled their conflict if I had written the books.

I will need to reread the last half of Fall of the Beasts before I tackle some of the bigger overarching problems I have, so this post will mostly focus on Heart of the Land. This is my biggest issue with the entire series, as well as the point that most deeply affected me irl, but I will mention some of what else I remember from later on.

Anywayyy, with all that out of the way, HERE WE GO!!!

At long last, here is the masterpost for the main characters' designs. This is how they appear in my head, and how they will appear in A Revised History of Erdas. So much thought (and research) has gone into this. I've taken a lot of creative liberty here, but I hope you enjoy how I envision these characters!

Conor

For Conor, I drew inspiration from Celtic and more specifically Irish culture.

He has strawberry-blond hair, as shown on the covers of Hunted and The Dragon's Eye. The colour is usually described as reddish-blond or reddish-gold because the term "strawberry-blond" does not exist in Erdas, but for clarity's sake I have named it as such here. It is slightly wavy and long enough to rest on his shoulders. Occasionally, he will incorporate braids into his hairstyle in light of his elevated status after the war. Otherwise, it is left loose. His pale skin is sprinkled all over with freckles; he has gotten a lot of them more since he left Eura, due to sun exposure. His eyes are green as described in Against the Tide.

He is chubby and muscular in equal measures. His weight is known to fluctuate due to the harrowing events he goes through on the daily, but he normally has a generous amount of extra fat all over. He started off on the shorter side, but had an impressive growth spurt during the war and the year after. His final height is 5'6.5", or 5'7" (170 cm) by rounding up, which he reaches by age sixteen. This is a little above average for Euran men.

When his facial hair starts to come in, he lets it grow, resulting in a patchy beard by the time he is sixteen. Shaving is not in a Euran shepherd’s nature.

He is physically disabled in two ways. The first is that he is missing the first joint on his left index finger from being bitten by an unidentified animal in Fire and Ice. The second is the permanent limp in his right leg from a broken ankle in The Dragon's Eye that healed badly. He uses his bond token, Pathfinder, to support himself when he walks.

Many scars crisscross his face, arms, legs and back, but they aren't easily visible against his pale skin. The ones that stand out the most are the burn scars from the fire Kovo unleashed in Sadre, particularly one running along his jaw. The spiral-shaped mark of the Wyrm on his forehead eventually shrinks and fades away to nothing, much to his relief.

His tattoo of Briggan is on his right bicep, frozen mid-run.

While not a physical trait, he has a heavy Euran accent that is comparable to Irish in the real world. At times it can be hard for non-Eurans to understand, but luckily his friends know him well enough to decipher his speech even when it is thickest.

He wears the simplest clothing of the bunch: Just a beige tunic, grass-stained trousers and a pair of warm sheepskin boots from home. His thick travelling cloak is worn over his shoulders, fastened to one side by a wolf-shaped brooch. He rarely swaps out his travelling cloak for a regular one, preferring its weight.

The head of his hand axe is inlaid with silver designs. He covers the blade with a piece of leather and keeps it in his belt by way of a special loop, with his cloak gathered over the arm that draws it.

Abeke

For Abeke, I took inspiration from the Yoruba and Igbo ethnic groups of Nigeria.

Her coily dark hair ends just below her shoulders. It is worn in braids that begin at her hairline and trail down her scalp in straight lines, ending in up to twenty individual braids. She often stacks wooden or green beads on the ends. This style of braids is unique to her tribe. It also denotes her marital status; Yufandi girls and women wear their hair in braids if they are unmarried, and loose or covered if they are married. She only ties her braids back when she is hunting, travelling, fighting or doing some other kind of physical activity, letting them down at times when the group is resting. She has warm-toned dark brown skin with some freckles scattered here and there, mostly on her arms and face. Her eyes are dark brown.

She is broad-shouldered but lean, with toned arms and legs. Her final height is 5'8" (172 cm), which she reaches by age fifteen. This is considered fairly tall by Niloan standards. She has been the tallest member of the Four since the very beginning.

Like many Niloans, she has tribal marks on her face. Three long, thick, vertical grooves on each cheek indicate that she is of the Yufandi tribe, and three smaller ones in the middle of her forehead indicate that she is both Marked and a Rain Dancer. Chinwe cut the latter three onto her skin immediately after she summoned Uraza, as part of the ritual. This is an age-old cultural practice, one Abeke harbours no ill feelings about.

She has a number of other scars, both from the war and from her life as a hunter in Nilo. These are quite noticeable due to her dark skin tone. The most prominent is a mass of scar tissue on her left shoulder from when Tai Li stabbed her in Fire and Ice. The wound left her with permanent nerve damage, and she still experiences mild discomfort and tingling in that area. She also experiences numbness and increased sensitivity to cold in her toes from the deep frostbite she sustained whilst in Arctica.

As a tattoo, Uraza crouches on her right forearm, claws extended.

She speaks with an elegant western Niloan accent, similar to a Nigerian one on Earth.

She prefers light, comfortable clothing that allows for ease of movement. In Nilo, she wore a simple wrap made of handwoven cloth. When she joined the Conquerors and later the Greencloaks, she switched to more practical clothing for the colder environment: A long-sleeved white shirt under a length of goatskin and a pair of light pants. The triangular, tasselled thing at her waist on the book covers is a small bag, attached to her woven grass belt and used to store her personal belongings. She has leather shoes, more like slippers, that allow her to move silently. If the environment demands it, she will switch to hardier, but still graceful, boots. She prefers to wear her regular cloak over one shoulder, but wears her travelling cloak over both so it doesn't trip her up.

She uses a self bow, well-made, crafted from Niloan wood and embellished with subtle yet beautiful carvings. Lenori gifted it to her after the war, with the help of the Keeper. When not in use, it will either be unstrung (for long-distance travel) or left as is (if she needs it at the ready). In both cases, it is carried on her back, secured to her quiver.

During their stay in the Gulf of Amaya with the Conquerors, Abeke and Shane got matching beaded bracelets to represent their friendship. These bracelets are recurring items for the both of them that provide comfort and, later, anguish. Abeke stopped wearing hers after Shane's betrayal, but could never bring herself to get rid of it. Inexplicably, she thought to take it in her bag when she and Rollan set out from Greenhaven in Fall of the Beasts. When she made up with Shane, they discovered, to their shared surprise, that they had kept their bracelets the whole time. Abeke's is gold, white and black with striking geometric patterns, evoking the Huichol beading style of Mexico. It is one of her most meaningful possessions.

Meilin

The Han dynasty of Imperial China is where the inspiration for Meilin's character came from. Central Zhong overall is meant to be reminiscent of this period.

She has tan skin and long, straight, silky black hair which is usually styled in a topknot behind her head, with or without short plaits running down the sides (the hairstyle she is shown with on the cover of Blood Ties). Her eyes are a brown so dark they appear almost black.

Her build is stocky and well-muscled; she could not be called slender. Her final height is 5'3" (160 cm), which she reaches by age fifteen. This is the average for women in central Zhong, and makes her the smallest member of the Four.

It is perhaps a testament to her skill in battle that she has by far the least physical scars of the Four. The most noticeable are the light burn scars on her back that wrap around to her right shoulder from the fire in Sadre, and even then, those are covered up in public.

For her pierced ears, she usually opts for small teardrop earrings made of jade or silver.

Her tattoo of Jhi rests on the back of her dominant hand. She made the bold decision to get more tattoos in Jano Rion after the Second Great War: A sword, modelled after her own legendary Sword of Teng, along her inner right forearm, with a Yin Yang symbol at the tip near her wrist. These tattoos hold great personal meaning.

Though she speaks the common tongue with ease, she has a discernible central Zhongese accent, which could be likened to a Chinese one in the real world.

Her usual attire is a paofu robe (more specifically jiaolingpao) over a sleeveless white shirt and beige trousers, with a belt or sash at her waist and black leather boots. The robes she favours are knee-length, allowing for freer movement, padded for warmth and with fitted leather sleeve-cuffs to restrain the wide sleeves and protect her wrists and forearms. Her favourite robe is made of red silk and embroidered with dragons. She wears her travelling cloak over her shoulders, but is also known to don a green robe instead, especially for regular wear. In general, she gravitates to stronger colours like reds and oranges. She dresses the most vibrantly (and expensively) of the Four.

Generally, Meilin presents herself in a masculine way. Her favoured clothing, accessories and even hairstyle are more typical of men in Imperial Zhong. On top of gravitating to these styles because they are simply the most practical for a warrior, Meilin feels more comfortable and like herself in men's clothing, and enjoys dressing this way because of how confined she felt when conforming to the standard imposed on Zhongese women.

Her sword, the legendary Sword of Teng, is a jian that has been passed down through her family for many generations. In times when she needs it strapped to her, she will wear a belt instead of a sash to hold it in its scabbard.

Her trademark accessory is a small Yin Yang amulet attached to a silk thread, meant to be worn as a necklace, but often just carried by her side. It was her last birthday gift from her father, given to her on the day she summoned Jhi. This amulet later becomes her bond token, Peacefinder.

Rollan

Although the original books made it a little ambiguous, from details sprinkled throughout and especially the description of Aidana, we can conclude that Rollan is the Erdas equivalent of Native American. In ARHoE, this is an integral part of Rollan's character. For his tribe, I referenced the Algonquian (and more specifically Wabanaki) peoples of eastern Canada.

He has weathered, light brown skin and long, thick, straight black hair. In the first arc, he wore his hair loose or tied back in a ponytail. After the war, when he and his mother had the opportunity to reconnect with their tribe in Amaya after being isolated from them for so long, Rollan adopted many of their customs. He came back with his hair in two braids, a style that had been practised by the Wascow and many other Amayan tribes for centuries. His eyes are dark brown.

Years of malnourishment on the streets made Rollan leaner and lighter-built than the others, and even while living the good life at Greenhaven he remains somewhat scrawny. For the same reason, his final height of 5'4" (162 cm), which he reaches by age sixteen, is below average for northern Amayan men.

He isn't able to grow nearly as much facial hair as Conor -- just a few dark hairs above his upper lip. He scrapes off his thin moustache when circumstances allow it, in accordance with his tribe's customs.

When he was a child, he was caught stealing and had his nose slit as punishment. The scar left behind is one of his most recognisable features. He has too many other scars to mention.

Both of his ears are pierced, a procedure he had done while staying with his tribe. He owns and wears a variety of earrings, but his favourites are a pair of feathers that fell from Essix.

Essix's tattoo is emblazoned on his upper chest, her outstretched wingtips skimming his collarbones. He has a multitude of other tattoos, all of which were done during his time with the Wascow. His whole body is marked with symbols representing his tribe, spirit animal and achievements, including one for every battle he has won. The process was gruelling, but Rollan's ego has soared since getting them.

The subject of his accent is an interesting one, because unlike the other three, Rollan didn't grow up speaking the language of his people. Common is the only language he is fluent in, and, of course, he didn't grow up with a fixed person to influence how he spoke it. The result is his accent being an odd blend of speech habits from the constantly changing cast of people around him -- his mother, the people at the orphanage, the Widow Renata, his street gang and even foreign traders who spent time in Concorba. There is influence not only from different Amayan tribes in his pronunciation patterns, but parts of Eura and Zhong. Conor, Abeke and Meilin have never heard anything like it.

He typically wears a long-sleeved grey shirt, trousers and a pair of deerskin moccasins. Even though his choice of attire is rather simple, it is worth more than anything he ever owned as an orphan in Concorba. Beadwork features prominently on his clothing and accessories, including on his earrings, in patches sewn on his trousers and moccasins, and his treasured sash (which is best visible on the cover of Fire and Ice). His worn green cloak hangs around his shoulders. He doesn't own a regular one, only Tarik's travelling cloak.

The dagger he favours is a straight, mean-looking blade with an ornate hilt. He keeps it sheathed at his belt when not in use.

I thought it would be fitting to give them all a matching item. Something they carry around that reminds them of each other. Of their team. So, while in the capital of Zhong on their victory march after the war, the friends came across a collection of attraction charms and decided to each buy one. They were made of semi-precious stones, small and teardrop-shaped, attached to a little ring with a cap of silver or gold. They each chose a stone with meaning that resonated with them. Conor's is labradorite, which symbolises inner peace. Abeke's is sunstone, which stands for strength. Meilin's is amethyst, which symbolises balance. Rollan's is garnet, for clarity. The kids paired them with charms of their spirit animals and wear them in various ways -- on bracelets, in pockets, on necklaces close to their hearts. Every time they look at them, even if they are a thousand miles away from the people who keep the other pieces of the set, they think of their family.

There you have it, the altered character designs for the Four Heroes! These will be incorporated into the ARHoE masterdoc when it is completed. More pivotal characters to follow!

Additional arts:

And their references:

P.S.