Aoren's Song
Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2022 12:18 am
68th of Frost, Year 121 Steel
Mainstage, Golden Peacock Theater
Talon Novalys was many things, made many decisions, but he had left too many variables and so Finn had undertaken to make some decisions for him. He had, at least, given Finn a date, and Finn had told him to await word. The minstrel with pretensions of becoming a bard had put plans into motion. He had Arry talk to the impresario, who had persuaded the artistic director that the theater could be dark for an evening with help from the angel investor, who was Avialae and needed to hear nothing more than that a command performance had been issued by the Shinsei. While Finn had definitely dropped one of the heaviest names in the city, he was gratified to see that he could make important things happen in this city that he had made his home.
The theater was empty, nary a seat taken. The stage was bare but for the ghost light that legend had it kept the spirits of unhappy actors at bay, though it was more likely it prevented anyone from tripping and falling and dying in the night because nobody could get to them. It was in that superstitious light that Finn knelt and prayed.
"Is this weird?" he murmured, reaching out to his friend. "I pray you, join me in the Golden Peacock Theater. With Lord Aoren."
Now that he too had the Rune of Traversion, he knew at least one of the demigod's tricks, though he wasn't nearly so accomplished with it. But he knew enough to offer the spatial map of the place from his vantage point, highlighting routes into the balcony, though he couldn't see which ones led to the Palace of the First Wind. The balcony was dark, and from there, they would be able to see him and hear him, but would have a bit of anonymity, some privacy for the shared moment.
When he felt the divine Presence in the room, he looked up with a beatific smile and got to his feet. He bowed.
"Shinsei. Lord Aoren. Welcome, and thank you for coming." He paused. "At the beginning of Ash, Talon asked me to compose a song for you to honor you and express his feelings. This was before he heard my capstone, so it was a leap of faith, which..." He grinned. "I suppose that's something a demigod ought to be able to do before asking mere mortals to do the same. In any case, this is your song, Lord Aoren. I'll let you name it if you like it."
He picked up the ghost light and walked it off stage as the footlights rose. He helped a woman wheel a grand pianoforte out, then nodded to her as she went to retrieve her bench. Glancing back, they nodded to each other when she was ready for him to begin.
Finn looked down, gathering himself as the pianoforte chimed out a simple, quiet introduction. Then, he looked up and began to sing, his voice projecting to the back of the theater without raising his volume too high.
"I'm trying to hold my breath—" His breath hitched, a bit of drama prescribed by Arry that he had liked.
"Let it stay this way
Can't let this moment end."
He remembered the proposal, the swell of happiness in their two symphonies, and he imagined trying to hold onto that for as long as possible, the simple, sweet moments in life that were gone all too quickly.
"You set off a dream in me
Getting louder now
Can you hear it echoing?"
The song asked the question, as if a dream of forever together was reverberating along with his voice in the amazing acoustics of the vaunted theater.
"Take my hand," he sang, hand reaching toward the balcony, as musicians began to walk out on cat-quiet feet. Some carried their instruments only, but others carried chairs as well so they could sit and properly play.
"Will you share this with me?
Because, darling, without you..."
He placed such emphasis on the last two words; the meaning of the entire song hinged upon them. The musicians all hit their marks a couple of beats before Finn's voice began to swell, supported by strings and woodwinds now.
"All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the night sky
Will never be enough
Never be enough."
Talon was born with the promise of a throne. He had risen to divinity. Though the first might be taken from him, chances were good that he would be the next Shozake, a God-King for Kalzasi. But even all that and what more he might earn with his subjects and his Dawnmartyrs, Finn realized he wouldn't be fulfilled if Aoren wasn't there with him.
"Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world but it'll
Never be enough
Never be enough for me!"
His voice began to soar, the violins piercing the air with sweet harmonies. This was simpler than his capstone had been, but it was focused and filled with emotions he had witnessed from both of them, as well as how his own had resonated. There was a longing in his voice, and then it was accompanied by Arry's when the golden half-elf walked out to harmonize with the high notes.
"Never, never
Never, never
Never
For me
For me!"
The syllables rolled like waves, or a heartbeat.
"Never enough
Never enough
Never enough
For me
For me
For me!"
If the song was simple, so was love. He had taken in so much and tried to edit it down, distill it into something pure, and this was what came out. He repeated himself, but the tempo accelerated wildly and it was better with a second voice, just as Talon's life was better with Aoren in it. This time, too, Arry joined his Mesmer with Finn's and through it, he projected all the particular melodies of love he had heard from Talon and Aoren when in each other's presence. The magic came late, only adorning the music after the music had stood on its own, but it held up an emotional mirror to the men in the balcony.
"All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the night sky
Will never be enough
Never be enough
Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world, but it'll
Never be enough
Never be enough for me!"
Because, darling, the song had sung, without you, everything wouldn't be enough. As complex lyrics gave way to repetition and sheer emotive force, Finn toyed with the heights of his voice. He was sweating from the effort of supporting the belting of his chest voice so high, but he had wanted the song to reach for something difficult, something almost celestial, as he imagined Aoren must sometimes feel reaching out for Talon.
How could any man love a God enough? How could a God love a man, a being so much smaller than Him?
But they did somehow. Perhaps it was a miracle.
"Never, never
Never, never
Never
For me
For me
Never enough
Never, never
Never enough
Never, never
Never enough for me
For me
For me!"
The instruments dropped out suddenly. He paused, wobbling as if the last had taken his all. Finn almost whispered the last line.
"For me."
The musicians played a final, soft chord, then they all carefully rose and bowed as one. They crept offstage again, this time leaving their chairs and the pianoforte behind as the lights dimmed and Arry brought the ghost light back out to illuminate Finn's face.
"I have never witnessed a love like that between you and your bondmate, Lord Aoren. I pray that my own love may ripen into something so..." He shook his head. There were no words. "You are, I think, the only person who is enough for him." His Mesmer helped express nuance; he wasn't speaking ill of Talon's other loves, but theirs was a core bond and losing Aoren would tear out a piece of Talon's soul.
"I wish you every happiness together, and thank you for allowing me to be a witness to your personal miracle. And now, I should probably stop talking..." He laughed nervously at his own expense, bowed, and wished them, "Good night."
Then he hurried offstage, reaching out to take Arry's hand and kiss him, leaving the theater to the lovers as Finn took all the musicians out for supper and all the drinks they could guzzle down as part of the payment for making this a reality. His hand wasn't quite strong enough to play the lute, but the group effort had made the song more than the sum of its parts.
Of his song, all he hoped was that it had been good enough to get Talon laid.
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