Captain of the Guard Rond Kelfem

And it is finally done... It took me time to complete, since I was studying and college takes most of my time.

Here is, Captain Trollo Douch- I mean, Captain Rond Kelfem of Winterhaven from our long - apparently never ending - D&D campaign. He is a cannon character who took shape under our evil DM's hands. He's Grey's superior, and his personal annoyance. Rumors speak of a possible relationship between the two that goes deep in their blood. Descendant from the nobles of the Nerath Empire, a farmer turned hero and legend, a dragonheart and entitled Knight Protector... etc etc... He has history.

I tend to be practical and in the sense of how the armor is made, it seems practical enough. Kelfem is a brawler, so protection, mobility and agility are key. Thus why, even if the armor is plate, it is reduced in carefully placed layers. Adding spikes to the huge shoulder pads came to mind, but I thought that, as Lawful Good, Kelfem would try not to kill just anyone with a tackle, as he would try to render them prone or the such, giving them a chance first while asking his target to surrender; unless he's angry - in that case, he'd go with the sword. Nevertheless, I was going for something that looks as intimidating as it would draw admiration from his peers, or hatred from his enemies.

As for the sword, I threw practicality out the window in favor of something that seemed like a heirloom; something of the ancient Nerath Empire that spoke of its greatest moments, while keeping the dogma that they usually held dear. I wanted something people would look at and recognize. The white blade would be a bane to undead and demons (radiant damage everywhere). I figured it is something that also spoke of the snowy parts his father was from, and the post he was to protect being Winterhaven. Many of the Knight Protectors that were posted there probably died while trying to save Nerath and what is now left of the Empire - organized at least - which is the Nentir Vale. The difficult part was actually coming out with it.

The sword can be made to glow to provide light and - sometimes - warmth. As the rest of his equipment, the sword has other qualities that Rond is still uncovering; secrets that died with his father. The sword itself is enchanted to weight little less than a longsword, and Kelfem is strong enough (so say his stats, that also show a -1 in Intelligence, lol) to carry something as heavy as that sword with ease, even if it wasn't enchanted. You can thank the draconic blood in him for that. The trick of it is the fact that the blade it's actually not that thick, cutting the air quite nicely and distributing the weight all over it to make it balanced - instead of the blade being too thick and having greater weight than the grip. Just in case, the sword has space for a two-handed grip, providing the attack with more precision and strength. And my dwarven side just sneaked out...

The symbols stand for The Silver Dragon and Pelor, some of the main gods of the old Nerath Empire - Bahamut of the Empire, Pelor of Winterhaven and other farming settlements of the Empire. The armor was also his father's as well as the cloak, the latter which is passed onto Grey. The runes on the sword are draconic, better developed in 4th edition and similar to the draconic used in Skyrim, lol. They mean: "Justice. Nobility. Protection. Honor" which is the dogma of Bahamut.

We based him on Sean Bean - essentially thinking of him climbing a mountain dressed as Boromir: epicness - and took our references from his acting in the Sharpe series, before he took the role of Ned Stark in Game of Thrones as Lord of Winter... fell. You can imagine the laughs. We needed someone epic enough to reflect the over powering character that is Kelfem in our little world. It took its own twist, but Sean was our foundation. We have a lot of respect for Mr. Bean and his acting... It reflects, doesn't it?

EDIT: I nearly forgot! I spent a while studying art, and I have to thank them for giving me the hints and tips that helped me finish this.

I also want to thank for guiding me to for her Gemstone Tutorial Still have a lot to go, but this tutorial helped me a lot. Thank you.

And of course, A SHOUT FOR THE HUNDREDS! You know who you are guys - and our evil evil evil DM for providing the inspiration with his tales. Thank you guys.

Materials:
- CS3

Related Art:
- Through my eyes - Xulgos' painting while being done by Gray.
- Behind the Mask - Drawing of the half drow when discovered in Winterhaven.
- Final Escape
- Shades of gray - Gray and Xulgos
- Your Wolfish Grin - A little inspiration from Skyrim
- Shade in the Shadows - A realistic twist of Grey.

You may not use this piece of art without permission. Ask first, please. Thank you.

Let me know what you think