The Artist vs Aeva
It was a terror to behold as the brush hovered over the canvas and from it living, breathing beings erupted, imprisoned into the fabric inside the frame, abhorrently alive yet dead.
As the Artist arrived in the Aevan realm, rumours spread like wildfire among its inhabitants. He had been a figure of mystery, interwoven with the legends both told in the realm and below. It didn't take long until the celestial beings welcomed him into their society, provided him with clothes and his very own home. Yes, he had risen from a life of misery to a life of luxury. Eternal and undying, he felt for the first time what it meant to be truly seen and appreciated. The Aevans were infatuated with his style and grace, they followed him and soon, he had a good standing among those that he found were the most valuable in Aeva . He knew that, if he played his cards right, he'd become a part of the council and rise to the top of all creation that had once lived a mortal life.
Eventually, his predictions turned out to be correct and he rose to the top, sitting right next to the Lovers and the Bard. Contrary to his popular status, he struggled becoming friends with the other council members. His eccentric nature made him stand out wherever he went, even though his colleagues had their own quirks. One would think that he would get along with the Bard and the Muse, since they were mostly associated with the arts in Aradeian circles, especially Lorlan ones - but he made it very clear from the beginning that his art was not to be inspired by 'lowly music'. No... he preferred silence and nature over the contributions that the Bard and the Muse made throughout the land.
Also, he couldn't find a connection with the Scholar or the Stoic. Even though his knowledge in art and architecture was surely beneficial, he couldn't connect with their calm and focused way of life and rubbed them the wrong way.
After several decades of nervous banter, he finally managed to ruin his status for good. His following had grown to a significant size and people started to doubt Lady Aeva' s powers on the basis that they perceived the Artist's powers to be greater and truer than that of the actual Creator. They urged the council to open their gates and let the Artist challenge Aeva herself to take over the creating powers of the realm. Aeva, noticeably unimpressed, invited him to indulge in a competition. If he managed to create something true, something real, that was able to exist beyond his paintings, she would willingly give him her throne and would retire for good. There would be three challenges in total: Objects, animals and people.
During the first challenge, watched by many and judged by the council and a handful of selected experts outside of it, Aeva and the Artist sat down on a stool, in front of a pedestal. The Artist grabbed his canvas and started painting an oven with flickering flames. Aeva created an open bonfire, its flames flickering in the morning sun. The judges watched both creations and took them apart. To access the oven in the Artist's creation, you had to enter its frame, warm your hands by the fire, then step back out. There was no warmth if you stepped out and tried to warm your hands from outside the painting. Meanwhile, Aeva's creation could be taken apart. The individual logs could be used as torches, it gave off a warm, gentle, orange light and was both destructive and beautiful. Therefore, Lady Aeva won.
The second challenge involved creating a minor animal. New creations were the important premise. It would give extra points from the judges. It took both of them seven days and nights to come up with a new creature. Aeva created a furry animal with a long tail and a beak that grew wings over time. She called it a Mayberry Duckling and introduced its young to the public. Some of them were even send down to Aradeia, so that the species could be shown to the mortals.
Meanwhile, the Artist created a gorgeous hoofed creature with big eyes and an elegant silhouette. It was articulate and gentle, was intelligent enough to learn Fairo and was able to write and read. The judges were impressed by its capabilities and enjoyed their conversations with the creature. The Artist called his creation a Whazuan and as the judges got the no the Whazuan, the public was sure that he would win - until they asked him to let it out. As the Stoic reached out to ask the Whazuan to leave, its hooves scraped against the canvas, trying to reach outside. It strained against the fabric, begging to be let out, but as much as the Artist tried to will it into existence, he couldn't. People could go in to visit it, but in the end, its shape remained interwoven with the fibres of his painting.
The last challenge, which was even more important than creating an animal, was to create an Omni. This part of the competition was rather immoral, for the existence of the Omni itself was a matter of the Core , not Aeva. Still, for the sake of the competition, both creators were tasked to find an individual whose prediction they could make. They were asked to create a Chosen - a lightling , shadeling or gargoyle - and started off by choosing a person worthy to carry a child chosen by the gods. Aeva made a prediction for a lightling youngster called Lumen. He was still in the belly of Maggie Vandolin, a halfling maiden that had just gotten married to a young human man. Her plan was to create a lightling who was meant to carry some hope and tenderness to the public. Her prediction, therefore, was set in the stars and were projected like a talekeeper's vision above the citizens heads.
The Artist painted a prophecy on layered canvas. In a triptych fit for an altar, he painted the vision of a young half-orc carrying the burden of a town on his shoulders. He wanted to make him a lightling as well. His name was Fargrunen Morgar and had just been born into the arms of an orc leader and a satyr merchant. Fargrunen was born with the horns of a shadeling and a beautiful blue shimmer to his skin, yet his prophecy never came true. While the triptych came to life, showing what Fargrunen could have been, the Artist's creation never came into being and, therefore, he had to face the worst - failure.
At first, Aeva smiled at him and told him that it had been a jest. She had enjoyed the challenge and wouldn't mind his audacity as long as he'd let it slide. Unfortunately though, as the Artist heard his follows turn away from him, he insulted the Creator and asked for another trial. Fueled with anger, he attacked Aeva, calling her names and threatening to imprison her in one of his paintings until, finally, the Stoic couldn't condone his behaviour any longer. With the help of the Blacksmith and Aeva herself, he forged a frame so deeply magical, that the curse couldn't be broken by mortal means. He pushed the Artist into his own dimension and forced the door to reality shut with its new frame.
As the Artist tried to get out, he sealed his portal and banished him to an abandoned mansion in the Wilderness outside of the Lorlan borders. Since then, the Artist is hidden behind heavy curtains, waiting for the moment that he could flee and take revenge.
The Conflict
Outcome
The Artist was banned behind a cursed frame, unable to break out, but living eternally.
Historical Significance
In Literature
The conflict between the Artist and Aeva serves as a cautionary tale not to underestimate the gods and stay humble in your own efforts, mortal or not.
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