Chapter Thirteen Page 16
posted 26th Nov 2018, 2:30 AM
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26th Nov 2018, 2:30 AM
Saeriellyn
You all will never know what obstacles I overcame to get this page finished FINALLY. I sincerely hope there will be no such gaps in the future, though I cannot promise it.
If I were Kilhuch I would have serious second thoughts about marrying anyone sharing this guy's genes, but love does weird things to people.
Mabinogion FTW!!
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user comments
26th Nov 2018, 3:09 AM
joeyballast
I'm not surprised this page took you a while. That is a beautiful page of illuminated manuscript!
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26th Nov 2018, 3:15 AM
Saeriellyn
It did indeed take a long time and several versions, though truth in advertising bids me admit that a good bit of the scrollwork is cut and pasted from an actual medieval MS. Still, if it's not obvious what's mine and what's not, I succeeded in that aspect at least.
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26th Nov 2018, 9:08 PM
Heart of the Heroes, Ride (Guest)
Monstrous in-laws who hate you but whose progeny is very much worth marrying certainly do seem to be a Thing in folklore. Pretty on-the-nose, really. Bruno Bettelheim would probably just look silly if he bothered explaining it.
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26th Nov 2018, 9:46 PM
Rob S. (Guest)
Wow, that's simply gorgeous! Worth the wait!
Although putting out a fire with a sword? Well, I guess when all you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail.
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26th Nov 2018, 9:51 PM
Saeriellyn
It would not have been my first thought either, but then I am not accustomed to carrying a sword. Perhaps one finds many unexpected uses for them when their presence is so perpetual and imperative!
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27th Nov 2018, 1:44 AM
Nano1 (Guest)
This page is AMAZING. I love illumnated manuscripts and did not expect you to go this way for the myth. It looks like a page from the Book of Three itself! Thank you for taking the time on it!
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27th Nov 2018, 2:56 PM
Saeriellyn
I wanted to do something very different for this portion - as it's the only likely opportunity to do so! And this seemed an appropriate medium. :) Good thing it's not all like this thought. I'd never finish!
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27th Nov 2018, 1:53 AM
Odd May
Ugh it's sooooo pretty! I love the gold; the gold is my favorite part of those old manuscripts. It's amazing how you've made this page look like it's old and slightly decaying. Beautiful!
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27th Nov 2018, 2:58 PM
Saeriellyn
It's really neat, the gold shimmer. I was surprised at how well that worked, how much it does really look like gold leaf! I can't take credit for all that scrollwork as some of it was lifted directly from an actual medieval MS, but I did do about half of it so I consider it an accomplishment.
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27th Nov 2018, 2:40 PM
LMS (Guest)
And once upon a time, before the invention of the printing press, there were people who did this all day long. Beautiful. I don't suppose it's coincidence that in Taran's imagination, Gwythyr looks a bit like him and fair Olwen looks something like Eilonwy?
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27th Nov 2018, 3:02 PM
Saeriellyn
Ha! The monks can have it. I can't imagine spending decades on this stuff - and without the benefit of technology. There are a few pages out there where the illuminator actually wrote sarcastic things or doodled in the margins - that would have been me, always in trouble.
Olwen's appearance is drawn directly from her description in the Mabinogi; Gwythyr wasn't given any, so I just used a sort of generic "guy" shape and look spawned from poring over medieval illustrations. It did occur to me they look rather similar to T & E, so maybe it's my own subconscious ideas popping up as much as Taran's!
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28th Nov 2018, 3:26 AM
CA (Guest)
Wow, this is amazing! You've taken a very small part of the text that most people probably zip through and turned it into a fantastic illustration that looks so very authentic. It made me pull out my copy of BoT and reread this section, and I realize that this tale really does speak to many of the greater themes of the series like friendship working together (and is probably illustrated in Taran's overall character arc), so it's awesome that you gave it such care here.
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28th Nov 2018, 6:40 PM
Saeriellyn
It's very much a metaphor for Taran's relationship with Gurgi, I think - along with other various secondary characters in the Chronicles who seem insignificant but always have some crucial role to play - good or bad. That's one of Alexander's favorite tropes, so I thought it deserved attention.
Also it's straight from the Mabinogi. I wasn't going to lose my chance to illustrate that!
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29th Nov 2018, 1:30 AM
Skyboy91
Only problem is - how could such a goon have such a lovely daughter? I agree Kilhuch had better look out lest fair Olwen start sprouting some of those hairs...
Beautiful page! I definitely didn't see that coming but it's such an artful addition.
Also a couple of questions- is the giant bleeding from his eye and his leg? And why is a crutch sticking into his other eye?
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30th Nov 2018, 4:31 PM
ORGESON (Guest)
"Dad... Ive just been wondering... did you... well, am I... I mean... am I adopted?"
"WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT!!!???"
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30th Nov 2018, 4:33 PM
OGRESON (Guest)
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30th Nov 2018, 7:46 PM
Saeriellyn
Well with a name like that no wonder there are some questions about parentage.
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29th Nov 2018, 5:36 AM
CM (Guest)
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30th Nov 2018, 1:41 AM
Skyboy91
OK I looked up some of the lore on Yspaddaden, apparently his eyelids were so massive he had to prop them up with a forked stick. Unusual guy.
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30th Nov 2018, 1:43 AM
Saeriellyn
A detail which I included, you may have noticed. Along with the wounds from being hit with a spear three times while negotiating with Kilhuch!
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30th Nov 2018, 6:47 PM
Honzinator (Guest)
I love your explanation of the blood pouring from his unpropped, injured left eyelid.
Also, I love glossations. They can be very helpful - even in used textbooks, though today those glossations aren't nearly as nicely done.
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5th Dec 2018, 3:04 PM
Derek Benson (Guest)
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13th Dec 2018, 2:29 AM
Archangel Daniel
OK, I simply have to praise the effort put into this page. This is amazing!
And it was posted on my birthday!
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13th Dec 2018, 2:38 AM
Guest
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20th Apr 2019, 3:21 PM
Arianllyn
I just...this page is everything and more. I did not think my history/literature nerd self could be any more satisfied, but you designing an illuminated manuscript page is just too much. A thousand praises is not enough!
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8th Feb 2020, 3:15 AM
That Dave Guy (Guest)
Ooh! I played Sir Unpronounceable in a larp once! We totally went on a quest to gather enough magical weapons and aid to defeat the giant guy! And then Olwen (another player) had to fight Cuchulainn in a duel, so I gave her my favor, in a scandalous reverse of knightly custom! And of course she won because she was secretly the badass who had trained Cuchulainn in the first place. We were gonna get married but then we failed to stop the Elf King's plan to bring down the barrier between faerie and the mortal realm =\ But it was super fun!
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8th Feb 2020, 1:03 PM
Saeriellyn
Frankly this sounds like a better story than the original, which spends about five pages listing every name of Arthur's men-at-arms in an endless procession that puts Bible genealogies to shame.
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