Study for a Double Portrait of Alstonia Kohle and Her Daughter Galena, 2025. Ink on two sheets of vellum, 4 x 6 in.
The double portrait of Alstonia and Galena has a diegetic version, a painting by postwar artist Vallerant that hangs in a secluded corner of Kohle Manor. While Alstonia died in an accident many starcycles before the start of The Vaster Conspiracy, her legacy of artistic patronage lives on, influencing Galena’s eventual involvement in Vaster’s art counterfeiting schemes.
Study of Alstonia for a Double Portrait of Alstonia Kohle and Her Daughter Galena, 2025. Ink on two sheets of vellum, 4 x 6 in.
In this series of studies for a larger portrait of Galena and her mother, Alstonia, I’ve made use of the vellum’s translucency, stacking images on top of text copied by hand from the manuscript.
The text underlying this portrait of Alstonia comes from one of my worldbuilding documents and describes one of the many paintings adorning the walls of Kohle Manor: the only surviving double portrait of Alstonia and her daughter, Galena, who would go on to inherit the family’s properties, fortune, and art collection.
“Study of Young Galena for a Double Portrait of Alstonia Kohle and Her Daughter Galena,” 2025. Ink on two sheets of vellum, 4 x 6 in.
In this series of studies for a larger portrait of Galena and her mother, Alstonia, I’ve made use of the vellum’s translucency, stacking images on top of text copied by hand from the manuscript.
Allegedly, Galena didn’t even sit for the portrait herself, as she was living on the family’s estate outside the former Verlamion colony on the Valbaran continent at the time it was executed. Her mother is said to have posed as her daughter or hired a look-alike to play the part.
The text behind the portrait is from a conversation between Vaster and Galena that was cut from the manuscript’s second draft along with the rest of the dinner scene.
Study of Arazue in Green Ink, 2025. Green ink on vellum, 4 x 6 in.
Arazue is the most level-headed and serious of the three priestesses in Ashes and Dust. As a native of the Zabool region, she has a strong rapport with the locals… except for her sister, Tiranna, who single-handedly runs the family’s soap- and candle-making business on the settlement’s outskirts.
This is a new drawing based on in-game graphics from 2020. It was executed in Alt-Goldgrün ink by Rohrer & Klingner with a Jowo #6 broad nib.
Study of Marra as Reinhilde, 2025. Sepia ink on vellum, 4 x 6 in.
Marra is a ghostly entity that appears in Venzell’s dreams in Lonesome Voyages. Taking on the appearance of whoever is on Venzell’s mind at the time, Marra taunts and teases Venzell as she suffocates him in his sleep while occasionally offering advice on upcoming events. She starts disguised as Reinhilde, but depending on the player’s actions during Venzell’s daydreams, could alter her appearance to resemble other characters or even reveal her “true” form.
“If I’m your dream, what’s stopping you from being someone else’s dream? Maybe we’re all waiting for someone else to wake up, to slowly forget about us as they get on with their lives.”
Marra’s exact nature is never explicitly revealed. Is she a figment of Venzell’s overactive imagination? If so, how can she know things Venzell doesn’t, or can’t, himself know?