Polonius and Penelope, Chapter 4 - The White Arcades, Part 1 "The wise one lives well, cherishes family, honors ancestors, fights with courage, does not despair, and knows that the pain and suffering of this world is only temporary -- for, in the end, the White Arcades await us all." -- Shunned proverb Born a Black Eye and orphaned at birth, Thweela of The Shunned is no stranger to pain and suffering. After being rescued from certain death at the hands of slavers by the mysterious entity known to her only as Thloon, Thweela was raised by Sovereign exiles, Lord Constantine Perceval and Lady Shala, in the heart of Perceval's Folly -- a vast, uncharted region of the Carthagian Badlands. Educated in the arts and sciences by Lord Perceval and taught to use her amazing physical gifts by Lady Shala, Thweela grew to be a fiercely independent and perpetually inquisitive member of the Shunned Clan. Under the tutelage of Clan Father Perceval and Clan Mother Shala, Thweela developed into a Shunned warrior with equal. On a routine patrol of the Shunned Clan border, Thweela meets a traveller who offers her a glimpse of the strange and wondrous world beyond all that she has ever known. Despite the warnings from her Clan Father and Clan Mother about the world outside the Shunned border, Thweela begins a journey that will forever change her worldview, challenge the fundamental beliefs that make her one of the Children of The Riven Sky, and experience what every member of the Shunned Clan knows: the White Arcades await us all. #steampunk #theairshipandalusia #polonius #ladypenelope #Thweela #TheWhiteArcades Story and art by Aaron Hanson © 2021