Decided I wanted to try my hand at drawing Kuraì without any references and translate him completely into my own style, rather than base some of him off a reference.

Had a lot of fun with the lines and spent a good deal of time on them, but I like how the end result came out. I'll deffo be using this pic and the lines/flat colours as examples for my next commission sheet update if I ever make one.

Not too happy with the shading, but well, not used to SAI shading and I suppose there's always areas to improve in.

For now, enjoy Kuraì in all his batty glory. c:

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KURAÌ "THE NIGHTDANCER" SARÁYU

Species: Nightwing (Shadow Bat)

Gender: Male

Build: Roughly 6 feet; athletic build

Occupation: Shilunera, spy, infiltrator, assassin, nightdancer

Personality: Social, sly, intuitive, pragmatic, loyal, vengeful

Abilities: Shadow-dancing, stealth, spirit magic

The shadow bats have long been both revered and feared by adventurers and would-be glory seekers entering the jungles of Nar'Kal. Most believe them to be myths, but they are most definitely real. Shadow bats are considered an elusive and dangerous predator by some, and an entity to respect and worship by others. Their reputation is a direct result of their unrivalled ability to deploy stealth and misdirection in their hunting methods, with frighteningly efficient results.
They are silent, fast, and precise. Because of their common practise of applying toxic, glowing war paint all over their bodies and faces, adventurers who enter the jungles are often warned to watch out for dancing glows during the night.

The war paint, being highly toxic to all life forms but the shadow bats themselves, has both a defensive and offensive function; it poisons attackers who would go toe-to-toe with the shadow bat, but it also hypnotizes a shadow bat's quarry with its alluring glows if they're susceptible enough. If their quarry is resistant to the initial pull, a skilled shadow bat can deploy special and secret body movements to further attempt to entice their prey by making the markings 'dance' in front of its eyes. The hypnotic powers only last for a short while, but it is enough to provide an edge should the shadow bat need it. However, if a target is particularly strong-willed or resistant to influence, the paint will be much less effective, or not have any effect at all.

Because of their shamanistic heritage, most shadow bats are skilled at using spirit magic. Spirit magic can be both light and dark. Light magic focuses on the reading of auras and summoning benevolent spirit guides, while dark magic is more concerned with summoning dangerous spiritual fire and inflicting wracking pain upon someone’s soul. Other light applications include mental healing capabilities by soothing the mind, and granting the ability to temporarily shield someone’s soul from harm. Darker applications include manipulating someone’s personality and/or allegiance by molding their aura and/or soul, and conjuring monstrous hallucinations from the darkest depths of someone’s soul.

Shadow bats are largely nocturnal, but are also known to be active during the daytime hours, provided the need is great enough. The males will most often hunt and take on the combat roles, while the females are respected for their spiritual functions within the tribe, as they are most often shamans. The males deploy a vast array of stealth and misdirection in their combat tactics, whilst the spiritual side of the tribe revolves mostly around spirit magic. Young adults have to pass a test to be able to earn their ceremonial war paint. Applying the war paint officially grants them the status of adult within the tribe. The patterns painted often change with each application, and will often involve intricate patterns. To the trained eye, these patterns can tell a great deal about the individual’s personality, combat prowess, spiritual mastery and more.

No shadow bat has been seen out in the open in centuries, but whispers speak of a lonely shadow bat that has been spotted across the world, only to disappear moments later. A ghost, a hoax, or the product of global mass hysteria? They are but whispers, after all..

Kuraì/art © moi