Celticwolfwalker.deviantart.com – Graphic Novel review by ROz

Celticwolfwalker

 

I say graphic novel review, but this is a little different.  Not only does she write incredibly vivid fan fiction for MMO games, but she’s an extremely talented artist as well.

(PROPERTY OF CELTICWOLFWALKER.DEVIANTART.COM)

Celticwolfwalker has been on deviantart.com for over 8 years now and has been, in my opinion, one of the most prolific 3D poser artists/writers to come out of the website.  What I’ve personally read and loved by her is the fan fiction she puts out for Dragon Age II.  I’ve played all the DA games, and like a lot of the fans, enjoyed the romances you can cultivate and explore in the series.  One in particular is a series called ‘Abandon‘ with the female Hawke main character and templar knight-captain Cullen.

This is action mixed in with quite a bit of evolving romance between two characters who, in the game lore, should be at odds.  The Mage versus the Templar.  If you’re not familiar with the game, the Templars are the Mage’s domineering prison guards.  Mages are locked down within something called ‘The Circle’ where they are kept subjugated so their incredible magical powers cannot wreck havoc on the non-magical populace.  Mages can be tempted by demons and could ultimately be turned into abominations, but that’s where the Templars come in.  They are the keepers, but of course no relationship born out of oppression is usually not a good one.

There is an almost immediate attraction between the apostate (mage outside the Circle influence) and the Knight-Captain.  During a mission, the two are stranded on the outskirts of Kirkwall, the massive city within the game.  Together they make their way back to civilization with only each other to rely on to survive.  You can guess where it goes from there, but this isn’t your standard at-odds romance.  Celticwolfwalker manages to weave a telling story, with outstanding dialogue, all the while staying within the actual timeline of the game.  Beautiful description of the lush and vivid world and a compelling romance that is believable.  Plus the characters are developed far beyond what you get in the game, really fleshing out the series and opening you up to not only wanting to play the game, again, but reread the entire thing.  I’ve read it several times and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Along with the story are artistic pieces portraying moments in time for Cullen and Hawke.  Extremely well done, each piece capturing the thrill you experience reading the story…and that takes some serious skill.  I’ve dabbled with 3D programs and it is no joke – it’s easy to render a scene, but it’s extremely difficult to get the realism that Celticwolfwalker achieves.  It’s not just posing barbies and many many hours goes into just prepping the scene, even more rendering in some cases.

Give Celticwolfwalker a look-see.  Not only does she write fan fiction for Dragon Age, but for Mass Effect and Skyrim.  You’ll enjoy her sense of adventure, touch of class, and incredible artwork.  Find her on deviantart.com and tell her Rozbeans sent you.

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