10 Years of Difference - Noble by Geckone

Here you can see 2017 (left) and 2007 (right) versions of one drawing. I decided to redraw my very old illustration which now looks godawful in comparison. Uuuugh. So yes... that's 10 years for me... with breaks. And maybe I would draw better now without all these hiatuses. At least I found a style of my own during that period.

Melt - Camping by Geckone

*Meltimer greets you with smile, rising his hand to the forehead as you approach the bonfire* After a break from drawing due to examining period and reports/projects handouts on university I came back to draw for you... and myself. So this is my "welcome back" drawing for my watchers and people waiting for their request to be finished. Now since I am back time to finish what I have started having plenty of time now... except I am still working... BUT... at least I don't have so much research & study time. In the end now I should speed up. Good to see you again.

Arc, the Candle Mage by Geckone

Arc has been cursed by a Great Witch when he was a child after wandering into her hut and stealing what he thought was sweets. What happened to end up in his hands was a magical candle, precious to the witch. Enraged woman cast a spell on Arc, but in her anger mistakes the curse and magical item merges with his body. He manages to escape the witch but his life is changed. From this moment boys live runs as long as the candle is alight, although at some point it will run out. Arc decides to learn Black Magic to reverse the spell and return to normal as he believes the same kind of sorcery will be able to lift the curse. Arc has a fiery character (Which could be related to the Magic Candle he is merged with), he is easy to anger and usually throws a tantrum often getting himself into trouble. He is a problematic person not willing to make a compromise. Only in a case where he will gain something, Arc can come to agreement although he usually tries to swindle the person he had a deal with at the end especially when a magic item or gold is involved. He likes to eat a lot, ordering a lot of food at taverns and inns or sometimes stealing the meals whenever he feels like paying or not. Arc got himself into a lot of trouble starting with the Witch who chases the boy to get her candle back. He is consequently attracting more attention on himself if not by a use of Black Magic which is banned in most realms then by petty crimes such as robbery, burglary and bullying. Sometimes he even resorts to kidnapping and extortion to lay his hands on more golden coins. But there is something in Arc that doesn't let him leave a person in need (At the end he will still take everything valuable from them if they have anything). He helps common folk whenever they are abused by nobles, militia who abuses their given power or rids of bandits if they get into his way. Arc is terrified of water, whichever it is a rain, river or any liquid that could make his flame extinguish. He will avoid such obstacles at all cost which might even slow down his journey and he will try to force someone else to fight a mage who uses Water based spells. Will Arc be able to return to normal? Can he discover the meaning of the Magic Candle? And can he escape the clutches of Grand Witch?

Philosopher, The First Illithinaarim by Geckone

Illithinaarim, the unholy experiment to cross Baatezu with Mind Flayer. These creature were brought to life by the Cult of the Weeping Crescent, a group formed by the fallen Solar, Akkarn who swore to destroy residents of Baator, Tanar'ri and servants of Ilsensine by any means necessary. These humanoids were born thanks to the powerful magic bestowed on cultist by Akkarn mixed with stolen hellish spells which were cast upon bodies of kidnapped representatives of Illithids and Baatezu. The effects were most impressive. The first Illithinaarim stood on the ground of the realm. The fallen Solar was so enthralled by the success he immediately ordered the cult to create at least hundreds of them. The first Illithinaarim exceeded the expectations of Akkarn in all, magic, melee combat and psionics. All of them were vastly improved in comparison to the original species. Some scholars believe it is due to their constant connection with hellish realms. But the Illithinarim felt part of it was amiss. After spending some time close to the Solar it figured out everyone called him by his name and the creature wondered why it doesn't have one and asked it's own creator. Akkarn dismissed the Illithinarim as it needed no name, it purpose was only to kill the enemies of Solar. The monster could not abandon the idea of having a name as it thought it will make it complete and created one on it's own. After a long meditation it named itself The Philosopher. Although it gained a name, Philosopher still was not satisfied as new questions began to sprout in it's mind. It went again to its creator to find answers, this time trying to convince Solar it should be called by its new name. Enraged Akkarn not only did not answer but attacked the creature almost killing it. He ordered Philosopher to be locked in prison until he realizes there is no purpose for it other than obeying its master. In few months new Illithinaarim were created by the Weeping Crescent totaling in number of six and they began their training. The First One haunted by the question about its purpose succumbed to the anger at its creator. He learned about the other of its kind and created a plan to gain freedom. Having time to discover itself he found a number of the feature its body and mind possessed. He spoke to his brethren through their minds and began to impregnate their thoughts with its ideas. The Philosopher was more experienced and it discovered more about itself and its consciousness than the other monsters. Soon they created The Council of the Awareness. The First One was released from the prison pretending it learned its place but all of the seven Illithinaarim approached Akkarn and sent his mind into the oblivion. Solar could not resist the collective power of all of his creations at once and lost his mind to insanity. He began to destroy everything around him in wild instinctive rage. The Council used their powers to create a cage of power to lock Akkarn inside while they will take their leave. The servants of the fallen Solar were at first shocked as their saw their lord act like a angry beast, some of them tried to stop him and died just before he was locked. The rest tried to oppose the Illithinaarim but they fell without being able to deliver a single blow as they fell victim to the mental attack of the collective. Soon after all the trace of The Philosopher and his brethren vanished and not a single person heard about them for centuries. Some adventurers claim they have seen creatures similar to Mind Flayers, much higher and with four arms somewhere in the Underdark, near the ruins of old Temple of Lolth. No one so far took them seriously believing they probably had hallucinations due to Illithids psionic powers, these creatures are infamous for. But seven of these monster dwell somewhere in the depths of the world, discovering the dark secrets of the world. Who knows what do they plan for the Forgotten Realms?

Mini Me - Chibi Geckone by Geckone

It's me - Geckone! Self portrait, chibi version! With addons!

Gloom Puppet by Geckone

In the middle of the night in the park with all the lights out, when you can hear the sorrowful noises coming from the place where the swing usually is the Gloom Puppet might spend its time. A cursed child who was murdered by a serial killer while running away from home now resides there appearing on the darkest of the nights. Will it bring you despair? Will you free it from the curse?

Dragonboy Chroma by Geckone

Chibi manga character design. Chromatic Dragon Chroma in his human form

Request: Kiko vs Mind Flayer by Geckone

Drawing requested by Includes his OC Kiko manwithoutwings19.deviantart.c… fighting against Illithid (Mind Flayer) from Dungeons and Dragons using a weapon created by requester (Rainbow Holy Sword): manwithoutwings19.deviantart.c… I have redesigned characters to my style and put them in this battle setting. I like how it turned out myself Hope you enjoy it I used this request as opportunity to check myself on full color drawing on whole battle scene. After drawing this I am considering making commissions after I finish my request list.

Meltimer The Mage by Geckone

OC contest entry Meltimer is a spell caster. He learns magic from scrolls which he either finds during his adventures, buy or share with other mages or memorizes them from books in the School of Magik. Meltimer is 6 foot tall human male. He has green eyes and long black hair, his short beard is also black. He is rather slim, leaning slightly towards fit build. Although his strength is lacking he is pretty agile, exceeding physically most of people who choose to become spell casters. He is a son of a ex-Fighter and owner of the Broken Cane Inn, Arlan the Scaleslayer and a traveling minster, Isela Serenechord. He also had two siblings, younger sister, an inspiring treasure hunter, Yena and younger brother, Arthon who died in an incident involving the Lord of the Scales, Darhamand, a demon who terrorized the Duchy of Poromia until he was slain by Arlan after his son was pierced by Dahamand's spear. He doesn't not specialize in any Magik, as he loves to have a variety of any school at his disposal, he believes in universality of spells and that any of the Art can be used with responsibility. Meltimer is calm, strong willed, intelligent and confident. He can find a solution for most of his problems even in the midst of a fight. He can keep his emotions in check so they will not affect his judgement. This mage is an adept spell caster constantly aiming to become better. He aims to become an Archmage and Master of Magik. He believes that if he achieves these titles he will be able to protect his family from any harm and won't lose anyone anymore. Sometimes Meltimer can become absent minded, especially when he conducts magical researches and gathering knowledge, he then becomes unaware of his surrounding and usually doesn't notice even the slightest movement. He also sometimes starts to daydream as he tries to figure out a burdensome problem or just to think about what can happen. Knowing this fact himself, Meltimer usually sets an Alarm spell in surrounding area to gather back his thought when someone with bad intent comes into the range of spell. Meltimer tends to overthink some of his problems which leads him into a lot of trouble. He admires Dragons for their majesty and especially likes colour blue. He likes to drink Dwarven Ale and exclusive kind of Elven wine, Niÿira Ada, his favourite meal is Roast Boar with Cave Potatoes served in the north provinces of Poromia where mountaineers and Dwarves lives together. He detests demons and their vile, treacherous ways. He is not a fan of Elvish meals as they consist of only plants. He avoids any drinks that were brewed by either Goblins, Ogres and Orcs as for human they are disgusting, especially Gragogh which tastes of a wet floor cleaning rag mixed with rotten meat. There is a story to tell about Meltimer but I will leave it for later. There are many adventures that needs to be written. Meltimer first came to life as a character for table top game Dungeons and Dragons when I played with my friends, later he was remade to be a in-game character for World of Warcraft. Now after years I decided to finally draw him as I would really like him to look as I gained the skills to properly present him to you.

Cronos, Lich Necromancer by Geckone

This story is based on the games me and my friends played. So this Cronos probably not appear in your universe. Many aspiring necromancers through the history claimed the name of Cronos. No one exactly knows if there were any connection between them or was it a tormented soul bound by the revenge on all living things which possessed numerous intelligent humanoids. One thing is known, these people shared a common goal, to become eternal ruler over the Fearun. Most of them have failed, died in various circumstances during their journey for power, but one have prevailed. Cronos of The Burning Throne, become the most powerful Lich of the Sword Coast and neighbourhood, while not directly ruling the region he acted from shadows as an adviser for Pretor, The Hand of Kossuth who claimed a fort located between Beregost and Candlekeep and a small settlement nearby. He is believed to be a Red Wizzard of Thay of human origin although people who know this either don't share this information or are dead. He is easy to anger and hold a grudge against people who have angered him until he personally deals with them or cause them misfortune through the intrigue using his networks. Lich is incredibly smart and charismatic even with his obvious intents he manages to persuade people to cooperate with him usually to betray them whenever he find more beneficial outcome. He is paranoid and believes everyone schemes behind his back which usually leads to attempted assassination of such person. He believes the best way to keep an eye on enemy is to keep them as close as possible thus he surrounds himself with other powerful characters as Pretor, Rotar, Karsak and others. If he knows everything about them he will be able to strike them before they will be able to take action. Currently it is unknown when Cronos became an undead but it is believed to happened before he met his comrades, Pretor, human cleric of Kossuth who wanted to give his Lord of Fire a burning world, Rotar, a powerful sorcerer who later became to be known as Rotar the Mad and 3 vampires (a Warrior, a Monk and a Rogue), whose names were forgotten. Cronos and his band travelled through the planes and ended up in the City of Doors where portals lead to every possible place in the universe. There, Lich managed to steal souls from citizens of the City through the use of Artifact which could siphon the life force out of the living beings and used it as a currency on the black market to obtain the powerful magical items he was interested in. Not long after the investigation ran by the City's militia and guards found out who is behind the murders and Cronos had to flee the city. With a huge amount of souls he gathered, Lich was able to hide from the guards and run to another plane with his party. One of the abandoned portals they found and used lead them to the small fort on the Material plane of Fearun and almost immediately together with now his vampires servants they massacred fort's crew together with the ruling lord after which they locked themselves in the fort for days, scouting the area at night and refurbishing the conquered building for their own purposes. Few weeks after villagers started to come to the fort gathering by the gates and seeking help from the old lord as their hamlet became an easy target to bandits after all guards were gone. At this time one of Cronos companion came to them and proclaimed the fort is now in hands of the church of Kossuth and by the gods will he was chosen to rule this land and its people promising they will rid of all of the problems they were plagued with. The villagers were at first reluctant to take these promises but after the night all the looters, thieves and bandits who settled in the village were gone without a trace. With this the folk was content thinking “if lord helps his people he’s a good lord”.

In the next months Cronos created few magical item who helped hide his identity, an amulet which made people perceive him as decrepit very old man, and a ring that hid his intentions from people who were a bit too curious. Also he made ring for the vampires which allowed them to walk in the light of sun for a short period of time. These months were also used for careful planning and assessing the situation, locating their potential enemies and temporary allies.

First bigger target of Cronos campaigning was Temple of Lathander in Beregost, The Song of the Morning as they were the biggest local threat to him and his vampire servants if they were to find a Lich was hiding in the nearby keep. Cronos choose the direct confrontation instead of scheming. He believed his power is enough to ruin the temple and he always had his three mighty servants. He also convinced Rotar to give him a hand with destroying the temple in return of favours and magic items.

They commenced the attack early in the morning, just before the sunrise. Acolytes were not expecting vampires to show at that time and they mistook them for travellers and they lead them to the temple. The protective magic was not enough to keep them  away as Cronos and Rotar helped them with many powerful spells. Inside the temple the vampires quickly noticed the most of the paladins and clerics were away and they attacked the Most Radiant of Lathander, Kelddath Ormlyr and after a vicious but  short fight man was decapitated and vampires emerged victorious. Lots of clerics and acolytes tried to run away but as they left the temple grounds they were caught in the Cronos’ trap. Using his necromantic assortment he cursed the area in front of gates so it will turn the runaways into zombies. All weaker Lathandrites were killed on the spot, others who were more resistant were reduced to ashes by Rotar’s spells. At the end they caused tremors to turn the temple to rubble and then Cronos desecrated the grounds around the shrine and the zombies were released to the town to wreck the havoc.

Many people have died at that day, some managed to run. Not only Cronos have benefited from it. Some of the trade moved to the hamlet below the Burning Throne keep and the settlement begin to prosper.

Few years later now town of Burning Throne was attacked by strange cultists who tried to force the townsfolk to worship their evil deity. This infuriated Pretor, who send the mercenaries who were stationing temporarily in the keep instead of guards to deal with the cultists. Although they killed most of them some were chased away and returned to town leading monsters and evil humanoids. Enraged cleric came out of the hold personally with his party and they have destroyed the raiders completely, taking numbers of them captive. After numerous tortures and experiments performed by Cronos and Pretor they discovered the location of cults temple and they organized a party to pay the cult back with a bit more.

The cult temple was a huge fortress and the “heroes” struggled a little before they found the mastermind in the Labyrinth of Mirrors. The leader of the cult was blessed with the power of his demonic lord and was sent reinforcements straight from the Abyss. The battle was long and the Cronos lost two of his vampires. One was turned into a statue of glass and shattered in the midst of the fight and another one was burnt to ashes. Despite that the party emerged victorious and looted the fortress of all gold and other possible valuable equipment. This threat was eliminated.

Not long after a mage came seeking Cronos guidance and asked to became his pupil. His name was Karsak and he was an expert of defensive magic. Cronos took him in under the promise Karsak will never attack his master. In years mage will become as powerful as Cronos although seeking a different way to prolong his life for his own merits.

After another few months the group received information about vast amount of treasures hidden somewhere in the mountains nearby. Piles of gold and numerous artefacts almost under their noses. Pretor and Cronos lead by their greed decided they will make an expedition to get all the gold and use it to increase the influence of Burning Throne in the region, although Cronos had something else in mind. Lich used his divining abilities to scout the area where the treasure is located and found “The Little Ray”, a playful Golden Dragon who loved pranks guarding his gold. Cronos decided to gather the group to discuss the situation and after exchanging their opinions about pros and cons of the expedition they decided they are powerful enough to rob the Dragon of the gold.

Spellcasters created a ring of teleportation and moved instantly into a cave previously scouted by the necromancer. As they appeared they were “welcomed warmly” by The Little Ray’s fire breath. It also appeared the Dragon was not alone, as they notice another bigger one in the cave behind. It was Ray’s partner dragoness who was also not happy about the intrusion of the evil band. The welcome didn’t last long as Cronos’s pupil Karsak summoned his Black Sword of Calamity and managed to slay The Little Ray with one blow of the inter-dimensional breach with a blessing of Lady Luck. The Dragon turned into greenish dust... Infuriated partner charged at the raiders and the battle began. A very hard battle against a Dragon where the luck seemed to ran out for both parties didn’t come out unscathed. Although Cronos group received only minor loses with few members collapsing no one was killed on this side of conflict. This event filled the coffers of Burning Throne group for a long time.

Years later, the Burning Throne town prospers. From a small hamlet it grew to large town with its own school of magic where Karsak resides as Archchancellor. The crime is minimal, which could be considered exotic under a rule of tyrant such as Pretor who now focuses on governing the area than spreading fire through the country as the Hand of Kossuth he became in past years. The Keep was rebuild to fortress and now hides a vast dungeon where Cronos resides focusing on his experiments, especially one which he considers his ace in a sleeve.

One faithful night a villager runs to the hill on which the keep stands and yells at the gate to guards as the enemy approaches. A whole battalion of Lathandrites with High Priest as its leader accompanied by two Master Paladins and 5 Solars. They demand unconditional surrender from the Pretor and release of the Cronos, a sorcerer and vampires who committed crime against the church of Lathander so they  can deliver justice for their evil acts. In response they have received few words from Pretor: “I do not pay attention to your demands. Go back to your temple and ask your ‘oh so enlightened god” to defecate on yourselves” and few orbs of fire from Rotar.

The church of Lathander then besieged the fortress and Pretor with Rotar showered their oppressors with a rain of fire after which the sorcerer transformed into a Golden Dragon and began attacking the besiegers from air. In the meantime Karsak delivered a message to his master in the Dungeons of the Burning Throne and Cronos demonstrated his finished secret weapon a Dracolich created from the remnants of both Golden Dragons they previously slain. A humongous monstrosity made of bones which came back to live to serve its master. With this the assault began as the creature took off to the skies to attack enemy from the flanks. This battle almost cost Rotar his life when he got struck down from the skies by the High Priest spells and swords of Solars although they did not kill him. They focused on the new enemy who appeared at the top of the gates amongst the guards, Karsak but he only seemed to stand there with his hands raised in the front of him, prepared for the enemy to attack. As the High Priest started his incantations they were quickly countered by Karsak’s counter magic and shortly after his equipment turned into dust after powerful magical energy electrified the air coming from the direction of the gates. This left Head of the church of Lathander in shock which turned into terror as he noticed the enormous silhouette above the city after one of his commanders pointed at the sky. It was Cronos with his creation. He landed on top of besiegers and emerged from the Dracolich insides showering enemies with destruction, he ordered his monster to deal with the Solars. The Lathandrites had no chances being attacked from both side by powerful mages and they called a retreat. It was too late for them, no one of the besiegers survived that night.

After this incident the Church of Lathander declared The Burning Throne as the enemy of all good and lawful and Cronos was named a most powerful Lich in that part of Sword Coast. Rest of the party were left with no additional charges as none of the witnesses survived that night and the clergy believed it was done by a single character and eventually his vampiric servants. Few years later Rotar was deemed as a madman and no further action was taken against him. Remaining vampire was never found or noticed again and his status remains unknown. Pretor still rules The Burning Throne where he ordered to build the greatest temple of Kossuth found in Fearun. Karsak, the Archmage, after long studies and discovering the book he previously found holds a secret of immortality transformed himself into Worm That Walks, retracted from teaching at school of magic and began wandering the Fearun in order to gather all the spells of epic potency he can, no one from the people he passed wanted to speak about that encounter or either they could speak no more.

As for Cronos. The vast amount of money and knowledge he possessed was not enough for him. , he craves for more. He found a way to become not only immortal but also almost indestructible. This wouldn’t be the end of his ambitions I tell you. He will one day try to reach for a domain of gods and knowing him he will probably get it. If not him there will be another one with the name of Cronos and as the history shown one will get there one day which is quite worrisome.

Hope you enjoyed the read. I am not the best writer if any.

Spawn of Krynos

Monster created to serve Krynos, wicked elven sorcerer who embraced the power of Chaos. Betrayed and lead his former companions to certain doom ultimately turning them into these beasts. These creatures are intelligent but lack ability to speak although they understand language of their former form. All of these creatures share one mind focused on kidnapping humanoid being and bringing them to their creator where they are turned into these monstrosities.

Could not save you

Everyone can love, everyone can loss someone, especially in a cruel world. In a future where world has been torn by the Last War, cyborgization is the only way to survive. Only strong can live freely. People of the flesh while still alive live in fear of cyborgs, gangs, mutants, rogue robots and degenerates. Although in this dark world love still exist. The feeling that binds two together despite the differences. But with love comes the suffering after a loss of the precious one. Agony and the blind rage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I must admit. This one was inspired by Battle Angel Alita and the cruel reality of post-apocalyptic world. Although I haven't read it in a while I do remember well the world and the story in the manga which is one of my favourites. Maybe I will read it again and enjoy the story and the art. I had to apply mature filter as one of characters is obviously dead with body in a very bad shape. Don't want kids to have nightmares. Enjoy this one for now.

Wonder of genetical nano-engineering: The Maggot

Theses creatures were engineered by the Redisk Conglomerate to oversee the factories and help with developing new technologies. In the future where morality was replaced with greed, Conglomerate's subject Biogen Laboratories devised a method to cultivate organism with help of nanobots. They started to engineer the organisms to grow to be compatible with mechanical and electronic components also increasing their brain capability. These creatures started as prototypes and test subjects in order to develop a way to lift humanity to another level of existence. Although by "humanity" the Conglomerate understood these who are worthy, born with power... themselves. Although the first attempts failed after few generations of test subjects small number shown a lot of promises in adaptability and the Project Bethel entered a new stage. Maggots as called by commoners, or Brains by the standards of Conglomerate are extremely weak creatures with no biological limbs. They are equipped with a pair of mechanical arms to perform simple manipulations (and mostly hold their Thoughts Bulb in cases of Alpha Brains). They posses no legs but are able to move around through levitation which they perform using their enhanced psychic abilities and 4 graviton amplifiers on their backs. Maggots can use simple telekinesis and are unable to defend themselves, although they usually work in high security areas or are accompanied by at least one cyborgized guard. Their bodies are small and resemble an overgrown worm or underdeveloped fetus with huge eyes and spiky teeth, a crack on their heads exposes large brain connected with Thought Bulb via wires and cables or SciEng Capacitor on their backs. Rarely an exceptional individual will be equipped with both of these devices. Brains are known to look down on humans and treat them as under-beings who are only made to be slaves of Conglomerate. They usually express their disgust with humans as much vocally as possible but only if they are in a presence of their guards. They known their services are required by Conglomerate and they often abuse their power especially if it can harm fully biological lifeforms. These creatures are cowards and will run away as soon as there is bigger commotion or they hear a louder noise. Maggot will only try to defend itself if there is nowhere to run although they can only exert enough telekinetic force to startle a cat or small dog, unless they will stop levitating which is very unlikely as they despise touching any surfaces with their bodies. Alpha Brains are more powerful and can actually lift a human and throw it a couple of meters away while maintaining their levitation level.

Merry XMAS from Geckone 

Remember! It is I who stole your presents! MWAHAHAHA! ಊ(╰◣▂ ◢╯)Ψ After SUPER failed attempt on drawing Aurora Borealis I coloured the sky black... all that survived is colourful stars and maybe some of it coming through the background. Remind me to not wear red with my red face like that. Anyway, enjoy your holiday!