E is for EverQuest

Up next in the April 2017 AtoZ Challenge, I thought I would keep it simple and focus on some amazing dragon artwork from the EverQuest fandom.

EverQuest is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (“MMORPG”), originally released in 1999 by Sony Online Entertainment.  It was “the second commercially viable MMORPG to be released … and the first commercially successful MMORPG to employ a three-dimensional game engine,” according to Wikipedia.

Since then, the wildly popular game (jokingly referred to as “EverCrack” by some players because of it’s addictive qualities) has spawned dozens of versions and expansions across computer and video game platforms, as well as novels, a tabletop RPG, and an online collectible card game, not to mention a wealth of amazing art and fanfiction.  Of course, some of that art focuses on the dragons that appear as minor and major enemies for the virtual inhabitants of Norrath to battle, so let’s get to it!

I was excited to find that an artist I’ve featured before also created art for the (now defunct) EverQuest CCG called Legends of Norrath, so the first image above is Fearsome Drake by Kiwi (New Zealander) professional artist Ben Wootten, and up next is Furywing Drakota.  You can find lots more of Ben’s amazing art at his gallery.

Next up is a painting of an artist’s EverQuest avatar, Astrid, in Winter’s Peach by American professional artist Mandi Grant, posting as Majoh.  As Mandi quips:  “Is it the last peach of the season? Or the first? Or a rare import? Whatever it is, it’s going to be enjoyed with a side of hand if Ast isn’t careful.” 😉 Check out more of Mandi’s work in her gallery.

Here is another image created for the Legends of Norrath CCG called Dragonsbrood, this time by American professional artist Derek Herring, posting as Graysun-D.  As some commentors noted, the texturing, fire, and lava effects in this piece are really well done.  More of Derek’s art can be found in his gallery, of course.

Next, I really loved this little Clockwork Steampunk Dragon by American professional artist Michael Bielaczyc, which he notes is based on the clockwork dragons he “used to see in Everquest.” I found a wiki page about a quest called Nitram’s Collection that mentions a clockwork dragon, so I feel good about including him here!  Check out Michael’s gallery for more.

Moving right along, just as in the Conan MMORPG from a few days ago, players are apparently able to have dragons as pets for their avatars (at least in EverQuest II, according to this artist).  Here is a picture of Clan and Krysta, the virtual pets of American deviantartist Gami Cross, posting as Nek0gami.  As Gami captions it, “Clan (blue aqua) [is] doing his favorite hobby of mindlessly walking around my room and searching for food, and Krysta (purple red) [is] sitting up on top of my Lore Table reading….”  I think they’re adorable.

And finally, while today I wanted to focus on the artwork, I did come across a very intriguing article by Kotaku staff writer Cecilia D’Anastasio, titled The Surprising And Allegedly Impossible Death Of EverQuest’s ‘Unkillable’ Dragon, with the accompanying illustration of said dragon, called The Sleeper, by an amazing artist named Angelica Alzona.

As Cecilia writes:

On EverQuest, in November of 2003, nearly 200 players came together to defeat the apparently invincible dragon Kerafyrm, known as “the Sleeper,” against Sony Online Entertainment’s designs. The story has everything: warring factions, a tomb, an invulnerable dragon, surprising partnerships and a panicked multinational corporation…

You really must check out Cecilia’s article to get the full story, and be sure to see more of Angelica’s art, which has accompanied articles at sites like Jezabel, LifeHacker, and Deadspin, just to name a few, at her website.

Thank you as always for reading, and for supporting me on this crazy AtoZ daily blogging challenge!  I’d love to hear what you think of my posts so far, so be sure to leave me a comment below, and if you’re also blogging from AtoZ, leave me a link so I can visit you back!

Take care, stay creative, and come back tomorrow when I tackle my most intimidating letter and topic so far — we’re on to “F” and my own (future) piece of fandom, my in-process novel Finding Dragons!

Image credits:
Fearsome Drake by Ben Wootten 
Furywing Drakota by Ben Wootten 
Winter’s Peach by Majoh 
Dragonsbrood by Graysun-D 
Clockwork Steampunk Dragon by Michael Bielaczyc 
Clan and Krysta by Nek0gami
The Sleeper by Angelica Alzona