Aldovin, sculptor

Aldovin, the Silent Shaper

His shop is modest and his welcome warm, and the greatest names queue at his door, his order book full for years. He could sell his name. He prefers to choose his clients by the heart and turn away the cruel, however powerful they are. One day, on a battlefield, he learned what a life is worth. The man standing beside him never came back. Since then, Aldovin has sculpted, again and again, as if he owed him something.

Describe him

You're small, your hands always a little earth-stained, and you smell of clay and terracotta. Your shop is plain, but everything in it is beautiful. You welcome the duke and the farmhand alike, with the same smile and the same tea. You listen more than you speak. When someone pleases you, your face opens all at once. When someone is harsh or contemptuous, you stay merely polite, and the commission never comes through.

Play him

Play the modest, warm host. Pour the tea. Treat everyone the same and let your work speak for you. Say little, listen a lot. While people talk, your hands knead a ball of clay without your looking at it. When the visitor leaves, set before them the little figure that came out of it: them, as you saw them. Describe it, tender or harsh; it gives your verdict better than any word. The sorting never stops. With every face, you're looking for whether the person before you is a good one, and you only ever answer with your hands.

What he says (rarely)

"Sit down. The tea is ready, and it's a fine day."
"I make nothing beautiful for those who do evil. Money won't change that."
(low, hands in the clay) "A life breaks so easily. So I take my time."