CallumStephenDiggle
patreon
Introducing, the Aoe.
🕑 Added 2025-01-15 13:55:57 +0000 UTCIt’s not often that we get to see a new intelligent species introduced into the pages of Humanity Lost, but today is one of those days. This infographic will tie in with the next few pages about the history of the Kolaxan Empire and the life of the figure known as the Baron Janudua.
But before I can get to that, I need to do something pretty big. I’ve realised that I’ve made a bit of a mistake with the galactic map in the last volume and I need to update it. Sorry, I know people hate retcons, but this won’t change any of the established lore nor will it rearrange the placement of the various territories. I just need to redraw the galaxy because the one I drew is inaccurate. I’ll also clarify a bit more where the Tandraxian territory is in it. This is going to be a pretty big job, I think, because after the two-page spread is done, I’ll also need to update the print edition of Volume 1, and that’ll take some faffing about with KDP. I’ll include this revised galactic map in Volume 2 and on Patreon, of course, so those of you who own a physical copy of Volume 1 already will effectively just possess a rare printing of the book. You’ll also be able to own the new map in Volume 2 of Humanity Lost.
Here’s the text from the page so you don’t have to zoom in:
“The Aoe are a species held under the yoke of the Kolaxan Empire. After the Kolaxan-Aoe war, a war in which the Aoe suffered a humiliating defeat, what remains of the Aoe are kept as house slaves. Their numbers were decimated during the war effort, and now under five billion of them remain, most of which are scattered across the vast Kolaxan Empire away from their homeworld and former colonies. Some pockets of Aoe resistance remain engaging in guerilla warfare, freeing their brothers and sisters where they can. There are even dissenting kolaxan groups that oppose Aoe enslavement, but those movements are suppressed and brutally crushed. The Aoe slaves, surprisingly, are treated as prized property by their masters. The presence of an Aoe in a household is seen as a symbol of status and wealth. Kolaxan masters often develop deep bonds with their Aoe servants, holding conversations with them and sometimes taking their advice. An Aoe servant will very often get to know all of the master’s family well, caring for the children and even playing with them, further deepening these bonds, but the Aoe’s status in the household is always made clear and reinforced. Killing one’s slave is a capital offence in Kolaxan society. Causing unnecessary suffering and even failing to address physical ailments after one has been made aware of them is also a serious crime. An Aoe is their master’s responsibility and nobody else’s. Their healthcare is paid for and so too is their living quarters; in terms of quality of life, they are afforded better amenities than the vast majority of lower-caste Kolaxans. But do not be fooled, they are a colonised species who exist in a state of servitude. The Aoe are exploited for labour, and their worlds were stolen for resources and living space for their conquerors.
The Aoe have a unique method of locomotion: they tumble about by spinning their bodies, dragging their horns behind them to keep themselves oriented upright. In the centre of their orb-like bodies is found their brain and their array of extended suction cups, which they fling out in order to pull their ball-like bodies along. At the rear of the Aoe can be seen two large sets of horns that are used during mating rituals. Battling males impress female onlookers in ferocious displays with these horns; males crash into one another, interlocking in an attempt to flip their opponent upside down and pin them. In ancient times, these mating rituals would often end in death. The average Aoe is almost 3 feet tall and 7 feet wide, so these horns of theirs are large enough to do some considerable damage if they manage to wind up plunging into a vital spot. These elaborate courtship rituals do still cause fatalities from time to time. Their horns were never really used for hunting; their dexterous tentacles were used to construct and wield tools for that purpose. The Aoe were by no means a pacifist species either; back when they still had their sovereignty, they had developed quite the space navy and even advanced combat suits with mechanised tracks/belts that replaced the act of rolling from place to place with a speedier and more efficient method.”
Thanks as always for your generous support!
Comments
Callum Diggle
Ooo I’ve never heard of that, I’ll look it up. Thanks Ash!
ash
These remind me of the Architects from In Other Waters. Very cool design, keep up the amazing work!
Callum Diggle
I have no idea how to do any of that stuff, but with computer effects getting cheaper it could be possible for a small studio to produce a Humanity Lost short film. I don’t have any links to people in the business, but if anybody does, feel free to get in touch! I think the main story itself would be great to see, starting with issue 1. If not, then the flashback of Deicide’s rebellion in issue 6/7 would be awesome. yeah probably, on the rare occasions when they actually meet physically. I absolutely think that’s the case, there have been a few mentions in the comic so far of factions within the Conglomerate and the wider Galactic Union that do not trust Deicide and whom are actively working to remove him from power. There’s always that chance! She is a super-intelligent being after all.
Callum Diggle
Me too actually, perhaps it’s the case that some Aoe serve with their masters in the military or maybe they serve to earn their freedom 🤔 that could be one way for me to show them in a future panel of Humanity Lost. They’re called the Nullent and they’ll be featured in the upcoming volume, volume 3.
Callum Diggle
Maybe some Aoe serve with their masters in the military 🤔 I might be able to slip one in to the background of a panel in the future.
Callum Diggle
That would be rad! If anyone knows how to do that, it’d be awesome to see. Haha I think you’re probably right, there’s no doubt a reason why we don’t see this sort of thing in nature. I guess the way that it would be done is by having a skeletal “bar” floating in a bed of biological lubricant that is in turn surrounded by fat. The bar could rotate without ever having any bone on bone action. Cheers mate, I appreciate it 🙏🏻
Fruit hat
Will we ever get a drawing of their track battle suits really curious as how that would look. Also awhile back you had art of a species of nonsapient void life forms will they ever show up in the story ?
Erika Spooner
Great work! Have you ever thought about trying to find out a way to make a Humanity Lost short film? I have no idea how it would be done and frankly I don't know if it'll ever happen, but if it could happen what part of Humanity Lost would you like to depict in it? Do Over-Father's do sparring? I listened to an audiobook of a space opera a little while ago called The Last Human. In the book highly intelligent beings manipulate those who are less intelligent quite easily, do you think its possible that some conspiracy theorist-like aliens think that Deicides defection was part of her plan all along? What if stealing an emitter is exactly what AM wants them to do?
Paul Oleev
i felt it was mostly akin to coral reef mixed with mollusk. Once again, superb species design
Gabu
Cool locomotion! I hope we see their roller mechs!
Federico Falletti
It would be amazing to see a little gif of them moving! Such an ingenious method. I wonder how much erosion there would be at the joint between the sphere-exoskeleton and the horn, that would be some serious arthritis! Also, if you ever need linguistics/language science advice, let me know ;) Always happy to help!
Callum Diggle
Thanks man! Ah yes, well here is your answer! They’re Liquivores of a sort, they can stretch their suction cups over a piece of food and flood the chamber with acid to absorb the nutrients. They communicate through a form of sign language and they can also flash colours into their tentacles like cuttlefish.
Fire_Warrior22
Amazing as always lad. It's always nice to see a new species, especially a sophont. And this particular one actually answers a question I have had since the galatic map was first shown. Did the Kolaxan Empire encounter any other intelligent species given their large territory? And if yes what did they do to them? Now I know the answer and the cruel truth. Though I have a question regarding the Aoe, how do they communicate and eat? The only sensory organs I can see are what I think are the eyes and of course the tentacles and suction cups.
Callum Diggle
Oo that would have been fun, perhaps some time in the future, I wanted this to stay in keeping with the rest of the Alien profile infographics that I’ve done so far though Haha sorry, I’ll go find a towel 😂
Alien Person
What a fascinating snippet of history! It's glad to see how aware you are of these things, every now and again you'll see writers, particularly in science fiction or fantasy, oversimplify things to a fault, or misrepresent them in some other way. My only real advice would be to make the fact that the kolaxans aren't a monolith and to perhaps show the cruel and gruesome treatment of the aoe obvious to the readers who aren't able to see this discussion here on the patreon. Love the work, keep at it!
Callum Diggle
Cheers mate! 🙌🏻
Callum Diggle
Thanks for the kind words, it’s much appreciated! I’m really glad that you like them. It’s definitely concerning, yeah, slavery is an awful thing. the Kolaxan empire is basically meant to be a space Roman Empire, warts and all. Those are some very interesting questions and they open up so much to be explored in the future, I bet there are resistance movements with both Kolaxans and Aoe in them, there are no doubt guerilla movements of Aoe on their homeworld and maybe even the colonies. Absolutely, no one species is a monolith (unless they’re a hive-mind), the Kolaxan empire is just particularly despotic and capable of crushing dissent in an authoritarian fashion. Oh of course, I know you’re not dw, slavery is something that has been practiced all throughout history in every region of the world since the first civilisations emerged and it has many layers to how it was applied to different populations and the methods by which they came into slavery. I have no doubt that if there are many alien civilisations out there, some of them will continue to practice slavery. It is a disgusting thing, but it is in keeping with an expansionist authoritarian empire like the Kolaxan one. It’s actually a point of pride for me as an Englishman that English common law made it so that people could not be bought or sold like property within England as early as the 12th century and in the early 1800s the British Empire spent massive 40% of its annual budget not only abolishing slavery in the territories, but also fighting slavery world wide, a debt we didn’t finish paying back until 2014. One crazy figure for you is that one sailor died for every nine slaves freed over a period of fifty years! Aha thank you very kindly!
Ryan
An all around awesome design
Charlie Horse
I enjoy seeing the creatures on the 'weirder' side. Though their home environment would probably be even more fun. Now, as an artist myself, I'm fine with a little nudity. But don't you think its going a little to far to draw this AOE's gnarktic ganglion in its full glory? I mean, come on. Some modesty never hurt anyone!
Alien Person
I thought of age of empires haha
Callum Diggle
Thanks as always mate! I did not know that haha
Callum Diggle
Unfortunately you might not always have the choice, because the Kolaxans might decide to mess with you
Alien Person
A surprise to be sure, but a very welcome one!!! I always love seeing the ways you design aliens and this is by far my new favourite. Not every day you see a spherical sophont! I will say, I am somewhat concerned about how their species has been enslaved from a writing perspective. I mean don't get me wrong it makes sense given the nature of kolaxans societies, but it does seem rather extreme to happen on such a comprehensive scale. Are there perhaps straggler groups who hid and survived enslavement? Are there rebellion groups against their kolaxan owners? Are there some kolaxan groups fighting for their freedom, even if they are silenced by wider society? Five billion is a lot after all. Of course I'm not saying this to accuse you of any malice or I'll intent, just that I would be careful when handling topics like slavery and how it's depicted. Even if it is a work of fiction, there will always be a lot of people who will pay close attention to it and how it's portrayed, particularly in a historical context. I also would like to see how kolaxans feel about it since I feel it's more interesting to see how no species can ever be defined by a single ideology, even if said ideology is more prevalent across their world leaders or through propaganda or whatever else. Also not to say I know much about slavery on earth, but point is I just wanna make sure you know to steer clear of any pitfalls into how it's portrayed, which could be worth some research if necessary Anyway, textwall aside, awesome work! The planet illustration skills here are also somehow even better than the first volume!
Miningation
in short, don’t ever mess with the kolaxans
Davide
A life form that doesn't seem like an animal or a plant, very genius and creative. Aoe, anime original ending😉
