Four Swords Adventures: Pendant of balance

 Pendant of balance

Force Gems: The Link’s must gather force gems during their adventures to restore the true power of the Four Sword that has been diminished by Vaati’s dark magic. Force Gems are found throughout the Links’ exploration and are usually rewarded for impressive feats of skill and speed. Two thousand force gems must be gathered during each level to pierce the veil of darkness at the end of each level.

This heavy jade pendant is given to initiates who seek the way of balance. After communing with the amulet, the prevailing energy of a person shines from the pendant. Only through long rigorous effort can a person manifest and eventually true balance in their energy.

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That’s two weeks of Drewly 2024 down and about two more to go. I hope you are celebrating all the work you’ve already completed.

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

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Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A fool’s bauble.

A fool’s bauble

Triforce Shard 8: In the calamity that flooded the old world and created the Great Sea, the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards. This is one of the eight shards that must be reunited to craft the Triforce of Courage. Link can find these shards spread all over the Great Sea. The talking fish can often help him find the shards, though the rumors they repeat are so old that they send you looking for triumph forks instead of the Triforce.

This gaudy bauble is made from half the spoils from the first bit of piracy the fool captain ever did, which speaks to their humble beginnings. The fool captain inherited their key from a fallen captain but chose to transfer the key to a new item instead of keeping the original. No one knew if this transference would break the goddess seal, but the self-important fool cares more about their own vanity than the possibility of releasing a wrathful goddess from an unjust cage.

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The ninth and final piece of eight belongs to none other than Captain Jack Sparrow himself. That is all nine pieces of eight. Throw all in a bowl and say the right words and you can release an angry sea goddess to return control of the seas to the fickle whims of pagan gods.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A heavily used cigar cutter.

A heavily used cigar cutter

Triforce Shard 7: In the calamity that flooded the old world and created the Great Sea, the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards. This is one of the eight shards that must be reunited to craft the Triforce of Courage. Link can find these shards spread all over the Great Sea. The talking fish can often help him find the shards, though the rumors they repeat are so old that they send you looking for triumph forks instead of the Triforce.

Escaping the bonds of slavery and leading an assault on the port where they were sold was how this pirate captain first held a command. Now the abolitionist pirate raids slavers wherever they can be found and takes a trophy from each ship freed. The first trophy they ever won, a pair of cigar cutters, was their contribution to the seal that locked away the willful goddess of the seas.

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The eighth and not final piece of eight belongs to Gentleman Jocard, abolitionist and pirate of the West African coast.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A horn powder box.

A horn powder box

Triforce Shard 6: In the calamity that flooded the old world and created the Great Sea, the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards. This is one of the eight shards that must be reunited to craft the Triforce of Courage. Link can find these shards spread all over the Great Sea. The talking fish can often help him find the shards, though the rumors they repeat are so old that they send you looking for triumph forks instead of the Triforce.

The pirate priest of the south seas left a life of monastic peace to raid the foreign merchant navy invading their home. As their new profession ensures they are no longer welcome in their old temple, this simple calf horn box is their only remaining connection to that pet of their life. That strong emotional attachment made the horn ideally suited to become a nereid key for locking a goddess away.

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The seventh piece of eight belongs to Sumbhajee Angria, Terror of the Arabian Sea.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A pair of spectacles.

 A pair of spectacles

Triforce Shard 5: In the calamity that flooded the old world and created the Great Sea, the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards. This is one of the eight shards that must be reunited to craft the Triforce of Courage. Link can find these shards spread all over the Great Sea. The talking fish can often help him find the shards, though the rumors they repeat are so old that they send you looking for triumph forks instead of the Triforce.

A pair of reading glasses worn on a fishing line and hung from a hook. The glasses belonged to the former pirate and deceased husband of the current pirate lord of the great ocean. It is in her hall the nereid keys were crafted and the wild goddess of the seas was sealed away.

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Number six in our nine pieces of eight are Mistress Ching’s glasses.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A playing card.

 A playing card

Triforce Shard 4: In the calamity that flooded the old world and created the Great Sea, the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards. This is one of the eight shards that must be reunited to craft the Triforce of Courage. Link can find these shards spread all over the Great Sea. The talking fish can often help him find the shards, though the rumors they repeat are so old that they send you looking for triumph forks instead of the Triforce.

When the pirate council created the nereid keys, each pirate lord chose a meaningful item to become one of the nine keys. The gambling captain chose the sole remaining card from the deck that won them their first ship. That ship would eventually become the flagship of a fearsome pirate fleet, and that key locked away a great goddess of the seas.

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The fifth piece of eight is a single card Chevalle the gambler used to win his first ship and launch his career as a pirate.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A rough-looking wooden eye.

 A rough-looking wooden eye

Triforce Shard 3: In the calamity that flooded the old world and created the Great Sea, the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards. This is one of the eight shards that must be reunited to craft the Triforce of Courage. Link can find these shards spread all over the Great Sea. The talking fish can often help him find the shards, though the rumors they repeat are so old that they send you looking for triumph forks instead of the Triforce.

This wooden eye was carved by a traitor captain and then given to his close friend before being executed. The traitor did not tell his friend that the eye was one of the nereid keys, only that it served as a token of office as captain. The eye is now held by a loyal buffoon who serves his thrice-dead captain devoutly.

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The fourth piece of eight belonged to Captain Barbossa, but was looked after by the unfortunate Ragetti.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A taste of the wild side.

A taste of the wild side

Triforce Shard 2: In the calamity that flooded the old world and created the Great Sea, the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards. This is one of the eight shards that must be reunited to craft the Triforce of Courage. Link can find these shards spread all over the Great Sea. The talking fish can often help him find the shards, though the rumors they repeat are so old that they send you looking for triumph forks instead of the Triforce.

A small brass cup used for wine tasting by a pirate lord well known for their love of wine and charcuterie. The cup was a gift to the pirate lord from fallen nuns whom he educated in the ways of hedonism. This is one of the nine nereid keys, so it is kept safe on the Corsair’s person at all times.

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Here is the third piece of eight from the Pirates of the Caribbean. This one is owned by Ammand the Corsair.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A lucky bottle top.

 A lucky bottle top

Triforce Shard 1: In the calamity that flooded the old world and created the Great Sea, the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards. This is one of the eight shards that must be reunited to craft the Triforce of Courage. Link can find these shards spread all over the Great Sea. The talking fish can often help him find the shards, though the rumors they repeat are so old that they send you looking for triumph forks instead of the Triforce.

This shard of a bottle is kept by a pirate captain as a sign of luck’s favor. The bottle helped the captain in a bar fight that earned them their first ship and holds immense sentimental value. The shard is also one of the nine nereid keys to the great seal.

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This is the second of the Nine pieces of eight from the Pirates of the Caribbean. This one belonged to Eduardo Villanueva, the very reserved Spaniard.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: L'âme de la Mer.

L'âme de la Mer. 

Nayru's Pearl: This blue rune-etched pearl is held by the Greatfish Jabun. Jabun, a descendant of Lord Jabu-Jabu, is hesitant to part with the sacred pearl, but is convinced to part with it by Link’s ship The King of Red Lions. It helps that the ship is one of the few beings in the Great Sea that can still speak ancient Hylian, the only language Jabun knows. With all three pearls, Link can raise the Tower of the Gods up from the seafloor to commune with divine power.

This necklace is known as the Soul of the Sea. It was intended to be a wedding gift for a young baroness, but it was lost when the ship she was sailing on sank into the icy waters of the Winter Sea. Divers and treasure hunters dream of recovering such a prize from the sea’s depths, but the wreck of the sunken ship has yet to be found.

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This is my take on the Heart of the Ocean from Titanic. The highlighting and the faceting on this one left much to be desired in the color version.

This is the final of the three “great gems” mini-set I drew for Wind Waker. The next few items are also a mini-set, but this time we are going to explore the nine pieces of eight from the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A diamond of hope.

A diamond of hope 

Farore's Pearl: This green rune-etched pearl is held by the Great Deku Tree of the Great Sea. Link is given this second pearl by the Great Deku Tree for heroic deeds in service to the Korok people. Along with the other two pearls, it is used to draw up the Tower of the Gods from beneath the waves.

This diamond once decorated the crown of one of the most excessive and out of touch monarchs in history. While their people starved, they commissioned ever grander displays of wealth. When the stone was stolen and sold by revolutionaries to feed the hungry, it became a true symbol of hope to the people.

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This is my take on the hope diamond. The jewel probably began its life as the Tavernier Blue, a massive violet gem with perfect clarity that was cut for King Louis XIV of France and was stolen during the French Revolution.

Gems and other transparent materials are difficult for me to capture so this set of three great gems was a tall order to complete.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: An incomparable amulet.

 An incomparable amulet.

Din's Pearl: This red rune-etched pearl is named after the Goddess Din and represents great courage. It is given to Link by Komali, prince of the Rito, helping the prince secure a dragon scale necessary for him to be recognized as an adult. The pearl is eventually used to draw up the Tower of the Gods from deep beneath the ocean. 

This citrine amulet has been called the Incomparable Jewel. Its faceting and clarity are unmatched. It is truly a sight to behold, and you can behold it behind the thick glass at the center of the Royal Museum’s exhibit on the finest jewelry of the world.

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This is based on the famous diamond, L'Incomparable, which is far more majestic than my drawing could capture.

I look forward to the day when I can draw such a gem well enough to really capture the sparkle.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: A piece of the Tri-Force and four other drawings from the Legend of Zelda

We are back with five more drawings of items from the 1984 Legend of Zelda. 

Triforce: Even though the Triforce is such an important part of the Zelda series, I didn't have an  interesting concept. I ended up with a triangular piece of stone with a hole in the middle. Other than being a third of the ultimate power, this could be an alien artifact, a puzzle piece, or a very uncomfortable ring.