thalyss
Baldur’s Gate and D&D gave us Menzoberranzan—the iconic drow city deep in the Underdark. A matriarchy ruled by priestesses of the spider-goddess Lloth, where ruling families wage eternal shadow wars for status. Here, poisoning, silent killing, and intrigue are taught from the cradle.
But dissent exists. Vhaeraun, the Lord of Shadows—god of drow males and thievery—inspires those who reject the matriarchy. His followers plot in the dark to overthrow the order.
This is where my character comes in.
An androgynous drow male masquerading as a high-born female to spy for Vhaeraun’s cult. Thanks to his family’s high status and a conveniently deceased twin sister, he has the perfect cover.
He lives in her skin, wears her face, and weaves intrigues from the inside. A double agent in the most dangerous city in the Underdark.
I needed a name that hissed—something snake-like and secretive. «Thalyss.» Only later did I learn it means «Diplomatic Cruelty.» A pure serendipity.
Taliss is the mask—the sister whose life he stole. Thalyl is the ghost—his true male name, a short of hers, marking his lower status. He barely remembers who he truly is anymore.
By day, Thalyss is an archivist, drowning in secrets of the ruling families. A goldmine for the resistance. But wearing a mask 24/7 comes at a cost.
How effective is a mind eaten away by paranoia, fear, and endless lies?
I needed a name that hissed—something snake-like and secretive. «Taliss.» Only later did I learn it means «Diplomatic Cruelty.» A pure serendipity.
Taliss is the mask—the sister whose life he stole. Thalyl is the ghost—his true male name, a short of hers, marking his lower status. He barely remembers who he truly is anymore.
By day, Taliss is an archivist, drowning in secrets of the ruling families. A goldmine for the resistance. But wearing a mask 24/7 comes at a cost.
How effective is a mind eaten away by paranoia, fear, and endless lies?
The work started with 2D sketches of the male character in Midjourney and Grok.
Once the look was locked in, I moved on to the female persona. I had to scour D&D libraries for lore on the drow and Menzoberranzan—digging into the aristocracy system, clan feuds, and even the dress codes allowed in that society.
That’s how I arrived at Archivist Thalyss—noble enough to access sensitive data, yet not important enough to be constantly in the public eye. A shadow of a shadow.
Once the character design and lore were finalized, I moved to the teaser script. Every morning is a performance: the city walk, the heavy archive doors, the constant paranoia of being watched. The stress of daily disguise.
I built the storyboard in Nano Banana to capture this tension, then brought the sequence to life using Kling for video generation.
