The Curse of Calydend
Some of us grow up wishing to be elves and hobbits traveling middle-earth in some bigger-than-life quest. Others grow up just simply wishing to be a certain way once they reach adulthood. Oftentimes our wishes for the future come to life the moment we close our eyes. In our dreams, and even our nightmares, our mind takes us to new places. New worlds. Whether they be completely unrecognizable, or just an alternate reality. Dreams are a gateway into the fantasies we create, and in this series I explored a fantasy world I created based around dreams and Nightmares. For this series, each of my pieces were black and white, with the exception of a single accent color. The pieces were all done on parchment paper that was 5 inches by 7 inches. I focused on the importance of line weight in these images. The pieces follow a story-line of the worlds history and act as an introduction to the tale of it's future. All the pieces are traditional artworks using micron pens, and light ink washes.
The Beginning of The EndCalydend had been plunged into a war-like state for as long as anyone could remember. All the races had believed themselves superior to the others, all that is except the extremely outnumbered humans. Children and grownups alike, awoke to find themselves trapped in a never ending nightmare. Their only solitude was the occasional slumber where they found they could escape their reality and enjoy life once more. Little did they know that their dreams would become reality as the war was abruptly ended in a mysterious manor. But even though the war would end, nightmares would continue to ravage the land in the curse that swept through Calydend.
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A Dream for AllOne fateful night, while many slept, a young girl walked through the field that separated the four biggest towns of the mainland. Pulling a compound from her pocket, she rested her palms before her. “May I dream a reality for all of this world,” breathed from her lips and her fingers curled around the compound. After a firm squeeze, the compound became mere dust. Releasing soft air from her lungs the dust blew into the breeze, and she slept.
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The WestThe spell the girl cast began to take an un-intended form as it carried through the land. It began to take a more menacing form as it traveled to the of the West. Out of the storm clouds creeping in formed a beast. This beast could take the form of the person one loved, and used that to break the hearts of the people of the West. Their dreams of love shattered, and became nothing more than nightmares of their heartache.
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The NorthWhat was once the peaceful town of the North became the town of Nightmares. Each night a beast would plague the members of the area with ghouls and monsters in their sleep. Some of them would never awaken from the darkness that now surrounded them. Others would only wake to hardships and hallucinations. A once glorious town crumbled to nothing more than frightful eyes.
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The Isle of Lost SoulsWith the curse consuming all of Calydend, The Isle of Lost Souls became forgotten. Inhabited by the spirits of the dead, they could only cry out in sorrow, longing to reconnect with their loved ones on the mainland. As the beasts began to take form, the souls started to slowly fade away. They wandered around aimlessly searching for anything to give them more time, but as the beasts began wreaking havoc the spirits wondered how much time they would have left.
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HopeThe curse consumed all of Calydend, leaving it's inhabitants to fend for themselves. As they struggled through their day to day lives, some of them found a form of peace in their new way of living, but others yearned for a way out. They searched the land and tried to fight the beasts lingering all around. However, the fate of the land known as Calydend didn't rest in the people that lived there. Their only hope, were a select few dreamers from another world.
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