Aside from the two main characters, I planned for a total of 5 more non-playable characters to be featured in the full story of the game. Currently, there are only sketches done for them as they were not part of the starting chapter of the game and therefore will not be needed for implementation.
The five Retainers are based on the five stages of grief, as they are all victims of past Moon children regime in one way or another. Stellio has to face each character and confront the horrors of his ancestors’ past actions, trying to make things right with them in what little ways he can.
The retainers are Lunarians, the race of people who live on the moon. They have a much longer life expectancy than their sovereigns Moon Children, which means most retainers shown have experienced at least more than 1 monarchy change over their existence. For more information about Lunarians vs. Moon Children, read previous blog posts.
THE CHAMBERMAID: Lysithea
(“Released by the Goddess”) (Calls herself Ly)
Maid of the royal estate, somehow stayed behind after everything crumbled down around her. Swearing oath to the monarch to be forever faithful, her contract (or maybe her singleheaded drive) binds her to the palace even as others flee. After the royal palace was deserted, she still wanders the halls alone polishing already crumbled pillars, remembering only the name that her late master called her by. Lysithea was likely introduced to the palace after the moon princess’ passing, so she has only experienced very harsh regimens and power-hungry rulers that focused on war and conquest. She kept up her routine after the last monarch passed, perhaps half in fear of being punished for deviating.
The maid is Denial, she doesnt want to believe that Stellio is the new prince as in her mind, she is still waiting for her master, the previous moon monarch, to return.
Lysithea is designed with classical french maid silhouettes in mind, with a fabric ornament the shape of an exo-skeleton around her torso to showcase her closed-off nature. She’s also meant to formerly be a frontline nurse during war eras, so her hair is pulled back and she has a stern expression. If I were to develop her design further, I would like to incorporate more nurse-related elements as well as make the paneling of her outfit more fantastical-looking.
Lysithea featured in an early mock-up of an in-game screenshot
THE CARPENTER: Velair
(derived from vela, the Sail)
A wood worker from the city, the only one in the 5 Retainers that’s been a working class throughout the war era. War devastated her hometown while she was taking refuge in the city, and she has taken it up on herself to rebuild the town she used to love — brick by brick if she has to. She has an overall kind disposition and gentle demeanor, but her big heart often leads her to be frustrated with her lack of power to help others. Kindness turns into over-exertion and further distaste towards herself and towards those who put her fellow Lunarians in dire positions.
The carpenter is Anger, towards the collapsed government and also towards herself. She appears amiable but her dissatisfaction with the monarchy boils underneath her skin, mirroring the suffering of the people around her.
Velair works with a lot of construction, so her outfit and silhouette are all boxy and sturdy– giving her character a down-to-earth older sister vibe. She is one of the weaker designs in the cast in my opinion, I feel somewhat uninspired when I try to think of what her uniform may look like, her hair, accessories, etc. It makes sense for her to look more plain compared to other characters due to her more humble upbringings, and there are only so many references to working-class people in the Victorian age. The issue is: How do I balance the feeling of simplicity and commoner attire that Velair has with the more whimsical nature of the rest of Lumiron? This is something I will need to ponder further.
Velair and Rigel sketch(see below)
THE HERBALIST: Polaris
(The Guiding Star)
A herbalist with a foul temper living somewhere in the mountainous ranges of the moon. Former personal assistant of the late moon princess, and went into seclusion after her death. They became emotionally attached to the princess, and took on her passion for herbalism after her passing. Polaris rejects their past identity and name as they see it as a failure of their character, hence they never introduce themself with their name and instead their occupation. Used to vaguely be coworkers with Sia (see below) back when both of them were still in the palace.
The herbalist is Bargaining, they are overtly “helpful” to the point of being somewhat overbearing, whilst putting pressure on stellio to mend things that arent exactly his doing. they want the kingdom to thrive and pins all the responsibility of it on stellio because of his role, as if he could change the past with his arrival.
Polaris’ design is based on green witches, featuring a myriad of florals and the recognizable silhouette of a witch hat and dress. The crinoline below their attire is meant to resemble a cage, keeping them trapped within themself. Their face and especially eyes are hidden from view under a garment that resembles a mourning veil, making it impossible to see clearly through their grief. I originally had planned for them to have a design resembling more like a plague doctor, which I haven’t ended up incorporating. I’d like to experiment further on that if given the chance.
THE LIBRARIAN: Celestia
(“Of the Skies”) (lovingly known as Sia)
A resident of the underground Royal Library. Probably doesn’t know the whole kingdom collapsed while he’s stuck in his books. He used to be an astronomer fascinated with the trajectories of stars and planets visible from the moon– After an encounter with the Moon Goddess, ends up learning of forbidden secrets that slowly drove him insane. Sia quit his position and holes himself up in the library to study so much that he’s become the honorary librarian now ? It didn’t used to have staff but now he’s there I guess.
The librarian is Depression, his vast array of knowledge petrifies him in place and makes him believe that none of his actions will matter in the grand scheme of things. He tries to dissuade Stellio to continue with this pointless venture and just be comfortable in the current state of things.
Sia is deliberately designed to look like a socialite woman despite his position as an astronomer– it’s a choice on his part to appear ‘superficial’ and ‘helpless’, like a damsel in need of rescue (In fact the reason why his hips don’t match the shape of his legs is due to deliberate padding). He doesn’t want others to take him too seriously and enjoys playing the role of a “librarian” as he self-isolates away from the state of the kingdom. He’s shaped like a flower vase, decorative and fragile, decorated with pearls and ruffles like a noble lady. I’d like to revisit the incorporation of assymetry in his design– as I find it interesting but have a hard time grappling with it in a way that looks elegant and well-structured.
Old concept art and sketches from before the FMP started of Polaris and Celestia
I had an idea that Lunarians could, as a last-ditch attempt, power themselves up by consuming their physical selves to fuel their mana cores, then die right after that burst of magic. The concept is similar to a bee’s sting. This didn’t end up making it into the current story of Lumiron but is something I’m shelving for future ideas.
THE TAILOR: Rigel
(“Foot of The Giant”)
The youngest of the current cast, created in a time after the death of the moon princess. Rigel has a birth deficiency regarding their mana core (being situated in their leg instead of around their torso area) and therefore could not fight on the frontlines of war. In order to still contribute to the monarchy, they became a blacksmith to forge weapons for a failing war regimen. Eventually they would try to adapt to the peace era Stellio brings about by becoming a tailor, but is still very paranoid about violence breaking out. Rigel has something similar to selective mutism / speaks very little, instead choosing to use actions to show what they mean.
The tailor is Acceptance. The capital city they reside in is lively despite the lack of mana barrier around the moon, yet the people make the best of it regardless. They acknowledge the pain and suffering that have transpired and are trying to be kind to one another to build past this hurdle. The return of a monarch doesn’t affect the tailor or the city as much as everyone else, as they already have each others backs throughout the fallout.
Rigel was an interesting challenge to tackle design-wise, as I am mostly used to (and prefer) drawing elogated figures when it comes to character design. Making a shorter character not look like a child while at the same time keeping them coherent with the rest of the cast was something that I struggled with when managing their proportions. Aside from that, Rigel mostly follows the fashion of a Victorian tailor, and has similar issues as Velair in that their designs may not appear fantastical enough. Something about these working-class people……
an old concept for Rigel that I may revisit in the future
silhouette of the NPC characters (featuring an animal tamer design that was scrapped)
A group photo of all the characters, with Stellio and Ictus in the middle
The NPCs are definitely nowhere near done in terms of concept design, as my focus drastically shifted away from them to take care of the rest of this project’s neglected aspects. Otherwise, I would love to do much more exploration of them as characters: Interactions between one another, with the world around them, etc. And color, of course…!!!
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