Painting Pictures with Words

Ehene

I don't know if this has been done before, but since it isn't one of the few recurring threads I see on Recent Discussions I figured I'd do a thing. Achaea has ample opportunity for the burgeoning writer, from personal journal entries to formal correspondence to room descriptions and more. As a result, there is a substantial amount of player-created literature throughout the game; houses, ships, buildings, paintings, objects, and creatures galore have been (usually) painstakingly crafted, chiseled into lexical sculptures as if carved from a marble dictionary. With this in mind, I would like to start a thread wherein people can share what they've sewn together from the 26 building blocks of our language. Descriptions of any of the above, or anything I've missed, are welcome! Critique may also be welcome for those who ask for it.

Ehene

I will happily submit the first exhibit. This is one of the "paintings" Ehene has worked on for his historical analysis. Let me know what you think! It's roughly based on the history of Hashan.

[A masterful use of watercolours breathes life into this muted depiction of the past, a prismatic palette infused within the following:

The grey stone of the Academy of Hashan stands stoic against the dimming light of day, the setting sun casting yawning shadows across the cobblestone street nearby. As the light slinks away and the Sun consigns itself to slumber, an ominous haze drifts into view. A stark contrast against the shafts of red and orange sunset, an imperious blue fog drifts through the shadows, flooding the streets with a strange sapphire solemnity. Below, the source of the mist is evident. It seeps like an infected wound as it billows forth from a barred sewer grate. A thick, almost palpable blue, it rises in broad strokes as if seeking to devour the falling daylight. A war between palettes, the Sun's fiery facade slowly recedes to the west, and the clear moonlight illuminates a horrendous sight.
From these muted hues arise the half-formed visages of ghostly spectres, the eye finding more and more of their anguished, furious faces hidden in the spreading mist with every passing moment. From their gaping, translucent mouths, silent screams echo into the darkening depths of Hashan, the flesh that sags from their bodies seeming to drip and meld into the winding streets they haunt. Their limbs hang from bare threads of muscle and sinew like the desperate, grasping hands of a dying man. Where fingers would be, the rusty colour of dried blood cakes the long, spindling claws that scrape soundlessly against the street. The spectres float through the city, searching for something. Instead, they find themselves trapped in a prismatic prison of watercolour and canvas.

In the lower right corner, a stylised signature is scrawled in golden ink - E.M.]  

Antonius

There have been similar threads in the past, though they don't get so much activity that they're constantly on the front page of recent discussions. The first concentrates primarily on player character descriptions, as far as I know, while the second is more general (tradeskills, items, artefacts, rooms, etc.)

http://forums.achaea.com/discussion/168/descriptions-wanted-1-0

http://forums.achaea.com/discussion/2845/what-have-you-designed-today

Shayde

Not painted by this character, but by my dormant mage. She did a series of six paintings, here is one of them:

Portrayed in an oil palette consisting of blood reds and a whisper of brown tonalities, a horned demon floats against the pitch black fabric of the canvas. Its wrinkled form blurred as chartreuse mist, made up of barely visible brush strokes, ebbs and flows in an intensified fashion. A curved swath of onyx becomes the main focal feature and depicts an all-consuming mouth caught in a moment of existential agony. Sitting just above it, nondescript eyes gaze out, seemingly void of any true emotion. However, if one were to observe the endless pools closely, they gleam with a lurid luster of death. Perhaps most curious of all is the stippled, eerie glow emanating around the creature as if to solidify the ghastly vivacity of the painting. 

Zakkariah

So since reincarnating, in my head I see Zakkariah looking like Akuma from Street Fighter but with amber eyes and a slight beer belly. Any adjustments/suggestions welcome:

He is a powerful troll. He is rather short for a Troll, standing at just six foot five. Broad shoulders frame a very muscular physique, showing signs of extensive training. Despite the heavily-muscled build, he has the slightest hint of a belly, making him seem at once imposing yet comfortable. Red hair rises up from his head in thick, pointed locks, reminiscent of fire. Medium to long in length, he has tied a bunch in the middle back of his head, a short spiked ponytail tied with a white hairband. He has a wide, slightly rounded nose below deep amber eyes. He has a strong, square jawline and thick lips. He is rather human in appearance, albeit slightly brutish looking, with his light golden-brown skin giving the appearance of someone who has spent a long time outside. However, when he flashes a smile you notice his teeth are slightly pointed.

Zakkariah

Don't know how to edit so I'll add: Don't know if this is the right place for this, and also to point out that A) I envision him as a trollish version of Akuma and Akuma does look kinda brutish. I reckon he could easily pass for a troll.

Zakkariah

I realise now that I thought I was posting that in one of the threads Antonius posted, my bad!!