Chapter 1: Glass in the Sugar (To listen to the electronic pop song inspired by this chapter, click here to visit Tryst Hoarfrost's bandcamp page.) Sir Jaikob van Compen; Dutch Artist, Architect, Romantic. Circa 1648. I am deeply disturbed by my lack of inspiration as of late. Indeed, my brushes and pencils which once brought me such a sweet-as-sugar sense of peace and joy now bring me a piercing sense of anxiety and sorrow, like a glass shard to the heart. Staring at a blank canvas, I am overcome with a longing to morph it into something real and alive! Yet, if nothing comes from nothing, than nothing I must be. For this artistic dry spell of mine shall surely be the death of me. I have been commissioned to provide glorious paintings for the great orange hall that I helped design; indeed, the beauty and craftsmanship of the hall’s interior is deserving of nothing less than the most beautiful and technically proficient works of the visual arts! Why can I not concentrate? Why can ...