Another piece I commissioned from   biglazyfox in order to flesh out the distinct lack of Alien Chronicles fanart in the world.

Alien Chronicles was a trilogy of novels by Deborah Chester, published in the late 90's by Lucasfilm and Ace Books. It actually started out as a project intended for the Star Wars setting, but disagreements between Lucasfilm and Ace led to the novels instead becoming an original IP. They follow Ampris, a young Aaroun whose species - alongside several others - have been enslaved by the tyrannical Viis. She goes on a Book of Exodus-style journey from the pet of the Viis royal family to the leader of a great revolt and exodus, with a dash of Spartacus-esque gladiatoral combat in the middle. There's even a bit of mysticism at play, as Ampris works to uncover the mysterious powers of the Eye of Clarity, an amulet from the Aarouns' ancient past said to offer wisdom and power to those deemed worthy. The series didn't exactly take off - only one of the three planned trilogies in the setting ever got written - but it's still a favourite of mine.

This piece depicts Ampris with two Kelth; her best friend and secondary protagonist Elrabin (on the right), and a seriously underused side character named Shevin (middle). In the second book, a career-ending injury in the gladiator ring sees Ampris is sold to the Vess Vaas genetic research lab, where - in an attempt to splice disease immunity between species - she is forced to bear a litter of half-Aaroun, half-Viis children. Shevin arrives at the facility at the same time, and is similarly forced to have a litter of half-Kelth, half-Viis 'lits' (as the Kelth call their young). However, the narration describes Shevin as being, quote, 'hardly more than a half-grown lit' herself, indicating she's only an adolescent or young adult. A horrifying implication, especially when the Kelth orderly assigned to oversee the subjects is implied to be harassing her.

In any other story, Shevin would be among those heroically rescued in the climax, when Ampris - devastated by her daughter being taken away and dissected - launches a breakout before her two sons Nashmarl and Foloth can meet the same fate. But by this point, Shevin's lits have already been dissected, and Shevin herself was taken away and all but stated to have been killed - same as several other subjects deemed of no further value to the experiments. I feel like this was a missed opportunity for her to meet Elrabin, who - considering his rocky relationship with his own family - could have been forced to undergo a lot of character development to become her father figure. Alternatively, Ampris could have become her mother figure following their shared trasuma, even if it complicates the relationship between Ampris and her sons in the third book. Then again, having Shevin act as a brother to Nashmarl and Foloth could have added an interesting dimension to their subplots.

Splitting the difference, I commissioned this piece as an AU where Shevin does indeed survive the events at Vess Vaas, and has been adopted by both Ampris and Elrabin. Now, she lives free in the wilderness outside Viis society, healing from her trauma and looking to forge a new life for herself. She's shown here spending an evening by the fire with her adoptive parents. Ampris is teaching her about the Eye of Clarity, while Elrabin is mainly just content to be there among his found family.

Shevin will play a big role in an Alien Chronicles fanfiction I started a few years ago, which I figured I might as well start posting here when I get the time. Stay tuned, if interested.