My reference sheet for one of my AD&D characters, Angxek Xixian, done by the wonderful and talented,  keetahspacecat

It's beautiful. It's him. I mean, it's him! He's alive! Keetah brought him to life, in every way I ever dreamed!

Keetah is a very special artist, folks. I got to watch them work on LiveStream, and between their skill, and their music choices, it was pure magic. I'm talking Dumbledore, Lilly Potter, Lady Galadriel and Gandalf the White, all wrapped into one package.

This piece, and indeed, *all* of the art in their gallery jumps out at you as though it were alive. You can feel the love, the fear, the courage and joy? Pure magic.

Thank you sooo much, Keetah. This makes me so, sooo very happy.


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For those who are curious, here is the write-up I provided. It's all here for background material, to help breathe life into the physical descriptions.

About the OMG VERBOSE!!! descriptions?

They are guidelines. Yes, they're detailed, but if something just doesn't work, then you have full liberty to adjust or drop it. Fur color too dark to get good details? Lighten it up until it suits your needs. Figured out an awesome pose, but can't fit an item or accessory into the pose? Don't worry about it. Scroll work on the belt making your hand cramp? Cut back on the detail.

So long as the emotion and spirit of Angxek is there, then that's what matters most.

Name: Angxek Xixian (Ang-zek Zi-shi-an)
Species: Poqanxa Sepin - Little Red Flying Fox (Po-cahn-sha seh-pin)
Age: 27
Sex: Male
Hair/Eyes: No human "hair", just fur. Eyes: gold iris, black pupils
Height Weight: 5' 10", 130lbs
Occupation: Imperial Marine Scout (A mix of search and rescue, reconnaissance, sniper and spy - basically, a D&D Ranger.)


Strengths: Outgoing, friendly, inspirational, tenacious, imaginative, detail-oriented, patient, very persuasive, fair-minded, diplomatic, ridiculously flexible and nimble.

Weaknesses: Talks too much, gives away bargaining chips too easily, tattle-tale ears, very reluctant to use lethal force on people or animals, terrified of droids, robots and constructs, gives second chances when he shouldn't.

Likes: Children, singing, playing music, dancing, telling stories, eating fruit fresh from the tree, flying, meeting new people, being with lots of people, accomplishing a rescue mission, wearing as few clothes as possible.

Dislikes: Combat Droids (hates/afraid of), pirates (hates/arrests), large flying bugs (splat!), moldy fruit, hurting anything except pirates or combat droids, failing a rescue mission, going on solo missions, wearing anything other than his gear harness.

1. He has wings only, no wings with separate arms. He's got a long claw on his wrist that he can use to do most of what he needs to do. (Yeah, not all the ref pics match that, but oh well. :) )

2. He has a tattoo of a Peace Frog on his left wing. It's a gift from the tribe of the shamaness who rescued him. (see bio, below)

3. He doesn't like wearing clothing, but prefers to wear a harness, instead. The back is a wide strip of soft mesh, while the front is two straps that come over his shoulders, down to a belt around his waist. He wears a large pouch on the front of the belt, and that serves as a sort of loincloth for his bits. There are several pouches attached to the front shoulder straps, and a soft holster for the zuvchette on his back.

4. His Taladru Goggles. They look like ski goggles, with a large, single lens. Not only do they protect his eyes, but they also function like data goggles for connecting to the Imperial Spy Network. When he's not wearing them, they sit around his neck.

5. His Zuvchette. He's not always seen with it, but when he is, it means business! The best example is The Lodebow from Ollie Canal's, Rym.

6. Three magical rings: all gold. One on each thumb, and one on his left big toe.

7. Imperial bracers. Sort of like the Qien-Xu wing blades, he has a pair of magical defensive bracers that fit snugly over the wingbones that make up his forearms. They glow blue when actively protecting him. They aren't worn when off-duty.

8. He's an Air Bender, like from Avatar. His people call it 'Air Savant', but a rose by any other name, and all that. He has extraordinary control over the air around him. He can create cloud chairs, mist figures, walls of wind, spheres of vacuum, and more.

9. Tattle-tale ears: because he's an air bender, his thoughts and emotions sometimes show in his ears. When he's embarrassed or ashamed, his ears flush red and emanate hot steam that rises. When he's stressed, in a fight, or otherwise overheated, his ears give off cold vapor that sinks as he tries to shed the heat. When he's *really* pissed off, cold vapor falls all around him, and his eyes glow a faint blue.

10. Loves to play the flute. His most prized possession is a tri-barreled flute made to be played with his wingclaws and toes. Playing it means he either has to be sitting down, or better yet, perched and hanging.

Bio:

Angxek grew up in the Sepin Colony of Ganipo, in the nation of Sinkali, under the rule of a benevolent and strong ruler. Emperor Ru Xa Za III was determined to continue the legacy of egalitarianism started by his grandfather. Equality under the law was strongly enforced in Sinkali, and it was perhaps the one nation in the world where the Sepin people, or bat people, were safe from persecution.

Most Sepin outside of Sinkali were Quairxi, which meant they were blood, insect or meat eaters. Quairxi outside of Sinkali were greatly feared by every other nation and race, because the Quairxi were also infamous for being the most skilled of assassins. And Poqanxa like himself were usually slaves, but just as often, food for the Quairxi. Or both!

But Ganipo was a free colony. Four generations back, the colony was given a choice: become a part of Sinkali society, or leave. Emperor Ru Xa Za the First was prepared to flood the entire colony and wipe out every last one of them, so those who refused to live among "outsiders" or give up their slaves, packed up and left.

Angxek's generation was the first, truly free generation of children to grow up, genuinely innocent of the horrors visited upon their forebears. So it was that he and his friends had free reign to fly, play and explore their vast, underground home.

Always a kind and loving person, he found a way to make very good money as a tour guide to Ganipo. He made deals with the managers of several restaurants and taverns, and especially the flying wing vendors, who rented magical wings to visitors, so they could see the sights as a Sepin would see them. It was a great job, and kept him flush with money for snacks, books and supplies for making flutes. He would have stayed with it, but fate had other ideas.

A group of very odd otter-folk came to Ganipo, and they were obviously looking for something other than a tour. They played the tourist game, saw the sights and enjoyed the food, but they kept wanting to see the food caves, where all of the magical plants of Ganipo were raised. Once they got into the food cave, they immediately found a hidden door, and opened it.

It didn't take long for all Hell to break loose.

The door had been hidden by the most horribly evil Quairxi Sepin to have ever lived. Xi-Dar, leader of the Quairxi and father of the Qien-Xu Assassins, had been forced to leave his most precious and valuable experiment behind.

One. The very first of the humanoid animal people, and the first otter person, created by the ancients over three-thousand years before. She was immortal, and Xi-Dar had captured and imprisoned her here, wreaking the most hideous of tortures upon her in an attempt to gain immortality for himself. Wicked implants in her bones kept her from dying, but also from healing, inflicting endless pain upon her. Dissected into hundreds of yards of nerves, entrails and threads of muscle, bone and blood vessels, One had gone insane.

But she also fell in love with the people of Ganipo, and used what little influence she had to bring forth the most amazing sorts of magical plants, fruits and vegetables. The people had no idea she was there, but they could feel her spirit, and called her "The Weeping One", even though no one had ever seen her.

Upon entering the cave, a lone member of the council showed up. Angxek had been told by the otters to hide, and it was a good thing? He recognized the councilor as the senior-most leader of the colony, and he had blades embedded in the leading edges of his wings! He was Qien-Xu! A Sleeper Agent!!

When the otters came back out, they weren't otters anymore. It was a desert mouse, a Poqxana Sepin, a desert hare, and two otters; one male, the other female, and looking a bit woozy. Shouting a warning, he saved them from the assassin's sneak attack, and the battle was on.

He'd never seen such vicious tactics or such deadly magics. Flashing spells, lethal bolts of energy that caused 20-ton boulders to vanish in a puff of smoke, and razor-sharp blades that dripped with venom. He fled to call for help, but the assassin had called for backup.

Xi-Dar himself had come!

The colony was in a total panic. Hundreds of Qien-Xu warriors were flooding in from every gate, spreading out and wreaking death and destruction wherever they could. The Great Library was set ablaze. The Imperial Council was attacked, and dozens slain before a proper defense could be mounted. And at the tip of the spear, leading the assault, was Xi-Dar.

Xi-Dar and ten of his finest mage and priest assassins made a beeline for Angxek's guests, desperately trying to kill them before they could successfully get One out of the colony. But the strange group of former otters were well matched to the challenge, and gave no quarter.

The fighting was so fierce, that even Ganipo soldiers had to fall back. Angxek saw an entire squad of his best friends among the Ganipo Guard, liquified by one of Xi-Dar's Death Shriek spells. They were dead before they even had a chance to flee. The strangers had taken too much damage, and had to flee, but not before they got in several nasty hits on Xi-Dar, causing him to fall back as well.

Fighting and fleeing as they went, it came down to a final battle in the Colony Courthouse, where the enemy had been trying to wipe out the rest of the Council. But the colony had rallied, and hundreds of soldiers, mages, archers and fire-fighters were on the counter attack. And to make matters worse for Xi-Dar, the capitol had been warned. Five whole platoons of Imperial Marines had been teleported in, and were laying waste to the attackers.

Forced to flee, Xi-Dar collected what followers he had left, and escaped.

And Angxek, seeing the smooth, sure efficiency of the Imperial Marines, had found a new calling. He wanted to serve his nation and his Emperor, so that no one in Sinkali should ever have to fear someone like Xi-Dar ever again.

Training went swiftly for him. He loved the structure the military provided him, and he liked the idea of a chain of command? But he *hated* the way there was, "The right way, the wrong way, and the Imperial Way!". The Imperial Way rarely made sense, and even though he got excellent results doing it the 'right' way, it set him against the rules.

But Sinkali was not blind to talent. Angxek was shifted from the rank and file, to the Special Services. There, he was tasked, tested, poked, prodded, challenged and chased to exhaustion. If they couldn't get him to follow the rules, they'd put him in a position where following the rules was less important than results.

His strong love of helping people pointed him towards Search and Rescue, but he also had a very powerful affinity for the forests and the creatures living there. Where others startled the birds and gave away their location, he made friends with the animals, and was able to slip through the deepest of cover with nary a whisper. The Sniper Brigade took a liking to him. He was a natural with the Zuvchette Bolt Rifle, and could shoot the eye off a gnat at 100 meters! But after finding out he'd have to shoot people and animals, he turned away from the Snipers.

He was finally placed with the Scout Platoon. They were mostly search and rescue, but also did a lot of forward exploration, some occasional sniper missions, and lots and lots of spying. It was a small group, but that's the way both they and the Empire liked it. They had free reign to train as they liked, and plenty of money to buy the best gear. Their missions weren't the most dangerous?

They were the most delicate.

When a soft touch was needed, the Scouts were the ones tapped for the job. Using SAR as a cover was useful for Imperial PR, and great for morale, both in the military and the outer colonies. And being so far forward, in the thick of colonial intrigue, kidnapping, slavery and piracy, it was little wonder that the Taladru, the Imperial Security Agency, found a bountiful nest of candidates. Having a Scout Outpost in your town meant that any nasty beasts, two-legged or four, would be dealt with quickly.

But being so far forward, meant you had to deal with the very worst sort of people. The colonists were all mostly good folk, with just as much dislike of the rules as Angxek. But some went too far, and turned to smuggling, poaching, illegal mining, dumping of industrial wastes, and even piracy and slavery.

And it was this sort of people who would push him over the edge.

They had been on patrol, when their fly pod came under attack. Normally, an Imperial Fly Pod had nothing to worry about from small arms fire. But a ballista bolt was *not* small arms. Shot down, they crash-landed and prepared to be attacked. When the attack didn't come, they set out to find their attackers.

They came upon a scene of horror. It was a smuggler's camp, and they were using slaves as labor. Legal cargo was unloaded off the ships, and the illegal cargo replaced it, in a sort of "shell game" that kept the goods flowing, but reduced the chances of an inspection stop. But the slaves were simply used until they died. Unfed, barely given any water, allowed almost no sleep, and wearing magical restraint collars that forced them to move, their bodies would keep loading and unloading until they fell apart.

Angxek's team came upon what was left of the camp. The job was mostly done, and the pirates were in the final process of loading. All around the camp were dozens of bodies. The pirates simply removed the collars, and the poor souls collapsed where they stood. Most were dead, but what few had survived would die shortly after.

Angxek's team was ruthless. The first strikes were placed on the hulls of the ships, ensuring the pirates would not be able to flee to the ocean. With their only escape sinking, the small band of pirates fought back. When it became clear that none of them would escape either death or capture if they stuck around, they jumped overboard and fled into the forests.

Hot, furious blood in their veins, and the stench of misery and suffering in their nostrils, the Scouts gave chase. One by one, the pirates fell without giving up. The Empire would give them a chance at redemption if they gave up, so that was mostly preferable to dying in battle? But none of them took it.

Angxek had been shaken to his core. Not only had the pirates been using slave collars, but they'd also been using ancient combat and torture droids to keep those without collars in line. The nasty things seemed to take a shine to him specifically, and did their level best to kill him. Wings shredded and bleeding, skewered in several places, he managed to defeat the droids and continue the chase.

All the others had been killed or incapacitated, but the leader was still running. He couldn't fly, so he ran after the fleeing ferret, hopping over logs, rocks, stumps and streams with a determined grace. Turning to face him, the ferret opened fire with their own zuvchette, but Angxek was a difficult target. Getting in closer than was wise, he disarmed the pirate captain and used their own weapon to smash their nose.

Unlike the others, this pirate surrendered. But he wasn't done. As he was chained and led back to the camp, he laid an endless stream of abuse, insults and spittle upon his captor. Staying strong through it all, he marched the prisoner back in through the gates, but the ferret turned and kicked something at him off the ground. A small, round object flew at him and caught on his zuvchette.

It was the severed head of a child.

The pirate was laughing at him, spitting an endless stream of abuse and bragging how the child suffered before they finally died at the blade of his sword.

Angxek's world went red.

The other Scouts could see it. They started shouting, but he could not hear them over the roar of his blood, rushing through his ears. Several of his team began running towards him, waving their arms, but he could not see them through the red haze. Raising his zuvchette, he shot the helpless ferret right between the eyes.

And that is when his world shattered.

In his rage, he failed to see the look of pure panic, desperation and despair in the ferret's eyes. As he fell to the ground, a control collar slipped out from under their shirt.

His teammates were horrified. The ferret had been cuffed and chained, completely helpless, and he'd just shot them dead in cold blood. And to make matters worse, he had probably been the best witness out of all the captives, who were all wearing control collars. The slavers had been slaves themselves! Someone far away had been in control of the ferret, forcing them to taunt Angxek to the breaking point.

And in his rage, he hadn't seen it.

The trial took a week. In his defense, he'd been badly injured, had lost a lot of blood, and was high on adrenaline. But by his own admission, he'd murdered Captain Jenks in cold blood. His chain of command was determined to salvage him, but the horror of what he'd done had him in a deep funk of guilt and shame. He was facing dishonorable discharge, and twenty years in prison, when a very strange witness attended the trial.

The local shamaness, whose forest home had been defiled by the slavers, came out of the forest and journeyed to the Imperial City of Shakayado, and sought audience at the trial. She claimed that for his crime, Angxek's life belonged to the Forest, and it was the Forest who would decide his fate. He would be taken back, stripped of all he owned, and forced to live raw and wild, as an animal. If he survived, he could be saved. If not, then justice would be done.

The members of the court had a small bit of leeway afforded to them. They couldn't simply dismiss the charges, but this was a way out of a hopeless situation. They knew of his strong affinity for nature, so it stood to reason that he'd survive. And they recognized that a good measure of self-punishment would be good medicine.

What none of them counted on was the shamaness being deadly serious about the anger of the Forest.

Stripped of every shred of civilization, the Forest vented it's frustration and anger upon him without pity or mercy. Insects bit him all over, tree rats hissed and chittered at him at all hours, attacking him and driving him from perch to perch. Little food was to be found, and the water had turned putrid in almost every nook and stream. But he never gave up. He felt convinced that he had to survive, and find some way to make up for what he'd done.

Towards the end of the month, he was little more than skin and bones. Wracked with fever, infested with parasites both inside and out, he was gnawing on the dried husk of a moldy mango, when he strayed too close to the trunk of the tree. A viper hidden in the crotch of the tree lashed out and bit him on the neck.

As he fell, he blacked out. He didn't even feel it when he hit.

When he awoke, he could not move, nor see. He could not swallow, and he wasn't breathing through his mouth or nose. Instead, there was a strange, hooting sound coming from his neck with each breath. He felt his body being washed daily, but could not say or do anything. After days of pain, and nights of terrifying fever-dreams, the bandages on his eyes were finally removed.

It was the shamaness. She had rescued him, healed him and cured the poison in the bite. In fact, it was the bite that had been the final test of the forest. He survived the bite and the fall, and that was enough. She was now free to heal him. As if making a peace offering, the snake that had bitten him was perched on his chest as he rested, and would not leave him alone.

A few days later, the swelling in his face and throat had gone down enough for him to breathe and swallow. The tube was removed from his neck and the hole healed with a spell, leaving only a tiny scar. Cleansed of his parasites and infections, he slowly recovered from his ordeal.

The snake was a Sinkali Viper, the single most deadly and dangerous snake in all the world. Her massive fangs were often enough to puncture the deepest artery, and her poison was strong enough to drop a dozen bears with a single drop. He named her Xatchi.

Two months after the unjust death of Captain Jenks, Angxek was finally released to return to civilization, with a greater understanding of life, death, and what it meant to be alive. And more importantly, what it meant to be dead.