Hello, dear readers!
It's your favorite, chronically delayed author. Somehow recently I've been letting you down with the chapter updates. Life has been... rather mean lately, and now it struck again. Due to a death in my family, I've messed up the posting schedule yet again. I promise you, I'll be delivering the next chapter by the end of the week. I have planned quite the emotional chapter, with ups and downs, screaming matches, and evil specters. Until then, however, I'll be trying to beg for your forgiveness with a little side-project of mine.
I have enjoyed reading webcomics for quite some time, and I wanted to try and make a promotional comic strip, summarizing the beginning of Book 1. Below, you'll find attached the four pages I painstakingly drew and painted for several months. It's nothing amazing, but it was a thrilling experience to design and finish this side project.
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/7d670ef3-6cdd-41a3-a154-27167590e72f/dh302c5-38a7696a-c034-4c6f-8bdc-d8bdc1ceead2.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzdkNjcwZWYzLTZjZGQtNDFhMy1hMTU0LTI3MTY3NTkwZTcyZlwvZGgzMDJjNS0zOGE3Njk2YS1jMDM0LTRjNmYtOGJkYy1kOGJkYzFjZWVhZDIuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.XL2vCrAMu5l6jrk7O8RPlhEO4r3t8qbLcWcUnwEz1K4]
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/7d670ef3-6cdd-41a3-a154-27167590e72f/dh36sm4-2884efb5-eec4-4e45-8c06-e07848724139.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_6200,q_75,strp/the_beast_and_the_swallow___fate_of_the_swallow_2_by_kitanokata_dh36sm4-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NjIwMCIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzdkNjcwZWYzLTZjZGQtNDFhMy1hMTU0LTI3MTY3NTkwZTcyZlwvZGgzNnNtNC0yODg0ZWZiNS1lZWM0LTRlNDUtOGMwNi1lMDc4NDg3MjQxMzkuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTYwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.UrJzofU01yBg2FCZ_av-7zddmy_q2F1twUL9Bgu4G84]
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/7d670ef3-6cdd-41a3-a154-27167590e72f/dh3ei8y-599b4c14-3f71-4eba-9e87-cfe59642d50f.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_4128,q_75,strp/the_beast_and_the_swallow___fate_of_the_swallow_3_by_kitanokata_dh3ei8y-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NDEyOCIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzdkNjcwZWYzLTZjZGQtNDFhMy1hMTU0LTI3MTY3NTkwZTcyZlwvZGgzZWk4eS01OTliNGMxNC0zZjcxLTRlYmEtOWU4Ny1jZmU1OTY0MmQ1MGYuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTYwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.QiLuCSvkbZZE3YSHBWdmAymxXhGAtf0ZGmJni9eVZEU]
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/7d670ef3-6cdd-41a3-a154-27167590e72f/dh3zsw6-5a43346b-a673-4c75-a53e-e54a29d7900e.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_7202,q_75,strp/the_beast_and_the_swallow___fate_of_the_swallow_4_by_kitanokata_dh3zsw6-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzIwMiIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzdkNjcwZWYzLTZjZGQtNDFhMy1hMTU0LTI3MTY3NTkwZTcyZlwvZGgzenN3Ni01YTQzMzQ2Yi1hNjczLTRjNzUtYTUzZS1lNTRhMjlkNzkwMGUuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTYwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.YVw0XPtom3qNrFpRopXXIyRm59qfOjZBY4J5_JDXKSE]
Now, for transparency's sake, here are the sources for the used resources:
- The images were digitally drawn and colored using Krita 5.2.1 and a Huion tablet.
- The Celtic details, the skull and branches/horns, and the window frame are from Envato Elements
- The fancy font is Boecklins Universe, a free font from 1001 Fonts.
- The petals and branches, the furniture, utensils/food, and the masks are stock resources from Envato Elements.
- The background behind the first two panels depicting the banquet was generated using AI (Bing's Copilot) and then edited in Krita.
- The background with the church where the wedding takes place is an edited photograph of a lovely church in London I took some years ago.
- The panel depicting the bedroom, as well as the wolf's head and the swallow at the end, were generated using AI (Bing's Copilot and Envato AI ImageGen respectively) and then edited in Krita.