quest log: aurora musicalis

[haillenarte]

Who: Anyone performing in or attending Aurora Musicalis
When: Throughout July
Where: The Little Melody music hall and associated areas
What: Quest log for Aurora Musicalis!
Warnings: None at present; please mark individual threads!

♫　aurora musicalis　♪

The Little Melody, a music hall, has recruited those skilled in music, illusion, and/or enchantment to play at its annual Aurora Musicalis — a series of symphonies, recitals, and band performances whose tender notes activate the magic imbued in the stage to create a fantastic storytelling experience. Whether or not you have a story in mind, your music will speak for itself in a series of abstract and beautiful colors, shapes, and lights. If you've signed up — congratulations! You're now part of a motley coterie of local musicians and mirrorbound performers who are agreed to meet once or twice a week (with flexibility for any personal situations that may arise). That, or you've joined the set crew, a group of stagehands and skilled illusionists who will be responsible for the lighting and visual effects of the show. All of you are under the watchful and loving care of Anastasia Birkenwood, musical director for the show, but do be careful: as diminutive and unassuming as her bespectacled, youthful exterior may be, Miss Birkenwood can actually be quite the terror, and while she won't fire any of the performers, as short-staffed as they are, she can be a thorn in your side if you've managed to displease her... If you haven't signed up — the Little Melody is really going all out in its promotion, and behind the scenes, Miss Birkenwood has authorized a rather unusual advertising campaign. Around town, you might hear various whispers about Aurora Musicalis, none of them entirely true, but which can't conclusively be proven false, either. Some say that the illusionists plan to make the entire city appear as if it is underwater! Word on the street is that the Little Melody might collapse if they don't sell enough tickets! Rumor has it that one of the performers is extraordinarily beautiful! ...So on and so forth. Ticket prices for the event range from "not too expensive" for the best seats in the house to "absolutely free" for back-row seats! How does that work out economically? Well, Aurora Musicalis is really a community event — one which doesn't pay the Little Melody very much in cunes, but leaves it much-beloved in the eyes of the people. There's not much else happening in late Juril, so why not drop by?

(Feel free to ignore the suggested toplevels if you would prefer to have a catch-all toplevel for your character, or you've thought of something a little outside the box! Miss Birkenwood is an NPC I just made up for the purposes of this log, so do feel free to use her as a catalyst or convenient villain for your character's threads if you need to.)

Comments

PERFORMANCES

[haillenarte]

Link your character's musical performance (or an approximation thereof) here! This isn't strictly necessary — I just thought it would be cute for us to be able to throw together a community playlist of sorts for the event...

[haillenarte]

[set to a haunting backdrop of falling snow and deep blue lights, francel performs a piano piece both lonely and sad, with flashes of fleeting hope, like a broken dream.

it sounds lovely, and he has a quiet, rolling performance style that seems to slow the pulse, lulling the listener towards a kind of somber relaxation. those more musically trained, however, may realize that his piece is actually an accompaniment without a melodic voice. perhaps he planned to sing over it and took the coward's route out... or perhaps he never met the right vocalist, didn't trust it in anyone else's hands.

whatever the case, it's well enough received by the masses. francel bows, and leaves the stage.]

[fiddlestick]

[(playlist).

As modest as Elliot likes to be, there's no such thing as him holding back with a music performance. Not familiar with the stories of Aefenglom or other worlds yet, he decides to go with something from Erebonian history - heavily altered and simplified for the audience and artistic liberty.

The tale is told through illusions and instrumental music (and illusionary sounds whenever it was for an instrument piece not available) . It starts with a prelude. A lecherous king has 4 sons with 4 different women. The one with the queen is chosen as crowned prince, 2 are to noble women - with one seeming more villainous than the other. The last is a son of a commoner, ignored by his father and sent away to distant lands. His portray is much more focused and sympathetic - the hero of our story. In this distant land, he befriends a warrior, who helps guide our hero.

The music changes when the king dies. The crowned prince is murdered and the kingdom falls into a civil war as the three noble brothers fight to become king. Chaos and darkness spreads across the land. The villainous brother invades the capital and crowns himself king, proving himself to be a cruel leader. He wields the legendary Vermilion blade that cuts down anyone who opposes him.

Eventually, an old friend seeks out the protagonist to convince him to help their home. Heroically, he agrees and he, his old friend, and the warrior travel back to the kingdom. Along the way, they encounter a powerful lance maiden who joins once our hero proves his worth, and a witch that bestows the hero the legendary Ashen Blade. Finally, one of the noble brothers faces off with our hero and eventually yields, deciding to join his brother.

The group makes their way across the kingdom, doing heroic deeds. Finally they reach the capital, where the hero faces off with his villainous brother in a decisive collision. It's revealed the villain brother was the one to kill the crowned prince, and he's made a pact with demons that he sics on the heroes. Through their teamwork, they are able to prevail and the hero uses the Ashen Blade to defeat his brother. The hero becomes King and peace is restored to the kingdom.

When it's all over, Elliot is polite in his bow. He gestures at any accompaniment, both musically and with illusions to make sure they get credit as well. For anyone who had watched him through the performance, it was clear he put a lot of passion into this, and took a lot of joy from it. ]

[nemuru]

[ The piano has always, always been Ritsu's respite - an oasis in a sea of mixed emotions. Everything quiets to the feel of the keys beneath his fingers; he can forget his troubles, focus only on the gentle singing of the strings as the hammers strike them in notes, in chords.

This is a much needed reprieve from the tumultuous month he's had in adjusting not only to his new features, but his new Bonds, and... Ritsu relaxes the moment he settles himself, the dress he's chosen to wear (they are becoming so much more comfortable, so much easier) unsurprisingly formal for the recital. His expression falls into one more peaceful than it's been since he arrived here two (two?) months ago, something seen only by fellow performers at rehearsals.

Some of the songs he plays are typical of someone who's studied piano in an ordinary world's Earth - Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin (and special attention brought to Chopin, in particular; Ritsu's fond of his pieces). The stories they bring aren't anything particularly special to him, though their colors and shapes brought to life by the Witches assisting those who aren't able to produce any magic of their own are like something out of Disney's Fantasia.

The final piece isn't something that can be found in any piano class though: it's a shorter version, but it's a song about someone quite dear to him. Graciously, Aefenglom's magical translation will provide help when he starts to sing - even if the images conjured by its lyrics and sound didn't in the first place. A dark and sleepy forest, gloomy until the sunlight begins to peek through the trees; a smile as warm and welcoming as a spring day, the outstretched hand of someone wrapped in golden light.

He lets it trail off and- he doesn't want to leave the piano, hesitating before he stands from it and bows. The applause is nice, but it's the furthest thing from his mind as he hops away - he feels more at ease, but he wishes he could hurry up and have a piano of his own now, too. The one nice thing about home (on a mountain of nice things) was unlimited access to one. ]