There’s a movement spreading through Aranor’s noble courts. You’ll find it in tapestries, in portraiture, even in jewelry. It’s called Half‑face—a style, a statement, a quiet obsession.
It began as a gimmick.
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| The Wave of Selenna |
Now it’s canon.
Form and Style
Half‑face is simple in concept, intricate in execution. A face—typically female—rendered with playing-card symmetry, but far more detailed. One half revealed. The other veiled.
Not silhouetted.
Not erased.
Obscured.
The obscuring motifs vary:
• Natural: waves, leaves, feathers, flowing hair
• Abstract: curves, spirals, geometric shadows
• Man‑made: arches, columns, latticework
Color breaks the austerity—splashes of scarlet, gold, indigo—each chosen to disrupt and draw.
Resonance
Half‑face thrives on tension: seen vs unseen, revelation vs concealment. Nobles debate what the hidden half means. Is it lost memory? Hidden truth? The burden of legacy?
It’s become fashion.
It’s become philosophy.
Portraits, tapestries, and court jewelry adopt the motif. To commission a Half‑face is to declare your court enlightened. To wear one is to suggest you carry secrets worth veiling.
Among common folk:
“Half a face, half a truth.”
Among artists:
“The obscuring form is the true subject. The face is only the canvas.”
Testimony and Transformation
Half‑face works are canonized in shrines, galleries, and court halls. Some courts compete to host the most daring obscuring motif—waves that crash across the face, arches that split it in stone.
A few radical artists invert the tradition: obscuring the “revealed” half, leaving only the veil visible.
The movement is still evolving. Its origin is debated. Its meaning is contested. And that’s part of the appeal.
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| Selenna Reimagined |
Origin Testimony
The truth? The originator—whose name may or may not be remembered in canon—wasn’t chasing mystery. He was chasing market.
He wanted something bold. Recognizable. Saleable.
Half‑face was conceived as a gimmick with flair. Not a grand philosophy.
But nobles seized on it. Artists claimed it. Meaning was layered, twisted, reframed. What began as a practical innovation became a movement of mystery—divorced from its humble intent.
Final Thoughts
Half‑face is both commerce and canon. Born of necessity. Elevated by fashion. The truth of its origin is obscured—just like the faces themselves.
In Aranor, that irony is part of the testimony.
Art that began as survival now thrives as philosophy.
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