#ashe's mcd rewrite

[gumbootillustrations]

long time no see tumblr i have returned to wish mcd a (very belated) happy 10 yrs

[into-my-cringe-era-letsgoo]

Another list of stuff I was thinking of for my rewrite of MCD

- I think I'm going to change Travis's name to Encaris. And then have his brothers name be Kirill. This is so that each brother has a piece of Enki's name. And Travis didnt fit the character that I was trying to make.

- For Tu'la, I'm borrowing from a bunch of Aphmau's RPs to try to conceptualize this area. So like characters from My Inner Demons and Heart Point appear here.

- In Tu'la, there is an emperor that is slowly conquering the world. It's why O'kasis gets invaded at some point.

- The emperor's son, Ashe, and his grandmother are organizing a coup against the emperor. Their involvement is secret.

- I actually have some ideas of where the MVD version of the deamos boys stand:

- Pierce is one of the generals for Rhal. Not one of Ashe's knights

- Noi is still on of Ashe's knights. Noi's kingdom was one of the first kingdoms to be taken over and assimilated into Ashe's kingdom. (Was actually about to be executed before Ash is like no.)

- Rhys is Lady Grandma's pupil and loyal knight to Ashe. He and Ashe have known each other since they were little.

- Leif is... Honestly, he's the only one that I can't find a good starting point at.

- Zoey is actually a banished fairy. The term elf refers to a fairy who's had their wings taken away. Fairies like being hidden away and separated from humans and others. They even have a barrier that hides their settlements away.

- Zoey is actually super tall. Fairies tend to be born as small pixies before having like a giant growth sprout to be around the size or bigger than humans. Really depends.

- So when Levin was a baby, he was like super small (this concerned a lot of people. But it was eventually cleared up by Zoey that it must be from his fae heritage) But after the 15 year skip, he's tall af

- Ms.Momoka (KC), and Aaron are followers of Shad. The reason why Ms.Momoka's magic is illegal is based off the fact that her magic is based in Shad domain. Her magic allows her to manipulate souls of people in some way. Her dolls are animated from dead souls.

- following this, Ms. Momoka is from the same kingdom as Noi. That kingdom has a good mix of Ru'uani and Tu'lan customs. And was one of the last places where Shads followers can worship without scrutiny. Sadly was destroyed 😔

- while travelling to Scaleswind, Aphmau shows up at the dying village of Meteora Valley instead of the Neopolitan Villages. There is a whole subplot with the guardian of the valley.

- this also means that Spirit Menders exist. So there are a couple tribes that exist. But Aph only ever goes to one. For now.

- Aphmau actually gains her obsession with Purple somewhere in season 1. And after that point, tries her best to o my wear purple

- Zenix betrays and stabs PD after aph goes to brightport. But before going to Scaleswind. But he still does kidnapp lord Burt and get Brendon shot.

- He's also a shape-shifter and has lived for many eons. Making him one of the oldest of all the SK cast.

- Castor has more of a role besides comedic relief. And it's mostly him being an accidental dad figure to Laurence. Or something idk

- Jeffory (now named Joffery just because It accidently gaslit myself for all these years thinking it was that.), will appear as a shadow knight. Because I whole heartedly believe that the shadow lord would revive this guy. He meets all the requirements!!

- Shad domain is quite interesting? In Ru'uan, any and all worship of shad is illegal. Though there are two domains of this worship. There are some who worship who he once was. A "deity" of death. One where he would put souls to peace. Then there are the more modern worshippers who believe in Shad the Destroyer. These consist of humans and Shadow Knights. Typically are facilitated by a shadow knight. Both groups hide away from the public and do not get along with each other.

- Shadow Knights are usually reborn back into the body. Since most knights die due to an untimely death, there bodies need to be fixed or reconstructed. Gene's head was sewed back on. Sasha's body was reconstructed using the body of some scaled animal. So she had scales that cover her body.

- in the case that the shadow knights body is destroyed but not the soul, they will wonder until they find another body. Successful posession of another's body leads to the death of the og owner. I imagine Glenda, Hayden's guard, was made into an SK by that method.

- Shamans! Similar to warlocks, in how they get their power. Shamans usually are given powers similar to the spirit. Instead of just access to magic. Shamans typically only function in the spirits domain. These powers also transform the Shamams body, so that they have traits of that spirit

- Castors spirit is Timberly.

- half of Castors people are actually chicken spirits while the other half are chickens Castor "rescued" from Meteli

- Luma, a character from Meteora is also here. She is the apprentice of the guardian ofeteora Valley. She's another shamen that Aph meets. And her spirit is Commander Thancreed Fluffers.

Honestly that's all for now.

[shadowknightapologist]

your rewrite is so scrumptious i wnat to eat it (/pos) do you have any hcs for mcd zane 🙏

AW THIS MEANS A LOT TO ME bc i feel like i'm just scrawling on a wall rn and people have to interpret it /silly.

i don't have a bunch for zane, but here's what i'm thinking...

WARNINGS FOR: angst, religious trauma/guilt?, abuse mention, injury, murder.

masc-aligned nonbinary, aro/ace + sex-repulsed so being a priest works out for him. he/they pronouns :3

AFAB and figured out he was trans around like... thirteen? by fifteen he came out to garte and requested to be immediately schooled/trained for priesthood which was actually granted.

selectively mute, janus interprets for him. people think his not talking to the masses is a religious thing when in actuality he just thinks the vast majority are stupid and he doesn't wanna waste his breath on them.

zane feels fairly neutral about garte. garte is a cruel leader and an even crueler parent, but the older he gets the easier he is to control, and he doesn't care enough to reject any of zane's ideas or take any power away from him so it works for him.

his relationship with zianna is more conflicted. on one hand, he doesn't question that she loves him (detrimentally so). on the other hand, he feels less loved than garroth and vylad. he wants his mother safe, living peacefully and lavishly; he thinks she's weak, cowardly like a lamb and unable to exist if someone's not there to lead her.

in summary, he greatly underestimates zianna's backbone and it bites him in the ass in the future.

zane lost his eye when he was six. he was playing with things he knew he shouldn't have and garroth didn't get to him in time to stop him (not sure what exactly happened tho). garroth got there after and whisked him away to get immediate care and took the blame for it so zane wouldn't get in trouble.

unfortunately the definition of "hurt people hurt people". he couldn't get back at garte for the abuse he endured as a child which is what leads to him becoming a violent, conniving asshole who cares less and less about the lives of others.

he was cold and mean to vylad most of the time but there were times he really embraced being his older sibling. he liked doing his hair and helping him sound out words. it's unfortunate that every time he considered letting vylad in something would happen that would push them apart again.

zane found vylad after he was killed. it was the last time he ever cried. he ordered guards to take the body and dispose of it and threatened to have them and their families executed if they dared breathe a word of it to anyone.

has a weird relationship with the jury of nine. he doesn't care about them, he considers them his closest confidants, he knows most of them don't care about him but rather his power, he doesn't want them to die, hurting them and throwing them into conflict makes him feel powerful.

ultimately, the only juror he grieves is janus. why? they grew up together. janus was one of the only people zane 100% believed was loyal to him and him alone. his death was kinda the beginning of the end for zane's mental stability.

i think it's after janus dies that zane starts researching about the relics. i don't know why yet.

zane is extremely skilled at playing the part of a devoted, pious man, but he personally cycles between not believing in eirene at all, cursing her name, and begging for forgiveness. sometimes he asks for signs, thinks he gets one, and thinks he's loved by something bigger than him; other times he hates her so much, if it weren't for his reputation he'd order every trace of her to burned and stomped to ashes.

these are kinda dookie i'm sorry!! i'm very sleepy... but hopefully this is all stuff i'll iron out as time goes on :3 i'm super torn between making zane an awful person or giving some redeeming traits so we'll see where it goes

[xielianslver]

Divine Warriors

Here is some info dump about MCD's Divine Warriors in my rewrite, not all of this is known to the public of the mortal realm (especially the stuff about Shad.)

Irene the Matron: There isn't much known about Lady Irene's past, the only evidence they have are the scriptures Enki had written. Though most were burned. It is a common concept that she grew up in a small village (later Scaleswind) in Ru'aun. born from the ash of a god they say. She is incredibly strong, having healing magicks and the ability to bring those back from the dead as well as other abilities (mainly dimensional), Irene did not have a weapon. She can also change her form into a man but she rarely ever did this and it's said that she hated the form. After her disappearance (presumed death) which was 40 or so years after the fight with Shad. She was worshipped more commonly, which her worship later became widespread. Irene is worshipped as the god of medicine/health, the afterlife, agriculture and hope. She is associated with doves (because of her wings) and lavender, around churches and royalty/nobles homes, you will see statues of doves and fields of lavender. It's said that natural forming fields of lavender are places blessed by Irene. Although mainly worshipped in Ru'aun she is seen and heard all over the world.

Menphia the Fury: She grew up in Tu'la near the capital, one of the very few in Tu'la who was human. Menphia came from a well off noble family, she was a strong girl who could wield almost any close combat weapon. She became one of the princesses' guards at the age of 19. There was a rumor that Menphia and the princess were having an affair but it was never denied nor confirmed. She became a protector of Irene and later one of the Divine Warriors, she also had a pet tiger. Her magicks are very limited but they consist of strength and speed. Menphia used multiple different close combat weapons (swords, maces, battle axes, etc). She died during the fight with Shad to save Enki. She is worshipped mainly in Gal'ruk and Tu'la and usually by guards or soldiers. She is worshipped as the god of rage, strength, war, and courage. She is associated with tigers and fire. Her statues always have a tiger at her legs.

Shad the Destroyer: Not much is known about Shad at all, Enki himself destroyed practically everything that he had written about Shad. Them and Irene were close, the common conception was that they were lovers. Irene and Shad had a fight because he was a danger to mortals. Irene sealed Shad deep inside a mountain for 10 years, he later escaped and caused havoc. Although Irene and many of the other warriors had pushed her to their breaking point it was Shad himself who decided to be spiteful and become the Shadow Lord. Xavier was the first ever shadow knight. Their magicks consist of strength, telekinesis, and break dimension barriers. She can change their form much like Irene, to a woman, man, or a form of neither. He seems to enjoy this unlike Irene. Many depictions of Shad are different in gender because of this. Very few mortals worship him but she is seen as the god of deception, chaos, death, and tragedy. He is commonly associated with crows and lily of the valleys.

Enki the Keeper: Enki had many journals detailing both his and the other warriors lives yet he either burned most or hid them away, very few were actually found. He grew up in a home of warriors in Gal'ruk but despite this he became a scholar. He is known to have been in love with many, Menphia, Irene, Esmund's brother. Likely Xavier too. He was born without any magicks but he did know a bit of witchcraft. His abilities after getting a relic were; un-human observation, speed, and levitation. Enki barely fought but when he did he used an ink brush (much like Qiu Yongsi from Tianbao Fuyao lu). Enki died 5 or so years after the battle with Shad. He is worshipped in Gal'ruk and is a common figure head for literature. He is the god of; ink and paper, literature, language, and love. Enki is commonly associated with owls and snow.

Esmund the Protector: Much is known about him as he was the eldest son of one of the most well known historians, Ruthin Ro'meave. He grew up in Ru'aun, he became a guard and later became a Divine Warrior. Esmund was commonly known for his beauty that rivaled Irene's. He was deeply in love with Irene which caused a strain between Irene, Shad and Esmund. His younger brother was horrifically injured during a battle while under Shad's watch which caused Esmund to become even more resentful of Shad. Despite wanting to help defeat Shad he decided to stay behind and protect. He died 30 years before Irene's disappearance. He is worshipped in Ru'aun usually by Lords of villages seeking protection. He is the god of; protection, safety, loyalty, victory, and family. Esmund is associated with shields and jewlary.

Kul'zak the Wanderer: They grew up near the docks of Tu'la, they were a meif'wa. They helped with travel when ships docked on Tu'la. Kul'zak was the first Divine Warrior after Irene, and a nomad. They were a very good bard and a little mischievous. They were the oldest of the Divine Warriors and the one to have kept them all together. After the Divine Warriors split they traveled and spoke of legends for 10 years before dying. Unlike the other Divine Warriors they aren't worshipped in one place, they are worshipped as the god of; travel. merchants, alcohol and music. Kul'zak is associated with intoxication and the flute.

[myboybreakscoffins]

The Butterfly Effect

bartylily microfic — first msgical war, MCD, angst, past situationship, barty's pov — word count: 352

It was meant to be just a situationship. They were together for fun, stealing moments between obligatory study hours in the dark corners of the library. It was naughty comments met with witty retorts, sharp and careless conversations about inappropriate subjects, the heady haze of a shared joint, heated kisses, and a quick fuck on a Thursday night. There were a few too-short dates, filled with sparse words and even fewer clothes, stolen away in dusty broom closets. And, at some point, as naturally and effortlessly as the seasons change, they existed only on the periphery of each other's lives, their connection reduced to a handful of mischievous glances exchanged in the corridors. They had parted without bitterness, without promises, without any acknowledgment of what might have been.

But if it was so fleeting, so inconsequential, why, so many years later, did Lily Evans’ name in the morning obituary strike him like a curse?

Barty Crouch Jr. stared at the black ink spelling her name, the words blurring as guilt and regret tightened in his chest. His breakfast turned to ash on his tongue, and the weight of unspoken truths threatened to choke him. He would never rewrite the way they had drifted apart; they had never belonged to each other. They had been smart enough not to mistake their games for destiny but foolish enough to believe their actions wouldn’t ripple through each other’s lives.

What they had was a spark—brief and hot—but even the smallest spark could set a forest aflame.

She had fought for hope, for justice, for everything he had let slip through his fingers. And he, in his arrogance, had chosen a path that stood against everything she believed in. The Dark Mark on his left arm felt like a cruel mockery—a constant reminder of the choices he made and the lives he had destroyed.

The world she had fought for still stood, but her absence rendered it hollow. And Barty Crouch Jr., standing amid the ashes of his own ruin, realized too late that even the most fleeting connections could leave scars deeper than any war.

inspired by @ohmycuckoo's latest reel

[packcoventhing]

Aaron Lycan - Fallen Ashes

@romeave-wives-club <- rewrite partner in crime

"official" character page - tundra design

Without further adieu, and without spoiling too much of the plot since we do intend to write a proper fanfic with this rewrite, I present: Aaron Lycan!

---

- 6'3 Bear

- DILF

- He/him

- Autism

- Shad's reincarnation

- Aphmau and Zoey's babygirl

---

First introduced as "the stranger", Aaron was a mystery from the beginning. His motivations weren't known, nor his backstory, and for the gods' sake Aph thought he was an old man!

He isn't shown again until his "official" meeting with Aphmau, operating in the shadows. He had been watching Zane's actions, entirely against whatever empire O'Khasis was trying to build.

So when Zane paid a visit to Phoenix Drop, and O'Khasis ships were docked, he knew something was happening.

He figured out there was a spy, someone from within- Phoenix Drop was always so independent. He hadn't been here since Malik and Matilda-

Which placed particular suspicion on the twin lords who just-so-happened to be in the place of the lovers.

He observed at first, watched from the shadows. He watched as the eldest Ro'meave- he was meant to be dead?- was happily close to the lords, as Aphmau- the girl he had *saved* in the tundra- spoke with one of the Jury of Nine. Just far enough away to not catch what they had spoken of

He cornered her, alone with none of her guards around, and had plans of ending her, getting it over with. She was obviously a spy, along with the other lord-

But he hesitated. There was something in her eyes, something almost- familiar? No, it was probably just fear. Good, she should be afraid- serves her right for being the spy for such a no-good, murderous-

"Wait, please!" Aphmau used his hesitance to ramble. And she was good at it, she nearly begged him to let her protect her village, and begged for him to recognize who she was.

In a split-second judgement, one that could have him killed if messed up, he let up- slightly. Just enough to be slightly less deadly.

---

Zoey

He went into Phoenix Drop with some, disturbing news. To him, it was normal intel, something that would come up in any lord's ruling-

But after his meetings with the Lords, he could tell they hadn't come to the verge of war yet. Instead of being able to slip in, talk to one of the two, and out- he got a kitchen knife in his face.

"Who are you?"

He'd never admit his first thought was that she was gorgeous, because his second- and much more pressing- thought was this woman has a knife and he didn't want to kill within the lord's house.

---

Jacob

...

---

Design comments!

So! His tundra design has a thicker beard, at least is meant to, and has more layering to his clothes. That's the main comment here, don't make the man shirtless in the snow

He had no reason to cover his eyes with a bandana, so instead his hair is simply too long. Once neat-cut long hair, shorter in the front- *almost* having fringes, grew out. He doesn't bother to cut it, he can see his surroundings just fine

Red is a pretty expensive dye back then, so I like to imagine his jacket was once the red we see in his skin- but it's been worn and dulled from years of use, and he refuses any other jacket as his primary one (it became a comfort item of his)

I gave the man a shirt, he does take his shirt off when training, but he also doesn't walk around shirtless 24/7

You can't see it in the drawings, and I messed it up on the tundra drawing, but he wears silver buckles & jewelry due to it being a weakness of werewolves (Aph & Zoey later bully him into wearing gold due to their werewolf friends existing)

His beard gets progressively shorter as Aph tries to teach him some semblance of "can I at least see your face? Irene, how is it even that thick-"

---

other comments

"Aaron ���� Zoey Holding a sharp object to their future partner's throat" <- Cam

"AARON AND APH WORSHIPPING ZOEY BECAUSE WHAT IS BETTER THAN HAVING TWO GODS WORSHIP A LOWLY MORTAL-" <- Cam

Jacob does have lore, and he has a story beyond what we know ;)

[coelakanths]

Oh also MCD please?

OHOHOHO

disclaimer this is my rewrite not mcd proper ok. im vylad mel is garroth navi is zane we are the romeave brothers. u are seraphaura. sy is laurance and roger is travis.

[attourney-at-lycan]

omg i havent posted in 24 hours

i need to post something

quick! something uhhhh. im adding in the noi, pierce, ash etc to mcd rewrite because i can. i keep thinking of them as some sort of bounty hunting group? they’re the most well known and usually hired by those who need them to get rid of a group of people or someone extremely powerful. they do occasionally split off but usually work best together.

[worldbuildingidiot]

Melissa's alive in my rewrite of mcd. She's a mercenary for a while, bc hey, she's good with a sword and her town is literally ashes.

[gumbootillustrations]

ashes, ashes but its postcanon cos i need the comfort after all the hurt i put these fuckers thru

[lauranceofmeteli]

I can almost never find any good fanfics for aphmau, blease help??? 💙💙

I hope your ready for a fuckton of links my dude cause i have so many fave fics! (also im gonna list them by site cause idk what you use anon dsgfhdf)

Wattpad

(yes i use wattpad, yes im not a 12yo, yes we exist)

Lycan’s Resistance - uh this fic is really cool if you like mcd and mystreet crossovers! it has one of the greatest irenes ever dsgfhdgsf

Usernames - i really loved this one during my garmau phase and the author is rewriting it so nows a pretty good time to start reading

Not Leaving Again - i found this fic when looking for dumb x readers late at night and this one is pretty cute! its a mystreet katelyn x reader btw

Ao3

From The Ashes - v edgy mcd fic with vylad and zenix. its short but a good read

Family Ties - another short but really good one! i really like this one because vylad is written in character way better than he is in cannon most of the time dsgjfdsf

Aphmau Mafia!AU - this one hasn’t been updated for a while but so far its been pretty good!

hatchmarks - god this series man,,,, its just so well written! with travlyn AND vylance!

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“I hate you” should have been the last words you said to me - yet another one chapter fic but damn does it do a lot in the short amount of time. it gives us the dante/gene backstory we deserve

Tes rewritten to fit the mv part 1 + part 2 - this is no joke the funniest shit ive ever read dont make the same mistake as me and read it in class

Something Borrowed, Something New prologue 1 2 3 4 - this fic is definitely one of my all time faves! im not sure if op plans to continue it or not, but whats there so far is amazing

Mafia AU - i really like this fic cause it gives characters like kenmur, emmalyn, and cadenza a bigger role in the story! theres only 1 chapter but the story so far is pretty rad. 

Reunion - this fic man… laurance and vylads reunion from vylads pov??? thats good shit. also vylance shdgaf

[gumbootillustrations]

may all the beauty be blessed

@ all the zoeymau shippers out there im so sorry

uhh yeah. more hi3 x mcd shenaniganery. aph is still kiana. zoey is himeko. crying in the club rn

the short i based these bits off btw

[gumbootillustrations]

day 5 of aphtober - sun / moon

decided to do some garrance tarot cards (inspired by the incredible @number-one-zara-fan), with garroth as the sun (positivity, success, vitality) and laurance as the moon (illusions, anxiety, and the subconscious)

textless versions under the cut :3

anyway. enjoy.

[gumbootillustrations]

a quiet morning

[gumbootillustrations]

divine warriors loredump!

so yeah, the divine warriors! admittedly, i'm fascinated by them - i rlly rlly wish that we'd gotten to see more of them + their powers/domains/abilities in mcd, especially considering that they're a driving force behind the plot. so, i've gone ahead and done some redesigns for the sigils (above) and expanded on the domains and abilities of the divine warriors within the context of ashes, ashes.

more under the cut!

irene retains her matron title. for her domains, i rlly wanted to lean into her being a deity of life and family; as such, her official domains are  life, light, healing, childbirth and parenthood, fertility, marriage, tradition, beauty, and romantic/familial/platonic love. menphia also has domains over aspects of love (namely over sexual/carnal/manic love), but i wanted them to sort of have an aphrodite ourania (irene) and aphrodite pandemos (menphia) sort of vibe. in terms of the abilites that her relic gives its wielders, its a lot of what's seen in canon mcd: lots of healing and light abilities, but also some dimensional manipulation and time manipulation stuff thrown in there for the shits and giggles.

for shad, i rlly wanted to play into him being both a mirror and a foil for irene. where irene creates, he destroys; where irene brings life, he brings death. his official domains are that of death, darkness, chaos, the afterlife, change, rot and decay, the Nether, bloodshed, and madness. although he's also a war deity like menphia (and, to an extent, esmund and xavier), he's mostly associated with the worst bits of battle - the blood, the rot, the awful awful deaths, that sort of thing. his relic grants its wielders a lot of destruction-associated powers like disintegration and rot/plague/death stuff, but also some shadow and blood manipulation as well.

like a lot of other folks, i felt like enki was the best fit for a knowledge deity. he looks after scholars, librarians, witches, and inventors; officially, his domains are those of knowledge, air, magick, prophecy, the weather, winter, reason, and lightning. from here, you'll start to see pretty much all the warriors having some sort of like. elemental association? is the best way i can put it. i've sort of based it off of the minor arcana of the tarot; the suit of swords, which is associated with air, is the suit of knowledge and the mental realm, which i thought was fitting for enki. enki is also one of the four seasonal divine warriors (the others being esmund, menphia, and kul'zak); he gets winter, mostly because of his centre of worship being in gal'ruk. wielders of his relic get air and weather manipulation powers, as well as powers related to memory and access to witchcraft (if they aren't witches already). they also gain clairvoyance.

esmund! again with the tarot symbolism; esmund is associated with the element of earth and the physical world, hence the mountain in his sigil. his domains are those of protection, earth, wealth, autumn, boundaries, earthquakes, guardhood, and the harvest. the domain over the harvest might seem a little left field but it makes sense i promise! i sort of saw esmund's association with the harvest not only being because of him being an earth deity, but also because i feel like being able to provide is a form of protection, and given the setting of mcd, i feel like being able to provide a good harvest is a part of that. this is also why he is associated with autumn. regarding the abilities that his relic provides, there's a lot of earth manipulation and barrier/force field creation stuff in there; his relic wielders are also freakishly stronger and more durable than those who wield other relics, sort of playing into esmund himself being a tank.

i changed menphia's title to 'the conqueror' because i thought it'd be a bit more fitting for her, especially considering how i'm working tu'la in ashes, ashes (more on that later). i also changed her colour scheme to more of a blue/copper theme despite her being a fire goddess - i thought it was neat, considering that blue flames are those that burn the hottest. her domains are those of warfare (the glorious bits), fire, soldiers, political power, summer, passion and courage, festivals and celebrations, and sexual/carnal/manic love. i'm still not suuuper sure on the abilities that her relic gives its wielders, but there's definitely some pyrokinesis and emotion/heat manipulation, along with some combat-specific foresight in there. i'm open to suggestions!

nothing much really changes regarding kul'zak. he's a nature deity and watches over journeymen and particularly sailors, given that he's a water/ocean deity; he's often worshipped by pirates. officially, his domains are travellers, water, animals, the wilderness, the cardinal directions and navigation, hunting, and spring. i really wanted to lean into him being a man of the wilderness and not really having a home in urban environments. as such, his relic grants its wielders a lot of wilderness-based abilities, like shapeshifting, water and plant manipulation, and camouflage, with a bit of teleportation in there for all your wandering needs.

xavier is probably the divine warrior that i've changed the most. first off, he becomes a divine warrior in ashes, ashes where he isn't in canon mcd. i also really wanted to lean into him being the founder of the jury of nine, hence his title - the justiciar. he's associated with the domains of guardhood (along with esmund), loyalty, metal and metalworkers, justice, balance and order, peace, brotherhood, devotion, and artisans. where esmund looks after the more physical side of being a guard (being your lord's shield and spear, aka the protection side of things), xavier looks after the more emotional side of being a guard - the devotion to your lord and the comradery that you share with your fellows. his relic's abilities capitalise on that, with its wielders being able to both amplify and nullify the magick of the people they're fighting alongside/against. there's also a bit of metal manipulation and a lot of supportive magick in there too.

and, as a fun little tidbit - a lineup of the divine warriors! (the layout is inspired by @star-boi0720 - the way you lay out your drawings like this is mint as 🤩)

i'm still not suuuper happy w kul'zak or irene's designs but i'll get there in the end i guess :)

[gumbootillustrations]

i found out that there's a second volume, which means a second cover...

anyway, i like to think that laurance had to confess to garroth several times, not because he kept chickening out, but rather because garroth is so fucking dense that he kept thinking that laurance's declarations of love were platonic.

(he gets there in the end, but it takes an intervention.)

(also, yes, i have realised that i have kept drawing laurance's scabbard and dagger holster on the wrong sides. this shall be rectified in the future.)