Concavia: Stone Dwalf.
Added 2025-12-15 21:19:31 +0000 UTCWhat you see before you is no stone-likeness. It was once a living Dwalf, before it was shut fast in stone. That is, if these dark Alves can even be called living, seeing how they set themselves apart from the land of the living, ever yearning to be brought back to the Dark Lord and his children.
They are like wraiths, lacking any set shape. For this, they can slip through any gap they will and even steal the bodies of others, riding them as broken steeds or visiting them in their dreams. Dwalves are at their strongest in full darkness, for in darkness there is nothing to bind their shape. Fire, however, can pin them to one shape, and they cannot shift again until they are beyond its light.
There is one light that sets their shape like no other, daylight. Leuada’s shine binds them to the world. Concavia was made from the lifeless body of their forefather, and like their Dark Lord, Leuada’s beam ties them to share in his doom, becoming one with the earth in the shape of stone.
The true shape of a Dwalf, if such a thing can be said to be, is the one you see here. This Dwalf was taken by a Weyhōsa wanderer and bound with an iron chain to face Leuada’s light at dawn. For wrought iron is their weakness. The horn-wreath he bears upon his head is something all Dwalves wear. These horn-wreaths grow ever more manifold and tangled with greater standing.
This Dwalf was of the middling sort of his kind. Lesser Dwalves bear smaller horn-wreaths, while the highest among them bear truly weighty ones, which speak of their might. They wear these horn-wreaths because they think of themselves as lords over short-lived folk, yet within Dwalfdom there are lords among lords.
It is a truly fearsome and awful sight to come upon a Dwalf in the woods at night. Its lank shape looms among the blackened trees, its horn-wreath like dead branches, and its fiery eyes burn upon you with the hate of elder days long past.
And a blood-chilling sight it is, to see a Dwalf standing at the foot of your bed, knowing that you are helpless to withstand its taking. Woe to speak of such evil!
Comments
Exactly. They’re described as shape-shifting shadow wraiths rather than flesh-and-blood beings, though I would not compare them to pseudopods or amoebae because those are both very much physical creatures. They do eat, but not mortal foods, as they do not have stomachs. They are sustained by immaterial things, such as the life force of living beings or the prayers of the faithful. As for architecture, they live underground and can shape the very earth to their will. Their settlements look more natural than built, like grand cave-halls with stalagnate columns lining their length. They certainly dwell in grottos, as these spaces are sacred to their worshippers. Yes, they do indeed. They also spend a great deal of time, sometimes decades, meditating and practising disconnection from the world to achieve a state of voidness, like how it was before creation, hissing Támhas’ name over and over like a mantra. I like scenarios like that too, though I am not sure the Silvern (Alves and Albes) would pay the Dwalves any heed. They are the ancient enemy after all. Sure, if a captive Dwalf had vital information that the Weyhōsa needed, but they had to get back to base to make use of it, or something along those lines. It really does depend on the situation, but it would be interesting to write about. Yes, they can live and travel deep underwater. In fact, they are associated with deep waters, not just sunless depths, but subterranean waters specifically. A terrifying and great idea. I really like it! Thank you as always, Erika. You too.
Callum Diggle
2025-12-16 19:59:02 +0000 UTCIt means a lot Lukak, thank you! To try something new and for it to land is a really great feeling as an artist 🙌🏻
Callum Diggle
2025-12-16 07:06:59 +0000 UTCInteresting! I thought the horn-wreaths were made of hair or skin, but the tissue type doesn't really matter since Dwalves can change their shape at will, so its more like the pseudopods of an amoeba, so to speak. If Dwalves are weakened by fire, how do they do things like cook food? Or do they use salt for food, which I imagine they would prefer due to salt coming from the Earth and therefore their Dark Lord. They may also not create meals in the same way that the other races do because they don't like engaging in worldly pleasures. Do you have an idea of what Dwalf architecture looks like and what their underground settlements are actually like? Do Dwalves engage in intellectual pursuits more than other races due to them rejecting many pleasures that the other races engage in? One scenario in stories that I've always liked is when two opposing groups end up in a situation where if they attack each other, they will be both die, so they are forced to form a truce. I'm just imagining what sort of interesting interactions an d events would take place if a group of Weyhosa and a group of Dwalves were in a situation like that. Another scenario I've liked is when the characters defeat an enemy but have to keep them around for a long time, such as a few Weyhosa who defeat a Dwalf but have to bring the Dwalf with them for some reason. This would give many opportunities for in interactions, dialogue and events to occur between the Dwalf and Weyhosa. What do you think the conversations between them would be like? I wonder, could Dwalves travel or live in deep water since there is little to no sunlight? What if that messenger from the start of Concavia is being followed by Dwalves under the ocean who are intent on stopping the news about their plans from getting out, with them only needing to wait until night to emerge from the sea and attack? I hope you have a great day!
Erika Spooner
2025-12-16 03:56:59 +0000 UTCMust agree with Poptart. Already loved your linework years ago when I started following you, but your monochromatic renderings are really upping your game
Lukak
2025-12-16 01:17:23 +0000 UTC
