Annia Von Lichtstadt (Painting)

Standing tall and proud, this blond haired woman might, at first glance, be something out of a fairy tale.

Clad in gleaming armour, and bearing the regalia of Kohlingen, this knightly form stands tall, with her sword before her, and her shield by her side. Blond hair cascades down her shoulders, her features are fair and firm, her eyes steel-grey.

The backdrop is a misty scene of towers and stone walls like some sort of castle or palace. Closer inspection shows that it is not quite so though. The towers are crumbling, the stone walls laden with slime and moss.

Likewise as one inspects the knight closer they might see rust showing through her gleaming plate mail, that her tabard is stained, thread-bear, her sword bears nicks, and is covered faintly with something wet, and crimson. The runes on it do not shine right either, less with a brilliant blue of heavenly blessing more with something else, dark, ruddy, ominous.

Look closer still, and there is something wrong with the woman’s face. The upper lip protrudes slightly, a hint of fangs showing. At the corner of her eyes something red gathers, blood. It is as if she is holding back bloody tears.

The expression itself is wrong. It is not one of pride, or joy, or compassion – it is one of carefully controlled rage and sorrow, as if she’s holding in a tsunami of fury and greif behind that composed, steely expression. The intensity of it might make the viewer feel a mixture of fear, unease, and sympathy.

At the knights feet rest bones, shattered armour and blades. A war hammer, sundered at the hilt lies half buried in the earth. A set of scales lies near it, all askew and out of balance.

At the bottom right of the picture, very small, is a tiny black rams head, in profile, with ‘A.S.’ beneath it.