Hey Redditers!

Before I can even begin to write a proper character introduction for Viola Hastings, I think we need to map Viola’s actual character trajectory, because she is much more than “Nesta’s first soulmate.” She is one of the characters whose choices create consequences that continue long after the initial relationship breaks.

Here’s the picture I have so far, separating established canon from places I and the Forgers still need to develop.

Who Viola Hastings Is Currently

Viola Hastings is a Vardic huntress and a royal bearing the title, "Duchess" that was bestowed to her by her mother, the former Duchess of Valemont. Viola is 19 years old in the main period arc we’ve been developing. She stands 6'0, putting her just below Jasper at 6'1" and considerably above Nesta at 5'8".

Visually, Viola has blue eyes, a soft splash of freckles across her face and red hair that is slightly wild with loose, natural texture—not tightly curled. One of her distinctive features is the bear-claw earring on her right ear, with three openings containing glowing green orbs, that reveal the spiritual energy in the land. Her established clothing carries the Vardic green aesthetic.

But her Vardic identity is much more important than her appearance. Viola was shaped by what she was taught. That becomes central to why she makes one of the most consequential mistakes of her life.

Viola Enters Nesta’s life When Nesta Is In Serious Trouble

This is one of the most important pieces of Viola's introduction, because she doesn't initially enter Nesta's story as a romantic interest, but as a platonic one. At seventeen, Nesta is severely depressed and suicidal. Viola is brought in by Threg Latimer from Valemont to help her.

And Viola does help her.

For roughly six months, their relationship develops through therapy, practice and training. Viola isn't merely standing beside Nesta telling her to feel better; she's actively involved in rebuilding her.

During that time, the two become extraordinarily close.

They platonically fall in love.

That wording matters because their connection isn't initially built around physical attraction or romance. Their intimacy grows out of companionship, trust, vulnerability and the work they're doing together.

Then comes the revelation that changes everything:

Viola and Nesta are destined soulmates.

And Viola rejects it.

Viola’s defining contradiction

This may be the central idea behind Viola Hastings.

She helps Nesta become stronger—and then becomes one of the people who hurts her most.

Chalice reveals that Viola and Nesta are soulmates. Nesta doesn't simply accept that blindly; she verifies it with Priest Benedict.

And Viola still rejects Nesta.

Not because the soulmate connection is false.

Not because Nesta has misunderstood what happened.

Not because Viola doesn't care about her.

The material we've developed identifies Vardic indoctrination as the thing Viola cannot overcome. That's important because it makes Viola's rejection much more complicated than,

“Viola didn't love Nesta.”

As the author, I'm tell you that Viola 100% did ahavah Nesta with her entire heart. The tragedy is that Viola's beliefs about what her life and soulmates are supposed to be become stronger than her willingness to accept the person actually given to her.

And she doesn't simply walk away afterward.

Viola Can't Completely Leave Nesta Either

After rejecting Nesta as her soulmate, Viola remains her friend. Predictably, their friendship becomes awkward. Even after Viola's original contract ends, she remains in Darkfall. Part of that appears to be guilt, but another part is much more revealing.

Viola needs to know whether Nesta really is her destined soulmate.

That tells us the rejection didn't settle the matter inside Viola.

She said no.

She didn't necessarily become certain that no was the right answer.

That internal contradiction seems to follow her into the next stage of her life.

Then Comes Zev (Whose Last Name I'm Still Working On)

This is where Viola's story becomes considerably more tangled. Through Nesta, Viola meets Zev. Viola and Zev eventually develop what I describes as a sexual/platonic love and they secretly marry despite the segregation laws surrounding them.

What you need to know about Zev is, he is a Lightfall citizen who has a pending transfer and citizenship in Darkfall. Within Darkfall Kingdom, is a sub-kingdom territory, Valemont. So legally speaking, Viola and Nesta are fine to meet and have friendship because they fall under the same banner.

Zev does not. He is in a legal process of coming over to Darkfall, but upon meeting Viola in the woodland area, he and her helpless become attracted to each other and it's obvious from the start.

Well, they are Trigonous fearing people, but divert from what is orthodox when it comes to marriage, just a tad. The one thing Viola and Zev did properly was get married. She knew a Darkfall Priest who was willing to oversee their union with Nesta present as a witness.

However, neither of the three youths informed the priest that Zev was not a legal Darkfall citizen. No one lied to the priest, but the priest didn't ask. Maybe I should change that in the manuscript? Hmm. That is tempting, but we'll see. Moving on.

The Holy Scripture says to obey mortal laws as long as they don't infringe on a main divine law, which is bowing to a mortal, animal, holy angels, nature, etc. as the Supreme Authority. To date, no mortal king, queen or governing ruler on Divide has requested such a thing, so it was wild of Viola and Zev to plan for future in the shadows.

Viola and Zev want a family.

And Nesta eventually agrees to become their surrogate.

That arrangement is emotionally brutal once you understand what Nesta is carrying underneath it.

Nesta still wants Viola.

Part of Nesta's willingness to carry Viola and Zev's child is connected to her desire to prove that she can be strong—that she can somehow become the kind of ideal soulmate Viola wanted. Meanwhile, Viola isn't emotionally settled either. As Nesta's pregnancy progresses, Viola writes to her, sends supplies, visits frequently and increasingly begins questioning what she was taught.

So Viola's arc isn't:

Reject Nesta → move on → marry Zev → problem solved.

It's closer to:

Reject Nesta → try to live according to what she believes should be right → discover that rejecting the soulmate bond did not make it disappear.

And that distinction is enormous.

Then Jasper Enters The Equation

This is where I think the upcoming Viola arc gets particularly interesting.

Jasper is not simply “another woman Nesta likes.”

Jasper represents something potentially devastating from Viola's perspective.

Viola was Nesta's destined soulmate.

She was given that position.

She rejected it.

Later, Nesta forms the soulmate relationship with Princess Jasper Ferox—someone who was not originally Nesta's destined soulmate. That means Jasper isn't stealing Viola's place. Viola abandoned the place. That's a much harder thing for Viola to confront.

Jasper becomes a threat not merely because Nesta might love her, but because Jasper can potentially become the person who accepts what Viola refused.

And Jasper arrives with her own emotional history and needs. She's not being positioned as some malicious rival trying to take Nesta away from Viola.

That makes the triangle much more interesting because I don't think its strongest version is,

Viola Vs. Jasper: Who Gets Nesta?

It's:

Viola vs. the consequences of Viola's own decision.

Jasper simply makes those consequences impossible to ignore.

What I think Viola Is Fundamentally About

There are several themes converging in her already: indoctrination versus truth, love versus expectation, free will versus destiny; regret; pride; delayed obedience; and the terrible possibility of realizing that something you rejected was precious only after someone else has learned to cherish it.

And more importantly, I don't think I will reduce Viola to a villain like I originally had planned in manuscript. She did something deeply damaging to Nesta. That needs to remain consequential. But the material we have doesn't describe somebody who rejects Nesta and happily forgets about her.

Viola stays.

She questions.

She watches.

She helps.

She feels guilt.

She continues caring about Nesta.

She builds another life with Zev and still cannot completely escape the question she thought she answered.

That is a much richer character who is worth redeeming.

What I still Need To Establish Before Posting Parts 2-3 (Possibly 4)

There are a few major pieces I don't think I or the Forgers developed deeply enough yet.

Vardia (Vardic's capitol city) and Viola's upbringing there, exactly what the Vardic/Skaldren teachings taught her about soulmates and why Nesta violated those expectations. Viola's family and social position as a Duchess, Viola's family and family hierarchy, how she became a Skaldre, why she was specifically chosen to help Nesta, what Viola believed she was looking for in an “acceptable” soulmate and exactly what happens internally when Jasper becomes real competition rather than an abstract possibility.

And one thing I especially want to define is what Viola believes she rejected versus what she actually rejected.

Because I suspect those are not the same thing. She may believe she rejected an inappropriate soulmate pairing that contradicted everything she'd been taught. In reality, Viola rejected Nesta—the seventeen-year-old girl she had spent six months helping recover, the person she already loved, and the soulmate whose legitimacy Nesta actually went and verified.

That difference could become the heart of Viola's eventual reckoning.

For the Reddit posts, I took some time to think about how to introduce her to you. I decided I can't begin with the headline,

"Viola Hastings: Nesta's Rejected Soulmate.”

That's jumping to the wound before readers understand the woman who inflicted it.

Part 1, today's post is giving you the surface of who Viola is.

Part 2 should be tell you about Viola before the rejection happens. Who this tall Vardic huntress is, where she comes from, what she believes, why she comes to Darkfall and how she becomes so important to a struggling Nesta.

Part 3 can become the painful one. Zev, her lover, the surrogate pregnancy, Viola's growing doubts and eventually Jasper—the woman who forces Viola to confront what happens when you reject destiny and destiny doesn't wait forever.

All of these parts will help you understand my character better. Plus, it gives Viola room to be a person first, the person who rejected Nesta second, and the person forced to live with that decision third. That's the direction I think fits what I, the author have built around her and want for her.

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There is no rushing this.

Please be patient with me while I organize everything I want to share here.

I've realized that I don't want to post every day simply because Reddit gives me a challenge to complete or because I feel like I need to keep a feed moving.

If I'm going to post, I want there to be a reason.

I want to share things that are powerful, informative, educational, funny, heartfelt—or sometimes just wonderfully strange—about this book I wasn't even supposed to care this much about.

And I think that's something I need to explain.

Divide Wasn't Supposed To Become This

I've been writing for a very long time.

I already have books I've written and published, and together those works have spent years establishing the worlds, ideas and foundations behind my Christian fantasy series, Search For The Griffin.

Divide wasn't supposed to compete with any of them.

It wasn't supposed to become this enormous labor of love.

Honestly, Divide began almost like a side quest.

It came during a difficult period when I had become deeply discouraged about my writing and what I had to offer. After years of rejection and a writing career that hadn't become what I'd once hoped it would, I had reached a place where I was trying to accept that maybe the audience I'd dreamed about simply wasn't going to be there.

That hurt.

But something unexpected happened after I stopped chasing that dream.

The Lord still wanted me to create.

I felt Elohim pressing me to finish something. Anything.

I originally thought that something was supposed to be Milieu. I tried.

I'm still trying.

But finishing it has been difficult.

And then Divide came along.

This Little Side Project Changed Everything

Divide somehow blew apart nearly every expectation I had for the stories I've carried with me since 1993.

And strangely, I don't think I'm working this hard on it because I want to convince people to buy it.

Actually, I'm planning to release the eBook for free.

Divide isn't about making money for me.

It's still the new kid standing among works and projects such as Milieu, Trying Not To Chase Aria, Sydney University, Final Reality and Duenna: Griffin's Chosen.

It's still earning its place.

But somewhere during that process, something changed in me.

I stopped asking: “Will people want this?”

And started asking: “Do I love making this?”

And the answer was yes.

Very much.

I Think I Finally Remembered Why I Create

There was a time—especially through the 1990s and early 2000s—when I felt completely on fire creatively.

Then life happened.

Somewhere along the way, that fire became much harder to find.

But while writing Divide, building its characters, working through scenes, developing relationships, drawing, worldbuilding and carefully weaving all of these lives together...

I started feeling that fire again.

That's why these characters have become so personal to me.

Viola is personal.

Nesta is personal.

Jasper is personal.

Honestly, all of Divide is personal.

The heroes matter to me.

The villains matter to me.

The foils matter to me.

Even the ridiculous side characters who emerge from piles of hay and decide they're marrying princesses matter to me. 😂

Every one of them is helping me rediscover something I thought I'd lost.

If This Reaches One Person, That's Enough

Of course I'd love for people to enjoy Divide.

I'd love for someone to laugh at BED, become invested in Viola, worry about Nesta, root for Jasper, question Severin, explore Seishin and eventually understand why I've poured so much of myself into this strange little book.

But I don't need Divide to become enormous for it to matter.

I want to reach one person.

Just one.

One person who understands something I was trying to communicate.

One person who sees the beauty I see in holy friendship, holy passion and deep platonic love.

One person who understands why I believe soulmates don't have to be romantic to profoundly change someone's life.

One person who finds something in these characters that stays with them.

If that happens, then this work mattered beyond me.

I'm Learning to Believe In My Own Work

I know people will come and go.

I'll gain subscribers.

I'll lose subscribers.

Some Christians may disagree with things I write. People from other beliefs, communities, lifestyles or religions may disagree with me too.

And yes—I care.

I don't want to deliberately hurt people. I don't want disagreement to become disrespect. I want people who encounter my work to know that I recognize their humanity even when our beliefs are very different.

But I'm also learning that respecting someone doesn't require me to erase myself for them.

I don't want to cut pieces off my stories simply because somebody somewhere may dislike them.

I don't want to destroy a character I love because someone dislikes the character.

I don't want to abandon an art style because somebody doesn't understand why I chose it.

And most of all, I don't want to kill this creative fire again.

I've done enough of that.

So this time, I'm going to let myself love what I'm making.

I'm going to believe in my work.

I'm going to enjoy watching it grow.

And I'm going to keep sharing pieces of it here—not because I need to fill a Reddit feed every day, but because when I have something worth sharing, I want you to see what I see.

Maybe, if you stick around while this subreddit grows, eventually you'll understand why I love Divide so much. And maybe you'll understand a little more about why I still love creating things through Zaion Studio.

I'm not rushing that. Some stories deserve time and Divide is one of them.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

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Effective Date: 9/1/2026

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Hey Redditers!

I'm sorry about not posting yesterday like planned. I really needed to take a extra day to make sure I covered everything concerning Emmet, her past and her current and future canon details. I'm going to condense a lot of what I was originally going to talk about. I'm doing partly due to me wanting to take attention spams into consideration. It is true that I made posts with the notion of being deep and personal for my works with Zaion Studio. Sadly, the current era struggles with longer, in depth things. Not everyone, but it’s a fact of lie now, so I need to balance and do better with presenting the content in these posts. And that officially is starting here, with Part 2 to Emmet’s lore.

Picking up from where I left you two days ago, you already know quite a bit about Emmet Lonchon, the elder sister, Timmet, who left and by doing so, forced her duties onto Emmet, her outlook on nobility as well as her spiritual privileges. You also learned in that post that she will eventually marry Vosveer Ferox, became a mother, hemorrhaged and died giving birth to Jaspe and in the last arc of Divide, she will be resurrected and return to her family.

Some questions remained unanswered. Allow me to answer them after taking a considerate amount of time to think about how I wanted to answer these questions. Let’s start with her romance with Vosveer. There was nothing to boast about, as he was off attempting to unify the land with his platonic soulmate, Threg Latimer. FYI, they failed and prior to being defeated in The Severing, something bad happened inside of there that changed Vosveer forever.

I can’t get into that bit because the post will wind up being about Vosveer and possibly, Threg. I will give you a post for each of those men, right now, we’re focusing on Emmet. And her role in Vosveer’s life before marriage and during marriage. What is super important for you to know right now, is that Threg did something in The Severing that indirectly would effect him, his future wife Celestia, Vosveer and Vosveer’s future wife—Emmet. At the time, nothing bad or evil had developed from the choice Threg made. The labor, is where the consequence of his choice in The Severing hurt Emmet and as a result, it took her life.

Let’s back track real quick before she gets knocked up. As a holy, righteousness woman, Emmet was not going to have s** outside of marriage nor was she going to fornicate with the Prince of Lightfall (move in the castle, live with him, etc.) She remained in her family’s house in the city, saw to her Viscount duties regularly. She had a way with working crowds and could calm down people who were enraged, annoyed with just a smile and wise words. She often was considered the city’s mediator. Emmet spent more time helping others and engaging with the spiritual realm over parting with nobles and attending events, whether it be at the castle or at another noble’s estate.  

This elusive behavior made her unpopular with the nobles, but she was increasingly popular with the citizens, both spiritual and physical. By the time Vosveer is officially on scene and pursuing her, she was already prepared to receive this man. She had prayed for him while he was away with Threg, she prayed for him, when he returned to the castle and had cut himself off from society for a while. She went out of her way to visit him at the castle and only him, his mother and father.

Naturally, Vosveer opened up to Emmet, he felt safe in her presence and believed he could be open and honest around her. This lead to them courting, which led up to their two year engagement and finally, marriage. Please note something here. At no point, did Vosveer reveal what happened between him and Threg in The Severing. He never talked about the hardships he faced there, what he saw and heard and he refused to tell Emmet why he cut his soulmate status with Threg.

Emmet disliked that Vosveer and Threg were distant, no longer soulmates and had chosen the life of rivalry—well, more so Vosveer than Threg. Emmet was allowed to read Threg’s letters to Vosveer over the etos and it was clear to her, as much as it was to Queen Celestia, that their husbands were truly destined soulmates and Vosveer’s decision to reject Threg, was causing both kingdoms pain and heartache. Emmet did not get mad or criticize Vosveer, but he did express her disappointment and wished he would reconcile with Threg.

Emmet personally wanted to be at peace with Darkfall Kingdom and she truly wanted to be closer to Celestia, but since the men had made laws to keep both kingdoms separated, Emmet took it upon herself to reach out to Celestia in secret. Was this against the law? Well… yes and no.  Emmet would never break the law, she honored the law of Heaven and of Divide. But there was this one law, that Vosveer and Threg made, that said if a royal has official business or a concern that requires the other kingdom’s attention, the king or queen of that kingdom could address it formally through letter exchange, never in person.

Guess who took advantage of this clause? Emmet. By doing this, she got to know Celestia very well and the women kept their letter exchanges private, only they knew about this and somewhere along the line of these letter exchanges, Emmet began to wonder if she and Celestia were destined platonic soulmates, just like their husbands once were.

Emmet didn’t live long enough to explore this option and neither did Celestia, but while they were living, neither brought the soulmatehood up in their letters and asked the other woman about it. Honestly, they didn’t need to because it was obvious in the way they wrote so poetically in their letters—but they also didn’t want to birth something and not be able to physically see each other or hang out, like friends would due to the strict segregation laws their husbands had.

This is canon, Emmet and Celestia are in fact, destined soulmates, willed by the power of the Trigonous and blessed by the Trigonous, but their time to experience this bond, was not meant for that era, but afterwards when both of them get resurrected and their daughters, plus the Dutchess Of Valemont, unite the kingdoms and bring true peace to Divide.

Now that this part is out of the way, let’s move on to Emmet’s role as the Queen Of Lightfall. Hands down, the woman was a saint and beloved by her people, both inside the castle and outside the castle. She didn’t have to earn the public’s approval because she had already accomplished that when she was a Viscount and while she was courting Vosveer. Becoming queen did not change her attitude or make her proud. If anything, it only highlighted what was already there and made her character even more radiant.

One of Emmet’s main highlights, was her ability to sooth Vosveer’s rage, anxieties, fears and insecurities. She was confident in the Trigonous and feared nothing or no one nor the future. He no longer served the Trigonous after what happened between him and Threg and as  result, he relied on his own strengths and suffered greatly in his weaknesses, because the support he once had with his Creator, he choose to throw away. Emmet was his anchor and constant support while he reigned as king. This was not good, because Vosveer had developed a co-dependency on Emmet and she saw it, called it out several times and they sadly, had heated disputes and arguments when Vosveer became too clingy, controlling of her time and where she went or how much time she gave to someone else.

This looks like he’s being petty and childish—but Emmet saw through the outside and spiritually assessed the situation and knew for a fact, that because he had no relationship with the Trigonous, he was lost, unrooted, uncertain, frantic and out of his mind. Literally. So when he was away from her or didn’t know where she was or when she would return from a outing, a trip, a food trip, horse riding, training, etc., he crashed out. Rather than demand a easy way through divorce or distance herself completely, she choose to work with him, choose to understand and she choose compassion and grace over anger and disappointment.

This made their marriage stronger and eventually, Vosveer did develop the discipline to live away from her and became accepting that he could not control his wife and needed to be content with himself and be content, being alone if she wasn’t around. Emmet’s only fear in life, especially during the early stages of her marriage and pregnancy, was this: “Am I doing the right thing?”

This thought alone, applied to so many areas of her past and her present. For example, when Timmet bailed and she quietly accepted her parent’s demands, was she doing the right thing? When she got older and met Vosveer, she did not pursue him, she ignored him. Was that right of her or should she had run after him and stopped him from fulfilling prophecy? But had she done that, wouldn’t that come off as selfish and controlling on her end? If Emmet acted on her attraction and prevented Vosveer and Threg from going to The Severing, would they still be soulmates? Or what about when she avoided going to noble outings before she became the queen? She didn’t make allies. She certainly did not want those nobles as her friends.

So… did she do the right thing?

That is a personal conviction of hers, that haunted Emmet for a long time. She was very good humored and easy to talk to, she was a steward and bore no record of evil, yet this was her main and primary inner struggle. Did Emmet, do the right thing? Only she could answer that, yet never came to a direct yes or no. She hoped at most, that she was doing right to herself, to her sister who she still had not reached out to, to the people, to her husband and even to Celestia, who secret that she kept to herself for obvious and personal reasons.

Out of everything I just said, Emmet gets irritated easily with herself before anyone else. Hence is why she can tolerate and endure Vosveer when he was clingy and controlling, but struggles to be content with a life alerting decision, like accepting the Viscount role, like keeping her feelings about the segregation laws to herself and failing to voice those feelings to Vosveer and so forth. She truly doesn’t have a fear in her body, but I think it’s fair to say, Emmet fears failing her own set rules and the expectations she gives to herself. She knows people are broken around her, are wounded, angry and lost, so she takes it upon herself to be a symbol of hope and a symbol of the Trigonous ahavah to everyone she meets.

When no one is looking though… when she’s alone, off in the woodlands or in the quiet of the chapel, sometimes she admits to the Trigonous that she’s tired having to be so disciplined in everything and she wants to rest from it all. This is huge, because this area in herself, is able to understand and acknowledge why Timmet left. Why Timmet wanted nothing to do with nobility and everything that comes with being a public official. Emmet is constantly being watched, people wait for her to win or to fail. People watch, thinking her good performances are fake or they’re real, but will crack at some point. The spiritual realm citizens, are not so two-faced about it. They know she is true, real and sincerely wants to live a holy life and honor the Trigonous. Her guardian angel sees her and these sides to her that no one else sees nor understands.

Emmet wants to not care, she wants to be able to mess up, loose herself in anger, forget what dress code requires this and what etiquette code requires that and be the definition of “weak” and “imperfect”… but she can’t. She is trapped, like a prison in her own mind, in her own body and it’s moments like that, why she wonders to herself if she is doing the right thing.

Ironically, the one area of her life she believes was correct of her to do, was coming to Vosveer one night and outright telling him, she wanted to be a mother and start a family with him. It was a aspiration she openly shared with Vosveer, but it was never the right timing because her husband, was unstable at the time, but at this point in their lives, he’s good. He’s wiser, a good leader and focused. Well, they come together, that night when she told him she wanted a child. Which was great… it wasn’t so great when they learned that Emmet was barren.

This news saddened the couple, but Emmet refused to give up. She went into the spiritual realm, spoke with her angel and the Trigonous, told them she wanted to fast and for the will of the Trigonous to be done and left, knowing something would happen. And something did happen. Emmet conceived a year later. She found out that she was pregnant during a horse back ride with her maid. She woke up that morning, threw up, not knowing why, shrugged it off, tried to eat breakfast, it didn’t sit well, she threw that up and still decided to go horse back riding.

She and the maid were on their horses and it was during that moment, the maid saw Emmet put one hand on her stomach and another hand on her mouth. Emmet gagged but did not throw up. The maid, being Elven enlightened with women who are expecting, perceived that her queen was with child. At first, Emmet didn’t believe it, but she went to the clinic with the maid later on that day, just to make sure that she wasn’t.

But she was pregnant and had been for a few weeks. She was stunned, shocked, excited, afraid—Emmet was overcome with a lot of emotions. Once she recovered, she and the maid returned to the castle. The maid left her lady, Emmet approached Vosveer in a meeting, told him they needed to talk and that it was important that they spoke right then. Vosveer understood, dismissed his council and stood up, took her in his arms and asked her what was wrong.

She revealed that she was pregnant and admitted that she didn’t know she was until her maid suggested it. With so many false readings, she assumed that their latest pregnancy test was solid. It wasn’t and she needed a moment. She needed Vosveer to help her through that. And he did. He was overjoyed to learn that he was going to be a father and from that moment on, Vosveer became extra territorial (in a good way) and oversaw his wife’s needs. He was there for every morning sickness, holding her hair back as she vomited in the commode, giving her shoulder, back and foot massages, brought her food in bed, laid in bed behind her when she was further long and embraced her and the baby—Vosveer did it all.

This was awesome to see between them. The pregnancy drew them closer and strengthened their bond immensely. The parent who had the honor of naming Jasper, was Emmet. She named Jasper after her father. She did this to honor his memory, to fulfill his wish in the will that was read to her at his funeral, which clearly stated that the firstborn child from Emmet, would be named after him. He wanted to secure their family’ legacy and leave something behind his daughters would honor and value in the event he passed. His name, was most precious to him and it was his name, that reflected the color of the stone Jasper. Something of high value in the market, so naturally, he wanted this to be his last dying wish in the will.

Emmet explained all these details to Vosveer when she was five months pregnant and told him she was obligated, but if he was against it, they could revoke as royals. Vosveer was impressed with her father’s reasons to have Emmet name her firstborn after him. What many would see as foolish, selfish or greedy, Vosveer understood why her father had this in writing. He agreed that it was a beautiful way to honor her father and he further agreed that Jasper is a valuable in the market. Vosveer strongly believed Emmet’s father was trying to say his bloodline was valuable and who would forget the color of his eyes, which reflected the color of such a desired stone?

In his own way, Vosveer explained to Emmet her father, more than likely wanted his daughters to know that no matter what happened, their family and bloodline was strong like Jasper, beautiful, desirable and worth investing into. Emmet hadn’t thought of it like that, but based on her definition of the will, that was the conclusion Vosveer came to and turns out, he was right. Following that conversation, Emmet sought out someone in the town who knew her family very well and spoke to a noble elderly couple about her father’s name and the will. She told the elderly couple what the will said and then the king’s interoperation of the will. The elderly couple smiled and the husband stepped forward and confirmed that Vosveer was correct in his interoperation. Doubtful, Emmet asked the old man how could he be so sure.

It was then, the old man revealed who he was. He was her father’s priest back in the day and it was he, who gave him the allegory of the jasper stone and told her father what it should mean for him and his family. He also revealed that Emmet’s father approached him about the will and that he wanted to edit it and make it purposeful, meaningful for Emmet. After the priest told him what he could do, Emmet learned her father gave his whole heart over to the Trigonous that day, the priest led him to Avril Tryst and he arose, a new creature and full of joy. He stated Emmet, should she find out the truth of the will, would be happy to know he gave his life over to Tryst and meant it. Stunned, Emmet carefully knelt before the elderly couple, very surprised to learn the elderly couple were followers of the Trigonous and that the man was a former priest.

She bowed in respect to them and praised the Trigonous for revealing the truth behind her father’s name and the intentions he had when he wrote the will.  She arose feeling refreshed and joyful in her spirit. Her father had in fact, left her with something better than a family name. He got saved, so Emmet would see her father again once she was passed away. Whenever that day would be. Emmet returned to the castle, informed Vosveer of what she discovered about her father and the name he bore. Vosveer smiled, happy to see she was happy and they mutually agreed that their daughter would be named Jasper, after her father.

Then… the delivery happened. Emmet died after delivering Jasper. She didn’t get to hold her, nurse her for the first, say her name out loud or kiss her forehead and welcome her to the realm. What she got to experience came as unexpected shock and bliss at the same time. She saw her guardian angel, in all his glory, who took her upstairs to her judgement. She approved the holy throne of the Trigonous and naturally, they revealed her entire life up until that point. They informed her of something nice after the formalities were out of the way. Chalice stood up and went over to Emmet and hugged her for a long moment, when she leaned back she looked into Emmet’s eyes and revealed the future of her, Celestia and the planet Divide.

Emmet learned so much in this scene. She learned everything. The Trigonous revealed footage of what happened in The Severing, what foolish thing Threg did that brought about her death. She learned that Celestia would die because of what Threg did that day as well. From there, the Trigonous explained what all would happen downstairs in the physical  realm on planet Divide, the roles her child Jasper, Celestia’s child and the Duchess Of Valemon’t child, Viola Hastings would live up to, the secret Jasper would have when she turned 17, the soulmate bond Jasper, Nesta and Viola would share. Yes, that’s right. Not just two, but three people interlocked for the glory of the Lord.

Emmet wanted to know why three. They explained a two cord is firm, but a three cord can not be easily broken and up until that point, Divide’s history proved two people entering The Severing, failed and cut their soul link ties. Jasper, Nesta and Viola would break this cycle once and for all and it was going to take all three girls to do it. From here, Griffin informed Emmet that she would tend to the holy temples in Heaven and archives. She received her rewards, her mansion, but the job assigned to her, was a bonus reward. Emmet loved cleaning the holy temples in the physical and she had a deep passion for reading books. Now that she was upstairs (for a short time), she had access to books upon books.

Before she was officially dismissed to go explore Heaven and enjoy the company of the saints and celestial citizens in Heaven, Avril told her one final secret of her  future. She and Celestia would return after The Severing was abolished and he warned her, that she would have to accept though she was gone but a moment upstairs, 19 etos will have passed downstairs. Japser’s entire childhood will be completed, Jasper will have found her destined soulmate and Jasper would have to endure much trial and tribulation to end the evil works of Hell in The Severing. Jasper would not be a gentle, kind carefree person.

She’d the opposite of what Emmet planned for Jasper and Avril wanted Emmet to understand this as not her choice and it would be out of her control. Everything and everyone would level out and her lifespan, would be set to the proper age range so she was not under age or out of the generation that is acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. For scripture says to marry in your own generation and 19 years passing, Vosveer would have aged and Emmet would have looked the same, putting them outside of the generation.

Emmet understood the terms and conditions of what was currently happening and what would happen later, but the one thing she didn’t understand, is what did the Trigonous gain from all of this. Their answer was simple.

Unity.

The land would heal, the kingdoms would unite and the segregation laws would leave. Emmet smiled and hugged her Savior, thanked Him and the other members of the Trigonous for everything, her rewards, her role in Heaven, but more importantly, she thanked for allowing her and Celestia to be raised from the dead and to live among their loved ones again. Granted, they had to wait a hot minute, but it would be worth it to see the looks on her family’s face when she got beamed down from Heaven and raised up from her grave and reclaimed her proper title as the Queen Of Lightfall.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/30/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

I was going to save the royals for last. Especially, Queen Emmet, but turns out, she plays such a vital role in Divide, I wound up revealing her sooner than anticipated. And that's okay. When it comes to Emmet, I already had a basic narrative function for her.

1. Vosveer’s wife
2. Jasper's mother.
3. Queen of Lightfall.
4. Deceased after childbirth.

That was... the end of it.

That was her entire story for Chapter 2.

Then, out of nowhere, the Forgers and I developed her visually. We found her face. We started discovering her personality through the artwork, and suddenly she stopped feeling like a historical background character who wouldn't have enough time to win a reader's heart.

She started feeling like Emmet Ferox.

And, unfortunately for me, she started feeling like someone who would absolutely slay the reader's heart.

So.

Here we are.

Evidently, we're developing Emmet now. 😂

Before She Was Emmet Ferox, She Was Emmet Loncha

Emmet Loncha is her maiden name.

The Loncha family are established Viscount nobles and citizens of Lightfall. Emmet herself did not originally bear the Viscount title, her mother and father did.

They had two daughters.

First came Timmet, the eldest.

One year later came Emmet.

And Timmet made something very clear early in life:

She wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of this.

She did not want the noble lifestyle. She did not want the duties. She did not want to maintain the family's Viscount standing.

Nobles of all classes were expected to attend castle events, socialize with other noble families and remain available for opportunities within the castle and kingdom—new titles, appointments, positions and responsibilities.

Timmet detested it.

She openly warned her family that once she came of age, she was leaving. She would surrender her noble title and go live a quieter, simpler life in Valemont as a lowly peasant.

Her family didn't take the threat particularly seriously. Then Timmet came of age. And did exactly what she said she would do.

She left.

No goodbye.

No letter.

Nothing.

Emmet understood why her sister didn't speak to her before leaving. The two sisters were extremely close, and saying goodbye would have been emotionally vexing for both of them.

Emmet accepted Timmet's decision. Their parents? Oh, absolutely not. Timmet's departure upset them so badly that they transferred the duties and rights belonging to their eldest daughter onto Emmet. And Emmet accepted them.

✨ The Daughter Who Stayed

Emmet had always been an obedient child.

She was kind, gentle and understanding. She was a child of the Trigonous, spiritually enlightened, capable of seeing and communing with the spiritual citizens of her realm, and she rarely caused distress for anyone.

Was it selfish of her parents to shove Timmet's birthright and responsibilities onto their younger daughter?

Yes.

Did Emmet throw a fit?

No.

She accepted the responsibility with grace and worked hard to meet her parents' expectations. Her mother and father were not nearly as spiritual or firm in their walk with the Trigonous as Emmet was, but there was one thing they understood about their daughter.

Emmet took her relationship with her Creator and her emunah very seriously.

She would not exchange it for anything.

Not wealth.

Not social status.

Not nobility.

Not even them.

And, respectfully, her parents never infringed upon her right to worship or maintain her spiritual practices. Emmet was for the people—even people considered beneath her social class. She wasn't self-centered, nor did she consider her position in society some grand blessing that proved she was better than everyone else.

If anything, she saw nobility as a tool. It gave her resources. It gave her influence. It gave her opportunities to help people and improve the realm using the talents and knowledge with which she had been blessed.

Her parents didn't necessarily see nobility that way. Emmet certainly did. And she refused to allow fame, power or noble heritage to corrupt her mind or separate her from the people.

Everyone knew about Emmet.

From the castle, to the noble court all the way down to the poorest beggar. And nobody could find anything evil to say about her because she bore no record of wrong against them. She really was that humble, caring and generous. And that compassion extended beyond the physical realm.

👼 Emmet Could See Them Too

Angels. Spiritual animals. Emmet cared for them as well. She did not bow to them. She did not worship them or regard them as gods, as some people within the kingdom did. Emmet understood that they were creations of the Creator, just as she was. So she treated them with kindness and respect—exactly as she treated people in the physical realm.

She never abused her spiritual gifts. She never abused the privilege of being able to see what others could not. And because of that? Both realms adored her. Which is making what I originally planned to do to this woman increasingly inconvenient.

We'll get there.

🕯️ Then Emmet Turned Seventeen

Growing up in a political household, Emmet remained thankful that her parents had never interfered with her relationship with the Trigonous. But she had one regret.

She wished they had taken more time to grow in their own walks with Griffin, Chalice and Avril Tryst. She never got the opportunity to see that happen. On Emmet's 17th birthday, her parents died tragically in a carriage accident. And just like that, the younger daughter who was never originally supposed to inherit the family's position became the Viscount.

Far earlier than expected. Emmet now had to appear before Lightfall's royal family and formally obtain the title. The nobility attended the ceremony. Members of various noble classes filled the room. And among all those faces was one person Emmet had not expected to become important that day.

Prince Vosveer Ferox.

👑 Vosveer Wasn't Supposed to Care About This Ceremony

Vosveer rarely cared to oversee royal affairs like this with his parents. But his father had told him what happened to Emmet.

And for some reason, Vosveer found himself wondering: "Is she okay?"

He didn't know why he cared. He was simply curious. Then Emmet entered the throne room. And suddenly Prince Vosveer was considerably more interested in Viscount ceremonies. She approached the throne with grace. Her beauty was mesmerizing. People stared at the young woman before them.

For the ceremony, Emmet had gone to a tailor and commissioned a Viscount suit made to her specifications. She had gone to a hairdresser and had her long pink hair pulled away from her face and pinned back, with long pink tresses cascading over her shoulder and down toward the middle of her back.

She knelt before the royal family. The king formally bestowed her title.

His scepter touched her right shoulder... then her left... symbolizing the transfer of authority.

Emmet Loncha rose as a Viscount. And that's when her eyes met Prince Vosveer's for the first time.

💗 Oh, No.

The connection was there.

Immediately.

The spark was there.

Immediately.

They were destined soulmates. And not the platonic kind. They were made for each other. They were supposed to be together. Emmet was attracted to him immediately, and she definitely received that ping in her spirit from Chalice: That's him.

Their bond had been established right there in the throne room. Emmet smiled kindly at Vosveer. His eyes widened. Then she grinned and gave him a small, friendly wave. Vosveer blinked rapidly. And suddenly the man was having difficulty remembering how breathing worked. He developed an unnatural desire to know her.

To have her as a friend. And eventually... to have her as his queen. He had only experienced something remotely similar when he and Threg became platonic soulmates. That same overwhelming feeling of,

“That is your person. Claim it before somebody else does.”

Except this time, it was stronger. Much stronger. Vosveer watched Emmet thank his father for granting her the Viscount title. Then he watched her leave the throne room. And did... absolutely nothing. He should have taken the hint and chased her down, that's what he should have done, but he didn't. And before anyone criticizes him, he had a reason.

⚔️ Vosveer Already Had A Destiny To Fulfill

Vosveer wasn't ready for marriage. He wasn't going to act on what he felt. Besides, he and Prince Threg were supposed to enter The Severing and unite the land. There was an ancient prophecy involved. There was a kingdom at stake.

There was a soulmate pilgrimage approaching. He couldn't afford to become distracted by Emmet.

And this why Vosveer made what I'm sure seemed like a perfectly sensible decision at the time.

Vosveer's POV: Ignore the beautiful woman his soul just screamed at him to marry. Put Viscount Emmet aside. Unite the land with Threg first. Deal with whatever that was afterward. I'm sure nothing could possibly go wrong with this plan.

Emmet Didn't Chase Prince Vosveer

Emmet did not act upon her attraction. She didn't pursue Vosveer. She didn't interfere. But she prayed for him. She prayed that the Trigonous would return him safely from the upcoming pilgrimage to The Severing.

Everyone knew about the journey.

Everyone knew the prophecy of old.

And Emmet refused to become a distraction.

Although... she was fairly certain Vosveer was attracted to her. She knew he had felt that connection in his soul just as strongly as she had. Emmet wasn't selfish. She understood what he needed to do. But for once in her life... she wanted to be selfish.

She really liked him. And it wasn't because he was handsome. It wasn't because he was a prince.
And it certainly wasn't because marrying him could make her queen. She wanted to know Vosveer. So Emmet made herself a promise. When Vosveer returned from his journey with Prince Threg, she was going to get to know him.

Not as a Viscount approaching a prince. As a woman who knew what she wanted. Emmet wanted Vosveer. The crown? That simply came with the territory. And Emmet Loncha was determined to win his affection.

Fairly.

Gently.

And on her own merits.

This Is Where I Leave A Clif Hanger & End Part 1

As much as it pains me... this concludes Part 1 of Emmet's introduction. There's so much more I need to tell you about this woman. What was her marriage to Vosveer actually like? What kind of queen did she become? What was Emmet like with Jasper before tragedy struck in the delivery room?

And who was she when she wasn't being a Viscount, wife, queen or mother? I want to get into her temperament, humor, fears, habits, flaws, convictions and interests. What irritates Emmet? What makes her laugh? What does she do when nobody is watching?

And I am really going to enjoy telling you what happened with Timmet after Emmet became queen. Because based on today's post, you already know something important: Emmet does not care about becoming queen.

She has eyes for Vosveer.

The royal privileges are just luggage attached to the man she wants. I also want to go deeper into Emmet's development behind the scenes. For example, I still need to revise exactly what kind of queen she was and how the citizens of Lightfall regarded her reign.

Okay.

That's the end.

...

Wait. No it isn't.

Keep scrolling.

I have more to say.

📜 Emmet’s History

I want to revisit Emmet's reaction to discovering she's pregnant.

Actually...

Did Emmet know she was carrying a daughter? How did she discover the pregnancy? Did she name Jasper or did Vosveer do that? What did motherhood mean to Emmet? I also need to take a considerable amount of time to articulate what Emmet was actually like with Jasper. I know the tragedy surrounding Jasper's birth. But now that Emmet has become a genuine character rather than a historical footnote, “Jasper's mother died after childbirth” isn't enough anymore. Because now I want to know the mother. And that's where this entire situation has gotten completely out of hand.

Recent developments have revealed that Celestia and Emmet will be resurrected at the end of the story. And that single change created an entire pile of questions the Forgers and I now have to answer. What happened when Emmet died? What did she see? Which member of the Trigonous approached her?

Was it one of the two men? Or was it the female member, Chalice? I know the broad canon of the manuscript. But now I want to explore the actual consequences of resurrecting this woman and what her return will do to Vosveer, Jasper, Lightfall and House Ferox. And then there's the enormous future question.

What does resurrection mean for Emmet herself? She's not merely a dead mother in the backstory anymore if she's eventually going to walk back into the lives that continued without her for the past nineteen years. Think about that.

Her husband lived without her.

Her daughter grew up without her.

Her kingdom continued without her.

History moved on.

Emmet didn't.

And then one day... she comes home, gets beamed down from the heavens and just... exists like nothing happened 19 years ago. I have a lot of work to do before tomorrow's post.

📏 Age Gap

And another thing! Will Emmet be physically aged up to match Vosveer? Because otherwise I can already hear the readers and nerds who pay extremely close attention to continuity preparing their keyboards.

“AUTHOR. EXPLAIN THE AGE GAP!”

And I will deserve the roasting if I don't have an answer. Thankfully, Divide gives me some room to work with. The purity of the planet's food and water contributes to slower physical aging and longer lives—even among Humans.

But still.

Nineteen years have physically passed. Vosveer would absolutely be outside the appropriate age range for a romantic relationship with his wife if Emmet simply returned physically unchanged from the moment she died. That needs to be workshopped with the Forgers and resolved before I finish the manuscript. Add it to the list. The increasingly long list. The list that did not exist when Emmet was simply: Jasper's dead mother.

Why Did I Fall In Love With Her?

What made her special so much to the point that I regretted my decision to keep her dead? It matters.

Because admittedly, I didn't care about Emmet in the beginning and I hadn't developed much lore for her. I was perfectly fine with ending her story after childbirth. Then I was a goofball and asked Elohim for inspiration for her artwork. I saw her for myself. And I went,

“Okay. She's gorgeous. She's super nice and the golden retriever I didn't realize Divide needed.”

... Well. Carp. How did I even get here? I genuinely need to figure that out, because this was an unexpected development that shook the manuscript and created more work for me and the Forgers.

I don't know how I went from,

“I don't care what happens to Emmet. She can die like Severin.”

To,

“Jasper needs a mother in the history of Divide.”

That later somehow arrived at,

“What the what? Her artwork is stunning. I need this woman in my story.”

Followed immediately by,

“Oh snap. I can’t fall in love with this character. In Chapter 2 I killed her.”

And finally,

“I need to bring Emmet back. Like... now. Jean Grey/Phoenix did it, I can do it too.”

Blast it all. I have a problem. Her name is Emmet Ferox.

And apparently she's a main character now, not a side or supporting character. Y'all, I need to fix this and answer all these demanding questions so tomorrow's post can top today's post. I want you on the edges of your seats with bated breath, silently reading under the covers with your mouths slightly parted:

“What hidden secrets about this book and its characters is she going to reveal next?”

Because at this point I’m wondering the exact same thing.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/28/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

When I tell you I nearly lost my composure with this BTS special for you all, I nearly flipped the studio desk came this close to calling my Co-Director and telling her to take over the storyboard. Thankfully, the r/Forgers and I were able to work with the software to get the colors right, the dimesnions, lighting, canon locked characters to move properly, etc.

This would have gone so much smoother with more staff, but I manage and so do the Forger teams that work with me currently. This storyboard took days to sketch, design, edit and finalize. It was worth it though. Making and building the world of Divide can be stressful. Naturally, I made the Director's Cut to provide relief for that stress. Somehow, somewhere, it added to it.

Oh well!

It turned out nice and it gives you all sneak peaks into the cast off set and during production. I hope you enjoy the start to this series as much as you enjoy the Dev Journals!
___

BTS Scene(s) #001-006: Proper Posing

Art Style: Warm Cinematic Photorealism

Scene Details: As the Director, I have to get the cast to obey my orders and commands when imputing them in the computer and using software. It is not a easy process. Sometimes they give me what I need and sometimes, they don't. Vosveer was not cooperating that day in The Forge and I called him out on it on set, in front of his daughter and the Princess Of Darkfall.

___

Artzenin: Vosveer, I need a frontal and close up of you being moody. You're too happy here.

King Vosveer: -Frowns, turns head and glares over at me, annoyed.- What? I'm too happy?

Artzenin: Did I stutter? Boy, I'm running on one hour of sleep and Cheery Ale 8. In the first arc, you're angry, not jacked with seratonin. -Sees him pose, but can totally senses the rebellion from his body language.- Oh now you're showing off! Must you bleed your disappointment so openly like that?

Princess Nesta: Remember, it's for the Elohim. You're reward will be in Heaven.

Princess Jasper: So, when we're done shooting here, when can I expect my arc with Nesta to be written?

Artzenin: When we reach 50 subs on Reddit, I'll write yours and Nesta's soulmate arc into the manuscript.

___

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Director's Cut
___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/27/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

All right, I have to admit, the storyboards are a pain, but I really enjoy them so I take it like a woman and labor away. Today, I'm glad I kept at it because the end results really impressed me, as well as the Forgers who helped me today. I'm slowly and gradually warming up to Barnaby and I automatically, adore the chemistry Velara and Barnaby have with each other.

Scene(s) #033-038: No. He. Didn’t.

Art Style: Warm Cinematic Photorealism

Scene Details: Velara and Barnaby (BED) are used in this storyboard. She is sleeping in a modest tank top, red shorts that come down to her knees. She is a medium sized chamber that is big enough for three people to walk around. It is a one-bedroom chamber, with a decent fire place with a kettle over the ambers in the fireplace. There is a vanity dresser, with a mirror and a washroom big enough for a sink, toilet and a walk-in shower. There is only window in her room is closed, as Velara is ill and detests the cold chilled air.

___

Velara: -Velara, is asleep, snoring deeply. Her hair is down, her skin completion is fair, somewhat dull due to her being sick.-

Barnaby: -Knocks on the door, waking Velara from her slumber, but does not call to her.-

Velara: -Groans softly, opens her eyes a little, dazed and unsure of what’s going on.-

Barnaby: -Knocks louder on the door.-

Velara: -Sits up in the bed, holding her head, as she isn’t well and has a headache from her cold/virus. While holding her head, eyes shut, she mutters- Hold please… -Velara opens the door, sees Barnaby in his own night attire. He is cleaned up, not dirty as he had a bath.- Barnaby… -She growls, eyes narrowed, clearly irritated with seeing him so late at night.-

Barnaby: Why didn’t you answer the door?

Velara: -Eyes widen, stares at him in disbelief at first.- BECAUSE. I. WAS. ASLEEP! Whatever could be so important that you’d wake me at such a frightening hour of the night?!

Barnaby: -Waves a hand to dismiss her complaint.- Ah, forget sleep. I have found my wife! Princess Jasper!

Velara: -Covers face with hands and groans in despair.- Did she… agree to this?

Barnaby: She is looking for her female platonic soulmate, but with enough persistence, I can convince her to give up on that and embrace me fully!

Velara: -Gets off the bed, grabs Barnaby by the scuff of his night shirt and simply jerks him inside her room and slams the door behind her. Velara facies him with crossed arms, her back pressed against the door and gives Barnaby a stern, firm glare.- You have exactly 60 seconds to explain this to me before I report to the guard captain for trespassing.

Barnaby: -Naturally, Barnaby is slightly nervous to explain himself to his friend, but smiles anyway.- I uh… well… it’s kind of a long story, but I promise it makes sense.

Velara: … -Already doesn’t believe his side of the “story” and knows the Princess Of Lightfall is the victim here—not Barnaby.-

___

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/26/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

Hey Redditers!

This side character took a hot minute. Not because she was difficult, but because she required specific details, lore and my attention in a way I'm not use to. What do I mean by that?

I, the author and creator of this book and its characters, am not... naturally feminine. I am naturally masculine. Yahweh made me this way and I'm not bothered by my burly muscles and masculine figure, but when I need to get in touch with my femininity, with the pure breed of woman, I'm clueless and struggle. Bad.

I had to ask my girlfriends (platonic, non-sexual female friends) for help, I had to study and observe women to get a better grasp on mannerisms and how a truly, feminine character would behave.

After hours of researching, I produced someone of merit, but she still wound up with muscles, my type of muscles my physcial body reflects. I wasn't trying to do that and after taking the entire day and night to finalize this side character, I left it alone and just accepted that many of my female characters will always have a touch of masculinity in their artwork.

One of my favorite things about developing Divide lately is that the supporting cast keeps growing in ways I didn't originally plan. A few days ago, I started thinking seriously about something very simple.

"Who actually keeps these kingdoms running?"

King Threg and Princess Nesta can't be the only people walking around Castle Eclipse.
L Somebody cleans the chambers. Somebody tends the stables. Somebody runs the inns.

Somebody prepares meals, carries messages, maintains the grounds and quietly witnesses all the ridiculous things the important characters are doing.

That line of thinking gave me Barnaby Eddicus Drud III—BED, our catastrophically confident stable hand.

Then Barnaby got an identical twin brother, Thaddeus, who became an innkeeper.

And now?

We have a personal maid and for Princess Nesta, Velara Gelorfi.

Meet Barnaby's Childhood Best Friend, Velara

Velara is a 19-year-old Elf who was trafficked to planet Divide as a child at age 4. She was miraculously saved by Queen Celestia and raised in the castle. She was not a slave, but with no memory of her past, who her parents are and does not remember what native solar system or planet she came from, Queen Celestia decided to informally adopt Velara and raise her up as a proper, noble lady.

The servant career on Divide, is equal to any job in Darkfall. It is a legal service with benefits. On Divide, servant careers are not seen as a lesser position with little pay, it's seen as one of the highest positions of society.

Butlers, maids, gardeners, chefs, house keepers and other fields of servant-based practices, are honored by the royals and the Trigonous Themselves. Every class knows not to mock a poor person or someone who makes a living serving others. Since Divide is good to the working class, everyone, no matter their profession are paid well, but it is a planet known truth that people who are servants, are paid extremely well for their contribution ls to society.

To anyone who thinks Queen Celestia belittled Velara, or only gave her a good job out of pity, please don't. The queen exalted her to a far more humble and noble position than hers. Velara received this position with honor at age 7 (with adult supervision) until she was of age and did so with pride and with gratitude.

Apart from her upbringing in Eclipse Castle, the king and queen believed it would be proper for their daughter to have Velara as personal maid and no one else unless Velara was unavailable, sick or took holiday. Velara is 5'4", has light hazel eyes and purple hair that can be worn in an elaborate braided updo while working or completely down in long, soft waves. Visually, I wanted her to belong unmistakably to Darkfall without looking like another royal character.

Her final uniform developed into a modest black, dark-purple and white maid ensemble with a high collar, long sleeves, white ruffled apron and shoulder detailing, purple accents and a purple gemstone brooch.

She's not a princess.
She's not a legendary warrior.
She's not secretly ruling anything.
She's a maid.

And that's exactly why I wanted her.

🏰 Castle Eclipse Needed People Who Actually Work & Live Within It

This is something I'm becoming increasingly conscious of while building Divide. If Castle Eclipse only contains Threg, Celestia, Nesta and whichever major character happens to matter to the current scene, then it doesn't really feel like a castle.

It feels like a stage. Velara helps change that. She has a job. She has routines. She has people she knows. She has a life that continues whether the royal family is currently having a major plot event or not. And then while I was developing her, I realized something.

She should know Barnaby.

Not meet Barnaby.

Know him.

As in, she has known this man since childhood.

Velara and Barnaby Grew Up Together

Velara and Barnaby are childhood best friends. Which means Jasper has only recently been introduced to the phenomenon known as BED. Velara has had years. That immediately changed the character and her effect on set for me.

Because now when Barnaby does something ridiculous, Velara isn't standing there thinking: "Who is this man?"

She's thinking: "Barnaby... Why?"

Her and Thaddeus shame this struggle, but I would argue Velara is more in tune with Barnaby than his twin is. She knows him beneath the performance. She knows when he's being ridiculous. She knows when he's completely sincere. She knows his habits, his personality and probably exactly how much attention she should give one of his grand declarations before returning to whatever she was doing prior.

And unlike Jasper, Velara can't simply walk away from Darkfall and hope she never encounters him again. That's her childhood best friend. She's stuck with him.

For the nerd historians who will document my books and characters one day, let it be known that it's canon that these two are in fact, platonic opposite sex soulmates, but they never chose those titles or got into it over her years. It's a silent, unspoken, obvious truth they share and neither had the heart or the courage to admit to each other, much less to the entire realm.

🖼️ Their Chemistry Gave Birth To New Scenes

Once that friendship existed, the interactions practically started writing themselves. Imagine being Velara. It's nighttime. You're in your chamber. You're probably trying to settle down after working inside Castle Eclipse.

Then Barnaby appears at your door.

Sleep?

Apparently irrelevant.

Why?

Because Barnaby Eddicus Drud III has important news. He has found his wife.

Princess Jasper Ferox.

There is, of course, one tiny problem. Jasper has not agreed to this. Actually, Jasper is in Darkfall looking for her female soulmate. Barnaby's solution?

Persistence.

Velara's response? Approximately the expression of someone reconsidering nineteen years of friendship. And that's when I knew their dynamic worked.

I Don't Want Velara to Exist Only For Barnaby

This part matters to me. It would have been very easy to create her as Barnaby female childhood friend who reacts to his nonsense.

But that's not enough reason for me to keep a character.

Velara needs to belong to Darkfall independently of Barnaby. She's a working young woman inside Castle Eclipse. That places her in a completely different social position from the royals we've spent so much time developing. She gets to experience this world from the perspective of somebody who isn't making kingdom-wide decisions.

She's one of the people who actually has to live underneath those decisions. That gives me another pair of eyes through which I can explore Castle Eclipse. And because she's a maid, she can naturally move through parts of castle life that a royal, stable hand or innkeeper wouldn't experience in quite the same way.

That's useful.

Barnaby being her childhood best friend?

That's the bonus.

🎨 And Then We Had to Figure Out Her Hair

This became its own little visual-development project.

I wanted Velara to have a recognizable working hairstyle, so the Forgers and I got together and came up with a unique design. We gave her purple hair into an elaborate braided updo with loose strands framing her face. But I didn't want the updo permanently attached to the character.

Velara does eventually leave work and the princess's side. We also developed her hair completely down. Long purple waves, softer around her face, while still clearly looking like the same woman.

Both versions are now part of her design.

Hair Up: practical Castle Eclipse maid.

Hair Down: Velara when the workday is over.

And considering Barnaby apparently knows where her chamber is... perhaps she should invest in a stronger lock.

Why I'm Enjoying The Supporting Cast

Velara is exactly what I hoped would happen when I decided to stop concentrating exclusively on the major characters.

I started with:

“Castle Eclipse probably needs a maid.”

And somehow that became:

Velara—a 19-year-old Elven maid with her own visual identity, placed within Darkfall. She has two canonical hairstyles and a lifelong friendship with the most romantically delusional stable hand in the kingdom.

That's true development.

She didn't need to be a queen.

She didn't need some enormous prophecy.

She just needed a reason to exist in this world.

And once she had one, she started becoming a person.

I'm happy to introduce her to you.

Meet Velara.

Castle Eclipse has its primary maid.

Darkfall has another resident.

And Barnaby has somebody who has known him long enough to put her face in her hands before he's even finished explaining himself.

Poor woman.

She knew him before we did.

I especially like that about their canon because it makes Velara the focus rather than turning the post into another Barnaby introduction. You, the public, already understands that Barnaby is competent, but possesses wildly disproportionate romantic confidence and we've established that joke thoroughly with his post and again with his twin's post.

Here, he's the device that helps readers immediately understand Velara's history and familiarity with him.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/26/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

🪶 What Are Dev Journals?

If you've been browsing around Zaion Studio and noticed posts labeled Dev Journal, you might be wondering:

What exactly is a Dev Journal?

The simple answer?

A Dev Journal is a behind-the-scenes look at something we're creating.

Instead of only showing you a finished book, game, artwork, series, film, world, or other creative project after all the work is done, Dev Journals let us open the workshop door and show you pieces of the development process while it's happening.

And they aren't limited to one kind of project.

⚒️ Any Project Can Have A Dev Journal

Dev Journals can follow practically anything being developed by the Zaion Studio Team or our Forger Teams.

That might include:

• Books, stories and fictional universes
• Games and interactive projects
• Artwork, character designs and visual development
• Animation, film or video projects
• Music and audio projects
• Worldbuilding
• Community projects
• Family-friendly, teen, mature or other audience-range productions
• Experiments, prototypes and ideas that don't fit neatly into one category

The genre doesn't matter either.

Fantasy? Sure.

Science fiction? Absolutely. Christian, romance, comedy, mystery, horror, drama, adventure, educational projects—or some strange creation that combines several of them?

Yep.

If we're developing it, there's probably something interesting happening behind the scenes.

✍️ What Goes In A Dev Journal?

Honestly?

Whatever is happening in development. Past, present or future. One Dev Journal might introduce a new character. Another might show concept artwork. Another could explain why we completely changed something we'd been working on for three weeks.

You might see worldbuilding, design decisions, discarded concepts, funny development accidents, production challenges, before-and-after comparisons, questions we're trying to solve, or little pieces of lore we're finally ready to share.

Sometimes a Dev Journal might simply be one of us sitting down and saying: “Okay. Here's what I've been thinking about this project lately.”

Because development isn't always neat.

Ideas change.

Characters surprise us.

Designs get rebuilt.

Something that seemed brilliant on Monday may be sitting in the metaphorical trash bin by Friday.

And sometimes a tiny idea unexpectedly becomes an entire character, location, story or project.

That's part of the fun.

🔍 You're Watching the Project Grow

That's probably our favorite thing about Dev Journals.

You're not only seeing the finished result. You're seeing some of the journey that created the finished result.

If you follow a Dev Journal long enough, you may eventually be able to look back and remember: “I remember when they were still figuring that out.”

Or: “Wait—I remember when that character was first introduced!”

Or even: “That wasn't originally supposed to happen at all.” 😂

Over time, the journal becomes a little development archive—a record of how the project changed, grew and gradually became what it is.

💭 You'll Hear From The People Making It

Dev Journals are also personal.

They're not meant to read like press releases.

Sometimes you'll hear directly from developers, writers, artists, designers or other members of the Zaion Studio Team and Forger Teams working on a project.

We might talk about something we're excited about.

Something we're struggling with.

A decision we're reconsidering.

Something that made us laugh.

Something we're proud of.

Or something that absolutely refused to work the way we expected it to.

That means different Dev Journals may have different voices and personalities depending on who's writing them.

That's intentional.

You're hearing from the people inside the workshop.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏿 Sometimes, You May Get Invited Into The Process

This is where Dev Journals can become especially fun. Sometimes we're going to ask you something.

Maybe we're trying to name a character. Maybe we're wondering what you think of a concept. Maybe there's an unfinished corner of a fictional world and we'd like to know what kind of person you imagine living there.

You never have to participate. You can quietly read every Dev Journal we publish and never leave a single comment. You're still welcome here. But if you do want to join the conversation, you may occasionally get an opportunity to leave a little fingerprint on something while it's still being developed.

That doesn't mean the audience is responsible for creating the project for us. Final creative decisions remain with the teams developing them. It simply means that sometimes... we'd like to hear what you think.

🎬 BTS (Behind The Scenes)

That's really what a Dev Journal is. It's not necessarily an announcement.

It's not necessarily polished. And it definitely isn't a promise that everything you see will remain exactly the same.

It's a window into development.

You'll see projects grow.

You'll meet characters.

You'll see artwork.

You'll hear personal thoughts from the people creating these projects.

You'll occasionally watch us change our minds. And every now and then, you'll probably witness something go spectacularly off-plan. Whether you're a reader, gamer, artist, writer, creator, worldbuilding enthusiast, casual observer—or somebody who simply enjoys seeing how creative things are made—you're welcome to follow along.

The workshop door is open.

Welcome to the Dev Journals Redditers, we hope you love the commentary from me. 

Sincerely,

Rachel Wilson

Zaion Studio

Director & Producer

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Dev Journal

My second favorite storyboard I created today is the sequence with Jasper falling asleep at the inn after having a two full mugs of ale/beer. I don’t like jumping ahead to scenes I have yet to write, but in this case, I really did see who Jasper would be more attracted to in her future.

A, the man who wants to boast and introduce himself as BED?

Or...

B, the the twin of that man who is nothing like him, has decorum and respects boundaries?

The scene is good not because of the earlier romantic material I’ve already made between these two character, but because of where the joke ultimately lands. After all that confusing behavior at the stables, Jasper has too much to drink, passes out forcing Thaddeus to take her upstairs to her room.

While he is modestly and a carefully placing Jasper in her bed, she wakes up and open her eyes just to where you can see them and this exhausted princess, without warning, places her hands on  Thaddeus’s face and kisses him and then bam, she passes out and starts snoring, fairly loudly.

Confused and not sure what to think, Thaddeus is standing beside the bed looking absolutely stunned while Jasper has already left civilization behind. That feels especially appropriate for Thaddeus though. Barnaby creates chaos deliberately. Jasper created chaos by falling asleep prior to claiming a virgin’s lips and stealing his first kiss (as well as her own). And now, somehow, Thaddeus is the man left standing there having to process both of them in the same day, just at different times.

I’m going to show you how I create scenes for my stories because… well… I want to and I think you’ll find it interesting how I construct the artwork you see.

___

Scene(s) #022-030: Jasper's Secret

Art Style: Warm Cinematic Photorealism

Scene Details: Jasper is safely tucked beneath the blankets in the neat, cozy guest room of Thaddeus’s inn, still fully dressed beneath the covers. The room is illuminated by soft amber candlelight and a bedside lantern. Thaddeus is innocent. He has no ill intentions towards the princess and sincerely wants her to be comfortable in her bed before leaving her. While he tucking her in, Jasper stirs, opens her eyes half-way, just enough to where Thaddus can see them.

Thaddeus freezes, as he feels that is the safest option. Wrong. Jasper is normally disciplined and for years has denied herself pleasure with anyone, so in her tipsy, sleepy haze, she shamefully gave into the pangs and the obvious rise of her hormones and claims the lips of Thaddeus. To his shock and Jasper’s, Thaddeus leans in and returns the kiss.

Whatever sleepy thought had been passing through Jasper’s mind simply loses the battle with the combination of a warm meal, too much alcohol and exhaustion. Her head rolls lazily toward the left against the pillow. Her eyes are completely closed, her short dark-brown highlighted hair slightly mussed against the bedding, and her face becomes utterly peaceful.

Then—

SNORE.

Not a delicate little breath.

A very definite, unmistakable snore.

Thaddeus stands beside the bed, completely separated from her and no longer touching her, having just finished making certain she was comfortable.

He freezes.

His warm brown eyes widen. His eyebrows rise. His mouth hangs slightly open as he stares down at the Princess Of Lightfall, who has apparently gone from awake to deeply asleep in seconds.

Jasper remains oblivious.

Another peaceful little snore.

Thaddeus’s expression says everything:

“... Did she seriously just fall asleep after stealing my first kiss?”

___

The comedy comes entirely from the contrast. Jasper is completely peaceful and exhausted and has no clue what she did to him, to herself—to either of them and Thaddeus is standing beside the bed stunned by how abruptly she checked out for the night prior to the fact of her hormonal and dominating behavior.

No romance or physical intimacy happened in these panels nor did I need it to. What I did need though, was just an exhausted Jasper sleeping safely while a bewildered innkeeper with merit tries to understand what just happened to him and between him and the Princess Of Lightfall.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/23/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

Jasper Came To Darkfall Looking For Her Soulmate. She Found BED.

Hey Redditers!

Remember a past or two ago when I said we needed to start filling Divide with ordinary, purposeful characters Maids. Gardeners. Guards. Chefs. Stable hands. Innkeepers. People who actually make these kingdoms function as believable society?

To those reading each post and following the Flair,🪶 Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal then you know that we found our first comedy side/supporting character. For those who don't know should this be the first post you have stumbled across, he's a stable hand and unfortunately, the stable hand found Jasper first.

Barnaby Eddicus Drud III is his full name and bis initials are B.E.D. Furthermore, Barnaby calls himself BED.

Proudly.

This is important.

🐴 Jasper Was Having a Very Serious Day

Princess Jasper Ferox has traveled from Lightfall to Darkfall for a very specific reason. She's searching for her destined soulmate. Based on what visions the Trigonous has shown her, she knows that soulmate is a woman, but she doesn't know who she is yet.

Jasper arrives in Darkfall, enters the castle, goes through the process of being vetted, receives permission from King Vosveer to remain in the kingdom for 90 days while conducting her search, and finally leaves the castle.

Serious royal business.

Major life decision.

Potentially about to meet the woman she's destined to spend her life with, her Ride Or Die, her equal and loyal companion who would support her emotionally, spiritually, be her Maid Of Honor at her wedding and eventually help raise her future kids and whatever else she and her would plan and want to experience before death claimed them.

Its almost dark and all of these aspirations are on Jasper's mind as she walks past the stables.

And then... the hay moves.

🌾 Enter BED

Barnaby looks up.

He sees Jasper.

Jasper sees Barnaby.

They make eye contact.

And somewhere inside this man's head, an entire courtship, engagement and wedding apparently occur in approximately four seconds.

Because Barnaby doesn't cautiously introduce himself. He doesn't say hello. He doesn't ask whether Jasper is available. He doesn't even appear particularly interested in whether Jasper has been consulted regarding Jasper's future.

No.

This man comes flying out of the hay, throws his arms open and announces:

“Alas! Princess Jasper in the flesh! I, BED, have decided I am in love with you and you shall become my wife. Right. Now!”

Look at Jasper's face in that last panel.

That is not love at first sight. That is a woman whose brain has temporarily stopped processing language.

No Seriously, He Wants To Be Called BED.

This is possibly my favorite part development of this side/supporting character.

Jasper is obviously alarmed by the marriage proposal. But then Barnaby explains who he is:

Barnaby Eddicus Drud III.

B.E.D.

BED.

And suddenly the marriage proposal has competition for the strangest thing Jasper has heard in the last thirty seconds. Because not only is this man's name BED.

He's the third one.

Meaning, there were two before him.

This is apparently a family tradition.

At some point, Barnaby's parents had an opportunity to end this.

They did not.

The Best Part Is That Barnaby Is Completely Sincere

That's what makes him work for me.

Barnaby isn't mocking Jasper. This isn't some elaborate joke he's playing on the visiting princess.

And he's not supposed to be incompetent, either. Barnaby is actually a good stable hand. He's hardworking, physically capable and knows his horses. His problem is very specific.

Barnaby Eddicus Drud III possesses a catastrophic amount of confidence.

He genuinely looked at Jasper and thought: "There she is. My wife."

Meanwhile Jasper's internal response appears to be: "Who let this man out of the hay?"

And this is exactly the kind of comedy I want Barnaby to bring into Divide.

Jasper says no.

Barnaby hears not yet.

Jasper explains that she's searching for her destined female platonic soulmate.

Barnaby discovers an unexpected complication in his courtship.

Jasper walks away.

Barnaby gives his future bride some space.

There is no romance occurring here.

Except inside BED's head.

And Thus, Our First Comedy-Relief Character Has Made The Cut

I did not think a supporting/side cast experiment could produce this man. I just wanted a stable hand. Instead, I got a 19-year-old youth who insists to be called BED who emerged from a pile of hay, saw the Princess of Lightfall and immediately attempted to reorganize her entire romantic future.

And poor Jasper has only just arrived in Darkfall.

She hasn't found her destined soulmate yet.

She hasn't even properly begun searching.

But somehow... she has already acquired Barnaby, a man who believes they will marry before the week is over.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/26/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

The first canon scenes I drafted for the twins is takes place after the embarrassing encounter Barnaby had with Jasper. She is going to eventually wind up at the tavern inn, but she isn’t around when Barnaby enters to announce that he has found his wife.

That four-panel sequence captured both brothers almost perfectly in one tiny scene.

___

BED: “Princess Jasper and I are destined for marriage.”
Thaddeus: “Did she agree to this?”
BED: “Not presently.”
Thaddeus: “Then you are not destined for marriage.”
BED: “You lack vision, brother.”

___

What makes it my favorite is the escalating expressions. Barnaby never loses confidence. There is not one second of self-reflection happening inside that man's head. Meanwhile, Thaddeus progresses from skepticism to questioning to,

“I cannot believe we shared a womb for 9 months.”

This led to another scene where Thaddeus shook his brother, utterly repulsed by him and knowing they share the same blood.

😂 And “Not presently.” may be my favorite response I’ve created so for Barnaby so far. He doesn't say no. He doesn't say Jasper rejected him. In Barnaby’s mind, consent is apparently just experiencing a slight administrative delay.

The final “You lack vision, brother.” makes the whole scene for me personally. Thaddeus is standing there being the only person operating on ordinary social logic and Barnabas concludes that Thaddeus is the one with the problem.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/23/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

If there's anything you need to know about the Drud brothers it's that is that BED is the event and Thaddeus is the man who has been surviving the event his entire life. Their identical-twin resemblance makes it even better. At first glance, you might think, Oh, there are two of him.

No.

There is only one BED. And Thaddeus would probably like that formally entered into the historical record. While I've been filling out the supporting cast of Divide, something happened that I did not originally plan.

I needed a stable hand.

That stable hand became Barnaby Eddicus Drud III. His initials are B.E.D. He proudly calls himself BED.

And then, because apparently one Drud wasn't enough trouble for me, BED got an identical twin brother: Thaddeus Drud.

These two look almost exactly alike. Personality-wise?

The Trigonous apparently divided the available common sense unevenly.

🐴 First, There's BED

Barnaby is 19 years old, works around the stables, knows his horses, isn't afraid of hard work and is actually quite competent when he's doing the job he's supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, Barnaby is also Barnaby. BED possesses a level of confidence that really should require some form of royal permit.

This is the man who saw Princess Jasper Ferox for the first time, made eye contact with her, climbed out of some hay and essentially announced**,**

“Hi there! I've decided I'm in love with you. We're getting married.”

Jasper had been in Darkfall specifically searching for her destined female platonic soulmate, not a man or marriage at this time in her life.

BED considered this information...

... and remained BED.

He isn't malicious.

He's not plotting anything.

He's just living inside a grand romantic adventure in which Jasper is apparently the heroine, BED is obviously the hero and Jasper's repeated refusal to participate in this story is a minor narrative inconvenience.

Jasper says: “No.”

BED hears: “Impress me further.”

Jasper walks away.

BED hears: “I am overwhelmed by your magnificence and require time.”

Jasper calls him Barnaby.

BED corrects her: “BED.”

Somehow, this man wakes up every morning and chooses confidence.

🍺 And Then There's Thaddeus

Thaddeus is BED's identical twin.

Same family.

Same general face.

Very different operating system.

Thaddeus is an innkeeper. He's cleaner, more put together, more observant, more serious and considerably more aware of the fact that other human beings possess boundaries.

He's laid-back.

He's honorable.

He watches.

He listens.

He thinks before acting.

In other words, Thaddeus is everything you desperately wish BED would become for approximately five consecutive minutes.

And I don't imagine Thaddeus spends his life angrily fighting with his brother, either. That would almost be easier. I think Thaddeus has reached that special stage of siblinghood where he has known Barnaby for nineteen years and is simply... tired.

Not the: I hate my brother tired.

More along the lines of: “Yes, that's Barnaby. No, I don't know why he's like this. Yes, we're twins. No, I cannot make him stop.” tired.

The Best Part? They Look Alike.

This is where their dynamic becomes especially entertaining to me. Imagine meeting Thaddeus first. He's polite. Reasonable. Relaxed. Maybe a little reserved. He runs his inn, treats people respectfully and generally behaves like someone you can trust.

Then later you see what appears to be Thaddeus charging toward Princess Jasper with hay in his hair.

You panic.

Then Thaddeus walks up behind you.

Oh.

There are two.

And somehow the second one is called BED.

I'd imagine Thaddeus has spent his entire life dealing with conversations like:

Stranger: “I saw your brother earlier.”

Thaddeus: “What did he do?”

Stranger: “Why do you immediately assume he did something?”

Thaddeus: “What did he do?”

Because Thaddeus knows.

He always knows. 😂

They'd Still Be Brothers, Though

This is the part I wouldn't want to lose beneath the comedy. Thaddeus can think Barnaby is ridiculous without treating him like he's worthless. They're brothers. They're twins. They grew up together.

Thaddeus probably knows precisely when BED is performing, when he's genuinely hurt, when he's about to make a terrible decision and when the ridiculous confidence is covering something more vulnerable.

And BED, for all his nonsense, probably sees Thaddeus as his safe space when he wouldn't see anyone else in the kingdom that way. I can even imagine Barnaby bursting into the inn after another spectacular failure with Jasper.

___

BED: “Brother! I have made tremendous progress!”

Thaddeus: “She spoke to you?”

BED: “She threatened to throw me into a pond.”

Thaddeus: “Barnaby.”

BED: “She addressed me directly.”

Thaddeus: “That's not progress.”

BED: “She remembered my name.”

Thaddeus: “She called you BED because you keep demanding everyone call you BED.”

BED: “Precisely.”

__

And Thaddeus just goes back to cleaning a glass because there is nothing left to say.

BED Has the Confidence. Thaddeus Has the Brakes.

That's basically their relationship. BED runs headfirst into life. Thaddeus assesses the situation.

BED decides.

Thaddeus asks whether anybody else involved was consulted.

BED announces.

Thaddeus apologizes to whoever heard the announcement.

BED believes destiny is unfolding.

Thaddeus knows his brother found another woman who doesn't want him. And yet, if somebody genuinely tried to hurt Barnaby? Oh. I'd hate to be the person on the receiving end because Thaddeus would find that funny at all and would do something about it the second BED comes home or to the inn in tears.

Because underneath the comedy, they're still Drud brothers.

Thaddeus may be the first person to say: “Barnaby, you're being ridiculous.”

But he'd also be the first person standing beside him when something actually mattered or feelings were involved.

And I think that's why I like these two so much already.

One isn't simply “the stupid twin” and the other “the smart twin.” BED is perfectly capable—he just has enough misplaced confidence to power a small kingdom. Thaddeus isn't humorless—he's simply spent nineteen years receiving an involuntary education in Barnaby Management.

Together?

They're going to be a problem.

Separately?

Well...

Thaddeus will thrive and be fine.

BED is still going to be a problem regardless if he's near Thaddeus or away from him.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/23/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

I took all day to think of what to say in this post. I needed a list of comical names for a side/supporting character for Divide. I also needed inspiration to make the man, so I thought about Guston from Disney’s Beauty & The Beast.

For context purposes, this man I created today is stable boy. He comes from no nobility what-so-ever. He is a resident of Darkfall, minding his business when he sees Jasper, who literally is only in the area to inform King Vosveer that she is legally going to remain in his kingdom to find her destined female soulmate.

Female soulmate, not a male sexual soulmate to marry and build a family with. Jasper is a heterosexual. It’s canon that she is sexually and romantically attracted to men.

However, at this point in the story, she is not into that, she is not looking for a relationship nor is making herself available. She will marry someone later on in the story. Can you all picture this comedy with me? This man sees Jasper for the first time, falls for her, she rejects him and passes him and he thinks he is destined to be hers. And that ladies and gentlemen helped me decide that this man would be the first and official side/supporting character for Divide.

I didn’t want to give him a genuinely elegant romantic-lead name. This is my first deliberately comical side character: a Darkfall stable boy with absolutely no noble pedigree who sees Jasper Ferox. A woman warrior who is 6'1, athletic, the Princess Of Lightfall who is arriving on serious royal business—and he somehow concludes,

“Yes. Obviously. That woman is meant for me.”

Meanwhile Jasper has already made it abundantly clear to the reader that she is remaining in Darkfall to find her destined female soulmate, not a husband. The comedy gets better if his name sounds almost heroic, but is just a little too rustic, pompous or unfortunate.

For your entertainment, I decided to list the names I came up with. All of them were ones I thought would suit this man.

· Gaston is obviously the archetype I’m borrowing the joke from, but no worries Redditers, I am only using Gaston as inspiration and fully plan to avoid anything too close to it or anything to do with Disney’s Gaston.

· Brambleton — BRAM-bull-ton. This is hilarious to me. He thinks “Brambleton” sounds distinguished. Nobody else does.

· Gustwick — GUST-wick. Has that Gaston-ish weight without copying it. A stable boy who believes he has the jawline of destiny.

· Barnaby Trotter — This man was born near horses. And “Barnaby” gives him that lovable-but-delusional quality rather than making him genuinely threatening.

· Bramwell — BRAM-well. Actually believable for Darkfall, but still funny when attached to a man dramatically declaring himself worthy of a princess.

· Tobbert — TOB-ert. I don't know why, but Jasper walking past a man named Tobbert while he internally decides they are soulmates revered for marriage purposes is wonderful.

· Godfrey Muckle — He thinks “Godfrey” is impressive. Then you discover his surname is Muckle.

· Bertram Hayward — Almost respectable until you remember the man literally works with hay. Subtle stable joke.

· Garrick Tumble — Sounds like he desperately wants to be the hero of somebody else's novel.

· Bostwick — BOSS-twick. I can already hear him introducing himself with unnecessary confidence.

Man: “Bostwick.”
Jasper: “...Right.”

· Hobart — Old-fashioned, sturdy, slightly comical without becoming parody.

· Brambleby — This is pushing farther into comedy, but I love it for a man who takes himself far more seriously than the narrative does.

· Thaddeus Buckle — He absolutely thinks Jasper will eventually “come around.”

· Percival Mudd — A spectacularly grand first name followed by Mudd. That contrast is the joke.

· Gustav Trot — Probably the closest spiritual cousin to Gaston without actually being Gaston.

Those are names listed are good. I kept coming back to Barbary. That name was my favorite.

Not because he's supposed to be stupid. I actually wouldn't make him stupid. He is perfectly competent at his job. He knows horses. He's strong from physical labor. He's probably handsome in a rugged, ordinary way. He's useful, hardworking and completely comfortable around the stables.

His problem is that he has romantic confidence wildly disproportionate to reality. Here is a a direct example of what I mean.

___

Jasper arrives. Barnaby sees her.

Barnaby: Oh.

Jasper passes him.

Barnaby's Brain: There she is.

Jasper rejects him.

Barnaby’s Brain: She's resisting destiny.

Jasper: “I'm here searching for my female soulmate.”

Barnaby's Brain: She hasn't met me properly yet.

____

😂 Personally, I think this distinction makes him much funnier than a Gaston clone. Gaston knows he’s desirable and expects Belle to recognize it. Barnaby is a stable boy who accidentally casts himself as the male lead of Jasper Ferox's story when he is, in fact, Side Character #1.

I don’t intend to make Barnaby cruel or dangerous. He can be annoyingly sincere. Jasper isn't afraid of him. She's baffled by him. Instead of merely asking Reddit to invent somebody (which was the plan), I can introduce the first result of this new development direction.

I thought today,

“Well, we need a stable boy. Unfortunately, the stable boy has fallen in love with Jasper.”

And naturally, I knew this was a Dev Journal post waiting to happen.

I choose name Barnaby. He’s perfect and he is officially my first comedy relief side character! In the mist of celebrating this, I came up with an even better idea! The initials for his full name is B.E.D. His full name however, is: Barnaby Eddicus Drud III

Can you all picture it?

Jasper arrives, goes into the castle, gets vetted and approved to remain in Darkfall Kingdom to find her female destined soulmate, exits the castle, goes past the stable and—boom.

It happens. Barnaby looks up at just the precise moment, makes eye contact with Jasper and he fall in love un-rationally and intentionally with the Princess Of Lightfall. In his excitement, he jumpes out of the hay, hands on his hips, hay sticking out of his hair and boldly announces who he is in this manner,

“Alas! Princess Jasper in the flesh! I, BED, have decided I am in love with you and you shall become my wife. Right. Now!”

Jasper, taken aback would stagger, stare, jaw dropped, in awe at the words that just left this man’s mouth. She would blink hard and say,

“Wait—who are you?”

Grinning, Barnary would say: “I never reveal my full name to strangers, I resort to my initials, but your beauty and royal aura compel me to tell you my full name. Which is, Barnaby Eddicus Drud the III!”

Aghast, Jasper would put a hand to her forehead and exclaim, “Forget your full name—are you seriously telling me your legal initials for your name is bed?!”

Honestly, Barnaby should feel ashamed. At most, he should have felt embarrassed to confess this sensitive information about himself and apologize to Jasper, but instead, Barnaby sees it as an opportunity to romance Jasper… which will not go over well.

For the first side character, I think we got a winner. I was aiming to start win the castle and make my way out, but somehow, someway, we wound up starting outside and the way things are going in the studio, looks like we’re starting with the supporting cast of characters, who are not royals or of upper class status.

And B.E.D. is exactly the kind of unfortunate name that becomes exponentially funnier because Barnaby himself sees absolutely nothing unfortunate about it. A reasonable man would quietly go by Barnaby. This man announces BED to the Princess of Lightfall as though he has just revealed an ancient title of nobility.

The opening I’ve described also tells the reader exactly what kind of comedy he should bring to Divide. He isn't a fool in the sense that he can't function. I am thrilled to know I established Barbary and conceived him character, that he can be a perfectly capable stable hand. He’s good with horses, physically strong from labor, hardworking and knowledgeable about his trade.

He simply possesses catastrophically misplaced confidence.

And I think this is important: Barnaby should genuinely believe everything he says.

He's not joking when he leaps out of the hay.

He's not flirting ironically.

He has looked at Jasper for approximately four seconds and reached a complete, legally binding conclusion regarding the remainder of their lives.

There she is. My wife.

😂 Meanwhile Jasper doesn't even know this man's name.

And then this:

“Alas! Princess Jasper in the flesh! I, BED, have decided I am in love with you and you shall become my wife. Right. Now!”

That is Barnaby.

Especially, “I have decided.”

Sir.

You have decided nothing.

Jasper just completed the serious process of establishing her legal right to remain in Darkfall specifically because she is searching for her destined female soulmate. She walks out of the castle, probably thinking about everything that just happened...

... and the hay pile develops opinions about her marital status.

The second exchange makes it even better because Jasper's objection isn't even romantic anymore. She's momentarily forgotten his proposal because she's discovered a more immediate problem.

His parents legally named this man B.E.D. And Barnaby's full-name reveal is magnificent because he thinks it's helping.

Barnaby: “I am Barnaby Eddicus Drud the III!”

Jasper: The third!?

Meaning somewhere in Darkfall's history there were apparently two previous Barnaby Eddicus Druds and somebody looked at this family tradition and consciously decided:

We must continue the line.

😂 I will absolutely preserve** *“the III” when he introduces himself. It also gives Barnaby something he can misunderstand as prestigious. He comes from no nobility whatsoever, but he is the *third Barnaby Eddicus Drud, and I can completely imagine him carrying that fact with absurd dignity.

There is also a very good recurring gag available here: Jasper refuses to call him BED.

Not because she's being cruel. Because she's Jasper and she simply cannot bring herself to address another adult man as BED with a straight face.

Jasper: “Barnaby.”

Barnaby: “BED, Your Highness.”

Jasper: “Barnaby.”

Barnaby: “My acquaintances call me BED.”

Jasper: “Then we aren't acquaintances.”

😭 And Barnaby interprets this as progress. That's the character.

He's not Gaston copied into Divide. Yes, I started with that comedic archetype, but Barnaby has already become his own thing. Gaston's arrogance comes from believing he's the most desirable man around.

Barnaby's comedy comes from an almost indestructible romantic optimism. Rejection doesn't wound his pride so much as create a new obstacle in the magnificent courtship narrative happening exclusively inside his head.

Jasper says no.

Barnaby hears “Not yet.”

Jasper says she's looking for a woman.

Barnaby thinks, “An unexpected complication.”

Jasper walks away.

Barnaby thinks, “She needs time to process my proposal.”

Jasper has known him eleven minutes.

Barnaby is mentally choosing horses for the wedding procession.

That's much funnier to me than making him mean.

And I love that our supporting-cast experiment immediately went off-script. The community post yesterday explicitly began with the idea that castles need ordinary people—maids, cooks, gardeners, guards, stable hands—and that the town needs its own working population. I thought I'd begin inside the castle and gradually work outward.

No.

Apparently the first ordinary citizen of Divide kicked open the stable door himself. Whether you dislike him or like him, you have to respect Barnaby's confidence. He sports his name the way I sport my Naruto headband. He can do this because he's not embarrassed by BED. BED is a brand.

Jasper: “Your initials spell BED.”

Barnaby: “Correct.”

Jasper: “And you... tell people that?”

Barnaby: “Immediately.”

Jasper: “You could just say Barnaby.”

Barnaby: “Why would I weaken the introduction?”

That actually tells readers something important about his character. His confidence shouldn't read as arrogance or swagger. It's utterly sincere self-assurance. Barnaby knows exactly who Barnaby is, thinks being Barnaby is a splendid arrangement and assumes everyone else will eventually reach the same conclusion.

Which explains Jasper perfectly.

He sees the 6'1 Princess Of Lightfall, makes eye contact once and his brain does not produce,

"She's royalty, I am a stable hand, I don't know this woman."

Or even,

"Perhaps I should introduce myself."

Nah. His brain produces: Wife.

Then the mouth immediately files the paperwork. 😭😂

Barnaby Eddicus Drud III

1. Darkfall resident. Stable hand.
2. No noble blood whatsoever.
3. Excellent with horses.
4. Terrible with boundaries.
5. Known inexplicably as BED.
6. Has met Princess Jasper Ferox once.
7. Already planning their future.

I think we absolutely have our first official comedy-relief supporting character.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/22/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

Okay, we're going to do something a little different with Divide.

You've been watching me slowly introduce Seishin, Jack Russell, Severin, Cecily O'Hare and some of the history surrounding them.

But Divide is still a very new project for me and the Forgers.

Unlike some of the worlds and stories I've been developing for years, this one only came into existence recently. That means there are still places where I'm looking at the world and thinking:

"Okay... who actually lives here?"

😂 That's just it. I don't know and I'm the author. And that's where I'd like to invite all of you into the development process.

🏰 We Need People Inside

A castle can't be populated entirely by kings, queens and major characters.

Somebody has to cook the food.

Somebody has to tend the gardens.

Somebody has to clean this enormous place.

Somebody is taking care of the horses.

Somebody is standing guard at three in the morning wondering why they agreed to the night shift.

We need those people.

Right now, I'm beginning to look at the next cast of characters Divide needs—not necessarily major protagonists or villains, but purposeful characters who make the world feel inhabited.

Inside the castle, we might need:

• Maids and housekeepers
• Chefs and kitchen staff
• Gardeners
• Guards
• Stable hands
• Physicians or healers
• Tutors
• Advisors
• Craftsmen
• Messengers
• Servants with specialized responsibilities

And then I realized...

The castle is only one building.

We have an entire town to populate too.

🏘️ Who Lives Outside Castle Eclipse?

The people living around the castle need lives, occupations, families and personalities of their own.

There should be bakers.

Tailors.

Blacksmiths.

Stable owners.

Merchants.

Farmers.

Innkeepers.

Carpenters.

Teachers.

Healers.

Shopkeepers.

And probably dozens of occupations I haven't even thought about yet. That's why I'm turning this question over to you.

⚒️ Help Zaion Studio Discover Who Lives Here

If you could add one purposeful character to the world of Divide, who would you add? You don't have to write an entire character biography.

It can be as simple as:

Or:

Or maybe you have something completely different that I haven't considered.

Tell me:

What is their job?

Do they work inside the castle or somewhere in town?

What makes them interesting?

You can give me one sentence or go into as much detail as you want.

And here's the fun part:

I may actually use your suggestion.

I'm not promising that every suggestion will become canon, and anything that enters Divide will naturally have to be adapted to fit the world, its lore and the story I'm writing.

But if somebody suggests a role or character concept that makes me stop and think...

"Wait. We NEED that person."

...then we may have just discovered a new member of Divide's cast together.

🧪 This Is An Experiment

I've never really opened a freshly developing project this way before. Normally, I disappear into my work, build everything privately and eventually show people what came out of it. But since you're already watching Divide develop through this Dev Journal, I thought:

"Why not let the readers knock on the workshop door every once in a while?"

You won't be deciding the story for me.

But you might notice a person, occupation, corner of the castle, or piece of everyday life that I haven't explored yet.

And I think that could be fun.

So...

The castle doors are open. The town is waiting.

Who do you all think we should we meet next?

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Suggestions & Feedback

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/21/2026

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

Since childhood, from the time she first met the Russells, Cecily O'Hare sincerely adored Jack Russell. It wasn't love—not yet—but it also wasn't as though she wasn't smitten with him. Her affection for Jack developed slowly over the etos. She watched him raise his siblings and took notice of something that fascinated her: the hands that fought ferocious beasts during a hunt were the same hands that gently caressed a sibling's face. Jack could be powerful when he needed to be and gentle when someone needed him to be.

Cecily noticed.

She noticed everything.

Unfortunately, actually talking to him was another matter entirely.

Jack attended the same private institution as Cecily. They shared classrooms, classmates and many of the same social circles. But Cecily's anxiety often got the better of her. Jack could smile at her from across the room and she'd freeze. Sometimes he would approach her during a recess from their studies and speak to her in that soft, caring voice of his.

It made Cecily feel seen.

More importantly, it made her feel safe.

And then, when they were 15 etos old, something happened that changed the way Cecily saw Jack forever.

Survival Camp

One etos, their families sent them to a survival training camp alongside children from sixty other noble families.

Cecily didn't understand the point.

They were wealthy. They were privileged. Their families had estates, resources and servants. Why would she ever need to know how to survive in the wilderness?

Jack, unsurprisingly, took the training seriously.

Cecily tried.

Unfortunately, the other children noticed very quickly that she wasn't particularly good at it. And some of them decided that was funny. The teasing escalated. Cecily retreated to her cabin a lot after being teased and Jack was the only person who cared enough about her to go check in on her or bring her food when she didn't make a appearance in the dining hall.

Due to her retreating and choosing to remain alone, Jack would venture out when he was done training or finished eating, then he would go find Cecily. This cycle continued for the duration of the camp and as a result she and Jack got to know each other. Very well.

He learned her strengths, weaknesses, her fears and her two medical conditions her parents refused to acknowledge as important. Evidently, Cecily had social anxiety, pressure from others or stressful situations caused her to have panic attacks and if she got yelled at or met with extreme force from a man or woman, she would shut down and simply couldn’t fend for herself.

During such episodes, Cecily would want and need someone to hold her. She admitted to Jack that she longed for someone to just be comforting by pressing their forehead to hers and be willing to talk to her gently and pull her out of her shocked state when she had panic attacks.

Jack understood her concerns and was saddened to learn at the camp, that his classmate was neglected by her family, her father thought she was weak and should have been born stronger and have a leader personality, like him. Since she clearly wasn’t any of those things, Cecily’s father resented her for her timid, shy personality. Her mother wasn’t awful, but she wasn’t that great either. She allowed Cecily’s father to talk down to their child, didn’t fight for her and rarely offered words of comfort when Cecily was having a panic attack or a social anxiety episode or worse, started crying and covering her ears, unable to move, run or speak. During these late night talks at the camp, the more Jack learned about Cecily, her family life and her struggles, the more he found himself drawn to her.

Alphas Vs. Omega

What began as jokes became cruelty, and eventually a group of children humiliated Cecily in front of the others.

Cecily froze. She couldn't defend herself. She couldn't make herself move.

She couldn't even properly speak. The humiliation and confrontation overwhelmed her until she began having a panic attacks.

And people watched.

Her classmates watched.

The other noble children watched.

Even the adults, the so-called "certified trainers of honor" who were supposed to be supervising their exercises, failed to step in when they should have.

Destined Lovers

Two days before the 5 week program ended, some wayward nobles played a terrible prank on Cecily. They knew she hated confrontation and getting worked up, so they decided to put on a show for their trainers and fellow classmates. The rebels waited for Cecily to be called out of line on the beach where they were all standing around, awaiting their next outdoor assignment. One of the men from another cabin came up behind Cecily suddenly and ripped her shirt off, then pull down her pants, revealing her under garments.

Naturally, their classmates gasped and after the initial shock of witnessing Cecily get manhandled, several classmates laughed. She had a birthmark on her thigh, a rather nasty, awkwardly shaped one, very notable in the sunlight. She had a severe, overly sized, mutated mole on her right shoulder blade.

It clearly needed to be cut off, but Cecily was terrified of knives and hated to be in pain, so she never did anything about it, despite her parent’s practically forcing her to get the mole removed. Knowing everyone could see her defects and her in undergarments, made her blush in embarrassment. The bullies mocked, burst out laughing and tried to get their classmates to jest about Cecily’s body.

One would have thought the instructors would have put a stop to the harassment from the men who shamed Cecily. They did no such thing. They saw it as an opportunity for Cecily to stand up for herself—to ask for help rather than expect someone to save her. Some classmates felt terrible for Cecily. Others were unsure of what to do, and some simply didn’t want to get involved.

Cecily began to breathe heavily and sweat, entering what Jack identified as a panic attack. She covered her ears, shut her eyes, and tears spilled down her face. Her chin quivered. She began to sob quietly, and even with this kind of emotional turmoil unfolding before them, the instructors did nothing.

Her classmates didn’t say anything. They simply stood there, watching her in silence.

Jack had heard and seen enough. Jack decided if the trainers were going to do nothing, then he would. He intervened. Jack ran through the thick crowd, shoved people out of the way, broke free of two trainers trying to hold him back from the scene and once he was free of their iron hold, Jack walked up to Cecily.

He didn't care that the instructors considered what was happening some kind of lesson. He didn't care whether Cecily was supposed to toughen up. He cared that she was frightened, humiliated and needed help. But even then, Jack didn't simply grab her. He approached Cecily cautiously and asked permission before helping straighten her clothing.

It's not that she was trying to be difficult, but currently, her mind was over stimulated, she was emotional and couldn't focus, so she didn't respond. Jack didn't mind, he was understanding of that. When he was safely standing in front of her at arm's length, Jack did something heroic.

He took his shirt off, exposing his nudity, something he knew was wrong to do, but given with the situation, he was certain the Trigonous would understand. He rolled his shoulder and slipped his shirt and before dressing her in it, he asked for permission to put it on her. While Cecily was deciding whether or not to let him help her, he asked her a second question which was equally just as hard to answer. He offered to pull her pants up and secure them back around her waist--but only if she allowed him to do it.

He stood there, waiting patiently for Cecily to give consent. She struggled to nod her head, she couldn’t speak, but she managed to tell him yes. He put the shirt on, covering her upper body, then he knelt down, pulled her pants up and stood up afterwards, content with himself. then asked for permission to comfort her. Then he asked her a third question. He wanted to comfort her. Could he comfort her? Cecily nodded stiffly, indicating he could.

Jack smiled, drew close, and ever so carefully, put her hands over her tense wrists. He leaned in, gently pressing his forehead to hers and asked Cecily to look at him and only him. Jack continued staring into her eyes until Cecily’s panic attack ended.

He didn't laugh at her.

He didn't tell her she was weak.

He didn't demand that she stop crying.

He simply held the pose and maintained eye contact and allowed her to calm down.

Eventually, Cecily opened her lavender eyes and looked into his. That was when she fell in love with Jack Russell.

Not because he was handsome.

Not because he came from a wealthy family.

Not because he was strong.

Cecily had already known all of those things. She fell in love with him because when she was vulnerable, frightened and humiliated in front of everyone... Jack chose to protect her dignity. Even if she removed his chivalry from the picture, it wasn’t what Jack said or what he did that day that unlocked her love for him. It was knowing that he wasn’t ashamed to be half naked and get laughed at by the bullies and stared down by their classmates.

It was knowing he wasn’t bothered by the hushed whispers and murmuring of their classmates. It was knowing that when the trainers ordered him to step away, he refused and continued to stare into her eyes until Cecily’s panic attack ended.

The Consequences

Jack's intervention wasn't celebrated. Later on, two days after they returned home to Drott City, Cecily learned during study hall from a classmate that Jack got chastised by the institution and suspended from the school for the rest of the month. The bullies were not reprimanded. They were praised for creating a real-life, unsettling situation. In the eyes of the adults, Jack had disrupted what the instructors viewed as an opportunity for Cecily to grow. In their flawed opinion, Jack had stepped in and ruined it.

Cecily almost didn't want to believe what she had heard. The institution suspended Jack. The star ace student with perfect attendance, the highest GPA recorded, their poster child was suspended for protecting her honor. The men responsible for humiliating Cecily weren't properly punished because the trainers at the camp believed Jack had interfered with what they considered part of the lesson and thus, nothing happened to them.

Like Cecily, Jack didn't agree with how the situation was handled. And after his suspension? I could have made him go back, but nah. I decided, he would never go back. He had already learned enough about the institution to know he didn't want anything more from it. Cecily never forgot what happened there either, but unlike Jack, Cecily has strict parents, not leud parents. Meaning, she had to finish her schooling and live among the people who failed her and Jack for the next two years of her life.

Cecily wasn’t surprised to learn that after his suspension was lifted, Jack didn’t return to the institution. He continued his studies at home until graduation. Cecily was a lot of things.

A coward. Insecure. A lover, not a fighter.

She struggled mentally and emotionally under pressure, especially when she was wrongfully yelled at. However, when it came to Jack Russell, she was willing to do anything to have him. This is why, on the eve of Jack’s 18th birthday, she secretly made her way onto the Russell Estate and found him by chance by the pond standing by a Drooping Tree, alone, under the moonlight.

Cecily forced herself to approach him for a few reasons. Mainly because she had spent years struggling to speak when frightened. Years freezing when emotions overwhelmed her. Years watching Jack from a distance and carrying feelings she hadn't been brave enough to put into words. But this time, Cecily made herself speak. She told Jack the truth.

She confessed that loved him. She told him how long she'd carried those feelings and what he had come to mean to her. The quiet maiden who could once barely respond when Jack smiled at her was standing before him and willingly making herself vulnerable. And this time, there was no bully forcing vulnerability upon her.

Cecily chose it.

Because Jack Russell was worth being brave for.

I Will Follow You

Following her bold confession, she handed Jack a flyer from the capitol city and told him she wanted him to consider the space-voyage voucher Craylic Castle was advertising for graduates with the highest GPA, that Jack still had despite having to finish his schooling at home. Jack was honored to learn that Cecily had feelings for him and he was even more delighted to discover that she was offering something he had already been looking into for himself.

Should the King and Queen of Craylic approve him for the space voyage, he would leave Goreos. And he would leave with Cecily at his side. Eventually, Jack told Cecily about the future he wanted.

He wasn't planning to remain where he was forever. He wanted to leave. To travel beyond their home. To venture into another solar system and build something of his own. For Cecily, that meant making another choice.

She could remain behind in the familiar world she'd known her entire life... or she could follow Jack into an uncertain future.

Cecily chose Jack.

Not because she was incapable of living without him. Not because she suddenly stopped being anxious or afraid.

And certainly not because she knew everything waiting for them beyond their home. She chose him because she loved him, trusted the Trigonous's direction about her life and the vision They gave her explaining Jack was her destined soulmate and future husband. She believed Them and she believed in the man she'd watched grow since childhood.

Jack Russell was leaving Goreos. And Cecily wanted to leave with him. Neither of them could possibly know what that decision would eventually mean. They couldn't know what waited for them on Seishin. They couldn't know who Jack would meet there. And Cecily certainly couldn't know how complicated their lives were eventually going to become.

All she knew was that the same boy who had once found her frightened and humiliated, protected her dignity and held her while she cried was now a man preparing to walk into an entirely new chapter of his life. And this time, the quiet maiden wasn't going to watch him leave from a distance.

She was going with him.

_____

Song: A Place I Don't Know

Album: Sayonara Wild Hearts

Artist(s): Daniel Olsen & Jonathan Eng

Click the link before reading the outro of the post to get the immersive effect. It makes a huge difference. It inspired the outro to the post and the artwork. Those who have played this game like me, if you know, then you know just how fulfilling it was to beat the final boss and see the woman get her groove back and play the guitar. Song still hits and it was perfect for my post and even better for my artwork's inspiration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0taSGlREf5c&list=RD0taSGlREf5c&start_radio=1

What I like about Cecily, who originally was a side character and had no real value, has become one of the strongest moving forces in Divide. I particularly wanted to preserve something important about Cecily, her courage shouldn't require her anxiety to disappear. That's much more interesting to me than turning her into an entirely different woman as she gets older. At fifteen, vulnerability is forced upon her and she freezes.

At eighteen, she deliberately walks onto Jack's estate and chooses vulnerability by telling him she loves him. Then she chooses it again when she agrees to leave the familiar behind and follow him into an uncertain future.

That's an arc.

I loved the forehead concept so much, I made scenes to see if their romance was as magical as I was writing it and... it was. The forehead detail scenes for the beach and again at sunset on the Russell Estate near the pond, I drastically changed the emotional effect in the manuscript. Instead of merely “Jack comforted her, then she looked at him,” my readers can actually picture Cecily coming out of the panic, opening those lavender eyes and discovering Jack's face immediately in front of hers.

And because they're fifteen, I like that the intimacy remains tender and innocent. I like how Jack uses his body to block the trainers and students from Cecily's view, puts protective hands around her wrists then boom--forehead against forehead and finally, the eye contact. The scene isn't sexualized. It's the moment a frightened girl realizes,

"This person makes me feel safe."

How did a side character... I cared nothing for, do this? How did it turn into this? More than likely it was the Lord giving me the push in the right direction and I love it when the Lord does that and leaves me speechless.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/19/2024

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

Jack Of All Trades

I've talked about Seishin. I've introduced you to Severin. I've told you a little about Canicious and the role he plays in all of this.

There's just one problem.

I haven't properly introduced you to the man standing in the middle of this disaster.

So...

Who is Jack Russell?

Jack is a member of the Human race. Standing proudly at 6'1", he's a well-built, athletic man who takes care of his body and mind and is strongly family-oriented. He's ambitious, persistent and determined. And obviously, being one of the biggest and strongest Human males in his area didn't happen overnight.

The same goes for Jack's intellect. He wasn't simply born a genius.

He earned both.

Countless hours of physical training, mental training, studying, private instruction and tutoring throughout his childhood on the Russell Estate shaped him into the man he eventually became.

But Jack's childhood was... complicated.

The Saint

Jack is a son of a wealthy family, the eldest of 20 siblings.

Yes.

Twenty.

As the elder, he prided himself for demonstrating a kind aura. He was naturally a caring person who proved he could be a father figure and leader long before he met his future wife, Cecily O’Hare at the age of 29. However, before love, there was his childhood. His tragedy began when Jack was only seven etos old and his parents increasingly took advantage of that fact.

Jack became a primary caregiver, role model and source of emotional support for his younger siblings. He had to learn about parenthood and the differences between men and women so he could raise his brothers and sisters effectively and give them accurate guidance.

Meanwhile, he was still expected to study, train and attend countless—and, in Jack's opinion, often pointless—political events, balls and conferences with his parents.

Or with his father whenever his mother was pregnant and unable to travel.

Which seemed to be...

all the time.

All twenty siblings were born one eto apart. At eight, Jack was taught that the eldest child becomes the leader of the family—and the family pack—whenever the parents are absent, too busy to be present, or eventually die.

Unfortunately, Jack's parents gave him plenty of opportunities to practice. Nathan and Augusta Russell were extremely attracted to one another, had very high sex drives, and continued having children without considering how much responsibility they were placing on their eldest son.

They didn't seem particularly concerned that another moment of passion could mean another pregnancy.

And there was another reason.

Drott City's Very Strange Competition

During Jack's era, Drott City had an unusual piece of folklore—almost an unspoken social rule.

The noble family with the most children was considered the "alpha family."

That family received enormous social praise and expensive gifts sent to their estate. And currently?

The Russells were winning.

Nathan and Augusta were proud of it. Jack was considerably less impressed. Not every Human family in Drott City participated in this tradition, but enough of the nobility and community elders supported it that Jack couldn't simply make the culture disappear. So instead of allowing his anger toward his parents and the elders to consume him, Jack did something very characteristic of Jack. He turned it into a challenge.

Fair or unfair.

Reasonable or unreasonable.

Even abusive.

Jack wanted to know whether he could carry what had been placed on him and still surpass everyone's expectations.

And he did.

Jack Raised A Village

Jack raised his siblings until he eventually left home to pursue his own life.

He taught his brothers and sisters according to their ages and abilities: social skills, life skills, noble etiquette and proper decorum.

He took them on hunting trips. When some were too young to keep up, Jack carried them against his chest or back or pulled several of them along in a secure, padded wagon. Even the youngest children, still in cloth diapers, were exposed to knowledge of the realm. When the little ones slept, Jack trained the older ones.

He taught them how to live off the land, what to look for, what to avoid and how to protect themselves. As they became old enough, he trained them with the weapons available in their society, including swords, knives and firearms.

By the time Jack reached 29, he'd done enough.

He decided it was finally time to leave the Russell Estate—and eventually his native solar system—to pursue something of his own.

Founding a Human colony in another solar system.

Nobody stopped him.

His parents couldn't.

The community elders couldn't.

His cousins, instructors and friends couldn't.

Jack had spent his life proving himself. Nobody could reasonably fault him for finally wanting a life of his own.

His parents were sad to see him leave.

Unfortunately, some of that sadness came from realizing... their help was leaving too.

Jack went anyway.

He began speaking with other Humans who wanted to venture into space and establish a colony with him.

And eventually, that journey would lead him to the Tengoku Solar System and finally, to planet Seishin.

Who Does Jack Serve?

This is where Jack and Severin become interesting mirrors of one another.

Just as Severin serves Canicious and calls him king, Jack honors the Trigonous.

He recognizes Griffin and Avril as his kings and Chalice as his queen.

Jack doesn't bow to Humanity or treat Humanity as gods. He believes there is only one living, true God: the Trigonous. Jack's devotion was so steadfast throughout his youth that he was eventually blessed with the ability to perceive the spiritual realm.

He enjoys that gift tremendously.

He can experience closeness with Heaven, engage with angels and, from time to time, be personally ministered to by them. But there's something important about Jack that I don't want to lose here:

Those privileges aren't why he follows the Trigonous.

If Jack woke up tomorrow and could no longer see an angel, he wouldn't retaliate.

He wouldn't abandon the Trigonous.

He'd smile, accept that the privilege was gone and keep going.

He'd continue living for the Trigonous, witnessing to the lost, using his gifts for good and running his race until the day he was called home to his eternal rest.

The spiritual experiences are something Jack treasures.

They aren't the price of his loyalty.

Seishin Was Different

Jack grew up enjoying the ability to perceive both the physical and spiritual realms.

In the current Divide manuscript I'm drafting, enlightened people can see angels, while everyone can see spiritual animals.

That also means something particularly interesting about Jack's era:

Angels were allowed to show their faces.

Jack could see his own guardian angel. He could sometimes perceive other people's guardian angels when those angels allowed him to pick up on their presence.

So imagine Jack's delight after he legally secured his rights to Seishin through the GUOG and discovered just how spiritually active the planet was.

For someone like Jack, Seishin must have seemed extraordinary.

And eventually, while exploring its woodlands, Jack met someone.

You already know who.

Severin.

At that time, the woodland wasn't cursed.

Not yet.

But remember something from my previous posts:

This is also the place where Canicious met Severin before Jack ever came along.

And now all three of them are connected to the same location.

Complex Men = Complex Writing

There's an irony I've created between these three characters that I particularly enjoy.

Much of Jack's pain and problems will come because of Severin.

Much of Severin's pain and problems will eventually come because of Canicious.

And near the end of Divide's introduction Canicious's pain and problems will come because of Jack.

Jack → Severin → Canicious → Jack.

There is much more happening between these three characters than I've told you.

And there is much more happening with the location where their paths cross. But this time? I'm not telling you. Not yet. You can wonder about that one for a while.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/18/2024

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

Remember when I told you Canicious had tried repeatedly to corrupt Seishin and couldn't find an opening?

Well...

That opening was Severin. (Name selected for the male Fairy.)

Yep. The beautiful Fairy from my last post.

I told you we'd be coming back to him. 🙂

Lust At First Sight

Canicious had been all over Seishin looking for someone—anyone—he could reach. He visited populated areas. He wandered through the wilderness. He searched for somebody who was dissatisfied, tempted, angry, rebellious... anything he could work with.

Nothing. Nobody wanted what he was offering. For the King of Hell, that was incredibly frustrating.

How disappointing for him. He couldn’t find a soul that was the tiniest bit tempted to do evil or switch fractions. Refusing to leave Seishin empty handed, Canicious continued search for a servant. He attempted several times over the next couple of etos to break the Seishinians and their holy way of life, but he just couldn’t get through to them. That was until, one day, when he was roaming about on Seishin in the physical realm. FYI, Canicious is not hiding his presence or his “beautiful” appearance from any race on the planet, physical animals or spiritual animals. Literally, anyone could see him, which is what he wanted,

One day, while roaming about on Seishin in the physical realm, Canicious encountered a male Fairy in the woodlands.

Severin.

And there was something very different about him.

The first day they met, both he and the male Fairy connected. The male Fairy was faking his holiness, he didn’t really want to be good or demonstrate the Fruits Of The Spirit or anything holy. He had become bored of holiness and the holy lifestyle the Trigonous requires of their followers. Canicious didn’t rush to seduce the male Fairy, but he did ask him questions, similar to how a Satan of times past, tempted Secondborn, the first woman created from the rib of Firstborn. He twisted the truth on purpose, testing to see if the male Fairy would catch on or quip back with objection.

To the contrary. Severin told Canicious,

“Honestly, I don’t see why Seconborn was given such a easy questionnaire. I don't think the Satan was stupid, I just think that devil was sloppy. If it had been me, I would have done it differently and been so much more effective than that fallen celestial.”

Canicous blinked, taken aback at Severn’s boldness and in his curiosity, he asked Severin,

“Oh really? Well then, humor me. What would you have done, if you were the fallen celestial spirit in that garden with Secondborn? What approach would you have used and how would you have gone about tricking her into eating the fruit?”

Once again, Severn came back with a such a powerful, smooth response, Canicious found himself speechless and standing there, in awe at the person before him. For once, he found someone who claimed he could do something better than one of his own generals of his army. He found someone who had no fear of the Trigonous. And he found someone, who gave him a better strategy than the one that the Holy Scriptures had recorded in Humanity’s history. This was alarming, dangerous, damming and most importantly of all, it was blasphemous.

Now, before we continue, I need you all to understand a theological fundamental of the lore between Severin and Canicious. Canicious didn't create Severin's darkness or force it upon him. This is important because I didn't want Severin's story to be:

"An innocent Fairy met my Lucifer representee and the representee turned him evil."

That isn't what happened.

Severin was already pretending. Outwardly, he appeared to live according to the Trigonou's holy way of life. Inside, however, he'd grown tired of it. He wasn't interested in genuinely demonstrating the Fruits Of The Spirit or becoming closer to the Trigonous.

Guess what? Canicious noticed. But surprisingly, he didn't immediately try to recruit Severin. He wanted to test him. This is why it was key to make Canicious ask questions when he first met Severin in the woodlands. Obviously, he deliberately twisted truth and waited to see whether Severin would recognize what he was doing and object.

Severin didn't object though.

Actually...

Severin started impressing him.

At one point during their TED talk sessions in the woodland, the conversation shifted and turned towards another ancient account involving one of Canicious's own forces, only this time, it was the account of Yehudah Iscariot. Instead of condemning or praising what happened between Yehudah and Avril Tryst, Severin essentially looked at the strategy and told Canicious,

"I could have done better and didn't need to sell out for 30 pieces of silver."

Canicious was stunned.

Here was someone living on one of the holiest planets in creation that he had encountered, surrounded by people devoted to the Trigonous... and this Fairy was criticizing Hell's technique in some of the most powerful, meaningful moments of Humanity's history.

That's when Canicious realized he hadn't simply found someone he might be able to tempt. He had found someone who might actually want him.

And Severin did.

Their relationship developed over time. Eventually, Canicious stopped hiding his intentions and revealed exactly who he was.

The King Of Hell.

For a genuine follower of the Trigonous, that should have ended the relationship immediately. Severin's response was essentially the opposite.

He wanted in.

He wanted Canicious's kingdom.

And he wanted to serve him.

That was the moment Canicious realized he had something on Seishin he had never managed to obtain before. A willing servant. Finally, for the first time in a very long immortal time, Canicous found another vessel. This time, it wasn't a Genie Yaso Fe'Lawn or a Vampire. It was male Fairy that stood out from the rest on the planet. It was this male Fairy, that gave Canicious hope that one day, Seishin would fall, like all the other planets and with it, the people would be receptive of his evil, of his temptations. Should Canicious succeed, he would have claimed another area of the cosmos and thus, gain more ground in the spiritual warfare between Heaven and Hell in my series.

After their tenth meeting, Canicious did something sudden and random. He grabbed Severin by the shoulders, pulled him against him and instantly kissed him on the mouth. The kiss was not to symbolize sexuality or a lifestyle. The kiss to Severin's mouth was Canicious’s way of claiming his victim, his servant.

Through the kiss, he tainted and was legally allowed to do so, because in Severin's heart, he wanted the darkness and Canicious knew this before took him so suddenly like that and planted the kiss. One reason Canicious used a kiss tactic is because he knew that Yehudah Iscariot betrayed the Savior with a kiss to the cheek. Canicious was not nearly so modest with his mouth like the Yehudah was with his.

He claimed Severin's lips and instantly spiritually marked the him with a spiritual symbol that only he and Severin could see. It’s a symbol. A jagged 666 mark that appeared across his forehead and again on the backside of his left hand. The symbol itself is a rune circle of sorts, but the jagged 666 numbers within the circle were in ancient, demonic writing. The symbols actively burned into Severin's skin, acting as a branding and seal of ownership. The the burning sensation did not leave him at any point, but Severin did not mind this.

Following the brief kiss, Severin looked into the glowing red eyes and formally gave Canicious permission to come inside of him, to fill his body with his dark, forbidden desires and power. That was stupid. The goofball literally invited the evil to live inside of him and didn't think of the consequences that would follow.

He enjoyed it and welcomed the high he got from the kiss and from what he could feel in the marks on his forehead and on the back of his left hand.

But there's one more piece you need before I leave you today.

Enter Jack Russell

Exactly one etos after Severin first encountered Canicious, Severin met someone else in those same woodlands.

Jack Russell, the Human King of Seishin.

Canicious was there. And Severin knew exactly who he served.

Jack didn't.

Jack saw an extraordinarily beautiful Fairy who knew Seishin inside and out. Severin was intelligent, knowledgeable, warm, attentive and incredibly easy to trust. Jack wasn't romantically or sexually attracted to him. He was simply fascinated by him. Severin knew things Jack didn't. He understood the planet. He listened. He made Jack feel comfortable.

And Jack began to see the possibility of something valuable: a companion. Perhaps even, eventually, one of his closest advisors. Yesterday I told you that Severin's beauty wasn't actually the most dangerous thing about him.

This is what I meant.

Severin doesn't look dangerous.

He doesn't feel dangerous.

He feels like someone you were fortunate enough to meet.

And Jack Russell had absolutely no idea that the beautiful Fairy standing in front of him in a stunning, Fairy robe with crystalized, rainbow tinted wings, had already chosen his king.

It just wasn't Jack.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Search For The Griffin: Dev Journal

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/17/2024

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately. Please note the artwork foundation is human authorship, editing and original design before it was colored and finalized in AI software.

There is a bad, life threatening storm in my area and my entire residential area just got hit. I will return to posting content once things are safe and 80 winds and the intense thunder storm isn’t an issue for me and so many others who are affected being currently affected by this storm.

Ya'll. I was ready at the Shabbat ended to come on here and drop a long, juicy lore bone that was going to build up to character reveals and exclusive information. And I was almost there too. I sat down at my company desk, turned on the PC, opened the Word document with my info and it suddenly occurred to me... I would be revealing the protagonist's name (if I haven't already done so in the previous posts.) and you all would have no clue, who I'm even talking about. In fact, I'd bore you to death because all you'd see is a race title. I simply couldn't have that, so I have decided to share this moment with all of you. I am going to show you a list of names for this character. I have already chosen the one I have in mind and I believe will compliment my antagonist, but I want to see what you (the public) think I should name this villain.

Now, before you pick a name for me to consider (should you decide to participate) I want to point out something important. I wanted to take the time and set the time aside, to name a male Fairy in Divide. The male Fairy that Jack Russell (Human King) meets, is exceptionally handsome and so seductive in his appearance, people will loose their breath and stop and stare at him. Whether it be sexual arousal or pure, platonic admiration with no sexual motive, anyone one who sees the male Fairy is instantly affected by this his striking appearance.

As a bonus, the energy the male Fairy gives off is kind, thoughtful, warm and inviting. He automatically makes a person feel safe and most importantly, heard and seen. Just by a look, this male Fairy can do that. At least, that's the idea behind his artwork and his personality. I'm providing his concept artwork so you can see what it is I'm working with.

__

-Name Suggestions-

For this Fairy, I have thought of a variety of fictional, fantasy names that would give him a name that is beautiful before it is threatening. I made then names and their pronunciations the way I did, because the danger in him is not obvious. Jack should hear the name and associate it with warmth, elegance, safety and almost impossible beauty. The name should not sound like a villain's name. If anything, when you consider suggesting one of the names, it should sound like someone Jack wants to trust—which makes the truth about him much more painful later.

Here are names I think could fit him:

• Avelien — AV-eh-lee-en. Soft, graceful, almost luminous. There is nothing threatening about it.
• Serevain — SEHR-eh-vayn. Romantic and sophisticated, with a subtle seductive quality.
• Elarien — eh-LAIR-ee-en. Very Fairy-like without sounding overly familiar. Beautiful and gentle.
• Vaelith — VAY-lith. More mysterious. Gorgeous, but there is a slight edge hiding underneath.
• Aurevain — OR-eh-vayn. Warm and almost golden sounding. I especially like this for someone whose presence makes people feel safe.
• Solaireth — so-LAIR-eth. Radiant and elegant, almost as though people would associate him with light.
• Evarell — EV-ah-rell. Extremely approachable. It sounds like the name of someone kind.
• Caelien — KAY-lee-en. Delicate and handsome without sounding feminine.
• Velorien — veh-LOR-ee-en. Regal, beautiful, and memorable. It has the feeling of someone who knows people are watching him.
• Averith — AV-er-ith. Gentle at first, but there is something slightly unsettling underneath.
• Sereviel — SEHR-eh-vee-el. Ethereal and almost angelic—which could be particularly fitting considering the false holiness he presents.
• Elyvain — EL-ih-vayn. Soft and enchanting. It feels naturally seductive rather than deliberately provocative.
• Vaeriel — VAIR-ee-el. Beautiful, otherworldly, and trustworthy sounding.
• Aurelien — or-EL-ee-en. Exceptionally handsome sounding, although this one is a real-world given name, so it is less unique than the others.
• Seravain — SEHR-ah-vayn. This one has a particularly deceptive beauty to it. It sounds almost sacred without directly borrowing an angelic name.
• Elvarien — el-VAIR-ee-en. Noble and inviting, with just enough fantasy character to belong to a Fairy.
• Veyrien — VAIR-ee-en. Shorter, elegant, and slightly hypnotic.
• Averiel — AV-er-ee-el. Gentle and almost innocent sounding—the sort of name that could reinforce his carefully constructed image.
• Severin — SEV-ver-in. A name that reveals exactly what would happen to someone they intend to betray later on in life. On the surface, Severin sounds elegant, refined and almost gentle. It belongs to an extraordinarily beautiful being without announcing that there is anything dangerous about them.

And there there you go.

Which one would you give him?

Don't worry about figuring out which one I picked. Choose the name that fits the face and description I've given you. And if everybody somehow chooses the same name I already did...

I'm going to laugh. 😂

Tomorrow, we'll get back to the lore.

Probably.

These characters keep ruining my schedule.

#Zaion Studio #ZS #Suggestions & Feedback #Divide

___________________

© Copyright 2026

Effective Date: 8/15/2024

Legal Disclaimer: Artwork is the intellectual property of Zaion Studio and Anointed Works®. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copy and paste, downloading, uploading or reposting of artwork on any website, fan site, social media platform or elsewhere is strictly prohibited without our explicit permission. The only exception is Fair Use, however, it is essential to understand what Fair Use encompasses legally in order to utilize our content appropriately.

I’m not sure if this will be useful to anyone outside of our Mod Team, but if you are a visitor or subscriber of this community, I want to put this here for you in the event this scam reaches your inbox.