For the next few hours Metori faced the painting, appreciating the subtle strokes, the gentle pressure changes that created the new patterns, the attention to detail in grinding the ink that had left the heron with subtle color shifts throughout the feather patterns, and even the careful and even lettering. It was obvious that Kaiki was a skilled artisan who had worked hard on this piece. She could imagine time spent at the knees of a master during his own temple education, hours spent gathering supplies to make his own ink, and the joy of a small child whose first composition would be highly praised by his family. His lack of skill in poetry was an issue for her court, but obviously not within Liuqui, in contrast his skill as a painter was much higher than many of the men who simply took
