The Faceless Summoner Entry #12: Volcanic Fissure Kulradon

The next entry in this chapter of the Faceless Summoner's story is the fiery god, Kulradon.

Here is Kulradon's lore:


Back at the nexus of halls in the temple, we stood before the crimson-sealed gate. Once more, the “eyes” on Ardelrius’ staff began to resonate with the runic marks, opening the way ahead. This time we began to ascend, traveling up a winding staircase. The air began to thin and I could feel the temperature rising as we climbed. In minutes the dry heat became a sweltering wall that seemed to physically push my body back.
At the top of the staircase was another sealed gate with the same crimson symbol. Ardelrius dispelled the barrier and the gates opened. What stretched ahead was a gigantic open room that stood before us. The walls were covered in a thick jagged rock that resonated with the same oppressive heat. Bright orange trails of what appeared to be molten rock slowly ran from cracks along the rocky surface, pooling at the bottom of the room and forming a miniature lake. Numerous solidified pillars of stone dotted the floor of the room. Ardelrius ordered me to stand at the gate and then leapt down onto the nearest pillar.

A huge flare of searing fire cut through the lava around the pillar, parting around a form that emerged. Standing before Ardelrius was a towering creature whose body was made of sharp rocky armored plates. Numerous lighter crystals were embedded in its face and skin, glinting with light. With a deep snarl of a voice, the monster spoke to Ardelrius, introducing itself as Kulradon, the volcanic fissure god. Instead of repeating the same words of the supposed trial, Kulradon immediately rushed into attack the Summoner.
Moving with great speed for such a monstrous beast, Kulradon strode through rivers of molten rock, slashing the pillar apart with its claws. Ardelrius leapt back to one of the smaller islands, slowing its descent with an incantation from the tree-like staff. Kulradon summoned rows of burning stone blades that speared up around Ardelrius. I watched my companion dodge the attacks before a stray blade cut through its arm. This momentarily halted Ardelrius’ movement but didn’t topple the Faceless Summoner. Thrusting the end of the tree-like staff into the lava, Ardelrius called forth a powerful wave of what looked like black ice. The glistening onyx prisms split the lava apart and deflected the blades of Kulradon. I recognized these objects from Ardelrius’ fight with the fearsome Sealed One in the temple. The assault pushed Kulradon towards the back of the room and sealed its movement by encasing both its feet in ice. Ardelrius sprinted forth and struck out with the end of its staff which had also been covered in the same crystalline ice. The finishing blow cleaved through Kulradon’s body, knocking the fire god over and shaking the room.

As the wounded creature collapsed, the rivers of molten rock began to slow, hardening into dark crimson throughout the chamber. Kulradon bent forward, the light of its numerous crystals dimming. It proclaimed Ardelrius’ victory before becoming still. My companion turned from the great statue of the defeated god and walked towards the entry of the room. We had now completed three trials. One more remains. What will the final test be and which terrifying god awaited? While we proceeded back to the main crossroads, many questions race through my mind.

Front/side view
Kulradon's mask started with a bit more of a concept than Ferroq's. I had a rough design sketched out and I knew I wanted to go for a molten theme with horns. The mandible extensions around its mouth seemed to work well with the lighter clay fangs. I blended the reds and lighter brown shades and then went back with the darker reds to highlight the mouth and fangs. The blackwashing helped bring the colors out with some shadows.

Kulradon's Emblem
I drew Kulradon's emblem on one of the more recent Twitch streams. The main focus of its emblem was the dark molten scheme with sharp edges. I imagine Kulradon would be a large bipedal creature so I went with that for the pose.

Stay tuned for the next entry!