#armoured bears

[catcherwrites]

The first batch of my Arc 3 concept designs are finally done! It felt fitting to begin with the three who started it all: Rayla, Callum, and Ezran

Check out the more in-depth story and design choices below

Rayla

In the wake of S7’s Finale, Azymondias wasn’t just a 2-year-old King of the Dragons, but the only surviving Archdragon. That means he’s a very important figure across Xadia and the Human Kingdoms – and needs to be protected. Shortly after the events of S7, Rayla reclaims her title as ‘The Last Dragonguard’ and resurrects the order to act as Zym’s attendants, advisors, and protectors. She’s spent the last few years travelling between the Storm Spire, the Silvergrove, and Evrkynd, helping where she can and leading her fellow guards (who may be revealed in a later post). Rayla’s relationship with Callum has grown stronger than ever. Even though they’re holding off on marriage until Aaravos is dealt with for good, Callum gives her the Xadian equivalent of a promise ring he handcrafted (Ethari helped). With them both feeling secure with each other, they are more comfortable with being separated…but that won’t stop them from being attached at the hip whenever they’re near each other.

Going into these Arc 3 designs, I had a much clearer image in my head of Rayla compared to the other characters in my lineup. Using reference images of Tiadrin and Lain made creating Rayla’s Dragonguard uniform feel very bittersweet. Unfortunately, from a creative standpoint, uniforms run the chance of limiting the personality in a character’s design. I tried offsetting this by making Rayla’s undershirt and embedded gemstones in her armour more Silvergrove-y than Dragonguard-y. I also kept Rayla’s iconic belt, Arc 2 colour scheme, and added some of Ethari’s swirls where possible. Beyond the uniform, I kept going back and forth about her hairstyle. Keep the Arc 2 bun? Return to Arc 1’s style? Braided? A simple ponytail? Eventually, I settled on a half-up braid that let my sleep-deprived brain think I was getting the best of both worlds.

Callum

Ezran was disappointed when Callum turned down being his High Mage again, fearing that he’d lose his brother’s support in the council room. In reality, stepping down as High Mage meant that Callum could step up as Crown Prince. In the years following S7, Callum splits his time between assisting Ezran and studying magic on expeditions across Xadia. One of those expeditions leads him to Aaravos’ book in Elarion, which helps him delve deeper into the other primal sources. He’s fully mastered Sky and Ocean magic and has grown incredibly proficient at Earth magic. To Callum’s dismay, even with the help of Lujanne, Ethari, and Aaravos’ book, he still isn’t clicking with the Moon arcanum. He also hasn’t fully unlocked the Sun arcanum, but he’s getting very close and is a strong fire mage when wielding the Staff of Ziard. By Arc 3, Callum has gained the title of Archmage – and people far and wide seek him out for magical assistance, leaving him overworked and exhausted.

I was very excited to come up with Callum’s Arc 3 design for one reason: the parallels. His Arc 2 outfit is meant to resemble Viren, as Callum had taken his place as the High Mage of Katolis. But because he is no longer ‘High Mage,’ and instead ‘Archmage’, Callum’s Arc 3 outfit is intended to reflect Aaravos. I tried to do this with his uncovered arms, the open coat, and the vaguely celestial elements on his tunic. The geometric pattern on Callum’s coat is meant to look like a feather (symbolising his first primal source) while in the style of his Arc 2 coat. Rayla gifted Callum a matching belt buckle to hers (though with a moon opal for emergencies), which he wears alongside his uneven towers buckle from Ezran. His hair is mostly the same, except slightly longer, because I don’t see overworked-mage Callum caring about his hairstyle.

Ezran

S7 was a massive tipping point for Ezran: losing his brother, his true heart, and almost losing himself to the cycle of violence. While he stopped before he could go too far, Ezran was unequivocally changed by what happened. After Aaravos’ defeat, Ezran has been overseeing Evrkynd’s construction, ensuring it’s a safe home for humans and Sunfire elves who lost their home. However, it is also open to anyone, regardless of their origin. While he and Queens Janai and Amaya decided the people would rule the city of Evrkynd, Ezran continues to rule wider Katolis alongside his council. He does spend most of his time in Evrkynd for his royal duties, but Ezran is learning to take breaks – occasionally joining Callum, Rayla, and Zym on small getaways. As is tradition for anyone in the royal family, Ezran began combat training in his mid-teens with Soren as his teacher. He’s grown quite good and can hold his own in a battle (long enough for his Crownguard come to his aid, at least).

Ezran’s design in TDP has always been one of the simplest ones, probably symbolising his humble personality despite his status. I tried to maintain that effect in his Arc 3 outfit but with one major alteration. Going into this design, I wanted Ezran’s struggle in S7 to have had a visible impact on him by including armour in his design. His outer tunic is now gambeson, and his shoulder pads are scuffed-up leather. If he decides to wear it, the gold studs on Ezran’s shoulders are where his cloak will latch on. As should be expected from an age jump this severe, the biggest change to Ezran was his build. He’s finally overtaken his brother in height, much to the dismay of both Callum and Rayla, and is expected to be as tall as Harrow when he’s finished growing.

[dairyfreenugget]

I've been playing on the wolf quest saga beta, and my wolf and his mate bore this creature. He perplexes me

[guheh]

[things-aa]

[tea--ghost]

Yrsa - of the stars

Surprise surprise, another new blorbo- but listen! She is different-

Yrsa is for an ebberon campaign and lost her arm in the war, replacing it with the scraps of a warforged.

Upon returning home from the war, she discovered that her home was a wasteland. Her wife was killed and her daughter was missing, and now she is on a mission to find her.

Race: Hide Shifter (Bear)

Class: Devotion Paladin / Divine soul sorcerer

[holygayrightsbatman]

me turning up to the gay club embarrassed because i mistook what "bear hunting" meant

[saintedseb]

Archer's bracer (c. 1752) - Artist unknown, Belgium

[gidianthe]

finally finished seranas quest now i dont have to feel guilty going on quest tangents. im also so fucking close to the heavy armor perk ive been needing for over an in game month now

[puppetmaster13u]

I finally made a superman design I’m happy with

[zevrans]

i forgot i’ve been playing on nightmare difficulty since i turned on some of the trials in dai, i thought i wouldn’t be able to play at such difficulty but i just killed 3rd giant in emerald graves im lvl 16 😳 granted tho i didn’t get ambushed by nearest brontos and there being no rocks around for the giant to smash my party with and two of them having lower health from fighting that red lyrium thing, i’m glad how this turned out because i actually got to that area yesterday and got smushed a couple times by them, so this felt nice 😭

[tragicotps]

Would you rather fight 5 duck-sized armoured bears or 1 armoured bear-sized duck?

[whitegoldtower]

"How many times do I have to tell him I escaped Menzoberranzan to get out of doing cruel things? Kss, if that faerie doesn't take a nap, I'll ask Gale to make him take one."

Tam'lin's just about had it with Astarion's disapproval of him helping others. If the drow ever seems to be talking to himself, he isn't. He's ranting to the palm-sized, shrunk-down Kar'niss in his breast pocket (he knocked him out at Moonrise and squirreled him back to camp, out of harm's way).

The szarkai’s had enough.

[reubenyeoart]

Thormundar - Rowan, the Dead Caller

"Four against one? Bit unfair; you should've brought more."

New work for Thormundar, featuring a classic OC of mine, Rowan; I did a piece with a similar theme to this (of Rowan summoning a group of spirits) a few years back, but in the intervening years I wasn't too much of a fan of it (even after repainting a few sections), so I decided to paint this, a spiritual successor.

[daisychainsandbowties]

women and fish both want you

and i also want them 🥺🥺

[things-aa]

[latestdreamgirl]

every time an artist draws doom with abs an angel loses their wings