The Legend of Cleo
“Beneath layers of gray and dust, some truths shine like light through clouds.”
The Line through Clouds
Twenty years ago, in the dwarven village of Amberstone, along the western coasts of Louthiran, a mural appeared on the town hall’s front wall overnight.
The canvas was the smooth-cut blackstone favored by the Amberstone masons. Over it, the artist had painted a backdrop of heavy, grey clouds. Through them cut a jagged line, like a crack or bolt. The shapes formed along this break shimmered with color: vivid hues of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The line did not divide, but revealed; a full spectrum, shedding light into the gray of life.
This mural, now known as "The Line Through Clouds", was signed only with a single word, scratched faintly into the lower right corner:
Cleo.
When the mural appeared, many elders called for it to be removed.
But not all agreed.
A child, mocked only weeks before for wearing colors “meant for girls”, refused to stop wearing them. A merchant’s apprentice, long whispered to be “odd in the heart,” began to hum at work once more. And the local blacksmith laid a flower beneath the mural when he thought no one was watching.
The painting was scrubbed off within a week, but it reappeared three days later, more vibrant than before. After five more failed attempts to get rid of it, the town council gave up trying to erase it.
It remains to this day.
Rumored Cleos
The Blind Painter of Duralis
An elder elf, blind from birth
Morga of Greenmist
A trans dwarf painter and sculptor of great reknown
The Choir of Colors
A traveling troup that translates Cleo artwork to song
Common Sayings
"If you want to live, paint your life in color."
"It appeared like a Cleo"
"Leave space for the line."
Notable Murals
The Line Through Clouds (Amberstone, Louthiran)
Rumored to be the first mural by Cleo. A rainbow fracture through grey storm clouds. Now replicated in hidden carvings, charms, and embroidery.
The Three Doors (Thandor, Keraian)
Three painted doors: one broken, one locked, one open to stars.
The Garden Without Walls (Elaris, Zolirak)
A vast vine painted over a ruined temple wall, entwining symbols of queer love in every blossom. Said to grow a little further each year.
The Artist and the Myth
The First Cleo
Two decades later, scholars still argue whether the murals attributed to Cleo are the work of a single hand or many. But on one point, there is rare agreement: the identity of the artist behind that first mural.
They were a queer, non-binary halfling, known to a few in Amberstone by their gentle voice and quiet strangeness. In a place where law bound every name to record and every role to expectation, Cleo had neither title nor trade. They lived on the fringes of the village and were always seen with discomfort reserved for those “who do not fit.”
What drove them to paint the wall is unknown. Perhaps it was an act of defiance or even, one of hope. When the mural appeared, and the eyes of law turned to find someone to blame, the young halfling vanished. Whether they fled, taken, or chose to disappear remains uncertain.
What Followed
In the years that followed, murals in Cleo’s style began appearing elsewhere; first in other dwarven surface towns, then in human villages, and eventually in elven cities and faraway isles. No two murals were alike. Yet all bore echoes of that first: the fracture of color, the defiance of grey and tthe refusal to be erased.
They appeared in places where they were least welcome: cities where same-gender love was condemned, markets where the little folk - halflings and gnomes - were mocked as lesser. They were not only declarations of queerness, though queerness was always a part of them.
Each mural carries a message of resistance: to tyranny, to conformity, to silence. They give voice to the ignored, painted presence where others saw absence, celebrated love where it had been denied. They glorify freedom as a truth unapologetically lived.
"Cleo was one of us. Now, they are all of us."
To this day, no one has been confirmed to be the original Cleo. Artists and wanderers have claimed inspiration, some even the signature, but none have ever been proven true.
This has only strengthened the legend. Today, “Cleo” is no longer understood as a single person, but as a symbol. A title, perhaps, worn by those who dare to create space where none was given. Whether these new artists are connected or simply painting in tribute matters less than the truth of what they do.
They make room for the queer, the silenced and the unseen. For all who were born to live outside the narrow boxes someone else drew.
The truth is, we may never know who Cleo truly was. And maybe that’s as it should be.
In the end, what matters most is not who painted the wall, but why the wall needed the painting to begin with.
All written content is original, drawn from myth, memory, and madness.
All images are generated via Midjourney using custom prompts by the author, unless otherwise stated.
Awww this is such a heartwarming and powerful story!!! ;u; Also, I love your drawing!! It may be "simple", but it adds a lot of charm <3
Thanks CoolG, I am glad you liked it! As for the "drawing", it's silly but I like it XD