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Re: Musical Interlude [Petra]

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 4:29 pm
by Finn
It was a little strange—actually, it was a lot strange what with the woman's strange companion lurking—but perhaps the scholars who considered themselves more serious tended to ignore the jumped up minstrel poring over maps and digging up fragments of old stories in the Archives. This woman was speaking to him as if what he had to say carried import, even if they were only his opinions based on what little he had managed to learn in his time. But at least some of the scholars came from wealth and privilege, so he didn't expect to be treated equally, and while he was proud of House Zatrian's patronage, it wasn't as though the Great Lord took him hunting on his dragon every other week-end.

In the end, he was still just Finn from an unnamed village on Lake Udori, trying to make something of himself—preferably a bard.

But he paid her the same compliment, listening to what she said and thinking about it before he responded. It seemed from the mirth in her laugh and in her symphony that she appreciated him as well.

Inspired, perhaps, his reply came in song:

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams; —
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.


He laughed as well.

"I have focused for so long and making sure I had room and board, strings for my lute, and some extra coin for a rainy day, I haven't had much time to devote to preventing the next Sundering, but I hope my work makes the world a better place. I don't think I am rightly fit to do anything else." He might have been a decent blacksmith had he stayed to apprentice at his mother's side, but it hadn't inspired him the way music did and so he had made his choice and, thankfully, his family had supported it.

"I'm Finn, by the bye. Thank you for listening."

Re: Musical Interlude [Petra]

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 11:54 am
by Petra



Petra's response comes not to Finn's words, but his music. Her voice is small. Sweet and dulcet, it is like unrefined honey - golden, saccharine, and ever-so-slightly bitter. It is the quiet shuffling of satin and the smooth grind of stone. It is wind through willow-trees - appropriate, in this little slice of solitude.

Great hail! we cry to the comers,
From the dazzling unknown shore;
Bring us hither your sun and your summers;
And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
and things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
and a singer who sings... no more.


She is blushing slightly when she stops, embarrassed at the intimacy of it. She has never sung for anyone before. It's more words she's spoken in a row to anyone before, perhaps. Her accent comes out, that hard-won and poverty-carved accent. It comes out strong as she lilts over the notes, and adds her music to Finn's. It is the mingling of souls that makes her shudder - that peculiar, unique blending. She has never quite felt it with another human. Only Yesod's bind can compare, and that so alien as to be entirely removed from this simple human experience.

"...I never knew the tune. Only read the words. What a gift you've given me - something I could never intuit on my own. A missing piece to a puzzle - what a gift that is."

Petra stands, perhaps in part from the childish need to run from embarrassment. She is still prey to those particular emotions, even now. So little practice, after all - so little armor around a fragile heart.

"I'm Petra. Initiate Cormorant at the College of Spells. I'm on the Street of Flowers, just past the Illian Bend. I don't doubt we'll see each other again. But one song is enough for me, I'm afraid."

The pause between the last two words makes it almost feel like a new sentence - a self-contained idea. The looming of the great metal demon makes that seem all the more likely.

She takes a step, but stops with it, looking over her shoulder. Silhouetted against the sun, her face glows with a favorable radiance - all detail is darkened, save for her predatory eyes.

"We who would make the world better should stick together. I might just make a start with you. After all:

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand,
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name:
Mother of Exiles.
"

Her recitation is crisp and perfect, and as she holds her hand up to wave a goodbye, just for a moment, the sun is held up by her hand. A very favorable angle indeed.


Re: Musical Interlude [Petra]

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 6:02 pm
by Finn
Finn could do naught but smile at her response, joining into the song where he hadn't expected it. More of her symphony revealed itself, perhaps now that they had spent some time together and sung the same song: embarrassment, connection, perhaps hope. It seemed to startle her, and she stood. He followed suit, as it was only good manners. He might have been a village boy, but his parents had raised him to treat people with respect.

The minstrel had enjoyed the particular music of her dialect when it had come to the fore, but he knew people could be touchy about such things, so he didn't stop her to ask about it. He wasn't going to hold her here if she needed to be gone, either. In reality, he ought to get back to his own studies, both for himself and for Lyra. She was, after all, paying him, which had turned out to be a good thing. Not having to busk quite so much meant that he could save his creative energies for the Academy while he was there.

He dropped a bow at her, not courtly or showy. If she was an initiate of the Circle, he ought to ask his tutor about her. It didn't hurt to know more. He always felt like everyone else knew more than he did anyway.

"Well met, Petra," he said simply and since she was preparing to quit his company, he added, "You can find me playing sometimes in the taproom at the Crown and Lion in the Low-City, as well. If I'm not there, you can always leave a note with the proprietor." At least, it seemed from what she said that she might wish to encounter him again.

He smiled at the picturesque exit she made, murmuring to himself, "I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

When she was gone, he sighed and put his lute back in its case. There was nothing for it. His break was over and it was time to venture back into the archives.
.
fin.

Re: Musical Interlude [Petra]

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 6:53 pm
by Paragon
P A R A G O N


Petra
XP: 8. Can be used for Summoning.
Lore:
Summoning: Advanced Principles
Summoning: Dark Pacts
Summoning: Hesychastic Theory
Botany: Northern Trees
Instrumentals: Music Theory
Instrumentals: Lyricism
Singing: Counterpoint
Singing: Contemporary Music

Finn
XP: 8. 2 XP can be used for Mesmer if you choose.
Lore:
Music, Lute
Fingering Practice
Letting the Music Wander
Using the Lute for Percussion
Making Music Sound Like a Question
Major Chord, Minor Lift
Festival Tunes
Music, Singing
Testing Out Lyrics
Repeating the Chorus
Song Histories
Zaichaeri Court Dances
Stringing a Lute
Politics
Knowing Where the Power Lies

Note: Music is the window to the soul. Or was it eyes? Maybe it was eyes...? This was a fun read! I enjoyed the interactions. Let me know if you require any further assistance.