Let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind (Initiate Song)

[Ythri Drega Dun]

6th of Cryxatum, Summer of Era XIV Post Fractum
This thread will be self-moderated

Ythri wasn’t nervous. She was rarely nervous, not about anything, and certainly not about finally taking the first step on the training she had dreamed about for so long. But there was an anticipation that she felt, one that brought butterflies to her stomach.

When she cautiously pushed open the door to the room to which she had been directed, she was greeted by the sight of a tall, pale man in a powdered wig. His back was slightly turned to her, and he was holding a violin, which he was in the act of tuning. When he heard the door, he turned abruptly, and looked Ythri up and down slowly in a manner that made her feel vaguely uncomfortable.

"Ythri, is it?" he asked, though he was already nodding his head. "Yes, they told me you were interested in learning to be a bard. I suppose it's my job to tell you whether or not it will be worth your time -- and mine -- to proceed."

This was not the warmest of welcomes, but nonetheless, he motioned for Ythri to take a seat, which she did. "First things first, my dear. If you haven't the native musical ability, I'm afraid you've chosen the wrong sphere. I'd like a song, whatever you want, though do try not to make it too dreary. Once I've heard your voice, I'll be able to give you a more measured assessment of your abilities. Begin." He waved one hand in the air.

The girl sat up straighter in her chair. She took a deep breath in and began to sing, a song that she remembered her mother singing, before her death. It was a favorite of Ythri's, and she had sung it more than once during her long walk across the Empire.

"The sky is blue on the mountain tops,
The stars shine over the trees.
The air is clear in the desert's heat,
But my only love is the sea.

"The birds sing loud in the forest glen,
A bright song just for me.
But though I smile, I cannot stay,
For my only love is the sea.

The roads lead over the hills and plains
As far as the eye can see,
But my one true hope is to walk them all
And follow them back to the sea."

Her voice was high and clear, and she let it ring out as she reached the final stanza. For a moment after she finished, there was pure silence. Then, a slow, sly smile crossed Louis Montago's face.

"Ah yes, that's certainly sufficient. I can see why you've chosen to study here. I don't believe musical ability will be an issue, though you're in desperate need of training."

"Thank you, sir," Ythri said, her happiness at the compliment obvious.

"The first order of business then is to get you unbound. Only then can you sense the arcane forces and learn to shape them. The experience may be disorienting, but it shouldn't last long. Close your eyes, and we'll begin."

[Ythri Drega Dun]

Ythri closed her eyes. For a moment, she felt nothing. Then, there was a blast of stinging cold. In surprise, she opened her eyes, only to find that she was alone. The Conservatorio was gone, and she was standing in the middle of a long, lonely stretch of rolling hills. The wind was rising, and she shivered. She was not dressed for this, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

Then, she had a strange feeling that there was something behind her. She turned abruptly, but didn't immediately see anything. Then, at the edge of the horizon, a thin dark line appeared. For a moment, her curiosity got the better of her, and she simply stared at it, trying to figure out what on Telath it might be.

The line spread, like a drop of ink placed in the water, moving away from the horizon and toward the place where Ythri was standing. It wasn't a cloud, and it wasn't any other atmospheric phenomenon she'd ever seen. It was much too solid to be a flock of birds. What was it?

Then, slowly, the irregular shape started to resolve itself. There were five protrusions coming out of the very end, and they began to curve slowly downward. Only then did Ythri realize what it looked like.

It looked like a hand.

Then it was swooping downward, moving at an impossible speed. Panic momentarily filled her, and she started to run, but there was nowhere to go. Her long legs ate up the ground, but she couldn't move faster than the hand. It was coming, so close that she could almost feel its frigid touch, and she tried desperately to move her feet faster...

...but something else was happening too, something that felt like her mind was being filled with knowledge, spells, bits of information that she didn't understand...

...and then her eyes opened with a start. She was looking at Master Montago, who looked back at her with an expression that was unreadable.

"When you're ready, you'll want to go home. It's usually not fruitful to continue lessons the same brightening as the unbinding, especially since I took the liberty of doing the imparting immediately after. Come back tomorrow, and we'll take it from there."

[Ythri Drega Dun]

Well, that unbinding had been a little disconcerting, but nonetheless, Ythri arrived for her next lesson undaunted. After all, now the real learning could begin.

When she arrived, Master Montago greeted her, and then said, "First, I have to give you some idea as to how this process works. Everything is made of energy, and we call this energy essence. There are plenty of essences, and you don't need to know them all right now -- in fact, no one knows them all, though some people act like they do. At any rate, essence energy that has formed objects is called vis. You can use the vis inside yourself in your spellcasting. Essence energy that hasn't coalesced into an object is ara. If you mix your vis with some ara, you can use the reaction to draw energy from another plane -- the plane of music, in your case -- and then you can make a spell. You should know the plane when you see it. It'll be yellow, for one thing."


"At any rate, this can't be done unless you meditate -- and I don't mean the kind of meditation that takes place when one sees a beautiful woman like yourself." Ythri was rather taken aback by this remark, and her cheeks flushed, but she said nothing as Master Montago continued. "You need to clear your mind of all extraneous thoughts. When you can do this properly, you'll enter a state called clara, which is difficult to describe, though you'll know it when you're there. Spellcasting is only possible at this time. At any rate, you have to try it, so you might as well get started."

[Ythri Drega Dun]

It took Ythri a long time. She closed her eyes and listened to herself breathe in and out, feeling the rising and falling of the air inside her lungs. For a long time, nothing happened, but she persisted, and tried to block all thoughts from her mind, to make herself a blank page.

Then, a series of pink circles seemed to appear. She didn't see them, not exactly, but she could sense them in the room. She knew without having to ask that this was the ara that Master Montago had been talking about -- and that this state was clara.

Somewhere, down a long, dark tunnel, Master Montago was still talking. "You should recognize the plane of music, and you'll want to pull some of the Essence to yourself. It's called Focusing. If you then move the energy to the material plane, it's called Channeling, and you'll notice that the energy becomes something you could cast a spell with -- mana -- because it's been interwoven with your own vis. If you were, for example, to sing the Anthem of Aelyria, which was part of your imparting, you'd be able to make it work. Maybe. If you're a good enough student."

Ythri ignored the jab -- to focus on it would mean losing clara -- and instead started singing. Her voice was strong and clear, and contoured to the cadences of the music. As she sang, she could feel herself growing stronger in some strange way, as if she could run for a million miles and not get tired. Nothing so extreme was the case, of course, but it was clear that both her motivation and her energy had been increased.

The song ended, and Ythri opened her eyes. As she did so, her hold on clara was gone, and she was once again her normal self, sitting in a room in the Conservatorio with her instructor. He nodded carefully. "Ah, well I've heard it done better, but for a first attempt it's not bad. The spell worked, at any rate, which is more than I can say for a lot of my students the first time they try it. You'll note that you probably feel a little weary. As an initiate you can only cast three times in any one brightening. After that, your vis is entirely expended. Try casting again, and you'll wind up dead."

[Ythri Drega Dun]

Ythri nodded solemnly. Dead didn't sound like much fun. Three times and no more. Ah well, as long as she wasn't in clara, it didn't effect how much she could sing.

"Your next task," Master Montago said, "is to perform the Healer's Hymn. And if you could make it piano, I'd be much obliged -- your dynamic contrast leaves something to be desired. This is a gentle piece, so perform it gently. And, you'll need something to practice on, so I took the liberty of providing something."

He walked over to one corner of the room, where there was a small basket. Although Ythri hadn't noticed it before, a cat was sleeping inside. Master Montago picked it up and brought it back to where she was sitting. As he did so, Ythri could see that the cat had a series of wicked scratches on her side, which hadn't completely closed up.

"Misty got into something of a fight last night, so let's see if you can't help her out, shall we?" He waved his hand at Ythri. "Begin."

Ythri closed her eyes again and shoved all of her thoughts and questions out of her mind. It was a slow, tedious process, and she had little grasp on how long it took, though it might have been ten or fifteen minutes. When she finally got into the correct frame of mind, she started singing. The song was a quiet, peaceful one, and it was easier than she thought to keep her voice down. She pulled the essence in and infused the song with arcana, and tried to keep her mind focused until the song was finished.

When the last strain died away, she opened her eyes. Misty was still sitting on Master Montago's lap, but she was now purring contentedly. Her cuts were no longer visible. Master Montago nodded, almost to himself. "You could still use some work with subtlety, Miss Ythri -- you're a bard now, not a burlesque singer. But the effect is satisfactory."

[Ythri Drega Dun]

It wasn't a compliment, precisely, but Ythri had the feeling you rather took what you got with Master Montago. And he was right, it had worked, and that was the important thing.

"You have one more spell for the brightening. This one is called Cinthera's Accelerando. It's supposed to make people move more quickly. Perhaps, if you do it properly, Misty will go back to her basket swiftly. At any rate, it speeds up near the end -- hence the title -- so be sure to watch your tempo."

Ythri nodded, and then tried to find clara again. It was harder this time -- she was tired, bone tired, and her very weariness made it hard for her to concentrate. But at any rate, she persevered until once more, the pink circles resolved themselves, and she knew she was in the proper frame of mind to cast.

She started singing once more. There was a certain pensiveness to her voice, but it quickly wore off as the piece went along. It was a reasonably long one, but it moved faster and faster toward the end. Ythri was straining, but she managed to stay on top of it, to perform the spell and bring the thing to its conclusion.

Ythri opened her eyes, and Misty bolted for the basket with a speed that seemed supernatural. Master Montago's eyes followed the cat, and then he laughed. "It's a good thing that wasn't your audition, Miss Ythri. The notes would have been better enunciated if Misty had been singing them. Again, it worked, but please -- think of your audience. Or, if you can't do that, think of me. Such violence against the music pains me, cuts me right to the heart."

The girl opened her mouth, but Master Montago gave a dismissive wave. "At any rate, come back tomorrow. Hopefully, in addition to your vis being replenished, your voice will be rested enough for us to continue."

[Ythri Drega Dun]

Ythri returned the next day more determined than ever to learn how to be a bard. Her experience so far had taught her that it was more difficult than she might have anticipated, but the joy and pleasure she could derive from using her voice to cast spells was more than enough to keep her going.

Master Montago was waiting for her, and he didn't wait long before launching in. "Your next piece is the Chant of Conquest. Perhaps you'd care to increase my patriotism, eh? At any rate, this is more of a showboating piece, so maybe it'll fit your style better."

Ythri was a bit embarrassed, but she closed her eyes once more and aimed for clara. It was getting easier, though it still took a good several minutes to finally reach the proper state. When it was done, she reached into the essence and started singing. The song was brassy and outgoing, and she put everything she had into it, her voice soaring and stretching on the high notes and then swooping back down as it reached the final cadence.

She opened her eyes, and saw that Master Montago was looking at her. "Is there a particular reason," he asked, "that everything you sing has to sound like you're using it to sell fish? I mean, the spells work -- that one worked -- but as it stands now, you're a significantly better mage than you are a musician. Subtlety, shading -- that's what you need."

Ythri gritted her teeth. "You liked my voice well enough during the audition," she said firmly. "Maybe I just need time to make these songs my own. I've never sung any of them before, after all."

Master Montago seemed surprised that she had said anything, but after a moment's thought, he nodded in agreement. "You may be right, Miss Ythri. We shall see, won't we?"

[Ythri Drega Dun]

"But regardless," Master Montago went on, "I'd like you to try the Lullaby for Leland. Again, it's already in your mind, so you should know the tune. It's designed to provide some measure of protection from attacks, especially non-human ones, and it'll help anyone around you sleep better. When you're ready, begin."

Ythri nodded, and moved back into clara. When she felt ready, she started the spell. The Lullaby was quiet, and she tried very hard to keep from oversinging it, since that seemed to be something that irritated Master Montago immensely. She sang until the last strains of the song were gone, and then she opened her eyes.

"Eh, it represents an improvement," Master Montago said. "I doubt Misty will be interested in attacking you, at any rate. If you cast this on your camp, if you find yourself between cities, you'll gain some measure of protection, and I'd very much recommend it."

[Ythri Drega Dun]

"I imagine you're tired," Master Montago said, "but we really should do one more spell today. Try the Sonnet in Solo. The idea behind this one is to enchant your weapon, so that any attack you might make is stronger. It doesn't really last beyond when the song ends, so you have to be thoughtful about it. But here, try it on this." He placed a long knife on a nearby table.

Tired, Ythri thought dully, didn't begin to cover it. She was exhausted, pure and simple, and there was a strain on her face that wasn't normally present. But she pushed everything away from her, and after several long minutes, was finally in clara again. Ythri sang, and the melody was sweet enough that she almost forgot her exhaustion. She reached for the essence, shaped it, and moved it into the knife, her efforts intense and single-minded.

As the last notes died away, she looked over at the knife on the table. It was glowing softly, although the glow vanished almost as soon as the song was over. Master Montago followed her gaze. "The effect gets stronger as you become a more advanced bard. But for a first attempt, that was sufficient."

"Now, go home and rest. You'll need your strength if we're to finish your training appropriately."

[Ythri Drega Dun]

When Ythri arrived the next brightening, Master Montago didn't seat her, but quickly led her out into one of the gardens surrounding the Conservatorio.

"Your last piece is offensive, and I do mean that in all senses of the word. I don't want you rearranging my furniture, so we're going to practice it outside. The piece is Scales of Dissonance. This one, you have to aim, rather like the Sonnet in Solo, but at an enemy as opposed to a specific object. Don't aim it at me. Point it at something you can't hurt, like that wall, maybe."

Ythri nodded and then began. Entering clara was harder outside, where there were more distractions, and it took her long enough that, if she had let herself, she would have been able to feel some of Master Montago's impatience. But she finally reached the proper state and then began.

The song was awful. It sounded like a herd of rats slowly being drawn through a wringer by their tails. Ythri tried to make it sound even worse than it would have otherwise, screeching through the cadences and practically screaming the finale. She shaped the energy and directed it at the wall.

The wall, she found when she finished, showed no damage. Master Montago, on the other hand, had his fingers in his ears, and only withdrew them slowly. "I think we may have found a piece that suits your talents, Miss Ythri," he said sarcastically. "It's been a long time since I heard that piece played so...effectively by an initiate. At any rate, that concludes your initiate-level training, Miss Ythri. Good luck to you, and I imagine I'll see you again."

"Thank you," Ythri said.

[Tarot]

Initiate Song approved, +2 XP. Lovely portrayal of Louis' caustic personality!