The Art of Healing
The tale of colourshade of the two-fold, and his reknowned skill of painting.
And there, from far in the two-fold, came Colourshade of the two-fold, to the city of Hryulen. A fine man, was he. Tall, and dark, with lips ever-curled to a faint smirk of knowing. And with him, came The paint gear of Colourshade. Boast, didst he, to the city, about his practice of paint from the day of his birth. And the people didst laugh at him, for what toddler could paint? But colourshade simply kept his smirk, and struck his first line onto canvas. From the first picture on his canvas of the city, The people of Hyrulen sank to their knees and begged forgiveness, for the painting was so beautiful, it brought tears to their eyes. From far and wide, the people came, to experience the wondrous sights of the mastery of colourshade of the two-fold. In fact, the lady Tremera of Grendelyn capital said, after witnessing the portrait colourshade drew for her, 'Thine painting has brought life back to my bones.' And true, this was! For when the lady had walked in, she was weary and limping, but on her exit, she hopped and jumped. And so, throughout his life, people came to Colourshade for peace of mind.
On Colourshades death, some thirty years after his arrival, Hyrule entire, didst weep for a month and five days, saying 'Thy paint gave life to others, but neglected thyself!' And the people gave to him, a funeral of kings. And with Colourshades own paint and brush, they decorated the most beautiful coffin in the world. A tomb was crafted for him, and atop his coffin, didst they place the Paintbrush and palette of Colourshade, saying 'Thou were'st the true master, take thine art and give life to the next world!' Nobody set foot in that tomb for a month, and when the people came back to mourn over colourshade, the paint tools were gone.
Magical Properties:
The Art of Healing is not an item a cleric, nor great mage nor wily thief can use. But in the hands of a skilled painter, this is priceless. The brush's handle is ivory of an elephants tusk, with a swirling pattern carved all around it. The brush is of human hair, treated for thickness to make it suitable for painting, and the palette is a section of the highest quality apple-bark wood, coated, and with the most vibrant colours swirling on it in an exsquisite pattern. The Art of Healing is a great tool for aiding others. It can cure any physical ailment barring amputation and death: If a skilled painter draws a portrait of a wounded person, but without the wound there, that wound will disappear, causing that person to be a replica of the image on the canvas.
The drawbacks? creating an image that fine is not a few minutes work. It would take a good few hours to draw such a thing. With adventurers, this is perhaps at best use while camping for the night. While they arent moving around, a painter can cure the wounds of his fellow adventurers.
The Art of Healing cannot be used to modify a person (eg, give wings, vampire fangs, horns...) And nor can it be used to wound somebody, as Colourshades drawings were about beauty, not mutation and pain.
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? Responses (12)
A couple things: I am aware that you (silly) Americans/foreigners may spell colour as color, as well as several other words differently, but the Australian way, is 'Colour', so don't berate me for spelling it wrong :) I stick by my nationality.
This is my first hand at Mythical-writing, and I won't be satisfied until Captainpenguin grades me.
*Takes out his bright green grading pen*
Let's see...
Basic Item Theory: A. Good item. I like it. This category is not part of the myth grade.
Mythical Language: A. Good use of sentence inversion and strategic Old English. The progression of sentences needs work (see the way mythic sentences progress in Boots Too Fine for the Earth)
Myth in General: A-. A little short, but good nonetheless. The item is mythically magical; that is, it was not created by some petty mage. In this case, it was just so excellent that it was magical. That's a good touch.
Myth Length/Myth Progression: B+. Just a little short. Maybe you could have provided more examples of the healing power of Colourshade's works, and not just that one old woman. The way that you provided one example and then left the rest of it to 'And so, throughout his life, people came to Colourshade for peace of mind', which makes the myth feel like it has been cut short, somehow.
So...
Overall Item Grade - 4/5.
Overall Myth Grade - A-. Good work. Let's see the rest of you do some myths, yeah?
Mmm, an A-, highest grade Ive gotten since primary school :P
I'm happy with that mark for my first myth, hopefully future myth-writings will be more filled out :)
Though I defer to the Expert in his judgement of your myth, I thoroughly enjoyed it! As for the item itself, I think it is brilliantly original. I love the idea of using it in an adventure: presumably the painter would have to carry an easel around too, which might be a little inconvenient during combat (unless it was surreptitiously fitted with blades!).
ephe!
It has color. I mean, colour. I mean, ehhh... doesn't matter, it is an excellent creation. Deserves an A.
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As my evil mind starts to wander, what happens to all those high-quality paintings that undoubtly would stay after any average party of adventurers? Some would they keep, some might be sold, or simply thrown away, once there are too many. Could these portraits be not used to some dark purpose? They already had impact on someones life force...
So if people healed by it before start to get ill, or even die unnaturally... could it be a curse, or someone that hates this fine item wants it to look so?
Perhaps.
Perhaps a cruel twist is this: The painter uses inferior quality paints, and after several years the paintings begin to fade and peel away. The one healed by it may find old injuries, which had been healed by the painting, return.
Good quality oil paints will ensure a longevity far surpassing the persons lifetime, though the ones healed wont live longer.
I really enjoy this idea.
On that note, what if there was a twin to the painting set spoken of here? Perhaps someone of evil intent made it, or still better: someone of good intent finds it and tries to make another, but fails, twisting it to a point where it does more damage. This could produce a very good storyline at the end of which both painting utensils are present, and look exactly alike. better still, a friend is dieing, and if you pick the wrong one, you will kill them. just some ideas that this gave me.
The myth is excellent and also, I just happen to like all utility item subs.
A fine healing item, wonderfully rendered and perfect for use. One could make the inks require special ingredients for their manufacture, and so employment and riches could be obained in their aquisition.
Can you paint an old person young again? Overall, this is an interesting item with a well-written background story (I enjoyed the 'voice' of this piece, very much). I do think its powers are a little ambiguous, however, and could use some more fleshing out.
I agree that the concept and rendering of this myth are good, particularly the idea. If you have not done so, read Portrait of Dorian Gray. I would love to see more fleshing out of the items. Why should they have any power? Wasn't it established that it was the artist? Did the artist somehow merge into the tools upon his death? Did he pour himself into his work for so long that he didn't die so much as he was carried into the items?
Mechanically (were talking capitalization, usage, punctuation, and spelling) you drive me nuts. But then again, I teach English (and several other subjects); my starting sanity is justifiably questionable.
I like the concept as a bardic power or something only a unique person might bring about.