Keeper of the spheres

Sunday, and all of you, you know what it means! It means a new Chapter (Mercy) [link] from the story Crucible of the magnificent Sister-to-the-Queen [link] !!!

And, surprise, surprise, this is what I drew to it this time. I have my doubts, as usual, but once I started with it, i couldn't, i didn't want to stop... This is how I sat here basically motionless (aside from my hands) for 4 (!) hours.

And, I think it really demands a bit of an explanation. I'll be uploading another picture with the elements of this one, to make it easier to identify the characters on it (but this is how I really like it, all of it, together. I'm really-really hoping that the Author will like it too )

1. Go read the chapter if you didn't realize the great skeleton was Azrael. What should I say... first fun fact, I can not draw skulls or skeletons, and this was my first serious attempt since about the age of three. Second fun fact, my hands hurt like hell from coloring his wings (which should be spotted with the uncertain outlines of stars, cause that's how i remembered it from the original, even if i'm wrong.)

2. There is (innocent) blood dripping from Death's left hand. Why? That's why: "he [...] looked at his own skeletal hands and the innocent blood thereon, and shuddered."

3. The title: Keeper of the spheres comes from the theory: music of the spheres. With some weird associations about the old geocentric view of the universe, which is supposed to contain bigger and smaller spheres embedded into each other, I came to the basics of the composition: One big sphere (circle), with smaller ones inside. (Later on, it developed further, but here is where I note that the Keeper is obviously Azrael here.)

4. Another thread of thoughts took me to the idea of a clock, since Death takes everyone exactly in time. This is why the bog sphere has 12 smaller ones inside, aligned as the numbers on a clock (though some of them can't be seen.)

5. The Lord and Lady just about screw the whole system up - which is great, because I could capture right that moment. Those two, walking into the traffic are shematically pictured on the orb which is broken through by the scythe. Also, it's at the position where usually number 11 comes on clocks. (The eleventh hour.)

6. The scythe functions as the hand of the clock - and also as a separator of realms. To the left and below are scenes of lands of the dead, to the right and upward are scenes of the living. This is also showing that life and death are just two sides of the coin. (Except that a coin would somehow look silly in the middle of all this.)

7. At the place of number 8, it's the orb with the Horsepersons, wherever they may be. I took the flaming tower, the shooting star, and the three characters in the middle from my previous drawings for the sake of continuity.

8. At number 7, it's Zirah. I took this alignment too from "A mirror looks back".

9. At number 5, exactly opposite to the Lord and Lady, it's Caphriel in his sunglasses.

10. At number 4, it's what might become of the Them, standing around a grave. On the tomb it says only Adam.

11. At number 3, there are just some graves. It's death I'm picturing, after all.

12. At number 1, it's Newt and Anathema. The latter even has a book in her hand.

13. Returning to the whole picture: those strange circles all around are parts of a delicate instrument: an astrolabium. (I used this picture as reference [link] ). It plays on the whole cosmic-order part of the piece again. Because this is what reaminds me most of perfection. And as the Author writes: "It had always been so beautiful in Azrael's sight, so utterly perfect. And with every string he cut, at its appointed time, early or late, he knew he was contributing to, was maintaining that beauty, that perfection, and his contentment had been complete."


It's all been drawn by hand, I only added a little contrast (since the photo I took of it was crappy), and then i randomly started experimenting, which ended up with saturation pulled up to the maximum, that's how it all got its blue-to-orange colors. Once I saw it, I loved it and didn't have the heart to change it back into grayscale.

Anyway, I hope you like it