Hello. I’m taking half a break from the Kindred of the Sea art-before-launch campaign. It’s only half a break though, since Alis does appear in Kindred of the Sea. This is a portrait of Alis I won in an art raffle from Hello Melo Art, and I love it so much and I want to commission her to do most of my semi-major characters like this (but I can’t really afford it, so if you want me to do that, buy some of my books please!)
Alis is the rider of the gryphon Kushon, and she is the only person (know to her) who can speak to any gryphon. She is the best friend of Tara-lin, and she’s trying to do what she can to give those in the Valor Alliance who want freedom from its restrictions (specifically, but not exclusively, women) at least an opportunity. Here’s a short quote showing Alis and Kushon from Kindred of the Sea:
Kushon raised his head and looked at them with one eye.
Alis reached over and stroked him under his mane. “He’s evaluating how much he thinks I can trust you right now. He does not understand most of this kind of thing, but he’s pretty intelligent about my feelings, and knows when I’m deciding if or how much I can trust someone, even if he doesn’t know what it’s about. He’s not sure about you, but that’s typically gryphonish. It means he would let you into his lair if you were wounded or freezing or hungry, as long as he did not have any young there, but he hasn’t decided if you’re safe to be around any of his little ones. He also hasn’t made a final decision that you’re not.”
“It must be pretty awesome to be a gryphon rider,” Corostomir ventured.
“Oh, it totally is. I’d dreamed and hoped to ride horses, like a courier, and had to content myself with grooming and saddling them, and now I ride a gryphon. It’s just awesome. I love Kushon so much, and despite what the Dragonriders say about their dragons, I’d never trade him for any dragon.”
As Tara-lin’s best friend, Alis is a relatively significant character in both of books of the Legend of the Singer Duology, Children of the Dryads and Sorceress of the Dryads. She appears briefly in Kindred of the Sea, which is coming out in just under a week on the 24th of June.
Posts so far about Kindred of the Sea:
Portrait of Corostomir: Character Art for Kindred of the Sea
Eshekign, Alaeran Mermaid: Creature Art for Alaer and Kindred of the Sea
Enthralled By Love 