Crosspost: ericmrozek.com.

About a year ago, we began a series of writing diaries that marked the progress of Revolution. Now that the editing process is complete, we have so much more to share with you. Over the next few weeks, we are going to embark on a journey to get you hyped for the final chapter of this trilogy. It all starts with the cover!

But before we unveil our latest masterpiece, let’s take a look at what went into it.

Everything Old Is New Again.

As you might be able to tell from our previous covers, we always attempt to differentiate each product with a compelling scene.  We started things off with a minor skirmish on the cover of Destruction. After that, Independence gave us the chance to balance civilian life with the never-ending quest for freedom. Lastly, Illumination let us play with the Lady of Knives and the mysteries that awaited our fans.

When Revolution entered its editing phase, we realized that we needed something old and new. Luckily, our new artist, Liam Maher, was more than up to the challenge.

In the realm of the old, we wanted to balance the historical feel of the Telurian soldiers with elite nature of Thrakoth’s inner circle. With that in mind, Liam gave the soldiers  some added pop by mixing old school uniforms with a regal purple. What fun!

In the realm of the new, we played around with the damage done by the war, leading to the urban environment in the piece. In order to deal with the passage of time, we also fiddled with some of the new weapons and equipment that Thrakoth’s elite warriors might have access to. When we turned it over to Liam, he mixed it up with some interesting variations on the Telurian arsenal. After all, our antagonist’s guard deserves the best of the best!

Speaking of the antagonist…

Fear Him.

One of our most important rules in the conception of this series has been to strike a balance between the magical and the ordinary. Therefore, it was difficult to come up with a true depiction that fit Thrakoth’s status. If we made him too magical, he could have wound up looking like Sauron, the Nazgul, or the Lich King. On the other hand, normalcy could never fit such a tough antagonist.

Luckily, the story of the previous two novels provided some clever solutions.

Over the course of the series, Thrakoth gained renown as an incredibly powerful sorcerer and leader, so we brought that out with his burning blue eyes, calm demeanor, and commanding presence. On top of that, we knew that he would dress and arm himself for success in warfare, so every little detail from his knife to his incredibly bulky armor was of the utmost importance.

All of that effort made its way into a compelling final product. Here it is!

Revolution will arrive in early 2018.