#strahtober

[saribrum]

Final Strahdtober for this Inktober season (I’m going to keep going after this tho cause it’s fun) and of course it goes to the man himself: Strahd.

I did this for @levanaora in a super fun gift exchange, and it was just so perfect of a prompt for the last day too~

Prompt list by @crowholtz drawing idea by @levanaora! Thanks for letting me create your vision 🥰

[muses-beyond-mists]

Strahtober: XIV Blood Moon

Ismark Kolyanovich was not a man easily frightened.

He prided himself on being brave, sometimes stupidly so; he knew himself to be a man who cared for others, sometimes recklessly so. So when one of his companions at camp has suddenly disappeared in the night, of course he followed the shallow prints he saw in the damp forest. Even if the moon was full and red as dried blood, and even if the mist seemed even thicker than usual between the tall oaks and sentinel trees of the forest.

She was no fighter, she knew, rather another arcanist; the kind that keeled over in the middle of combat once some monster looked at her for too long.

The world here, beneath the thick canopy, was damp and dark; Ismark felt branches bend and wet soil under his soles, the leaves he pushed aside and branches he ducked beneath were still kissed with dew and rain. The cold night air, however, was clear and sweet, like it often was after a rain. In the distance, he heard the croaking birds, the fluttering of wings, another common experience here.

Flickering against the gnarled tree trunks and twisted branches was the weak glow of firelight, little more than what a candle or an oil lamp would produce, but that was not what caught his attention. The noises were far more concerning, a voice he was familiar with, but words in a language that sounded both foreign and felt cursed. Like the harsh song of clashing metal, or the high-pitched scream of breaking class, he almost could not believe that a human throat could make those sounds, but then again, Alanya was not human.

Her back was turned towards him as ismark stumbled onto a small clearing. The flickering candles before her cast harsh shadows over her milky skin as she knelt over it. At first, he thought her skin was wet, perhaps from the rain, or the wet moss and grass she was sitting on, but as he crept closer, he saw the glistening lines on her arms and thighs and shoulders caught the light in the viscous, dark red shine of fresh blood and were twisted into runes he did not recognize.

“Alanya?, he managed, hoarsely, though his mouth suddenly felt dry.

She stopped chanting, but only as she turned to look over him over her shoulder, did Ismark realize that, save for the runes painted in blood, and the thick, gold collar around her throat, Alanya’s skin was bare under the moonlight.

“Ismark?” she sounded mildly annoyed as she shifted to glance at him.

He now saw that the runes not only covered her arms and thighs…but also..her stomach and her chest. He was staring. He was trying to look everywhere else but her chest now.

“You were gone from camp”, he managed, red-faced.

“Yes?”, she said, dryly.

“I was worried”, he sputtered, desperate.

“Charming”, she murmured and rose to her feet.

Ismark stared at the tree behind her with desperation, anything to avoid looking at her as she approached.

“You interrupted me, I was quite busy”, she sounded accusatory now, poking him in the chest with the tip of her finger. He still was not quite sure what he had interrupted thought, but he dared not ask. He had grown up on tales of hags that ate naughty children and witches that worshipped dark gods - his sounded eerily similar to those stories.

Her fingers coiled into the edge of his coat as a smile bloomed on her red lips, “Don’t be shy now, look at me”, she teased

[saribrum]

Decided to do a randomizer for the Strahtober prompts, and I still landed on Sergei for the first day haha.

I just finished reading the first “I, Strahd” novel, so drawing Sergei after reliving the ✨horrors✨ was kind of therapeutic and sad at the same time. Keeping it vague for spoilers sake, but oof. Such a sunshiny guy, BUT OOF.

Prompt List by the lovely @crowholtz

[saribrum]

I’m behind on doing random roll Strahtober, so here is my Day 2: Necromancy, featuring my groups Nekomancer (Atropa’s sister) lmao. He is very protective.

Bell belongs to @wintert-ide

Prompt List by the lovely @crowholtz

[saribrum]

Strahtober prompt: Raven, featuring @legendlorelibrary’s cutest duo, Raisa and Keelin

She’s apart of the Martikov family, of course ravens like her~

Strahtober list by @crowholtz

[saribrum]

Strahtober: Barovian Fashion

Did I use this as an excuse to show off all of Atropa’s looks so far? Yes. Did I spend too much time on it and neglect things that need my attention? Also yes. Do I have regrets? Nope lol. I like drawing outfits 💖

Strahtober list is by the lovely @crowholtz

Close up under the cut

[saribrum]

‼️CW: Blood and neck wound

Strahtober prompt: Mirror! This was fun, and though I got a little carried away, I stopped before getting into coloring and shading. I’m bad at following the Inktober rules haha.

Explanation: I wanted to take this prompt and show a moment from my CoS game where SABR went into a shop in Mordent and came face to face with mirrors that showed anything magical or hidden on its subject. It cut through Atropa’s Disguise Self, so his vampirism and hidden Tabaxi features were in plain view, as well as a magical force surrounding him and his tome. With Bell, you could see her necrosis spreading up her hand and the ghost she is haunted by/ bonded to. Solomon, you could see his neck wound still bleeding and the mists still surrounding him, as well as his super weird pocket watch sinisterly glowing as it continues to count down. With Raisa everyone could see the unkindness of ghost ravens flocking around her that live in her heirloom Raven pendent. It was a lot, but also incredibly interesting and such a cool story moment.

Going to be doing these prompts when I have time so don’t expect them everyday okay. I’m doing my best qwq

Bell belongs to @wintert-ide, Solomon belongs to @systememotions, Raisa belongs to @legendlorelibrary, and @arasdain came up with the cool scenario~

Strahtober list by the lovely @crowholtz