The Harvest

The call of one unknowing, unthinking arose in the void of night; seeking obliteration in the arms of the Destroyer.

Called from the ashes of the hopes and dreams of the innocent, Samael came forth to walk the streets in search of his summoner, whispering, whispering.

The sweet venom of his tongue lulled the sleepers ever deeper into the void; drinking deep from the cup of their greatest fears and darkest desires.

He carried his scepter in his left hand, his crown upon his brow, taking his fill of the city's unholy nectar; his heart swelling with joy.

The Revenants arose and followed in his shadow, faithful pack awaiting their master's command.

Weeping dreamers cry out for respite, but Samael is unmoved; The Harvest is come and none may turn away from it.

He raises his hand and the moon bleeds; there is no escape from the oblivion of his seductive embrace.

Creative Throwdown

This whole joint project started as an experiment when I saw Sharon's piece "Judgment" and my imagination just took off like a rocket. I sat down and created the text for "The Harbinger" in an embarrassingly short period of time. She really liked it and suggested we put it together on Urban Signz as a joint piece.

We realized that this would be an interesting way to explore material for a graphic novel we've been thinking about co-creating. We're not committed to a specific direction at this point because we want to keep our options open. That's a really nifty way of saying we don't have a clue.

Strangely, the whole business seems to be taking on a life of its own, leading us down this rather apocalyptic path into the nightmares of the unnamed city. In the interest of full disclosure, we're having fun with it and just sitting back to see where it takes us.

So, one discovery we've made is that going from image to text is challenging, but the richness of the images Sharon creates tend to amp up my imagination and point me in a direction. I think it's a function of that "picture = thousand words" phenomenon.

Our latest round of creative throwdown goes the other direction, which I think is going to be more challenging. I wrote a piece and sent it off to Sharon to create a complementary image. I had a huge, rich tapestry of visual content to work from, but she's stuck with 150 words.

Oh, and one other note is that we don't consult each other during the creative throwdown. We work independently, reacting to the image or text we've been given.

I'm excited to see where her imagination takes my text in this next round. Stay tuned.

A Tree Grows in Chaos - The Guardian is Called

Once, he was a man, but that time is past. It means nothing to him.

His life and those he loved are dust at the foot of the Tree where he rested for a thousand centuries.

His memories like dust motes floating on the air before him, tantalize him, forever out of reach.

None of that matters. He has been called; Guardian and defender of the blissful, ignorant living.

His time is come and he must rise to meet the power of the Reckoning with bones and spirit where flesh would fail.

Stripped of desire, purified of love and hate, he will stand against the Destroyer with only his bones and his will.

He waits in the light of a killing moon for it to begin, wondering what it would be to feel again.

A Tree Grows in Chaos

Newest study for the painting for our graphic novel.

The Harbinger

The populace slept and dreamed of darkness; the light of a million stars extinguished in a careless moment of God's inattention.

And in their dreams of darkness the seed was planted and quickened, springing forth to take the form of a man.

Arising, awakened from the sleep of ten thousand centuries, The Harbinger walks the streets of the city.

He brings with him the spark of Reckoning, igniting the dreams and nightmares of the people.

Burning through the city, the Prophecies are revealed and the people look to The Harbinger.

He says nothing, knows nothing, moving as a shadow with no malice in his heart.

He is not Savior or Demon, merely the one who turns the Wheel at the End of Days.