"My aunt came from only the outer fringes of Dil-tona's realm, and still was caught up in a curse that made her lose words all the time, and that took almost a year to get rid of. She hasn't set foot in Lozir since."
— Grawada Imnirun, merchant
The realm of Dil-tona is not closed to outsiders but few travel there, and few natives leave - not all the neighbouring lands accept them either, because they're afraid of what the refugees might carry. Curse-carrying is unusual and difficult, but the queen masters even that almost effortlessly, feeding the fears.
Nevertheless, the queen is beautiful, and as love goes, some men with heart feel they could save the queen - or the land - by softening Dil-tona. None have succeeded, and by now the row of wooers' graves is almost longer than the line of the wooers themselves.
"Who knows how many of the curses of the Empty Lands trace back to the Lonely Queen. One can only hope the stories about her finding love and being cured by it are true, and that someone endures to give it to her."
— Sraminar, Lozirian noble
Artists' notes
Creepy rulers, cursed somehow, who can only be swayed by true love, or the famous true love's kiss, is a classic in fairy-tales, and as such has of course found its way into Genius Loci. I won't tell if that can actually turn Dil-tona from a bloodthirsty lunatic into a lovable woman. But it would be nice if being loved could do anything, wouldn't it?
The sketch is a design sketch, and I'm not set on it yet. Making an atmospheric illustration for Dil-Tona is of course mandatory, but it'll have to wait since it's been so long since my last article here.
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