As I am now done with the second book (being published in 10 days!!!!!!!!) I'm looking towards the final book in the trilogy, but first I am going to share the concept art for the characters from the Rise of a King. These are all completely just lifted from a Google search of the internet, I don't have any rights to anything. :) Just a fun way to visualize a story. But readers can see them however they envision them, that's the beauty of reading...just move along if you aren't interested.
Now, these images aren't exactly perfect...but a good approximation for different reasons.
Drayden. At the beginning of the story Drayden is handsome, alluring and the all-powerful prince of the Cirque, but as the story progresses he becomes more and more destroyed by his own self-hatred and longing for something that is not his...
Farrow. This piece of art I am getting licensed as it will be in the second book. I see this as Farrow being pensive and having to lead the Arcades but feeling reluctant, forlorn and managing his separation from Rayelynn.
Rayelynn. Being in the Cirque isn't really fun for Rayelynn. The first image is how I think Drayden sees her...as an object; meek and attainable...
This second image is how Rayelynn sees her time in the Cirque, living on the outside of life, trapped and longing.
This last image is of the end of the book when Rayelynn awakens to her beauty, self-worth, sensuality, and power...
This is the only image that I found that really spoke to me for Anastasia. While there is only one image...this is exactly how I see her. Beautiful, sexual and dark.
This is how I see Naida, also beautiful...maybe not exactly this strong though.
This one shows a little less power and would be more the way I see her...
For Drayden's lovers, this was exactly how I saw Baltane, strong and seductive.
And these pictures are the way I thought Margravana might look, beautiful and powerful.
The silver fairy Gillaine feels like she'd look like this. She's been through a lot so she's cold and jaded but grateful to be alive and able to raise her son, though she fears both her life and her son's could end at any time.
As for the Yardang Fairy trapped in the Arcades, I saw Gor as being beautiful, but not very...more powerful and brave than beautiful.
This is exactly how I see Aelden :)
As far as the elves go, these felt right as Elogyn and Alora.
And the seven gods which apart from Artemis are pretty hard to identify in The Rise of a King but become more significant in The Reign of a Queen...
There wasn't a great depiction of Queen Catalina as she isn't young anymore (fairies in the series age but very slowly) and so this was the only one that spoke to what I thought she might be like...
Artemis
The most powerful god and the father of Queen Catalina and grandfather of Drayden
Via, an aphrodite type goddess...who is the goddess of love and lovemaking...
Gregorian, the god of war and leadership is helping Anastasia rule the Arcades while Farrow is awaiting trial...he admires Anastasia and offers her wise counsel and support.
Raan is the god of science and earth. He's soft-spoken and beautiful...
Shanti the beautiful dark-skinned goddess is in charge of magic.
Milos is the god of the arts...
And Cail is the goddess of intuition and intellect
And lastly, for the Reign of a Queen the babies....which feature very heavily in the last book and are perhaps the spin-off to the next series.
The most major kiddos are Rayelynn and Farrow's fraternal twins...Raven (the girl) and Farren (the boy)
Raven the bright spirited child who sings and has healing powers like her mother, but will also understand evil...she's not evil, but she can live among evil people and tame them...
Farren understands evil even better than his sister and he's the dark brooking fallen angel/fairy halfling, his magic is thought...he stops people from acting on impulse, while he's teased for it being a weak magical power, it saves the world from mass destruction and he learns to love his introverted temperament and the fact that the one and only time he acts on violent impulse it destroys a valuable life.
Anastasia and Naida's adopted fairy daughter Ella is sweet and beautiful...but is also part fallen angel and grapples with a darkness she doesn't understand because (like Drayden) she's so bright and beautiful no one understands that she has fallen angel blood.
Anastasia is pregnant at the beginning of the Reign of a Queen and we find out she's not having a boy as most would expect, but she is having a daughter...and like Ella they both are half-fallen angel, though Anais is part demon as well and she seeks to find her good when she feels compelled towards the darkness...
Last but not least is Gillaine's son Dahs (Fredrick) who is raised in hatred, darkness and anger...he struggles more than the rest of them and becomes a true nemesis.
And those are the characters as I see them...at least by the pictures I could find on the internet :)
