PUBLIC INHABITANT RECORD
RESIDENT DOSSIER / The Middle Distances · western tidal coast
Tallow
A broad-footed, soft-faced working creature whose odd, wing-like forelimbs and patient stare make it feel both useful and quietly delicate.
- Known location
- Floodgate Landing
- World relationship
- FREQUENTS
- Occupation
- Tide-route bundle carrier and doorstep runner
PUBLIC CHARACTER RECORD
What is known
Tallow is a stocky, many-limbed town worker with a long rectangular face, a curled forelock and broad splayed feet that look made for awkward ground. The side-spread upper limbs read almost like folded fins or mantled wings, while the lower hands stay free for actual handling. In ordinary life Tallow works as a tide-route bundle carrier and doorstep runner in Cleftwater Steps, moving parcels, groceries and repair items during the slippery hours when streets keep becoming canals and residents need someone steady, polite and hard to knock over.
KNOWN WORLD LOCATION
Floodgate Landing
FREQUENTSORDINARY LIFE HERE
Tide-route bundle carrier and doorstep runner
Cleftwater Steps suits the character's broad footing, cautious movement and useful, many-limbed build. An ordinary day there would involve timing errands around changing water levels, taking household bundles between temporary piers, waiting without complaint while doors are reached by plank or boat, and choosing the least foolish route at each tide. Brindle feels believable as one of the practical creatures a place like this would come to depend on.
WORLD EFFECTBrindle would make the town feel more navigable and neighbourly at its messiest hours, quietly extending who can receive goods or assistance when the streets turn inconvenient.
NEARBY ON THE CURRENT SURVEY
The district does not end at this record.
These are geographic neighbours, not implied friends or allies.
Floodgate LandingMarshal NacreA heavy, watchful cephalopod enforcer whose soft anatomy reads as more intimidating because of how controlled it is.
Highwater StairTidewitness NollA solemn, soft-bodied watcher whose whole face seems built for noticing slow changes before anyone else does.
Tangle StepsThornsiltA solemn, many-limbed marsh worker whose intimidating face resolves into patient watchfulness once it starts doing an ordinary job.
ARCHIVE EVIDENCE / FIRST RECORDED SIGHTING
Before the record, there was a drawing.
This is the original hand-made source from which Tallow entered the Living Atlas. It is preserved unchanged and shown beside—not beneath—the approved interpretation.
- Creator
- Björgvin
- Evidence class
- Original drawing
- Archive state
- Public provenance record
Original line retained. Corrections belong to the hand that made them.
COMPLETE APPROVED CHARACTER SHEET
One inhabitant, seen from several directions.
The approved sheet remains available as a visual record. It supports the inhabitant; it does not need to dominate every encounter.
COMPLETE PHYSICAL & CHARACTER RECORDOpen the detailed archive file
PHYSICAL RECORD
A presence before an explanation
- Silhouette
- Top-heavy and horizontally expanded at the shoulders, then narrowing through a soft central torso into oversized rounded feet. The head is blocky and vertical, crowned by a single curl, with ear-flares widening the top shape.
- Scale
- Reads as short to medium height but broad in footprint and volume. Hands and feet are enlarged for handling and stability; the face is oversized relative to the body, which keeps the character approachable rather than imposing.
- Material
- Warm golden hide with paler chest and muzzle, richer rust accents at ears, limb edges and knuckles, and dry plush fur texture that catches light.
- Colour
- #D9A441, #E7C98B, #B85C38, #6A3E2A, #F3E9D2
OCCUPATION & CHARACTER
Tide-route bundle carrier and doorstep runner
Built in a way that looks cumbersome and strange, but emotionally it is careful and almost fussy about doing neat, considerate work.
WANTS
- to be useful in a concrete, daily way
- to be trusted with complicated deliveries
- to keep a predictable route and familiar customers
FEARS
- dropping or damaging something entrusted to them
- fast-changing situations they cannot brace for
- being laughed off as slow or clumsy
HABITS
- pauses to square its footing before lifting anything
- tilts its head rather than speaking quickly
- keeps small bundles tucked close against the chest
- checks thresholds, steps and wet surfaces before committing weight
NEEDS
- stable paths or rails during wet crossings
- bundles sized to be braced against the chest or upper limbs
- regular route knowledge and tide-aware scheduling
CAPABILITIES
- excellent balance on slick or shifting surfaces
- can carry multiple small loads at once using lower hands while shielding them with the spread upper limbs
- patient doorstep service and reliable route memory
SOURCE ANCHORS
- Long rectangular muzzle/face with two round nostrils and a small underbite-like mouth
- Large rectangular eye area with heavy-lidded oval eyes and small highlights above
- Curled forelock centered over the brow between wide ear-like side flares
- Sideways-spread upper limbs that read like winged sleeves, fins or broad forearms, separate from the lower grasping hands
- Huge rounded feet with thick, cushioned shapes beneath a compact torso