ART REVEAL: Luscia’s Homecoming (House of Boreal)
art credit @adamszkiart
Let’s just talk about how Nora (aka @adamszkiart) is basically an Orynthian wizard. And unlike most bookish artists, she doesn’t just work with me as a client who happens to be an author…she travels to my world. Nora vacations with the text. She reads long excerpts to steep in the scene’s context. She feels what my characters feel, and in doing so, produces something magical.
When we first approached this piece, I’d sent Nora a couple options. She’d chosen this one intentionally, saying “this isn’t anything like my typical commissions. It represents a feeling few want to illustrate”. She was right—most fantasy artwork is romantic, steamy, or simply beautiful. But Luscia’s homecoming wasn’t any of those things, at least not the initial two. Coming home to Boreal was fraught with challenges, gaping wounds, and heartache. Doubly so upon her arrival.
Yet something strange happened when her fingers dug into those glittering sands. Luscia was overcome with a relief so deep, so connected to a force greater than herself, she could do nothing but pray and cry. This young woman, boasting strength beyond measure and a “power” not her own, collapsed to her knees. At what?
The sight of home.
Is this not the case whenever we return to our imperfect origins? Our masks falter, our legs give out and we crash into whoever will hold us. Luscia endured two books and multiple battles just for this vulnerable moment. Naively, she’d left home thinking she would never need it.
MY FAVS:
Expression - Nora captured such complicated emotion behind Luscia’s eyes: relief shaken by fear, mixed with exhaustion, poured over newfound icy skepticism. You don’t scroll past that everyday in your Insta feed.
Najjani Brooch - You guys! Nora pinned Luscia’s specialized penannular brooch to her chest! Readers will recall the master of the Najjan gifted that to her the night before and she was so proud to finally wear it. You can see it up close—along with the catalog of najjani brooches—here.
Supporting Cast - Though they are blurred in the wings, Nora even made the men kneel with Luscia, just as the scene unfolded in the chapter. Behind her, she included a kuerre backsword and a Darakaian kopar. Isn’t that cool? I didn’t even ask for that! Though taking those tiny hints from the text, the image now represents the tenuous partnership that was emerging between Zaethan’s Darakaian pryde and Luscia’s Boreali guard.
Background - This might seem silly and trivial, but the sky! The Haidren just hit Orynthian land for the first time since their harrowing kerfuffle in Port Khmer (the Isle of Viridis doesn’t technically count…. Consult Hachi for details). The coloring of the sky is also a bit funny—to me at least—since the crew nearly died crossing the Ghostly Gate in the north of Lake Vasil. This points to the otherness awaiting them behind a mysterious wall in the wilderness. Boreal is not always as it seems from the outside. Neither are people.
It wasn’t our artist’s fault that I failed to provide an adequate description of a Najjani boat. So, disregarding that oversized vessel in the back, this is pretty spot on. However, someone ought to summon Rafe Nabhu. I hear he’s in the market for stolen ships.
*ahem* “Privateered crafts”
In classic Nora fashion, she was also kind enough to grant me the alternative, more reverent version (as featured in the newsletter) with Luscia’s eyes closed.
Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments! I loved them both and hope you do too.
Alas, the story goes on. So, keep reading. Keep RE-reading and looking for clues. Your girl loves a good Easter egg and chances are, you haven’t found them all.
(no but seriously, there are eggs within eggs)
Tredae'Aurynth,
~K.L.
