Can't wait to see this artist's interpretation of Itirel in future bookmarks. Hint hint. Jikun is an ass, but J has made him one beautiful elf. Alvena is gorgeous as well. My granddaughter likes the Evrae bookmarks best, and says Eldaeus has the most awesome hair ever.
There we go--clarified the artists at the top--J did the layout design, but the illustrations are by Kirk and Upied. Kirk does the BREATH-TAKING landscapes and emotion provoking images-- aka, Kings or Pawns, Gods or Men, and Princes or Paupers.
Upied does the characters- Jikun and Alvena included! I do want an Itirel done in the future--and a Sellemar. I think Ilsevel is next on the list, though--cuz, well, you gotta have the queen drawn.
As for Evrae, he's the exception--he's actually drawn by a Chinese artist who I selected because I needed Evrae to be as handsome as he was beautiful so that I would get just as many "he is beautifuls" as "she is beautifuls"--which I do and that's awesome. All part of his subterfuge and ability to go undercover as a woman when needed (which he hates, but is damn good at).
And your granddaughter has it right. His hair is SO the best! XD
These look SOOOO good! I can't wait to get my greedy paws on them. Gorgeous covers and mock-ups. Great work by all. Now, JJ, you just have to fill them with your words...the best part!
As you can tell by my lack of spelling there I'm at work... meant to be working... this is what happens when you run a competition on the other side of the world :p
Yantiir, son of an elf and a yislaval. My mother, Yael, was less beast than her yislaval counterparts and managed to taunt my father, whose name she never told me, while he was traveling through the Yislaval Mountains. She came with child, but her brethren found the elf and killed him, feasting on his bones. I was fortunate that I was born looking more like yislaval than elves, otherwise my cousins would have killed me too. However, my elven blood tamed the typical yislaval bloodlust. I wanted to escape the mountain range and travel about Ryekarayn. Then Jikun passed through the mountains. With Jerah in tow, the other yislaval gave the group a wide berth. With my superior intelligence, I was able to get their attention and convince them to take me with them because I knew the quickest way through the mountains. Since then, we have been getting into all kinds of hijinks around Ryekarayn. Sometimes my anger bubbles over with Jikun (he is so stubborn!) and we get into fights. It usually devolves into Jerah restraining me and Navon or Darcarus restraining Jikun until cooler heads prevail. If I wanted to, I could rip his throat out before even Jerah could stop me (was that out loud?). My strength is only matched by Jerah, but my intellect is unmatched by any of these lesser elves. I don't flaunt it, though. I don't want them to throw me out. The fistfights are bad enough. I can't go back to the mountains and anywhere else I would be killed for what I look like.
Jikun's mission to overthrow this Saebellus character sounds like great fun. My yislaval community taught me how to kill elves and men alike so I should be a great help to Jikun and the others in the battles to come. Maybe then I'll be able to find a home in Eraydon City or even *gasp* Elvorium. What adventures could come to me then?
Ah, this was also my first thought of species, but you have written it much better than I ever could. I vote you win because this was a great essay, and your character wants to kick Jikun's ass.
Note: I started writing this before I read Brian S. Gardner's post. GMTA.
I am Skywyn, winged daughter of a Noc'olari healer and a yislaval warrior. My mother, Ilryiana, found my father injured and unconscious while gathering herbs in a secluded glade several miles from the great tree of Galadorium. She healed his wounds, and her healing touch so soothed his beast that he wished to mate her rather than eat her. She counted herself lucky that she was still alive when he flew away. Her luck soon ran out and she found herself pregnant with me. She told her family that she was going to the Temple of Ilra to serve the goddess, and might be out of touch for years.
With the aid of Myrhha, a loyal family servant, Ilryiana hid until she gave birth to me inside a huge tree deep in the forest. I learned to fly by watching the owls swooping around our tree, terrifying my mother when I leapt from her arms to glide through the forest with them at age two. She stayed with me until I was ten, when loneliness drove her back to her family. I visited her often, slipping unseen into her bedroom high in the branches of Galadorium on wings the deep blue violet of the Noco'larian night. With Ilryiana's purple hair and eyes, my wings and birdlike bone structure were the only physical manifestations of my yislaval heritage. My mother taught me the ways of the Noco'lari and I struggled to reconcile them with my hunter's nature. For many years I lived in my tree, hunting like the owls, a nocturnal predator with a healer's heart, until the night Saebellus' army attacked my mother's home and took her prisoner. By the time I learned of this, the army had withdrawn. Frantic as I flew over the bodies of my mother's people, I found Myrhha lying in the hall outside Ilryiana's room in a pool of her own blood. She looked dead, but as I touched her with a trembling hand, she moaned and opened her eyes. "Sky..." she whispered. "What happened?" I demanded with growing rage,"Where is my mother?"
"Took her", Myrhha gasped softly, clutching her abdomen with a bloody hand. "You must go, Skywyn...to my kinsman. Help you...find...mother..." Her voice weakened with each word and her eyes slipped shut. Gripping her shoulders, I gently shook her. "Who took her? Who is your kinsman? Where is he?" I asked urgently. For a moment I thought she was gone,and the grief nearly overwhelmed me. Then her eyes slit open, and I had to lean close to hear her breathy words. "Army...Itirel..." Her speech trailed off. "Myrhha! Who did this to you?" My voice rang with the anguished anger that consumed me. Myrhha took a shuddering breath, and I nearly missed her last word. Her chest fell and rose no more. I released her body and slowly stood, my wing tips dripping crimson, clenching my bloody fists. I made myself two vows. First, I would find this Itirel, and get my mother back. And when I found the murdering bastard elf called Vale, his ass would be MINE.
As to your story, I quite enjoy it. Your knowledge and use of the Noc'olari are admirable. And the fact that Skywyn wants to kill Vale, especially in the way he expresses it, is fist-clenchingly satisfying. Great imagery and description. I feel you have the better piece.
He looks grey, aged by death and sorrow, but not really regretting it. I'd say except for the drive inside to win, he looks pretty empty. Not a man I'd want ruling me, and I expect out of him only what benefits him and his goals. Very good art by the way!
My perceptions of Saebellus were formed more by Heroes or Thieves than Kings or Pawns. I think he has done many wrong things for the right reasons, and that despite his military successes, he may be in over his head with Ilsevel.
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