#xanthanel

[ashmcgivern]

That moment when you realize you've adopted a new son

In the days and weeks following an incident in which a group of celestials put a stop to a catastrophic ritual that could have threatened the Prime Material, Xanthanel was tasked with figuring out the details of what had occurred there. They had been slowly and gently interrogating Zerrias, one of the only survivors of the incident, a tiefling boy who they had rescued the day of after mistaking his aura for that of a true celestial. His family had played key roles in the ritual, before they were slain by Xanthanel themself. The act of performing the rituals themselves traumatized Zerrias, who eventually refused to participate in them. Feeling guilt for being the one who separated Zerrias from his family, Xan took it upon themself to work with the kid to not only pull what information they needed, but make sure he was settled in a safe space before he'd depart permanently.

Xan learned that Zerrias was a bright kid, liked to read, and had a good sense for right and wrong, but was shy and didn't talk much. Pulling information out of him without upsetting him took patience and care, but Xan had the time. He was guarded, and slow to trust, but once Xan proved that they were not a danger the kid was more willing to give up pieces of information in and amongst other conversation and activities. Over a period of time, Zerrias' personality began to shine through, and Xan found himself more and more invested with each trip they made.

Needless to say, there was no permanent departure.

[ashmcgivern]

Having a kid is a lot of work it turns out

[ashmcgivern]

Boy some stuff has happened to Zeal.

We were very stupid and made camp next to an Ancient Green Dragon lair, to make a very long story short. Xanthanel came and saved our asses because it WAS going to be a TPK otherwise. Xan came in and casted Enlarge on themselves (putting them at 18ft tall) so they could go toe to toe with this 30ft tall dragon - it was full on a KAIJU BATTLE.

We teleported away with a scroll we found and managed to also teleport Xan to us, after Zeal realized his magic wasn't working. They were unconscious (and the DM had ME ROLL THEIR DEATH SAVES) so our paladin put one of his last Lay On Hands into him to wake him up. Sooooo Xan took a long rest with us after that sdjkgfdgd they were super weak and Z was very panicky the whole time.

This has created some problems because Xan is meant to not be seen, and their actions has basically given some other entities permission to cross boundaries that were not meant to be crossed. I don't know for sure but I don't imagine Io/Tiamat/Bahamut are very happy about what's occurred. Lathander has given Z and Xan an ultimatum that if Z doesn't bring them the big magic item we're looking for, they're going to cut off the connection they have. STAKES

[ashmcgivern]

"Whats this?" "It allows you to call on me, and I can physically arrive. It's kind of like we fuse together for a little bit - but it'll bring my presence in your physical location." "Would it be a problem if I learned how to do this all the time? 'Cuz it's a lot... a lot a lot." "I would love to be there anytime."

Zeal got a spell scroll from Xan that allows him to call on Xan for help! It's a homebrew spell from a sourcebook my DM is writing, so I can't give the details away. But the long and short of it is Zeal exchanges having their powers melded into a really OP creature for a certain number of exhaustion levels equal to how long it sticks around. It's essentially a panic button. Zeal cant cast it quite yet but at our next level up he'll take it!

The DM had me describe what it looks like with Zeal and Xan combined into one and so you know I had to draw it. ;) Zeal's wings have turned white recently, but I thought I'd include how it looked when he first casted it (black) and how it'll eventually look (gold tipped)

[ashmcgivern]

Zeal had a very short telepathic conversation with Xan that felt like a phone call and I had to manifest that very specific energy.

Xan's been VERY busy doing, who knows what, for Lathander, and hasn't been able to sit down for a real chat with Zeal in a hot minute. Z had some questions before we went to the desert (which Xan lived a good chunk of his mortal life in) so we got a little check-in. There is a promise of a longer conversation later because, lots has happened and Z needs to run a full interrogation on things Xan has been more vague about.

Anyway life's hard when you're a higher celestial who doesn't need to sleep and has a v important job, coupled with having a son on an adventure you can't actively babysit.

[ashmcgivern]

RADIANCE

Xanthanel!!! In all their armored and ready to fight glory. They don't really fight often at all, they're much more of an investigative "look and observe" sort of person, but I wanted to draw them looking a bit intimidating for once. They're a CR21 creature after all.

Slowly sort of meandering my way through understanding how I want the gold on both Xan and Zeal look, which is a daunting task considering gold can be colored SO many ways. Xan's wings obviously aren't solid gold, but they sure as hell shine like they are. It's also a bit hard to tell here but their skin is an alabaster texture with a very subtle sort of goldish sheen, and their hair is meant to mimic bronze. Things I'm not super great at.

[ashmcgivern]

Zeal went and made himself an arcanely charged camera!

When he went to the fancy party they had cameras there for guests to use, and Zeal become obsessed. Cameras are expensive, and so Zeal figured he'd just make his own, using Arcana to substitute mechanical components he doesn't understand/have ready access to. The result is he has to use spell slots to create photographs, but now he can take selfies to his hearts content granted he has the slots for it.

He wanted a photo with Xan very badly, but since Xan really can't be known to the general public and is in the business of keeping secret, Zeal wasn't allowed to keep this photograph. It sits on Xan's desk at home though in a nice frame where they will promptly show it off to their coworkers and brag about how smart their son is for making his own camera. :]

The camera takes photos in sepia/gold (per Z's magic), but I had done the image in color originally, so ya'll can have it even if its non canon.

[ashmcgivern]

More Zeal sketches!  First is a pretty early iteration of his patron, Xanthanel. Turns out Solars are massive, so they should be about 9ft tall instead of whats here. Zeal stands at about 6ft.  Second is a joke I keep making based on this vine and I dunno it just tickles me jskdgfg. Third is a scene from an AL game that we played - Zeal’s nuclear family used to participate in fiendish rituals, so when they walked in on one and weren’t able to save the victim, Zeal was really distraught. 

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