a perfumed journal of aerial vistas

Lustrous, velvety silk of a niveous hue has been snugly wrapped around supple leather to create the flexible, yet protective covers of this delicate journal. The fabric on the front has been expertly painted to depict a breathtaking vista of aerial gardens against a halcyon sky, the dyes not diminishing the smoothness of the silk the least bit. The three-tiered clouds rise majestically across the firmament, their crispness clearest at the uppermost levels where neither nebulous rain nor speckled on in golden paint dew obscures sight. Glimpses of wooden pathways and colourful blossoms emerge from amongst eddies of silvery dusted mist on each level, the paints vivid and the lines sharp to denote these. A slender female trill gardener holding close a large hat stands in the foreground of the bottom right corner, the downy, dove grey feathers of her wings stirred by the wind and her daydreaming face turned upwards to the left. The stitching of the ivory leather spine of the journal has been concealed with a satin ribbon, a gleaming golden embroidery declaiming the author and title on the side in flowing calligraphy. Within, the pages are of creamy-hued vellum ornamented with translucent illustrations of various exotic flowers, diaphanous butterflies and aerial birds. A wide ribbon of pearly satin wraps around the journal securely on a fragile crystal bottle which suffuses the air with an invigorating floral fragrance.

Cartel: Gasflame | Designer: Nariah

a slim journal wrapped in plum silk

Smooth, shining plum silk wraps the slim wooden cover of this delicate journal. Delicate embroidery in tarnished silver chases across the front of the volume, depicting interweaving vines of amaranth that open in clockwork blossoms. Miniscule, cog-toothed petals are shed in a gentle shower across the plum background, trailing across the steel title plate in an acid-etched cascade.

Cartel: Gasflame | Designer: Sthai

an absinthe green journal wrapped in silk

Smooth silk dyed the colour of undiluted absinthe wraps the hardened wooden cover of this book, the surface riddled with minute motes of peridot that swirl together with silver stitches to form a silvery wormwood leaf. Silver guards stamped with the images of slotted absinthe spoons protect the silk-wrapped corners, and a delicate locking mechanism reaches from top to bottom cover at the right side of the book, similarly adorned with a motif of elegantly moulded utensils. Within, the pages of the booklet are a uniform ivory, lightly decorated with curling flourishes of ink at the top and bottom of each page.

Cartel: Gasflame | Designer: Sthai

a ghostly journal of bloody waltzes

Spectres of red blood clad in gowns and robes of their own flesh whirl in stately mien across the polished black marble of this journal’s covers, graven in slender lines of red enamel and glittering gold. Tarnished black steel wire punctures the lefthand edge of the covers, binding together stone and paper – a ribbon of tattered gold silk is tied at the centre of this unusual spine, wrapping thrice the cover before knotting around a black jade pawn.

Cartel: Bloodymoon | Designer: Sthai

a black scroll marked with a crimson pawn

Ebon-hued vellum has been pressed and sliced into the sharp edges of this scroll – glittering threads of gold wink up from the material, an artifact of the bookbinding process. A single red pawn, strikingly crimson against the dark background, has been inked at the top of the scroll. Both ends of the material are wrapped securely around round, featureless bars of black steel. A ribbon of dark grey silk wraps around the furled scroll, securing it neatly to the endcaps.

Cartel: Bloodymoon | Designer: Sthai

a grey manual adorned with golden imps

This thick manual is bound in supple leather over wooden backing that provides strength and form to the solid bulk of the pages within. Dove grey in appearance, the leather wraps in smooth, uniform lines over the covers and spine, stitching holding it firmly in place. Golden embroidery crawls across the cover, depicting golden imps cavorting in vicious, bloody games, their eyes motes of garnets that gleam with cold cruelty. A solid lock of gold rests between the covers at the top and bottom of the book, allowing the contents to be secured from prying eyes.

Cartel: Bloodymoon | Designer: Sthai

an iron tome bound in gold and crimson

This tome is bound in plates of thick, blackened iron wrapped with crimson ribbons of silk that lace back and forth across the covers in intricate patterns before wrapping many times around the front cover. Tarnished charms of gold and black jade dangle from the length of the ribbon, carved and moulded into the shape of chess pieces set with gleaming rubies. Blasphemy writ in fluid, curving gold calligraphy runs across the surface of the book in deeply graven channels, detailing foul rituals carried out by ‘The Crimson Priests’. Within, the pages are sharply pressed paper interwoven with threads of gold and saffron, their edges lined with silver foil stamped with the images of twisted and broken statues. A sickly sweet smell, redolent of rotting flesh and rotting roses, rises from the tome, fouling the air.

Cartel: Bloodymoon | Designer: Sthai

a slim marble manual inlaid with silver amaranths

The thin, nearly translucent pages within this slim manual are protected by two sheets of thin white marble veined with blood-red occlusions and bound together with a corset-lacing of crimson silk at the right side of the volume. The front cover bears an inlaid design of enamel depicting several amaranths in full bloom that shed silvery petals touched with a light tinge of pink across the cover. A latch of silver filigree rests at the right side of the front cover, rotating into place to form a stylised amaranth bud. Within, the ivory pages are touched with a gradiated shade of pink that fades from dusky rose to smooth, creamy paper. A delicate flourish of black ink surrounds each page numeral, forming into slender amaranth vines or curling petals.

Cartel: Gasflame | Designer: Sthai

a worn and decaying nihilistic manual

The thick pages of this manual are ragged and unkempt, and bound within thick black leather over thin placards of wood stained and warped by mould. Rivulets of trails run across the surface, and the edges of pages and cover alike are gnawed and ragged, testament to the efforts of insects and age. A ragged sigil in faded silver paint adorns the cover, designating it as a book bound to contain the lore of the Demon Lords of Nil. Faded and yellowed with age, a small tag of decaying paper on the inside cover bears an illegibly scrawled name.

Cartel: Gasflame | Designer: Sthai

a brown marble book with disturbing angles

This thick book is carved from brown marble, the surface of which has been left unpolished. Careful chiseling has revealed a bizarre underground scene: mawed caverns yawn with glittering black onyx voids from which glints are visible – glowing eyes, or perhaps the mirror-like sheen of the onyx, while below, subtle lines reveal the ephemeral images of pyramids and obscenely leaning structures around which robed figures cluster, themselves no more than fungoid creatures when viewed from other angles.

Cartel: Gasflame | Designer: Sthai