The next entry in this chapter of the Faceless Summoner's story is the fiery god, Kulradon.
Here is Kulradon's lore:
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Back at
the nexus of halls in the temple, we stood before the crimson-sealed gate. Once
more, the “eyes” on Ardelrius’ staff began to resonate with the runic marks,
opening the way ahead. This time we began to ascend, traveling up a winding
staircase. The air began to thin and I could feel the temperature rising as we
climbed. In minutes the dry heat became a sweltering wall that seemed to
physically push my body back.
At the
top of the staircase was another sealed gate with the same crimson symbol.
Ardelrius dispelled the barrier and the gates opened. What stretched ahead was
a gigantic open room that stood before us. The walls were covered in a thick
jagged rock that resonated with the same oppressive heat. Bright orange trails
of what appeared to be molten rock slowly ran from cracks along the rocky
surface, pooling at the bottom of the room and forming a miniature lake.
Numerous solidified pillars of stone dotted the floor of the room. Ardelrius
ordered me to stand at the gate and then leapt down onto the nearest pillar.
A huge
flare of searing fire cut through the lava around the pillar, parting around a
form that emerged. Standing before Ardelrius was a towering creature whose body
was made of sharp rocky armored plates. Numerous lighter crystals were embedded
in its face and skin, glinting with light. With a deep snarl of a voice, the
monster spoke to Ardelrius, introducing itself as Kulradon, the volcanic
fissure god. Instead of repeating the same words of the supposed trial, Kulradon
immediately rushed into attack the Summoner.
Moving
with great speed for such a monstrous beast, Kulradon strode through rivers of
molten rock, slashing the pillar apart with its claws. Ardelrius leapt back to
one of the smaller islands, slowing its descent with an incantation from the
tree-like staff. Kulradon summoned rows of burning stone blades that speared up
around Ardelrius. I watched my companion dodge the attacks before a stray blade
cut through its arm. This momentarily halted Ardelrius’ movement but didn’t
topple the Faceless Summoner. Thrusting the end of the tree-like staff into the
lava, Ardelrius called forth a powerful wave of what looked like black ice. The
glistening onyx prisms split the lava apart and deflected the blades of Kulradon.
I recognized these objects from Ardelrius’ fight with the fearsome Sealed One
in the temple. The assault pushed Kulradon towards the back of the room and
sealed its movement by encasing both its feet in ice. Ardelrius sprinted forth
and struck out with the end of its staff which had also been covered in the
same crystalline ice. The finishing blow cleaved through Kulradon’s body,
knocking the fire god over and shaking the room.
As the
wounded creature collapsed, the rivers of molten rock began to slow, hardening
into dark crimson throughout the chamber. Kulradon bent forward, the light of
its numerous crystals dimming. It proclaimed Ardelrius’ victory before becoming
still. My companion turned from the great statue of the defeated god and walked
towards the entry of the room. We had now completed three trials. One more
remains. What will the final test be and which terrifying god awaited? While we
proceeded back to the main crossroads, many questions race through my mind.
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Kulradon's mask started with a bit more of a concept than Ferroq's. I had a rough design sketched out and I knew I wanted to go for a molten theme with horns. The mandible extensions around its mouth seemed to work well with the lighter clay fangs. I blended the reds and lighter brown shades and then went back with the darker reds to highlight the mouth and fangs. The blackwashing helped bring the colors out with some shadows.
I drew Kulradon's emblem on one of the more recent Twitch streams. The main focus of its emblem was the dark molten scheme with sharp edges. I imagine Kulradon would be a large bipedal creature so I went with that for the pose.
Stay tuned for the next entry!
~Zan
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| Front/side view |
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| Kulradon's Emblem |
Stay tuned for the next entry!
~Zan