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Nick Thornborrow on BlueSky showed some more Lucanis narrative sketches

Sketch of Teia and Viago

Portrait sketch of Lucanis

Sketch of Lucanis violently dispatching prison guards along with Spite rapidly dispatching Venatori minions in the background.

Spite conversing with Rook. Spite grins with … well… spite. And Rook looks like she's having none of it.

A hedonistic bath house. Lucanis is deep in foreground in silhouette with two sword hilts apparent in the silhouette.

Ilario being seduced by I forget her name. But the villain in Lucanis's story. The villain is in a glowing red pool and drawing Ilario towards her who sits on the edge. Lucanis spies in the foreground.

Shirtless Ilario hulked out advancing on Lucanis in the foreground with a sword. The villain is in the background towering on a miasma of blood magic.

The villain reduced to a skeletal frame begging Ilario to save her.

Ilario smoke bombing out I think. Lucanis in the foreground in command of Spite.

Rook checking in on Lucanis who is curled up on the floor. Lucanis has just had an episode with his demon, Spite. Scorch marks in the shape of wings smolder on the walls.

Lucanis holding Rook in an embrace but looking warily back at Spite's wings protruding from his own back.

Lucanis ceremonially marking a book with blood.

I honestly can’t remember what was going through my head. I drew this years ago. It’s possible I was working from an explicit description of a ritual to become a Talon, or I may have been taking creative license. Either way, it was something to do with Talon coronation.

Lucanis and Spite working together for once to defeat the villain.

Action shot of Lucanis. I don't know. Kinda scruffy.

Lucanis looming over the villain who has been thoroughly defeated.

Lucanis becoming First Talon.

Lucanis with Spite wings out kissing Rook in the rain. This sketch was meant to portray an intense moment in the midst of going into a battle we don't expect to survive.

An intimate moment between Rook and Lucanis in the hot springs at the Dellamorte Estate.

Rook (who quite famously can't swim) tumbling into the canals of Treviso in a friendly game of bumper car gondola with Lucanis.

Rook and Lucanis having a wholesome (read spicy) experience in a secluded tunnel on a gondola. Lucanis's back is to us and his shirt is half off. Rook is obscured by Lucanis but the two are kissing.

Lucanis executing an ancient God with a lyrium dagger by stabbing him in the back. The God has a skull like face and and a horned helmet. Grey fog leaves his throat as he perishes with the word "URK"

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[insert noise of choice]

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I commissioned GDL over on Cameo.

Solas' monologue after the Fade swap and while Rook is still trapped in the Prison of Regrets. These thoughts are directed at Rook but they will never hear them.

Best on headphones. Script by me, dialogue untouched, enhanced via sound editing with some ambience to make this a bloody show. Inspired by unused lines as well as this Dostoyevsky quote

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Emmrich and manfred practicing how to dance

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Wanted to revisit the mirror shards motif. Had to make it more complicated ^^°

(BTW, a kind "pay more attention" to anyone saying "coffee is his whole personality")

I drew the first Version of this back in August, when all I had to go on was some promo art plus The Wigmaker Job and The Wake.

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I'm also an Ironstrange shipper—

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Sherlock - ‘Breathing is Boring’

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ITS A NECROMANCER AND THE FLAMING SKULL AGAIN

Inspired by @snarkspawn's piece with Lucanis and the coffee

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It's the gentleman Romancer - I mean Necromancer.

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Neve Gallus 💚

Check out the cool colors version on: X/twitter

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Assassin 💜

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Rumble Feature pt. 2

Follow up to this, because Y'ALL ARE SO RIGHT.

Shoutout to my cat, this is just him at 4:30 am every morning.

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Flowers for Emmrich

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What Story Shall We Tell? Solas and Perspective

I love exploring characterization, perception, and bias inVeilguard - especially through Solas.

His character, like the particle-wave experiment, exists in infinite possibilities until observed, collapsing into a single interpretation shaped by our individual perspective. The variability of world states alone ensures no single personal definition of Solas can ever be complete.

Instead, Solas himself asks: what do we believe about him, and how much of that belief is shaped by the lens through which we choose to view him? 

“And what story shall we tell now?”

Look at him, smiling with that question - so aware, so amused by the endless parade of perceptions about him. That sexy little smirk knowing perceptions will shift again and again.

Through Inquisition and Veilguard 

For players first meeting Solas in Inquisition, he could be many things: a mysterious and thoughtful apostate, a philosophical and introspective figure burdened by sadness, or an arrogant, holier-than-thou bastard. Some players chose friendship or romance, while others couldn't wait to punch his smug face. Inquisition introduced Solas as a companion first, leaving us players to interpret him on our own terms. 

In Veilguard, Solas steps into the role of antagonist, a figure burdened by guilt, hubris and regret, his actions monumental and dangerous. For new players, this mythic trickster god is their first impression, while returning players see an evolution of the character they thought they knew. Those who loved his philosophical insights and moments of vulnerability are now confronted with a hardened, darker version of him. Those who disliked his arrogance feel vindicated, their disdain seemingly justified. And some players who once found him annoying, now find themselves drawn to him.

What’s so interesting to me is how Veilguard retroactively reshapes how we view Inquisition. Suddenly, we’re looking back at a game that came out 20 years ago. Time itself can shift perspectives. How have we, as players, changed since we first experienced his story 20, 10 or even 5 years ago? How do we interpret him and his actions differently now, knowing him in Veilguard?

Game Mechanisms

I think that’s what I enjoy about these two differing gameplay mechanics - Inquisition and Veilguard both play a role in shaping how we perceive Solas.  

In Inquisition, Solas’s role as a companion allows players to form a direct, one-on-one relationship with him, spending as much time with him as they choose. His identity (the identity the game wants us to know) is revealed in real time, through dialogue and experiences. When his identity as Fen’Harel is finally unveiled, the moment has impact. For some players, it might shatter a bond they had built with him. For others, it confirms their dislike, while for some, it intensifies their fascination with him. 

In Veilguard, this game mechanism shifts. Players encounter Solas primarily through Rook’s interactions and fragmented memories scattered throughout the game. We as the player are asked to examine Solas through layers of filters. Rook’s dream/meditative state in talking to Solas creates ambiguity. Are they authentic communications, shaped by Solas's intent? Are they distorted reflections of Rook’s own thoughts and biases about Solas? Or are they manipulated by external forces, like blood magic or the Fade itself?  Players are left to interpret this how they want - some finding these conversations deliberately misleading, while others dive deeper into symbolic meaning, seeking hidden truths.

Solas’s Fragmented Life and Regrets 

Adding to this complexity are Solas’s regrets, offering glimpses into his past, incomplete and subjective. Painted from his own perspective and from memory, these murals are infused with emotions providing only a window into choices he has made. Their meaning is further filtered through the observations of Rook and their companions (us).

Solas’s immortality and his life in ancient Elvhenan are equally elusive, revealed only in these fragments and Solas's own words or codexes. The murals offer an incomplete and biased picture of his past. It is impossible to fully understand this being whose life spans millennia.

Solas’s New Design Is Shaping Our View of Him 

Even Solas’s visual design in Veilguard plays into these themes, highlighting how aesthetics influence bias. His polished, imposing new look projects authority and allure, contrasting sharply with the unassuming apostate we met in Inquisition. His “glow-up,” making some players more drawn to him - even if they disliked or didn't find him attractive in Inquisition.

Changes in posture, clothing, and visual cues evoke entirely different emotional responses. His new design might compel players to subconsciously reevaluate him, raising questions about how much of our perception is shaped by his appearance versus his actions.

Returning to Solas’s question - “What story shall we tell now?” - perhaps the answer lies in accepting that no story can fully contain him. And that is what makes him so delicious.

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The Demon of Vyrantium. I love the hair texture, I want to touch it! And I made two versions of the portrait. Which one do you like better?

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pov: you're Venatori and you're about to die ✨️