The Sound Of Music [OPEN]

[petrifying]

Who: Emil & YOU!
When: Before & during the event/quests
Where: The Coven & an instrument shop for the strings quest!
What: Questing and piano time at the Coven.
Warnings: None!



A SOLEMN SONG

<sub>[It'd be hard to say exactly how long Emil's found himself here at the Coven. He's never exactly been good with keeping track of time, especially when months blurred into years and years blurred into centuries...what's one day when you've been alive for so long? That's not to say Emil doesn't make the best of each day that he has. He's found attending classes fun, even if he can't do much other than sit and listen quietly at the back. Most of his time has been spent creating a mental map of the area and where everything is to get his bearings. So far he's mostly gotten the hang of things; he knows where things are placed in his room, knows how to get to and from the mess hall, and knows how to get to most of his classes. A few of the other students had taken it upon themselves to escort him when he needed it and help him with things he couldn't manage on his own (laundry, for example) but Emil had been doing his best to be as independent as he could be.

It's after a little while of being at the Coven that he learns of a room that's usually free and has a piano in it and so Emil's found himself haunting the instrument more often than not. It's in this room that he can be found late into the evening one day, playing by himself. The current song he's playing it's a solemn but beautiful one, a composition of an original theme he's grown fond of over the years. If you're lured in by his playing he won't say anything until he's finished, but when he's done he'll peek around the piano even if he can't see with a small smile.]</sub>

Oh...hello! You didn't want to play, did you? I don't mean to hog the piano...

TUNING TIME (QUEST)

<sub>[It's not often that an offer to do something Emil can actually do comes up, and so when the chance to help test out tuned instruments is known to him he jumps on the opportunity. The Coven had been so kind as to give him an escort to bring him to the shop and once the owner had shown him where the pianos that needed playing were Emil got straight to work. He's been at it for a few hours now, having gotten carried away, and it's now on a freshly tuned piano that he plays a melody similar to one he's played many times before. This time though the arrangement has three voices and is far more hectic, if not desperate sounding as his dainty fingers gracefully tap the keys. He makes it seem almost effortless.

It's clear that he has a talent but it's not one that came naturally. Practice is perfect, after all, and Emil is a prime example of it. Having been forced to rely on his ears and touch to get around for centuries along with having not much else to do other than play with his piano, his ability to pluck out a melody and identify pitch is second to none. Right from the get go the shop owner seems to be fond of him and Emil can't be happier for that fact. Maybe, just maybe, he could be useful in some regard.

Of course he's not alone in the shop. There are others too that have been hired to test out instruments. Not all of them are pianos either. Emil will happily listen to other people's performances or even try to shyly talk to those around him. No matter what he'll always be positive and clap enthusiastically if given the chance.]</sub>

Oh wow! That sounded really good!

_{[Did it? It might not have...but Emil's easily impressed.]}


WILDCARD

_{[Want to do something with Emil? I'm totally down! I've no problem writing up a starter so let me know! Otherwise feel free to throw something in here and I'll run with it :) Hit me up on Discord @ Cia#4470 or plurk at thirdimpact!}

Comments

a solemn song

[silentsavant]

[For a time, the only sounds that reverberated off the corridors were his own footsteps, accompanied by the occasional rustle of voices from rooms he passed, or birdsong floating in from the open windows. In truth, he paid only half attention to those noises, more focused on the constant march of his thoughts than his passage through the real world.

But then, his footsteps slow and soften as his ears make way for something startlingly beautiful. Soren is pulled out of his thoughts; he'd been nearing a lull in them, anyway. It sounds like it's coming from the piano in that wide-open room he never really ventures into. He doesn't care much for instruments or compositions, or for much of anything, really, but that doesn't make music any less euphonious or worth a passive appreciation from him.

He continues on. As he passes that room, he stops to tilt his head in to see whose fingers give rise to the bright but poignant notes. What he sees surprises him. The boy is playing with such expert command over his keys blindfolded.

For a minute or so longer, he watches and listens. Then, he feels possessed to delve into the room. It isn't long before he finishes, and Emil humbly offers to give up his piano.]

No worries. I can't play. I was merely listening to your performance. It was... well, quite captivating. And you did it all blindfolded?

[petrifying]

<sub>[He's not used to having an audience.

Well, okay, one person isn't exactly an audience, but it's something. Sometimes Sebastian, his butler, would listen to him play, but for the most part he'd leave him to himself. His listener seems to be pretty respectful too, waiting until the end of the piece and when Emil speaks up to answer him. Is Emil shy? Absolutely, but the desire to reach out and chat with someone else helps push him past that initial awkwardness.]</sub>

Ah, thank you very much. _{[Compliments should always be acknowledged, after all!]} Mm...my eyes are cursed so...I've to keep them covered like this.

_{[Might as well just come out with it, right? Sure, the curse might be gone, but he's too afraid to test that theory out still.]}

[silentsavant]

[It just keeps getting more interesting... Emil cannot tell by looking, but Soren is rapt with attention. The rising inquisitiveness in his smooth, even voice conveys the hitch in his eyebrows well enough.]

A curse?

[petrifying]

I was experimented on when I was younger with magic and turned into a weapon as a failsafe.

_{[His voice is soft as he speaks, fingers smoothing over white keys but not putting any pressure on them.]}

They put a petrification curse on my eyes - anything I look at turns to stone. Or at least that used to be the case...I've been told that it's probably gone now that I'm here but old habits die hard, y'know?

_{[There's a soft laugh out of Emil then, but it's a sad one.]}

I don't want to make a mistake.

[silentsavant]

[The air between them depresses into something heavier as Soren processes words like experiments, weapon, curse. And all of it upon what looks to be a mere child with a soft voice. A short explanation for what must have been a long era of suffering for the boy. He can see where the sadness leeching into his words must come from.]

...An understandable concern. [Another quick spell of consideration, hand perching next to his chin.] But aren't you curious? If the curse is really gone, you won't need to worry about covering your eyes any longer. If anything you look at turns to stone, why not test it on an inanimate object of no consequence just to ascertain the truth?

[petrifying]

_{[What Soren says? It's valid. Really, he has a point. The problem though is that Emil's worried it's too good to be true. What if he does look at something and it doesn't turn to stone, only for him to take off his blindfold and the curse to revert?]}

I could...but what if it's only temporary?

_{[He doesn't want to make any more mistakes if he can avoid it.]}

[silentsavant]

It's a risk that's yours to weigh. I don't know much about your curse, but if it really has been lifted, what in this world could possibly bring it back?

[Of course, there are a slew of spells and hexes one could be placed under in a world teeming with magic, some more potent and lasting than others.]

You can always live in fear of being cursed anew, same as I could live in fear of one day finding myself under a similar curse. There are many here who have access to advanced magic. You're a... witch, correct?

[It's a feeling he gets.]

[petrifying]

_{[See, that's the thing. Emil's not sure what could bring it back, but he's also wary and with good reason. Soren does have a point though. Maybe he'll open his eyes when he gets up the courage to.]}

I am, yes.

_{[A witch that is.]}

[silentsavant]

Then perhaps you could focus your studies on dispelling curses. I believe that would fall beneath the school of abjuration, if that sort of path appeals to you.