Twelve Jackals Cover Art

For centuries, residents of Kala had to endure the pain of their magic to protect their world from the constant attacks of their neighboring factions. Their leader, Rakamai, wants his people to have a quiet life, a taste of happiness. He is about to do what none before him did, go into the forest of his enemies and offer them a truce, but even peace comes with a price.

BEHIND THE COVER

When Christina and I started talking about what we could do with the cover, we spoke for multiple sessions about Rakamai’s state of mind and what would drive him to choose the path he took. Rakamai is not a weak leader; He is the strongest in a powerful faction. Rakamai is not above violence; he fought in multiple wars without hesitation. But then, their was Rakamai the father, the man who wants to spend time with his wife. He wants everyone to be happy and have the life they deserve and he does that by being hopeful and dreaming of a future that includes everyone. That’s why he is looking at the sun, a representation of his goals. His weapon in his hand because he is ready to do whatever it takes for his people. Yet, the path to his dreams is not easy. Like the bloodied Jackal tracks he leaves behind, he is bound to use his magical creatures to carve his way into the future.

ART INSPIRATION

For the art style we had to look at multiple source but one artist had more influence than everyone else. The origins of Kala and the entire continent of Mastoperia are far beyond magical. In a sense, they are larger than life itself. This why we used the artist: Peter Mohrbacher and his project Angelarium as an inspiration for both the style and color palette. In Particular, these two pieces of art…

With the first being the Angel of Truth, and the second being the Angel of Shadow, Rakamai’s existence was always bound to be connected to them.