Steven Gamella's Photos

Sun, surf and shells, plus an epic fireworks show over the lagoon to celebrate the founding of the United Human Republic on Republic Day. No planet in the Deep Core possessed as much of a reputation of celebrating this tradition as hard as Amane, and its luxuriant beaches and warm, shallow seas played host to many small dramas, drinking, celebrations and many things that young revelers wouldn't remember the following morning. Before her rise to galactic power politics, the future Empress of the Egoist Crown was no exception to these traditions. Young, aspiring, intelligent and beautiful, Estefania Morgensen courted many young male suitors in those days, many of them scions of the Local Group's wealthiest and most powerful families. One young man by the name of Nathaniel Retiarius, tall, and with dark hair and a warm, inviting gaze, was taken particularly swiftly by Estefania after seeing her swimming near Summersong Manor, in the Gossamer Archipelago of Amane's Global Sea. Nathaniel introduced himself to Estefania, and for that summer, and that summer alone, the pair were inseparable. It was young love at its most passionate, but like the summer, it did not last forever. Circumstances changed. Things got complicated, and Nathaniel was nearly killed in a plot to unseat his family from the New Manhattan society. He never found out who it was that tried to kill him, but if he had, it would have broken his soul. Summer on Amane would never be the same after that time, as the wheels of history began to turn once more, and the sins of millions would be atoned for in blood.

"If she could not have New Babylon or New Manhattan, she would take the entire galaxy instead..." Empress of the Egoist Crown, Estefania Morgensen, lived two lives: one which ended with her exile, and the other which began with her reinvention. Born on the Cerulean Moon of the planet Ctesiphon VII, young Estefania was born into a privileged family with connections to the Local Group's elite, and the bug of avariciousness bit her at a very early age. Possessing high levels of ambition and intellect, Estefania had aspirations of being a fashion designer or artist and integrated herself into the Local Group's high society in an attempt to climb the social ladder. However, with such ambition often comes dark personality traits, and Estefania was no exception. Highly manipulative and addicted to social chaos, the teenage future Empress of the Egoist Crown destroyed countless rivals' lives and played the young men in her life for her own personal gain effortlessly, leaving a trail of broken hearts and minds, as well as expensive makeup and hairspray, wherever she went. Eventually, Estefania's ambition got the best of her, and she committed an act so grievous that it led to the death of King Gnosis I of Ctesiphon VII, leading to her exile from her home planet, and the end of her association with the Local Group's elite...or so they believed. Officially, Estefania Morgensen was exiled and dead, never to trouble anyone again. Unofficially, she made her way to the planet Oumi, and was inducted into the Lightbringer Order by her future husband, Divine Emperor Iori Nomato of Heiei Castle. There, over the decades, she waited, formulating a plot that would plunge the entire Local Group into chaos, and from that chaos, her vengeance would be complete. A new society. A new Empire. The childish aspirations of being a famous artist, they were not enough. They never were. You can't outrun her, and you can't outgun her, and there is no escaping the Legions of the Dark Empress and her family...

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"Psst...can you keep a secret?" Two young lovers share an intimate moment under the violet night skies of the planet Amane in the constellation Cygnus. This moment takes place at Summersong Manor, in the Gossamer Archipelago of Amane's Global Sea, on Republic Day, the Fourteenth Age celebration of the United Human Republic's founding. One can be certain that copious amounts of Jima Juice, a type of alcoholic beverage created by fermenting a bright purple fruit that grows on Midnight Sun Island in Amane's Northern Hemisphere that gets people extremely drunk, were involved in these celebrations...

Imperial Society baronesses Cinder Araun (with the black hair) and Lena Caraxus, as an adult (with the blonde hair), 30 years after the Great War, from the "Sojourn" universe.

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Countess Toni, "Hearts Ablaze" dress.

Ai Takada, pink Draconis Marunae Tropica sarong.

Hikari Munraito, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, red Draconis Marunae Tropica sarong.

Divine Emperor of the Egoist Crown, Iori Nomato, from "Sojourn."

Imperial Society Shock Trooper of the 17th P'tah Regiment with Euphemia Asari, from "Sojourn"

Haruna Otohime and Hikari Munraito.

Insignia of the 35th South Lake Regiment, Imperial Society of Angels and Demons, from "Sojourn."

Myryrklos Sky Wraith, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, "Imperial Dragon" ensemble. From "Sojourn"

Ai and Tsuruka Takada, Imperial Society of Angels and Demons.

Uehara, Lord of Ten Thousand Stars and Founder of the Lightbringer Order.

Divine Emperor of the Egoist Crown, Father of Hikari Munraito, the Sun-Child of Uehara and Alianthi, and the Lord of Ten Thousand Faces, Iori Nomato.

Ai Takada, "Kaiser Eagle" ensemble

Countess Toni, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, red dress.

Ai Takada, "Arkona Groznyy" outfit, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, with Pride flag, as the character is bisexual, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, "Winter Solstice," from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, "Draconis Marunae Tropica" sarong, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, "Holiday Star" ensemble, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, "Unholy Magenta," ensemble, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, "Crimson Passion" ensemble, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, "Golden Sky" ensemble, from "Sojourn."

Hikari Munraito's son, Hikaru, from "Sojourn."

Imperial Society baroness Odette Alana Le, from "Sojourn."

Euphemia Asari, from "Sojourn."

Reina Otohime, from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, "Dark Devotion," from "Sojourn."

Ai Takada, Germanic pagan dress, from "Sojourn."

The Imperial Family, Empire of the Egoist Crown, from "Sojourn."

Minister Teru, part of the Imperial Cabinet, Empire of the Egoist Crown, from "Sojourn."

Commander Ren Seigi, Ai Takada's significant other, from "Sojourn."

Empire of the Egoist Crown flag, from "Sojourn."

Tsuruka Takada, Ai Takada's fraternal twin sister, from "Sojourn."

Countess Toni and Ai Takada, drawn in a Disney-inspired style.

Imperial Society baroness Odette Alana Le, from "Sojourn."

Pair of "Sojourn" related sketches from the Lightbringer Order.

Euphemia Asari, "Unholy Passion," from "Sojourn."

Grand Priestess of the Imperial Society of Angels and Demons, Ai Takada, from "Sojourn."

Black Sun Gwenlynn Stormweaver, Director of Imperial Intelligence and First Prefect of the CHANIS-B Armed Squadrons, Empire of the Egoist Crown, from "Sojourn."