Hello everyone! Today we are going to meet the first character from the Faction focus for April, which happens to be House Blackfury.
House Blackfury is a small, yet stalwart ally of the Brigade based in the far north. Their holdings in Eversong forest might be modest in size and their numbers might not be significant for any other larger power to take notice, but House Blackfury is strong. Lead by magister Ilandar Blackfury, a talented, albeit slightly eccentric researcher with knack for leadership, the house has been acting as a strong ally of the Brigade for several years now, since an alliance that was orchestrated by none other than countess Dorothee Vex.
Their military is an odd amalgamation of technological gadgets, element imbued bronze golems and a small group of house guards - scholars, retainers and several highly trained specialists. As one of the very few noble houses that retained the knowledge, expertise and means of training a handful of the famed elven Spellbreakers, house Blackfury has always been on the lookout for suitable individuals who excel both in melee combat and magical expertise. While only a small percentage of recruits manages to go through the daunting training and become full fledged Spellbreakers, those who do not pass this ordeal are not cast aside. On the contrary, these 'dropouts' form a core of the houseguard - the so called Arcane Protectors.
Despite not being able to fulfill their aspirations, they are still formidable warriors and their knowledge of magic, and ways to counter and resist it in most of its forms makes them a valuable asset. One of these Arcane Protectors is Civine Nightstar. Descendant of a long forgotten noble heritage, Civine has always been shunned by her peers during her studies. Something of an oddity, she always found fascination in things others found repulsive, and actively sought out knowledge and training in skills that were seen as unbecoming of a young elven noble. Her tastes in just about everything from food, fashion to relationships always raised more than a few eyebrows, and as a result she kept to herself and to spite those who shunned her, fully embraced the unusual and forbidden. Shaving her head and adorning her skin with tribal tattoos, she simply opted to withdraw from the company of others and keep to herself.
She found refuge in House Blackfury, as the small remote community was accustomed to the 'odd and unusual', thanks to magister Ilandar Blackfury himself. The lord of the house always promoted unusual solutions and relished in challenging traditions. Recognizing Civine's undeniable talent as both a fighter and magician, he invited the young recluse to train with the Spellbreaker students. Lacking the discipline, or perhaps the patience to pull through the training, Civine has in the end joined the ranks of the aforementioned Arcane Protectors.
Whew, I'm happy that I was finally able to put together a piece for the House Blackfury faction focus. Civine has been one of the most unusual characters I got to paint, and happens to be one of my most recent pieces. I have attempted to use several new ideas while working on this piece and kept to a newly reformed, fairly simple brush set. I hope you like the final outcome!
