darkvampirepalace

[darkvampirepalace]

[darkvampirepalace]

Challenge, all in one 🥳

[darkvampirepalace]

Challenge "Astarion in April"

Days 10, 11, 12

Emotions: dramatic, excited, curious.

Moonlight streamed through Sorina's silver locks as Astarion crept toward her bed. Drama swirled around him like a cloak - he even came up with a catchphrase for the moment of the bite: "Don't be afraid, Darling, it's just... a daydream."

"You're stomping too loudly," Sorina's voice cut through the silence before he could open his mouth.

Her fingers dug into his wrist with a force that cracked his bones. Excitement hit his temples when he saw her eyes - not gold, but poisonous yellow, alarming and dangerous.

"Wh... what?" Astarion tried to break free, but her grip was stronger.

"Your scent, my dear." She sat up, her hair flowing like liquid silver over her shoulders. — "You smell of fear and hunger, like all newborns." Her fangs flashed in the darkness.

He hissed, trying to jump away, curiosity mixing with panic.

"You... are one of us? Why were you silent?!"

Sorina laughed:

"Watching you try to "hunt" was delightful. Did you think I wouldn't notice how you stared hungrily at other people's necks? Your fangs, too long for an elf? Or the marks on your neck? You didn't even try to hide!"

Astarion swallowed, suddenly feeling like a mouse in front of a snake.

"Then why... didn't you drive me away?"

She leaned towards him. Her icy breath touched his ear:

"Because you are a mirror." Sorina's palm slid almost gently over his cheek. "You remind me of me. I see in you the same chick that you were after your transformation. You tremble with thirst for power, you go mad with hunger, but deep down..."

She looked meaningfully at Astarion, not finishing her sentence.

He was silent, looking at the ancient vampire with incomprehension. Her palm lay on the back of his head, and suddenly...

Memories poured out in a stream. Astarion saw her first victim; her escape through burning worlds; her tears, fear, panic.

"Why... are you showing this?" he exhaled, pulling away with a tremor in his whole body.

Sorina caught his chin, forcing him to meet their gaze.

"So you know: immortality is not a gift. It is a curse, stretched out in time. But..." Her lips suddenly twisted into a strange smile. "Sometimes you have to embrace your curse and savor it."

He froze, feeling her cold seep into his bones, mixing with something... almost tender. For the first time in decades, Astarion had no witty retort. Only the distant hoot of an owl broke the silence of the night as the two vampires measured the depths of the abyss within each other.

[darkvampirepalace]

Challenge "Astarion in April"

Day 7, 8, 9

Emotions: arrogant, sullen, touched

Astarion was half-lying on a throne of black obsidian, watching the half-dragon consort circle around his throne like a dog waiting for a command. The variegated light coming through the stained glass windows played on her silver scales.

Arrogance was evident in the gesture as he snapped his fingers, not looking up from the scroll with reports of new victims of the Absolute cult, not completely destroyed even after the fall of their false deity:

"Stop spinning. You're distracting me!"

Drag froze, dropping to one knee, but the tip of her tail trembled treacherously, beating out a drumbeat on the mosaic floor.

"Forgive me, my lord." Liquid silver eyes flashed mischievously. "It's just that your majesty today... smells especially delicious."

He frowned, throwing the parchment aside. "Impudent." Astarion stood up, his black cloak with scarlet lining billowing behind him.

Drag crawled back, deliberately slowly. His hand dug into her hair before she could inhale for another insolence.

"Don't play with fire, lizard." The Ascended vampire whispered and ran his hand over her horn, feeling a shiver run through her body.

His gaze caught on a modest white flower with six thin petals, like a star, sticking out behind her ear. Almost unnoticeable in the silver hair of the half-dragon. The emotion hit him in the ribs, unexpected and burning: these flowers grew on his grave.

“Why do you wear it?” the vampire asked quietly.

Drag pressed his palm to her cheek, like a kitten.

“To remember... Who you were when...”

He jerked back sharply, as if he had been burned by her sincerity.

“Sentimental fool,” Astarion said, turning his back so that she would not see the tears glistening in his eyes. “Bring some wine. And...” The pause dragged on, and Drag had already quietly crept up to the exit of the throne room. “That werewolf skin cloak. You... freeze at night.”

When her steps faded, he pressed his palm to the cold stained glass, where the scarlet glass folded into his new coat of arms: a scarlet crowned dragon on a black and white background. Somewhere in the hallway, Dregh, returning with wine and a werewolf pelt draped over her thin shoulders, was whistling the tune he had hummed as they walked through the Underdark, searching for the passage to the Shadowlands. Astarion allowed himself a smile—for three heartbeats—before the mask of the overlord froze on his face once more.

[darkvampirepalace]

Some more stuff in progress

[darkvampirepalace]

Gift for @darkvampirepalace

The Sun Vampires. Part 6

[darkvampirepalace]

Gift for @darkvampirepalace

The Sun Vampires. Part 5

[darkvampirepalace]

Gift for @darkvampirepalace

The Sun Vampires. Part 4

[darkvampirepalace]

Gift for @darkvampirepalace

The Sun Vampires. Part 3

[darkvampirepalace]

Gift for @darkvampirepalace

The Sun Vampires. Part 2

[darkvampirepalace]

Gift for @darkvampirepalace

The Sun Vampires. Part 1

[darkvampirepalace]

"Astarion in April" Challenge

Days 4, 5, 6.

Emotions: dreamy, scared, sad.

Moonlight caught Sorina's silver strands, the golden sparks in her eyes seemed to repeat the dance of the flames of the fire. Astarion bit his lip. He hated it - he hated how his fingers were drawn to the cold marble of her skin.

"Stop staring," her voice cut through the night like a blade pierced between ribs.

He bared his fangs in a grin, but his hand trembled traitorously. There was a dreamy quality to the gesture as he ran his finger along a lock of her hair, tangled in the clasp of her cloak.

A blast of magic threw him back against the rock. Astarion pressed himself against the stone, fear gripping his throat before he could draw a breath. Sorina stood with her arms crossed, her hair bristling with static, and entire galaxies raging in her golden irises.

“You dared to touch me without asking?!” Her growl made him tremble.

He had seen her furiously crushing crowds of enemies, but there was something personal in her rage now. Sadness came later, when she turned away, gathering up scattered maps of the area. Astarion picked up the nearest parchment with trembling fingers – a map of Baldur’s Gate, such familiar streets…

“Forgive me,” he breathed out so quietly that even a vampire’s hearing might not have caught it.

Sorina froze. Suddenly her palm lay on his wrist - colder than a gravestone, softer than moonlight. There was no threat in the gesture, only a silent "forgive me" for the outburst of rage. The vampire stepped closer, timidly and somehow constrainedly embracing Astarion. He closed his eyes, feeling how her breath (cold, lifeless, familiar) mixed with the smell of wormwood from her hair. Somewhere in the distance a wolf howled, and the coals of the fire went out, leaving them in a cocoon of stars.

[darkvampirepalace]

Astarion in April Challenge

Days 1, 2, 3

Emotions: sarcasm, thoughtfulness, impudence.

The sunset's gold clung to Annette's red feathers, scattering sparks across the lute in her hands. Astarion hid in the shadows, leaning against a burnt column of an abandoned chapel.

"Your trills make even bats bored," he said sarcastically, playing with the dagger in his hands.

The avariel's wings twitched, brushing dust off the altar.

"Even rats squeak more musically."

Annette played the last chord out of tune, causing him to suck in his cheeks. She understood that behind the vampire's causticity there was an unwillingness to admit that he secretly liked her playing, even when she was out of tune.

"And you're still such a grumbler!" the girl snorted.

Silence fell over the ruins as the sun touched the horizon. Astarion froze, watching the first stars appear through the broken dome. His fingers involuntarily reached for the bite scar under his collar - an old habit that he had not gotten rid of even after the death of Cazador.

Memories of the past captured Astarion for a moment, and the avariel noticed it. Annette lowered the instrument, her fiery eyelashes raised. She put the lute aside and stepped towards him, embracing the vampire with both her arms and wings.

"What are you thinking about?"

Astarion shuddered slightly at the question and shook his head slightly. Icy fingers slid along the feathers of his right wing, causing her to gasp.

"It does not matter," he whispered right into her ear, inhaling the scent of her perfume, which he himself had collected for her. "The main thing is that you fell into my arms again, bird."

The tongue touched the earlobe. Annette giggled, but did not break free. Astarion ran both hands through her soft feathers, enjoying the closeness.

"It seems that someone is not at all against desecrating this chapel a little..." the vampire whispered in her ear, pulling her to the altar.

She laughed quietly, allowing the impudent fang-boy to lead her in this dance of sudden passion and tenderness...

[darkvampirepalace]

I made a list of 30 topics for myself for April Challenge and I propose to participate in everyone. The list of 30 topics related to emotions and feelings.

I decided to name it simple: Astarion in April #Astarioninapril

Purpose: to depict as much Astarion emotions as possible, but without pressure. Topics can be taken in any order.

Lord | Spawn | Batstarion — any Astarion to choose from, one or with a couple (although the idea is to pay attention to his emotions)

Arts | Screenshots | Renders | Gifs | Text sketches — any format of creativity.

I will draw 🖌️