Keeper of Sweetest Nights

Finally, a new painting! It's my first upload of something I've done using the program MyPaint, which has SO much room for brush and technique exploration, far more than I'm used to - looking forward to practising with it some more. I did, however, revert back to GIMP for initial colour assignment and to later overlay a paper texture.

Inspired by another piece on dA that did the same, I thought I'd add my own little story-line passage. Not completely sure if it adds to or detracts from the painting, but it was something I wanted to try.



"Giver and withholder of the richest dreams, the Keeper of Sweetest Nights graces only those that acknowledge and desire her gifts. Those who do must signify their wish by flanking their sleeping quarters with towers of specific design. These are required to be adorned with distinct embellishments that are removed and remade anew for each visit.

It is said that once upon a moonless night, a lone servant felt courage enough to steal upon the Keeper, but not quite to the mighty apparition herself. Instead, he reached out to touch one of her Great Lamps as it trailed above the stone courtyard. A hair's width before the first finger made contact, the Lamp's tail flared and the servant vanished. The following morning, the stone was found engraved with the strangest of marks. It was as if, for that instant, the tail had burned as hot as the sun.

Beautiful dreams were bestowed that night despite this, but the Keeper was never to visit that residence again, and the master was to lament for her to the end of his days. No other soul has since dared investigate the Great Lamps. Though rumours abound, their true function remains unknown."