NOTE: You can see all my collage artwork and other graphic designs on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/seradrakethebookwyrm/

I made most of these around a mad rush of other illustrations I was making for Excavations.

"Look to the blowing Rose about us - Lo,
Laughing," she says, "into the world I blow,
At once the silken tassel of my Purse
Tear, and its Treasure on the Garden throw." - Omar Khayyam (possibly - the authenticity of the Rubaiyat is very much a matter of debate)

I'm starting to incorporate white roses more into the illustrations. I've used mostly red, because red is for passion, for fire, for blood, and (at least in "Magister's" eyes) for "ancilla." White has a strong significance in the BDSM community, though, especially in the D/s subset of it. In that subculture, white represents purity, loyalty, and submission. White roses often get incorporated into collaring ceremonies - the sub will present their Dom(me) with a white rose, or a white rose will sit on a table next to the collar and the key... Details vary. They're always poetic and beautiful. 

I can't resist poetry or beauty.

A collage I made that emphasized The Lovers (a tarot trump card). 

One for "Magister." For those of you who are wondering if he ever holds back: Yes. He holds back quite a lot, actually. 

A quote from the "Chesed" chapter.

I incorporated sheet music in this illustration because I was thinking of the "Hod" chapter when I made it - especially the section that incorporated Brahms' First Symphony. (That C sharp minor, though...)

I play around a little with the Apollonian vs Dionysian conflict in Ancilla. Usually "Magister" leans just a bit more toward the Apollonian side of things, rational, methodical INTJ that he is, but here I cast him in a more Dionysian light. He is, after all, a bringer of ecstasy.

This quote is also from the "Hod" chapter.

This, too, plays on "Magister's" function as bringer of ecstasy and inducer of altered states of consciousness.

The section I quote is from the "Gevurah" chapter.

It's so handy for a vampire who uses power exchange to strengthen feeding to have a sub who's suggestible...

This section from "Yesod" is not the first instance in Ancilla in which "Magister" feeds from "ancilla," but it's probably the first time the feeding involves both blood and energy drain. Both drains are slight and subtle.

Another attempt to convey the feeling of "Magister's" living room. 

Just a collage.

If I'm going to bring Apollo and Dionysos into the discussion, I really should also include mighty Aphrodite. This first part of the Magnum Opus trilogy is themed on eros, after all. 

Something that uses autumn hues that suggest "ancilla's" affinity for Fire. 

Romeo and Juliet, of course. This famous passage is worked into the Chokmah chapter, only partly because I wanted to throw in a little heavy-handed foreshadowing.

Rope. Basic, but it gets the point across. 

These next few illustrations were made with "Magister" in mind.