Line #52 WebAnimation/Sauria


1	->''"The wild lands of Sauria are at war. They try to tame this land, it's people, it's beasts. No, Sauria is '''wild'''. They think of us animals. Without reason, without thought. But I can play that game."''
2	-->-- '''Taurox'''
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4	''Sauria'' is a three-part {{Anthology}} series created by animator Creator/DavidJamesArmsby, hot off the success of WebAnimation/{{Dinosauria}}. Little is known about it so far, but what is known is that it takes place in a DarkFantasy setting dominated by both sapient humanoid reptiles and a variety of prehistoric wildlife. As seen in the trailers, the many factions are at war, and every day is a fight for survival.
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6	The official trailer was released in March of 2023, with the first episode, ''"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E98bD5WrMrc Blood for Blood]]"'', being released on Patreon in July of that month. It became publically available on August 11, 2023. The second episode, "''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeQg1ejt3MI Winter Weathered]]''", was released on April 5, 2024.
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9	!! This series provides examples of:
10	* AllThereInTheManual: As the animation consists in three short stories, most of the lore concerning ''Sauria'' is discussed in separate videos in Armsby's channel.
11	* AnachronismStew: While this is a fantasy story, most animals appearing are from the Late Cretaceous, but "Winter Weathered" also features several Pleistocene species as well as ''Diplodocus'' from the Jurassic, and according to the trailer the third episode will feature earlier Mesozoic animals.
12	* AnimalNemesis: "Winter Weathered" is a deconstruction of this, as Helionyx knows full well that the animal who killed his son can't be blamed for it, but it does nothing to help his grief and rage. [[spoiler:When he finds the beast, he gives in to his anger and kills it, only to be overcome with remorse at seeing her die and orphaning her cub. He promises to [[MustMakeAmends raise the cub himself]], which finally gives him closure for his son's death.]]
13	* AntiHero: The Kindred of the Tusk are a tribe of savage ceratosaur/carnotaur-like barbarians and pirates feared across the land of Sauria for their brutality and violent ways. However, as revealed in the first entry of the lore of ''Sauria'', their ferocity and rebellious behavior make them the prime opposite of the despotic Bluesong Empire, causing many to label them as heroes against the oppression of those who want to conquer Sauria.
14	* ArcSymbol: The helix in "Winter Weathered", placed on Helionyx's home, the empty sheath of his son's knife, and [[spoiler:the shoulders of the grown cub]]. It's not until the end that it's revealed that it means the helix of life and death, fitting the episode's themes.
15	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Given the time passed, it's highly unlikely that [[spoiler:the knife in the ''Smilodon'''s shoulder]] would still be bleeding when she and Helionyx cross paths, but the dripping blood is what draws Helionyx's attention and his anger.
16	* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: Downplayed and deliberate. While there's obviously no way to make the Saurians accurate, as dinosaur people never existed, the Tusk barbarians' design draws from outdated paleoart to fit their "older and more primitive" look, while the Bluesong use more current designs as their inspiration to fit their refined and advanced empire.
17	* ApeShallNeverKillApe: Despite being quite brutal towards other sapient races, the Kindred of the Tusk has one holy rule that is considered an unforgivable sin to break: No killing your own.
18	* AudibleSharpness: Happens when the ''Therizinosaurus'' is on screen, or when Taurox drags his mace across the ground. In the second episode, the sabertooth's fangs get the same treatment when it's about to make a kill.
19	* TheBeautifulElite: How the Bluesong Empire seems to present itself, with their elegant forms and society in contrast with their more primitive and war-ready enemies, the Kindred of the Tusk.
20	* BigBad: The Chancellor, who acts as the Bluesong Empire's leader.
21	* BirdPeople: The Bluesong are sapient dinosaurs resembling humanoid birds (or ornithomimid dinosaurs, depending on your interpretation).
22	* BookEnds: "Winter Weathered" begins with Helionyx offering a prayer before hunting, but is interrupted by a nanuqsaurus claiming the kill before he can. At the end, he hunts again, [[spoiler:with the sabertooth cub at his side]], and makes the kill, finishing the prayer.
23	* TheCameo:
24	** In "Winter Weathered", a group of Bluesong warriors, on ''Parasaurolophus'' walk by as Helionyx is hiding in the bushes, but unlike in "Blood for Blood", they play no role in the story. There's also a brief shot of two dead Kindred in the snow.
25	** The Troodon from ''WebAnimation/{{Dinosauria}}'' makes a brief appearance in "Winter Weathered", looking over the bodies of dead poachers. A nanuqsaurus also appears in the beginning stealing Helionyx's kill, but it is a different model from ''Dinosauria''.
26	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The four tribes seen in the trailers come in red-orange (Kindred of the Tusk), blue (Bluesong Empire), dark green (the Fell), and white (Arctic Saurians) respectively. Amusingly, the creatures that live in their domains follow the same principle (though WordOfGod notes that the Bluesong's animals weren't always this way).
27	* CosmicHorrorStory: As Armsby has stated, there's a bit of Creator/HPLovecraft in this story. Sure enough, the main trailer features some very creepy-looking pterosaur people known as the Fell engaging in what can only be described as some sort of arcane ritual.
28	* CoversAlwaysLie: The thumbnail art of "Winter Weathered" depicts Helionyx defending the mammoth herd he befriended against a pack of ''Nanuqsaurus''. This scene never happens in the actual short, where instead a single ''Nanuqsaurus'' frustrates Helionyx's hunt and he meets the mammoths shortly after.
29	* CurbStompBattle: Every time the Bluesong generals are pitted against Taurox, he wipes them out easily.
30	* DomesticatedDinosaurs: The tribes have all managed to tame the various prehistoric wildlife. And of course, it's mostly dinosaurs.
31	* DyingRace: The Arctic Saurians are the oldest of the races in Sauria and were once scattered across the continent. But between their reclusive and isolationist nature and the wars of the other tribes, they have been driven further north and become rare enough to be treated as almost mythical figures.
32	* DramaticIrony: The Bluesong are seeking Arctic Saurians in the hope that they'll be able to tell them more about the Forefathers, who the Bluesong see themselves as the successors to. What they don't realize is that their expansion is driving the already isolated and reclusive Arctic Saurians even farther apart and driving them extinct.
33	* TheEmpire: The Bluesong Empire, a Roman-esque empire that is expanding throughout Sauria to tame its wilds and claim control, while the rest of Sauria is resisting.
34	* EvilChancellor: The Chancellor of the Bluesong is cast in a creepy and very negative light, as she's the one who got Taurox locked up.
35	* FeatheredFiend: The people of the Bluesong Empire are birdlike saurians that seek to conquer all of Sauria.
36	* GladiatorGames: Taurox is pitted against Bluesong generals and domesticated animals in an arena, while crowds of Bluesong watch.
37	* HiddenDepths: The lore video about the Kindred of the Tusk reveals Taurox likes to breed ''Carnotaurus'' in his spare time, hinting a more gentle side in his otherwise ruthless character. It's even more reinforced by the borderline-brotherly bond shared between him and his former steed, a ''Carnotaurus'' named The Bull.
38	* HonorBeforeReason: What ends up being a part of Taurox's gambit after he's locked up in a gladiatorial arena by the Bluesong Empire instead of just being killed. All in the name of dying "fairly". Due to how seriously outclassed the Bluesong are, all they really end up doing is just send their best warriors to die to him.
39	* HorseOfADifferentColor: The ''Parasaurolophus'' serve as the main steeds for the Bluesong army.
40	* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Taurox used to be his tribe's greatest War Chief before getting defeated and captured to fight in a gladiator arena. This turns out to be a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], as he got himself imprisoned on purpose so that he could destroy the empire's finest warriors from the inside.
41	* IHaveManyNames: The Arctic Saurians are described in various legends and fairy tales as the "Ice Keepers", "Spirits of the Snow" and most prominently, "The Eyes in the Mountains".
42	* LizardFolk: The Solisaurians are a barbarian species who has two subspecies, one resembling a ''Ceratosaurus'' and another looking similar to a ''Carnotaurus''. The trailers also include the pterosaur-like Fell. This is averted with the Avisaurians, who look more like BirdPeople, and the Arctic Saurians downplay this trope, having both reptilian and mammalian characteristics.
43	* LongLived: The Arctic Saurians have sparked numerous stories because of this. While Helionix is around 350 himself, sightings of his now deceased father are believed to have inspired legends of an impossibly old Arctic Saurian that knew the founders of all the major tribes and witnessed the rise and fall of the empire of the extinct pterosaurian Forefathers.
44	* MedievalPrehistory: It's a DarkFantasy world in which both the sapient and non-sapient creatures are or at least based off of prehistoric life.
45	* MixAndMatchCritters: Saurians are a mix between human, dinosaur, and occasionally other influences.
46	** The Bluesong Empire looks like a cross between raptor and ornithomimid dinosaurs. Some of them also have antlers.
47	** The Tusk appear to be humanoid ''Ceratosaurus'', and the subspecies Taurox belongs to look like humanoid ''Carnotaurus''.
48	** Arctic Saurians are primarily based on therapods, but they also have mammalian features to match the wildlife of their home, including fur, eyebrows, and horns.
49	* MonsterIsAMommy: [[spoiler:In "Winter Weathered", the ''Smilodon'' who killed Helionyx's son is a parent itself, with a small cub. After killing the parent in a vengeful rage, Helionyx quickly regrets what he did even before seeing the cub, and decides to adopt and raise it.]]
50	* MotherGoddess[=/=]MotherNature: The Great Maia, referred to by her worshippers as the "mother of Sauria" and the one that maintains the helix of life and death. She has followers in many nations, but Arctic Saurians are particularly devout, and part of Helionyx's story is his CrisisOfFaith about her worship.
51	* MutualKill: In flashbacks, Taurox's ''Carnotaurus'' mount and a ''Torosaurus'' from the Bluesong died as they had just killed one another.
52	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Helionyx breaks down in horror when he realizes that his desire for vengeance [[spoiler:drove him to kill the ''Smilodon'' that ate his son]], forsaking his usual respect for Sauria's wildlife in the process. [[spoiler: To atone, he adopts the predator's orphaned cub.]]
53	* NobleSavage:
54	** The brutish Kindred of the Tusk are fighting to protect and save their home from getting taken over by the Bluesong.
55	** Helionyx, the Arctic Saurian, is a hunter living in harmony with nature, only killing what he needs to survive. Of course, his case is more complex as his desire for revenge battles with and briefly overcomes his religious convictions, although he deeply regrets it.
56	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Helionyx lost his son and his grief drives his actions through "Winter Weathered". A mammoth mother is also seen mourning her dead calf.
57	* PaintedCGI: Similarly to the creator's earlier work ''WebAnimation/{{Dinosauria}}'', the short uses CelShading of flat colors over 3D CGI animation.
58	* PantheraAwesome: "Winter Weathered" features a powerful ''Smilodon'' as the main adversary to Helionyx. [[spoiler:Her cub also grows up into a tough and deadly predator.]]
59	* PlayAlongPrisoner: As it turns out, Taurox is counting on the Bluesong thinking that he's theirs. That way, he can kill their finest warriors in the arena and claim vengeance for himself and his tribe.
60	* {{Precursors}}: Ruins belonging to a pterosaur-like race known as the Forefathers are scattered across the land. Seeing themselves as their successors, the Bluesong are obsessed with discovering their secrets and have sought out Arctic Saurians for information as their longevity has fostered legends that one of them was old enough to have witnessed them.
61	* RapidFireNo: [[spoiler: Upon realizing that he had killed the ''Smilodon'' out of revenge, Helionyx descends into this.]]
62	* RedOniBlueOni: From what the trailers have shown us, the two main tribes of Saurians are this. The red-orange Kindred of the Tusk are burly and violent barbarians, while the Bluesong Empire presents a degree of nobility and elegance on the outside.
63	* SeldomSeenSpecies: The giant, elephant-sized dicynodont ''Lisowicia'' makes an appearance.
64	* ShownTheirWork: As befitting of a man who created WebAnimation/{{Dinosauria}}, the prehistoric animals are designed to be as accurate as possible.
65	* SnowySaberTooths: Saber-tooth cats are featured in "Winter Weathered", which obviously takes place in Sauria's snowy northern regions.
66	* TeamSwitzerland: While the Bluesong, the Kindred of The Tusk, and the Fell are all part of the war for Sauria, Arctic Saurians aren't politically united and want nothing to do with the conflict, preferring to hide away in the remaining wilds even as their people die out. Helionyx is unusually proactive in that he kills Kindred poachers to protect his home.
67	* TerrorDactyl: The Fell, a race of swamp-dwelling witches, resemble menacing, anthropomorphic pterosaurs with atrophied wings. The forefathers also follow this trope from we can tell from their statues
68	* ThankYourPrey: A version. Helionyx and those that worship Maia apologize to her before killing their prey, addressing it as a needed sin and promising to make use of it. [[spoiler:When Helionyx kills the ''Smilodon'' out of rage, he's horrified at having killed without necessity and pleads her forgiveness.]]
69	* TimeSkip: "Winter Weathered" skips ahead a year for its epilogue, showing the seasons changing and the winter returning. Helionyx is back on the hunt, [[spoiler:now accompanied by the grown ''Smilodon'' cub]].
70	* WhamLine: From "Blood For Blood", we have this statement, when Taurox's would-be rescuer questions why he's refusing being saved:
71	-->'''Taurox:''' You don't understand. Here, they pit me against their greatest warriors… [[PlayAlongPrisoner and one by one, they've been slaughtered!]]
72	* WhamShot: Taurox tearing open the door to his prison cell without issue, demonstrating once and for all that he is ''not'' the prisoner the Bluesong or his own army think he is…
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Context WebAnimation / Sauria