(click for larger DA version)

And out of the water it rose, older than the land yet part of the land. It had no words, for it was not a thing of human speech, of of the human world. What it wanted, was the will of the land itself.

A beginning of a great adventure, or the end of a journey? This depicts a typical Scandinavian forest with a "tjärn", a cold, black and very deep little lake in the depth of the forest, easily inspiring legends and myths.

GIMP + MyPaint, about six hours. Kept textures deliberately simple on this one. Comments and feedback appreciated as always.

UPDATE: Made some tweaks to the character and other small things people commented on elsewhere.
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Griatch

That's one cool translucent ice serpent Griatch.

I love it. I love all your landscapes Griatch.The ice fish is very interesting too.

Absolutely amazing. Does that section of the planet its rightful respect.

Pretty cool looking. Reminds me of that "Russian water tentacle" from the Abyss movie.

This is my favorite type of fantasy.
Thank You for now, and I ask for the next

Another excellent piece. The translucent element really came out well. I can imagine the expression on the subject's face, even though I can't see it.

Thanks for the comments everybody!
I made some minor fixes to this image after critique elsewhere; straightened the pose of the person a bit as well as clarified some perspective in places.

@Draconian: Yes, I did come to think of the Abyss when drawing this.

@GnuTux: I wonder if we both imagine the same expression on his/her face?
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Griatch

Hey - you're a good artist Griatch. I love snow and ice paintings and this one would work with or without the serpent. Excellent work!

Thanks Erisian.

UPDATE: After feedback, I adjusted the creature quite a bit, notably made it more "part of the water" than before.
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Griatch