"´Rjurik´" by Oliver Booms

Cool. This guy has a lot of character. He looks like a seasoned wanderer of the world. Very colorful pic. Do ravens symbolize storng magical power? Odin had a raven didn't he? Oh well, nice job.When I created him I didn't want him to be the usual Bear-Bjornaer... he was supposed to have been trained on the steppes. So, I thought it's either a bird or a horse... as he was a boyar's advisor, I thought the ominous raven to be a perfect fit: "You have ever been a herald of woe. Troubles follow you like crows, and ever the oftener the worse."(10 Bonus points for whoever gets the reference.)

Very Very good work. Lots of depth. Ravens are harbingers of war and death in Celtic myth. Feared and respected. I think this is a wonderful rendering.

I love your line work... always respect someone who works so well in ink. Ravens are a favourite of mine and the characters profile seems to echo the bird's... or is that just me? No, that's intended - the raven *is* his Heart-Beast, after all... just imagine what he'd looked like if I had decided on a horse...

Hey, I really like the picture, very good work. Feeling jealous, hopefully i'll be as good som day.

Is the norse or celtic? cause the name Bjornaer, seems norse. You know that Bjorn(aer) meens bear in scandinavian (swedish anyway).. not to correct you or anything, just thought maybe you got the name from there..

cheersIn the Ars Magica setting (Mythic Europe, that is), the Bjornaer are a Hermetic House with nordic roots (Shapechangers and all that). My Eastern European history is a bit sketchy, but IIRC the Rus of Kiev are basically descended from Varangian (eastern Viking) raiders in Russia (correct me if I'm off here); so Rjurik is played as somewhat slavic with (very) slight norse and shamanistic overtones, with the raven a more appropriate heart-beast for a wizard from the steppes than a bear...