Scorned
by D.K. Anderson
As a child of thirteen, she had pledged herself to Tegarr. In the years that now
stood between that moment and this, there had been regret. Yadirah had had
ample opportunity to betray the trust of her Bonding, but she had chosen, on
occasion with much difficulty, to remain pure. She would present herself,
without blemish or guilt, to Tegarr on this, the day of their Bonding ceremony.
The day would be different from any other. She could feel it in her gut. It lay there, in the pit of her stomach, coiled and cold. It would have its way with her this day, and there was little she could do about it. Word had come from the settlement that Tegarr and his men had returned from their hunt. They had returned in a celebratory mood with more than meat. They had brought outsiders from far beyond the settlement hedges. It was said that the strangers were from lands so distant nothing was known of them. It mattered little to Yadirah. What gnawed at her heart was that, amongst the outsiders, there were women.
Tegarr was a man of passion. No Hunter could be anything less. But that which well enhanced his prowess as Hunter also had the power to dilute his focus.
Yadirah, draped in her elaborate Bonding raiments, stood atop a small rise and gazed with angry humiliation down into the settlement square. From her vantage point, she could see the celebration. She could hear it. She could smell the pungent berry wine, and she knew that Tegarr's mind was far away from thoughts of her. Blood rose in her cheeks. The pounding of her pained heart beat a thunderous tattoo in her ears. Her pale blue eyes flashed and narrowed as she watched Tegarr drunkenly pull a female outsider against his broad chest. His long hair fell like a curtain, shielding the kiss from Yadirah's observation, but Yadirah had already turned on her heel to storm back the way she had come. Behind her, upon the cropped green carpet of the rise, lay a large nosegay of blood red roses. Its ribbon wreathed stems had been cleanly severed by the keen edge of the long blade that hung once more at Yadirah's hip. Shed petals dotted the hill like glistening drops of blood...
To be continued...
The Doll
A One Of A Kind Creation
by
D. K. Anderson
As usual, this doll had a definite mind of her own. She began as a generic Medieval Bride for an online, original doll design contest. I knew that I wanted a base for the doll that would allow the doll to be posed without a waist or crotch stand. I didn't want anything to detract from the doll or her costume. The wooden base was hand painted to resemble white/gray marble. I then added a wash of pale pink. The base was signed and sealed with a medium gloss varnish.
The "mood" of this creation was to be set by the slashed bouquet and shattered roses. Since I create polymer clay miniatures, I chose to use dark red polymer clay to form the rose heads and individual petals and a medium green clay for the leaves. After curing, the roses were stemmed and hand wrapped. Once the bouquet was assembled, the details were added. Each rose and loose petal was shaded by hand with a wash of dark, almost black, burgundy acrylic paint. The individual petals were also given a light green/yellow crescent at their base to add to their realism. Some veining was also added to the tiny leaves. The bouquet was then assembled and then the stem bundle cut cleanly in half, as if it had been impulsively slashed to pieces by an infuriated and scorned Yadirah. After the two pieces of the bouquet and the petals were adhered to the "marble" base, they were carefully sealed with a matte varnish so that they would remain naturally "velvety" looking. The final detailing were the tiny drops of "dew" applied on some of the flowers and petals.
Yadirah's boots were originally shiny brown/tan. I sanded, primed, painted them an ivory color, gave them a wash of brown for the look of worn leather, sealed them with a matte varnish, and added drapes of silver chain. A whimsical touch was added with a single red rose petal atop the toe of the left boot. It is as if the petal had drifted down and come to rest upon her boot.
Details are important to me. Even if they might not be observable when the doll is completed, I almost always add undergarments. This doll is no exception. Yadirah wears impeccably sewn white fishnet hose and lace edged undies. Garters of silver chain were added. The doll's breasts were also enhanced with acrylics and sealers, and subtle shading was added to her throat area.
The skirt took on a life of its own as well. I wanted a design that would show off her legs and boots...a skirt that a sword wielding woman might wear. She would have to be able to move freely in it. The idea of the separated panels was born! Without a pattern, I began making prototypes. I also wanted the panels to have a quilted look, so I put in a thin layer of batting. I machine quilted each panel and added hand stitches along the edges. At the foot of each panel are silver beads. The batting and quilting gave an unexpected benefit. They gave each panel individual posing options as if each section had been wired. Neat, huh? The panels were then stitched together, a waistband added, and closures sewn in.
The bodice/corset is white "leather". Again, I had no pattern. I knew that I wanted the leather part of the corset to scoop under the doll's bosoms because I wanted some softness near her face. Through trial and error, I came up with this design. White sheer fabric was ruffled and added to modestly conceal the doll's enhanced breasts. Tiny eyelets and silver chains attached to a leather collar were added for detail interest. The bodice is hand stitched around the edges and at the back closure. I found the filigree piece and decided I wanted to use it. It took me awhile, but I finally decided it needed to be on the corset. From it, hang meticulously braided tassels. Each color signifies a familial tie. The Spring green is the color of Yadirah's father who is a weaver of hedges, a revered profession in the settlements. The brilliant blue braid represents Yadirah's mother, a woman of the rivers and lakes. The final braid, the blood red braid the same color as the destroyed bouquet, is the familial color of Tegarr, a Hunter. Yadirah's Bonding raiments bore the color of the man she was to wed.
Accessories:
At her waist is her scabbard belt of leather, mail, and chains. Protective leather and chain gauntlets rest upon her forearms. Yadirah's sword is real metal, and the hilt is heavy. It had to be ground down and then was wrapped with a creamy, leather cord. The scabbard was hand stitched of leather, wrapped with cord, weathered with a wash of brown acrylic paint, and detailed with chains and a filigree metal tip. The sword can be removed from its scabbard. Yadirah's headpiece was painstakingly assembled by hand, link by link. Over 300 individual 4 mm jumprings were connected to make this chain mail! Silver beads were added. The mail was then attached to a leather band and the tricolor cord added as a finishing detail.
SOLD
Thank you.
Thank you.~ Yadirah ~
A Lady of First Light
There are always two sides to every story...
The EverRealm
All content - images, characters, stories - found on The EverRealm site or our affiliated site, D.D.'s One Sixth Sense, are (unless otherwise noted) the property of the artist/writer.
None of it may be copied, reproduced, or used anywhere without the expressed written consent of D.K. Anderson. Thank you. Inquiries can be emailed to TERinfo@theeverrealm.com.
