Back In Ariant!
Lotem's back in Ariant again! I hope I've managed to capture the feel of the town. The weather is hot, dry, sandy and dusty. The townspeople are tired and worn, working long, hard hours for breadcrumbs, basically. Few have even a cent to spare. Most of them go to bed hungry each night (though not as hungry as Lotem). The town is oppresed by sun, heat, poverty, and the nobles. Not a pleasant place at all.
If you're wondering why the daredevil little kid who can steal the hat off of an angry, living, cactus's head isn't just stealing the food from the passersby, I've thought of that. Despite being a poor, abused, starved, unwanted orphan, he's actually quite a sympathetic person. And his upbringing (or lack thereof) makes him much more prone to remembering even a small act of kindness. So if one of the people returning home one hot, dusty day gives him a mouthful of bread, he's going to remember that and not want to do something like steal from them. But he's been picked on by so many people that he doesn't remember any people specifically to hold a grudge against.
Notice the difference in speech between Lotem & Amar? Who's got the worse accent? ;)
I've begun to draw a picture of Lotem, but it's hard to get it quite right (and I can get extremely picky about my drawings; everything has to be just right). I can't seem to find the right color for his hair. Or eyes. It's also hard to get just that look about him; starving, abused, yet still with the tiniest spark of hope. Well. Hopefully I can finish this up so you all can see the results before the end of the week. No promises, though.
