Gawain Project: The Sword of Kings 5-11

[sigune]

"Here, encompassed by Roman ramparts of earth and wood, the fate of Uther's kingdom was to be decided."

- Bernard Cornwell, The Winter King (1995)



Those of you who voted in the poll on Tuesday were generally in favour of a big post with just one instead of a further two instalments of The Sword of Kings. And although I like spreading my posts a little, in this case I think it is probably for the best. The comic is short and has no cliffhangers, and I do have it all ready. So today you get no less than seven pages - some sketchier than others, I should add :).

Constructive criticism is, as always, very welcome. I am thinking of drawing, inking and rendering this episode first by way of test, because I am not quite happy with the way my first inked TDH page looks, and since SoK is a short story, I can afford to experiment a little with it. But it would be great if I could get the layout right first.

In other news: I hope not to keep you waiting too long for the continuation of the story. I have been going over my general plot pages and noticed a) how much has changed since I typed them out a few months ago and b) the story is shaping up and making sense. The beginning needs some sorting out and I need to find my Schwung to get it going - but I think I am getting there (finally).

On to the comic, then!


What went before
Queen Ygraine has disappeared and Uther is desperate to get her back. He searches the land frantically but can find no trace of his wife. Having heard that Merlin currently resides in the forest of Cit Coit Caledon, he travels there to beg the wizard for help. He is met by the Giant Herdsman instead...

The Sword of Kings 1-4

















Ah, wonky perspective. It has become my trademark, wouldn't you say? ;P

Hope you enjoyed it a little, even if it was not much more than a bridge episode. Thank you very much for reading!

♥

Comments

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Yay, that was great! Short, concise, intense, and good storytelling. I like it very much. I love Uther's pose when he says "this sword?".

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm glad you say that, because I like that pose too. It's one of those things that are never as nice finalised as they are in the sketch version. I threw it on the page and it just looked nice without any effort.

Keeping this short was the most difficult thing. I had to start over three times because the episode kept expanding and that was just not necessary.

Thank you!

[ysilme]

Wow, I completely forgot I have read this before. Well, I'll say it again, that was great! :o)

[branquignole.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I like this! Never mind the wonky perspective. I'm sorry I didn't comment on the other post, but I kind of couldn't be bothered with anything since I was so tired this week. :( I'm very gleeful that there's finally some more of the comic though!

Uther's not the most brilliant guy, huh? A little bewitched, one might say. :) I like his pose too, and I like the stag. And what I really like about this comic is that I learn stuff about the Arthurian legends, since I know next to nothing of them.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Arthurian legends are GREAT. I got interested in them when I was twelve or thirteen and they were a major obsession until I was about twenty. Then I hardly gave them any thought for almost a decade, and here they are again! They are one of the Big Stories - pan-European and impossible to kill :-). Also: a legitimate source of heaps of fanfic, from the middle ages until the present day :D!

Uther is far from stupid, but he is completely obsessed with Ygraine. It's mean of me, but I rather enjoy making this ruthless king follow his heart :P. Ruthlessly.

[branquignole.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's what I meant - not stupid as in "that guy hasn't got any brains" but as in "I am OBSESSED with this woman WHERE is she MUST HAVE". I love it. :)

[todayiamadaisy]

The famous sword: that's how it got there!

I also like Uther's pose when he says 'this sword?' He looks so small and perplexed. And the slight pout when Merlin says they will not meet again.

A slight not-even-nitpick: it's usually put 'king of all britain', no second 'of'. That's what was on Aethelstan/Aethelred's coins, whichever one it was. (Then again, that phrase is probably a translation from the Latin and not a direct quote.) It has a more definite sound, I think: king of ALL Britian, with no distraction between the all and the Britain. :-)

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Yes, you are right, it's better without the extra "of". The text on the stone could do with some revision in any case - I was on the train and didn't have my books, and I do think it would be nice if it stayed as close as possible to a classic version - something that as a reader you really recognise. In Malory it also reads "Whoso pulleth" instead of "He who". Not that I have to stick to Malory, but I like that old-fashioned language coming from Merlin ;-). He's so ancient he's lost touch with the modern way of writing. *g*

Having just checked Malory, I'm wondering if the sword should be in an anvil on the stone instead of just in the stone. But then I'd have to explain what an anvil is doing in Cit Coit Caledon. Hm.

Thank you!

[valis2.livejournal.com]

This was very very cool! I would almost wish for just a teensy bit more desperation on Uther's part, but it's still fantastic. Love your story-telling and your art!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_vocalion_/]

I like this bit very much, and the last page gave me that goosebumpy feeling. (I'm still an Anglophile at heart.)

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading :D! I hope those are not "aargh" goosebumps because of my lousy perspective ;)... Incidentally, we are getting closer (in the part of the story that is currently being posted) to meeting this sword and stone again... I am a little nervous about the Big Moment :p.