#queue'tar ogar

[kalahannikolai]

My original Megatron design, in his Present form (left) and a sketch of his Civil War form (right). Easily both my best Transformers art yet, and also my favorite designs I've ever executed. He is truly my magnum opus, it's amazing.

Lore and story below!

Lord Megatron, former leader of the Decepticons and now a shadow of his former self. Once upon a time, he and his sister Arcee had been masterful gladiators in the Pits of Kaon. They were the ultimate fighters, but Megatron found himself wanting for a better life for the both of them. He sought it out beyond the gladiatorial pits, and climbed his way past the obstacles of society to call for a better Cybertron.

But one's path doesn't always go the way they originally intend.

As followers came to his side, rallied by his call for the Senate's dissolution, Megatron would find himself losing his way. Glory and conquest would wet his appetite, and give him a craving for more. The Decepticons he'd founded, gathered under the desire to break down their oppressors, began to wholly relish in destruction. Megatron himself began to laugh during battle, engaged his combat that made him feel the vigor of the pits again.

But Megatron's bloody path would not proceed without an obstacle in its way. The young Orion Pax had been chosen, raised to Primehood and ready to fend off the Decepticon hostilities. Thus was the Autobot Resistance forged in opposition to Megatron's own ambitions. And oppose him they did, so fiercely that they would lead Megatron to fall on a last resort.

Megatron tapped into the dark forces of the universe, and found the gaze of the Destroyer fell upon him.

Unicron himself overwhelmed the Gladiator's true wishes, and began to seed the Decepticon faction with darkness. Seeing his own men reduced to bloodthirsty monsters opened his eyes to what they'd already become. Unwilling to see their people become slaves, Megatron called for a true between the Decepticons and Autobots. The deliberations mediated by Vector Prime himself, it ended with Megatron stripped of command and sentenced into exile.

He took the fall from grace with honor, and left Soundwave as leader in his place.

Today he lingers in exile as he wanders the fringe wilds of Fódlan. Unwilling to interfere in history anymore, but unable to keep himself away, Megatron has found his fate intertwined with a one Byleth Eisner. He watches her journey from the shadows, nudging her when necessary in the right direction; to become the hero he knows she can be. After all, it had taken a hero to defeat him once upon a time. Byleth will need to become a proper one to be what the world needs her to be, and the once and glorious King of Kaon will ensure it.

[kalahannikolai]

Oh good gosh, this is so pretty…

Dance with me my dear

[kalahannikolai]

My own personal rendition of Optimus Prime! A big chonky boi, with some rather unique aspects that surely mean nothing plot-wise. It was also one of the earliest designs I ever did. He looks mostly as good as he does because I used a picture of a figurine as both reference and design inspiration, and it was this bad boy right here.

Lore and backstory below!

In ages past, a young spark by the name of Orion Pax sought to be a force for good among his people. He began his journey by first being a librarian, learning within the great hall of Iacon. He knew he had much to learn about Cybertron's history and culture, and he wanted to know all that he could. The young bot could never explain it, but he had an insatiable urge to know all there was to know.

The prime in charge of Iacon, the ancient being known as Alpha Trio, carefully watched and shepherded the growth of this intriguing prospect. The wise and knowledgeable figure saw that there was more than met the eye with him. And so centuries passed under the prime's tutelage, but as he learned Orion only grew more distressed.

Countless millennia that were wrought with division, coercion, and strife. A caste system meant to oppress and control the population, corrupt primes that sought conquest across the stars. All of it was an affront to their history, to the core of who they were all meant to be. And when one of his dearest friends, Shadowmancer Prime who led the khadracons, took their people and left for freedom among the stars.

It wounded Orion to know end, for the khadracons were the descendants of Cybertron's first born children. They could claim the lineage of the ancient predacons. Now that they had gone, only what few of their numbers chose to let go of their khadracon insignias and remain behind would keep the memory alive. This devestation would only be felt by Orion Pax, and in secret by Alpha Trion.

Fury and injustice would draw Orion Pax out of the library of Iacon, where he would enlist as one of the peacekeepers of the planet. But unlike the others who only perpetuated Sentinel Prime's rhetoric and prejudices, Orion actually fought for peace. He fought for the actual inherent rights of their peoples, and this would lead him into a friendship with the bold Megatron who fought his way out of the gladiatorial pits.

They would share in a glorious friendship for many long years, until time would erode all things as it always does. Megatron would succumb to his hatred, and Orion would have to stop him. But he would not do so alone, as Alpha Trion would push him to find the Matrix of Leadership. A long lost relic belonging to an ancient prime from the first days, it would choose Orion as its new herald and he would become Optimus Prime

More a prime than there had been for millennia, Optimus Prime formed his autobot resistance and stood against Megatron's conquering decepticons. It would be a grueling Civil War, and one that would shake the foundations of the universe. As Unicron himself was poised to destroy everything they held dear, a truce would be forged as all of Cybertron's children banded together to defend it.

In the wake of this peace, Optimus gathered those who would follow and left to seek out Shadowmancer's footsteps. The khadracons would be found and reunions were had, but the peace Optimus had fought for would not last much longer. Not when the darkness hidden deep beneath Fódlan would soon dig its talons into everyone.

[kalahannikolai]

My own design for Arcee in my Cyber Emblem AU, inspired by Azula and vehicle loosely based on an ATV. I drew her specifically as a gift to Grey Delisle, who I had the pleasure of meeting at a con recently. I not only gave her a print of it to keep, but she noticed the Azula traits and I was super proud of myself, lol.

Lore and backstory below!

Arcee, the Flame Princess of the gladiatorial pits, was a fearsome sight to behold in Kaon. Too aggressive for diplomacy and artistry, but too small to be interred in the military, she was left on the streets. The little big sister of her brother, Megatron, she knew it was up to her to provide for them till he found his place in Cybertron's caste system. Arcee intended to fight to any length to ensure he could have a bright future, and so she would do so literally; as she would burn a path right through the Pits of Kaon.

Arcee earned quite the reputation and fame in the pits, but the double-edged sword found her trapped in them as well. The more popular she became, the more she would never be allowed to leave. The money she earned the Pit Lords was enticing and immense.

But Arcee would also find her spark broken, as her loyal brother followed in her smaller footsteps down into the pits. The place she'd hoped for him to find were sundered as he became a gladiator like her. The joy and pride he'd looked at her with sickened her, as Arcee realized he'd idolized her violence. Arcee was forced to watch her little brother wade into a sea of energon, that he himself forged with a ferocity he'd learned from her.

Thus it was when Megatron's ambitions led him to a bloodthirsty path of conquest, Arcee felt personally responsible.

When Optimus Prime made the call for a resistance to form against the tide of brutality, Arcee had been among the first to join him. He could see the similar spark in her optics that he'd seen in Megatron's, but moreover Optimus could see her regret. Arcee was welcomed with open arms, and the strength of her arm was soon tempered by a gentle compassion. She became a high-ranking officer and led many victories against the Decepticons. Even as Megatron was notably stricken at his sister's betrayal, neither sibling ever saw each other on the field of battle.

One could theorize that they chose to avoid one another entirely, unable to put their ideals above the life of their only family.

On the world where Fódlan was, Arcee found herself a veritable mercenary within the fields of Leicester. Fending off demonicons and protecting trade caravans, she was content to a peaceful life among the small, organic cyberkin. Or at least, she would if she couldn't see with her own optics the corruption brewing among the three countries...