THE GREAT HOUSES
Hawks for Valor. Eagles for Dominion. Owls for What Is Known and Never Spoken.
In Siena, Italy, I watched the Contrade march into the Piazza del Campo.
Each neighborhood carried its banner. Each one wore its colors. Hawks, eagles, dragons, owls, creatures that had represented their community for centuries, not as decoration but as identity. As blood. As something you were born into and would carry until you died.
I never forgot what that felt like to watch.
“In Falconeria: Trials of Ash the great houses of the Kingdom of Darvell took their sigils from the creatures of the air…
Hawks for valor. Eagles for dominion. Doves for quiet dealings conducted in shuttered halls. And owls for what is known and never spoken.”
This is page two of the book. On the surface it is world building, an introduction to the power structure of Darvell, the houses that have shaped its history and will determine its fate. But underneath it is something I've thought about for a long time as both an artist and a student of history.
Every power structure has a public face and a private one. The banners tell you what they want you to believe about themselves. The owls tell you what is actually happening.
The houses of Darvell have held power for centuries. They believe that power is permanent. They are wrong. And this page is the first quiet signal of why.
Falconeria: Trials of Ash launches on Kickstarter Fall 2026. Book One of a twelve-volume arc, drawn in ink and wash with custom hand drawn screen tones. Follow the project at the link below and be notified the moment the campaign goes live.
