I’ve been keeping something from you.
Apparently, writing Eradena wasn’t enough. I had to start drawing her, too. 💋
Sometimes after I finish editing a chapter, I’m not quite ready to leave the world yet. The mood lingers. The scene keeps playing in my head. And every now and then, instead of writing another word…
I sketch.
Lately, I’ve been sketching a lot of Eradena. And today, I finally decided to show you one.
But there’s a little more behind these drawings than you might think. Once upon a time, before I ever imagined myself building X-Wielder Realm, I wanted to design dresses.
I loved the idea of creating something where elegance and eroticism could exist together: sensual, sophisticated, but functional.
Because I've always loved the idea of a woman who can be feminine, sexy, powerful, and completely capable of kicking ass without sacrificing one for the other.
And apparently…that little dream never went anywhere.
It became Eradena.
The funny thing is, the more I sketch her, the more I realize I'm drawing something else, too. A version of womanhood I've always been a little afraid to embody myself.
Bold.
Sensual.
Powerful.
Unapologetic.
The kind of woman who doesn't shrink herself because someone else might be uncomfortable with how much space she takes up.
Real life me isn't exactly strutting through the Palace of Prominence with a saber strapped to my thigh looking devastatingly elegant while overthrowing a Kingdom. 💋
But maybe that's why I love creating women who do. Because I've started wondering if sometimes we create the women we secretly wish we had permission to be. And somewhere along the way, they teach us that we never needed permission in the first place.
And meet me with a pencil, an editing induced daydream, and the remnants of a dream I apparently never completely let go of.
This is how I imagined her after editing. Elegant. Sensual. Dangerous. Beautiful.
And entirely capable of saving herself.
Maybe I'll start sharing more of these.
Because I'm beginning to think the things we keep hidden aren't always the things we're supposed to be ashamed of. Sometimes they're simply the parts of ourselves waiting for us to become brave enough to share them.
And maybe there's a little Eradena in all of us.
