ART WAR 4 | 2D | War of the Elements | Lord Fervus | Burhtun

Full Name: Burton Parker
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Long ago there was a lord, Lord Fervus, who was betrayed and murdered by those closest to him. The disrespect continued after his death, and his body was disgracefully discarded, heaved down an old dry well. His soul was so incensed by the betrayal his remains began to smolder, and eventually all that remained was his skull, burning eternally. It burned its way down deep into the earth, finally coming to a rest in some underground caverns.

Some time later, a studious craftsman sets out to find the resting place of the fabled lord. The craftsman was a wizard of sorts, able to imbue items with magical properties, and channel and amplify his hard-learned powers through intricate totems. He could even breath life into simple automotons to assist him with more mundane tasks. The tales of Fervus piqued his interest; a source of eternal flame offered many possibilities and applications.
After much study and searching, the crafty wizard eventually finds the skull - sitting there alone in the dark, resting on a glistening expanse of granite, and still burning. He carried the skull out of the cavern with some blacksmith's tongs as his mind flooded with plans for his newfound artifact.

Through his honed art the wizard was able to contain and control the persistent fire by turning the skull into a magic vessel. But there were unforseen consequences. The more time the wizard spent around the Fervus skull, the more hateful he became. He became prone to fits of rage, obsessed with fire, and fond of watching things burn. He began to forget himself. Increasingly, the wizard began to think HE was the spiteful lord, whos skull he held in his hand.

And so Fervus was reborn.

Playing with the idea of a golem made from fired-clay. Could have fallen under either the earth or fire element, but I'm going with fire.

I'm thinking the golem might just be a minion and maybe my character will be some sort of... enchanter? artificer? I'm not sure what the term would be. Some sort of wizard that requires physical objects to augment or channel his power. He seeks out specific items and materials and enhances them through craftsmanship and arcane knowlege to create magical artifacts. That can take the form of golem minions, wands, amulets, whatever. Maybe he started out working with all elements, and other effects, whatever he could learn about. He was thirsty for knowledge and power. But after finding/crafting a particular artifact he became obsessed with fire.

Continuing with the jug theme, I'm playing with the idea of this skull-jug/brazier artifact.

story concept:
Long ago there was a warlord who was betrayed by those closest to him. Lord Fervus. He was murdered and his corpse was thrown down an old well. He was so incensed by the betrayal his remains began to smolder, and eventually all that remained was his skull, burning eternally. It burned its way down deep into the earth, finally coming to a rest in an underground cavern complex. Eventually, having studied the tales of old Fervus and his burning noggin, a wizard finds the resting place of the fabled lord. The wizard was able to contain and control the persistent fire by turning the skull into a magic vessel. But over time the wizard became more hateful, prone to fits of rage, and fond of watching things burn. He began to forget himself, thinking HE was the spiteful lord, whos skull he held in his hand. And so Fervus was reborn.

Thanks, yeah I like #1 also but it might not work well in an illustration because it will have to face slightly away from the camera for the face of the skull to be visible. Probably wouldn't be as clear what it is when you view it from the front. It would probably work better as a weapon in a first person game. And yeah I plan to still use a golem, something like this:

But I need to figure out a composition that makes it clear that the golem is his minion, and not his enemy. Also the wizard needs to take up a bigger portion of the composition than this.

wizardly poses