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Elena Dudina.  You may recognize her amazing artwork or you may have never heard of her before.  She is an extremely gifted photomanipulation digital artist. Her creations stir the imagination (They have stirred mine since the beginning of BnV!)

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They are breathtaking and exquisitely detailed, filling the mind with far-away realms and magical places.

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They are delicate and beautiful and each one is unique.

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She is a poet of images, forms and colour; shades, shapes and textures.

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When I first began writing The Mercy Series, I confess, it wasn’t one of Elena’s images that inspired my imagination.  It was one by an artist called Aenaluck

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This image is definitely stirring, but my main character Tzadkiel quickly took on a life of his own. He became real to me, as every character I have ever created has done.

“The ruddy glimmer of the late day sun, slowly fading into a crimson haze behind the distant clouds, played through the layers of his shoulder-length blonde hair and sparkled across the perfection of his features. He was neither rugged nor boyish, but strikingly handsome.  His physique was tall and powerful, but not burly and his appearance was undeniably beautiful while still masculine. He wore a gray leather harness across his back with a scabbard to carry a sword, though the weapon was currently sheathed in the scabbard at his hip.  He bore no scars of any kind and wore around his neck an amethyst crystal upon a silver chain. The deep violet of the unworked stone matched the color of his eyes precisely and glowed faintly as if it contained an internal light.  Standing there upon the vast ocean shore, he was the most stunning sight for countless miles. – An Excerpt from Misericorde 

Although Aenaluck’s character inspired, I wanted a true representation of Tzadkiel.  One I could share with readers (And use for marketing without copyright infringement).  I decided to look into commissioning a work through a digital artist and it only took about 10 minutes for me to find Elena’s website.  10 minutes after that, I was emailing one of my all time favourite artists with a query.

Elena and I have worked closely for a week, trading emails while I provided detailed descriptions about Tzadkiel and a plethora of images to help her visualize what I saw in my mind.  Remarkably, and due in no small part to her immense talent, she drew the archangel out of the depths of my mind and brought him ….and his extraordinary sword Jshunamir….to life!

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I would like to introduce you to The Archangel Tzadkiel in human form from The Mercy Series

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It’s the year 2446, and the first three Horsemen of Revelation’s Apocalypse have ridden.

Pestilence, War and Famine have changed the world into a dictatorship ruled with an iron fist. Commoners have few rights, and liberty is a distant memory.

Before the final Horseman is released, the Archangel of Mercy – Tzadkiel – makes a bold plea, asking for permission to find even one human who remembers the meaning of mercy and compassion. He is given 100 years, until Death will sweep across the land.

Taking human form and coming to Earth, he finds a place ruled by greed, hatred and fear. With time running out and Death growing impatient, can Tzadkiel find what he’s looking for… and how much will he need to sacrifice?

 

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I can’t wait to hear what you think.  Personally, Im over the moon and want to take this opportunity to thank Elena for her gift, that has inspired me many times over the years, and for her patience as she worked to bring this character to life.

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~Morgan~

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Find Elena Dudina on DeviantArt and Facebook