Nimue

This piece is for the current History of Magic mini contest at the

As Merlin, the most famous wizard of all time, is mentioned several times throughout the HP series I decided to choose Nimue, as she is the woman that bewitched and overpowered him. I also thought her a good choice as most people consider the Lady of the Lake to be a magical creature, like a Veela, rather than a sorceress.

Nimue was a sorceress who was taught by Merlin and is mentioned several times throughout Arthurian legends. There are many stories involving her such as bequeathing the mystical sword Excalibur to Arthur and raising Lancelot after his father’s death. She is also accredited with trapping Merlin in a tree trunk or under a stone after he taught her everything he knew.

As far as looks go, her features are not generally stated, but I imagine a very fae like character. I decided to match her dress to the sword (Excalibur of course) as she is the one who bequeathed the sword to Arthur, and it is also returned to her after his death. I added swirls to the dress and celtic knot work to the sword and the headpiece as she is often mentioned to be connected with Celtic deities such as Morgan. I gave her greenish hair because, well, I think of her with fair hair and as as she lives in a lake I suspect it would take on a green tinge

celtic knot brushes from [link]
spiral texture from [link]
background texture from [link]