Aistra Katradas

""Two or three pieces I find extraordinary. I like his first Hartrai triptych, the very piece that blew him to fame, and of course the King Hyena, which was an extraordinary thing that he came upon, as he himself put it, unintentionally. But he weakened fast, just as he had gotten strong. His demise was swift. I believe that most, including myself, are more fascinated by Katradas' background. If not for it, I don't think his art would be that known.""

Aistra Katradas (17 December, 85 BDY — 5 December, 56 BDY) was a Foreaftian figurative painter and sculptor known for his highly raw, expressive imagery. He is believed to be the only human hybrid to have ever crossed a dimension, albeit partially, and to have died of an interdimensional parasite.

He produced series of images of metamorphoses of unidentifiable beings and portraits of close friends, with contorted and abstracted figures sometimes isolated in geometrical cages, set against flat backgrounds. His work, consisting of c. 680 extant paintings along with many others he destroyed, typically focused on a single subject for sustained periods, often in triptych or diptych formats, with the subjects often being a variation of a motif Aistra was mesmerised by at the time; bio-morphs in the -70s, isolated child-like figures and portraits of friends in the -60s, animals (particularly hyenas) and lone figures in the early -50s.

Aistra was thought to have suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions at the time, which was replaced by the dimension crossing theory after his death. He often neglected his physical health, not eating properly and abusing alcohol, although he worried about his mental health. He spent time in psychiatric hospitals self-admitted, although without much improvement. After he discharged himself and moved to Tirher, he came under the care of the herbalist Astraxas Wagg.

Early life
Aistra Katradas was born on 17 December, 85 BDY, into the Foreaftian Katradas family, mother dying during labour. His birth immediately caused worries not only because had his mother died, but also because his skin was unnaturally gray and spotted. He appeared distant from birth, seemingly dissociating and even hallucinating, talking to what wasn’t there and avoiding imaginary terrain. When Aistra was 6 he also began scribbling what appeared to be consistent but indecipherable writing on his drawings, which later escalated to etching them into furniture and walls. When asked what it meant he said he didn’t know and that “a being friend” guided his hand as he was doing it. Indeed, when episodes of manic writing would occur, Aistra sometimes did it just as fluently with his non-dominant left hand while not being ambidextrous. He was under close watch and testing for the first years of his life, practically living in the hospital until the age of 8 and his condition was given the name “Katradas Syndrome”.

Arts
He began drawing at an early age, sculpting his "being friends" out of pond mud and drawing them with pastels by the age of five. He picked up painting at age 13, which he took a liking to almost instantly.

Married life
Aistra was forced into an arranged marriage

Appearance
Aistra was quite tall for someone from the Katradas family, who were usually petite. He was very thin as a result of neglecting eating, described as ghostly by some, both because of his figure and his skin, which was abnormally gray for a human. His body was covered in light and dark freckles and he had large prominent ears, which he was bullied for in school.

Father
Aistra did not have a good relationship with his father. Mr. Katradas made no bones about being ashamed of his son and blaming him for his wife’s death. He wasn’t happy to have his family name tied to a medical term either.

Lirfi Hartrai
In mid-63 BDY, shortly after being released from a mental hospital, Aistra met Lirfi Hartrai at a public cafeteria, where he had been working as a server. Known to his family and friends simply as "Lee", he was a handsome and bit spoilt young man, with a mind set on establishing a powerful House, which at the time he had started doing. An intimate friendship sprang up between Aistra and Lirfi and by 64 BDY Aistra was completely infatuated with Lifri.

Meta trivia

 * Aistra was created on 24 May, 2020.
 * His first name, although being Foreaftian, can also mean "passion" in Lithuanian.
 * Aistra was largely inspired by Francis Bacon and Vincent Van Gogh