"Natalie Grayswift's mother, Lorna, is a Doctor of Robotics that works at the Fabrictory in Locksmouth. She is as kind and gentle as she is intelligent and resourceful. A lonely sort, widowed and steadily settling into middle age, her world is her daughter and her work, and she tends both dutifully, trying to make the best of life's twists and turns despite the setbacks it has delivered her."
"Echelon's creator, Osoth, is the Empress of the Inked, and the most terrible creature in the universe. She is as sadistic and wrathful as she is insidious and powerful. A paranoid sort, fearful of rebellion and hungry for even more power, she destroyed and devoured all but a handful of the Inklings that existed when she took the throne, twisting and terrorizing them into hapless, frightened pawns."
"Dr. Grayswift. Empress Osoth. My mother, destroyer of worlds."
If you haven't read it, yeah, I know, this is KIND of spoilery, but it's a 6 year old book and frankly, this spoils NOTHING. In fact, the more you know, the cooler it is.
It's a fantastic read, rather dense in lore but with a ton of twists and turns and intrigue, along with stupid awesome action.
Here, you can spoil yourself with all of Nori's art and info on it here:
Note: Description isn't an excerpt, that's my little bit of fanwank, because Osoth is an awesome villain, and apparently I have a type when it comes to these sort of things. <v<;