Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Concept Art 004 (Patreon)

Published:
2023-02-13 19:48:12
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Content

The Twin Blades or Twin keys, for the lack of a cooler name at the moment, went through many ideas and changes until we got to the definitive designs.

I'll be upfront and state that obviously Xenoblade's Monado and the main KH keyblades, Oblivion and Oathkeeper, were the biggest influences for these swords along with a bit of engine blade and a bit of Nier reincarnation.

That said in the prototype I realized it needed something to fill the circular cutout to make it a bit more mine, so that's why the final design has the color discs filling the space, the design of the center disks is meant to make allusion to the Twin effigies (Ixbal and Hunna) design, their hip light disks in particular, so the connection to them is noticeable.

The blades are in part an Extension of the effigies, I think the blades have their own core crystal (the purified adam/tesseract fragment, I need a name for the crystals hahaha) so I do have the notion in mind that the blades could only work in a certain distance or perimeter close to an effigy. This is a limitation that could become an obstacle for me as the writer but, if I see it undermines the story or Asher's journey I'll change it, although for now, I do like the limitation that imposes that asher cannot do much without Ixbal around since it serves to his personal journey and the themes his arc addresses.

If you ask me why the blade would disappear or power down due to distance even if it has its own core then I would answer: I'm not sure yet XD, maybe it wouldn't be a matter of energy (although it could be ) but more of a pairing system that locks the blade unless the effigy is present, to protect the blade from unauthorized users. So basically more like a software lock? I think a good way to put it would be a Bluetooth connection, without it your earpods won't reproduce music from your phone, so basically, that could be what happens here, the blades need direct feedback from the effigy to know how to operate and know the user is authorized.]

Why so much security around the blades and effigies you might ask? well, the effigies and the blades are basically access keys to the Sol Hunab ku (the god of arcadia that is actually a terraforming life-creating system controlled by Adam). The key's primary function is to lock up the Hunab ku system (or open it) in case Adam showed signs of consciousness and went rogue (which did happen). So that's why they are important, Adam needs them to become completely free and put his plans in motion.

In case you might be wondering, yes this means Adonai has one of the Effigies on his side, Hunna, you might have seen her art on my socials before but I'll post her here again either soon or when I have her bio :)


I have a diagram of the world and a map planned to be posted tomorrow but  I also could show you Adonai's portrait so you can see how he looks now compared to Exodus. Let me know in the comments which one you prefer to see tomorrow!

Files

Previews only

Comments

NioSatyr

Map Map Map! And I have a few smaller theories and one main one why Hunna works together with Adonaios but I am not in the mood for spoiling myself on that one. But I am curious if the Effigies names have a specific meaning. And I am also curious if the Heavens Key had some previous wielders.

Redcloud

What if the security access was in tiers? Like the blade could still be used in a limited fashion by authorized users even at maximum distance, but to use it's full capabilities you'd need to be next to her to grant that higher access?

AbsoAlex
>>101834302

Mmhhh... it could be! it is just that there are certain scenarios where Asher's Access to the blade will be denied or out of limit so I gotta think a lot about it, but what you mention could certainly be an option, Thanks

AbsoAlex
>>101824374

hahah yeah don't ask about Hunna XD not yet, when her bio is ready you guys will get to know more for sure :). Also to respond to your questions Yes, and Yes. Ixbal and Hunna are a reference to the Twin gods of Mayan mythos, Ixbalanque, and Hunahpu, these twin gods are famous in mayan fabula for challenging the lords of Xibalba (the gods of the underworld) and defeating them by deception, after their triumph against evil, they respectively became the Sun and the Moon. Therefore something could be inferred by this info about the Real Role of the Effigies in the story but I'll leave it a that so you can theorize ; ) Also yes, actually both blades had previous users but, heaven's key is a special case. Although this blade has had the most users through the cycles (at least 7), while Hell's key only 2, all of the heaven's key users are "similar" at least their souls were "wink wink nudge nudge"

NioSatyr
>>101824374

Puts the part about deception on the pile for my main theory. Also considering that you are implying that Kyrios has incarnated multiple times I have a question in regards to Exodus, the city in the sky. I actually thought that Adam had control over almost everything, including Exodus, so that Ixbal actually had to be sneaky to get a body for Asher, but this makes me think that Exodus, including the Ark of Soma, is not under his control. Which also makes me think that the Pawahtun are not angels but something else.

NioSatyr
>>101824374

Also, did Kyrios always get reincarnated as classical human or was he a Crocodylian or Repha'im in their respective eras?

AbsoAlex
>>101824374

I can see why it can be confusing, but you are right to state the "almost Everything" part, and Exodus and the ark of ANIMA aren't part of that "everything", those are under the control of a second force at play here, a familiar one that can't accept "REAL" humans to be a thing of the past. The whole Adam taking over the system happened in Necropolis while most of the crew was there for observations and tests remember? so while Adam took control of everything in the necropolis including Sol Hunab ku, he never gained control of the exodus (that was floating in the sky of arcadia at a safe distance. You are correct in one thing, the Ark of Soma (the cloning one) is in possession of Adam and thus that's how he created the 3 races after many trials and errors with Adonai's guidance and labor of course. So to summarize: the Ark of Soma is in Adam's power, Ark of Anima (souls) is in the possession of a second presence in the story and in a secret location that even Adam ignores, and desperately is trying to discover. As an answer to asher's body, the ark of the anima is the most important one cuz while an ark of anima can be recreated, what is precious are the souls inside it. Establishing that logic, the Ark of soma can be recreated with no problem since the second force at play has all the technology and machine/robot power to do so. You could argue the databanks of DNA are irreplaceable, but I guess as long as this second entity has DNA from the subject that will be cloned, it is all that matters, and knowing how cautious this person is, I can bet you that they had backup DNA banks of certain people in exodus just in case. So most likely Kyrios clones were always human, but now I find curios the idea of some clones being crocolyd or Rephaim hahaha that would be kinda neat.

AbsoAlex
>>101824374

I forgot to address this too, The Pawathun are similar in nature and origin as the Nephilim (forgotten gods). If you thought the Nephilim were part of the main Adamic religion you would be confused thinking they are part of Adam's made-up pantheon. But that's not the case, the Nephilim are pagan gods so most people just heard legends of them and just a few carry out their fables and myth. So establishing that, Pawathun and Nephilim are similar and come from the same place, I would even throw more bones and say they have similar origins than Ixbal and Hunna, coming from the same creator.

NioSatyr
>>101824374

Oh dear Adam, please tell me there are other lead scientists besides Sophia and Adonai, I was just getting attached to her after realizing how similar she is to Kyrios. I hate Adam, but that doesn't mean I believe in original sin regarding his fragments, the Arcadians are just as real as the light humans. I don't want her to be a bigot nor a bad mother who would put her own son in the way of a danger. On a less childish note, that last point is the reason why I don't believe it's Sophia (also because you said at some point she is likely not alive anymore), because if she is anything like Asher, she wouldn't risk a loved ones life...eh...soul like that. Unless she trusts Ixbal A LOT, which would make things more complicated. But that new information about the Nephilim/Pawahtun makes me wonder what exactly they are. Machines, otherdimensional entities, something inbetween? And how did the Arcadians receive "The Tuning" if its something that comes from the second power at play?

AbsoAlex
>>101824374

Look, you know is Sophia, you just gotta accept it XD. The mistake is thinking she is anything like Asher, that's why you think she can't be it, and she has no reason to be anything like asher, they don't even know each other, I mean the last time she saw him was as a baby. I'll help you here and tell you to not assume Asher and Kyrios are the same people, they might have the same soul but their character and personality are formed by the people and surroundings so trust me here, completely different people (this itself might be a crisis asher has to face, "who am I really?"). Sophia died, that's 100% true, and that's another reason "this" Sophia doesn't have to be completely like the previous one. Syzygy, the current iteration of Sophia, is an AI based on the backup psyche of Sophia, Sophia herself made it in case something happened and they needed her brilliant mind (egocentric much). So this is a colder, more calculating, and exaggerated version of Sophia, you can now see why this version is capable of anything. Putting any Kyrios clone in danger doesn't worry her in the slightest, if they fail, they can be replaced, they were never the "true" Kyrios she wants nor needs, and what's important is that the soul of Kyrios comes back to her, as long as the soul is safe, no matter how many times kyrios dies, her plans and her "real son" are safe. That's where ixbal comes into play, she is the protector of Kyrios, primarily the soul, her only duty is to guide and aid kyrios on his task and retrieve his soul if he fails. (the pendant/necklace Asher has is literally a soul vessel that absorbs the soul once the clone dies. Is not that Syzygy trusts Ixbal, she doesn't have to, to her, she is a tool, a mere machine made to complete its task, not a person nor an individual, she has no voice nor autonomy, and that's Ixbal's character arc, discovering herself as an individual just to realize she wasn't free and she is supposed to be a tool. Will she fight for her voice, and her agency to choose her path? or will she submit to these orders and commands recorded in the depths of her system? Nephilim, Pawathun, and tuners: Honestly these things are still in the air, Nephilim are probably biomechanic weapons made like Ixbal with tesseract core crystals, the difference might be in the source of the elemental affinity itself or the "pigment" (perpetual enslaved pilots maybe or sources of energy) you might call it. Since arcadia's themes are full of plant and flower analogies, like seeds of life and the bloom forms, or the harvest of ixim like corn, I'm thinking maybe Syzygy at some point abducted some magh users at first and experimented on them, making them into overdeveloped mutant homunculi (basically overgrown plants), which could become the pigment of the core crystal. (I'm literally just thinking of ways for syzygy to seem worse at this point haha) The pawathun might be more similar to ixbal, they do not have any other organic material like the Nephilim might do, and they are mostly machines. Tuners on the other hand, well still foggy to me, my most likely mind scenario is that in the dawn of the ixim, syzygy involved herself with a group of ixim and became their goddess, she experimented with them and created the Tuner gene or something of that sort that allowed the tuners to develop the resonance and be detected by the Nephilim as second in command users. Basically, a genetic identifier that permitted them to harmonize with the Nephilim. Look, if it is of any consolation, Sophia as a human was a good mother, she really loved humanity and her family, but she was flawed and committed mistakes due to her arrogance. Syzygy is the manifestation of all that was wrong in Sophia to 1000% , so she does believe in original sin, thinks all arcadians are Devil's spawn with the potential to become adam themselves, and other than using them for her need, they must be eradicated, a bigot through and true always saying "real humans this, real humans that". Asher will have a hard time when he meets her, you will hate her so much after that, it's sad, to say the least. Also, this is just an extra layer, and you can ignore it if you want but a lot of the symbolism and the relationship asher has with everyone and the world is basically a metaphor for homophobia, once I tell you more about Sysygy and Adonai's motivations and actions and the actual predicament of Asher, you will get it instantly, remember he is the last "Lightbringer" alive... he is Lucifer.

NioSatyr
>>101824374

Oh dear, you really wanna bring home that "What is good and what is evil?" message. Asher is gonna be put through a LOT of emotional turmoil. Syzygy being overly invested in "her real son" definitely screams parent that can't accept that their kid didn't turn out exactly as they wanted to be. Which to some extent also applies to Ixbal. I continously see Asher and Ixbal more and more as siblings, with Ixbal being the kind of kid who's always expected to give up everything for the parents favourite. Hmm, Syzygy being a process in meiosis and Arcadia being filled with plant themes makes me draw parallels between the domestication of plants and the ensuing cultivation of polyploid plants, which bring bigger fruit (overgrown) and the way you described the creation of the Nephilim. Both Syzygy and Adam use the Arcadians and cultivate them, as you describe it. I definitely see a lot of that theme of getting used as tools or to be expected to act a certain way to fulfill a purpose and maybe realize that and break from that mold. I will excitedly wait for more tea on Sysygy and Adonais motivations. And how Sophia looked as well. What kind of science did Sophia even specialize in? But dear god, you put me through an emotional roller coaster just for a handful of characters, especially Sophia/Syzygy just went down and up and down and now the track splits. We haven't even started the story properly.

AbsoAlex
>>101824374

And you would be right to assume that, it would easily be easy to throw asher and Ixbal in the J-RPG box of "oh they are romantic interests ", ofc if you knew nothing about them (which is part of my intentional subversion of J-RPG tropes, you could even say the same about lena when the story starts) but as you said, I always imagined Ixbal like an older sister for kyrios, a person that, no matter what, he could count on even when the world turned its back to him. Of course, that also means that ixbal for most of her life has lived for others, specifically kyrios, instead of for herself, she is expected to sacrifice everything for the male younger sibling, to the point she is even objectified to serve a purpose by their creator or society. I think Ixbal represents a type of sexism and misogyny that Beatrix's arc might not be able to explore. I think I subconsciously covered her mouth in her design like I already sensed her character was going to deal with those sorts of themes.

NioSatyr
>>101824374

Oh, that concept of Ixbal-crib suddenly has some sinister implications related to that. Because it also could remind someone of an artificial womb.

Tea

So I noticed something and it could just be one big coincidence but it had me thinking for a bit: these keys match Ryan and Fer as far as the colors so I was wondering if they're tied to Sleep Walkers lore as well? (I'd love to go through Sleep Walkers stuff since I only seen the posts in passing) I'm not completely done going through posts so there might be something I haven't reached yet -- but it was something I figured I'd ask!

AbsoAlex
>>104425778

oh, well that's a really lucky coincidence on my part cuz was definitely not planned, especially since the outfits of Fer and Ryan were different before the redesigns were made, and that redesign is super recent. I wouldn't discard the possibility though since they probably become prominent figures in the Exodus organization in their time but, the blades were made after the contact with Adam, and they were already dead so... if anything it could be a homage to them, definitely not an intentional one haha