#yinglong

[Lore]

Reading from my vn wikipedia, Yìnglóng 應龍 was born from a creature that was described to be the ancestor to all furred/feathered/haired creatures. Yinglong then gave birth to a horse-like creature, and that horsie gave birth to a smaller horselion creature.

This was sourced from the book Hoài Nam tử (淮南子), otiginally titled Hồng Liệt (鴻烈). Hồng happens to be homophonic to red 紅 btw, like Red chamber. It's a really big book. Many authors joined in to record everything they knew about the world at that time. So they believed that fantastical creature created all animalkind.

Yinglong is the Huangdi [emperor]'s (supposed ancestor of the Han people in China) beloved companion? I don't know how to describe it. It reminds me of the novel series Twelve Kingdoms, where each emperor has their own Kirin (same word for that horselion creature) who serves them and is bound by life to their master. It was described to be a relationship that transcended romance, familial, self-love, everything. Just utmost loyalty and dedication.

Here's the joyous part. The 應 Yìng in Yinglong means something like granting a wish to me (I don't speak Mandarin, just using what I know about Vietnamese to translate this). English translation of Yinglong is the responsive dragon. Think of responsive like... someone who is always there for you and grants your every wish, like how Yinglong was to Huangdi.

From EN wikipedia,

"Great Eastern Wastelands" (14, 大荒東經) mentions Yinglong killing both Chiyou and Kua Fu and describes using Yinglong images in sympathetic magic for rainmaking.

A dragon called Yinglong lived on the southern flank of a mountain named Xiongli Hill in the northeast corner of the Great Wasteland...having killed celestial beings Chiyou and Kuafu...Yinglong could not return to heaven. With no Yinglong, who created clouds and rain, the people below suffered constant droughts. When that happened, they masqueraded as Yinglong or fashioned clay images of the dragon to bring rain, often successfully.

Yinglong is a rainmaker, performing revolutionary acts like parting the lands to create waterways to cultivate rice. But after having killed Chiyou and Kuafu, other beasts in the myths, it could not go back to heaven... Supporting myths said it wandered around exhausted and wounded, unable to control its powers for good anymore.

So take it as... it was not taken care of following a wound, and that bleeds out until it no longer felt in control of anything. The last thing it remembered before thrashing in pain was fighting for the Emperor's sake. Yet what did it gain from that? Nothing, no purpose, just pain.

[Physical Depiction]

It's very important to the characterisation of Yinglong that it's a winged dragon. I believe that's why one of the reason why Sinclair resonates with it. In his sprite he looks like a baby bird. Around Sinclair's neck seems to me like a smaller dragon coiling around him, which fits the description that Yinglong is sometimes wrapped in smaller wingless dragons. He also has an ungrown tail, making him look really juvenile.

Now compared to Hong Lu, he is tattered, like the post battle remains of Yinglong. his wings are exposed in bones. he doesn't even have a tail. He only has one horn even. It's a harrowing sight. Even victory came with such a steep cost.

I've also said before but the pibo they share here really looks like guts. It reminds me of when I was a really young, I had to get surgery on my large intestine, otherwise my life would have been in danger. I don't know why I brought that up here but well, think of being strangled by your own guts I guess. That's how it looks for them to wear their own guts out, loud and proud. It's also stylised to look like hearts. Wear your hearts on your sleeves (literally). But your heart should be inside your body, not out. If it's outside, what's left inside you?

Now think, with the mechanic of them stabbing themselves to bring destruction upon their enemies. Hong Lu may have thought he needed to suffer to appease his elders, like Yinglong, while Sinclair believes he's too weak to destroy others unless he destroys himself in the process (just spitballing here).

I find it overall interesting that the rainmaker dragon brings in no water but only blood here. Blood of family, blood of enemies, but nothing resembling what it was meant to do. Not meant to shed blood, this thing. It always wanted to help.

[EGO Design]

Now I just want to share my thoughts on Huin's design. I had this alternate version without lines basically. I had wanted to stop there but then I got pushed into lining it.

Detailed crops for anyone who wants to see. I appreciate it.

About the horns. I saw that Hong Lu was wearing jade rings on it so I might as well decorate my horns with the signature items (a sword guard and with colourful strings tied to it).

Blood covered my face like tears. The pibo is wrapped around my fists like manacles. For a deathrow inmate. I had tweaked the clothes to look more like hanbok than hanfu. My favourite part about this outfit is turning the fur cape from Base Huin into this white feathery cape. I don't have a tail. It's just the cape's tail.

Also creates a cool contrast when everyone's pibo go up whereas mine goes down... It really looks like I'm the only one who doesn't deserve heaven (I jest). Ah also, I had an excuse to have double dragon patterned sash, because it calls back to Huin's story closely involving his brother. Idk, two dragons side by side, like a story of two brothers.