Submit Yourself to the Taint

"Join us brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice shall not be forgotten and that one day, we shall join you. - - You are called upon to submit yourself to the taint for the greater good."

- Dragon Age: Origins

My entry for 's contest which aims to spread some video game love [link]
I had hard time choosing between Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect and KotOR but in the end I decided to go for DAO. I found the whole Human Noble origin amazing as it is, but I guess the true crowning moment of awesome for me was my very first Joining. Honestly, I was both horrified and in awe at the same time, and after that there was no turning back. I remember playing like 18 hours straight, and then doing the same thing next day. And the day after that. Gosh, my eyes and mouse hand were almost killing me...
Oh and hey, here is my Grey Warden, warrior Ellara Cousland, who appeared briefly in one of my comics a while back (without much introduction) [link] About time I get to make a decent portrait of her considering that I finished DAO last October after over 88 hours of gameplay. On a side note, I'm pretty happy with the darkspawn I painted here - I think I managed to make them look properly creepy. I hope you like this, too!

Blood brushes: [link]
Background texture used is my own

^{Ellara Cousland © me
Darkspawn and Archdemon © Bioware
from the game Dragon Age: Origins}

For more Dragon Age: Origins fan art take a look at here!