Four Swords Adventures: Staff of the dragon herald

 Staff of the dragon herald

Force Fairy: These fairies revive fallen Links that drop below zero hearts as long as the team has any remaining fairies. During their adventures, Link earns force fairies for gathering large sums of force gems. These fairies are rewarded when Link’s stats are calculated at the end of each stage. There are bonus force fairies hidden throughout certain stages and areas, allowing Link to earn extra lives through exploration.

Draconic staves are given to heralds of great wyrms. The more ornate and detailed, the higher age and station the dragon sovereign claims to possess. While it is not unheard of for dragons to willfully misrepresent their station in negotiations, dragons who have been caught overinflating their age or holdings are viciously mocked and harshly ostracized by their peers.

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Today’s drewly post is also just a regularly scheduled Sunday item drop. This serpent staff is my take on the Tevinter’s stave from Dragon Age: Inquisition. I also remixed it with a caduceus if you need a messenger or doctor staff.

Witcher items continue tomorrow with more Drewly.

What is Drewly?

Drewly is a month-long art challenge for July where you post art you have already made. No new art just for Drewly.

There are three rules:

Only post art you have already made.

Post as much or as little as you are comfortable with.

Tag your posts with #drewly and #drewly2024

If you enjoy my work, please consider donating:

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Drewly 2024: Swallow potion from the Witcher

 Swallow potion from the Witcher.

Swallow Potion: This potion closes wounds, allowing a Witcher to continue fighting even after serious injury.

Most of my Drewly posts this year will be from a series of items I drew when I was playing The Witcher 3 a few years ago. I hope you enjoy some important items from The Witcher because I sure did.

What is Drewly?

Drewly is a month-long art challenge for July where you post art you have already made. No new art just for Drewly.

There are three rules:

Only post art you have already made.

Post as much or as little as you are comfortable with.

Tag your posts with #drewly and #drewly2024

I will be posting art all month long in an effort to clear out my finished but unseen backlog.

If you enjoy my work, please consider donating:

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A belay pin for tying off life lines, or severing them.

 Wind Waker: A belay pin for tying off lifelines, or severing them.

Heart: Hearts are Link’s measure of health. Picking up a heart restores up to one complete heart in his health bar. Found in freshly cut grass, broken pots, or defeated enemies Link must quickly pick up a heart or it will fade away to nothingness.

In the roil of the stormy sea, every sailor must have their lifelines tied to the mast or risk being lost at sea. When the overbearing first officer orders the fool cabin boy to check the lifelines, you see your opportunity. What a shame it would be if that very officer’s lifeline somehow came untied during the storm and sent the officer to their watery grave.

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Belay pins are the wooden rods that sailors used to tie down lines to the mast and other secure attachment points throughout a ship. Lifelines were literal ropes tied around a sailor’s waist and secured to the ship with a knot around a belay pin.

If you haven’t experienced Treasure Island in some form go read the book or watch one of the many movie adaptations. I am particularly partial to Muppet Treasure Island or Treasure Planet, but there are many wonderful adaptations to enjoy.

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: The water of life.

 The water of life.

Blue Potion: Link’s health is represented with red hearts and his magic is represented with a green bar, so the potion that restores both health and magic is blue. Drinking a blue potion restores health and magic, making these potions more expensive when purchasing them from the Windfall Island Shop. Link can only purchase them from the shop after he has donated enough blue chu chu jelly to the doctor's research.

This unassuming jug of pure water was gathered at the headwaters of the river of life. Being anointed with this water can cure any ailment, even death. But be wary when reviving the dead, death might feel owed a soul and come to settle the debt.

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That particular bottle shape is called an onion bottle. I wanted to draw one with the macrame wrap sailors tied about them to keep them safe aboard a ship, but I did not have the patience.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A bottle of solar liqueur.

A bottle of solar liqueur.

Red Potion: The red potion of Wind Waker fully heals all of Link’s heart when he drinks it. It only works when he drinks it, so the potion can’t help Link if he loses his last heart. Link can purchase doses of red potion from Beedle’s Shop and can craft the potions in the Windfall Potion Shop using Red Chu Chu Jelly as the main ingredient.

Known as liquid sunshine, this liqueur is famous for its ability to warm the drinker. As distilled sunshine is a key ingredient, this spirit can also be used to fight denizens of the dark that loathe the light’s touch. If liquid sunshine is a real drink, we are left to wonder what the effects of liquid darkness could be.

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That right there is a bottle of Cointreau.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A thermos of warm soup.

 A thermos of warm soup.

Elixir Soup: A hearty and filling soup made by Link’s Grandma that heals both body and spirit. Link must bring a fairy to his ill Grandma to cure her before she is well enough to make his favorite soup. Once she is better, he can always stop by for a refill of soup in an empty bottle. One bottle holds two servings of soup, so Link can refill his hearts and magic twice before running out of that delicious soup.

This container represents a perfect pairing of the scientific and arcane arts. The flask can keep any fluid hot or cold for ages. As long as the flask hasn’t been opened, the contents are kept at whatever temperature they were when the flask was sealed.

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Many a fantasy adventure includes some version of the ever-chill mug. The frost-ale mug from Planescape: Torment is the only one I can think of right now, but I know there are many more.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A bottle of distilled wish.

A bottle of distilled wish.

Fairy: Fairies in Wind Waker look far more humanoid than many of their counterparts in other Zelda games. This difference in appearance doesn’t change their general use. If Link has a fairy captured in a bottle when he runs out of hearts, the fairy leaps to his defense and heals some of his hearts. Link can carry multiple fairies as long as he has captured each individually in its own empty bottle.

Not what some would expect when they think of a genie’s bottle, but this decorative glass bottle once held the most famous genie in the west. The genie was rescued from millennia trapped in her bottle by an astral explorer who found her bottle while trying to return home. The bottle is long empty since the genie was given her freedom before choosing to marry her rescuer.

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I dream of Jeanie is a show I only know about because of all the times it gets referenced in other shows.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A canteen of pure forest spring water.

A canteen of pure forest spring water.

Forest Water: This mystical water can only be found in the Forest Haven, home of the Great Deku Tree and the Koroks, wood spirits that tend to nature. The water has magical energies that imbue life into the Deku and the Koroks. Its power diminishes if it is ever taken out of the haven, which makes watering eight holy saplings spread across the great sea a difficult task. If Link is able to accomplish the task, he is rewarded with a Piece of Heart.

Survival in the wilderness is almost always about finding drinkable water. If you can find water, you can at least give yourself enough time to starve to death. No explorer worth their salt should go anywhere without at least one canteen or waterskin they can rely on.

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There are so many versions and incarnations of the water of life in myth and legend from around the world. I always found learning about folklore and myth fascinating because you can see how central themes repeat themselves across cultures, places, and times.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages found in the sunken district of New Seattle.

Five items from Oracle of Ages found in the sunken district of New Seattle.

Zora’s Flippers: These flippers were created by the great inventor Cheval who created items that help the landlocked venture away from the shore and out into the watery places of the world. Link can find these flippers within Cheval’s tomb in the Yoll Graveyard. Before his death, Cheval designed and built a cavernous tomb with obstacles and puzzles to ensure that only one who is worthy of his gifts could obtain them. The flippers allow Link to swim in the waters of Labrynna and dive briefly to avoid attacks, circumvent obstacles,  and solve puzzles.

The 2050s are remembered as the decade when the polar ice caps melted entirely away and the coasts were flooded under rapidly rising sea levels. They are also remembered for the emergence of urban diving. Divers flocked to the newly sunken city districts, some as explorers and adventurers, while others came as scavengers and thieves looking to loot the places abandoned during the floods.

I'm not an artist: Six items from Majora’s Mask found on a tropical island.

Six items from Majora’s Mask found on a tropical island.

Fish: While traveling Termina, Link can find small colorful fish swimming around in shallow pools of water. Using a bottle to snatch one up, he can then feed the small fish to one of two fish in the Marine Research Laboratory. If he feeds one fish enough fish, it becomes large enough to eat the other fish and Link will be rewarded with a Piece of Heart.

These bottled fish are separate from the ones that Link can catch at the two fishing holes in Termina.

Surrounding the isle of Talo San Diea is a horseshoe-shaped coral reef that is a wonder of natural beauty as well as acting as a natural breakwater for the island. The reef boasts a prodigious variety of sea life, including no less than three species of vibrantly colored jester fish. The jester fish make their home in stinging anemones so catching on is a rare opportunity for the fish collectors that ply the reef.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Majora’s Mask found in a graveyard.

Five items from Majora’s Mask found in a graveyard. 

Poe Soul: Found in the lamps dropped by defeated Poes, Poe Souls in Majora’s Mask work the same way as they did in Ocarina of Time. If Link consumes the soul, he is either healed a variable amount of hearts or Link’s health is depleted to half a heart. 

I tried to draw Gastly and Haunter as the Poe Soul and Big Poe Soul. I love how the Ghastly drawing came out, but I am far less fond of the Haunter drawing. Can’t all be perfect.

Spirits of the recently deceased are not uncommon sights in graveyards in the days following funerals. If funerary rites are completed properly, spirits should pass naturally from the mortal plane into the lands beyond. Either due to insufficient rites or unfinished business, some spirits are unable to leave the mortal world and begin to fester in their liminal existence.

I'm not an artist: Six items from Majora’s Mask you can find in a druid’s hut.

Six items from Majora’s Mask you can find in a druid’s hut.

Fairy: A classic item in Legend of Zelda games, Fairies restore Link to full health when used and are automatically released when Link loses his final heart. Fairies can be purchased or found in Link’s adventures and are stored in an empty jar. An interesting note on the fairies in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask is that they were intended to be small humanoids with wings similar to common close up depictions of Tinker Bell. The graphical demands were too high for that depiction, so the designers went with the glowing orb with wings depiction. The humanoid body is intended to be within the glowing orb. 

Druids cannot always live in perfect harmony with all the spirits of nature. Some sprites are too contrary to live in harmony with anyone. Such is the case for this troublesome fairy that caused the warden too much trouble with their ceaseless pranks and no must bide their time in a bottle until the warden feels merciful.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Ocarina of Time that can be found at the Temple of the Contemplative Yak.

Five items from Ocarina of Time that can be found at the Temple of the Contemplative Yak.

Bug: These blue beetles love to burrow in the ground and particularly enjoy the patches of soft soil that Link can find in his travels. Since Gold Skultulas often make their home in these patches of soil, beetles burrowing in the soil forces the skultulas out of their burrows so Link can slay the monster and release its cursed soul. 

Bullhorn beetles get their name from their large single horn and their extremely aggressive behavior. Mostly active during dawn and dusk, Bullhorn beetles see anything that is not a mountain yak as a threat, attacking with a ferocity unfitting of their size. Even though they cause the monks of the temple great annoyance, the monks see the beetles as a boon since they guard the yak herds against threats natural and supernatural and regularly turn over the soil with their daily burrowing. 

I'm not an artist: Six items from Ocarina of Time you can find in an enchanters workshop.

Six items from Ocarina of Time you can find in an enchanter's workshop.

Claim Check: If Link can manage to get the Biggoron their much-needed eye drops, the smith can finally get to fixing the broken sword. The sword can’t be fixed instantly so Link is given a receipt to prove he is the true owner of the sword, as compared to all the other people braving the ascent up Death Mountain. 

The process of enchanting an object always begins with a formula. As an enchanter begins to draft the ritual, strands of magical energy are caught in the tablets and scrolls used to record the process. Outlined in the notes are the materials needed and the steps required to complete the work. Once the enchanter has charted their course, they can begin the work in earnest. As the ritual concludes, enchanters zealously destroy any notes created during the process to release the mana captured in the drafting stage as a way to seal and finish the spell. The more complete the destruction, the more magical energies are released, strengthening the spells. This destructive climax means that enchanters in training learn how to identify and organize what materials and actions are required, rather than memorizing predetermined rituals. 

I'm not an artist: Five Items from Link's Awakening you can use this Labor Day Weekend.

Five items you could use this Labor Day weekend appearing in Link’s Awakening.

Small key: A minor key with plenty of uses. I drew this one as a more modern house or lock key. I don't think many people would be too offended at this apocryphal key shape appearing in their pseudo-medieval fantasy settings. If you are one of those offended people, I guess stay out of my topsy-turvy genre blending universe. 

With summer unofficially coming to a close, racers are scrambling to secure spots in the last big race of the season. Alejandra Ricco has had a great season, but with her recent disasters on the track she needs something like a miracle to finish the season on the podium. While working under her car after hours, Alejandra heard what sounded like footsteps approaching her workbench and then her keys falling to the ground. Alejandra didn't see anyone when she came up from below the car, but she found nine identical keys on her keyring that weren’t there early that day. Each key was warm to the touch with “wanna race?” etched into its face in a script she could barely decipher. Ever curious, Alejandra stuck one of the keys into her ignition and the car roared to life. In the same instant, the key was consumed in a gout of flame. For a few hours after, the car was in pristine condition but it slowly deteriorated into the same mess it was before and now also smelling of Sulphur. With nine races left in the season, has she just wasted an opportunity she can’t get back or can she find a way to win the season on her own without the help of the mysterious benefactor?

I'm not an artist: Finishing A Link to the Past with six jars from the Fairy Market

Six items from A Link to the Past you can find in the fairy market.

Medicine of Life: A blood red potion that restores Links hearts completely. This is a great placeholder for any potion you would need. You could also add various colors to make it more specific. 

The fairy market opens its doors for nine days every nine years. People and creatures from every corner of this world and many others come to the massive market to trade in all sorts of food from the mundane to the truly unique. They say one can find anything they desire in the fairy market if they know where to look. That includes more time. A seemingly ageless alchemist offers an elixir of life that adds ten years to a person’s life with one sip and fifty years to their life if they drink the entire potion. The potions are sold in a silent auction on the last day of the market and never to anyone who purchased a potion at the last market. 

Zelda Items: First five from The Legend of Zelda II: Link's Adventure

Here are the first five items from The Legend of Zelda II: Link's Adventure.

Power Glove: This heavy metal glove could be a powerful gauntlet, part of a set of armor that needs to be reassembled, or an animated hand monster. This could even be a fantasy power fist for those pillaging ideas from the Fallout series. 

I'm not an artist: Another month, another five items from The Legend of Zelda

Happy Easter Fools Day. Another five items from The Legend of Zelda drawn by me.

Magical Boomerang: The dot on the gem at the center was supposed to be a highlight. Now that I look at it after some time away, I sort of get a Cylon eye vibe. This boomerang could be intelligent or be controlled mentally like a RC drone. You could even use this as a sort of surveillance device that allows the user to look out from the perspective of the gem as it flies. 

I'm not an artist: A belated introduction and some more items from The Legend of Zelda

The point of the I'm not an artist series is to get myself to put things out into the world as I practice drawing. I am using this space to build good habits and create things for others after years of being a lurker.

Here are another five items from '84's The Legend of Zelda. 

White Sword: This is pretty much me drawing the version of the White Sword from Hyrule Warriors. This has a paladin's claymore feel. Sort of like Chrysamere or a Holy Avenger.