new cool way to show NPC spoilers for my game: adding them to The Ambassadors by Holbein

The ambassador taking the hanged king out for a walk :3

The Ambassadors #6

Big Game #1-2 art by Pepe Larraz

The Ambassadors Henry James FYI - this is 1 of 12 vintage paperback classics that comprise our current giveaw@y.

Goth Renaissance Aesthetic (aka Hamletcore):

Portrait, possibly of Cesare Borgia, by Sebastiano del Piombo (1485–1547)

Death and the Maiden by Niklaus Manuel Deutsch I (1517)

From the Braque Triptych by Rogier van der Weyden (c.1452)

Portrait of an Unknown Lady (possibly Mary I or Lady Jane Grey) by Hans Ewerth (c.1550s)

From the Carondelet Diptych by Jan Gossaert (1517)

The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein (1533)

One view of the finials of a chaplet (c.1530) from France or Southern Netherlands

Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587) by an unknown artist

Travis Charest sketches (2022)

Olivier Coipel - The Ambassadors 

artwork for big game (mark millar/pepe larraz, 2023)

It's weird how none of Accord's Ambassadors besides Citrine are ever mentioned after Behemoth's attack on New Delhi.

Jacklight, Lizardtail II, and Othello. None of them are ever acknowledged after the time skip.

Maybe they died or they left the Undersiders behind for other work, but with how needed and rare healers are I find it strange that Lizardtail isn't even acknowledged once.

Andrael (an-DRY-ell):

Made specifically for a relationship: As usual, he's a dragon, therefore he was made for his relationship with Advent. But I feel like that's even more true for Andrael than any of the other dragon characters. Which leads me to my next point.

Who are you again?: Andrael is probably the least fleshed-out of all the characters in the story, and that needs to change. All I really know about him is that he's fiercely protective of Advent, and also kind of acts as his moral compass or conscience. If Advent really wants to do something unwise, the only one who can actually hold him back is Andrael. It's interesting to contrast Advent and Andrael's relationship with Shard and Shynael's, because Shard is the older brother in that relationship, whereas Andrael is the older brother between him and Advent.

I would run away if I met him in real life: I've always imagined Andrael as the scariest-looking one of the dragons. He has blue scales and red eyes, and he has a sort of fringe of narrow spikes around his head, sort of like a lion's mane.

I didn't realize how important he'd be: Andrael tended to get overlooked, and was just sort of there when Advent was. But when I wrote the events of the climax and how they affected Andrael, in particular, suddenly everything fell into place with Advent's character. I kind of changed my mind what Advent's deal really was as I was writing, and it was because of the way he interacted with Andrael. So really, Andrael deserves much better than to be pushed to the side.

Free space: There's an interesting scene halfway through the story that I think would be an excellent opportunity to explore the parallels between Shard and Advent, and Shynael and Andrael. Advent gets angry at Shard and goes to confront him when he's alone, on one of the rare occasions when Shynael isn't there. Andrael tells him to stop, but for once, Advent doesn't listen to him. He keeps going, and ends up hurting Shard physically. What I really want to bring out, if I can figure out how to make it clear to the reader, is how the bond between Advent and Andrael is fractured, and it's like Advent can't hear Andrael. But in the same moment, Shard calls out to Shynael, who hears him (or feels him?) through their bond, and rushes to Shard's rescue. So Advent can't hear Andrael because he's focused only on himself and what he wants. But Shard, even though he's the one in immediate danger, maintains that connection with Shynael and asks him for help, and it works because he's not just thinking about himself.

The Ambassadors #4

The Ambassadors #2 art by Karl Kerschl

This took THREE DAYS TO FINISH

*distant screaming*

Oh, and a lovely Chamuel doodle as well

The Ambassadors #3 (2023)

 Mark Millar -- writer

 Travis Charest -- penciller/inker

 Dave Stewart -- colorist

 Clem Robins -- letterer