Essay/Term paper: Mirror dance

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Miscellaneous

Mirror Dance



There are some paintings that simply capture the essence of life within their



still frames such as the painting of the "Mirror Dance" in R.A. Salvatore"s



novel Crystal Shard. The painting depicts two characters set in a darkened



background. The faint light of the moon casts shadows down upon the grassy



floor on which the sylvan warrior and human assassin battle. The glimmer of the



moon reflects upon a small, nearby pool of water. A silver sparkle in the



distance marks the nearby city of Silvery Moon.



A sneer of hatred is etched upon the face of the human assassin. His eyes



glimmer with a taint of red to depict his blazing internal rage. The clothing



worn by the human is black as the night, much like the hooded garbs of ancient



Japanese Ninja, the only hint of color coming from his weapons. One of his



hands holds a vicious blade, blackened like the coal inside a fireplace. Small



flecks of crimson blood decorate the tip of the blade, matching the fresh cut



upon the arm of the elf. The legs of the human are crouched, as if he were



ready any moment to leap savagely at his opponent. His secondary hand hosts a



second blade, much smaller than the other sword, his hand holds the secondary



blade 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 fierce



battle. The warrior"s robes flutter in a soft breeze, shining in the glow of



the night. Even with his arm bleeding red from a cut which must have been



inflicted by the assassin, the warrior still maintains a look of regality. The



crown adorning the top of his head, marks his royal heritage. The weapons



commanded by the warrior seem to take on a life of their own, his sword dancing



to meet the twin blades of the assassin while a radiance resonating from his



shield, cast light upon the foe who prefers the stealth of night.



Nature lies still for the battle between the two adversaries. The birds in



flight, bend away from the loud clashing of swords, and the deer hide amongst



the trees in the forest. The people of the distant town of Silvery Moon watch



from their doorways, huddled close to keep the chill of the night from freezing



their bones. They look upon the scene with deep interest, the smiles of the



children obviously cast upon their elven hero.



The only other spectacle of notice is that of a young lady sitting upon a rock



in the lake. She dons a robe of pure white, and holds in one hand, a sword



which 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 that



it is for the glory of the wealth of the sword, that these two fighters battle



out against each other. From the eyes of the assassin, it appears that this



battle will clearly be to the death. The warrior looks ready to accept this



fact, his sword arm bent in the motion to follow his parry with a



life-threatening swing.



The painting captures the essence of life and of battle. The thrill of the



night 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 of



the duel. The flow of blood from a fresh wound, strikes reality into the still



scene and desperation into the situation of the two combatants. The painting



captures within its stillness, a legend and a reality.