Elona by Steve Turnbull

Two thousand years ago, fleeing their Slissac masters, the Taymalin stole a new land from its indigenous people.

A descendant of those invaders, ten year old Lady Elona of Corlain finds herself bound by a prophecy that says she will defeat an invading army. But that’s impossible: she’s just a girl.

Her betrothal to the Prince solves the paradox for the nation’s leaders—she can produce the heir to fight the prophesied war—at the cost of political enemies for Elona.

But six years later, as Elona’s behaviour becomes erratic, her carefully planned future shatters.

About the cover art, original title, Oubliette:

Originally, this piece was a private work, not inspired by, or assigned to, any specific book or story but the one in my head. Now, thanks to Steve, Oubliette has a second home.  

French for "a place of forgetting."

Ever since I watched the movie First Knight, years ago, the romantic horror of an oubliette stayed with me.

The idea of there really being a place where people were put, not to be tortured, but simply left, to be forgotten, with no hope of escape was beyond my comprehension.

Imagine, no light but what enters from above, if that, a place you can never visit again.

The smell of death and remains of others who were condemned to starve in not only their own waste, but that of the previous residents as well.

Not even screams of other prisoners being heard.

Nothingness.

Forgotten as if to be erased. No burial. No acknowledgement that you ever existed.

Don't ask what I was saying, here. I couldn't tell you. I do know I did not want to show despair. I wanted a quiet strength. An awareness and acknowledgement that only comes from a place of inner resilience and peace.

Something tells me she's not afraid.

Something tells me her captors are.

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Signed prints available: http://AidanaWillowRaven.imagekind.com/WillowRaven