Artist Genie [Tasked]

Shaped long ago from djinn and dao, artist genies include true artists, such as poets, composers, musicians, painters, sculptors and weavers, and master craftsmen, among them potters, carvers, smiths, gemcutters, calligraphers, tailors, gardeners and maskmakers, who furiously insist their work is art too. Both produce masterpieces in very little time and willingly work for an openhanded master, though they do the work they enjoy before the work they must. Their bodies follow their crafts: sculptors have heavy shoulders, weavers strong arms and nimble fingers, painters may be frail but sharp-eyed, and every craftsman has deft hands and a good eye for proportion.

Mistreated, enslaved or charmed artist genies never produce their best, though their devotion keeps them from deliberately ruining a piece unless abused without hope of escape.

All share five powers usable twice daily each: stone shape, polymorph self, duodimension, mirror image and illusion. Their illusions can be seen and felt, need no concentration, and endure until a touch of cold iron or a dispel ends them; they use them to sketch ideas before making the real thing, and lazy ones use them to fool patrons.

Artist genies adopt the trappings of whoever they live among, compete fiercely with each other and talk shop only with those who understand. They dress either at the daring edge of fashion or in shabby, outdated rags. Pure artists are hedonists with odd needs: stewed apples, fermented fish, daily strolls through parks, wine, feasting, scented baths or exotic company.

Insulting their work demands revenge. An informed critique may earn only gossip, while ignorant criticism can make an unstable artist attack outright. Subtler ones mock the critic in a new work, favor the critic's rival, quietly raise their prices or, at worst, poison a clay vessel to kill the user slowly.

They need refined patrons and high culture, since only experts appreciate them. Often they neglect food in favor of materials, and an artist genie kept idle and away from its tools for long either dies or goes mad.