Ak'aaran Warrior Tattoos
"With this ink now complete, you have become a true warrior of Xunaa, and a protector of the Ayoxal."Warriors hold a very important political, cultural, and religious position in Ak'aaran society. As such, it has long been tradition to mark those deemed worthy enough by the gods of the power held by Xunaa's flames, or by Xahkùm's claws and fangs with ink, to symbolise their status as protectors of all Ayoxal.
History
The tradition doesn't seem to have a clear starting date, or specific geographic origin. However, both local historians and religious leaders agree that the tradition existed in one form or another for many centuries, and that its creation possbily dates back to the start of the Ak'aaran civilisation itself, which began to take shape around the year 1200 BC. It would evolve and diversify into their current state. The first type of tattoo that emerged were elemental mage tattoos, specificaly for Firemages and Tidemages. In contrast, Jaguar shifter tattoos took on their current shape quite late, just a few centuries ago.
Execution
The tattoo is drawn along a mage's natural internal mana flows, from their mana core at the centre of their chest down to their wrist. While the drawing itself is completed in three seperate stages over many years, each follow the same general proceadure.
The area of the skin about to get tattooed is cleaned with water, salt and alcohol. Then, the inkgiver works on the tattoo's outline, usualy done in black sooth-based ink, before then doing the white ink park, which can take many hours over multiple days of work.
Shapeshifter tattoos are smaller and more detailed. They cover the chest and shoulder, but never the arm or neck. They always feature an animal effigie, usualy a jaguar. In contrast, Elemental Mages have larger but simpler tattoos, which not only covers the chest and shoulder, but also parts of the neck and the arm down to the wrist. They are made up of thick lines that follow the flow of mana from their cores located in their chest, to the hand where it is used.
Observance
The entire tattoo is divided into three sections, each with a specific area of the chest, shoulder and arms it covers. Each section is tattooed at a given time, based on the warrior's age. After, a celebration is held with family and community.
The first section of the tattoo (Shown in green) is done at age 8, and marks the begining of their basic warrior training. At age 12, they receive the second part of their tattoo (Shown in yellow), and begin specialized training based on their unique abilities.
Finaly, at the age of 16, they receive the final part of their tattoo (Shown in red) after which they are officialy recongnised as true warriors by the society. They are then expected to join the military forces of whichever city-state they live in.
by Ephraim Boateng (Me)
Visual Effects
With most Ak'aaran individuals having darker skin, the white ink used for the tattoo offers a stricking contrast with their skin's natural colour. However, it's reall beauty comes when the mage performs their magic. Indeed, the ink reacts to the flow of Mana as it travels from their cores to the shoulder, then the arm and hand, by glowing. Depending on the type of mage, the ink glows a different colour; Orange for Firemages, red for Stonemage, white for Tidemages, and blue for Shapeshifters.
by Ephraim Boateng (Me)
Related Organizations
Beautiful tradition and great drawings as well!! Bravo! Thank you so much for the shout out, I am honored :)
Thank you for the kind words! I really appreciate it <3