transatlanticism

Title: Art for "Cry Havoc," a Paperlegends 2013 story by k_nightfox
Artist: altocello
Pairings/characters: Arthur/Merlin
Warnings: Art contains spoilers for the fic, some blood in one illustration, and depictions of slavery (Merlin is collared)
Medium: Chalk pastels, sepia ink, and pencil on toned paper and sketchbook paper, GIMP used to correct contrast, add my sig, and create a sepia tone effect.
Summary: Enslaved by Kanen since childhood, Merlin has been raised to believe his collar is all that keeps him in check. That it is the line between the beast that bites and the dog that obeys... and that either way, he's still an animal. Then one day Kanen's gang is ambushed and in the ensuing confusion, Merlin escapes and flees to Camelot where he attempts to start a new life. However, his old master isn’t about to let him go without a fight.

Notes, or my Thankful Section of Thankfulness: Once again, I have the village of fandom to thank for helping me get across the finish line on all of this. Of course, there would be no illustrations if there was no fic to illustrate, and I was absolutely blessed with a phenomenal writer and collaborator in k_nightfox; it was a joy to art for you, and I'd be very very happy to do so again! I also owe enormous thanks to amphigoury for the beta help; I can't say it enough, these would be so much the poorer without you! Amph also wins all the things for teaching me another amazing trick to use in GIMP. :D A special shout-out to alby_mangroves for the red blue-line that helped our Merlin be his properly lanky self, even when all folded up. More special thanks to deminos001 and her male friend of the gorgeous hands who came through for me with an amazing pose reference. And to all the folks in the mibbit #paperlegends chat, who held my hand through all my angst, woe, and ledges, cheered me on when my energy sagged, and were just there when I needed them, thank you for being such wonderful cheerleaders! *hugs* My village; I love you all so much!

And finally, I would like to thank the_muppet, yet again, for being the person that made all of this possible. It's my last chance to thank you for creating and maintaining a fest that has been the highlight of my fandom year, every year. And so, thank you for all your hard work and dedication, thank you for being welcoming and enabling and supportive. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Disclaimer: These are non-profit fanworks; no harm intended, no money made.

DO NOT REPOST ANY OF THESE WORKS WITHOUT *MY* EXPRESS PERMISSION. Linking to this post and/or reccing is perfectly wonderful, thank you.

Chapter Breaks

All of these are drawn with sepia ink on white sketchbook paper.

Bound
Which represents Merlin, and his enslavement while he's with "Papa."



Unfettered
Which also represents Merlin, but has an open clasp to represent his freedom from abuse while in Camelot.



Healer
Which represents Gaius as the physician with his innumerable vials of tinctures.



Arthur's Herbal
Which represents Arthur, who in this universe has Gaius as his tutor and is therefore somewhat learned in art of healing as well as that of fighting. One page has a drawing of yarrow (Achillea millefolium), which is also known (among many other things) as Devil's Nettle. The other drawing is tarragon (Artemisia dracunulus) which is also known as dragon wort or little dragon for the shape of it's roots, and while it's not techinically a medicinal herb, I couldn't resist.



Binding
The choice of what to inscribe on Merlin's collar was left to me. I chose to use Ogham, an ancient form of Irish writing, on the premise that the Druids were unlikely to use Norse runes like the Futhark. Each character represents a particular tree or plant, and each tree has certain associations. The binding itself is made out of his name, mindful of the old tales of binding magical beings by learning their true names. Kanen would have needed someone with magic to make this collar, and I figured a crooked Druid (who would also have known Merlin as Emrys) could have been involved. I ran into a snag when I discovered there is no Y in Ogham, so I improvised and substituted U. Interestingly that means that in each of his names, both his given name and his name of power, there is a rune for surrender or a binding element.

Muin (M)- vine; introspection, relaxation, depth
Edad (E)- poplar/aspen: victory, transformation, vision
Ruis (R)- elder: transition, evolution, continuation
Luis (L)- rowan: protection, expression, connection
Idad (I) is for Yew; transferrence, passage, illusion
Nion (N)- ash: connection, wisdom, surrender

Edad (E)- poplar/aspen: victory, transformation, vision
Muin (M)- vine; introspection, relaxation, depth
Ruis (R)- elder: transition, evolution, continuation
Úr: (U)- heather: earth, clay, soil, used as a substitute for the nonexistent Y in Ogham (for me, Merlin's elements have always been fire and air)
Sail (S)- willow- imagination, intuition, vision

Illustrations

Cry Havoc
"...and let slip the dogs of war" -Antony, Julius Caesar (3.1.274)

"...Papa twisted his fingers on the iron clasp of the collar round Merlin’s neck and hissed the command in Merlin’s ready ear.

“Get ‘em, boy.”

As the iron-studded circlet fell away from the flesh of his throat, Merlin surged forward with a growl and a snap of his teeth. There was shouting ahead. Merlin raised his hand, letting loose a bolt of raw energy."

Graphite pencil on white sketchbook paper, I used a sepia toned overlay layer in GIMP to get the color effect.



Caged
"...Merlin... brought the power he'd encapsulated from his core and forced it to manifest in the barren air until it seethed between his hands with all the intensity of a young star."

This was meant to capture the tension between Merlin's magical strength, his physical fragility, and emotional vulnerability.

Chalk pastels on 8.5x11 inch toned paper.



Caged (alternate, no blood version)
Marking Merlin up with the blood had me very nervous. I had just put a ridiculous amount of time and effort into this piece and was risking the possibility of ruining it with the bloodstains. So I took a good photograph of it before I drew in the blood just in case things didn't go well. I'm actually really happy with the way it turned out, but kept this version all the same. The light that afternoon was particularly warm and glorious, and it shows in the warmth of the colors in the photo. Digital contrast correction is a wonderful thing, but it will only do so much!



Enchanted
"The sun soared past its zenith and sank low in the sky but enchanted as he was, Merlin never even noticed.

The image of Merlin absolutely enthralled by the first book he had ever been permitted to "read" was too powerful to pass up. I was hoping to capture his delight and awe, and that feeling of the light washing over him. For those interesting in these things, the flowering herb described on these pages is the opium poppy, which has a distinctly different leaf than the more common european poppy made so infamous by Flander's fields and is still the source of morphine and all it's derivatives even today.

Also, I had a ridiculously good time with the wood grain in that table.

Sepia ink on 9x12 inch white sketchbook paper.



Please Let Me
"'Merlin, please. Please let me. I hate seeing that thing around your neck. I hate that you think you need to wear it. You don’t. You aren’t a slave; you aren’t a dog and I hate that anyone ever treated you as either.'

Merlin wanted so badly to believe him, wanted Arthur’s words to be true. Gaze flickering back and forth between pleading blue eyes and the sturdy wrist held steady in his hands, Merlin felt himself waver."

I wanted to catch that moment of vulnerability on this young Arthur's face, where he asks Merlin to believe in himself, to choose to free himself. I felt it was Arthur's vulnerability, his willingness to risk being rejected, that swayed Merlin's decision in the end.

Graphite pencil on sketchbook paper. I used a sepia toned overlay layer in GIMP to get the color effect.



Merlin's Choice
This is my Fin, my fade to black for this fic. The final motif, the thing that Merlin chooses for himself of his own free will.

Sepia ink on sketchbook paper.



Also on
AO3 | DW | DA


And read the fic with the art embedded at
AO3
Please take heed of the warnings listed, though; there are some heavy themes in this one!

Thank you so much for looking! Comments are adored!

DO NOT REPOST ANY OF THESE WORKS WITHOUT *MY* EXPRESS PERMISSION. Linking to this post and/or reccing is perfectly wonderful, thank you.