One of my favorite movies as a child was Disney's live-action The Three Musketeers. I loved the adventure, the characters, but most of all I loved the swords and the sword fighting.
The rapier is famous for a reason. It represents one of the final evolutions of the longsword before firearms completely dominated the battlefield. The basket hilt was also an incredible expression of the growing skill and craftsmanship of swordsmiths during that period.
Naturally, I wanted to combine a basket hilt with a longsword. I thought it would make a great visual representation of ancient High Elven society within the Oakenvale before the fall of the Sunless City.
The oak leaves, the bronze coloration of the blade, and the patina were all added to convey age and represent a sword of ancient descent. A Bronze Age blade would never realistically have been this long or featured such an intricate basket hilt, but these are the moments where fantasy gets to lean on magic. Perhaps there's some magical forging process involving a stronger alloy. In my setting, however, the blade is made from magically reinforced bronze.
I really love how the color scheme turned out on this one. I also experimented with a few lighting effects that I was really happy with.
With these illustrations, I always try to give myself a few creative constraints. Color, lighting, shape design, and storytelling were the primary goals I wanted to explore with this piece.
Vault Keeper. Some legends are better forgotten—but we do not forget.
Forged in the havoc of the Sunless City’s fall, this blade is the last of its kind, a part of a set lost to the ages. The ancient Hive Knights forged it to fend off the Flayed that threatened their home. Seven were made for the elven knights; only one remains.
This bronze blade, marked by bleeding green and wrapped in golden oak leaves, remains our leader, Šedrik’s, most prized possession.
Probably because he still remembers the fall of the Sunless…even though it was two thousand years ago.
