Friday 22 April 2016

The horr

Horr aren't normally mentioned in singular, because there seem to be no individual swimmers among them. The gigantic sea beasts instead only appear as swarms, or more specifically, as one swarm, so large it would emcompass an entire continent if they swam in a line. A horr is far over a hundred meters long, has four flippers and four eyes and thus is able to see below and above him. They are dark greyish blue in colour, with a dull red stripe on the side.


"That was a day to remember, when the horr pushed themselves into the fleet parade and dwarfed the ships that had seemed majestic and huge moments before. They are given their own holiday now, and seem to greatly enjoy the attention; they even take a small detour to come by our coast."
— Ordjugral, Sawan

The horr swarm is not very well researched. Their enormous size makes it difficult to get close; while horr are quite gentle creatures, they go about their business trusting that smaller things (like ships) will make way. They seem to like the Summerstar Isles in southeast Ryaq, and are said to know paths between oceans not known to mankind. Horr are not hunted. Aside from the incredible effort it takes, the last time a horr was killed in Lozir, the swarm stayed away for a Great Quarter and with it, most other sealife as well.


Artists' notes
Whales have always held great fascination for me, and never cease to amaze me with their intelligence and integrity. Horr are my chance of mystery on top of it. Because they're so difficult to travel and opportunities so different, many fantasy worlds leave out great parts of the sea, but I intend to give Genius Loci a lot of ocean adventures as well.

3 comments:

  1. These are so inspirational. Recently I visited a Natural History Museum with some friends, and there was a special exhibit provided exclusively on whales by the Maori people. Their range of calls was so beautiful, and their size and intelligence and importance to the Maori culture was definitely something I want to represent in my world. I love seeing the approach you took

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    1. Whales made an impact with everyone they encountered. Did you know that a young humpback whale was dated to be over three hundred years old? The horr are absolutely mysterious, and of a power level that equal them to natral forces, like monsoon season that comes and goes, and you can't do anything about that.

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    2. I absolutely love that, the way they're a force of nature that -cannot- be contended with. It's so cool! Great decision to do that with whales :]

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