Guard Post

Two guards posted along the rim of a floating island. A religious cult has built a temple and surrounding dwellings on this island, and they float across the continent indoctrinating and spiriting away new followers. Of course, the more established religions on land encourage all to resist the new cult and attacks on the island are common. These guards especially have to look out for fires being set in the path of the island. It floats and steers very slowly with the use of huge lode stones. Peasants on the ground are taught by the churches to set forest fires in the islands path to suffocate the inhabitants.
These guards use very rare and expensive cartridge rifles (plundered, the industry of cartridge ammunition is long forgotten) to pick off scouts or shepards who appear to be hurrying to warn towns of the island's advance. The cultists undergo a series of skin bleachings so that they begin to resemble dolls or puppets. The female is the example of successful treatments, and the figure on the tree is covered up due to severely disfiguring mistakes made in the process.

Animator's blue colerase pencil and Photoshop. Prints available here [link]