Mirror DanceThere are some paintings that simply capture the essence of life within theirstill frames such as the painting of the “Mirror Dance” in R. A. Salvatoresnovel Crystal Shard. The painting depicts two characters set in a darkenedbackground.
The faint light of the moon casts shadows down upon the grassyfloor on which the sylvan warrior and human assassin battle. The glimmer of themoon reflects upon a small, nearby pool of water. A silver sparkle in thedistance marks the nearby city of Silvery Moon. A sneer of hatred is etched upon the face of the human assassin. His eyesglimmer with a taint of red to depict his blazing internal rage. The clothingworn by the human is black as the night, much like the hooded garbs of ancientJapanese Ninja, the only hint of color coming from his weapons.
One of hishands holds a vicious blade, blackened like the coal inside a fireplace. Smallflecks of crimson blood decorate the tip of the blade, matching the fresh cutupon the arm of the elf. The legs of the human are crouched, as if he wereready any moment to leap savagely at his opponent. His secondary hand hosts asecond blade, much smaller than the other sword, his hand holds the secondaryblade inward, as if to flick it out at his adversary. The elven warrior casts an extremely different perspective upon the viewer. His eyes twinkle with the soft moonlight, and his smile welcomes the fiercebattle.
The warriors robes flutter in a soft breeze, shining in the glow ofthe night. Even with his arm bleeding red from a cut which must have beeninflicted by the assassin, the warrior still maintains a look of regality. Thecrown adorning the top of his head, marks his royal heritage. The weaponscommanded by the warrior seem to take on a life of their own, his sword dancingto meet the twin blades of the assassin while a radiance resonating from hisshield, cast light upon the foe who prefers the stealth of night.
Nature lies still for the battle between the two adversaries. The birds inflight, bend away from the loud clashing of swords, and the deer hide amongstthe trees in the forest. The people of the distant town of Silvery Moon watchfrom their doorways, huddled close to keep the chill of the night from freezingtheir bones. They look upon the scene with deep interest, the smiles of thechildren obviously cast upon their elven hero. The only other spectacle of notice is that of a young lady sitting upon a rockin the lake.
She dons a robe of pure white, and holds in one hand, a swordwhich looks much to hard for the young woman to handle, while in her other arm,she softly strokes a harp, releasing tunes into the air. It would appear thatit is for the glory of the wealth of the sword, that these two fighters battleout against each other. From the eyes of the assassin, it appears that thisbattle will clearly be to the death. The warrior looks ready to accept thisfact, his sword arm bent in the motion to follow his parry with alife-threatening swing. The painting captures the essence of life and of battle.
The thrill of thenight air ringing with swings of blades, and the excitement of the audience. Yet it also manages to depict the seriousness and consequences of the outcome ofthe duel. The flow of blood from a fresh wound, strikes reality into the stillscene and desperation into the situation of the two combatants. The paintingcaptures within its stillness, a legend and a reality.Category: Miscellaneous
