Stoneskin King Garion














This year's Halloween project features an entirely new character that exists in the Summoner's world. Here's the Stoneskin King, Garion:



Just like all of the other entries, there's an accompanying lore post for Garion as well:

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After six long months, the Stoneskin King returned to the city of Irusekh and its people. While unwavering in his constitution, the leader of the Naetherspawn was haggard and weary. His detachment of twenty warriors returned with only three and all badly injured. After they had been taken to the royal palace at the heart of the city, Garion informed his advisors of what they had witnessed. The demons had begun organizing themselves into an army with a structure and zeal that had never been witnessed before. They appeared to be awaiting the return of Megiddo and had begun bolstering their numbers using arcane rituals and artifacts. The frequency of raids in the lower realm had been on the rise with many living in constant fear. Garion’s forces had encountered a raiding part near the eastern continent. The demons attacked with skills and weaponry beyond anything the Naetherspawn had seen. Even with their sharply forged battle disciplines, Garion’s detachment was overwhelmed and barely escaped the skirmish with their lives.

Shrugging off his own injuries, the Stoneskin King ordered his advisors to see to his wounded warriors and inform the families of those lost. He stood before the remaining council members in the palace and ordered them to prepare for the Rite of Awakening. If the war to decide the fate of the realm was quickly approaching, Irusekh would need to be prepared. It was time to awaken the demonic blade, Khelboros-Nil.
Finally, before Garion could retire to his chambers and rest, one of his advisors stepped forth to recount a recent story to the Naetherspawn ruler. One of the Skypiercer Knights’ greatest warriors, Thalgre had recently fallen in combat. Though his story was fragmented, the advisor recalled the presence of a foreigner in Irusekh that had slain Thalgre. Garion commanded his advisor to assemble any and all witnesses of the event for questioning. If this new entity also threatened the people of Irusekh, it would soon face the wrath of the Stoneskin King himself

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For the various stages of the construction for both Garion and Khelboros-Nil, check out the imgur album linked here. The WIP album contains shots of the sword not used in the video.

This particular entry was meant to introduce another character that will become important in the later chapters of the Summoner's story. As you can tell from the background lore and this post, Garion is from the same race as Thalgre, featured a few events ago. I like the idea of building a narrative with different characters that share similarities and differences in their background and motivation. While this project was a bit more straight-forward than previous years, I intend to work on some follow-on pieces in the coming months.

Stay tuned and Happy Halloween!

~Zan

Lore Post: Chronicles of the Stoneskin King














Hello,

This year's Halloween project is finished. I'm working on the showcase video for it which will be going live on 10/31. As a sort of intro to the project, I've prepared some lore which will establish the setting and character.

<Chronicles of the Stoneskin King>
The proud Naetherspawn inhabit the sprawing city of Irusekh high above the rest of the realm on the skypeak. Fairly secluded, they keep to themselves and rarely interact with the rest of the races. In order to prepare for conflict, the Naetherspawn constantly train and hone their abilities in combat. Those that have encountered their warriors have noted their exceptional battle prowess.

Over the many generations, the Legacy of the Cloudborne chronicles the rulers of the Naetherspawn kingdom. Highly decorated warriors and commanders that show unwavering loyalty their people compete for the throne and the right to lead Irusekh. The longest ruling leader in the legacy was the revered Garion. Named the “Stoneskin King”, Garion was one of the few of the royal line to have served in the frontlines of war. In the great Battle of Bloodspire, Garion led the Irusekh Skypiercer Knights against hordes of demons that threatened to breach the city’s gates. One of three great detachment commanders, Garion slew hundreds of demons and brought his entire battalion back without a single casualty. His skill and fierce devotion to his people earned the respect of even the governance council beneath the throne. When the time came for the throne to revolve to the next ruler, Garion ascended with little competition, officially adopting the title of Stoneskin King.
Garion ruled for many years with a stern but fair hand. He was beloved by his people and the Naetherspawn flourished. When rumblings of the demon lord, Megiddo’s forces reached the skypeak, Garion turned his watchful eye to the skirmishes happening far below the city. The encroaching forces of chaos in the realm concerned him since Irusekh had gone many years since an attack by hostile groups. Even the dragons which the Naetherspawn had a tentative alliance between had been strangely silent. Against the advice of his governance council, Garion decided to investigate the matter personally. He took a detachment of his most trusted warriors and departed the city. It has been three months since the investigation party embarked and Irusekh has heard not a word from its king…
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That's it for the intro lore post. See you on Halloween!

~Zan