The main gate of Cenolau leads into a central plaza where there stands a large statue, signifying the signing of the Treaty of Cenolau. Each signatory kingdom is represented, and visiting it in person is seen as reason enough to visit the bustling trade city of Cenolau.

The thumbnail passes for this page represent a couple different options Rachel played around with: either using a high shot to capture the whole statue, or a low shot to capture Janik’s perspective. as she approaches it.

We ultimately went with the lower perspective. Since Janik is seeing this statue for the first time, we wanted her view of it to be shared by the reader, who is ALSO seeing the statue for the first time. Keeping the information the same between the character and the reader seemed the right way to go for this one, and we’re pretty happy with how it turned out.

In the script, the statue is described as thus:

Janik and her caravan arrive in the city square, marked by a large ceremonial statue representing the signing of the Treaty of Cenolau. The statue is a combination of brass and iron, with a marble base, and a large tree growing from the center. Larger-than-life representations of the tamian, lutren, canid, felis, and vulpin sit together around the base, hands outstretched in a peaceful gesture. The tree, a large oak supplied by Sunsgrove, grows outward from the center–a symbolic representation of how the Four Kingdoms were meant to grow as a result of the treaty.

Rachel borrowed various inspirations from the same sources as the vulpin artwork we saw early in this chapter (representing elements of their history), leaning into Sumerian statuary and even pulling some ideas from Rembrandt Bugatti’s bronzework.