I’ve been adding more entries to my scrapbook for the Divine Warriors series and I’m excited to show you what else I’ve added! It’s been really inspiring to bring all these materials together after I’ve been collecting them for years. This is a great way to show what is in my head for these books. I’ve spent over two decades dreaming of this world and these characters, so it’s wonderful to get it all out. I hope it helps bring the story to life for you, too.

There will be some spoilers for the first few chapters of book 1 when you get later into this post. If you don’t want to know details, this post isn’t for you.

Last time, I shared some maps of the Empire of Arkia. I filled out more sections of the continent. Here were have the Western and Eastern Provinces.

Here is the Southern Province (which has penguins!), which hasn’t been featured in any books yet, so I’m not sure that I’ll get the chance to explore this region. But Illari and the Scientific Circus are originally from here. I also updated a map of the solar system with all five planets. If you know the planetary warriors from the later books, these become important.

Here are the two birds, Tika and Uqra. They follow the tradition of mascots/talking animals from magical girl anime, but they play an important role in this story. They are both demigoddesses with powers of their own and they serve as messengers to more powerful gods.

Here is an introduction to the first book, Riwenne & the Mechanical Beasts, and some inspiration photos I referenced when writing about the mechanical beasts. The wolf, crab, alligator, and bird are all major encounters for the main characters.

The book starts with Riwenne’s dream of the sea goddess Sawycha and then we see her ordinary life in school. She rides a cable car suspended above the street when she leaves school in the morning.

Damon Temple and the Dawn Ceremony, a special ritual to pay respects to the sun goddess, Chysa. The head priestess, Mother Lyda, creates a sunstone by capturing the sun’s rays in a crystal. Everyone in the city watches.

Riwenne finally learns that her family ties: House Chysaja, symbolized by a dragonfly. I haven’t finished filling out the list of houses and their symbols but you can see some other important ones here. Then Riwenne enters The Choosing: an important test that determines where young adults will serve their apprenticeship. She gets lost in a labyrinth and encounters a strange machine.

Finally, more details about the temple and the priestesses. Each level of priestess is marked by a different color of robe. There are lessons and a daily schedule for the novices. It’s a beautiful temple, with a garden full of flowers at its heart.

That’s all for today! I hoped you enjoyed the new images. Stay tuned for more soon!