The Artist Prince

Ricardo Valentino is the prince of a tiny city state atop a small mountain range amidst many of the worlds nations. His kingdom's position offered it isolation from the rest of the world for millennia until explorers dare to venture up the steep and rocky slopes to find the golden city atop the high peaks. It lies on a plateau with rich soil ample water, and oddly warm weather despite the snow caps it hides amongst. Years of independence have lead to a unique culture that continues its five century long renaissance and a lack of Wars both foreign and domestic have cemented the place as a paradise amongst unstable neighbors. It acts as a neutral party, hosting many of the worlds summits and peace talks in the palace walls.

In recent years, the aging arts of the last century have mostly died off or fallen ill, leading to a stagnation in the continuation of the renaissance and halt to cultural progress. These world renowned men and women have left the world with very few apprentices or inspiration for the next generation. The kingdom and, in some small way the world, hinge on the revenue provided by the works of its artisans to keep the city alive and prosperous.

At the head of all of this is the ruler, who have all been artists of some kind since the beginning of the monarchy. Painters, sculptors, musicians, weavers, and more have held the throne and set the example and kept the spirit of creativity alive for the citizens. Art is practically apart of their genes and have culminated in Prince Ricardo, who is currently the most talented of them all. He is a genius lyricist, able to play a multitude of instruments, a master level painter and sculptor, writer of the most refined plays and novels, and trend setter in the world of fashion and woven materials.

At a young age, while being tutored in all of these fields, his father passed away from a rare illness and the poor boy was left alone to sit on the throne. His first works were created in this time, influenced by his deep sadness a began an era of meloncoly works called the Blue Period. Now he has flourished as an artist and has been dealing with the current cultural crisis. Knowing that his people and some of the peace in the world all depends on his work has given him overwhelming stress and blocked his creative flow. Canvases remain blank, marble block stand unchipped, and papers sit in stacks unstained by ink. Prince Valentino sits in his throne most days trying to fight his depression and figure a way out of this creative drought.

But one day the prince realized that the problem is that he was waiting for inspiration to come to him rather than seeking it out. He'd rarely been outside of the walls of the city and he was bound to find inspiration out in the world. He soon bid farewell to his people and set out into the world to wander its roads and vowed to come back with art that would inspire countless generations after him. Lately he'd been fascinated by portraits and paintings of women and wished to find the most renowned, refined, and remarkable women in the world to paint, sculpt, and write about. As he wander from place to place, he sought after ladies, duchesses, and most of all, princesses. He wished to paint them to be seen in their most beautiful forms, naked, but many were unwilling. So she opted to find and pay anyone who could provide him with access to their grounds to spy on them as they bathed or undress. He also was willing to pay for any rumors or stories that could give him inspiration for lyrics, novels, or scenes.

He has prided himself on his ability to recreate the accounts of these people from even the most simple of sentences and lack of description. This artwork is obviously sold underground and privately also that he does not gain the attention of its subjects who would most certainly hunt the prince down for such ruinous works. The prince has visited many lands and captured the hearts and minds of those wishing to see such highly regarded ladies laid bare before their eyes. Maybe you've heard of these women and maybe some of these stories play out as you have heard while others seem like nonsense made up by , perversely minded peasants. Or maybe you will get the chance to gaze upon his works as the spread across the land and new ones are crafted every day. But what might happen if these women were to find out about these intimate works that show more to the public than they wished or paint them in a different light that may or may not contain truth.