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My favorite character of the series is Ishethra, a mother who will just as easily offer wisdom of the ages with tender care or burn you to a crisp if you’re an asshole. I can think of no better mentor in all the realms or realities.

Her name is a fusion from Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love and war, Eisheth Zenunim, a demoness in Jewish mythology, one of the four angels of sacred prostitution, lust, pleasure, fertility and wealth, and lastly, Ra, from Egyptian mythology.

Happy Monday! I wanted to share this epic scene with Dragan, who just turned twenty-one. He gets to hang out with Ishethra for a bit which is a treat. Unfortunately, this happened …
……….
    A guttural laugh echoes as a fierce crimson light washes over me.
    I look up.
    An obsidian monstrosity partially emerges from shadow and flame, volcanic mouth ajar, showing swords for teeth. Metal plates cover his body, wrapping his huge-ass horns. A giant, mechanical hand closes in a fist. Gobs of billowing dark clouds gather around him. This fucker is an armored colossus. His head extends, lowering, two blazing eyes fixed on Ishethra, utterly dwarfed. Soulash casts a disparate glow.

    The candy stick slips from my mouth as I freeze, donning the archdevil’s cloak of terror. Which one?
    Ixion, ruler of Draug.
    This monster is the one responsible for my people’s suffering?
    Yes.
    Don’t suppose you can persuade him to get the Hells away?
    Ishethra snickers. Probably not.
    “Another one of your pets?” Ixion asks, voice fiery and absolute. “Or should I say … slaves? The realms once feared your name. Now they mock it.”
    Ishethra cracks Soulash, smiting the darkness with golden light. “He’s a free spirit, a student, the noblest profession, one a tyrant will never understand. And you dare disturb the mavka of freedom in the spirit realm? How foolish.” Ishethra flies, her whip trailing like a comet’s tail, circling him, his head tracking her—all the way around. She stops by his chin, twirling her whip, its buzz growing louder. “You’ve been measured and weighed, and have been found wanting.”
    His fist parts the clouds, revealing his torso, layered in strange metal. “Foul demon. I’ve become mightier than you can imagine. The ultimate union of machine and magic. This ends with you kneeling.”

I’ve been A/B testing the covers for book one and have been mostly getting thumbs down. So, I decided to go in a different direction. The new cover gets you up close and personal with Saffa Nightwind, the book’s anti-hero. From her bony spikes/horns out her forehead to those blue eyes glowing with intensity. Thick, leathery skin that’s more functional than comely. Blood on her mouth. Hers. Someone else’s. Probably both. Above all, feminine power. I’m well pleased.

Book five, Quantum Champion, has been on my mind a lot today, so I made a few AI concept videos with Sora for a dreamweaving sequence between Zelene and Soren. Zelene plays in a brutal basketball league where she must play not only for the championship, but for Soren’s life. If you ever played Bill Laimbeer’s combat basketball in the 90s, you’ll have the tiniest taste of what Zelene’s in for.