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Description
"What do you mean, what am I? I am a man."

Donovan of the Elderwood was born to human parents in one of the myriad magical worlds on the other side of Shadow. From birth, it was apparent that he had been chosen by the Galadhras, the Green Goddess of nature. His body was graced with the features of a stag, one of the Goddess's sacred animals. Because of his differences, Donovan was cherished by those who loved Galadhras, but feared by those who did not understand her ways. As a youth, he spent countless hours and days exploring the depths of the Elderwood and learning the ways and rites of Galadhras. However, his divinely-granted longevity made it difficult for him to maintain friendships and connections. While he remained virtually unchanging, others were born, grew, aged, and died around him.

Eventually, Donovan's love of nature led him into conflict with various unnatural evils. One of the worst of these was Oghiran, a vile ice-elemental formed from the undying mind of a malevolent sorcerer. Oghiran proved to be quite a difficult foe for Donovan to defeat or even catch. The monster led him on a chase not only across his own world, but through many planes and worlds, until Donovan finally caught up to him in the interdimensional "city of doors" known as Sigil. Thinking he had finally caught the villain escaping through a portal to a known and familiar world, Donovan was greatly surprised to find himself emerging in another realm entirely.

Through a cosmic fluke (or perhaps the hand of Fate or the will of Galadhras), Donovan found himself in the snowy foothills of a mountain called Loon, pursuing Oghiran in a world utterly unfamiliar to either of them: ours. It was there on the slopes of Loon Mountain in New Hampshire that Donovan met the warrior elf-woman Tréan. Together, they cornered Oghiran and vanquished him.

With his quest completed, Donovan now had the far more daunting task of exploring and understanding the modern world. Needless to say, the van-ride back to Boston with Tréan and her friends was less than smooth. Soon though, Donovan became a part of Tréan's tight-knit circle of friends, and a slow but powerful romance began to bloom between the two.

Donovan went on to stand beside Tréan during the climactic battles of the Arcane Revolution in 2007, and was in fact responsible for comandeering a television camera and broadcast equipment with the help of the gnomish technomancer Gretchen Stone. Donovan's controversial but heartfelt televised speech was the first public address of the population at large by a denizen of Shadow, and helped save countless lives in the coming conflicts. After the Revolution, Donovan worked with Gretchen Stone to develop the first mass-produceable arcane engine for pollution free magical power. He and Tréan were married, and had two children of their own, in addition to her son Farael and the adopted dragon Svarignath, whom Donovan adopted as his own children.

Donovan's interests include veterinary therapy, woodworking and bonsai. He has produced a large collection of highly-prized furniture and wood sculpture, as well as founding the Elderwood School of Arcane Veterinary Science.

(Donovan is one of my favorite characters, and has jumped from a highschool-era storyline into a second incarnation with the Urban Arcana and Astral Arcana storyline I've been creating with Temiel. I'm sure she's relieved that his new incarnation no longer has a full elk head like some kind of elk-minotaur. This piece was done quite a while ago in pencil and pen, then recently colored digitally. I would like to thank `Princess-of-Shadows for the lovely background texture. I would also like to thank =temiel for her invaluable tips and tutoring regarding my photoshop technique.)

Description
"What do you mean, what am I? I am a man."

Donovan of the Elderwood was born to human parents in one of the myriad magical worlds on the other side of Shadow. From birth, it was apparent that he had been chosen by the Galadhras, the Green Goddess of nature. His body was graced with the features of a stag, one of the Goddess's sacred animals. Because of his differences, Donovan was cherished by those who loved Galadhras, but feared by those who did not understand her ways. As a youth, he spent countless hours and days exploring the depths of the Elderwood and learning the ways and rites of Galadhras. However, his divinely-granted longevity made it difficult for him to maintain friendships and connections. While he remained virtually unchanging, others were born, grew, aged, and died around him.

Eventually, Donovan's love of nature led him into conflict with various unnatural evils. One of the worst of these was Oghiran, a vile ice-elemental formed from the undying mind of a malevolent sorcerer. Oghiran proved to be quite a difficult foe for Donovan to defeat or even catch. The monster led him on a chase not only across his own world, but through many planes and worlds, until Donovan finally caught up to him in the interdimensional "city of doors" known as Sigil. Thinking he had finally caught the villain escaping through a portal to a known and familiar world, Donovan was greatly surprised to find himself emerging in another realm entirely.

Through a cosmic fluke (or perhaps the hand of Fate or the will of Galadhras), Donovan found himself in the snowy foothills of a mountain called Loon, pursuing Oghiran in a world utterly unfamiliar to either of them: ours. It was there on the slopes of Loon Mountain in New Hampshire that Donovan met the warrior elf-woman Tréan. Together, they cornered Oghiran and vanquished him.

With his quest completed, Donovan now had the far more daunting task of exploring and understanding the modern world. Needless to say, the van-ride back to Boston with Tréan and her friends was less than smooth. Soon though, Donovan became a part of Tréan's tight-knit circle of friends, and a slow but powerful romance began to bloom between the two.

Donovan went on to stand beside Tréan during the climactic battles of the Arcane Revolution in 2007, and was in fact responsible for comandeering a television camera and broadcast equipment with the help of the gnomish technomancer Gretchen Stone. Donovan's controversial but heartfelt televised speech was the first public address of the population at large by a denizen of Shadow, and helped save countless lives in the coming conflicts. After the Revolution, Donovan worked with Gretchen Stone to develop the first mass-produceable arcane engine for pollution free magical power. He and Tréan were married, and had two children of their own, in addition to her son Farael and the adopted dragon Svarignath, whom Donovan adopted as his own children.

Donovan's interests include veterinary therapy, woodworking and bonsai. He has produced a large collection of highly-prized furniture and wood sculpture, as well as founding the Elderwood School of Arcane Veterinary Science.

(Donovan is one of my favorite characters, and has jumped from a highschool-era storyline into a second incarnation with the Urban Arcana and Astral Arcana storyline I've been creating with Temiel. I'm sure she's relieved that his new incarnation no longer has a full elk head like some kind of elk-minotaur. This piece was done quite a while ago in pencil and pen, then recently colored digitally. I would like to thank `Princess-of-Shadows for the lovely background texture. I would also like to thank =temiel for her invaluable tips and tutoring regarding my photoshop technique.)