#Ryeham tales

[yohohonabottle]

The end (Is the beginning)

"I'm a healer, a guider first and foremost. Not a fighter, even if I have the claws, teeth, magic, skills for it....That said." A small smile that turns sadistic, stalking toward the enemies/threats, the atmosphere feeling chillingly cold.

Gravely so.

"I'm not a fighter, no--I'm the Sacrifice, the martyr." Bloodlust, sadistic, morphing into his bat form. "Why else, is death and rebirth so ingrained into my very core?"

The flame-spines feel different. Calling upon the Sun, his own status as the Moon.

Bloodlust.

--And lands his first blow in cruel retaliation, decimating numbers fast.

"You forget, that I play by different rules." (Your place.) His form changes, goes through a white bat, to a wyvern made of smoke and ash that ignite with cracks lining it, a light, flames flicker out through, licking at the charred bones and ash-made skin. Voice a sharp, hissing, breathless rasp that chills to the very bones, the soft rumbling hum of thunder in it prelude. It falls away (It's not supposed to!), crumbles like the very ground of a desert---A phoenix with only vague traits of a bat or wyvern, unfurling its great wings and plumes in all its majesty.

But it feels different, wicked, cruel without the kindness nor serenity. The pinions real flames hot as the sun itself, that ominous sadistic grin still in-place with all those rows of sharp teeth on shameless unapologetic display, preparing to deal one, final, deciding hit.

It billows a stream of smoke through its nostrils and corners of its mouth, growing in size and warping. A dragon.

But not one of tenderness or seeking peace.

"I am the Sacrifice, I am Change, Adaptivity, I am Survival, I.am.Life, I am.the Sun, I.am.War, Desolation, Renewal, I.am...." Those unnerving, terrifying orbs bore into the puny lifeforms of the so called horrors from beyond, that rallied the Hypogeans --Berial knew his own fate, standing face to face on opposing sides with his Batman, duty-bound to join Phraesto, Reinier, Harak and all the rest.

This, is the final, last curtain call.

But the Jester harbored no sorrow, regrets or bad blood and fear of his imminent end.

Only peaceful, quiet pride.

This was the greatest, best performance he could've ever hoped and ask for, the finale a marvelous end to it, to the legend told, to the journey.

And no puny gods nor blundering celestials will ruin it. (A fiery shadow cast upon the ground.) Free(dom).

A happy end.

".....Death."

The Arrow flies down, a lightning striking down.

The dust settles, an empty battleground. No bones, no limbs, no flesh and skin, no ashes. .

....Only a lingering cold yet scorching heat.

A promise of return, and for the cycle to begin anew over and over again as it would for time immemorial.

[kurokid1412]

Alrighty, here we go with the first actual AFKJ art I’ve drawn. It’s traditional, it’s my Merlin, my pride and joy.

The name she goes by is Fox.

This was during Song of Strife and I started playing at launch so I already had ideas for her character development and such prior to drawing this, I was just too intimidated to actually draw until this point shfksj

Her backstory is as canon compliant as it gets, so the more the game itself reveals something, the more I’ll see and figure if I can fill in any blanks.

Or who knows, the more I keep posting these the more I’ll yap about her lore or something…

P.S: I’ll probably make this a master post too since I figured out how to pin it

Under the cut is the list of things I’ve drawn, all canon to her story, in chronological game order (unless some that take place in centuries ago or something and I don’t know which point in the timeline I’d put them in, they’ll also be sorted in as chronological order as I can but those are bound to have shifts then and there…)

—————————————————

Miscellaneous

(This is more so the tidbits of things I’ve drawn for her story that I’m not sure would be 100% canon to her story or not, but they are more based from my own reactions than anything, so they have their own category here until maybe I could squish them in somewhere in the rough timeline)

Thoran - “We will make them pay.”

Commission for my partner - Satok and Fox

Before the Divine War

First concept drawings of Lisin

Lisin and Phraesto - Distant Memories

Rainbow-colored flames

Dionel - “Loosen up, friend!”

After the Divine War

With Hodgkin

✦At arm’s length✦

Rare and elusive good sleeps

✦ Fireproof ✦

✦ The only person who was able to do that ✦

✦ Fight Like The Devil ✦

————————

Merlin - ✦ Seer of Destiny ✦

Starter Story

Ryeham Tales / Holistone + Golden Wheatshire

Lucent’s Lament + Woodland Pledge / Dark Forest + Vaduso Mountains

Concept drawing to get the vibe

Wilder group - ✦The first time since this amnesia that she genuinely smiled (+ laughed)✦

Reawakened Power / Remnant Peaks

Berial - We meet.

Song of Strife

Into Dusk's Embrace

Phraesto - “Is it not just another form of reality?”

The Uninvited Guest

Talene and Reinier - “Snickers?”

Waves of Intrigue

Horizons Unveiled

Sinbad - Betrayal.

Tasi - “Hellooo! Are you zoning out?”

Hodgkin - “Let’s sail into the unknown together!”

Cage of Desire

Shadow Pursuit

Intermission

✦ Synchronicity ✦

✦ Synchronicity ✦ (2)

✦ Cycle of Fate ✦

✦ Synchronicity (3) ✦

✦ Still the same laughter ✦

[rosaharazu]

AFK Journey Character Review Part 2

Jeez, are there only 7 colors for a font, that sucks. Anyways.

Bradduck :

DUCK RULES.

Rowan :

I saw Bradduck first than him. Anyways, this boi is a lifesaver, especially in battles. My boi basically heals AND provides energy to ALL members. Must have in a team. Unless you need more health, then Hewynn is needed. I also love his design.

I also find it adorable that he has a fiancé. Peggy, was it? (searches up) Yup. (THE SCHUYLE-)

Mirael :

I didn't like her at first, she looked like a rival, or an ex-girlfriend. BUUUUuuuuut after she revealed herself to be Merlin's student, I immediately had a change of heart and loved her. She became a total sweetheart too, and sometimes she's very useful in battles, depending on the situation with her phoenix fire.

Personally, I prefer my Merlin to have a master-student relationship with her, and remains that way. After all, Mirael claimed to have searched Merlin for 20 years. So yeah, you can deduce the age gap is pretty high....PERSONAL THOUGHTS.

I hope we'll see her again, along with Valen and maybe Lorsan.

Cassadee :

She's an innocent mage, really. A very cute one. Her determination to seek knowledge is admirable, and I should take that as a lesson. I don't have her card yet, and I do wonder if she's actually useful. I'd love to have her, but I'm a person with patience!

....

Actually, I'm not rich-

Vala :

She wasn't in Ryeham Tales as much, which is a disappointment cuz she needs more time to shine. We have that scene at that Grape Grove...thing, but after that she's her noble counterpart. I wanted to see her in thief form more....also, what the heck was she even doing there?

She's full of secrets. And also pretty useful in battle. If she's in the opposite team, I suggest you replace the character with the snowflake icon? with a tank. It worked, bruh.

Hold, up, I'm thinking if I'm forgetting anyone from Ryeham Tales......

....

....

I think that's it. Next up. WILDERS.....and Koren.

[bunnybird-afk]

I've been kinda playing around with the idea of Hogan being either a Barlow or Garner, both of which being grain related names considering his ties to Ryeham and Holistone, and him mentioning he wanted to protect the wheat fields that Merlin loved.

As for Sinbad, I was considering Rais (captain/boatman according to Behind The Name), Abbasid (Referencing 1001 Arabian Nights, Sinbad's origin), or Al Da'rab (the name of his ship in the original tales). There's also Darya/Derya (a Persian/Turkish surname meaning 'sea' /'ocean').

Genuinely no idea for Valen, though I'm leaning towards something thunder/lightning/storm themed based on his ult. (Tempted to say fuck it and call him Valen Raine).

I've also been thinking about Faust as Phraesto's last name because I think it's clever. Though I'd love to give him the surname of some famous author or poet who wrote about hell or the demonic.

no one really has surnames in the game, so i'm wondering, which surnames do you hc for characters? specifically i'm interested in what people think of valen and sinbad. valen would probably have something germanic or more percively french or british, i think. sinbad is an arabic name and his father & ancestors were sailors, and he lives in a place all about the sea with a diverse population, it could be something arabic and sea-related. that one interests me most.

[yohohonabottle]

Illustration for the fic "Beginning"

Bat (out) in the closet!

Used in the chapters of Ryeham tales, namely in the one where Valen discovers Pirin's real identity. Finally finished! Time it took: 7 days +–

[yohohonabottle]

Illustration for the "Beginning" fic

For the Ryeham tales chapter! I've been loving doing greyscale painting first then adding the color ontop! Also I'm trying to sort of blend lineless/paint-like with lined, incorporating the lineart.

Round/flat brush has become my best friend with some other brushes and texture helps elevate it more.

Working on the illustration "Bat (out) in the closet" for the chapter where Valen accidentally finds out Pirin's real identity and his deal with Merlin. I do have a W.I.P screenshot of it!

[yohohonabottle]

My art navigation masterpost!

So it will not get lost in the blog. Wanna revisit one specific post? You got it linked here. What's new? Yup, it's here too. (I hope I can pin this post too, and it's not just 1 post allowed to be pinned ;-;')

Well.. Turns out I can have only one pinned. Bummer. So it's linked in the other masterpost! >:) -------------------------------======------------------------------------- 🖼️Fanart for AFKJ

"Bat (out) in the closet!" - Ryeham tales "Scion of the sacred tree & the burning star" - Woodland escapades Illustration for the fic "Beginning" -Prologue "Beginning" fic illustration - Ryeham tales Illustrations for fic "Cat & Mouse" Valen and Hu Tao style + attireswap & 2 illustrations Fixed submission for Song of Strife The Wicked Sun & Orderly moon card - Illustration Bear & jinni - Blood and sands Family spooky photo - After Unwanted Marriage epilogue "Secret, can you keep it?" - Rolling waves Soren and Pirin ageing up concept? No in-between (Doodle comic of my team & Valen dying 0.2 seconds into the fight ..or wiping the enemy team.)

👩‍🎨 Art (fanart?) for the Into the Merlinverse!

Chance meeting (?) Magisters family photo!

🎨 Fanart for AFKJ (WIP and WIP progress track posts)

Bat (out) in the closet- WIP & WIP tracking Scion of the sacred tree & the burning star -WIP Cast & Mini cast WIP tracking post Plushies and letters (Mini cast) tracking post Bear & jinni - WIP track post Secret, can you keep it? - WIP tracking post

🖌️My paintings/non-fandom art

Horses, sunset, sunrise, winter village & "Cycle" (In progress) Common Pearl-maker wyvern species 'wiki page' Vampire lore - The 4 bloodlines banner/icons Pirin in his bat form 100% My Tarot deck Pt I -Major & Minor (half done) Arcana My Tarot deck Pt II -The Cups Two cards I made but not my proudest. A -For effort.

[yohohonabottle]

'Prince' & the dragon (Reposted from Ao3)

🖋️Should've seen the foreshadowing.

🎧 Songs/Music: ->Astrid goes for a spin -> See you tomorrow (httyd)

It’s the usual day— Hang out at the Mystical House whenever the Traveler’s Light gets too monotonous, find a nice spot to sit down, order a round and enjoy the atmosphere.

Which is exactly what Valen does right about now, sat at the large table in the tavern’s lounge, sipping away at his drink and totally not shirking today’s reports. A loyal, dutiful knight such as him would never. Come on now, that’s just slander. (The staggering mountain of blank papers and half-written reports on the desk of his office at HQ beg to differ.)

Off on his right, seated on the cushioned stools are the great Magister Merlin and the two familiars. Currently, discussing the topic of old fairy-tales, have been at it for half the day now. It looks like it’s somehow related to the latest hitch in the road of the Magister’s quest. The talk eventually loops to the tale of a princess getting snatched by a dragon. It’s such an old story done to death, that anyone can tell it. —“Could there be a dragon still alive..? Would it terrorize Holistone and kidnap princess Peggy?! Chippy won’t allow it! Sir Chippy will fight off the vile dragon!”

—“Chippy, please use your brain. The last dragon died a long time ago. No one will be taking Rowan and his fiance away, calm down. The puzzle is clearly a riddle.” Merlin stays contemplatively quiet, no doubt mulling over the puzzle while the two hamsters squabble. It’s then that the knight ‘helpfully�� decides to slide in, offering his own cents on the question.

—“Perhaps the Magister is the key and might have to assume the role of ‘the princess’ while the influx of uruly residual god magic—or ‘the dragon’ will come and ‘take’ her away. Since it’s a metaphorical puzzle and a test of faith, it may have less to do with being kidnapped in the physical sense….And more with the mind? Or something along those lines.”

The three pause to consider his words. And, to lighten up the glum vibes from veering too close into somber, the Solitaires’ captain is quick to make himself look like a ‘moron’ by slipping in a teasing quip at his former charge. It’s been ages since the last time we got to hang out in peace like this. Of course Merlin sees right through his antics and friendly-fires back with matching jest.

—“Then again--who knows? Maybe there is a living dragon out there, waiting for the Magister to step out—And snatch her away! You do look the part of a princess, Magister. Just saying.”

—“Seems to me like it’s you who’s getting kidnapped, Valen. You do have the figure of a charming prince. You might find yourself in the air today.” Valen laughs. In all honesty, the chances of that actually happening are practically none nowadays. What with dragons having gone down to pretty much extinct—Slain, encroaching on each other’s territory ,poached, that kind of conflicts. And the last dragon-fire containing canteen had gotten used by Merlin to pave the way for the party on the Immortal and face-down Hodgkin during the last quest.

And so, time flies by and the hour to bid adieu regrettably arrives.

Stepping out of Merlin’s home into the outdoors of Ryeham, the waters ripple and quietly splash under the soles of his boots as he strides onto the path of rocks. It’s funny how Merlin had been here all along, right by the gates of Northville. No wonder the mage arrived right on-time to deal with the fires.

—“And be careful, ‘prince’ Valen! The dragon might swoop in!” -The Magister’s cheerful sarcasm echoes, the magician standing in the doorway. Valen snorts, getting another step-two ahead.

Turning on his heel and opening his arms wide in a dramatic gesture, sweeping them over his surroundings, the violet-eyed Solitaire retorts back in dismissal. Merlin’s eyes glance up, and her smile drops.

—“By all means, it’s welcome to—” Valen doesn’t get to finish the sentence. Only a trailing ‘Aaa!’ as he’s lifted high up in the skies swiftly and held in a clawed grasp.