Difference between revisions of "The Rodeni Mural"

Latest revision as of 02:13, 13 December 2016

The Rodeni Mural is a fragment of a fresco discovered at an archaeological dig by the banks of the Rodë Reýlinë. It is believed to have once been a part of the wall decorations of the nearby temple ruins, although no one can say for sure where the fragment fits as many of the wall frescoes of the nearby temple site have deteriorated to the point that they are difficult, if not impossible, to discern. The Rodeni Mural itself is only marginally better preserved and many of the colours used to paint it have since faded.

Di'Kharra

"The War." The scene depicted by the Rodeni Mural is called such because even the surviving fragment shows an intensely graphic scene of war. Important to note is that, as is typical of the style of the time, gleaned from pottery and other wall murals dated to the same period, the figures in the paintings have round, featureless faces and heavily stylized bodies. It is therefore impossible to tell based solely on constitution and skin colour—especially because all the characters in the fresco are painted with the same shade of brown—which side of the battle is which. Fortunately, however, the artists of the time had seemingly agreed, either coincidentally or through emulation, that Tretâllë should be depicted with grey clothing while the Aenêvë were dressed in an array of gaudy colours.

The depiction of the Tretalleri weapons in the fresco further anchor it in the post-diaspora period of Tretalleri history, as the vast majority of warriors on the scene wielded hand-and-a-half swords, with only a few handling the gently-curved blades that would later evolve into the kensarra, the crescent moon blades that became standard issue in the Dominean military. Furthermore, very few of the warriors were mounted, and we know from archaeological digs at later-period sites that Tretâllë would not begin to be depicted primarily on horseback until the Kingship of the Bone Trees hired the Bone rider mercenary corps.

What is most striking about the mural is the way that it depicts the Aenêvë as cowering in front of the Tretalleri onslaught. The front line holds true, but behind these soldiers with colourful tabards are men huddled near the ground, flinging balls of fire over their shoulders. This indicates that the Tretâllë contemporary to the creation of the mural believed the Aenêvë to be sniveling cowards, in sharp contrast with later depictions of the Elledynnë, seen primarily during the Consolidation and the beginning of the Dominion Era, where they are shown as tall, imposing, and dark-eyed with maniacal greed. It is believed that during the period where the Rodeni Mural is thought to have been constructed, the Aenêvë had been so consumed by infighting that the frequency of raids against Tretalleri lands dropped off sharply. This may have contributed to the general belief at the time that the Aenêvë were no longer a threat.

The Figure in White

Of all the figures in the battlefield depicted by the fresco, there is one standing off to a corner. Unfortunately, the part of the figure's upper body and the entire face are missing and are probably beyond recovery. What is striking about this figure, however, is the way that it is painted in pure white. This is of note because during the time, pigment so purely white would have been nigh-impossible to get. Tolvaari histories indicate, however, that during this time, their ancestors were trading from the Vaar-akôri region up north to central Termalttë. It is possible that the pigment was obtained through this little-known trade-route, but it is impossible to ascertain.

Nevertheless, the colour of the figure is not the only interesting fact. It is the only apparently-bare figure in the entire fresco. It is impossible to determine its gender as Tretalleri artists of the time did not concern themselves with depicting the gender of the subject of the painting.

The identity of the figure is one of the most hotly contested topics in modern archaeology. Some argue that the figure is a representation of a sort of proto-Stranger that would eventually gather a cult following that would inform the Averrë Nenn, but some contest that the figure is not the Stranger, but instead the Prophetess Llyrileýwa herself and that the scene depicted is one that immediately follows the liberation of the ancestral Tretâllë from their bondage. The scene is too fragmentary to determine for sure which of the two viewpoints is correct, if either, but nevertheless the points are argued over and over again using largely circumstantial evidence.

The Hidden Painting

A Confederation-sanctioned research initiative on the Rodeni Mural recently released a paper on what might be a hidden painting behind the existing fresco. Although the scientists working on the project were able to determine that the layer of plaster that the fresco was painted on was covering something else up, the nature of what the fresco hides is uncertain. Currently, scientists are still working on ways to discern what is behind the fresco amid fears that attempting to peel it off would only cause damage to the priceless mural and the fresco that could be hidden underneath it. Techniques involving new tetrahertz (10¹² Hz) lasers are being looked at as a possible non-destructive method to peel back the Rodeni Mural to reveal what is underneath.