10 Frost, Year 122
[Closed]
[Legendary]
“Ready?” Hilana lifted Tiaz, bringing him up so that he was level with her shoulders. The python moved forward, getting himself into a comfortable position, and the Vastiana lifted her rucksack, slipping it over her shoulders. Her hair was bound up, with multiple ribbons woven into her bun for colour, not that it mattered. Once she left her apartment, it wouldn’t matter anyway - no one would be taking note of her, but since when did she dress for others? Well, perhaps occasionally. She knew what Raithen liked, and she usually had purple in some fashion for Æros, but she wasn’t seeing either of them today. Her notebook and pencils were already in place, and all that was left to do was to put on the mask.
She normally kept the Mask within her second room, by the bushmasters. She lifted it from the lacquered wooden box, unwrapping it from the silk cloth she used for extra padding and protection, and smiled at it. It was her safeguard, her protection, her way of walking in the shadows until she was ready to take on the Runes that would have afforded her the same comfort. She would at some point; but for now, she needed to focus on Elementalism. Hilana held the mask to her face and willed it on, and lowered her hand. When she glanced in the window, it was no longer visible. “Integumentum Obscurum,” she said firmly, commanding the Mask of Midnight’s Mother to include Tiaz in the same protection of the Masking that she had, and the two of them swept out of her apartment, locking the door behind them.
She took the steps two at a time, her black and red skirts all but flying as she skipped lightly down all four floors at a fairly alarming speed. Spots and stitching silver and gold alternated in the tiers, the silver with the black and the gold with the red, but both of them shone in the morning sunlight as she opened the last door to the outside and headed into the streets. She had a number of places to visit, because she was well aware that chances were, she was not going to find paintings from that time period of His Divine Radiance wearing the Zalkyrian Horn. But he was wearing it on his belt at the Battle of the Rending, and hopefully there would be enough pictures for her to get an idea of what it looked like before she confirmed its appearance with the Crownwyrm. She was supposed to be researching, after all… it wouldn’t do to look like she hadn’t at least done her best before asking His Exalted Majesty.
While there were numerous museums and exhibits around the Luxium, Hilana knew that the ones that would have the most accurate information that she was searching for were likely in the Aurecine and Palatium Districts in the Luxium, and down in the Sanctine District in the Umbrium. But for now her goal was those in the surface city for today. Depending on how successful she was, she would head down to those below in the Umbrium. She might even run into Sophos Subitus again, and that might be fun. With his penchant of pastries, Hilana had a feeling that she could probably bring him some hand pies and pick his brain about other things. While all three of them had been kind, and she had gotten her elder wound up with casual blasphemy; he was also largely the safest simply because he was Vastii, like her. Either way, a visit to all three might be in order to get their opinions of her sketches if there were too many different variations of what she was looking for. She would see how the day went.
She headed to the first museum on her list in the Aurecine. Hilana had figured that she would go out to the one the furthest away to the eastern area of the city, and work her way westwards. She had names and locations down in her notebook, from canvassing clients and talking to others around the Forum, not to mention the places she had heard of over the last two seasons that she had lived here. She somewhat regretted not taking Hayima’el; he would have made travel around the city faster than it was with those great long legs of hers, but since it was a day off and Raithen wasn’t in town… she needed whatever exercise she could get.
Hilana made her way up the steps, and started to browse as Tiaz went back to sleep on her shoulders now that it was quieter in here and there was less people than there had been even in the more serene, orderly streets of the Aurecine district. Considering the time of day, there were not too many people here as a time when a number of people were still eating their breakfast. She took her time, browsing along the different displays and exhibits. She looked at paintings and statues from the different epochs, admiring the craftsmanship that had gone into them. She wasn’t an artist herself, but she didn’t need to be to recognize the talent and skill that had gone into making them. Some part of her thought Semblance might have added an extra layer of information to the work, but then again... that wasn’t what she was here for. Still, after a while of going through the museum, she finally asked an adjunct for directions. The young elf actually looked surprised when she had finally spoken up. It was very easy indeed to slip away from the attentions of others using the Mask of Midnight’s Mother.
But considering how slow the museum was, the adjunct was perfectly happy to not only give her directions, but to accompany her to the exhibit and give her a guided tour along the way. That part Hilana didn’t need; because if she found a good representation... oh, well. She would just have to explain that she was trying to practice art, and her paedagogus recommended her attempts of historical art as part of a test. That... would surely be less weird than “I need to see what his Divine Radiance was wearing when he went into battle on the fateful day of which the Battle of the Rending took place.” If anything, she just needed to channel Prince Phocion and practice giving as little information as possible away.
By the time they got to that exhibit, there were numerous portraits hanging on display here. There were paintings of the Crownwyrm, Zalkyrion, his mate, Shaqqarava, and their offspring. There were pictures of His Divine Radiance and Her Argent Luminescence, both by themselves, with each other, and upon their draconic counterparts. “Beautiful,” Hilana murmured in appreciation, and the adjunct began to tell her more about those particular portraits. That they were replications of multiple replications of the originals, but the spirit remained. That was just fine for Hilana. She thanked him, getting out her notebook and her pencil. At the raised eyebrows, she offered a small smile. “My paedagogus gave me a test for today for my arts lesson. I was supposed to find historical portraits from that time period and attempt to sketch parts that captured my attention. I’m not very good, so I’m just going to do an object rather than disgrace the Founders or the Zalkyrian Dynasty,” she admitted with a chuckle. “I thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge with me. It has been illuminating.”
That seemed to satisfy him, and the elf left her alone. With her notebook in hand, Hilana stopped some distance away from the portraits of Avaerys, scrutinizing all three of them and searching for the Horn. Or anything that resembled one. In one painting, she could see part of it from the front and slightly on an angle, the second painting of him with Varvara was better, and in the third painting of him upon Zalkyrion, she couldn’t see the horn at all. She didn’t know what precisely she was looking for, and the closest seemed to be a curved ornate hunting horn. That, hopefully, was it, and further, that it would do. She started a fresh page in the notebook, recording which museum she was in, along with the title of the painting, before settling down on a bench with her rucksack on her lap to act as an impromptu desk. Tiaz only shifted himself, as if to look at the paintings as Hilana started to sketch, making a rough outline of the horn. She followed the outwards shape first, referring constantly to the painting, before starting on some of the decorations. It was so ornate that it did suit His Divine Radiance well, and while she did her best to emulate the detail of the filigree and the other embellishments… Hilana was not an artist. She did, however, keep doing the best that she could. She focused on one area at a time, duplicating and copying and comparing her work to the painting.
She paused at the sound of footsteps, lifting her head and looking down the hallway. The same adjunct that had shown her in here and given her the tour came through, looking around and going right past her without even a glance. Hilana watched as he circled through, and went back the way he came, leaving the wing. Whatever he was looking for, he didn’t find it. And she half-wondered if he was looking for her… to see if she was still where he had left her. That made her smile, and she had a thought: she would have to test it on the shadow creatures. Tiaz shifted slightly on her shoulders, and Hilana held up her drawing in comparison to the painting before adding lines to indicate His Divine Radiance’s body so that she could compare how big it had been on the Sunborn God’s frame.
Hilana kept at it until she was concerned that she was going to overwork it, and that was when she left her bench and headed back to the portrait. She held her notebook up to compare it with a scrutinizing eye to the horn depicted in the painting before bringing the book back down and deepening the curve of the upper outside of the horn with a couple extra lines of her pencil. There. That... that wasn't too bad. It was good enough, at least, that she could consider her task at this museum done. She could close her book now and and put it away, and head to the next museum on her list. One down, five more to go in the shining upper city... and then she could go into the Umbrium and visit the six on her list there.
[Closed]
[Legendary]
“Ready?” Hilana lifted Tiaz, bringing him up so that he was level with her shoulders. The python moved forward, getting himself into a comfortable position, and the Vastiana lifted her rucksack, slipping it over her shoulders. Her hair was bound up, with multiple ribbons woven into her bun for colour, not that it mattered. Once she left her apartment, it wouldn’t matter anyway - no one would be taking note of her, but since when did she dress for others? Well, perhaps occasionally. She knew what Raithen liked, and she usually had purple in some fashion for Æros, but she wasn’t seeing either of them today. Her notebook and pencils were already in place, and all that was left to do was to put on the mask.
She normally kept the Mask within her second room, by the bushmasters. She lifted it from the lacquered wooden box, unwrapping it from the silk cloth she used for extra padding and protection, and smiled at it. It was her safeguard, her protection, her way of walking in the shadows until she was ready to take on the Runes that would have afforded her the same comfort. She would at some point; but for now, she needed to focus on Elementalism. Hilana held the mask to her face and willed it on, and lowered her hand. When she glanced in the window, it was no longer visible. “Integumentum Obscurum,” she said firmly, commanding the Mask of Midnight’s Mother to include Tiaz in the same protection of the Masking that she had, and the two of them swept out of her apartment, locking the door behind them.
She took the steps two at a time, her black and red skirts all but flying as she skipped lightly down all four floors at a fairly alarming speed. Spots and stitching silver and gold alternated in the tiers, the silver with the black and the gold with the red, but both of them shone in the morning sunlight as she opened the last door to the outside and headed into the streets. She had a number of places to visit, because she was well aware that chances were, she was not going to find paintings from that time period of His Divine Radiance wearing the Zalkyrian Horn. But he was wearing it on his belt at the Battle of the Rending, and hopefully there would be enough pictures for her to get an idea of what it looked like before she confirmed its appearance with the Crownwyrm. She was supposed to be researching, after all… it wouldn’t do to look like she hadn’t at least done her best before asking His Exalted Majesty.
While there were numerous museums and exhibits around the Luxium, Hilana knew that the ones that would have the most accurate information that she was searching for were likely in the Aurecine and Palatium Districts in the Luxium, and down in the Sanctine District in the Umbrium. But for now her goal was those in the surface city for today. Depending on how successful she was, she would head down to those below in the Umbrium. She might even run into Sophos Subitus again, and that might be fun. With his penchant of pastries, Hilana had a feeling that she could probably bring him some hand pies and pick his brain about other things. While all three of them had been kind, and she had gotten her elder wound up with casual blasphemy; he was also largely the safest simply because he was Vastii, like her. Either way, a visit to all three might be in order to get their opinions of her sketches if there were too many different variations of what she was looking for. She would see how the day went.
She headed to the first museum on her list in the Aurecine. Hilana had figured that she would go out to the one the furthest away to the eastern area of the city, and work her way westwards. She had names and locations down in her notebook, from canvassing clients and talking to others around the Forum, not to mention the places she had heard of over the last two seasons that she had lived here. She somewhat regretted not taking Hayima’el; he would have made travel around the city faster than it was with those great long legs of hers, but since it was a day off and Raithen wasn’t in town… she needed whatever exercise she could get.
Hilana made her way up the steps, and started to browse as Tiaz went back to sleep on her shoulders now that it was quieter in here and there was less people than there had been even in the more serene, orderly streets of the Aurecine district. Considering the time of day, there were not too many people here as a time when a number of people were still eating their breakfast. She took her time, browsing along the different displays and exhibits. She looked at paintings and statues from the different epochs, admiring the craftsmanship that had gone into them. She wasn’t an artist herself, but she didn’t need to be to recognize the talent and skill that had gone into making them. Some part of her thought Semblance might have added an extra layer of information to the work, but then again... that wasn’t what she was here for. Still, after a while of going through the museum, she finally asked an adjunct for directions. The young elf actually looked surprised when she had finally spoken up. It was very easy indeed to slip away from the attentions of others using the Mask of Midnight’s Mother.
But considering how slow the museum was, the adjunct was perfectly happy to not only give her directions, but to accompany her to the exhibit and give her a guided tour along the way. That part Hilana didn’t need; because if she found a good representation... oh, well. She would just have to explain that she was trying to practice art, and her paedagogus recommended her attempts of historical art as part of a test. That... would surely be less weird than “I need to see what his Divine Radiance was wearing when he went into battle on the fateful day of which the Battle of the Rending took place.” If anything, she just needed to channel Prince Phocion and practice giving as little information as possible away.
By the time they got to that exhibit, there were numerous portraits hanging on display here. There were paintings of the Crownwyrm, Zalkyrion, his mate, Shaqqarava, and their offspring. There were pictures of His Divine Radiance and Her Argent Luminescence, both by themselves, with each other, and upon their draconic counterparts. “Beautiful,” Hilana murmured in appreciation, and the adjunct began to tell her more about those particular portraits. That they were replications of multiple replications of the originals, but the spirit remained. That was just fine for Hilana. She thanked him, getting out her notebook and her pencil. At the raised eyebrows, she offered a small smile. “My paedagogus gave me a test for today for my arts lesson. I was supposed to find historical portraits from that time period and attempt to sketch parts that captured my attention. I’m not very good, so I’m just going to do an object rather than disgrace the Founders or the Zalkyrian Dynasty,” she admitted with a chuckle. “I thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge with me. It has been illuminating.”
That seemed to satisfy him, and the elf left her alone. With her notebook in hand, Hilana stopped some distance away from the portraits of Avaerys, scrutinizing all three of them and searching for the Horn. Or anything that resembled one. In one painting, she could see part of it from the front and slightly on an angle, the second painting of him with Varvara was better, and in the third painting of him upon Zalkyrion, she couldn’t see the horn at all. She didn’t know what precisely she was looking for, and the closest seemed to be a curved ornate hunting horn. That, hopefully, was it, and further, that it would do. She started a fresh page in the notebook, recording which museum she was in, along with the title of the painting, before settling down on a bench with her rucksack on her lap to act as an impromptu desk. Tiaz only shifted himself, as if to look at the paintings as Hilana started to sketch, making a rough outline of the horn. She followed the outwards shape first, referring constantly to the painting, before starting on some of the decorations. It was so ornate that it did suit His Divine Radiance well, and while she did her best to emulate the detail of the filigree and the other embellishments… Hilana was not an artist. She did, however, keep doing the best that she could. She focused on one area at a time, duplicating and copying and comparing her work to the painting.
She paused at the sound of footsteps, lifting her head and looking down the hallway. The same adjunct that had shown her in here and given her the tour came through, looking around and going right past her without even a glance. Hilana watched as he circled through, and went back the way he came, leaving the wing. Whatever he was looking for, he didn’t find it. And she half-wondered if he was looking for her… to see if she was still where he had left her. That made her smile, and she had a thought: she would have to test it on the shadow creatures. Tiaz shifted slightly on her shoulders, and Hilana held up her drawing in comparison to the painting before adding lines to indicate His Divine Radiance’s body so that she could compare how big it had been on the Sunborn God’s frame.
Hilana kept at it until she was concerned that she was going to overwork it, and that was when she left her bench and headed back to the portrait. She held her notebook up to compare it with a scrutinizing eye to the horn depicted in the painting before bringing the book back down and deepening the curve of the upper outside of the horn with a couple extra lines of her pencil. There. That... that wasn't too bad. It was good enough, at least, that she could consider her task at this museum done. She could close her book now and and put it away, and head to the next museum on her list. One down, five more to go in the shining upper city... and then she could go into the Umbrium and visit the six on her list there.