As he is a pivotal and important figure within this narrative, the next character that I ultimately decided to concept would be the fallen ruler of Sol (who I titled the Martyr). I knew that for this concept, I wanted to go for a decrepit, fallen hero, who ultimately remains in stasis in the ruins of the Kingdom of Sol. I looked to many FromSoftware games for inspiration, as the progression of their storytelling is mostly set when many heroes are fallen and past their prime- I wanted to depict the same thing within this character. Though, I did look to many examples of Greenwich armour as there was a level of intricacy I wanted to put that suggested someone who was of noble status, as it represents his former glory. I also looked to the Arthurian Legend when doing research for this character, as it held themes of power, vengeance and chivalry that I thought was fitting for my narrative- and used King Arthur himself as one inspiration, as he was a troubled king and it was a testament to the Martyr’s old fashioned traditions, and time past of the region he belonged to, as it never had time to develop due to its imminent downfall.
I thought of the conflict between King Arthur and Mordred, and envisioned and Arthurian-like conflict between Ascanius and his brother Lupus. And Ascanius’ ‘death’ or rather, his fate was decided by his brother, marking a fall in his kingdom (like Camelot), and himself, leaving the people of Sol to ultimately flee.
Compared to the other ‘boss’ characters, I wanted the Martyr to feel more human due to his disposition, to make the encounter feel more final, and make it clearer that you faced against your own kin. So, unlike the other two enemy characters, I decided to make his silhouette less imposing, yet still authoritative but gentle in his stance, not only was making him look ‘weaker’ a way to make him seem more human than many of the other creatures, but it would also show how whittled he was over time. The Martyr is the antithesis of his tyrannical twin brother, so, deriving from the initial concept, I drew out his figure in a full rough concept and chose opposing colours to convey his good nature and demeanour. The dulled gold was a way to make him look ‘washed out’, and the dull colour of his skin was intended to make it seem like you were seeing a corpse reanimated. I then decided to develop on this concept further, as I was satisfied with the overall .aura of this quick concept. I intended for the scar-like light formation on his chest to be where the Seal of the Sun (the source of his power) was ultimately pulled from his body, leaving a permanent scar on across his chest. I also gave him a halo and ‘wings’ like fragments of light, dim to represent his dying state, and give him more of a benevolent look along with relating to his holy title of ‘The Martyr’.
I had the idea of him being put through multiple gauntlets and waves of fights until he was put into an idle state, so, I wanted to convey this battle-worn, chivalrous warrior, and ultimate ruler of a Sun-inspired kingdom into one design. I decided to go for much more light colours, adding bright elements onto the renditions to show his affiliation with the sun, but kept it to a minimum to still make it look as if he was on the verge of ‘fading away’. I experimented with many types of armour, but making sure to crack it on enough places to still keep the intended look of a war-experienced, fallen hero. I made sure to stay among the threshold of the black and gold armour much like the aforementioned Greenwich armour, but to expand my ideas, I also referenced Roman armour, which remained the same within the years of the Raman Empire, as it was an effective set of gear for battle that also eluded to going through many fights as the Roman Soldiers did not only against other armies, but within the Coloseum. I did not intend for him to have Ilythium armour, to show his dedication and commitment to his kingdom, even in his fall, and visually make him differ from the other armoured warriors. I leant more towards making him look younger but ‘degraded’ in a way to show just how long he had been in his fallen state.
One of the the designs had red as a way to incorporate his previous power and royalty, and also because it was a common colour used by the Romans. This thumbnail was also heavily inspired by the ‘Nameless King’ from Dark Souls III, who is supposed to also be a fallen king in some way, and I thought he was a fitting inspiration to look to. Another one of the thumbnails utilised green to reflect the colour of the Tidal Soldier’s hooded cape. Moving forward into the finalised designs, I wanted the Tidal Soldier to have some reflection to Ascanius in some way, shape, or form.