infernal warden of emberstone

Subject & Focal Details — A towering, terrifying cloaked figure fills the frame in three-quarter portrait orientation, scale heroic and imposing; it stands upright, shoulders squared and slightly forward, the hood shadowing the upper skull while the elongated beak-like lower face projects like a plague-doctor mask. The hollow eye sockets are deep voids; fissures race across the body and cloak, each crack threaded with ember light. No text or signage. Appearance & Materials — The entire being reads as cooled volcanic stone: cracked, pitted, and glassy in places with mineral grain and fine ash dust caught in crevices. The skull-face is fused to stone with hairline fractures, chipped edges, and matte bone-like lichen stains. The heavy robes resemble folded, tattered lava rock with flaked surfaces, sharp cooled ridges and soft particulate deposits along hems. Tiny glowing embers cling in seams and micro-crevices, some fallen as incandescent dust. Color Placement — Map the palette clearly: deep near-black char for the void background (#1b1b1d), muted umber-brown stone midtones for major surfaces (#2f261f), warm rusty core highlights on thicker crusts (#8c3b20), molten ember glow concentrated in fissures and inner mouth (#ff6a21), and a soft warm rim halo and spark highlights (#ffd89a). Lighting & Atmosphere — Dramatic, dim directional lighting from a low frontal-offset and a weak rim backlight that creates strong shadows plunging the eye sockets into pure black while riming stone edges. A faint internal glow emits from the fissures producing subtle subsurface bloom and orange spill onto adjacent rock. Sparse airborne ash, drifting sparks, and a delicate bloom around the halo add a cinematic infernal aura without washing out contrast. Environment / Background — A deep cosmic void as backdrop: near-black space with distant pinprick stars and a haze of ember-spark particles. Include at most two secondary props: a scattering of glowing cinders on the ground and a lone, half-buried obsidian talon at the figure's feet. Composition & Perspective — Camera at slightly low eye level (heroic low-angle), three-quarter view, medium-long portrait crop (tighter vertical 2:3 aspect) emphasizing the triangular silhouette of the folded robes. Use shallow depth of field to soften distant sparks and accentuate the figure's face and upper chest; foreground cinders provide a near-layer for depth. Art Style & Medium — Digital illustration with cinematic realism and hyper-detailed texture work, blending 3-D-aware lighting with hand-refined matte detailing for stone grain and ember micro-glow. Focus on high-resolution surface detail, realistic shadowing, and controlled bloom; avoid painterly brushwork on main elements. Mood / Narrative Hook — Oppressive and mythological, evoking an infernal warden or saint of smoldering stone, as if it has stood watch across epochs and now awakens from the ash.