Book 1, Prologue, Pages 7 and 8

The left page is the author’s take on Mughal-style illumination. The forepanel features a king inside a glass bell being lowered into the sea by his navy, with a crowd watching from their boats. The background is a variety of sea creatures swimming across the page. Meanwhile, the right page contains several short panels: close-ups of a fir branch, sarissas raised during the heat of battle, a black horse walking across a shower of roses, two crows in flight, a close-up of a ram, pipal leaves, and finally, neem leaves.

Author’s Voice:
It was he, of course, who descended into the ocean

and saw all the wonders of the deep.

The very he who came from greatness

and became the mirror of every age.