Nar Yake, the Hounding City

A brilliant blue cavern framed by two statues, women with the head of snarling wolves, who hold aloft the spears of Hyovos. Just behind them is a tower down a road, and in the far distance there are massive buildings atop a rock plateau. In the foreground, a woman with a drawn sword and torch looks on, surrounded by rocks and pillars.

Lore

Nar Yake (/nɑɹ ‘jɑkɛ/; nahr YAH-keh), or the Hounding City, was once the capital of the Nighthuntress Realm prior to the city’s sacking at the end of the Incursion. Abandoned and left in ruin for two centuries since the war’s end, it serves as a reminder to be ever vigilant for the citizens of the Lith Ascendancy and the Avinôd alike.

Its main cavern complex, known as the Firmament, is incredibly large, marked by gigantic stalactites and stalagmites lit by what appears to be ghostly blue light when viewed with darkvision. The appearance of color is said to be unique to Nar Yake, and is perhaps due to the Firmament’s unique range of mineral deposits that lend the world some semblance of color. Two statues of Hyovos, the goring queen, flank the wide, rocky road curving around into the outer limits. After perhaps two miles of travel down this road, travelers are led to the Ershad, the expanse that contains the city proper. So named in Najath for its glassy floor, it once reflected the magnificence of Nar Yake. Now, while remaining a natural wonder, much of its area is shrouded by loose rock, dust, and the remnants of skeletal matter.

Atlas of Central Fao, Singing Hills: Nar Yake

Techniques

Like I indicated above, this took a lot of careful planning in terms of its perspective. I laid down multiple grid lines and made very nerdy calculations to keep the scale consistent and accurate in all directions, and after compositing the wolf’s head and spear into an existing statue put them both into perspective. From there, I sketched the background and the foreground and photo-composited the rest, before adding the figure at the front to make it clear just how massive this place is meant to be.