Quotation for a Sculpture

“Hai!”

Estee seemed not at all bothered that the High General of the Rethavok was standing in front of her, blocking the light from her work. Sure, her world had been turned upside down and destroyed, pretty much literally, but she had so much more time to work on her art now.

“Hello there, little one.”

“How can I help you today?” Estee beamed, taking lumps of clay and mushing them between her fingers, making small balls. The balls were then smooshed one at a time along the bottom of a draconic jaw, slowly being turned into scales. “This dirt clay’s not the best but it’ll do! I have to do something to pass the time!”

Estee’s joy suddenly trailed off. She had finally recognised who this being was.

“Oh. Ser High General! Um… Hello…”

Kenon smiled, amused by this little Skyavok. It was hard to determine her age, but one would have considered her to be incredibly young. The tiny thing was not even a meter and a half tall, with grey-brown skin and cream armour, most of which was stained with clay.

“Hello. I would like to ask a favour of you.”

“A favour?”

“Yes. You are a talented sculptress, yes?”

Estee nodded. “I am! I have done sculptures and statues of many a famous Skyavok!”

Kenon smiled some more, leaning down and inspecting Estee’s current work. It was clearly just a passion project, a sculpture of a draconic being, but it was very, very good. Despite having no tools on hand and being very unfinished, it was shaping up to be a beautiful, detailed, intricate design.

“How long does your work take, little one?” Kenon asked. “They are wonderful. Genuinely awe-inspiring.”

Estee shrugged, going back to making tiny scales. “It really depends on how big it is. Thraki are harder to make because of the wings and scales and spikes and stuff. But if you provide the materials, I’ll happily make anything!”

“Wonderful… You will find all the details in here…” Kenon reached down, towards the satchel he was carrying. Being a personal errand, he didn’t have staff around to hold things for him. After some rummaging around, Kenon pulled out four folders and filed through them. The first three, he handed to Estee, but the last one he kept to himself.

“Ooh! You want me to sculpt three of the Dessaron?” Estee beamed, flicking through the folders. They were mostly just pictures and news articles. “They say that no one really knows what happened, they got caught in the whole… universe exploding thing…”

The High General hesitated, then sat down next to Estee. “That… is only half the story. What I am about to tell you is confidential, understand? You getting this commission relies on you keeping quiet on what I am about to say. Understood?”

Estee blinked, then nodded. “Yeah. Of course.”

“Very well… What happened to Tenuk, Retvik and Elksia is only known to a few. You see, we needed an army to fight the Voidborns. Retvik and Elksia, bless their souls, were among those chosen to become demi-gods in order to fight that battle. Unfortunately, they were both gravely injured, protecting Kinisis’s inner sanctum, and Kairos had them taken away, outside this universe. Tenuk was taken by Kinisis to protect her in person from the Voidborn armies.”

“Oh…” Estee wasn’t sure she understood all of that, but it all sounded bad. “So… they sacrificed themselves?”

“Yes.”

“And you want to make a memorial for them?”

“Yes.”

Estee smiled and nodded some more. “I can do that for you! But… what about Arkay? You can’t make a sculpture of three of the Dessaron and not the fourth!”

Kenon frowned, looking down at the last folder. He sighed, then handed it to Estee.

“This is… also confidential, what I am about to say…”

“The same… as before?”

“Yes. But more so. You mention this to anyone else, I will have you arrested.”

“Alllright…” Estee stopped what she was doing and properly turned to face Kenon. “So?”

“Arkay was Arkadin, the Thantophor and Lord of Decay. When… when we were losing the battle… Arkadin sacrificed himself. He destroyed the Voidborn menace… and died in the process.” Kenon tutted, hesitating briefly. “I considered Arkadin to be my son. I did not treat him as well as I should have. Alas, he is finally at peace now.”

“I… I’m sorry, ser…” Estee muttered. “We all make mistakes.”

“Yes, we do…” Kenon shook his head, changing his tone. “Please, take a look at the information I have given you, then give me a quotation on how long this will take and the materials you will need.”

“Uh… when do I start?”

“As soon as possible…” Kenon grunted, picking himself up. “Now, if you excuse me, I have work to do…”