 wolven [Profile] 2013/1/4 - 7:4:44
woah... This was a bit unexpected... The background was harder to do than the foreground tbh...
I shall upload the rest of this chapter when I can find a bit more time. I have a few bits to edit on it.
In the meantime, any C&C on this would be greatly appreciated.
[anon]moo492_not_logged_in 2013/1/4 - 7:29:19
I love the colours you chose for the background, it really helps the foreground pop!
frost_star [Profile] 2013/1/4 - 8:14:27
oh wow this is so epic wolven!!!!! I love the yellow tints you gave the characters!
wolven [Profile] 2013/1/4 - 8:16:1
“Which way are they coming from?” Cane asked, jumping to attention.
“The north!”
Tholainn jumped to action, and began giving orders to the villagers. Chaos broke loose as the villagers scattered, running to their homes, to ensure their children’s safety, others to don their armour and weaponry. Tholainn ran to Cane and put a hand on his shoulder.
“You did well today Cane, but I am afraid there is no time to stand on ceremony,” He began, then turned his head and called “Nuada!”
The blacksmith bounded up to him, his expression dire.
“What is it, Milord?”
“The cuirass we were discussing earlier, have him fitted in it!”
“Milord, the armour is not ready yet-!”
“Nuada, that’s an order! Cane-” He turned back to him, “Go and get ready, now!”
Cane sprinted, with Nuada slightly ahead of him, the heat of the moment began clouding his senses. Sunset had not yet passed them by, and the fiery light seemed to scorch Riverhead. An arrow whistled by Cane’s nose, the feathers scratching his face as the arrow stuck fast in the ground.
“Shit! That was too close!” Cane breathed heavily. He was already tired from his duel with Khalen, and was in no mood for a second fight in one day. They ran round the side of the mill to the west of Riverhead, and round to the forge.
“Here! Put this on!” Nuada said, forcing a chest piece into Cane’s arms, along with a shoulder-hip belt with buckles to strap a scabbard to and a shoulder plate. The armour was strange, though unfinished. The inside was made of leather, whilst the outside appeared to be layered with strips of overlapping metal. The texture was rough, but it would at least protect Cane’s chest, whilst his torso was left unprotected, save for the belt. He quickly fitted the chest piece over his head, and tightened some of the strips, before applying the Belt. He strapped his Dagger to it before he ran and grabbed his spade, from where he had embedded it near the riverbank.
A sudden blast of heat knocked him off course, and he fell, scratching his hand, and blistering his arms as the flames licked him and debris was flying everywhere. A house had been blown up and now lay tattered in flames. He looked northwards, and saw a huge party of bandits, heavily armed, and mechanisms of war set behind the northern hill where he had tamed Molag. Arrows were raining down from behind the hill also, and so the majority of the force, Cane guessed was assembled there.
‘This is a siege party!’ He realised, and then saw a number of wilds men charging over the hill.
Looking to the right, Cane saw Tholainn issuing orders, as he had already put on his own armour. The children of the village were being rushed inside the courtyard from what Cane could tell. Iyrsha was ushering her own children inside as well, and even she had applied her armour. Glaedr was being held at bay by a stream of arrows, and was being prodded by pitchforks. The choice was clear to Cane.
He drew his shovel and sprinted forward to a group of wilds men who held the pitchforks. He Quickly bashed one in the back of the head with his shovel, with all his might, and he felt the man’s skull give way. The man collapsed and blood issued from his mouth. He drew his dagger and threw it at another, who had noticed him. The dagger stuck fast in the throat.
With a mighty bellow and a jet of golden flames, the remainder of the small party were disposed of by Glaedr. Oriel sat panting behind Glaedr’s neck, his face haggard from battle. Cane shared a quick nod with them, to which Glaedr puffed smoke from his nostrils saying ‘Thanks’ before he grabbed his dagger and ran away to join the fray.
From a distance, he heard the clank of chains as the keep’s gate shut and Cane could see a multitude of bodies, lying dead from great strokes which Cane attributed to either a scythe or a broadsword. Khalen was slaying the force like corn, whilst a roar like thunder told him Glaedr had taken flight again. The massive swings from Khalen’s sword cut down the foes swiftly, and Cane could not help but think, ‘even he has his good points.’
“Cane, a hand over here!” Iyrsha shouted, and Cane immediately ran to her aid, for she and her husband were amidst a swarm of wild-men. He issued the same tactic as before, disposing three with his shovel, before stabbing one in the back with his dagger and embedding it in another man’s throat. With the force diminished, Iyrsha and her partner took care of the rest with ease.
Iyrsha looked at him with distrust. Cane expected nothing less from her, but was surprised when he heard her say “Thank you.” It caught him off guard, and he could not help but smile from appreciation.
“You’re welcome.” He looked to Khalen at the top of the hill, where the force was being bottle-necked. For a brief moment, Cane thought they might have a chance, when an arrow struck Khalen in the chest and he keeled over backwards.
“NO!” Cane shouted and charged up the hill to Khalen. He took the arrow out of him quickly, as Glaedr swooped down to break the force with flames.
“Cane. Thanks.” Khalen said, pulling himself up from the ground, “I should be f-”
There was an explosion and the two of them were knocked backwards. Cane gathered himself and looked up into the sky to see a volley of flaming mortars soaring through the air. One connected with Glaedr, who then spun downwards, falling from the sky. Khalen lay still on the ground, but his chest heaved with his breaths. A lone figure stood at the top of the hill, on a steed. A massive javelin was gripped in one hand, whilst by the other was a black shield. Cane realised it was the leader of the force, so he drew his shovel and dagger again.
The steed realised the danger and reared at the sight of him. Before the leader could act however, Cane threw the dagger as fast as possible. The dagger embedded itself in the steed’s throat, causing it to fall over. The figure who was riding it, jumped off before the creature hit the ground and impaled the dying creature with the javelin, putting it out of its misery.
The figure, Cane saw, was a woman, with flaming red hair and eyes as dark as night. Her helm was decorated with two antlers, the sigil of a Briarheart. She drew a red bladed sword from its sheath, and held it up against the sunset, where it seemed to burn like dragon fire in the night.
“Cane, here!” Tholainn called and threw Cane’s sword a short distance away from him. He picked it up and fitted it in his right hand, holding his shovel in the other. The woman tossed her shield into her own party and took a whip from her belt, where she loosed it, and clacked it against the ground, where it seemed to roar with fury.
Cane darted forwards and prepared for an attack, when he was struck from the left. Something dug deep into his side, through his armour. He was then struck from the right. He caught whatever it was on his spade. It was the whip, it was made, apparently from the spinal cord of a dragon, with claws, or teeth embedded in the sides of the cord, so it buried itself in the flesh when it struck.
wolven [Profile] 2013/1/4 - 8:18:22
...
The whip was caught on his shovel so he pulled her towards him, or rather he tried to. Instead, he went flying towards the crumpled mess of her fallen steed.
He pulled himself up, and let his shovel tear away from him, drawing his dagger from the steed. He darted towards the woman, who raised the sword, and they clashed blades. The swords burned and sparked like flaring stars, a gleaming sight in the face of both night and the day, for crimson and gold light twisted and danced around them like fire.
The woman was incredibly strong, and each attack seemed to bear power that he could not see or tell of, but he felt it in the clash of their blades. She dodged his dagger as they fought, each one adopting a feminine style of fighting, balancing on their toes and using lightening fast strokes of their blades to attack.
There was then a deafening quake of the ground which shook violently as though some demon of the underworld had awoken from a slumber. Crags erupted in the ground, and fissures burst forth from the earth. Cane felt his legs give way. His opponent staggered, and from afar he could hear an explosion, for the walls of the keep had given way.
The quake subsided and for a moment there was silence. Cane observed the destruction that had enveloped the town. The majority of the houses were destroyed, damaged or burning in cinders. The wild-men quickly regrouped and attacked again, a volley of them stampeded past Cane.
He gathered himself and cut some down with his sword in a desperate attempt to stop them. The dust was rising from the keep, and he could already hear the screams of the young ones as the foes bombarded their way in. He screamed in anger, cutting them down as best he could, when his sword clashed with the woman’s again, she intended to delay him. He felt a flash of true fury flush through him, and though they were locked, he pushed back with inhuman strength, and caused the woman to stagger and fall.
“CANE!”
He turned around, and from a distance, he could see Yeersha being dragged away by one of the wild-men. She was crying, screaming and writhing in his grip. Cane turned to the opposing force, and the woman grabbed a fallen archer’s bow and strung an arrow.
The choice was simple. He turned, and with a running start, threw the dagger in his left hand as best he could. It flew through the air, turning like an arrow in the wind, flashing like a streak of fire. It impacted in the wild man’s neck, spilling blood over the ground.
Cane was dismayed, for as he collapsed to the ground, another took the fallen warrior’s place, and grabbed Yeersha just as she managed to wriggle free.
There was a sharp pain in Cane’s back, and his senses fluttered in and out, just as a single word left his lips in a desperate whisper of a cry, and the world went black.
“No…”
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So thats the chapter. Tell me what you guys think. also tell me about the picture. Thanks Moo492 btw.
pumadragon [Profile] 2013/1/5 - 11:53:40
here are the rest of my comments/crits: So the clouds look awesome here, I like how you highlighted their undersides. The only thing I would consider to be "off" is that Cane's pose doesn't look balanced enough. It's not too bad, but it looks like he might fall over to the right. Nice text too, I like how you give the characters uniqueness such as appearance and what their weapons are, without being too obvious. well done...
1world1name [Profile] 2013/1/6 - 17:50:8
those are some purdy clouds~
miles [Profile] 2013/1/12 - 22:26:24
na
miles [Profile] 2013/1/12 - 22:26:50
ARG SORRY i keep hitting that button too fast..
anyway, i love this picture. the poses are fantastic. there's a lot of natural movement here.
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