Hello, everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful day.
This was my first attempt at making a visual for my current worldbuilding project Hiraeth; a Game of Thrones inspired take on the Arthurian cycles and Celtic folklore. Pictured above is Uther Pendragon, the current High King of Britannia. I’m hoping to get better at character design by incorporating it into my project as it develops, developing my skills with the medium so that I can put purpose behind my worldbuilding beyond just doing it for the sake of it.
Disclaimer for the lore: Real history is an inspiration for this project, but not the rule. Any historical details I get wrong are because I’m not a historian, and the 5th century is surprisingly hard to find accurate information on. So if you see a glaring error feel free to point it out, but know that historical accuracy was not the goal.
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Lore:
After Rome pulled the last of its soldiers out of Britannia, society on the island began to return to an echo of the way it had before the arrival of the empire. Kingdoms formed around the once abandoned hill fortresses, leaving the Roman ruled cities as ghost towns on the fringes of civilization. Despite the many conflicts both foreign and domestic, one man came to rule these many tribal Romano-Briton kingdoms through diplomatic and martial prowess; Constans.
When Constans’ advisor—Vortigern the Betrayer—took the throne with the aid of the eastern Anglo-Saxon invaders, his younger brothers Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther flee the Frankish Kingdom. While safe in mainland Europe, the alliance of Vortigern fractures and the previous state of war returns, leaving the island in chaos once more.
With aid from their Frankish allies, the brother’s return to Britannia to reclaim their throne and unite the warring Kingdoms once more. While on their military campaign, they meet a young Druid named Merlin who offers his aid. Both brothers, faithful Christians, are hesitant at first; but with Gaels to the west, Picts to the North, Anglo-Saxons to the East, and Vortigern on their brother’s throne they have no choice but to accept. Using a strange ritual of the Old Ways, Merlin binds each brother’s blood and soul to one of two infant dragons from the mysterious land of Avalon: Aurelius to a red dragon he named Livia after the first Empress of Rome, and Uther a white dragon he named Albion for the color of its scales and the connection that name had to his homeland.
With their dragons, Merlin, Frankish allies, and those who had remained loyal to their house even after Vortigern’s usurping of Constans’ throne the brothers managed to reclaim their homeland and reunite the warring kingdoms under House Pendragon; named for the beasts which helped them win back their throne.
While his brother focused on ruling and maintaining order at home, Uther sailed west with Merlin and Albion to add Hibernia to their ever-growing lands. It was during this conquest that Uther Pendragon earned the title of Gael-Burner, known for his ruthlessness and liberal use of Dragon-Fire. Also during this conquest was the forging of the first and only Royal Sword of House Pendragon by Merlin, made of iron extracted from the blood of a thousand Gael’s and Dragonfire from Albion. His atrocities only ceased when he was forced to return home after High King Aurelius Ambrosius Pendragon fell ill.
Shortly after returning to Britannia, Aurelius passed away, and Livia with him due to the bindings of blood and soul made by Merlin. Uther took the throne of Britannia, but Albion was too grief stricken to remain and flew westward; in all likelihood to the ever mysterious Avalon, homeland of the Dragons. Now without Albion, Uther was forced to stay at home and maintain order as High King. In the present day he remains on the throne, currently at war with the Gaelic-Cornwall alliance, who have a mutual hatred for the High King for the atrocities committed in his conquest and his attempted seduction of the Duke of Cornwall’s wife Igraine respectively.