Virgo Maris, Domina Ignis

"I have lost so much, sacrificed much to be who I am now. I lost my father, my husband, my kingdom, and my love to a great evil led by one whom I thought vanquished. The sea that was once my home is no more, and I was left adrift, lost without hope.

But I found hope in the form of the most unlikely of elements, not in the cool, calm, serenity of the sea, but in the fury, warmth, and purity of fire. Great men found me and healed me. They took my shattered form and remade me using the Hammer, the Anvil, and the Flame. My sisters and I learned much from these black-skinned warriors, men who were truly caring and honorable. I learned how to harness my anger and hone it into a potent weapon, how to master the forge, how to fight. Since then, my sisters and I have fought across dozens of battlefields, destroying the enemies who dared to annihilate our home. We are restored, cleansed in the purity of the Sea and remade in the fire of the Forge."- Ariel, Princess of Atlantica, the Maiden of the Sea, Child of the Forge

Truly spoken are her words, for like all the other Disney princesses, Ariel saw her loved ones, her kingdom, and her true love destroyed by an enemy unknown and abhorrent. A vast legion of undead, living creatures whose bodies were home to filth, disease, and decay. A vast cloud of flies and maggots laid waste to whatever they touched, and bloated, sickly monsters led the charge with pleasure at the horrors of their actions. Leading this force was an enemy Ariel long thought dead, but who was resurrected by this unknown force, albeit into a form that was repugnant and disgusting. Her old foe, Ursula the sea witch, reborn into a form of disease, decay, and filth. Her new body was disease-ridden, full of open, bleeding wounds, infected pus, and a swarm of maggots and flies hovered over her.

Facing them was King Triton, Ariel's father, and her husband, Prince Eric. But despite their best efforts, their combined forces proved no match for this undead, monstrous horde. Not even the powers of Triton's magical trident could undo the damage wrought by these monsters. In the end, both her father and husband were killed by Ursula herself. Ariel, her daughter Melody, and her sisters were forced to flee, along with a retinue of Atlanticans and humans into the farthest reaches of the sea.

Wracked with grief and despair, the survivors found themselves assailed by these putrid creatures from all sides. Resigned to their fate, they simply awaited death. But it was not to be the end for them, for fate had a purpose for Ariel and her sisters.........

The creatures themselves became attacked by giant warriors, men who used the purifying and cleansing effects of fire to banish these enemies back to whatever realm they came from. Ariel and the survivors stared in amazement at the warriors. Giant soldiers, clad in armor of tropic green, gold, and black, resplendent with icons of fire, hammer, and anvil. Scaled cloaks and skulls of great and mighty lizards were draped over some of the warriors. Those who were bare-headed bore obsidian-colored skin and burning orange eyes. Their saviors were another legion of Space Marines, one which was master of fire and the forge.

The Eighteenth Legion.

The Sons of Vulkan.

The Salamanders Legion.

The Salamanders took the survivors and accomodated them. As for Ariel and her sisters, their leader explained who they were and their purpose. They, along with many others, formed the Imperium of Man, the sworn enemy of the force that had laid waste to their home and whom Ursula sold her soul to: Chaos.

Seeing their chance for vengeance, the daughters of Triton swore an oath to uphold their kingdom's ideals, honor their memory, and avenge their fallen loved ones. Thus, Ariel and her sisters became recruits for the Salamanders, and they learned the art of metallurgy, smithing, and of the forge. They were also trained in numerous arts of warfare and soon became fierce warriors. Each of the sisters was assigned to one of the legion's seven companies, and soon went their separate ways, fighting on different worlds and battlefields. Except Ariel. She was chosen for another role.

Ariel was singled out from her sisters to be the apprentice to one of the most revered of the Legion's warriors. A warrior who was tasked with finding the nine lost artifacts of their ancient leader, Vulkan. This warrior's name was lost to him; he now goes only by the name of Forgefather. It was he who chose Ariel to be his student and to aid him in finding the four remaining artifacts, for he had already found three, and his predecessors had discovered the first two. She learned so much more under his tutelage, including the art of pyromancy. She soon developed a strong form of pyrokinesis, and is now able to command fire in addition to the sea itself. Ariel has also completed the many trials to become worthy of bearing the gifts of a Salamander: heightened reflexes, superhuman strength, mastery of fire and the forge, and the fiery eyes of a Salamander marine. Ariel is now the Forgefather's apprentice and like him, is able to divine the location of the final four artifacts through fire as well as being able to command fire and summon great numbers of Space Marines at her side, just like him.

But despite having undergone many trials and now imbued with the potency and fury of the flame, Ariel still has not forgotten her sea heritage and her true love. To honor them, Ariel forged a battle dress decorated with iconography of her kingdom, such as sea waves, clam shells, sapphires, while also incorporating elements of her new heritage, such as flame symbols, firedrakes, and other symbols of the forge. Ariel and her sisters now fight for the Salamanders to honor and avenge their fallen loved ones and to destroy their hated foe. Whether by the fury of the raging sea or the purifying force of fire, they will prevail........


Disney Princess number three: Ariel, drawn in full form. Out of the three current Princesses I've drawn in full portrait form, Ariel was the hardest to do. I wanted to combine two unlikely elements of nature: fire and water. Ariel provided the perfect basis for this experiment. Thus, you now see her, in dual symbolism of fire and water, although I made sure to maintain her sea nature as the dominant look. Fire was only included to show her new strengths and loyalties.

Again, here are some images of the legion she now fights alongside with, the Salamanders.

The Legion symbol of the Salamanders
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A couple of Salamanders Space Marines
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Drawing was done by me, and like my other two submissions, a little digitally-rendered background, this time a navy blue color.

The title is Latin for Maiden of the Sea, Master of Fire.

The Salamanders and all subsequent information and symbols belong to Games Workshop.
(c) Games Workshop
Aurora and the Disney princesses belong to Disney.
(c) Disney
The artwork is mine. Enjoy.
(c) terraluna5

Signature weapons

As an honor to her father and to her saviors, the Salamanders, Ariel has adopted the two symbolic weapons of the ocean and the forge as her own: the trident and the hammer.

Spiritus Mare- the Sea Spirit. Ariel forged this double-headed trident in a deep sea cave in the aftermath of her kingdom's destruction. The trident is a powerful conduit for channeling the powers of the sea and is a horrifyingly effective ranged weapon. The weapon is also capable of dividing into two halves, enabling Ariel to wield each piece one-handed. Forged from molten gold and tempered steel, Spiritus Mare is Ariel's favored weapon and a powerful artifact of the sea.

Malleus Fornax- Forgehammer. To honor her saviors, Ariel forged this exquisitely crafted hammer in the deepest forge of Nocturne, homeworld of the Salamanders, deep within the largest volcano. Surrounded by a circular lake of boiling lava, Ariel first mined the materials needed for the hammer's forging. She then incorporated a small flamethrower into the weapon's haft and a power generator, enabling her hammer to emit a powerful force field that would destroy anything within a hundred-yard radius. Finally, Ariel hunted down a Firedrake within the volcano and throttled it to death, catching its fiery soul before it dissipated. With fire magic, she bound the drake's soul to her hammer, transforming it into a magical talisman. Forgehammer, like Sea Spirit, is capable of channeling the powers of fire and cleansing all enemies with its touch. Ariel uses the hammer in tandem with her trident, wielding the powers of the sea and the forge with incredible mastery. Fitting weapons for a princess of water and a priestess of fire.