Post by Asila on Jan 5, 2010 3:34:43 GMT -5
And so, we have a sketch of Molly's mother, followed by a written account of what little I know of her.
(For the full-size version; i47.tinypic.com/eg9dc.jpg )
So...this is merely a concept sketch. It began as one, and it now ends as one. Never mind that the concept changed quite a bit between beginning and end. It was supposed to be a slightly demented, mostly pretty picture of some random demoness...who would playfully tear the wing off of a pure white dove. I liked the way the blood streamed, like a string of sparkling rubies, in my head. The demoness in my vision didn't have actual wings because I thought it would a bit more interesting to have her clothing represent them. However, while I was working on my idea, the sketch morphed into Molly's mother. I might one day reuse the pose and outfit to complete my original vision and draw a separate, more character-suitable picture for Vivsyar, but that probably won't happen any time soon. I guess she'll just have to deal with a slightly too feminine outfit and a too playful pose. That's what she gets for possessing my picture. Just for the record, the half-face I drafted up for her in the corner of the page isn't entirely accurate since I had to squish it into that small space. I was just trying to work out exactly how I would draw her eyes if I were to draw a formal picture of her. But I didn't like how the eye looked alone, so I tried to draw in the rest of her face. It's a good start, though. Even if it isn't entirely accurate.
Now, as I've already given away, this is Vivsyar. (Pronounced Viv-see-air. Or Viv-Sear, if you say it fast.) Known to Molly's followers as his childhood tormentor, trainer, and mother. As far as demons go, she isn't particularly powerful. Her only supernatural abilities are her demon's intuition (she can sense the fears and weaknesses of most other beings with terrible precision) and her ability to adopt the humanoid form seen here (with some modification. She sometimes has the wings of her beast form, but most of the time she deems them useless and leaves them to the form that can make use of them.) When fighting, she is left to the devices of a clever mind, a fierce temperament, and what few advantages are offered her by her physical form. As a beast, she is feline in form and unfortunately long-limbed and slender. Spines compose her mane and the thick tuft at the end of her long, whip-like tail. She is only as large as a horse in this form. Her ears are very long, narrow, and taper delicately. She has wings, but they are too stiff by the spines that armor them for flight, and nowhere near large enough for such a feat even if this were not the case. The rest of the details remain to be worked out in an actual picture. (Drawing a mane that looks relatively feminine is going to be one of the trickier parts).
Her color scheme is traditional enough. The spines/hair are the iridescent black of an oil spill, just as the scales of her son are. Her skin is going to be a shade of red. I have yet to decide on an eye color for her. It is Molly's father who had the red eyes, not his demon mother.
Vivsyar lived a life flavored by fear and her relentless determination to subjugate all sources of that fear to her will. It's hardly surprising that she aspire to such ruthless goals when every day spent among Hell's denizens was a play for power and survival. Being physically inferior to many potential opponents, Vivsyar was born to eternal tension and careful desperation. She knew nothing else.
Until she met the father of her future son (who I have yet to name). I have yet to work out the details of how they met or why Vivsyar and Malevolos were destined to continue without him, but the powerful millenium dragon would have represented safety and security to Vivsyar, whose cleverness was seldom matched. She used what she sensed of his souls darkest uncertainties to soothe and charm him. They fell into some version of love, the demoness had his child, but the dragon disappeared. Vivsyar was left only with Malevolos, named for the legendary force of darkness. Her desire to secure her own safety among much stronger monsters in the bowels of hell drove her to inflicting harsh lessons on the young Molly the moment he could survive them.
And, crisis bless him, Malevolos gained a surprising degree of power very quickly. Like the Tigon, the cross between lion and tiger, it seemed he would grow stronger than either of his parents. True, that strength was beyond his easy control in the beginning, but she would fix that. She would provide the motivation he needed to become a useful warrior. Together, they would find a place for themselves in this tormented world.
Vivsyar hadn't expected her son to lash out so severely under the strain of 'training'. She had thought she knew enough of his weaknesses to keep him under her control. In this, she had miscalculated. All it took was a particularly ferocious challenge to lift her son to a height of power she hadn't thought he was capable of yet. He had been badly battered by the throng of demons she had manipulated into fury against him, only moments from defeat, when he transcended his own exhaustion and destroyed them all. Delighted laughter and a scathingly teasing comment from Vivsyar turned that desperate rage against her. With a feral grin, she met his attack. She didn't walk away from it.
***
That's all I've got. The details are vague because I haven't worked through them. I have yet to decide if Vivsyar is dead as Molly believes she is or if she managed to survive. The little monster was certainly clever enough to pull of such a feat if anyone could. I'll choose whichever outcome proves most interesting without being impractical.
(For the full-size version; i47.tinypic.com/eg9dc.jpg )
So...this is merely a concept sketch. It began as one, and it now ends as one. Never mind that the concept changed quite a bit between beginning and end. It was supposed to be a slightly demented, mostly pretty picture of some random demoness...who would playfully tear the wing off of a pure white dove. I liked the way the blood streamed, like a string of sparkling rubies, in my head. The demoness in my vision didn't have actual wings because I thought it would a bit more interesting to have her clothing represent them. However, while I was working on my idea, the sketch morphed into Molly's mother. I might one day reuse the pose and outfit to complete my original vision and draw a separate, more character-suitable picture for Vivsyar, but that probably won't happen any time soon. I guess she'll just have to deal with a slightly too feminine outfit and a too playful pose. That's what she gets for possessing my picture. Just for the record, the half-face I drafted up for her in the corner of the page isn't entirely accurate since I had to squish it into that small space. I was just trying to work out exactly how I would draw her eyes if I were to draw a formal picture of her. But I didn't like how the eye looked alone, so I tried to draw in the rest of her face. It's a good start, though. Even if it isn't entirely accurate.
Now, as I've already given away, this is Vivsyar. (Pronounced Viv-see-air. Or Viv-Sear, if you say it fast.) Known to Molly's followers as his childhood tormentor, trainer, and mother. As far as demons go, she isn't particularly powerful. Her only supernatural abilities are her demon's intuition (she can sense the fears and weaknesses of most other beings with terrible precision) and her ability to adopt the humanoid form seen here (with some modification. She sometimes has the wings of her beast form, but most of the time she deems them useless and leaves them to the form that can make use of them.) When fighting, she is left to the devices of a clever mind, a fierce temperament, and what few advantages are offered her by her physical form. As a beast, she is feline in form and unfortunately long-limbed and slender. Spines compose her mane and the thick tuft at the end of her long, whip-like tail. She is only as large as a horse in this form. Her ears are very long, narrow, and taper delicately. She has wings, but they are too stiff by the spines that armor them for flight, and nowhere near large enough for such a feat even if this were not the case. The rest of the details remain to be worked out in an actual picture. (Drawing a mane that looks relatively feminine is going to be one of the trickier parts).
Her color scheme is traditional enough. The spines/hair are the iridescent black of an oil spill, just as the scales of her son are. Her skin is going to be a shade of red. I have yet to decide on an eye color for her. It is Molly's father who had the red eyes, not his demon mother.
Vivsyar lived a life flavored by fear and her relentless determination to subjugate all sources of that fear to her will. It's hardly surprising that she aspire to such ruthless goals when every day spent among Hell's denizens was a play for power and survival. Being physically inferior to many potential opponents, Vivsyar was born to eternal tension and careful desperation. She knew nothing else.
Until she met the father of her future son (who I have yet to name). I have yet to work out the details of how they met or why Vivsyar and Malevolos were destined to continue without him, but the powerful millenium dragon would have represented safety and security to Vivsyar, whose cleverness was seldom matched. She used what she sensed of his souls darkest uncertainties to soothe and charm him. They fell into some version of love, the demoness had his child, but the dragon disappeared. Vivsyar was left only with Malevolos, named for the legendary force of darkness. Her desire to secure her own safety among much stronger monsters in the bowels of hell drove her to inflicting harsh lessons on the young Molly the moment he could survive them.
And, crisis bless him, Malevolos gained a surprising degree of power very quickly. Like the Tigon, the cross between lion and tiger, it seemed he would grow stronger than either of his parents. True, that strength was beyond his easy control in the beginning, but she would fix that. She would provide the motivation he needed to become a useful warrior. Together, they would find a place for themselves in this tormented world.
Vivsyar hadn't expected her son to lash out so severely under the strain of 'training'. She had thought she knew enough of his weaknesses to keep him under her control. In this, she had miscalculated. All it took was a particularly ferocious challenge to lift her son to a height of power she hadn't thought he was capable of yet. He had been badly battered by the throng of demons she had manipulated into fury against him, only moments from defeat, when he transcended his own exhaustion and destroyed them all. Delighted laughter and a scathingly teasing comment from Vivsyar turned that desperate rage against her. With a feral grin, she met his attack. She didn't walk away from it.
***
That's all I've got. The details are vague because I haven't worked through them. I have yet to decide if Vivsyar is dead as Molly believes she is or if she managed to survive. The little monster was certainly clever enough to pull of such a feat if anyone could. I'll choose whichever outcome proves most interesting without being impractical.
