"Way of the Hunter" Borderlands art series by Klopotinsha
Good time of day my dearest Lords and Ladies!
Karina aka Klopotinsha here!
And obviously the reason why I'm here is because I'm a big fan of Telltale games!
I am also a big fan of Gearbox especially their main series Borderlands... especially the first one, which is the epitome of the game of my childhood's dream 
Well, you know, weird thing happened... after the first season of TellTale's The Walking Dead I was absolutely sure that another game never will make me cry again. I accidentally recalled it right before i walked through the most... insulting moment in Borderlands 2. WHYYYYYYYYYYYY!!????? that was so... I thought the writers can be so cruel and cynical only in graphic novels! And right on the next morning was announced Tales from the Borderlands... My first thought was "R U ****** kidding me!??" and second "this is exactly what I could dream about!"
So it goes.
The first two episodes were excellent! I'm very happy to see how Tales restores spiritual harmony in this world, returning setting to healthy science fiction satire and healing the wounds inflicted in the dark era of trolling, provocation and coarse cynical comedy.
I thought that while we waiting for the third episode you might be interested to hear some tales about the journey of the other character from Borderlands. The one who i choose as my personal point of view.
Mordecai the hunter and his best friend Bloodwing the alien crow-falcon.
Who knows, maybe we'll meet one of them at next Telltale's Tales episodes.
Mordecai is one of the oldest characters of Borderlands and The MOST AWESOMEST BADASS on Pandora! And also intelligent and modest, by the way. He knows this planet more than anyone else and respects the laws of nature... as apex predator.
When he went on a journey to the lonely mountain, he was not interested in treasures or saving the world, it was more like philosophical discussion with himself.
More than seven years, developers are trying to nerf him for the sake of the plot, but the wild spirit is unconquerable... well, except in certain cases 
I decided not to bring all of my art stuff here. Usually I sync my pictures with some music. Don't know how much is it legal to spread it. But i suggest you to also check out my thread at gearbox forums with full chronology and whatnot if you have more spare time
http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/t/fan-arts-by-klopotinsha/3264/3?u=klopotinsha
Times have changed, it was painful to watch how all my favorite things fade into the dust and into ash.
But all the nestlings know that sure this pain will surely pass...
Hey, we used polaroids before it became mainstream!
After the end i wanted to finally finish to myself on a good note that annoying story with faceless asshole who wanted us to call him Jack and his daugh... freaking monster.
So i've done "Future Reflections", my Epilogue to Borderlands 2
This short story happened right after the ending of the last BL2 addon, presents itself ~25 pictures synchronized to awesome song by MGMT. Gearbox themselves dubbed it "Visual journey". I like this definition, but also suggest you to verify by yourselves and decide what actually it is.
Put on your headphones and click this link.
http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/t/fan-arts-by-klopotinsha/3264/9?u=klopotinsha You should 3ИJ0Y 17!!!
Little cozy vacation on Wam Bam island regained our strength, but not calmed our wrath.
BL2 was a necessary evil lesson to make us appreciate things that are really important, to make us stronger and wiser, and make it clear that the killing Rakk Hives is not damn funny and we should be ashamed for what we've done.
Lie and ignorance flooded this world after the opening of Pandora's box.
But remained those who remember the things that are worth fighting for.
Strong and wise and they are love...
You can find the soundtrack and some additional words here
http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/t/fan-arts-by-klopotinsha/3264/19?u=klopotinsha
And in my next post you can find a map with detailed description of the mission and other illustrations for this battle
http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/t/fan-arts-by-klopotinsha/3264/27?u=klopotinsha
So we sent away all anxiety and doubts. Purified and conscious we are totally prepared for the future Borderlands game where after dispelling the ashes of fallen Babylon must to come the new era of awareness and incredible discoveries.
I started to talk about my suggestions for Borderlands 3 beginning from this post http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/t/fan-arts-by-klopotinsha/3264/35?u=klopotinsha and continued in 45, 46, 47, 48, 49th...
Hope it was interesting to stare at these art stuff both for old fans and for those who have been on Pandora only as Rhys and Fiona.
For me it was kinda chronicle of character's evolution from wicked to wise...
It is important to understand that Borderlands is not a post-apocalyptic setting like Mad Max, Fallout or Nausicaa. It is social science fiction in space futuristic setting where apocalypse just not yet happened thanks to great ancient alien ones who sacrificed themselves to protect something important, but maybe has to happen... if humanity does not become wise enough to defeat its own ignorance. It is our chance to prove that humanity is able to learn from the mistakes of the past.
I'm looking forward to your feedback and opinions, especially about BL3 stuff around water, RTS elements and archetypal factions.
Thank you for your attention!
You can also find these things at the dump of deviations http://karinakruglova.deviantart.com/gallery/
Thank you for your attention again!
Comments
Holy crap, these are awesome O.O
OOOhooohooo, Klop man, you're postin' these here too! HELL YEAH!
You just make me plain jealous man. I've got this dusty tablet sitting in my room that just can't defeat how lazy I am. This shit is awesome, pal.
EDIT: And with a couple new ones to boot, damnit man. NICE.
Yay! Thanks! ^_^
I'm a girl by the way. Or did you call me "man" just because you're Scooter's fan?
Well Scooter's pretty cool.
Might still call yah man/dude/guy out of random freudian slips regardless. Doesn't change the picture awesomeness!
As you wish, my dearest lady ^_^
I WILL GLADLY ACCEPT THIS TITLE.
O_O Jinkies that's a lot of awesome in one post. But you know what would make it even better? EXPLOSIONS! BECAUSE EXPLOSIONS MAKE EVERYTHING AT LEAST 10000% MORE AWESOME! FOR REALSIES!
Ahem. Good job
Amazing!
And now I'd like to show you another stack of illustrations about my vision of Borderlands 3.
I'm not going to impose my opinion to anyone. I just inform you that I really care about the setting, about Mordecai and all he loves, humanity, animals, nature, Eridians, Race X... what?
And if I won't like the way that official canon will chose, I always have my own alternate universe with continuation of the story. But the wind whispers that everything will be... AWESOME!
I ask you as I always do
>OPEN THIS LINK<
>if something is not working try this one<
I want you to listen the music that have painted through me, while stare at the pictures and fragments of thoughts I brought here. Try to feel it integer and let it grow in your mind.
It's said war - war never changes. Men do, through the roads they walk...
I am very glad that i underwent with Mordecai his character evolution from wicked to wise. I was expecting a lot from this setting initially when i only started my "way of the hunter", but I could not imagine in what it will turn.
I'm really happy that in Mordecai appeared the same great ancient archetype... hehehe... in old Truxican it looks so damn funny! Possible to create the impression that he just out of his mind : D
And.. Hey! He's not old! He is awesome! And now he is clean and smells good ... like unripe mango peel (who do not know, it smells almost like a pine but more fruity)
And now he will show us the way.
After all that happened, he cannot do otherwise. For the story there is the only one possible alternative option.
Just kill him. But I do not recommend to do this because it is not cool. But many will try, because people do not understand and fear such power. It changes people.
I know that many may think that I might just want to tie one to another. But I realized that this motif with the archetype has already happened before, only when it happened through me on Mordecai. It’s a magical feeling...
When something is happening in our world, it is always reflects in Art of our species.
Now in Borderlands setting becomes the moment of need of returning [set symbolic color here]-clad one.
It will be a target for savage and ignorant ones, so we have to protect it.
And it's so awesome to chop off hands of the cutest ones!! MWAHAHAHA I come up with it here earlier than it was done in MCU!! (Luke Skywalker is not considered there is completely different ritual symbolism).
I've seen hundreds of miles of swamps surrounding Ruins of Helios. From height of Talon's flight it looks like a carpet of yellow flowers.
It's the time of turning and we'd better learn to say our goodbyes
I would like if in the future game the locations will be more changing with the passage of time, as an irreversible phasing during the story and as a cyclical events from sunset to sunrise not only in visual but also in tactile gameplay interactive details like water level, behavior of nature and physical anomalies. Imagine how fun it will be co-op!
e.g. Player1 wants to lead Player2 to the beautiful place with rare mobs full of loot he had found in previous session, but when they come to the point on the map, the same place is completely different!
"WTF?!"- says Player1
With the high tide alive ones may come again... to lay down their skeletons after next reflux.
I called this location the Plains of Floating Stones because it was the usual plain but when the water rose, large stone slabs parted to pieces and left on the surface. Underneath turned the ruins of some sort of industrial quarter of ancient eridian city. Interesting place for diving.
I do not like dolls with removable heads. I propose to make a changes of characters' image with a sense and more realistic.
After opening the Vaults on Pandora appeared many areas with a high content of toxic fumes from decay of eridium, where people and other non-adapted creatures can’t survive without special masks.
The same should be done with weapons.
Special equipment depending on zone of action.
Areas where cannot be used digistruct stuff and districts were can be used only digistruct stuff.
Under water better to use harpoons... but the player can always experiment with shock weapons, only checking that his friends were not nearby :Ъ
Or maybe try corrosive on a shaky metal construction?
Just do not try to make yourself a burning trap, lol.
Interaction with the environment is cool, isn't it? We need to get the most out of the new engine.
By the way, the fact that people do not know in BL2 that eridium is so dangerous for them should not remain without consequences...
Scythid Giraffes - versatile creatures for any situation. They are big and dangerous. Lightning reaction makes them very badass enemies even for full party. Long necks and raptorial claws help them get you out from any fissure and tear to pieces! They becomes true epitome of survival horror... Hehehe... If you idiot enough to annoy them.
There is another side. If you will behave yourself properly like Mordecai could teach you, these creatures can show themselves majestic and beautiful like brachiosaurus from Jurassic Park.
Just, would you kindly, scroll back and look at this sketch again when the flute song starts.
Among such style and grace
Our highest hopes
None standing still
The running joke
Where goes the warm embrace
It fade without return
Appears to slip through fingertips
And burn
Just look at you now
Oh,
Look at you now…
I have been thinking about why Mordecai became an alcoholic in BL2. It was kinda out of canon for lifelover, philosopher and explorer I met in the original game. He can't become just bored for this self-destruction… I mean of course he was drinking and before and during BL1 but in reasonable limits... I mean, Truxican needs a very large dose of alcohol to become really drunk, so he was not having perceptible effect on his condition.
The first hypothesis, that developers just were trying to nerf him for the sake of the story as they were doing more than seven years. In BL2 it was important to keep him on supporting role for some controversial reasons…
Anyway I can offer you more interesting logical science fiction explanation of Mordecai’s disgusting behavior.
During his travels through Eridian ruins and other abnormal locations he was subjected by strong psionic radiation that drives people mad forcing them to scream about poop trains and meat bicycles. But he found a way out as he always does. Need to be an idiot genius to find such way.
Mordecai started drinking to slow down his brain so he could stay calm, quiet and stable.
Condition that we could observe on him in BL2 was kinda hibernation while his mind was trying to adapt for new settings, and his body was trying not to die of intoxication.
Support of friends and a few ECHOnet seasons of Downton Abbey helped him to go through this difficult period. Only Roland and Bloodwing could know what really happened to him...
When realization occurred, Mordecai heard the voice of The Mountain.
The Mountain said that he can take off the fetters of mind, because hе never been an ignorant parasite like other ones of his species and he could be useful to teach mankind a good manners.
So Mordecai quit drinking and become able to feel each living thing on Pandora: animals, humans, the ancient ones, the soul of the whole planet and himself.
And so he became what he became in this thread.
And that one shall come garbed in poncho of gold and descending upon a field of cyan...
And that one needs his original voice back!
Stay tuned at GBX forums! http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/t/way-of-the-hunter-borderlands-art-series-by-klopotinsha/3264/46
EXPLOOOOOOSIONNNNS!?
IT'S A BADASS IDEA!!
WE NEED TO BLOW UP THE F*CKING MOON TO MAKE OF IT THE ASTEROID BELT FOR PANDORA!! AS IT COULD BE AFTER SOME SCRIPTS LIKE IN AN EARLY BORDERLANDS BETA!!!!
IT IS SO F*CKING CANON TO MY THEORIES ABOUT BORDERLANDS 3!! BEWDLEDLELEW DLEWELEW!!!!
Er.. I mean thank you so much! ^_^
Awwwww... ^_^
I decided to turn time back to the beginning and draw your attention on graphic novel that I'm writing/painting basing on classic BL.
Its plot revolves around philosophical discussion between the man of logic and the weirdo who kisses the bird and tells strange stories about connections with the spirits of the great ancient race.
As a teaser I’ll show you a few illustrations of some memories and metaphors that coming alive in Mordecai's head and interweaving with reality, while he was trying to articulate his point of view…
I put these illustrations in chronological order with its own independent meaning as a tale about the journey of space cowboy and immortal soul that reaches its own path through legends untold...
The message i spread is clearly explained in each word and each sound of the songs i want you to listen.
--> USE THIS LINK <--
if something is not working try this one <-
there must be 7 songs in its own sequence, assembled for the whole stack of illustrations, so you can stare at each picture so long as you like.
Reach out to me, give me your hands
We close the circuits of time
1 - Hide And Seek
2 - Pandora
3 - Old New Friend
4 - The Journey
5 - Bloodwing
6 - Borders
7 - Logical Reason
8 - The Soul
9 - everlasting Icarus
10 - Tales
11 - Bladeflower
12 - Oneness
13 - Cherub
14 - much further than Jimenez
15 - gearbox
The way you draw Mordecai makes me view him as some sort of Heavenly Diety.
How did you manage to do that.
A+ work!
Now that is AWESOME!
Hey Gypsy Boy!
I made this painting with direct reference to Nausicaa with the same logic like people who can play music are making covers to songs...
I think Mordecai looks pretty badass in this girlish pose ^_^ especially in this skirt jajajajajaja XD
If I've said here about covers to the songs, I would also like to mention here that I recently found just AMAZING one!! To one of my most favorite songs... EVER!
While i was painting this piece "Si" with Eridian lady, I've listened few times it's original version by my favorite Peter Gabriel (who, by the way, once voiced one of similar to "Eridian kind things" in MYST series) I haven't shared this song here because it is more appropriate to dreams on real world engine, but this badass cover version by Fever Ray(aka Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife), i think, perfectly fits to Unreal engine... ^_^
so i share it here with the next song from her single, and for the mood of the next song i also share another picture with old man Mordecai. Yeah yeah, he looks so old, indeed.
Special link for you, my dearest Ladies - ENTER THE DREAM
No, I won't tell what behind that door. This is too interesting for kids.
Before I'll tell here the Most Final Epilogue to Borderlands 2, I would like to say some words about Telltale's Tales, to which I gave my vote on SXSW Gaming Awards for Best Narrative.
This time Telltale had a particularly difficult and responsible task; they had to work with a really big setting, which was experiencing its not best time. They had to clean up all the mess made by some specially invited shoddy comedians and finish social experiment called Borderlands 2, logically leading the series back to healthy and harmonious way, while they also had to tell a spectacular unforgettable authentic story, which would be enjoyable both for a huge biomass of new fans that came after BL2, who interested only in dancing around faceless demon or stupid mating of characters, and both for the old... "weird outsiders", who considering this series as deep serious Art and observing this setting from long before BL1, interested in science fiction, awesome adventures, great journeys and incredible discoveries.
I evaluated each episode very critically, and I think Telltale made everything just fine. That was honestly... pretty fun.
You know, actually I expected from TFTB final episode that i would cry like little biach, like after both seasons of Walking Dead Game, so I felt a bit uncomfortable when it happened so calmly and I felt absolutely nothing... I was so indifferent about everything that happened as though I've already seen it a hundred times... Then I had watched 10 episodes of Mr. Robot and felt a bit better when I saw so similar situation and feeling... perhaps, it is Okay to be already busy with something more important while Babylon finally falls.
And after a while I realized what actually I felt from the final episode of Telltale's Tales; it was more adult and complex emotions than I expected, which takes more time for processing... it was real Catharsis.
Woohoo! So I think I even enjoyed that very much! You know, after all, maybe I would even be able to play someday the main storyline of BL2, not just hoping that it would end faster; and even the faceless demon became not so annoying anymore... it became just like it always was -- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
I'm still not sure whether it was necessary to irritate players for so long with that stupid thing, or even cause a bad influence on children, who are not able to understand IRONY and even so flat SARCASM, thinking that it is pandering to ignorance;
Anyway, it's not Telltale's fault, and they are good guys.
Hey good guys from Telltale, if you read this,
I want to thank you for all great things you did, keeping amazing genre of good old quest and telling amazing tales! And I’m so glad that you did everything that has to be done, restoring spiritual harmony on Borderlands, showing Pandora from points of view of such qualitatively made characters.
Thank you for using polaroids and Shade of Raoul Duke, for stunning song for Rakk Hive, for such a cute flying jellyfishes and decent cameo of True Vaultunters, for correct crack on the moon and for the great view from space, for all unforgettable adventures and, of course, for making right decisions at the end.
Oh, and great respect for the personal ending for Another Troy Baker and Lady Wannabe Vaulthunter... in the best traditions of genre.
If you don't mind i just put this nostalgic music video here
By the way, for the future, I think it's not a bad idea to make such additional official videos for keeping order in chronology of Borderlands and just for lulz, besides, recalling How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day, i think Raison Varner have a great talent in writing lyrics and performing songs ^_^
Oh, and there's one more thing i wanted to mention about crushing of Helios.
I had forgotten that it was happening on one of my first Borderlands paintings, I did while i was playing BL2 main storyline at very first time. I was absolutely sure that this thing must be destroyed at the end, but the official canon decided that this stinking rotting corpse should hang two more years...
>
Talon, the Son of Bloodwing had time to grow up into big and strong badass and so many things happened, before rotten Babylon had finally fall.
So I have to make a retcon here to put this painting on the right place.
As you can see, this illustration shows a view straight from Mordecai's protanopic eyes, personal subjective perception, some intuition and cold-blooded logic softly blurred by alcohol. He could just clearly imagine how it may happen, simply looking at not yet falling H-thing which was doomed from the beginning to do so someday; but not at this night, because it would be too loud and may scare Tiny Talon.
In BL1 the Moon was one of the most important expressive elements of the environment, so alive and mysterious, with its own atmosphere and dynamic lighting... I with my friend sometimes stop just to gaze at it like in real life...
But then appeared this ugly H-construction that was killing the Moon like bloodsucker or cancer, personifying moral and spiritual decay of the whole setting.
I realized that this thing must be destroyed when I just saw it first time at the very beginning of BL2.
It was built only to be demolished.
It would be quite fine to crumble it into a black hole... but Someone suggested a more rational usage of resources. Evil and soulless things never exist for a long time; they just don't have any logical motive to do so, so they just fall apart from the inside and disappear sooner or later.
Mordecai always knew it, so he could well predict the fall of rotten Babylon, and focus on more important things which deserves his care.
So when the blue-haired lady, whose name he always forgets, said, that the Volunteers finally squeezed out access codes from luckless Hyperion spy and offered to blow the moon base; Mordecai, who has realized the deep significance of 'Bunkers & Badasses', said, that just blowing up a base is a stupid idea. And when Tina asked "Why?", he said, that explosives NOT always funny, and if they just blow the base a lot of innocent civilians could die, and we are not the bad guys to do such stupid things.
But in any case, Volunteers received a few new quests; at first they had to clean up the mess they did downstairs, and then go to the location, map of the road to which Mordecai painted on a napkin, and collect there ten small insects for Tiny Talon.
Someone began to resent, saying that it is boring quest and the road is too long, but when the friends got to this place, the place appeared so beautiful so everyone were very pleased and they realized that the main thing is the journey itself and the time they spent together (and they spent a lot of time on this quest because the insects was not so easy to catch)
I think this painting occurs right after turn in a quest; Mordecai had fed his feathered baby and then as a reward for help, he would tell a lot of stories(mentioning few stashes, of course) about the good times, the great journeys and unforgettable adventures he had with friends, who they would visit at dawn.
Up against the trials of life, sometimes it ain't right
Through all of my pain and strife, I focused upon the light
Though I may lose my way, I'm up for the fight
In hopes of a brighter day for children of the night…
Prologue to the Most Final Epilogue 2 BL2
It's time to tell the ending of the Legend about the Elder Mountain;
where Life kicks Evil's butt and restores badassitude of nature.
The wild beasts were not attacking those, who were unarmed and not resisting.
So not all residents of the town of liars were severed, trampled and eaten, because Hyperion butts were too frightened to act like a decent prey, and it became not interesting very soon.
The survivors most likely have joined Vaughn's tribe and still trembling in fear telling about the vital importance of good attitude to the animals and respect for planet Pandora, nature and all living things, and that this planet should not be taken for granted.
They tell legends about the asskicking disaster when the animals from all over the valley teamed up as one, like soliton wave of synchronized sentient beings, and wiped all remained Hyperion structures off the face of the planet just in few hours.
Oh and the very Spirit of Nature was there in guise of skinny disheveled hobo, but it was more ferocious than any of skags, more elusive than any of stalkers and strong almost like one quarter of the rakk hive... and, as you can guess, actually it was just awakened Mordecai who talked with the Mountain.
And I would like to tell from center of this event what actually happened.
Because I tell things from Mordecai's point of view in this thread and he plays the leading role in this event.
Meanwhile Gearbox, 2K Australia and Telltale also made some stories which can be used to clarify the time frame... I'm actually glad that they made such a favorable framing and left the big game for me ^_^
So the events of the legend of the Elder Mountain, the Wild Beasts and Hobo Spirit starts right after Mordecai heard Athena's disgusting and shameful story and switched to discuss some important matters with Eridian Watcher who once upon a time said "naughty" to demon of decay.
Actually this conversation lasted only a moment. Other humans, who were still mired in senseless disputes, hadn't even noticed anything, because their minds were blocked. And Mordecai did not even have to say anything out loud, to convey his thoughts to such creature. His physical shell only made a funny face, but his soul was screaming, "That ain't right! WWHHHYYYYYYY it still happening? I feel so much suffer from everywhere. It drives me mad. People do not understand. They are so desperate and have forgotten who they are. I can no longer watch how these bastards ravage my favorite world! I don't want to be a monster in a world of monsters... I'm not made for this! I have to DO SOMETHING!"
And the Ancient Watcher answered, "You have to be patient quite a bit, tathagata. The Evil never exist for a long time. If you want to do something good so the bad story will not repeated, of course, there is someone who needs your help. The Wild Gods can't properly make the spring when poorly educated humans poison their lands and endanger their children. You should teach these insentient beings some good manners... and try to keep them alive so they could remember this lesson... And don't forget to eat something, your shell is also must stay alive, because will be lot of things which needs You to turn up the signal and wipe out the noise."
So Mordecai understood that suffering he felt all this time was actually the call for help. And under cover of night, he went on this quest.
By the way he was so excited that he forgot his big rifle, which very needed in the first point of the big mission. So he had to go through short training mission where he collect it with new friends: Shamil the skag and Jerome the stalker, who would be also co-op players if we imagine this stuff as first-person/third-person stealth action/shooter/quest/real time strategy/ role playing game... and also She the Scythid Chaser appears after some storyline scenes and one of the Younger Hives would be playable as well.
Oh and don't feel weird that the animals can talk like in magical ethnic legends... the life is full of surprises.
(If you're slowpoke; animals were not actually talking like humans do, it was all mental connection)
If you missed the long been published parts of this story, you can find it using this two links:
Beastmaster's wrath [illustration to the final battle]
Map/briefing and other illustrations for this story.
Oh and this one BL3 concept stack#2 (there at the end explained some related thing)
If you are ready to continue ENJOY
The Most Final Epilogue 2 BL2
Oh I've been waiting so long to share with you this playlist...
Would you kindly shove your head into your best headphones and
USE THIS LINK
or you may also use THIS ONE
anyway the music must be ON
The dark era is finally over.
As has been said the animals have destroyed wildlife exploitation sadistic labs and the entire town of liars... well, actually the last one just collapsed like a house of cards when heavy rakk hives have come, because it was built so shoddy and irresponsibly, that it was not suitable even for humans. So no one feel sorry that it was completely destroyed and all ugly evil statues crashed and disappeared under the mud. And H-construction that was torturing the moon is also ruined and fell on Pandora like it supposed to happen long time ago... but Mordecai hadn't even pay attention when it happen; all this time his mind was connected with The Mountain and the most beautiful event he ever seen.
When people of former rotten Babylon learned good manners and was exiled from the valley with kicked butts and badassitude of nature was restored, nothing more threatened to the beginning of spring.
The Elder Hive told his children that his time of existence in such form is finished, like one day he got bored of flying in the sky and decided to land and become the Hive, and now he have to become something else. Things have to evolve and change and become something, because it is so interesting.
With such sense his flesh crumbled to bazillions glowing cyan and green spores and showered the whole valley, and at once plants and flowers began to sprout from these spores, from the bodies of fallen animals, loader bots, ruins of town, everything that lied on the ground became a soil for the future forests and fields.
In that moment Mordecai was so badly wounded and physically tired, but he realized the meaning of SOMETHING he always felt with his heart and it made him the happiest man in the universe.
Giant skeleton of the Elder Hive remained on the top of the mountain to guard the new waterfall which gushed from under the place where whole body was.
...
After this long unforgettable night full of marvelous adventures Shamil the skag, Jerome the stalker and Anna the younger hive accompanied Mordecai… dragged Mordecai's bleeding and exhausted body to Sanctuary, where they gave it back to Lilith who kept an eye on Brick, while Brick kept an eye on Tina, while Tina took care of Talon who also had some fun adventures and made quite a mess in Crimson Raiders HQ… That's my boy! Looks like Talon grown up a bit more while papa Mordecai fought for animal rights.
And when papa Mordecai returned to HQ, he made it even dirtier because he smeared everything around with his own blood, but it smells not bad if compare with vomit when Mordecai was a drunkard, so friends decided that they will do big spring cleaning a little later, after they will have some rest.
Everyone wanted to know what all this has to do with falling of Helios, where did he been and what happen anyway.
About the first thing Mordecai said, "Whaa? Really? Huh... Seems I wasn't paying attention", on everything else he answered some mystical delirium, softly chuckling with satisfied grin.
He felt good. Really good! Mosaic was assembled and the pain has gone expelled by great love and compassion.
For the first time in many cycles he became able to truly relax and sink into strong healthy sleep, because he knew that he will wake up in the new era of awareness and incredible discoveries.
And on the places that have been smeared with Mordecai's blood, started to grow cyan moss and small delicate flowers. To everyone's surprise, just a few hours Crimson Raiders HQ turned in wonderful greenhouse and the air became mild and fresh.
On the places that were smeared with blood and overgrown with moss, also appeared small seashells, but it does not explained by plot anyhow, it just contained in the elements of randomly generating texture.
Mordecai suggested that he probably brought some spores of the Elder Hive on his clothes (which turned into rags much more than before, it looked like it had laid in wet soil a few cycles)
But it turned out that the case was in his blood itself.
After the Elder Hive started planting process, all biological creatures who were nearby the Mountain received additional genetic code that converts their remains in superstrong fertilizer.
It is one of Pandora's natural gears of beautification for the summer season!
And Mordecai is the first man, who became able to serve for the good of the planet that way.
Yup, he can plant flowers just bleeding somewhere, or even peeing on something.
Of course, the flowers start to grow not immediately but after a few hours, but anyway it gives him a great privilege, for example, in using natural Eridian Fast Travel... let's call it the Talking Stones. A big difference from the human adapted fast travel technology is that they can't annihilate the previous body, it just drops dead instead (or twitches in convulsions a while), while the new body materializes in some other place. And using these things, you can be sure that they will carefully transport your soul... but mental disorders guaranteed. And I do prefer this. I even don't mind of using the outdated technology with HELL, but not this sterile synthetic digi-crap, which not designed for creatures with souls! Seriously, in BL2 was the scariest Warp ever!
So Mordecai will use natural Eridian Travel Stones leaving his bodies around, which will turn into… pretty aesthetic flowerbeds.
Many rumors about the man whose blood and flesh turns into FLOWERS quickly spread on the ECHOnet and so the Spirit of Nature became popular object of hunting among mercenaries, bandits, psychos, evil scientists and other interesting people.
Considering the amount of "dietary supplement" accumulated in Mordecai's body through rich life experience, I'm not surprised that his FLOWERS can deliver so strong psychotropic effects.
So the FLOWERS immediately became the most popular and demanded stuff among the Weedhunters, and it also could not fail to attract the attention of Mordecai's old friends from Truxican cartels.
Of course they are not the only ones who wish to release his blood; comrades from Vladof Corporation would be glad to take an honor to unwrap his insides for the purpose of scientific advancement. Maliwan designers would also like to take samples for the creation of new biochemical weapons, which may cause agonizing process of germination right on living beings, preceding their horrible deaths...
Remember what yo have to say about such things like The Vault or some legendary mystical creature?
That's right! IT DOESN'T EXIST!
And Mordecai himself is cunning enough to throw them all off the track.
But by the Murphy's law sooner or later he will be caught... or maybe not. Mysterious disappearances now usual case in his style. But in one quest will be a suspicion that he disappeared after someone's violent actions, so friends have to investigate this case. And they will have to earn trust of one suspected Truxican gang through dancing on Low-riders, and then it turns out that these scary criminals are actually very cool homies and they really know the White Raven but they would never hurt him because respect him as a guru, so they join the investigation, helping to establish contact with one Vladof field marshal and the story goes on, and much further than anyone could expected... Oh, seems I got carried away and told the beginning of one of DLC to BL3... never mind!
Let's get back to The Most Final Epilogue to BL2 that i was telling!
...
After a good rest and detailed narration about the recent adventure while satisfying returned appetite, and then repeated the story again, because there is a tradition to tell all the stories several times for all Volunteers (i call so the archetype of playable characters of BL2), at the dawn of the new era Mordecai took Talon and along with the group of Ancient Guardians went on a journey to Undiscovered Lands to take care about some Important Things and meet another True Vaulthunter who will come from afar not alone.
Still a lot of grief Mordecai will meet on his Way, as the news from Moxxi about the child who became a star in the sky…
But after sad moments always comes joyful moments, like the spring comes after the winter.
Because LOVE NEVER DIES.
Thus began his awesomest journey and through this journey he heard the echoes of the ancient songs.
On the edge of the green valley at the foot of the ruins that fell from the sky, rose a strong tribe calls itself Children of Helios.
According to the legend, Helios was spoiled son of Hyperion.
Hyperion was the one of the Titans like Atlas and Dahl.
But Hyperion became too ignorant and immoral, so he lost his soul, and so from the great creator he turned into stupid and faceless daemon.
Several long cycles he was exuding his stinking senseless evilness to beautiful and mysterious Pandora, as long as his own vileness not burned him from inside.
But strong and beautiful Pandora showed mercy for Children of Helios even after their despicable origins and instructed them to not to be assholes anymore...
And that's how the legends come out.
From the pain come the dream
From the dream come the vision
From the vision come the people
From the people come the power
From this power come the change
PEPLUM.
Headphones still on you? Good.
USE THIS LINK
Turn on the music and stare at this painting for a while. Because I said so.
I made this painting back in summer 2015. Like almost all the previous ideas for BL3 I've seen it in playable alpha version in my dreams. This episode took a little more time for logical processing.
But now, my dearest Lords and Ladies, I'm ready to share.
Let’s recall the first meeting with "the Destroyer"…
I can share a lot of thoughts and emotions about this, but in any case not "disappointment" about which many people say, like they expected a lot of loot from this "boss" and got nothing.
Please, leave this honor to Crawmerax.
Playing as the Hunter, I did not feel any sport interest in harming the defenseless creature who got stuck between dimensions.
Right, there was disappointment, but of another kind. Same kind like after murdering the Rakk Hive. And this weird ECHO virus, which appeared like annoying spam with a face of unpleasant woman who was so excited, was signalizing that happened something completely wrong. By the way, it turned out that the virus was a freaking monster, spawn of a faceless demon.
As we know from past lessons, cause senseless suffering to defenseless sentient beings for lack of knowledge -- is not cool and shameful.
Do we have to make an exception for the Old Ones in feeling compassion?
They are strange, scary and most of their physical forms are completely unidentifiable for human minds; so simply viewing them renders the viewer incurably insane…
So what?
There are more terrible things like subcutaneous parasites or human ignorance.
And even though Lilith is our friend, the Sirens seem to me very dangerous creatures.
Of course, the Old Ones are dangerous in any case, in the best case they just make you gone mad same way like most of the human population on Pandora, but they can also destroy entire universes, just because our dimensions is simply not suitable for them, but it's not their problem.
Demons are trying to destroy everything just of principle, simply because they are antipode of those who create. For every action, there is an equal and opposing reaction.
But the Great Old Ones are beyond this. They are seeking to the eternal void.
They do not want to offend anyone, for them any physical condition, existence of space-time, any existence is aberration or just an error. Impossible to imagine what a torment for them to be materialized in the physical world, which can't even suggest any rational shape to accommodate their minds and display their personalities.
Perhaps Eridians were wrong, that imprisoned them on Pandora... What if the Old Ones will be able to escape?
Of course, they WILL escape sooner or later.
Whether Pandora should sacrifice all new civilizations and sprouting forests and turn into dead wasteland again to capture the runaways or what if the irrational part of the Human Beings will be able to help Them return to... somewhere where They will feel comfortable and where they can do no possible harm.
But what if old man Mordecai won't...
-- Hey, I'm not old!
Of course, you're not, my precious.
So what would you do when the colors will disappear?
ROLES and CAMPAIGNS
If I were one of scriptwriters of Borderlands 3, each playable character would have a unique personal storyline, point of view and responsible part in one of the campaigns connected with Archetypal Factions and set of choices to play a role in a heck of a big global event in the game where setting begins to live its own life, no longer just waiting for players; so every action becomes a personal choice of each player (because they can't be in all places at the same time.. or maybe they could if to act separate on different fronts), or choice of only one player (that would make others pissed a little), they can even take opposing sides, or act to achieve the same goal but from different directions, and quality of these actions can make the real change, there is even the choice to overcome the temptation and not make some action to avoid some terrible mistake. And the automatically saving system will be a good incentive to be responsible for actions.
Here are some examples:
Typical response of typical Axton < (looks like the most adequate point of view, by the way)
Mordecai as the spiritual guide and Experienced Planeswalker with another One must enter the Warp without bubble to help the Great Tentacles, who squeezes through crack in the sky to pull its congener from bowels of the planet, and persuade them to get back to the Void where they belong.
DISAGREEEEE! This freaking old man who's not actually old is completely insane! One does not simply walk into Warp without bubble, and it's impossible to find a common ground with the Great Tentacles. Good Soldiers under command of General Badass will not sit back! They will use cool two-legged mecha tanks and will try to shoot the Tentacles of their big cannons.
(Of course, this is suicide... food for powder, food for powder; they'll fill a pit as well as better!)
Oh shi~, these militarists with their big cannons can ruin everything! If to interrupt the transferring of the Great Tentacles, time will stop forever and the colors will never come back. Join the Ancient Eridian Guardians and Crimson Raiders under command of the Firehawk to show these morons our AMMONITES OF INFINITY!
By the way Eridians also have their own some sort of mecha tanks, but it's more like biorobots in the form of giant marine animals.
The Slab King in the head of Grand Cartel of Pandora's Badassest Bandit Gangs provides air support and evacuation of the civilian population... PUNCHING EVERYONE who threaten their safety!
This side has the coolest air and ground vehicles assembled of trash, stylish high-tech Anshin devices of Space Yakuza, fearless Truxican Wrestlers and explosive masterpieces by Teen Tina & TORGUE.
Meanwhile operative strike force of Volunteers takes position on the orbit and tries to interfere with intergalactic military alliance of fools, who decided to blow up the planet. Athena, Out.
(In perfect it would be a stealth mission... but you know these Volunteers)
Meanwhile psychos of Pandora completely flown into a rage and began to carry out macabre rituals with sacrifices, worshiping the Old Gods.
Ni'thot Mazul ot'che lortf aga'nib pana'htht fhtagn!
(Of course, perplexed Great Tentacles can't understand that this horror is dedicated to them)
hmm... I think this line is not bad occasion to sacrifice the blue-haired lady to make a public demonstration of the dark side of Siren's nature... besides; she uses arcane energy of decay. Yeah, it would be pretty fun to make a raidboss of it ...I also had some ideas how to save her and turn it into something worthwhile... I really don't like random characters which are not a pity to waste, so be careful with your desires. MWAHAHAHA!
Children of Helios with the Golden Ranger (LB) will fight against scary decaying Slagged Mutants, who started to show uncanny activity after beginning of tectonic processes on Pandora.
Appeared that the evil era of Hyperion left on the planet not only piles of useless plastic debris, but also a "rich legacy" of drain buttholes with dangerous toxic substance. Now dear children must pay for the crap left behind by their ancestors. They also will have to deal with Aberrations that came from Atlas Terraforming Facilities.
Generous Wild Animals will come to help. When all the colors have disappeared in shadows, their eyes and patterns on skin and other bioluminescent parts are glowing so badass and beautiful like Life itself, restoring hope to all other sentient beings.
Only together they have a chance to repair and keep the ecosystem.
OUTCOMES
the story could end much faster if to act like a stupid kid.
Or go much further and deeper than anyone could expect, so the player could proudly say, that chose awesome character and led it through unforgettable story, learned so much and with help of friends did some great things…
GRAY WASTE
If to interrupt the transferring of the Great Tentacles, time will stop forever and the colors will never come back.
ETERNAL VOID
Happens if the Planeswalkers not entered the Warp/ don't get in time /get lost in Limbo / gone mad / had been made WHOLE / simply died in horrible agony / had not been enough suave and charismatic to convince the Great Tentacles to not destroy this universe.
Actions of the physical layer also play a role in this, because if people won’t stop disharmonious war actions AT LEAST FOR A MINUTE, the Great Tentacles can classify them as annoying.
HELL ON PANDORA
Careless behavior in Warp may cause opening the red portals... LOL
DEATH FROM PURPLE ABSCESS
Everyone will die slowly and painfully of Eridium Slag.
SOMETHING SO TERRIBLE
That I won't even tell. Really, don't ask, you don't wanna know.
In most of the "bad" outcomes playable characters may stay alive (if you can call it living), but the World itself dies and after a while the game loses all sense.
But so the players were not too much frustrated that they ruined their savegames, I would suggest one more thing, which could help to remedy the situation.
CHECKPOINTS FOR THE WORLD
infinite ammonites of infinity!
Eridians made some backup copies of the universe; we need to find the most suitable so we could do everything right.
I think at this moment would be given an opportunity to walk through another versions the universe with different graphic styles; maybe one may look like unpainted sketch, another would be much weirder -- with alive actors on a green screen, and few adapted levels of Borderlands Beta would be very much appreciated!
And then the story must return to the current, where Borderlands still trapped in shadows. But now you know how to do everything right with the experience your character received after... whatever it was.
But I'm sure you will not achieve success and on the second try, because this game must be
HARCORE LIKE BIACH!
So what would YOU do when colors will disappear?
Play your role in discussion at gearboxsoftware forums or leave your dying cries right here in comments!
Hahahahahaha xD
LOL
Thank you! ^_^
wow, these antsy yellow potatoes look pretty dangerous. О_о
Edit: I have no idea why my text looks like this but I like it
Probably clicked code by accident.
Anticipation of dawn.
There is no telling to which time this painting refers; whether it was long before Mordecai stepped into The Bus or it takes place during the events of PEPLUM; difficult to separate such fleeting moments when you have walked into eternity.
MUSIC LINK
The first song in Russian, so I'll write subtitles here for you:
Under the sky blue is a golden city
With transparent gates and a bright star
And there's a garden in this city, full of grass and flowers;
Animals of unprecedented beauty are wandering there:
One, as a yellow flame-maned lion;
Another, bull with the profoundest eyes;
And with them golden heavenly eagle,
Whose unforgettable gaze is so bright.
And one star glows in sky blue.
It is yours, oh angel mine, it's yours forever.
Who loves is beloved; who spreads the light is blessed;
Let the star lead you along the road to marvelous garden.
You'll be greeted there by the yellow flame-maned lion
And the blue bull with the profoundest eyes;
And with them golden heavenly eagle,
Whose unforgettable gaze is so bright.
I know I couldn't transfer the poetry awesomeness, but hope the main sense, references to tetramorph and all this symbolic stuff, which is so specific to Borderlands, is quite readable.
By the way, motive of this song (or my motivation to use it in this context) also reminds me a bit about song, used in unused trailer of Borderlands, where "Green fields are gone now, parched by the sun..."
But looking at this painting again, I feel like it not deserves to be with all this beautiful music... filthy animal!
And the irony is that he literally not deserves it.
But everything is relative.
Just like my art cycle and these songs.
This picture in addition to its place in the novel suddenly found additional story arc.
He would probably justify what he just did by his traditional "Nothing personal"...
He-e-ey, why so silent?!
Seems he's still a bit shocked after events of Sicario.
Of course, he can't remember any of it, but recurring scenes and muted voices still haunt him in weird nightmares. Mordecai probably decided that it is due to the presence of the Ancient "Eridians" and global bouts of insanity on Pandora... and partly he's right.
MUSIC LINK
I'm sure he'll be fine.
Welcome to Pandora.
[removed]
Behold!
The good old, I mean truly evil (i.e., honorable sort of evil) classic of Mordecai’s incarnations - the concentration of intergalactic wisdom and nonsense in giant corpse of an ancient sorcerer, faithfully serving for Mental’s ideas, commanding the sacred army of his master and fiercely defending the universe and its shrines, from tenacious greedy paws of horrible planetary parasites known as Humankind - the one and only ...
TURN ON THE MUSIC! …YES! LOUDER!
... Mordeсai, The Summoner!
Yeah, that’s from another game. If someone doesn't know, Serious Sam series is… it is like… a good answer if someone on Pandora would ask: “what is Earth?”
THESE ARE AWESOME!!! It looks like you used watercolor, am i right? What a talent!
Thank you! That's right, i mostly prefer physical techniques! Here is also already published a few tempera paintings, i also use blood and souls of slaughtered creatures ^_^
By the way, considering Croteam's passion for ancient cultures, I think through Mordecai the Summoner (keyword: Mordecai - Jewish masculine name of Persian origin comes from the name of god Marduk, means "servant of Marduk") we can come to really quite accurate impression about who is MENTAL exactly, or how he might be called in the ancient Mesopotamia - MARDUK.
For the first time in known history character named Mordecai appears in the Tanakh (Old Testament)
Together with his cousin Esther, who became his adopted daughter, he became the savior of the Jewish people from Haman's wiles.
By the way, i figured how Mordecai from Borderlands could become so bright... i guess i filled him with ultra-purified Argent plasma. kek
Carpe diem
ENJOY THE MUSIC <--
The song you can hear in the middle takes its origin back in XVI century.
I really like this version from album "El Último" by LOS INCAS.
"Life isn't worth living without love", so go the words of this Spanish "villancio" from the Conquest period.
Here are English subtitles:
It is better to exchange
pleasure for pain
than to live without love.
If you are thankful
it is sweet to die,
to live in oblivion
is not to live at all
It is better to endure
passion and pain
than to live without love.
It is a wasted life
to live without love
it is a better living
to know how to use it
It is better to grieve
suffering pain
than to live without love.
Two Tribes
(from note dated 27.10.2015)
Along the Way I came across variety of communities with very opposed views on Borderlands.
I've met a lot of haters from groups dedicated only to specific episodic part of setting, mainly inhabited by little girls ̶w̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶v̶a̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶c̶i̶d̶ who haven't even played the original game (and certainly won't understand this joke about little girls in a vat of acid); and where is hardly to find philosophers, travelers and lovers of aesthetics.
Not disdained to get dirty I watched over their perception and mindset for a while and right from live model wrote a classy concept about tribe of savages for BL3!
In that isolated tribe, which inhabits fetid wasteland poisoned with slag, there is a legend about the horrible monster – half four-legged scythid half man with tentacles instead of hair and soulful eyes whose pertly glitter violates the darkness – bloodthirsty henchmen of terrible Eridians, whose wicked calm and friendly speech drives people mad and makes them explode in a fit of rage. He descends from the mountains at night, rapes women, steals babies and eats them with all the giblets!
Every night, trembling with fear at the high wall of plastic, sentries stand in hope of meeting the monster with volley of lead, though he no longer appears in these dull lands...
Three hundred miles to the northwest, where dense crystalline forests stretched as far as the eye could see, among high cliffs with protruding architecture elements of the ruins of ancient alien civilization, inhabit another tribe, probably descended from the archaeologists who walked through the Arch on Promethea and were considered missing for a hundred years, until they came out on Pandora. They have close trade ties with the Slab Kingdom, Children of Helios and nomads of Balls-in-a-Head cartel.
In this technologically advanced tribe of planeswalkers, wearing emerald-purple clothes, there is a legend of wise Spirit of Nature, who takes the form of tall Truxican man to talk with people, but travels in form of a large white raven, whose wings shimmer like pearlescent in the starlight; and each feather in the wing is beautiful as good, reliable as the right word, lasting as wide song, wise like a magical tale, strong as mighty heroes and bright like the great dream...
Such different perceptions have formed in two tribes about the same "phenomenon".
By the way, I do not think he actually able to eat a human baby... he is very fastidious in this regard.
And by the way, I would not trust to screams of this sick woman, who has cut off her own face and was trying to drown stolen baby in the slag swamp to "resurrect Handsome Jack".
Any touch of faceless creatures poisons with critical dose of slag, but they have very stupid AI.
So, Mordecai and Horse masterfully dodging escaped with the "quest item" unscathed and most likely did not even understand that this repulsive creature was a woman.
And most likely in the second tribe Talon was taken as Mordecai's flight form... but who knows what this weirdo actually smokes while hanging out with Eridians…
Guardians of the garden
I’ve carved this chubby Mordecai sculpture from coquina in 2014-2015, now he guards my grandmother's house and eats squirrels.