In places strongly imbued with magic it is not uncommon for this magic to form life of it’s own in the case of Aeryallon the result of this is a Spirit of the Storm. Formed by the combination of the highly magical lightning and the naturally conductive nature of some of the minerals found in the plains these barely sentient elemental beings grow in power and size over time, gradually acquiring various abilities as their strength grows. These range from projecting bolts of their own lightning to changing their appearance. These creatures are often closely bound to the stone or crystal that conducted the bolt of lightning that first formed them. As such they are usually confined to a certain territory, unless the crystal is moved or destroyed after which the spirit will either follow the crystal or be set free.
These creatures will try to replicate the physical appearance of things they have seen. In this particular example the spirit is trying to replicate a human body so that it might interact with travellers as they pass nearby its territory. I am quite pleased with the lightning effect in this drawing. I was worried that it be unclear what it was in the initial sketch but I was able to refine the overall shape to make it more obvious. This creature is meant to be amorphous lightning based on the way I designed it but in order to present a more compelling visual representation I needed to give it a more physical form. I look forward to experimenting more with that abstract concept in later designs.