This was inspired by Celia S. Friedman's epic sci-fi/fantasy series “The Coldfire Trilogy”, which includes “Black Sun Rising”, “When True Night Falls” and “Crown of Shadows”.

I have to say that this series of books is, without a doubt, the greatest work of fantasy I have ever read. Period. Granted it may have come many years after Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings” series, and may never be as influential, nor as recognized, but I firmly believe that Mrs. Friedman's work is every bit as imaginative, evocative, and spellbinding as anything the prestigious Mr. Tolkien has created. Admittedly, the woman has never, to my knowledge, crafted her own functional language, as did Mr. Tolkien, but we won't count that against her. Her work is just as brilliant, as far as I'm concerned.

This was originally supposed to be a “Rakh”, which is a native cat-like creature of the planet Erna. Bear in mind however, that it has been such a long time since I have read the novels, that I can not specifically recall whether or not my illustration's physiology is accurate. I don't even recall if the creatures had tails. Suffice it to say, this ended up being more of an inspired interpretation than an attempt at an exact illustration. Thats my excuse, and I'm sticking to it. :)

The very first critique I received for this piece was from my 4 year old daughter, when she laughed and said "Poppa, kitties don't have boobs!"