Ymiden 79, Arc 717
The meeting with Sintih had been very interesting. Tristan still couldn’t get over to fact that the Eidisi could really see out of those weird eyes, but now he was glad that he was back in his private quarters again. Before Sintih and his entourage had interrupted him with their arrival, he had been working on a sculpture of Zanik, his favourite male Immortal. Zanik had marked him because he had liked “A Royal Tragedy”, his most successful play so far, but Tristan had not heard anything from him since then. Zanik was probably a very busy man, but still, the young duke was worried about him, so he had decided to send him a little gift and write him a letter and ask him how he was doing.
Besides, he missed sculpting, and he was always looking for an excuse to work with stone and clay like he had used to, back when life had been much easier and there hadn’t been any evil Immortals tormenting him. Normally he took a lot of artistic license – imitating what he was seeing was boring - but this sculpture was going to be very realistic because he wanted Zanik to be happy and not take his mark away again because he felt offended. At the moment there was just a lump of white marble that was missing a chunk here and there and not looking much like anything sitting on Tristan’s table – he had been making a rough outline before Sintih had arrived – but that would change soon enough.
He had briefly considered using a cheaper stone, but then he had come to the conclusion that only the best was good enough for the Immortal of Seduction, Strength and Music. Besides, marble was the only one of the more commonly available stones that had a slight translucency that was comparable to human skin and that gave it a certain visual depth. It was also comparatively easy to work with. Really, the only downside was that it didn’t last long when exposed to the elements, but he doubted that Zanik would put his gift in his garden where it would be rained and snowed on (did Zanik even have a garden?).
Speaking of strength ... Tristan looked at his rather skinny arms, furrowing his brow as he did so because he had never really noticed just how skinny they were before, and then he hit the back of his chisel with the hammer especially hard. And then he hit it again and again, and he didn’t stop even though it took a great amount of effort and his arms began to tremble a little because he wanted Zanik to know that he could accomplish great feats of strength as well even though he was not a warrior and would never be one either.
Soon the lump of marble began to resemble a man. The Zanik that he remembered from the premiere of his play had been a broad-shouldered man and tall and dominating with long dark hair that resembled his own. He had also been friendly, despite his looks, and he had even had a sense of humor which was why Tristan’s sculpture was smiling slightly rather than looking all serious and dignified and bored like the sculptures he had seen in the various museums and art galleries in Andaris. He briefly considered painting him as well, but then he decided that Zanik looked just perfect in white. He just tied a red silk ribbon around the sculpture’s waist because gifts often came wrapped with a ribbon.
The meeting with Sintih had been very interesting. Tristan still couldn’t get over to fact that the Eidisi could really see out of those weird eyes, but now he was glad that he was back in his private quarters again. Before Sintih and his entourage had interrupted him with their arrival, he had been working on a sculpture of Zanik, his favourite male Immortal. Zanik had marked him because he had liked “A Royal Tragedy”, his most successful play so far, but Tristan had not heard anything from him since then. Zanik was probably a very busy man, but still, the young duke was worried about him, so he had decided to send him a little gift and write him a letter and ask him how he was doing.
Besides, he missed sculpting, and he was always looking for an excuse to work with stone and clay like he had used to, back when life had been much easier and there hadn’t been any evil Immortals tormenting him. Normally he took a lot of artistic license – imitating what he was seeing was boring - but this sculpture was going to be very realistic because he wanted Zanik to be happy and not take his mark away again because he felt offended. At the moment there was just a lump of white marble that was missing a chunk here and there and not looking much like anything sitting on Tristan’s table – he had been making a rough outline before Sintih had arrived – but that would change soon enough.
He had briefly considered using a cheaper stone, but then he had come to the conclusion that only the best was good enough for the Immortal of Seduction, Strength and Music. Besides, marble was the only one of the more commonly available stones that had a slight translucency that was comparable to human skin and that gave it a certain visual depth. It was also comparatively easy to work with. Really, the only downside was that it didn’t last long when exposed to the elements, but he doubted that Zanik would put his gift in his garden where it would be rained and snowed on (did Zanik even have a garden?).
Speaking of strength ... Tristan looked at his rather skinny arms, furrowing his brow as he did so because he had never really noticed just how skinny they were before, and then he hit the back of his chisel with the hammer especially hard. And then he hit it again and again, and he didn’t stop even though it took a great amount of effort and his arms began to tremble a little because he wanted Zanik to know that he could accomplish great feats of strength as well even though he was not a warrior and would never be one either.
Soon the lump of marble began to resemble a man. The Zanik that he remembered from the premiere of his play had been a broad-shouldered man and tall and dominating with long dark hair that resembled his own. He had also been friendly, despite his looks, and he had even had a sense of humor which was why Tristan’s sculpture was smiling slightly rather than looking all serious and dignified and bored like the sculptures he had seen in the various museums and art galleries in Andaris. He briefly considered painting him as well, but then he decided that Zanik looked just perfect in white. He just tied a red silk ribbon around the sculpture’s waist because gifts often came wrapped with a ribbon.
