HOME | DD

Description
Bound by chains that will not break
I strain and I struggle
Yet my strength they still take
I'm caught in the darkness
of pain and of fear
I'm lost to the world now
I'm lost to all here
Broken and bleeding
I cant turn around
I need to break free
but strength must be found
I fought for you then
and wounds pierce my soul
dragging me down
I cannot be whole
I lost you, I'm broken
It tears me apart
More than these wounds
it's broken my heart
Now mountains fall and rivers churn
yet the strength of this feeling
inside me still burns
I'd cross any ocean
and reach any star
Though bound I am, broken
Always I'll find you, no matter how far

Under a broken sky, a single creature stood consumed within the darkness. Wounds stretched across his frame, and beneath the cover of towering trees, he appeared hidden, half-starved and hunched over in exhaustion. Looking down upon the creature that night, one might have thought him weak, near death. Ragged feathers, deep wounds, any passing by would have thought him merely another defenceless shadow of an animal, soon to fade from this world as easily as the breath of the wind. Indeed, few would come close enough to see the fire of determination that still burned within his eyes.
For Vallath had fought a battle beneath those trees, turning the strength of his loyalty against their enemies. He was fierce and powerful in the defence of his home, and many fell in thir attempt to oppose him. Yet, as blood from both sides stained the night, Vallath the gryphon was finally overpowered. Separated from his tribe, he was chained to the ground, unable to move to free himself of his wretched bonds.
The steel was heavy and grated painfully against his wounded limbs, and he had little strength left to fight after what had happened that night. Time and again he struggled, but to no avail. Any other might have given up right there, surrendered to their fate and leaving their will to live. Yet not Vallath.
In the battle lost, his mate had been taken away, captured by the very ones that had chained him there. He had fought so hard, but in the end he could not protect what meant most to him. the anguish he felt at her loss was the greatest he had ever known, greater even that the wounds he had been dealt in battle, Now, as the stars shone down upon him, Vallath rose up against the glinting steel. Spreading his wings, he stood, straining his muscles and standing for the first time with a glitter of his old valour.
He had been broken once, forced to lose all that was dear to him. But never again. Ignoring the pain it caused, Vallath rose once more to struggle once again. He would find a wat to escape, find a way back to his mate, whatever the cost. A screech rose to his throat as he struggles, yet it was not out of pain or fear this time, but of determination. He would reach her, whatever the cost. He had been broken, but never defeated. Alone, Vallath would break his chains.

So this is the finished picture, the pose based off of the sketch I did here - [link] Finals are over today for me (finally), so I managed to get this posted within a decent amount of time. I had planned, when I first started making a picture of that sketch, to do it in color. I really wanted a dramatic sense of shading, however, which I find is better emphasized with graphite. Besides, I have been interested in the DA hosted kick your own @ss contest for quite a while, and I thought that this would be the perfect chance to redo an old picture. Actually, not that old a picture, it's only from about a year and a half ago, but the improvement I've made since then is pretty huge. Seriously, that old picture was . . . *shudders.* Okay, well, here's a link to it - [link] . I really enjoyed making this one, and it's always nice to see improvement in drawings like this. Hope you like this one!

Cookies for you if you managed to read that whole thing.

June 9 - 11, 2009 Mechanical pencil, charcoal, eraser, white charcoal, and black pen on bristol board

Description
Bound by chains that will not break
I strain and I struggle
Yet my strength they still take
I'm caught in the darkness
of pain and of fear
I'm lost to the world now
I'm lost to all here
Broken and bleeding
I cant turn around
I need to break free
but strength must be found
I fought for you then
and wounds pierce my soul
dragging me down
I cannot be whole
I lost you, I'm broken
It tears me apart
More than these wounds
it's broken my heart
Now mountains fall and rivers churn
yet the strength of this feeling
inside me still burns
I'd cross any ocean
and reach any star
Though bound I am, broken
Always I'll find you, no matter how far

Under a broken sky, a single creature stood consumed within the darkness. Wounds stretched across his frame, and beneath the cover of towering trees, he appeared hidden, half-starved and hunched over in exhaustion. Looking down upon the creature that night, one might have thought him weak, near death. Ragged feathers, deep wounds, any passing by would have thought him merely another defenceless shadow of an animal, soon to fade from this world as easily as the breath of the wind. Indeed, few would come close enough to see the fire of determination that still burned within his eyes.
For Vallath had fought a battle beneath those trees, turning the strength of his loyalty against their enemies. He was fierce and powerful in the defence of his home, and many fell in thir attempt to oppose him. Yet, as blood from both sides stained the night, Vallath the gryphon was finally overpowered. Separated from his tribe, he was chained to the ground, unable to move to free himself of his wretched bonds.
The steel was heavy and grated painfully against his wounded limbs, and he had little strength left to fight after what had happened that night. Time and again he struggled, but to no avail. Any other might have given up right there, surrendered to their fate and leaving their will to live. Yet not Vallath.
In the battle lost, his mate had been taken away, captured by the very ones that had chained him there. He had fought so hard, but in the end he could not protect what meant most to him. the anguish he felt at her loss was the greatest he had ever known, greater even that the wounds he had been dealt in battle, Now, as the stars shone down upon him, Vallath rose up against the glinting steel. Spreading his wings, he stood, straining his muscles and standing for the first time with a glitter of his old valour.
He had been broken once, forced to lose all that was dear to him. But never again. Ignoring the pain it caused, Vallath rose once more to struggle once again. He would find a wat to escape, find a way back to his mate, whatever the cost. A screech rose to his throat as he struggles, yet it was not out of pain or fear this time, but of determination. He would reach her, whatever the cost. He had been broken, but never defeated. Alone, Vallath would break his chains.

So this is the finished picture, the pose based off of the sketch I did here - [link] Finals are over today for me (finally), so I managed to get this posted within a decent amount of time. I had planned, when I first started making a picture of that sketch, to do it in color. I really wanted a dramatic sense of shading, however, which I find is better emphasized with graphite. Besides, I have been interested in the DA hosted kick your own @ss contest for quite a while, and I thought that this would be the perfect chance to redo an old picture. Actually, not that old a picture, it's only from about a year and a half ago, but the improvement I've made since then is pretty huge. Seriously, that old picture was . . . *shudders.* Okay, well, here's a link to it - [link] . I really enjoyed making this one, and it's always nice to see improvement in drawings like this. Hope you like this one!

Cookies for you if you managed to read that whole thing.

June 9 - 11, 2009 Mechanical pencil, charcoal, eraser, white charcoal, and black pen on bristol board