Trepindian Forest God Court
So here is the second installment of my ancient "Holy Island" of Trepindia pairings of a "painting" visualization with a map. (The second was my Trepindian Sea God Hall at http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=887)
After leaving the Sea God Hall through a tunnel hidden behind a glowing waterfall, the intrepid adventurer will find himself under a long pavilion roof in a dark, tangled forest. The area is overgrown with trees, foliage, and brush, all enclosed by ancient stone walls rising some 50 or more feet from the ground. After some investigation, an ancient stone path can be found heading northwards--although to follow it one must work strenuously to cut a tunnel of sorts through the choked vegetation.
A keen eye can notice that although crowded together there is some semblance of design to the green: someone has pruned here, snipped there...and not in the distant past, either, but recently. It is like the work of a mad gardener...
After some work a courtyard can be reached: a circular clearing of stones upon which has been erected the sculpted form of a six armed figure--a cross between some sort of beast and man. Carved of petrified wood and adorned with silver axe and flora, the huge statue looks up into the reddening sky, the sun setting behind its back, over the Aenean Ocean.
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Just as in my last set of image & map I tried to play with back lighting in these visuals. I've found they have the advantage of ambiance--at the cost of detail. In the case of this current project I was more interested in the mood, so I was satisfied with this trade off. I did have some difficulty, though, of conveying the danger of the place, though. And it is dangerous, for the "gardeners" are actually a large clan of viscous simian worshipers of the ancient forest god who leap down at anyone chopping their precious trees. I found that pinks and oranges of a beautiful ocean sunset have a way of being, well, beautiful vs. foreboding. Oh well, at least a guy can die in a pretty landscape.
I hope you enjoy these. Take care!
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