Fostervilla is a city in a very dangerous part of Draconis, and indeed, all of Tellest.  It borders Blacklehn, and there’s a harsh, otherworldly wind that travels through the nearby desert that is said to cause madness, disease and even death.  Fostervilla is also the place where a mighty underground syndicate wields their power, and in this new world, they may have been able to stretch their influence farther than ever.

Since Fostervilla is a desert town, with a rather important oasis nearby, their sigil has a very distinct feel.

Kind of looks like a lemon.

Anyway.  In this latest set that we received from Francois, we did away with the tapestries, and are seeing the return of an old favorite:

That’s right.  The chipped paint version of the sigil is back!  I would expect that there would certainly be some parts of the city of Fostervilla that have fallen into disarray over the years.  It’s no Atalatha or Viscosa, but it is a big city with a lot of area to it.  Some poorer sections of the city could certainly have some levels of disrepair.

Here’s our flag version of the sigil.  This would likely wave in the wind (hopefully not the deathwinds) that flow through the city’s battlements.  No one has ever dared to lay siege to the city, and those who grew up in Fostervilla are known to be hardy indeed.  The city is also known as the City of Orphans, because of how many of the parents have died due to the deathwinds over the years.  That makes for tough men and women, and when a Fostervilla banner flies, people know to pay attention.

Here we go, looking at my favorite versions again.  The painted version of the sigil would be found all over the city of Fostervilla.  The people who live there are proud of all they’ve achieved and endured.  It may appear a little less often in the sections of the city that are impoverished, however.

And of course, the return of sigils means the return of phone backgrounds!

We’ve got another four planned for this set, and over the next several months, you’ll get to see them all.  And by the end of that, perhaps we’ll be ready to work on the next set of sigils with Francois.

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It has been an especially long time since we had any environmental art, but all that’s about to change riiiiiightttttt… now.

The Bindings of Fate was a great way to establish a world that had been swimming around in my mind for seven or so years, but it was As Darkness Falls that really let me explore that place.  With three sets of heroes going off in their own directions, there was a lot of ground to cover, from Kaos and his roundabout search for dragons to Steel Tip, taking the first steps into Blacklehn.

What really jumps out at the end of that book was everything in western Raleigh, courtesy of Christopher, Holklund, Adelia and the newcomer, Hector.  Fostervilla was a magical, if tragic, city.  It was surrounded on all sides by either mountains or desert, and yet… somehow it thrived.  That is in no small part due to Deep Oasis, which Dena Helmi illustrated for us.

This version that we show here was the foundation for the piece.  It’s got a very gothic style temple in the background, which the people of Fostervilla would pray to Hudorian, the god of water, for life and fauna to grow and provide sustenance.

While that was all well and good, Dena went an extra step and gave us a version that would better depict the greek/roman style architecture that inspired the Tellest pantheon.  She also added the hellish deathwinds for good measure.

Enjoy this last environmental piece of the year.  We’ll be back with more in the middle of January!

The post Art: Deep Oasis appeared first on Tellest.

General

Magic is a part of the aether, another realm that is just on the periphery of Tellest.  Sometimes, that thin veil between worlds lies open for just a few moments, and can drape its contents over various places, people and objects.  Other times, it opens like a void, leaving its mark permanently.

This phenomenon, in both its forms, is sometimes recognized as the Strain.  Scholars refer to it as such whenever magic has somehow changed the properties of what we are supposed to experience.  It is often considered a gift from the gods.

People and Creatures

In people, the Strain develops as a sort of magical awareness.  Some people generate some odd power, like the ability to cast forth an element from their bodies, or sprout ethereal wings from their backs.  At first, these powers were thought to have been a sign of inherent magical talent, but often these people had no predisposition to learning other forms of magic on their own.

Each race upon Tellest demonstrates their gifts in varied ways.  Humans receive the Strain in relative ambiguity – many people are distrusting of those who show signs of it, leading many humans that do display those powers to hide them in secrecy.  Elves can only use their powers in limited forms, but the entirety of their individual societies will share the gift.

Creatures have also been known to demonstrate queer abilities.  While some believe that permutations of traditional animals have been deliberately caused by aspiring magi, some scholars believe that they may have been a direct effect of the Strain.  Such an example could be rainbow flutters, which leave brief streaks of color where their wings flap.

Dragons also lend to the idea that the Strain affects creatures as well.  There have been a multitude of strange dragon sightings throughout history, including dragons that were made out of ice, or ones that could grow and shrink at will.

Places

For each of the hundreds of people that the Strain seems to affect in its passing, so too does it seem to let its power linger in the world.  Various areas harness the aether and the magic within, and are often places of great pilgrimage to magic users and the devout.

Among these places is Folly’s Glen in Daltain, the location of one of the many Mage Wars that have scarred Tellest’s past.  The glen is a forest of great renown, which houses many unbelievable facets of nature.

Just south of Raleigh’s city, Fostervilla, there is desert oasis that serves as the city’s water supply.  Scholars believe that this place, too, is a result of the Strain.

Objects

Over the course of time, people have begun to believe that the gods have shaped the aether in some way.  Rather than spending all their time creating the multitude of artifacts that the races of Tellest have relied on, it would be easier to allow the veil to open up and bestow its powers upon those holy relics.

The greatest known objects in history are the weapons that are used to sway a battle.  Archangel, the sword that slew the fallen angel Semia’Laz, is considered a soul saber.  They are known to not just lay a foe low, but also collect their soul within, preventing it from moving on to the afterlife.  The elves of Cefenediel are said to have a quiver that endlessly produces arrows for their greatest archer.  New items are found every day as well, proving that the reach of the Strain knows no bounds.

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