Mirror Dance Essay, Research Paper

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.