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To what genre does the novel Watchtowers of the Immortal Chorus belong?
Watchtowers of the Immortal Chorus is a swashbuckling sword & sorcery tale with dollops of portal fantasy (as the main characters are not Earthlings, but an important narrator is from ancient Earth), horror, and planetary romance. Somehow, there's a bit of Wuxia (武侠) blended in there, too. At its heart, it's an adventure tale filled with magic, danger, and allies trying to defeat oppression and save their world from a supernatural invasion.
Where can I download the free music?
While you wait for this massive visual website to download—it will take quite a while—grab and enjoy the free 68-minute symphonic metal concept album Moon Gate Suite, lyrically inspired by this mythical world. Moving through the light and shade of dynamic passages, you’ll feel like you’ve been to the cinema and possibly wonder how to get your time back.
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About | Overview | Characters | Map
What is the origin story of the Watchtowers of the Immortal Chorus novel?
I earn my living as a professional researcher and non-fiction writer, but ever since I can remember, I’ve felt a pull toward crafting an adventure narrative. Over the years—some of these ideas stretching back to my childhood—I’ve been slowly shaping this fantasy tale.
This website serves as a personal gallery of concept art tied to that story. It may seem a bit unconventional—and even disorganized—to share these visual drafts so openly, given how private unpublished work can be and how mysterious the creative process often is. Yet these images are far more than mere decoration: they’re vital tools that anchor my ideas, spark unexpected connections, and offer sheer joy both in their creation and in their discovery. Caveat emptor!
The initial spark started out as a film script because I have always loved reading, writing, movies, and adventure TV shows. I worked on my project and eventually realized the odds of actually getting a film financed—one that would undoubtedly require a blockbuster budget—were hopelessly poor. For better or worse, I can outspend every production studio on earth with my imagination and the scope of what I want to accomplish. So here we are.
Not only would the odds of a financed film production be statistically unlikely, but I would also have to relinquish most control of the project, if not all, to people with worldviews that I find repugnant. So, I adapted the plot into a novel after flirting with the idea of developing a web comic for a short while. I even comissioned artist Mico Suayan (DC, Marvel and Valiant Comics) to draw cover art for what I hoped would become the graphic novel—you can view the brilliantly done pencils for that here. As you can see, I had envisioned Kella as a brunette at first, inspired by Bêlit, a strong female character by Robert E. Howard who was central to one of his greatest tales, “Queen of the Black Coast.” However, the necessary theme of fire, light, and Autumnal hues quickly overshadowed that notion.
However, the sober reality of how vainly I had been toiling set in, and I could not shake it. It’s no big deal to lose some time to overly ambitious initial goals. Every year that you do not publish is another year that you grow and change as a person, gain new knowledge about writing fiction, and percolate your ideas. It is a trade off, for sure.
Finishing a traditional book seemed more realistic, and I would remain in full control of everything without deadlines, speculative financial burdens, or the myriad detriments of collaboration. Plus, this is just a hobby, and one that I will contend with more diligently when I am retired. I make no apology for the fact that I will probably only write and finish one book. Nobody cares, anyway. We’re all floating in an overwhelming sea of media and indie creators, and some worthy things float to the top and unworthy things float to the top. If anyone is being creative primarily for money, they are foolish. The reward is in the work itself as far as I can tell.
Meanwhile, the publishing world changed a lot, too, so it became far more feasible to find an audience without paper and ink. I soldier on because there’s nothing like 5am on a Saturday morning when your mind is on fire with ideas. Those mornings are sometimes filled with the rush of coffee, the clacking of a QWERTY keyboard, and open vistas of possibilities which cannot be accurately captured in prose, though that’s probably what every writer attempts to accomplish when they return to their manuscript after a break.
What are the main influences on this tale?
I grew up on the works of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Michael Moorcock, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Ian Fleming, and Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology—and Star Wars mania. I first encountered Howard's work in adaptations: Conan the Barbarian and The Savage Sword of Conan, both from Marvel Comics. Soon after, I read the original works and the spell continued. I would also be remiss to not mention Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, and Robert Louis Stevenson—all whose works I was forced to read in school but never regretted. It all adds up, no matter how you find the work, initially.
I loved nature documentaries as a kid, too, and I've always been drawn to exotic jungles and the mysteries of the sea—Jacques Cousteau or even the mysterious Captain Nemo, anyone? Later on, Dune, by Frank Herbert would make a lasting impression as would the Arabian Nights.
Fantastic thoughts of befriending talking animals, being an exile from Atlantis, or roaming the land with Apache warriors truly framed the out-of-the-house-all-day forest explorations of my childhood summers. When you're ten years old, a sharp knife and sticks from the woods become much more than they seem at first glance. After some hours of whittling, they become heirloom spears and a thousand other handcrafted totems fueled by one's imagination.
Speaking of Atlantis and lost civilizations, when I was a kid I entered a costume design contest for the DC Comics title, Arion: Lord of Atlantis. The costume in my drawing ended up being used for the chief supervillian, Garn Daanuth, the wayward brother of the titular character. It was a thrill to be chosen to contribute, and if you look in the letters section of issue #18, you'll find my artwork and a short acknowledgement from the now-famed co-creator of Arion, Jan Duursema. It was a big moment of encouragement for me at that time. It felt like being seen in a new way, and those moments are few and far between in life.
Caption: The intro to the letters section of Arion comics that mentions my costume design
Caption: The opposite page with my original pen and ink drawing for the costume
Caption: The cover of the issue soon after my costume was adapted into the mythos of Arion.
Caption: The costume in action
Caption: The costume in action
The Warlord from DC Comics by artist-writer Mike Grell was also a huge influence on my imagination as a teen. Another great lost civilization tale! And I'm fortunate to own a complete set of that storyline—bagged, boarded, and boxed.
Bruce Lee’s thoughts on Kung-Fu caused me to think about more than combat. Ninjas and samurai warriors also found their way into my imagination (Shōgun by James Clavell may actually be the longest single work of fiction that I’ve read and finished—and the original TV mini-series ain’t bad, either). I would be remiss to not mention the live-action Disney film, The Swiss Family Robinson, as it made an impact on me as did Escape to Witch Mountain.
Later on as a teenager, roleplaying within Dungeons & Dragons® campaigns fueled some of those early inklings and helped keep them alive. That is probably all very normal stuff for people that love fantasy novels. Actually, I’m certain that it is. Didn’t everyone want to be an elf at some point in life or wield telekinesis? Well into adulthood, I ended up getting turned on to the Buffyverse, and there's no doubt that some of this tale is influenced by the saga of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Scooby Gang. "Thank God we're hot chicks with superpowers," as Faith once said.
Where did all this concept art come from?
Most of the images on this website are the product of Midjourney (occasionally DALL·E and other apps), Photoshop, digital painting, and many hours of experimenting with “prompt craft” and creative compositing to bring it all together. Artificial Intelligence software has helped to reinvigorate my motivation for this project because it's allowed me to recursively interact with my own ideas and influences within a reasonable budget.
If one approaches collaborating with visual A.I. with the right mindset, it’s probably akin to what a film director experiences: you have some control—a lot, actually—but you are working with many elements that are spontaneous, aleatoric, and wildly connected within the departments of for-hire creativity or the Matrix-noosphere of whatever imagery the A.I. was trained on. The “talent” has a mind of its own, it seems, and your main superpower is what you reject. It’s the space between the pictures that gets me going, to be honest. Sergei Eisenstein was on to something.
I hope you enjoy a glimpse of this magical world of adventure and peril—and, thanks, Jack London, for helping make animals in fiction cool. This is definitely a story of good versus evil—the most central problem of every creature with a soul.—Shane Sanders
What’s the crux of this story?
Micropitch
Our heroes face many perils traveling through a dangerous jungle and other terrains to exorcise a powerful cosmic demon before its growing cult gains a dominant foothold on their planet.
Elevator Pitch
A fallen religious leader unleashes a mystical abomination within a druidic sect which causes the faithful opposition—the Immortal Chorus—to embark on a mission to prosecute this heresy by exorcism.
In the face of a looming invasion and mysterious clues of cosmic proportion, heroes are dispatched into a treacherous jungle by decree of the widowed Queen of the city-state Bandishaar. They will fight both natural and supernatural foes as they make their way toward an increasingly wayward land called Gah-Loz where a final confrontation with King Bōa and his nefarious minions awaits.
Big Picture
Now that the storyline is getting more expansive, it occured to me that the synopsis I had placed here was both full of spoilers and also detailed enough to encourage intellectual property theft, so I've removed it.
Cosmic Backstory
Currently TOP SECRET because “world building” is rather personal—and I don’t want to give away too much. Plus, while there are some tropes in this mess of ideas, there are also some fairly original concepts, so I do not want to reveal those, either.
This website is mostly for me as it reminds me of ideas that sometimes get foggy, and it inspires me to keep writing. It also helps to keep my Photoshop skills in tip-top shape as a form of personal entertainment. I hope it's fun for the random visitor, too.
Who are the characters?
Protagonists
- Kella
- Mākō
- Tok
- Charis
- Pratt
- Autumn
- Shirazi
- Amara
- Lāke
- Vantil
- Bull
- Astrid
- Ingrid
- The Spear Maidens
- King Attan Choille
- Queen Fen Choille
- Princess Sonja Choille
- Duke Lane Rakkaus Ⅶ
- Duchess Melody Rakkaus
- Key
- Rowe
- Isibindi
- Valerie
- Unatti
- Cleo
- Sasha
- Dalbit
- Rain
- Master Kress
- Mei
- Bree
- Kath
- Dir-Kūl
- Chāyton
- Amōbi
- Farrah
- Lilja
- Alexandra
- Andrea
- Konn
- Miss Darrow
- Bargō
- Sëlenáriak
Crew of “Old Raven,” a privateer ship
- Captain Ben Koll
- Dan “Dagger” Kirby
- Welkan Izanoth
- Vos “Mad Dog” Hawkins
- Bart “Starlight” Koll
- Vellin of Mooharia
- Jack Vane
- The Seven Warhounds of “Black Raven”
Antagonists
- Døden
- Count Vormelek
- Count Vormelek’s Abominations
- Ahriman
- Za-Dūl
- Princess Ilkeä
- General Gakk
- King Bōa
- Queen Lanz-Et
- Wallin
- Ka-Ness
- Nott
- Roth
- Raknē
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☽ Lady Kella Rakkaus of Bandishaar
♀ First Daughter of Duke Lane Rakkaus Ⅶ
❁ Exorcist, Witchfinder, and Grove Warden of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
♕ Royal Advisor
⚕ Patroness & Healer for The Rainfall Mission of Fang Passage
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Bargō
Sentinel of Trader’s Gulf and friend of the Rakkaus sisters and the Immortal Chorus
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Mākō
Chief Scout in the Roaming Legion of Bandishaar
Older brother to Tok
Charis
Atlantean exile from Earth
Philosopher
Guide among portal walkers
♕ Royal Advisor
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Isibindi
Acolyte of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
Kieralaz—Jewel of the Continent of Arim
Lady Amara Rakkaus of Bandishaar
Second daughter of Duke Lane Rakkaus Ⅶ
Maker of potions
Patroness & Healer for The Rainfall Mission of Fang Passage
Herbalist among the Maidens of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
Lady Lāke Rakkaus of Bandishaar
Third daughter of Duke Lane Rakkaus Ⅶ
Patroness & Healer of the Rainfall Mission of Fang Passage
Herbalist among the Acolytes of the Immortal Chorus
Archer
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
The Spear Maidens
Vori, Sūlita, Keihäs—an elite combat unit reporting to Bull
Marquess Vantil Rakkaus of Bandishaar
Firstborn of Duke Lane Rakkaus Ⅶ
Older brother of the Rakkaus sisters
Master Archer in the Roaming Legion
Duke Lane Rakkaus Ⅶ
♕ Royal Advisor
Patron for The Rainfall Mission of Fang Passage
Astrid
Volunteer warrior in the Roaming Legion
Twin of Ingrid
Ambassador to Bandishaar from the Frostlands of Arim
Ingrid
Volunteer warrior in the Roaming Legion
Twin of Astrid
Ambassador to Bandishaar from the Frostlands of Arim
Miss Darrow
Overseer of the Academy of the Immortal Chorus and High Maiden of the Mushroom Grove of Bandishaar
🌖︎ Order: Sisters of the Moonlit Path
Rowe
Acolyte of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
The Phylactery of Count Vormelek
Queen Lanz-Et
Queen of the Snake Lands of Gah-Loz and High Priestess of the snake god Nāká
Cleo
Acolyte of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
Unatti
Acolyte of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
Sasha
Acolyte of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
Dalbit
Acolyte of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
Rain
Acolyte of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Seeds of the Sylvan Moon Gates
Vellin of Mooharia
Ship’s Healer
Acolyte of the Immortal Chorus
🌖︎ Order: Sisters of the Moonlit Path
The Seven Warhounds of “Black Raven”
Kiki, Mort, Fizzle, Razzle, Dazzle, Good Girl & Good Boy
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