@NguyenKhoi
Ahh that's great thanks so much! I wanted it to feel like an epic titan battle!

@dreamsequenz
Thank youu aaaaa <3

@lucasavilagran
Thank you so much!

@juanreina654
Funnily enough so do mine after having spent so long on it xD

AHHH GUYS! It's finally done! After many many hours of toil, struggling, wins and losses, I've finally finished it! I don't even want to know how many hours I spent on this, but it's been the biggest piece I've worked on in my entire life and I've really proud of it! I'm really thankful for just how much feedback I got on here too, and it's really helped me bring it to completion!

I'm also incredibly grateful for the overwhelming positivity on this piece and the characters, especially when I got really bummed out a few days back. I honestly had lost so much hope on this piece, it has been so difficult and I'm sure I've spent many extra hours redoing things I already had spent multiple hours on. You all really did help so much, and because of that I now have a finished painting! I am going to write up a bit of a summarised story on the lore of these two, it's a bit scattered throughout the thread so having it in one place will make it easier for people to read.

I've had so so so much fun in this competition, I've seen so much amazing work and got to experience the artistic process of many individuals I would never have met or discovered otherwise. When I first joined this contest back a month ago, I was in a real bad spot. I had only recently gotten back from seeing my boyfriend a few months in California, and when I got back to the UK I hit a really bad depression and had fallen into a pretty big hole. The contest gave me a means to do something with my time (I had quit my job for art but so far my applications have gone unnoticed) so I was able to dedicate all of my time to getting lost in the world of these Gods, having fun with artists and just generally having something fun and exciting and new to work on everyday!

But anyway enough of that, here's my final piece! I'm pretty sure it's done but if I see something before the deadline I might spruce it up a little y'know

Here are some closeups before I type out the story!

"Sit down dear Caius, lend me your ear."
"What is it ma?"
"I want to tell you a story. A story of love, hatred and despair, for the Gods feel it too you know."
"I thought they didn't cry ma"
"Many moons ago, the world was in harmony. Gods co-existed with the people of the realm and both had prospered off of each other. There was one God in particular, that was mighty benevolent, he cared for both his mortal and immortal brothers. He was revered by every God known to man, and every man known to God - he was called "Phaedrus: God of Fire and All that Burns Bright.""

"He sounds amazing ma!" the boy gets excited in his chair*
"Why yes, he was! He was also the most powerful, and he ruled everything fire. However, there was one who didn't quite look up at him the same way."
"Who was that?"
"Why his brother, Idatrus. Idatrus was Phaedrus' younger sibling, and ruled the stormy clouds of thunder and lightning. He was very jealous of Phaedrus, and had one day hatched a plan so foul it would shift the very earth itself for centuries to come. Now it's important to mention Idatrus meant the world to Phaedrus, he would bleed for him, die for him. He showed him so much compassion and love it almost seemed ungodly. He would never have seen his brother's betrayal coming."

"For you see dear child, Idatrus had cunning and a charm that no being could resist. He used his almighty powers of mind and soul to trick everyone around Phaedrus into having them believe he was evil, that he destroyed cities and burned down forests. Truly horrible deeds, and for no reason. The people of the world believed this, in fact - even the Gods believed this venom, and Phaedrus was chastised severely."
"I don't see how that can affect a God ma."
"Gods need faith to survive, child. When the faith in a God is lost, they will weaken, wither away and eventually be forgotten. Of course, we remember Phaedrus because of his later deeds but we'll get to that part soon. "

"Alright so what happened next?" he looked at her eagerly
"Phaedrus confronted his brother, for he knew what had happened. "Brother, why do you scorn me so? For what have I committed for your high treason to have befallen me?", "Oh nothing, dear brother. I merely seek what you have. I am tired of living in your shadow, being forgotten about under your might deeds in the world. It is time for the world to see you how I do""

"Oh that's the worst! I'm glad I have no brothers. "
"Shush! Anyway, what happened next merely added to Phaedrus' burdens. Idatrus plunged his own sword into the weary God's chest. Phaedrus cracked, started oozing, he was severely damaged. Idatrus then, with the help of the other Gods, imprisoned him inside a huge dormant volcano. In this time, most of the world's memory and reverence of this loving, caring God had all but vanished. However, in all those centuries trapped inside that pile of rock Phaedrus was harnessing the power of lava, blending it with his fire and smoke, and had emerged from his rocky carapace."

"I'm surprised he had lived for so long."
"He was very weak. Very weak. His body could no longer handle the power inside him and had started breaking apart. All his life energy was trickling away in streams of hot magma, whisps of fire and tears of molten ash. He sought out his brother, who in that time had gained fame for his defeat, he ripped the sword out of his chest that had been buried in him for so long, kicked his brother down in a fit of overwhelming emotion and put that sword right back where it came from. Of course, this was the last straw. Both times they skirmished they had fought valiantly and for many hours. Phaedrus having been weakened only prolonged the fights. And after the second fight, now mortally wounded, Phaedrus had drew his last breath. And both together the brother Gods had fought and died. Phaedrus had never wanted it to have come to this, he loved his brother dearly. He fought against himself that day as well as Idatrus, put all his strength into making that final blow. Now they are remembered in truth, for the rest of the Gods had seen the betrayal and deceit of Idatrus, and had vowed for the respect and purity of Phaedrus to put history right again."

Thanks for tuning in to my thread over the past month! It's been an absolute blast and I can honestly say I haven't had so much fun in such a long time. I wish the best of luck for everyone participating, and I hope everyone gained something out of it and had just as much enjoyment as I did! See you all next year! <3

• Neso