Description

I painted this Berkley edition of the book "Wings of Power," by Lillian S. Carl.

"In a world rooted in Mediterranean, Persian, and Indian history and mythology, armies clash, magicks compete, and the gods set their pawns onto the game board. Andrion’s nephew Gard, now an adult, is only too aware that the blood of both gods and demons runs in his veins. When he steps over the line once too often, he is sent into exile, where a mad monk and a beautiful slave force him to accept his latent magical abilities. But when Gard sets out to exploit his skills in the rich valley of the Mohan, he accidentally starts a war that changes his world and that of his hosts forever."

I chose to depict a scene in the story of a triumphal procession through an arched horseshoe gate with elephants carrying howdahs, members of the royal retinue, and treasure led by the princely hero with a dragon familiar on his arm. A few years before starting this work I visited the abandoned Mughul capital Fatepuhr Sikri, near Agra, India, which had a significant impact on my design.

This painting differs in some respects from the Berkley cover, as I reworked some small details after publication.