Andraste's Chant

This is my illustration for Heretherebdragon's story, "Spirits," for the Dragon Age Big Bang. In the story, Andraste is a mage who draws power from a lyrium sword - story is here, please check it out, it is beautifully written.

I designed Andraste's clothes as if her wardrobe were the inspiration for both mage and templar uniforms, so she's wearing fur pauldrons, but also a templar-style skirt. She was a Fereldan warlord's wife, so I tried to make her look a little barbarian with the cuffs and leather bodice, but also bridal, with the white and gold elements.

The passages from the Chant about Maleficars form the background, because irony, and I used the Chantry symbol as a frame behind her raised hand, to imply that the Chantry symbol is, secretly, her magic (there's some Da Vinci Code stuff for you right there)

Andraste, and all of the fantastic Dragon Age lore, belong to Bioware. Textures used: leather, metal, linen, and a princess-of-shadows grunge texture.