Osprey – One of the First

The following excerpt is taken from Jo Graham’s LiveJournal:

Long ago, in the first days of the world, there were the First Mothers. Osprey was one of them, nine in all. Nine queens and ninety-nine men, blades and clevermen alike, for that is how people were made. That is how we were born in the ice of the first world, beneath the light of the moon. To each queen were given certain gifts, no two alike, for no two lineages are the same. We all count our names from them, from the First Mothers, and each tells its own story. […] She is queen of mists and shadows, strong in mind, weaving illusions to hide and deceive. She is a white flower, a white bird, a fog rising among the trees. She is the shadow of clouds trailing across the moon.

The tale of the first mothers inspired me to draw Osprey, one of the first nine Wraith Queens. The resemblance to Teyla is no coincidence – in the episode ‘The Gift’ Teyla dreams of herself as a Wraith Queen, looking like Osprey. More about Osprey and her first blades and clevermen will be revealed in ‘Secrets’ of the Legacy book series written by Jo Graham, Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold. The first two books ‘Homecoming’ and ‘The Lost’ are already published – very recommendable reading for all SGA fans, Wraith and humans alike. More about Legacy at –> http://www.stargatenovels.com/
A giant special Thank You goes to Jo Graham for answering my questions and for allowing me to use the excerpt.

Drawn digitally using Photoshop CS3 and Wacom Intuous 3.

Disclaimer: 
I do not own Stargate:Atlantis or the concept of the Wraith. Osprey and her blades and clevermen belong to MGM Television, Jo Graham, Melissa Scott, Amy Griswold and Fandemonium.

But I do own the countless hours of work that went into the creation of this, so the artwork is mine. Please don’t use/post this without my permission as it was made specifically for Jo, thank you.

Please spread the dA love and check out these awesome reference pics I used for the painting:
Lighting ref: http://ariseandrejoice.deviantart.com/art/pastel-planet-154506503
Mountains: http://markieknopflie.deviantart.com/art/Snow-and-ice-155590474
Hilltop: http://doruoprisan.deviantart.com/art/Winter-Wonderland-8-73838581
Aurora Borealis: http://uberfischer.deviantart.com/art/Blue-Mountain-Lightshow-197809879
Blade, reference for pose: http://ahrum-stock.deviantart.com/art/Gratuitous-Swording-20-54902556

Detail view