Gooday everyone,
Welcome to the Deacon Corner. If you’re new here, this space dives into the inspirations behind the images you’ll find throughout the books on these pages. What began as a place to share commission breakdowns has grown into something more. In addition to detailing how each piece came to life, you’ll now find expanded chapter notes, lore entries, and my own black-and-white concept illustrations which are raw glimpses into the ideas that shaped this world before they fully took form.
Before we begin, it’s important to say that none of the beautiful stylized images found in the hard and soft copies of these books would exist without the incredible talent of Sickjoe who is quite literally the heart and soul of this visual world. If you appreciate his work as much as I do, I highly encourage you to visit his gallery and explore more of his creations.
Now, without further ado, let’s take a look at the featured image and learn a bit more about the lore hidden in this chapter.
In this piece, I need something detailing the odd relationship between Nona and her mother.
Nona has been secretly caring for the woman for thousands of years and has stolen her fate from the isomerase so her sister Morta can’t kill her. Nona’s mother exemplifies what happens when a human lives far beyond her years.
Nona’s mother: She’s lying against a basement wall, twisting in agony, beads of sweat staining her gown as she pleads with her daughter to let her go. Her wrinkles and any signs of old age are peeling off of her like a serpent shedding her skin. As a result of her constant molting, she’s youthful for a woman who’s thousands of years old and Nona bears a striking resemblance to her. They are related after all. However, there are signs outside of her molting that hint at something wrong. Her fingers curl into claws and she is bleeding profusely from open wounds along her wrists, many scars covering her arms. She has tried to kill herself many times, but Nona is always there to stop her. She’s living a true nightmare and there is no escape.
Nona: We’re going to be working with teenage Nona here. She’s just forced a kitchen knife from her mother’s hand, her dress, her hands, and her lips stained with blood. She’s ignorant of her mother’s plight and refuses to let her die.
The main theme here is that Nona is oblivious to how serious her mother’s condition is. The woman is no longer herself begging her daughter to let her die, but Nona refuses, safeguarding her tapestry and allowing Madeline’s suffering to continue. It’s the first inkling we get that Nona may not actually be one of the good guys, her negligence and refusal to accept her elder sister’s role leading to untold suffering.
Background: We’re in a damp cellar with leaking pipes, loose concrete, and shoddy brickwork. An old sink drips in the back and tissue and skin hang from the lights, the walls, and the pipes. There’s evidence all over of a snake's shed skin. Furthermore, all around where Nona and her mother sit, an otherworldly tapestry lays (Like the ones hanging from the isomerase). Nona has stolen her mother’s fate from the garden and hides it here on a human peninsula.