SciFi and Fantasy Art: Arzath

The black-haired, green-eyed sorcerer villain from my fantasy novel Ferrian's Winter.

"On either side of the glittering river, perched on ledges in the cliff face like sentinels facing each other down, were two castles.

The one to the east was white, its high towers and parapets rising to the sky like ivory arms seeking to embrace the heavens. Window frames and doorways were decorated with delicate silver and gold scrollwork. Not yet embraced by the shining orb rising behind it, its walls nevertheless seemed to emit a cool, unearthly radiance, as though some remnant of starlight from the vanquished night had become trapped in the stone.

The one to the west was its brother, a shadow even in the sunlight, a twisted and corrupted doppelganger. Its towers were black and spindly. Like a basket full of burnt fingers, they clustered together amongst the battlemented walls. Upon the steeply sloping rooftops, spires like razor sharp nails raked the air. Crouching and leering in the gloom of doorways and eaves were numerous black stone gargoyles, carved into hideous forms. The dusty breeze that flurried through the narrow open windows blew out again whispering of malevolence.

In the latter of the two castles, Lord Arzath stood at one of these windows, facing the morning sun as it climbed over the ragged peaks and matching it glare for glare. Warm fingers of air twitched the black hair about his shoulders and quickly pulled away again.

Directly opposite him, the white castle sat in the shadow of the mountains, cool and serene and silent, unfazed by his latest attempt to smash it into a pile of majestic rubble.

How he despised that castle."

(excerpt, chapter two, Ferrian's Winter)