Here is the essence map for one of my other main characters, Na'nari, a tigress (with interesting powers).
Na'nari Wintergaze
Body {
< deadly beauty >
Eyes [
< ice >
Color (
< arctic icebergs >
< cyan >)
Gaze (
< steel >
< lasers >
< a staring contest >)]
Face [
Expression (
< a hunting cat >
< ready to attack >
< impending doom >)]
Coat [
Color (
< silver-gray >
< storm clouds >
< graphite >)
Stripes (
< black lightning >
< marks of a quill pen >)]
Movement [
Grace (
< an expert hunter >
< a forest Indian >
< a painter's hand >
< a violinist's bow >)
Speed (
< a diving peregrine >
< lighting bolt >
< an arrow >)]}
Spirit {
Pride [
< a forest queen >
< a battle-hardened warrior >]
Love [
< the sunken treasure of a shipwreck, waiting to be discovered >
Rarity (
< a black pearl >
< a secret told only to the closest of friends >)]
Aura [
< Myst III: Exile main theme >
< deadly silence before a storm >
Mystery (
< "Japanese Music Box" >
< mist among ancient redwoods >
< a deep, dark cave >)
Power (
< an Elvish blade >
< ruins of a stone fortress >)
Menace (
< a cold dagger at your throat >
< eyes staring out from the darkness >)
Color (
< ice blue >
< winter grey >
< cold silver >)
Scent (
< pine >
< cat fur >
< jasmine tea >
< spearmint >)
Temperature (
< early winter >
< autumn nights >)]}
Explanation of the "aura" section:
I wanted a section to show the sort of "presence" or "atmosphere" that Na'nari "gives off", if you will. (Forgive me if this sounds too new agey.) Needless to say, when you stand 3' at your shoulder, have huge claws and teeth and stare holes into everything, you're quite intimidating.
Also, Na'nari is a member of an elite group of animals who can understand human speech and respond to it. They can also direct their emotions and mental images to a human's mind if they wish; the stronger the relationship with the human, the stronger the signals. When the human recieves these signals from an animal, the human senses the animal's "fingerprint" - a combination of scents, temperature and slight color changes.
Once I get the Fierl (that's what I'm calling these animals) further developed and figured out, I'll probably start a thread on them. In the mean time, please let me know what you think of Na'nari's essence map. I'm pretty proud of it myself, but maybe it's just me.
