ink, then digital.

Work for an upcoming Ironclaw project.

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Bear culture is both one of the oldest and newest. There are still small enclaves of bears living in the perpetually wintry northern wastes as they have for many hard ages. These bears keep alive a pagan culture once known for seafaring exploration and honor through battle, but now has become a culture diluted by the various enticements of the modern world.

After countless generations, bears are now seamlessly integrated into cosmopolitan society and most have lost all meaningful ties to their northern relatives. Indeed the common understanding is that the old "primitive" ursine culture is simply one of trite, if noble, savagery; an anthropological oddity boasting nothing comparable to the feats of enlightened civilization. Any bear on the street will tell you the same thing and claim lineage to one the bear clans that successfully assimilated into the contemporary world. Some bears don't even have an opinion on the matter, or are wholly ignorant and misinformed of their heritage and history. It is ironic, considering how much bears tend to value immediate family, that they have lost touch through some generational middle passage with the larger ursine family.

This modern bear, otherwise normal and ordinary, is said by the keepers of the older ways to be Hibernating - that is: sleeping; dulled and doped by a civility that has nothing to do with the true nature and calling of a great bear. It is thought to be a sad condition, but one that will persist until the lost "slumbering" bear reconnects with the old ways, old lands and old gods.

What is interesting is that bears are so adaptable to begin with; able to thrive as hunters on plains of dead ice and in the thick of urban sprawls. Bears are typically hearty, powerful creatures, comfortable in their broad bodies and with surprising grace. They are hard to flummox by natural circumstance: at ease in the water, up a tree, perched on a ball, or wherever they find themselves.

Which is not to say they are completely easygoing, as bears tend to have a short fuse for interpersonal aggravation; a bear might happily and lazily tolerate a random unpleasant situation, but will fly into a rage if she feels put into that same situation by another person. This can lead to awkwardness when even trivial disputes escalate into a question of honor or a blood feud, male or female.

However, at ease the unmolested and civilized bear is a paragon of selective ambition. While capable of considerable power and force when provoked, bears will usually devote their efforts to enjoying and perpetuating the simple physical pleasures life has to offer, making excellent gourmands, dancers, lovers, barkeeps, madams, or general purpose layabout freelance philosophers.