Acolyte

A quick experiment, looking for ways to get higher-resolution images out of the software I use for posing, rendering, and post-production. I also thought I would experiment with producing a minimalist image with some text, along the lines of a desktop background or poster.

The portrait is of an original character from my fan-fiction stories. Vara T'Rathis is a former commando who works for Liara T'Soni during her time as an information broker on Illium. She proves to be one of Liara's most reliable friends and allies, rising to lead the brokerage's department of operations and intelligence gathering. Breaking the norms of asari society, she becomes Liara's first sworn acolyte . . . and also admits to a degree of romantic interest. At the outbreak of the Reaper War, her relationship with Liara remains complex and unresolved.

The "acolyte's oath" here is one which I developed for the story. Astute observers will notice a certain resemblance to oaths of fealty sworn in medieval England or France.

We also have at least some evidence for similar oaths from the source material, as when Samara swears an oath to Commander Shepard for the duration of his mission against the Collectors. One interesting point from Samara's oath is the subordination of her moral Code to his. For her that's a necessity, as the justicar's Code can't be expected to match Shepard's morals exactly, and she's specifically swearing an oath to avoid any conflict. I speculate that an asari swearing to serve another as an acolyte might agree to a similar provision - the implication is that the acolyte admires or respects the moral teachings of her superior and is committing herself to follow them.

Mass Effect assets owned by EA and Bioware.
Original armored asari model by nach77.
Customizable asari head texture by Taleeze.
Software used: XNALara Posing Studio, Photoshop.