Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School Art Reference: Thalmin Havenbrock (Patreon)

Hey everyone! The wait for one of the most anticipated references is finally over! It’s been a long road, getting from where we started with the first reference to here, but our time has finally arrived! 

I am happy to present to you, the official reference of our favorite resident lupinor, the ever-reliable, fiercely loyal, and eternally stalwart, Prince Thalmin Havenbrock! Royal Bearer of the Spoils, Keeper of the Writ, Tracker of Traitors, and Royal Emissary for the Nexian Sacrifice!

Here, like Ilunor before him, we see him dressed not in school attire but instead in his typical Royal finery! Though as the story has hinted at thus far, the extent and degree to which Nexian sensibilities have translated over to lupinor culture and heritage greatly varies. This results in a manner of dress that has evolved to become highly anachronistic and staunchly rebellious, or as much as is possible within the confines of Expectant Decorum. 

Evolving from what was effectively sensible and practical armor, the current royal dress incorporates elements of that practicality whilst imbuing with it the ostentatiousness of Nexian aesthetics, as well as adopting many traditional Havenbrockian noble traditions. The likes of which can be seen in the mana-steel plate armor, the leather waist and shoulder belt, the vambraces, and the petruges-like defensive skirt formed from multiple overlapping layers of cloth, leather, and mana-steel. However, as with many of the lupinors’ more martial traditions, they were tempered by the Nexian reformation; imbuing them with modifications that were meant to fall in line in compliance with Nexian sensibilities. The most obvious of these sensibilities being the expectations of decency and modesty! 

This was especially true for the likes of the royal family, who had to adhere to this more stringently than most.

Though the manner in which they complied would be a subject of great debate for the Nexus, as they chose a form of malicious compliance in an attempt to follow the letter of the law, whilst undermining the spirit of it. 

Examples of which can be seen in the choice of arm and leg coverings. The arm coverings in particular are a matter of particular debate and great controversy, as instead of simply redesigning the tunic by increasing the length of the sleeves and in the process removing the vambraces, they instead adopted a simple full-sleeved cotton undershirt, thus complying with standards of decency whilst maintaining the martial aesthetic associated with the vambraces! Moreover, this keeps the tunic’s sleeves at what we’d describe as ‘short-sleeved’, something that the Nexus sees as in poor taste and bad faith to the intent of Expectant Decorum! As despite the addition of the aforementioned undershirt, the tunic that sits atop that still hints at the ‘short-sleeved’ nature of the original ensemble! The same can be said for their choice of leg coverings, as instead of replacing the traditional petruges with pants, tough leather and cotton pants are worn beneath them; once again complying with Expectant Decorum whilst maintaining Havenbrockian cultural aesthetics! 

And finally, the greatest act of defiance, is the lack of a traditional tail covering as was seen with the likes of Ilunor! The replacement for which, is simply that of a long, thick, and hardy cape, that obscures the view of the tail for the most part! 

Finally, we can see a few more design flourishes specific to Thalmin’s family. The most notable of which is on the chestplate itself. There, we can see the engravings of two lupinor heads facing towards one another. There’s an entire ruleset along with a set of design norms that governs exactly what these engravings mean. Ultimately though, they’re meant to signify the place of the wearer within the royal household, or their relation to the royal household in terms of bloodline. 

In Thalmin’s case, being the runt of the litter and thus the youngest amidst his siblings, the two lupinor heads present several meanings. The most notable of which is the lupinor head with the crown adorning it, signifying his direct relationship not only to the founder of the royal household, but of the current ruling monarch as well. However, unlike his eldest sibling and first in line for the throne, he only has one of these crowned lupinor heads adorning his chestplate. The other lupinor head adorning it instead has a helmet, signifying his distance from the throne when it comes to the line of succession, but also signifying his role within the royal household as an active member of the armed forces that might typically be removed from court politics for the sake of their military obligations. More interestingly though, the helmet also represents the Havenbrockian martial tradition, or more specifically the origins of Thalmin’s family from their mercenary heritage. 

There’s multiple meanings to be drawn from this.

For one, it’s a way to placate the Nexus as it communicates that the youngest and least influential in the royal court is assigned a symbol that ties back to their original martial heritage. It shows a sense of self-deprecation in a sense, especially as the crown prince is assigned symbolism that is more aligned with Nexian traditions.

However, on the other hand, its very existence sort of shows an unbreakable tether to their past heritage; which puts it at odds with Nexian sensibilities. Moreover, the fact that they sent Thalmin, wearing said chestplate to the Nexus, can also be viewed as an act of symbolic defiance. 

The presence of leaves and other such imagery that alludes to, or symbolizes the natural world, present on the cape and near the neck area, is also something that straddles that line between acceptability and defiance. The same goes for the old Havenbrockian text that is written at the frontmost layer of the petruges! 

Also, just to quickly address the alternate version with the crown, that is indeed Thalmin's full regalia! However, when it comes to the story, he's yet to have shown it! :D I loved the way the crown turned out as well as it definitely gives Thalmin that extra aura of royal regalia that hammers home his status as a Prince!

Anyways! This is just a brief little summary of exactly what the outfit and character design entails! I really hope it made sense and that the worldbuilding wasn't too excessive or too specific!

The artist did such an amazing job with this and I can’t express enough how utterly happy I am with how this turned out! I knew I could count on them considering they were the same one who I commissioned for Ilunor's design! :D

And as one more note! I just wanted to say that they managed to capture and bring to life Thalmin in a way that just makes me so happy! Actually being able to see Thalmin brought to life in a way that's so true to his character, is something that is nothing short of amazing! :D And I really hope you guys enjoy it too! :D

The artist has simply been awesome to work with and their creative process is something to be lauded!

So do check them out! :D

Artist Reference: RMikkyart on Twitter