An Unlikely Hope

Edit: Refined some details, especially for her hair and blade.

Well, here's July's submission for =Kanuka76's '09 Drowinside Calendar, which you may learn more about here: [link] & Bookings for it can be arranged here: [link] It's turning out to be a great one this year too.

And now for my usual chance to tell a story behind a work...


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The ability to listen; it was a gift Sirula had that kept her alive.

Truly, it had been a lifetime and more since she called the Underdark home. Doomed and forgotten now was her family name there, as the lofty position it once held in Lolth’s favour had been stripped of its power and simply left more dilapidated than a buckled skiff in a sea of endless storms.

Such reminded her of some harsh lessons that held her firmly by throat. Sometimes she fought and thought back on them and cursed the very nature of her kin that she was once no different from; knowing that only the truly cunning and deceitful survived. Unmerciful they were in silencing her existence beyond even hope of revenge. Yet when her world was collapsing, one soul stood strong against the severing of her life bonds...

Dysiren.

By then Sirula felt truly alone and finally afraid of all she considered her long known kin; save for him that oddly had all reason and more to despise her most and have the honour of driving a blade through her malignant heart first. Dysiren remained her champion, though. It was the first day of her life that Sirula understood that something inept and beyond drowish normality came between them: true compassion; although she soon cursed the nature of it too. It made her weak, which utterly had no real belonging among drowkind indeed.

Yet where she thought it would be her demise, it instead drove her back to her feet and offered one last hope of reprisal or maybe even redemption; whatever it may have been to her, Sirula’s path saw her by her champion as they cleaved their way out of the graves they were unwillingly given and saw them unsure beyond the dark.

Some say it was Sirula’s ability to listen that awarded her this fate. Although many in the Underdark believe that the two simply perished for their recklessness to survive, few argue that Sirula had found hope in the unlikeliest place and, like Dysiren, steadfastly guarded it from falling into the hands of her unchanged, murderous brethren.


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This is a continuation of the story from: [link] lol, and I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I drew that.

To be honest, though, I’m surprised that I managed to get this done in time. I had a lot of ideas for it floating about for the past few months, but this was really the only one I had enough zeal to go through with. Haha, and I tried to opt out as much darkness as possible, for my contribution in last year's calendar had too much. XD

As for what Sirula’s hope is? Read the story from the Discretion art first, then note her depiction in this, carefully.

Artwork/Sirula/Dysiren/Lore - © Kristopher P. Love