Vilous | Skirmishers - A Scene in the North [+Creator Insights!]

Hello, Vilous fans! As part of our hiatus updates, we are ready to bring forth more intermission art featuring these tense Northern soldiers after a Talyxian attack, from the Thekan region, as well as a yummy tidbit of lore tips with regard to tactics that combatant Sergals practice, alongside an artwork piece, previously provided over at Mick's Patreon, as well as a healthy and juicy chunk of lore spotlighting various viewpoints, written in a collaborative effort between Kiki, Coju, and Drago!

Please enjoy the newfound lore on this interesting and quite exciting scenery which the Talyxian biome nature, covered in purple grass display.

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Race: Northern Sergals

Gender: Any

Place: Northern lands of Tal - A rocky, grassy, plains-like area located on a range next to the Eastern part of Astna from the Southern part of the Thekan region

Timeline: After year 28 of the Rain-Calendar, after the Shigu conquered Reono.

Here we have two Northern Sergals in armor, hiding in the shadows of the rocks in order to see what’s happening on the other side after they were pursued by some kind of Talyxian wildlife.

The Sergal at the bottom left can be considered to be a regular member of the Shigu army, due to the type of red tattoo they are sporting and is most likely to be a squad leader or some sort of an appropriate rank.

Because the distance between squads is quite open and vast, across wide ranges of land, when Sergals assume a scatter or dispersal tactic, it is assumed that they have lost contact with the other squads while tending to their wounded. The reason behind the injury is thought to be an attack by a Talyxian wild boar, which is one of the choices for their food sources, or other kinds of wildlife creatures which could be within their food source range. An alternative situation to their predicament, could very well be that they were caught up in a chain of continuous explosions caused by Odei out in the fields and suffered from shrapnel injuries and/or burns.

Though Thekan is a home to a number of characteristic, sessile Talyxian organisms including Odei, apart from those dangers, the biomes have a comparatively low mutability ratio and are generally static in nature. Due to this, these areas were one of the main places used to forage food that supplies the Shigu army after they had conquered Reono. This is partly because of the background in which the Shigu Kingdom was having major restrictions imposed on agriculture and the use of salt during this period.

Original Text Written by Coju and Kiki-UMA, translated, corrected and proofread by Drago

— Bonus Section for Kiki's Patreons — 

A fairly recent development in the lore and fact of the Shigu history is the existence of a few major restrictions imposed on the use of salt and agriculture within the Shigu Kingdom during the war period. 

It was enforced by the will of Rain Silves and her own thoughts on the matter, however, it was not based on sensible reasons which people took into consideration. People eventually never had an accurate chance to discern what her true intentions and purposes behind these restrictions were to begin with.

Many elements behind these restrictions are encased within a mysterious veil. At the very least, people would remember this as one of the unaccountable and inscrutable behaviours which Rain had ordained after the period in which the Shigu policy had turned from progressive to invasive.

On the topic of wild Odeis, they usually exist buried inside of the ground, as clusters of multiple units. If they have a larger size, people can notice their existence across the ground or fields as they present themselves with an appearance similar to that of cacti.

However, small-sized Odei may fully hide themselves and their body in the ground, their functionality being similar to that of an organic land mine. Due to their propensity and potential to explode, whenever one would do so, it can cause the other Odeis in close proximity to do as well, resulting in a very, very dangerous chain reaction.

If we are to assume the Sergal’s injury was caused by such Odeis, it may be the case that it was due to them likely stepping on a small-sized Odei, perhaps during their chase of a Wild boar, without realizing it, and setting off a chain of explosions which subsequently injured them in the process. 

When the larger ones explode, the victims can be so badly injured to the point where they may even, in fact, lose a limb or two, or have their body dismembered outright. Thankfully, however, the larger ones are easy to spot and avoid in advance.