Slaugther of the Chosen - The Elfstones of Shannara (Prelim)

Raoul did such an amazing job on the first Shannara commission I asked him to create that I finally decided the time was right for a second. This image depicts a scene from very early in the second book of Terry Brook's initial Shannara trilogy, "The Elfstones of Shannara". The Chosen are an elven brotherhood tasked with guarding and protecting the sacred Ellcrys, a magical tree that holds back the demon hordes within the Forbidding. Three of the demons escape and one of them, The Reaper, is sent to kill the Chosen in hopes it will weaken and ultimately destroy the Ellcrys, releasing the rest of their brethren. While the Chosen were slaughtered in their barracks in the book, I thought the idea of one of their broken bodies at the foot of the sacred Ellcrys would make a stunning image. And of course, Raoul knocked it out of the part bringing it to life. He paints the world of Shannara like no one else.

Pencil on paper
6" x 9"