The Jadeclaw Illustrations: Simple Folks

These guys are birds(!) and the birds are apparently non-morphic in the game. Which meant to me that, as sparrows, they would pretty much be the kinds of folks who live in their own little sparrow world, above it all and the rest of furry "humanity", with their dramas and thumbs and clothes and winglessness. I see them as occasional messengers, or spies, etc. but not the kind of folk to really get personally involved in the affairs of others. Very little bothers them since they can always just fly away, a profound ability. In this picture, a cluster of these little guys are huddling on a clothesline just after a rain. Above them are others, this is there world and the focus is on them, not the furs show below them, who come and go with drawing the birds' notice. There might be some passionately heated exchange going on down there, or a cloak and dagger, clandestine meeting, or simply pedestrians out after the rains, the sparrows don't care. One is shown bearing a message and a small ribbon of importance. He doesn't seem too worried about the welfare of his message in the rain, or resuming his flight; birds are flighty and flaky and, not so much ditzy as they are concerned about other things, which can make them occasionally unreliable. but they are the quickest way to get your message to point B.

The picture is self-explanatory. I've been to Bangkok. It's the most incredibly flithy and beautiful place in the world. I was prepared to ramble on about the picture, but I'm sure many of you understand why I don't feel like it anymore. (9/11/01)