Here is two more of the Efmon family, the mutated cult of evil mystics whom I have covered before.

Vedur Efmon

Vedur Efmon is, in a way, the ambassador of the Efmon family. It his his job to go out to worlds and meet people who don’t worship Thalamaya. While he would love to convert them, that is often not his mission. As much as they hate to admit it, the Efmons do occasionally need to negotiate for material resources or for information. Vedur has more skill than most Efmons at restraining from killing enemies on sight, so he has to do such jobs. It isn’t easy work, but in worship of Thalamaya, Vedur will do what he must.

Towwa Efmon

Before their mutations, members of the Efmon family look roughly like normal humans look. After her mutation, Towwa, like most Efmons, looked different. Either by pure coincidence or as part of Thalamaya’s plan, Towwa’s new form, which was not especially powerful, looked exactly like one the people of planet Zezwek. In their wandering through dimensions, the Efmons had come across Zezwek and saw it as being strategically useful. An agent who could infiltrate that world, laying the groundwork for an Efmon invasion, was obviously an asset that could not be passed up. And that’s how they established their new base of operations, making slaves of the local population. Towwa now serves as the Master of Zezwek, relaying the family’s orders to the Zezwek people and, when necessary, keeping them in line with force.

The nation of Podd is essentially a paradise. They’ve eliminated crime and poverty and disease. They’ve got the finest educational system in their world. Menial tasks are done by machines and philosophical and intellectual pursuits are enjoyed by any who want to enjoy them. Podd wants to spread their happiness across the world. Does that make them assholes?

A lot of other nations seem to think so. Podd has a tendency to stick itself into the business of other nations. Sometimes this is good, such as when they provide relief to people who have been stricken by drought or disaster. Other times their presence is less appreciated, such as when they try to force other countries to change their policies by force. We may think it is right for them to fight for sexuality equality in the neighboring nation of Kebash, but do we agree when they force the nation of Islopia to free convicted criminals? What right does Podd have to tell other countries how to go about their business? After all, only a century ago, Podd itself was a nation with institutionalized slavery and anti-religious laws. Is Podd a great nation that has learned from its mistakes, or is it a land of hypocrites?

Podd works extremely hard to maintain the moral high ground. When Podd declares war on another nation, a typical year will result in about a dozen Podd soldiers’ deaths. But their enemies will suffer no casualties at the hands of Podd. They have perfected all manner of non-lethal weaponry and they aren’t afraid to use it. Podd soldiers will gladly surrender their lives for the cause, but the lives of others are not theirs to sacrifice.

Ren Lighten is the head of Podd’s Drop Knights. This Corps of soldiers will be flown over enemy lines and parachuted in to set up strongholds and engage the local populace when possible. Ren is the son of a government official and was raised with the values of Podd at his core. He could have lived a life of luxury (but then, so could anyone in Podd), but he had to get out there and make a difference. He’s the ideal Podd soldier.

Kurk Wisher was not raised in Podd. He was, in fact, an enemy who met Podd soldiers on the field of battle. As often happens, he was swiftly beaten. But when he saw how much better Podd was than his home at treating soldiers, he questioned his loyalty. Not only were the prisoners well treated, but Podd’s own soldiers who suffered from post-traumatic stress were cared for better than anyone in his home had been. As is the practice, Kurk was given his freedom when the war ended, and he promptly signed up with the more appealing side.

There are times when some individual in some nation other than Podd, scientists and community leaders or the like, are in danger, but the officials of Podd consider that person important. Before they even realize they are the target of sinister forces, those individuals will meet Bob Felling. The hulking soldier is one of Podd’s Target Guardians. When assigned to protect someone, Bob makes sure they stay protected. Such Guardians are the last unit of Podd’s military to carry a weapon designed to be fatal: a sword. While it is fully capable of killing, the Guardians consider it purely ceremonial. Those being protected by the Guardians are usually from nations that have not yet abandoned killing as a means of defense, so it does serve a comforting purpose for them as well.

Shell Worldly is part of the newest of the Podd military’s units. Some of them consider covert espionage to be underhanded and shady. Shell doesn’t necessarily agree with that sentiment, but her role as Podd’s first Overt Spy gives her a chance to show off her skills, so she is happy with it. Raised in a house with many competitive siblings, Shell always liked to prove herself to be the best. Now she does it on a national scale. If one of Podd’s enemy nations is, for example, constructing a nuclear missile silo, and they are trying to be sneaky about it, Shell Worldly will waltz up to the gates and let herself be noticed by as many of the guards as possible. She will break in and steal blueprints or take photos and escape uncaptured, but plainly seen. The message is simple: You can not hide your evil machinations from the nation of Podd, and they don’t fear you enough to bother trying to hide anything from you.

Wearing the blood red that is universal code for the occupation on this world, Dara Talik is a field medic. Among most countries, not just Podd, it is considered a war crime to attack medics on the battlefield, but Podd is unique in the amount of focus that they give on their opponents. Talik’s family is a member of the religious minority that was brutally oppressed in Podd only generations ago, but now her faith in both her god and her nation have made her one of the bravest heroes Podd has ever seen. There is no situation too dangerous for her to try to help the wounded.

So are the forces of Podd the good guys? It depends who you ask. But if history is written by the victors, it looks like Podd is going to be writing some history pretty soon.

Notes: Podd is set in another universe not already introduced in Super Sundays. I found among my notes mentions of an idea for a “Shotguns and Sorcery” world that combine elements from modern military and political fiction with fantasy universe stuff. I like the idea, so Podd is my first entry into this new alternate Earth that has magic and monsters, but still has trucks and planes and computers and such. And now I’ve got another world to flesh out.

Ms. Curious

Cats are more in tune with the supernatural side of the world than humans are. And the especially intelligent cats can be downright experts in the field. Ms. Curious is the world’s foremost paranormal investigator. Avoiding notice from the humans, she seeks out stories of haunted houses or monster sightings and looks into them. If anything truly out of the ordinary is happening, she will do what she can to help. She’ll help ghosts find their rest and, if necessary, she’ll bring down monsters whatever it takes.

I can’t draw cats even more than I generally can’t draw things. Still, I like the idea of a cat out there solving problems that humans don’t even realize are going on.

Epic Bro

Tyler Watson is straight up trippin’, dawg. He got the mad skills. He be punchin’, he be running, he be fuckin’ shit up. You know he’s bomb, ’cause he’s Epic Bro.

Okay, look, I can’t write “bro” lingo. It is beyond me. I can’t fathom it. But still, what we have here is a superhero character who embodies that type of attitude. I figure Tyler here was about sixteen when he developed supernatural powers, not knowing that he inherited them from a father he never met, and, while he does try to do “heroic” things, he’s also the kind of young idiotic person that cares more about style than substance. It is not uncommon for him to attempt his heroics while in an impaired state (Say, if a crime happens while he was at a kegger). And worse, he’d the type who things it is important to prove himself in a fight. If I did a story about him, I’d try not to paint him as a bad guy, but he’d have to grow up to be a real hero.

Both of today’s characters are from the cast of the Hateful King, one of the things that has come out of Super Sunday that I most want to write. Apart from the original post of the guy, other members of his cast can be seen here.

To recap: The Hateful King is a demonic ruler who is trying to conquer a contemporary European nation called Thrakodacia, ruled by the noble King Balus.

The Duelist

Mystically endowed with extra limbs, the man who goes only by “the Duelist” is the Hateful King’s official assassin. Skilled with all manner of weaponry, but especially swords. Though he uses this skill in service of a particularly leader ruler, he considers himself a man of decency and ethics. Where most assassins would consider stealth and subtlety a positive, the Duelist would not dream of killing someone who doesn’t know he is there for them. When confronting a target, he will declare openly his intentions and the fact that the Hateful King wants them dead. Even with this moment of advance warning, the targets are rarely able to change the fact of their oncoming demise.

This guy got the baldness thing going. And not even a nice baldness. I feel like most of the Noble Sword Guys in fiction are classically handsome, so I didn’t want to go that way. Sure, it also annoys me when bad guys have to be uglier than good guys, but I can’t solve every individual problem with every character, can I?

Alina the Eagle

Alina is the leader of King Balus’s special forces unit, the Knights of Thrakodacia. Though they are, in most ways, a contemporary military unit, there is an element of the supernatural to them as there is in all things in Thraokodacia. In the case of Alina, it is the magic flying carpet she owns. Giving her the power of flight, and thus the ability to strike from the sky, the carpet has earned her the nickname “the Eagle”. Leading the Knights, she is responsible for holding off the Hateful King’s forces and advising her King on the best strategies for opposing the villain.

Those who know me will know that I’m into magic carpets. I don’t even know why. But because of that, the idea of a modern soldier riding on a magic carpet was one of the very first ideas I had when I mentally put together the whole Hateful King thing. Alina herself would have been in the first Supporting Cast thing, if I were more comfortable drawing a magic carpet. One can only hope that if I ever told these stories for real, I’d have an artist who can do them justice.

The Efmons were, as I have mentioned before, a family of evil monster people who lost a war and fled to other dimensions.

Thenner Efmon

When the Efmons had to flee, they left behind the rest of their species. Sure, they look human (moreso before their mutation ritual admittedly), but they’re actually a humanlike species that comes from a fantasy universe. This means that they aren’t biologically compatible with the humans on any of the alternate Earths they come across. If they want to have their family line continue, they need to figure how to solve that. Thenner Efmon is in charge of the family’s mystical genetics project. Using the technology they found on one of the alien worlds they’ve conquered, Thenner has begun cloning and gene-splicing experiments that, when combined with the Mutation Ritual that the family already used, could create a horde of Efmon Super Soldiers that would definitely be a bad thing for everyone else.

Kallis Efmon

When Kallis underwent his mutation ritual and turned into a powerful dinosaur-looking guy, he was thrilled. If Thalamaya had deemed him worthy to recieve such power, it must mean that he was destined for great victories in battle. But then the War was fought and the tide turned against Thalamaya’s forces. Kallis took this pretty hard. It seemed like his destiny had been taken away. Still, his service in the war left Kallis a respected member of the family, and he is given a vote in family decisions. Whenever any such decision arises, Kallis always sides with the choice that will lead the family to new battles and new conquests. Even when others were conviced it would be better for the family to slow down and build up their strength, Kallis wants nothing more than to find new worlds to rule, so that he can achieve the destiny he wants more than anything else.