Based upon my references I began sketching some thumbnails it was not long until I came upon design 3.
I decided I would use it as it matched my original envisioning of Johna Astora of a holey warrior seeking battle to cleanse the world of evil.
I blew up the thumbnail and jotted down a few notes about changes I wanted to make for the design to make it more dynamic.
I also took this opportunity to sketch out a design for her sword. At this point I gave her a generic sword of the order of the Bleak Dawn.

After gathering a few images I created a mood board featuring the characters from Claymore as well as reference of actual claymore swords and their scabbards.
This was primarily to aid me in the creation process of some new thumbnail images for the new Astora Design.

A first attempt at using my nature photos as textures. This scene depicts the settlement of Black Rock Hold in the summer spring time.

A concept created to envision the Jarls long house atop the peak of Black Rock and home to the fabled white ravens.

Margaul Forest once a beautiful and lush forest filled with benign spirits and friendlily pixies it has since been twisted into an abomination a horrid putrid husk of its former self. The trees twist and crack in pain and agony lashing out at anyone foolish enough to enter. 

A3 design sheets created for the project Design Document

Here are the initial designs for the Jarl of Black Rock Hold. I new from an early stage what I wanted from this character, an aged but stun warrior fixed in his ways and very protective of his family and close friends.
The Jarl is also very wary of outsiders and is naturally very distrusting, usually visitors were expected to pay a generous gift of valuables and trinkets to gain the favor of the Jarl to seek a comfortable refuge in his presence.
However recent events have changed his attitude out of desperation the Jarl new actively seeks and summons capable warriors to his hold hoping to enlist their aid in rescuing his abducted child from the demon witch of The dark foreboding forest of Morgaul. 

In preparation for the creation of Jarl Ulthrick I sourced various images of Jarls utilising Google's search engine and in game screenshots of Skyrim. The Jarl is second only to the King in Scandinavian social hierarchy they own vast land and wealth and govern over a town or city.
The Jarls of the kingdom are also expected to raise an army for the king when called upon during war if a Jarl refuses they are ostracized from the alliance and deemed an enemy of the Kingdom.

During my research looking for the type of weaponry used by warriors in 900 AD I stumbled across an image that caught my attention.
While searching for Claymore swords an interesting sculpted figure caught my eye that in part encapsulated what I was looking for in my main character.

http://s6.postimage.org/oyd4um95t/Claymore_Clare_2.jpg

This character turned out to be Clare form the Manga series Claymore, so I decided to take a look at more examples of this character and see if I can draw any more inspiration form the manga series.

After choosing design aspects of the thumbnails I liked I drew up a polished piece that represented my design choices so far.
I feel I need to further refine my design as I am not currently satisfied with my main character  I want to further emphasis her connection to the divine to visually emphasis to the viewer her Nephilim bloodline.
I also want to revamp her design to make her visually more interesting and engaging to look at. As of right new I feel the design is too boring and sterile to hold the attention of any potential readers.

Originally I wanted to have two demon hunters (who appeared somewhat like witch hunters) to sent by the order of The Bleak Dawn to rid the town of the witch. These two characters would share a master and apprentice style of relationship with the young woman studying under under an experienced hunter.

 However over time I began to like this idea less and less and found my self drawn more toward a strong singular female warrior monk style of character. I wanted to keep the her affiliation with the bleak dawn and the reason she has been dispatched there but I realized I had not given much thought to who the Bleak Dawn were.

In my research I looked at giving her a Latin name but found it did not suit the character I had in mind however I originally planned to call her Angelus Lumine meaning Angel of Light in Latin (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_angel_of_light_in_latin)

Even though I did not like it as a name for the character this did however give me a bolt of inspiration as to her background and the role of the mysterious order of The Bleak Dawn.

Jhona Astora is a Nephilim a half angel dedicated to battling evil were ever it lurks and threatens the souls of humanity. This lead me into the idea that The Bleak Dawn is a secret order of Nephilim trying to regain their full angel status by aiding mankind and coming closer to the divine or godly realm the dimension of the gods and the centre of reality.
Of course there is always the possibility that a Nephilim could descend into darkness and become a dark angel or if given the right opportunity a Demon God or Dark God.