This is a page for my headworld/story known as Hymn of the Fossil. I plan on using this page to share general information, links, images, etc. since I don't always have the time/energy to draw or animate stuff.Hymn of the Fossil has been in development since early 2018. It was originally titled SONORA. Its creation was initially inspired by games such as Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles.The story of Hymn of the Fossil revolves around Sonora, a Dakotaraptor with no memory of herself other than her name, and Navi, a misfit Utahraptor plagued with a troubling past. With Navi's guidance, Sonora seeks to rid Nova Palaeon of the Decay, a neuro-corruptive disease controlled by a vengeful demon, and bring peace back to raptorkind.This website is still a WIP.

Sonora and Navi (porqupyne)

The moodboard below is a compilation of images meant to demonstrate the aesthetics of Hymn of the Fossil. All images are from unsplash.com.

Content Warning!
Hymn of the Fossil contains mature subject matter. Character profiles, story beats and themes may include:
murder/death, general violence, discussion of mental illness, abuse, religious themes

> I've been developing Hymn of the Fossil since early 2018 after playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The story has changed quite a bit since I started developing it.> Originally, this headworld/story was titled SONORA, but I changed it when I started re-working the world and story. Several characters and locations have also been given new names.> The title, Hymn of the Fossil, refers to an ancient hymn sung by generations upon generations of raptorkind in order to summon the guardians. The ritual would be performed at a location known as the Wall of the Creator, where the skeleton of the oldest known god, Caelum, is fossilized into the cliffside.> Hymn of the Fossil follows Sonora, who's lost her memory, but is gifted with powers to rid Nova Palaeon of a disease known as the Decay. Early in her travels, she encounters Navi, a reckless Utahraptor raised on the beaches of Nova Palaeon, who offers to help guide her. While on their journey, Sonora receives several visions of a prophecy foretold by the gods, and while she is destined to fulfill it, she isn't sure that's what she wants. With Navi's help, Sonora seeks not only to restore peace to Nova Palaeon, but to forge her own destiny and defy fate.

> The story is set in Nova Palaeon, an enormous continent that hosts a wide variety of ecosystems, from towering mountain ranges, to dense jungles, to rocky shores. Many prehistoric creatures thrive within these ecosystems, each filling their individual role within the circle of life. Packs of Dromaeosaurids are sparse, building homes out of the natural structures around them.> Nova Palaeon is heavily inspired by both current and prehistoric ecosystems, with built structures being few and far in-between.> There are many LGBT+ characters in Hymn of the Fossil. What, you think dinosaurs weren't gay? They invented it.

> While I would like to one day, currently I don't have any serious plans for Hymn of the Fossil. The story, world and characters are still being developed, but one day I'd like to tell its story in full detail!> There are specific scenes and character interactions I have planned out, and I have a general idea of how I'd like the story to pan out, but a lot of it is still rough around the edges. As more content is created, I'll be updating this page with more details.

Content Warning!
Hymn of the Fossil contains mature subject matter. Character profiles, story beats and themes may include:
murder/death, general violence, discussion of mental illness, abuse, religious themes

THIS PAGE IS A HUGE WIP

Protagonists

Antagonists

Side Characters

Mythical Beings

Gods
The most powerful beings of Nova Palaeon. They have never been observed and are only told of in legend.

Guardians
Beings birthed from the gods, tasked with watching over Nova Palaeon.

The Continent of Nova Palaeon

> Nova Palaeon is a massive continent loosely based on Pangea from the early Mesozoic era as well as the map from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The continent is still on Earth, however it is of a timeline separate from ours where the dinosaurs were never wiped out. While many species of animals in Nova Palaeon are extinct in our world, since Hymn of the Fossil takes place some 35 million years after what we know as the Cretaceous period, some species that resemble animals that exist today in our world are present in Nova Palaeon. Certain species from different time periods exist in the story purely for artistic liberty purposes.> Though many Dromaeosaurids never encounter it outside of religious practices, magic is present within Nova Palaeon. It is possessed by Gods, Guardians, and any beings birthed from them.> Dromaeosaurids are the dominant beings of Nova Palaeon, being the most intelligent of the species on the continent. They are largely social and thus live in packs, and while they used to live a nomadic lifestyle, most packs have settled into villages they built themselves. These villages are scattered all around the various biomes of Nova Palaeon.> Click here for a list of established locations/places of interest and additional information about them (includes a map of Nova Palaeon).

Society and Culture

> Dromaeosaurids highly value nature and their land. They never take more than what is needed in terms of natural resources in order to maintain the balance of the ecosystem. While worldwide consistency is uncertain and not guaranteed, they aim to do whatever they can to keep the world as balanced as possible.> Dromaeosaurids have an alphabet of symbols (called Dromaeoscript) and their grammar and punctuation rules differ from ours. For example, in Dromaeoscript, names and titles are completely capitalized instead of only the first letter. Though Nova Palaeon has several languages, the Dromaeoscript alphabet is universal.> Minerals and gems are valued highly among Dromaeosaurids, as they can be used for rituals and as offerings to the Guardians. Rituals and offerings take place at dragon shrines that are scattered throughout the continent. Each shrine is made of rare materials in order to show devotion and appreciation to the Guardians.> As the intelligence of Dromaeosaurids evolved, so did their anatomy. The most prominent and important of these changes was to their hands, however. While they maintained their three-finger structure, one of their fingers evolved to function similarly to a thumb in order to grip tools. This was a universal change across all Dromaeosaurid species and allowed them to build the structures seen in their villages.> Though very few Dromaeosaurids are skilled enough to play, music is extremely important within their culture. Musical instruments of all kinds are hand-crafted with extreme care and are wielded by skilled musicians. It takes years of continuous practice to learn how to play and compose music, and often the Dromaeosaurids who choose to become musicians dedicate their entire lives to it.> These instruments may be used for a variety of rituals, though the most "sacred" of all instruments is the sauris flute. This flute is made of sturdy bamboo and is uniquely tailored to the musician it's made for. They're very similar in structure and sound to a shinobue flute.

The Map of Nova Palaeon
(names are outdated)

Biomes