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Experimental sketchy commission by @lambstooth! I wanted to see Hyden 'n' Ambroys interacting and SHE DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Look at the fantastic faces on these two!

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Hyden published many books on the study of magic during his long life. His works were widely admired for their clarity and thoroughness and were commonly used as textbooks in the Western Kingdom's various magical academies. His unique insight, obvious passion, and dry sense of humor came through in every page, making for enjoyable and educational (albeit dense) reads.

His work was not without controversy, of course. It was apparent from his earliest works that he enjoyed pushing boundaries and challenging established ideas about the practice of wizardy, even when doing so would alienate or undermine his colleagues. But even those who disagreed with him on specific points would generally admit that he was one of the greatest and most innovative minds in their field.

His later works became somewhat more abstract; dense, wordy and philosophical even beyond his established high level of verbosity. Late in life, he stopped publishing all together as his health took a downturn. His final work was stuck in a perpetual, unfinished state of limbo, never to be released.

...Or so it had seemed: at age 56, only a year before he would be sentenced to death, he released his final publication: A strange, rambling, disjointed mess speculating on the nature of magic itself, and positing the existence of some sort of dark anti-magic force that has existed before time itself. The word "blood" was used many, many times, and the book included descriptions of strange, dark rituals. The shaky penmanship--a far cry from the grand, confident, swooping flourishes of his earlier writing--furthered the impression that this was the work of a deteriorating madman. Unlike his previous works, it did not see wide release, and the fact that the king's High Court Wizard would pen something so obviously deranged was seen as quite an embarrassment for the Western Kingdom.

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Received some interesting questions about how Jo would feel about Theo having friends, were she alive to see it.

In short: Jo might be pleasantly surprised that Theo had managed to make his first ever friend at the tender age of 35 years old. She would be less pleased about his selection.

(Asks & answers under the cut, per usual.)

She might find him an intriguing person on an intellectual level, not only as a living piece of history, but someone who extended his lifespan long after its natural expiration date. I think they could have interesting conversations about magic, politics, and their respective moral philosophies. That said, everything Jo said would be hissed through a jaw tightly clenched.

She wouldn't like Hyden, is what I mean. Damningly, she might find his personality to be disastrously similar to her beloathed husband. Vulgar, slimy, dishonest, infuriatingly unreserved. It wouldn't help that Jo shares a few qualities in common with Hyden's ideal woman (though a penchant for skull brassieres is sadly not one of them). Man might try to shoot his shot. She does not want to be shot at.

Her disapproval would cause tension between the three of them. Hyden is Theo's hero, but his mother is Theo's world. He might not change his mind fully (the two did have their disagreements, despite Theo's worshipful sycophancy) but he would also probably not have the single-minded loyalty to Hyden that he does when Jo is not around to absorb his devotion instead.

I believe Hyden would, at least, attempt to make nice with Jo, if only because he would recognize that she and Theo are a package deal and he wants at least one mage on his side (two would be even better).

Honestly, I think Theo would be more jealous of Jo having friends than vice-versa. Jo was a lonely girl who grew into a lonely woman, comfortable in solitude. She would miss Theo if he were going out to play with his little friends instead of spending time with her, but she can occupy herself. Theo would argue he is also a loner, but in reality he's never been without the undivided attention of his mother. He would cope poorly with losing that. Good thing she also didn't have any other friends! (...These two are very pathetic and weird.)

In theory, Jo would be cautiously pleased about Theo managing to form positive relationships with other people. It would signify a massive leap forward in his social acumen and independence, and could imply he is more capable than she thought of politicking and maybe even psychological manipulation, two very important skills for a man of his status to have.

But beyond being proud of him developing new expertises, she would be exacting in her standards for what a close friend for Theo should be. She feels he is naive and could be easily taken advantage of. Her attitude towards any potential companions would be that of redneck father interrogating his daughter's boyfriend while the barrel of the shotgun in his lap is surreptitiously pointed at the young man's groin. If she judged any individuals untrustworthy, she would attempt to intervene or at least reduce their presence in her son's life in whatever way would be appropriately subtle and convenient.

Ultimately, as far as she's concerned, Theo can have friends. But he cannot forget where his loyalties should lie. Family always comes first.

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Thinkin' about my dumb toxic hets.

I've drawn Lou a couple times now, but to expound: she's a commoner girl who's been Ambroys' best friend from childhood, and when they got older, his perpetual rebound, giver of bad advice, and on-again-off-again secret situationship. He's more honest with her than most, which sounds sweet, but actually means she got a front-row seat to seeing just how much of an insufferable ignorant nasty man-child he really was under his varnished surface, but (she thought) she gave him as hard of a time as he gave her.

Ultimately, though, their relationship didn't last, because Ambroys is Ambroys and he burns even the most stupidly fireproof people eventually. He never gets over it.

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I swore you talked about it before but I can't find it but does Ambroys ever miss his brother? I often thought Charles would be a case of him being the opposite of his brother, and actually living a simple fulfilling live compared to Ambroys. Something I'm sure he'd scoff at. But despite his clear dislike for him, I wanna know the brotherhood between them and if they still shared some form of care for the other. Or not. I just want the teeeeaaa

Oh, they did have their moments of kinship. If there weren't those glimmers of past fondness, I think neither Charles' love nor Ambroys' hate could be as strong as it was. Even Charles wasn't so pathetic that he would try so hard to love someone who never showed an inkling of humanity.

As for whether Ambroys ever misses Charly: while Ambroys found some unusually grim satisfaction at being the last de Luxe left standing, as the years wear on and his prestige is no longer threatened by even Charles' memory, he grows increasingly nostalgic for those simpler times (and simpler people).

After all, despite the fact that their relationship was eventually unsalvageable, at the end of days, Charles might have been the last person left who had hopes for Ambroys. (Despite what I said earlier, Charles was still pretty pathetic.)

Speaking of the end of days, I do imagine Charles lived as well as he could, found a woman who loved him, and started a family. It's just a bit of a bummer that the apocalypse happened and that happy life was shattered and/or obliterated and/or frozen to death. Not Charles' personal bad luck that time, it happened to almost everyone in the Old Kingdoms.

Everyone except Ambroys, I mean. Isn't life unfair?

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Now your outside matches your inside.

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70s bunny ref for a commission slot I am hoping to get...!

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"Playing the Part"

Ambroys and Hyden discuss obligations and expectations after Ambroys makes a teeny tiny inconsequential little mistake.

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Does being a sardonic little prick count as a sense of humor?

Theo himself would describe himself as having "dry, cutting wit," but what that means is that he is insufferable and insulting. He doesn't often laugh at other people's jokes (though he may commit the faux pas of snickering at his own), but he enjoys a well-timed smart remark or ironic comment. He also amuses himself by sprinkling his dialogue with word play and alliteration -- if he's feeling particularly playful he might allow himself a pun or two.

His laugh is unpleasant! His "giggles" are more a combination of wheezing and phlegmy throat noises, and he usually doesn't go beyond that. Great frivolity (or villainy) can raise the pitch and volume of his laugh to horrid, cacophonous shrieking and cackling (often accompanied by a fit of coughing once his tobacco-riddled airways catch up to him).

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Jocosa gives her son lessons in wielding magic... though despite her best efforts, he grows up learning this particular lesson the hard way.

And, naturally, this was inspired by a question I was sent -- lore rambling below the cut.

Spells aren’t so cleanly divided into utility/combat/etc in this world. Chocodile has already made an excellent overview on how magic functions in Amaranthine, but the short of it is that a mage learn and use any type of magic, whether that be slinging lightning or moving objects or healing wounds or whatever else, but they require extensive knowledge of the forces at play, and it requires intense mental fortitude, quick calculations and precise control to wield it effectively.

Unfortunately, Theo is an inconsistent and erratic magic user. While he often uses magic for small, delicate tasks, like lighting candles or moving a book across a desk, channeling greater amounts of magic is a risky proposition. Theo's thought-scape is akin to a turbulent ocean or volcano about to erupt, and this is a detrimental quality when you need a clear, focused mind to keep your fireball in your hand instead of bursting all over your very flammable furniture.

When riled, as he would be in a combat situation, he’s as likely (or more likely) to get overloaded and immolate himself as he is his opponent. He has no compunctions about using magic for combat, in fact he'd relish the opportunity to use his innate "superiority" as a weapon against his "lessers" but it would be dangerous for him to try (which isn’t to say he wouldn’t attempt it out of desperation or impulsivity, but he'll suffer for it). After implanting the catalyst stone into his hand, his power is amplified -- but not his control. It might be safer for him to stick with weaponized pens.

The exception to Theo's issues with controlling magic is healing magic, which has become his specialty for good or for ill (ironically, more for ill). He wishes he could pluck the strings of pure magic, playing it like a harp as beautifully as his mother did, but for the life of him, he can’t seem to elevate himself above the crude matter of blood and bone.

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Jocosa gives her son lessons in wielding magic... though despite her best efforts, he grows up learning this particular lesson the hard way.

And, naturally, this was inspired by a question I was sent -- lore rambling below the cut.

Spells aren’t so cleanly divided into utility/combat/etc in this world. Chocodile has already made an excellent overview on how magic functions in Amaranthine, but the short of it is that a mage learn and use any type of magic, whether that be slinging lightning or moving objects or healing wounds or whatever else, but they require extensive knowledge of the forces at play, and it requires intense mental fortitude, quick calculations and precise control to wield it effectively.

Unfortunately, Theo is an inconsistent and erratic magic user. While he often uses magic for small, delicate tasks, like lighting candles or moving a book across a desk, channeling greater amounts of magic is a risky proposition. Theo's thought-scape is akin to a turbulent ocean or volcano about to erupt, and this is a detrimental quality when you need a clear, focused mind to keep your fireball in your hand instead of bursting all over your very flammable furniture.

When riled, as he would be in a combat situation, he’s as likely (or more likely) to get overloaded and immolate himself as he is his opponent. He has no compunctions about using magic for combat, in fact he'd relish the opportunity to use his innate "superiority" as a weapon against his "lessers" but it would be dangerous for him to try (which isn’t to say he wouldn’t attempt it out of desperation or impulsivity, but he'll suffer for it). After implanting the catalyst stone into his hand, his power is amplified -- but not his control. It might be safer for him to stick with weaponized pens.

The exception to Theo's issues with controlling magic is healing magic, which has become his specialty for good or for ill (ironically, more for ill). He wishes he could pluck the strings of pure magic, playing it like a harp as beautifully as his mother did, but for the life of him, he can’t seem to elevate himself above the crude matter of blood and bone.

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Is Hyden a glutton for power/punishment? Or is he a more traditional glutton for food? Or all of the above?

Hyden styles himself as free-thinking intellectual and uses a lot of fancy words to frame his hedonism as a lifestyle choice. Truthfully, though, he's always had a very intense and addictive personality. It's less a choice and more of a compulsion.

He's extremely sensation seeking and *incredibly* easily bored, which means that by this point in his life he's already exhausted life's pleasures to such a degree that his masochistic inclinations have started ratcheting up instead. On top of that, his judgement and impulse control aren't what it used to be. For some reason.

His tendency to think outside the box and tirelessly pursue his current fixation until the point of exhaustion does apply to the pursuit of knowledge and power, too. Once upon a time, when he was younger and sharper, it made him an excellent innovator and helped him earn the label of "prodigy". But it's been a long time since he did anything impressive that talent, unless you count unleashing the Shadow.

(Side note: Despite his hyperbole, when deprived of physical pleasure in Fallout AU, he fails to throw himself off a bridge as promised. He loves himself far too much to ever die.)

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"You will fix it, yes?" Three figures, clad in heavy-duty tundra gear, stood over the stricken vehicle. The Prowler lay miserably in the snowdrift, steam billowing from its vents, a dark viscous liquid trickling ominously from the junction between two pipes. The largest figure, a Rabbit, shifted uncomfortably. "You understand these devices, these... mechanical carriages. Snowmobiles. I’ve seen Belov working on them. He knows of them, their inner workings--" "I told you: We'll see." one of the smaller figures snapped. Alex cocked her batty ears toward the Rabbit, scowling. "It isn’t as simple as you seem to think. It's not 'magic'. At best: we'll need something to patch it with. At worst: a replacement part."

"Well! If it CAN'T be fixed, I will NOT die out here!" The shortest figure spoke, his voice rising. Shrill, tense. Theo flattened his ears and crossed his arms, tucking them close to conserve heat. "Assisting Hyden or not, I should have never agreed to come on this godforsaken quest of yours. I left my manor for this!? The sun grows low and-- look! More snowflakes! If we cannot get moving again, I- I will- I will take the remaining snowmobile and return to Northcrest--" "And leave us to die out on the tundra?" Alex snapped. "I think not. Calm down, both of you. Nobody is going to--" But the conversation was interrupted when a fourth figure appeared at the crest of a nearby hill, waving a long clawed arm. "Town over here! Ruins! Let’s shelter for the night, yeah?"

(Story continues HERE in Part 2 due to inexplicable new Tumblr character limits)

TL;DR: Hyden, Theo, and the Rising Dawn depart Theo's manor and head out to the snowy wastes. One of the snowmobiles break down and they must spend the night in the ruins of a town now lost to the encroaching ice. Hyden is miserable, feeling this world is not his and not something he can survive in, but pins hope on meeting Ambroys again.

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Three Nobleman (Pt. I)

Duke Arcturus Aleksander Hyden the IV.

The first of three portraits I did for @kwillow and @chocodile. This is the second painting I ever did in oil on canvas , yet completely different from my first one of Lord Ambroys - oil-on-canvas-painting-of-lord-ambroys -. The project started at the beginning of January and Hyden ( by @chocodile ) happened to be the first one I wanted to work on. It turned out, that it was quite difficult to me, to find out what color his coat is supposed to be. I still think it turned out a little bit darker than it should be and maybe a little bit too much on the "green side". But I also learned a lot about shading and gradients as well as I was reminded of how hard it can be to paint "toon characters" without outlines in this specific style. One can notice it hadn't worked out for the mouth and the eyes.. it just looked wrong so I decided to go with just black lines, what makes them look more toonish again. Speaking of the style, it's hard to overlook that it's completely based on @kwillow 's artwork. This one specifically on the following piece - theo-was-tremblingly-eager-to-help-hyden -. This also means that I don't want to take credit for the artwork itself even in the slightest. In the end I just changed the medium, nothing more. The painting process itself took me about 50-55 hours (yeah, I am that slow) but it brought me a lot of joy and it was a very interesting learning process of how oil colors work.

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Three Nobleman (Pt. II)

Baron Theopolis North

The second portrait I worked on. Theopolis ( by @kwillow ) is based on these two drawings - how-would-a-blushing-and-severely-flustered-theo - finally-finished-up-the-ref-for-amaranthinetheo -, also by @kwillow. Again, there was a lot of learning involved. Especially the skin toned parts of his ears and the nose been very interesting to figure out and I very much like how they've turned out. Also the skin spots (?) "shining" through his fur and the dark rings under his eyes are something I'm kinda proud of. An interesting thing I had to notice was, that I couldn't use the same technique for the clothes as I did for Hydens portrait, just because Theos' are quite a bit darker and therefore way more difficult to "shade". Another thing I tried here for the first time can be seen on the silver parts like the buttons and on the lapel/revers. These are made with oil colors I mixed myself by adding chrome and silver pigment and later on I did the same with gold for Hydens' and Ambroys' golden accessories. The painting process on this one also took me around 50 hours. And again, I don't want to take any credit for the artwork itself

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Three Nobleman (Pt. III)

Lord Ambroys Belrose Desoleil

The last one I worked on. May one can tell this character is something really special to me.. and maybe that's one of the reasons this last portrait was a hell of a roller-coaster to me. Almost leading me to quit and abandoning the whole project. The reason why this particular painting has a different background than the other two is that I had to start over completely. The first mistake I made was the scale. At first I wanted to show way more of the character itself, what meant on the other hand, that all the details got way smaller and I just wasn't able to adequately handle that. The second problem was that I somehow messed up his face/expression and wasn't able to figure out what went wrong or what it was exactly, that make it seem so odd to me.. And last but not least, my absolute lack of understanding color.. yep, I like painting stuff but I don't really understand how colors work.. His mane/hair became my arch nemesis. Not that it is hard enough, to work with bright colors that are pretty close to each other, without outlines, no, I had absolutely no idea how many different colors are needed to mix blonde.. just to make that slight difference to his coat. The decision to use the "older" version of him wasn't helping either. His younger self doesn't have the straight mane/hair, which makes it way easier to let it look like "hair". Well, at least to me. But in the end I think I somehow managed it to a degree that it is acceptable (for my fourth time with oils). To end the part of my struggle with this one, there was one thing left I wish I had noticed earlier, and that's the position of his left arm. I just took the sketch from my first try and scaled it up, not noticing that the arm may look a little bit odd now.

But that's aside, I also had a lot of fun with the painting. I totally got lost in the rose on his revers (because I love roses the most) and there are some more details which made me really happy how they turned out. But I have to confess that I cheated a little on this painting as well. It's the only of the three portraits that isn't exclusively painted in oils. His horn is actually painted over with nail-polish to get that opalescent shimmer.

Ambroys' portrait took me about 90 hours (first try included). It's based on this drawing by @kwillow - how-much-conditioner-do-you-think-olderamby-goes -, which again means that I don't want to take any credit for the artwork itself.

Yes, Ambroys means a lot to me and that may be the reason I look more critical on this one. But the most important thing for me is, that the new owners, @chocodile and @kwillow, like them and can gain some joy out of my work. You guys gave me so much through your characters and their stories, and helped me through a very hard, and so far the darkest chapter of my life. And therefore, thank you!

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I just noticed Ambroys eyes are green sometimes, why is that?

Ah yes... that is because I am an absolute fiend for AUs but also not good at explaining myself. So! Here is an explanation.

Aasimar: His first incarnation, made for a D&D game I played in college that got dropped, then was brought back for a different D&D game years later that was also eventually dropped. But he stuck in my brain. Even though I'm not playing D&D these days, I still like drawing him... he's a rich twit, a glory hound, a paladin of conquest who got his powers through nepotism, and always thought he was the leader of the party (he absolutely was not).

Normal Human Guy (Relatively): This is the green-eyed Ambroys you're talking about! He has green eyes because most people in real life do not have coral pink irises. This version doesn't have a concrete story, he's just here when I want to draw him in preppy fashion and modern-ish day settings, doing (relatively) normal human things.

Forever Gold: Exists in the setting made by my friends LSDolphin and Broncoburro, @forevergoldgame! He has magic fire powers, but every noble idiot in this setting has access to magic, so that doesn't make him special. His function within the setting is to annoy the player. He's more concerned with shoes than politics even though there's a revolution brewing. That probably won't effect him.

Amaranthine (Past): Aka the furry version, who is an important character in Chocodile and I's ludicrous funny animal fantasy story. A once-every-several-generations miracle, and a dream come true who reveals himself to be a nightmare. Not even a particularly scary nightmare, more the kind where you show up to school without clothes and it's just really embarrassing. This is his younger self, who I normally draw in his "sowing discord" phase (he does not enjoy the reaping).

Amaranthine (Present): Like if an aging rockstar decided to make himself pope. Rules a small but powerful city-state with a golden fist. He has more of a veneer of dignity than his younger self, but deep down he's still the same preening, arrogant, attention-hungry douche as ever, except he can have people who piss him off executed now.