Book One – Chapter 11

Well, Master Iridin accepted his explanation, but obviously, he did not buy it. He had always been keenly aware of his students’ abilities and their tendencies to conceal imperfections in their creations. Even now, whenever Yves worked on a new creation and encountered a particularly challenging section, one that he either had to master or obscure, he could not shake the echo of Iridin’s ever-persistent scrutiny: “A design of will or a lack of skill?”

Master Iridin had challenged Yves to make his next shaman an obvious female. The result of that challenge was Mushroombird, who also descended from tairan, but stood significantly shorter than Twig and boasted much more pronounced feminine features. Yves had made her proportions count in all the right places. And then, to top it off, he had adorned her with a meticulously detailed coat of feathers.

Birds are among the most challenging creatures to imitate. Feathers, with their intricate structure and flexibility during movement, demand intense focus on detail. Yves excelled in conjuring birds, and he had transferred those skills to the design of Mushroombird. He had crafted for her a coat made of white duck feathers, complete with an equally elaborate hood. At the time, he believed there was nothing about furs or feathered garments that could not somehow be justified as shaman’s attire, and so he went all out. While Twig represented an artistic choice born from Yves’ past limitations as an illusionist, Mushroombird, a beautiful female adorned in the most delicate robes of feathers, had been a full-on brag.