Souls of Jal'Vahrez

“What’s a soul worth?
Is it worth an answer to all the riddles the world has to offer? A knowledge of all things dead and alive?
Or is it the loved ones brought back from behind the veil? Safe from strife or famine, always happy by your side?
Or things material? A life full of pleasure and riches? Days spent carefree, with feasts and beautiful women or pots of gold and jewels?

For me, a soul’s worth is equal to a heart blackened with the vox itself, immortal, yet never free, corrupted to the core, and a mind twisted with the pleasure of violence yet never sated by its display, hungry for the spilled blood. A body caged, like a marionette in my hands, ready to answer every call or whisper, be it dawn or dusk.

One bloody blot will seal the trade,
Is it worth your soul?”

“Under the dome of Vaasthan sky
I now reject the rights to myself
and swear fealty to my new lord
- Jal'Vahrez -
for he shall fulfill the wish of mine
that is worth a soul.

I shall now become a vessel to his power
and swear to become a loyal subject
else the voxen claws will corrupt my body
and expose me to the eternal torment.

That is the price I chose to pay.”

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Months of work spent on this one, but it was used to learn rendering, handpainting textures, greyscale to color transition and many more skills. Details are over the top and absolutely unnecessary for the visual integrity, yet I felt like I should push them to the limits for the sake of learning. I'm pretty pleased with the effect but to be honest - absolutely tired of this image. Hope y'all like it!

Made for http://varyel.com