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Blender + CSP + Zbrush: Many hours. Yes, Frogé (though he's not in the same place as he was in the over version). There were some aspects of the previous version I didn't like, specifically how the building was competing too much with the main figure, awkward tangent between her and the building, and a lack of atmospheric perspective. You're free to like that version more if it suits you but I like this one more.

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Atop a tall, craggy mountain in the Gemspire Forest, stands a building, squarish in shape, not overly large, embraced by the leafy boughs of a lush cachobe flora grove. The villagers who populate the foothills below would tell you it is a temple where a coven of "goddess witches" reside but the aleythai who live there simply call it home. They are neither "goddesses" nor "witches" and they would be the first to say as much but being aleythai, they are essentially gods to the norkind villagers below who cannot willfully or directly command aleythir to any appreciable extent. Despite the aleythais' vigorous rejection the word "coven" and all such "magical-sounding" vocabulary, people still refer to them as the Gemspire Peak Coven (or just "the Coven" for short).

The temple houses three mystics who ply myst to manipulate electromagnetic radiation, two psychics who bend ley to their will, and an ethyric who can rewrite the chemical bonds of matter. They built their home at the top of a mountain so as to provide some distance from the villages and towns below. Few would dare brave the perilous heights flippantly and the Coven would have it no other way. They happily help those who come seeking aid but they prize the privacy and peace that comes with a certain distance from heavily populated areas. It is a chronic problem for aleythai that norkind tend to become overly reliant upon their abilities, especially in desperate times. Yet it is as much a problem that aleythai can become "overhelpful," causing more harm than good. Thus, some distance is beneficial for both aleythai and nors.

On a nearby peak stands the brother temple where the aleythai men dwell. They live separately not as a matter of propriety but because it just so happened to pan out that way. The founding trio who built the first temple were coincidentally all women. Some years later, a group of male aleythai claimed the nearby peak. They are amiable, visit each other frequently across a very long bridge spanning their grounds, and they work together when the occasion calls. Both temple grounds feature a wooden structure with a bell and a rope that villagers may ring in extreme emergencies such as perilous childbirth, bandit raids, violent conflict, severe crimes, natural disasters, and the like. When the bell is rung, one of the more powerful psychics will sail down the mountain, holding their weight aloft in the ley, gliding or flying with all the ease of a bird (not all psychics can perform such a feat as holding their weight aloft long enough to safely fly or glide).

Twice a year, on the first three days of spring and the first three days of autumn, the coven holds a festival known as Thanksgiving, a tradition that has roots in ancient times. Villagers and townsfolk trek the six-thousand stairs spiraling up the mountain. Hundreds of people come bearing gifts. They sit in the grass on blankets to share food and exchange presents. The psychics perform astonishing acrobatic feats. The mystics create illusory fireworks, imbue crystals with myst such that they glow in the loveliest colors, and they paint portraits with light on pieces of wood or rocks. The ethyric provides ice for cold drinks, candy made with her own special ingredients, and packets of naproxen tablets, which, believe it or not, is the most coveted item of the festival.

The aleythai men participate as well, usually bringing an assortment of shenanigans- drugs, alcohol, fireworks, pranks, noisy toys for children to torture their parents with, and such. The ladies sometimes make a show of chasing the menfolk around and scolding them but it's all in good fun.

The resident pet gryphettes keep insect-related annoyances to a minimum. They may appear like regular birds given their tendency to scrunch their forelegs up into their chest-ruff and fold their ears back but they are actually tiny gryphons. They swoop about, feasting on mosquitoes, gnats, and flies. If insects become too troublesome, the ethyric may put up some insect-repelling incense burners of her own make. The air will begin to smell spicy, sweet, and smoky.

Festivities continue well into the night but eventually, people begin to tire. The stairway down the mountain glows a soft white-blue in the dark, courtesy of the mystics. By midnight, most everyone retires to their beds. The second day of the festival is more subdued and typically less populous. The third day is much like the second day but more serious for it functions as a sort of "Townhall" meeting between aleythai and norkind. On the third day, instead of music, showmanship, and hooplah, there is frank discussion, concern-airing, and diplomacy.

There are some people who prefer not to participate either for personal reasons, practical reasons, or simply because they do not enjoy such events. A small minority view aleythai as evil creatures and they may even protest the event. Protesters who climb the mountain to voice their objections may find themselves suddenly pink. Yes, pink. From head to toe. Such empinkened individuals will eventually return to normal after the mystic imbuement wears off. Should they persist, they may be personally shown off by an aleythai, usually a psychic. Still, the majority of people from the surrounding villages and towns will attend, happily so. Some people may only stay briefly and some will set up camp atop the mountain to stay the whole three days and nights.

The Thanksgiving festivals are considered to be sacrosanct, even vital to relations between aleythai and norkind in the region. It has been held twice a year every year for half a century. There have been postponements due to weather or disasters of varying kinds but it has never once been canceled. On Thanksgiving festival days, no one is expected to work but those who must and even they are allowed a significant break to participate in the festivities.

I could keep going but alas, don't got all day and we're already verging on some serious TL;DR here. Hope you've enjoyed my nonsense.