If nothing else, this month’s cover art – a dark portrait lit with unnatural neon colors, our standard background “frame” warped and washed in black and gray – should tip you off that there are changes afoot in the world of the Elect. From the first page of this month’s installment, “Negotiation,” or, “The Various and Sundry Businesses of Mister Jonathan Guess,” we are introduced to a man who goes by the name of Guess (at least for the time being) and lives by his wits on the mean streets of Vessena (again, for the time being). Guess is a charming rogue, a loveable scoundrel… but he has been living that life for over 30 years now, and it is all catching up to him in more ways than one. He is nearing rock bottom at the end of a downward spiral of regret, self-loathing, and addiction to a mind-altering mushroom called drefft. In other words, Guess’ life of sex, drugs and the fantasy equivalent of rock-n-roll could not be farther from Palm and Timriel’s holy quest, or See and Saren’s courtly lives at House Yesidreel, or the bucolic peace of Gelgarth and Emily Arbekka’s farm. There’s a bleak and sinister sense of humor to Guess and the stories devoted to him, and the cover art by Bella Bergolts and a design by our own Todd Sharp reflects that beautifully.
