Welcome, travelers. We’re back today to look at another of the sigils from the world of Tellest, and I feel as though today we have one that feels very much like a medieval sigil. Between the checkerboard pattern, and the art above the field, it just looks very much in line with what we might see if we went to feudal Europe. Today we’re going to be talking about Sentinel, a city that has been a part of the Tellest literary universe for a very long time, and it’s got a wee bit more complexity and richness to it than you might expect for having only seen it in the books ever so briefly. Let’s dive in.
What you may know is that Sentinel is meant to be the last vestige of hope for Raleigh if Blacklehn should break through the Sentinel Pass. The city at the mountains is essentially a military base, and it has expanded over the years to include families of the soldiers, and grown because of it. While there is always the threat of an invasion, the troops who guard the pass have done so diligently for decades, and they’ve always managed to keep their foes from breaching to the city proper. What you may not know is that the concept of the tower being part of the sigil was done because I used to be (and still am) a huge nerd for Tower Defense games. Back when As Darkness Falls was still a spark of an idea in my mind, I envisioned a tower defense game that took place in the Sentinel Pass, and it was through the development of that idea that we ended up with characters like Pendrich, and some minor characters that we spotted in The Enemy Within. Tellest truly is a world where the tiniest detail can come back and grow in a big way.
Since Sentinel is known for the stonework of the towers in the pass, and they’re likely under constant siege, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that the sigils painted here and there would see some wear and tear over time. In fact, it might even be the norm, as it’s unlikely that a talented artist is going to spend too much time refreshing the paint here and there. Then again, through the course of the long battles, it’s possible that the rival kingdoms have painted over each others sigils over and over again.
Now, while Sentinel certainly isn’t going to be using any ships in the mountains in their region (although airships would be another thing entirely), they would have banners on administrative buildings in the city, wagons that travel to the larger allied settlements and even the capital, and of course, the towers in the pass. At certain points in the Sentinel Pass, there is likely a chance to spot several of these banners fluttering in the wind.
As we mentioned earlier, the painted version of the Sentinel sigil might be used to quickly identify ownership of a tower. While banners would be quickly burned or torn to bits, an army might be able to get a mildly talented artist in place to paint something on the side of a tower in order to ensure their troops were moving toward an allied battlement. Even then, there might be some confusion with all the chaos that goes on in the pass.
As always, we leave you with one final picture: the phone background. I hope you enjoy it!
Our next sigil is a bit different, as we don’t see too many sigils that are as abstract as this one is bound to be, but I have no doubts that you’ll enjoy it. We’ll see you with that one soon!
Michael DeAngelo
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