Another MJ Commission

“These girls have done a great service to the Order; if you have any shred of decency, please see that they are treated fairly and protected from those who would further harm them. Pella, the older girl was dissected and given four arms by her captors, while Zahnia, the smaller girl, has a stone placed next to her heart. These girls have been tortured and violated in ways that none of us can even imagine. I want to ensure that they are loved and protected for the rest of their lives.”
—Professor Ellid, from his final letter to the Order of Dallorn

Zahnia and Pella from my novel First Empress. Both girls sadly were experimented on by madmen—some ancient-world equivalent to mad scientists/evil wizards. Pella was given extra arms by her captors, while Zahnia had a magic stone placed next to her heart that prevents her from aging. Both girls enter Queen Viarra’s service after escaping their captors and various other (mis)adventures.

Pella is around twelve years old and is fidgety and energetic. Though basically intelligent, she has a very short attention span, and constantly needs something to do with her hands, whether sewing, braiding hair, or petting Queen Viarra’s bobtail kitten, Corsair. Listening to Zahnia read is one of the few things that will get Pella to sit still. Pella becomes one of Queen Viarra’s handmaids after entering her majesty’s service.

Zahnia is about nine years when she gets the stone implanted next to her heart. Clever and inquisitive, Zahnia becomes a voracious reader after learning how to read and write from her adopted mother, Professor Nimus. Recognizing Zahnia’s intelligence and superior insight, Queen Viarra has Zahnia trained to become her majesty’s personal historian.

Huge thanks to MJ for her lovely portrait of my girls. Please consider looking into commissioning her for artwork. The quality of her artwork is stellar and she’s genuinely cool to work with.