Espora Down

Espora of the Ring is a Wizard-class Lava Dragon who resides in the frozen Western Wastes of Velious. It is massive, powerful, and the topic of this trio of paintings.

Actually, Espora was more of the setting. Or, the vehicle that housed the subject. The topic of these paintings, as cheesy as it might sound, was friendship. Bonding through experience. Adventure through collaboration. Buddies through blood.

When I first spoke with the Troll Shaman's player, he originally asked for a portrait of him and his Monk friend as a way to commemorate their time together. As I asked some follow-up questions, I got a spark to do three. My mind just ran with the visuals of these two fighting something the size of a lodge made of scale, tooth, and claw. And while I was happy with the action shot as well as the posing, it was the overhead of the fallen Espora that - to this day - might be in my top three representations of this game I've done.

The downed mob is such a unique moment. All of the anxiety around watching health, mana, adds, and special abilities comes to a crashing halt, with the only thing left being the Schrodinger's box inside the body. Espora had a great talisman that is NO DROP, which means once it is picked up it can't be traded, sold, or dismantled. It can only be worn, stored, or destroyed.

Technically, any NO DROP can be given to an NPC, which is a way that many players get quest-specific rewards. One or more players turn in NO DROP items required for a reward, while the person who wants said reward turns in the last piece right after. Items like the Journeyman's Boots are infamous for this, and the "MQ" (main quest) is auctioned in the East Commonlands tunnel fairly often. I digress.

The real moment of this partnership of man and troll is the successful killing of Espora. If it wasn't, they wouldn't do it. It captures one of the primary and unspoken aspects of many a RPG, MMORPG, or looter-shooter: that split second change from combat to peace. The wait to see if the RNG is going to be in your favor, or if you are just going to try and milk as much as you can out of "the experience."

The funny thing is, the "experience" is exactly what became the greatest loot of all. Expanded, that becomes community. Elaborated, it is a community bound by nostalgic experiences. Contemporized, it's people who gather and spend their time to experience things, together. EQ did something right, and this humble, decent watercolor - to me - is one of the best showcases of that.