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Topics in red are in Anything Goes and may contain mature content. So... You know... Expect the worst.
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:44 pm Post subject: Dmitri
Hellooooo all, long time no see! XD
This is just a bit of a story, part of a much larger one that refuses to be written (*mutters*). It's still a rough draft, and needs a lot of work in my opinion, but meh - this forum was collecting dust! >_>
Anyway, whether or not you enjoy it, please give feedback! Spelling, grammar, typos, just any and every little detail you find wrong, say so please! ^_______^
Dmitri led a pretty normal life, except for one thing. Ever since childhood he had heard this strain of music - beautiful, haunting music with not-quite understandable lyrics. It soothed him to sleep as a baby, more peaceful than any lullabies his mother could sing. As he grew older, it was always there, but always changed slightly, so it never got tiring. The song never interrupted any of his day-to-day activities; after a while he learned how to tune it out, mostly so he could concentrate on things he needed to. But it was always there, when his tasks were done or when he needed comforting. Dmitri learned soon enough to not mention the music to anyone else, though: his parents became worried whenever he mentioned it, and his teachers started recommending "specialists" to study him (whatever they were; he was too young to know completely, but they didn't sound nice at all). So the music became his own little secret. He stopped telling people about it, and didn‘t see anything odd about hearing something other people didn't; he just assumed that everyone did, and learned to keep quiet about their personal songs, just as he had learned to do.
When he was old enough to take music lessons in school (they started in first grade), he was disappointed that none of the songs they studied were his song. His music teachers were amazed at how quickly he picked up different parts of singing and music comprehension; they talked his parents into giving him private instrument lessons. They did, reluctantly, because who gives a precious instrument to a 6 year old? Most would think it was a toy and break it. Dmitri didn't, though; he drank up everything his teachers could teach him. No matter how hard he tried, though, he could never quite play his song. After a while (8 years or so), he got too frustrated and quit playing; he loved other people's music, but it was too plain compared to his. Even though he quit playing, he never stopped trying to write his song down; he came close, a few times, but never managed it completely. In the future, when these scribblings would be found, he would be hailed a genius: "the first true prodigy since Mozart, the best composer since Beethoven!“ For now, he thought himself a failure.
He got through high school and college, somehow; those years of his life were a blur every time he though back on them. Coincidentally, they were the only years of his life that he thought more about worldly things than his music. Despite the degree in mathematics he had (mathematics, really, what was he thinking?), he still dreamed vaguely - when he was in that in-between stage of wakefulness and sleep - of being able to bring his music to people. But he was too practical at that point in his life to pursue his dreams very far.
His friends, though, had other plans; they started a band and somehow managed to talk their way into getting a test recording at a record label. Knowing Dmitri's past history with writing music, they asked him to help. The band never made it past one release that did pretty bad on the charts; the singer couldn’t sing, none of the instruments were in tune, and no one bought the excuse “it’s the sound of the future.” However, Dmitri was given full credit for writing the song, which was good enough to catch the right people’s eye. He became semi-successful writing for various bands for a living. That wasn't what he wanted, though; he wanted to have his song written down on paper. He took this opportunity to learn all he could about different instruments, the sounds they made and how to write for them, all in the hopes of finding the exact ones for the music he needed. Throughout the years, he tried multiple combinations, but to no avail; nothing ended up being exactly right. He hid his "failed" notes away, only taking them out for reference when he got a new idea.
Decades passed; his interest in writing the music down came and went. At times it seemed wrong to want a permanent record of something so personal to him, and at other times it seemed horribly unthinkable that the world would never know such a perfect song. But no matter how many times he failed, he still crept closer with each try. To his surprise, the fewer instruments he used, the more similar it sounded. Eventually, he was down to just a simple pan-flute. To be honest, he didn't have high hopes for this instrument, but he had exhausted most of the possibilities of the "normal" instruments he dealt with almost daily. He didn't bother actually writing anything down this time around; partially because he didn't feel like it, but also because it didn't seem right to write anything for such an instrument. So there he sat, just trying random notes, until he had no idea what he was playing, except that it sounded right, for once. On and on he played, sometimes matching his music, sometimes playing something different that nonetheless got pulled in and made part of the melody, anyway.
When he became tired, he stopped and just sat for a few moments with a big grin on his face. Finally, he did it (even though nothing was still written down, a nagging voice whispered)! Something else was whispering, too - or rather, not whispering at all. His music was... gone. It took a few moments for that fact to sink in, and a few more for him to react; the comforting force that had been with him all his life, gone, just because he figured it out! He wailed forlornly on top of his lungs, or tried to; he was no longer sure if he actually made any noise or not. He couldn't hear a thing. The room spun around him, turned dim and eventually black as he crumpled back onto the couch he was sitting on.
When he woke up, his surroundings seemed different - and he could hear again! Only, his special music was still gone. Instead, there was a song, pulsing through the air, that had threads of his song, among tons of others, intertwined in it; as much as Dmitri didn't want to admit it, this was one song that was better than his own.
He stood up and stumbled over to the window; everything seemed mostly normal. There were trees, and grass, and other houses, but not the usual trees and houses that he was used to seeing every day; the grass still seemed fine, but that’s the funny thing about the plant - it’s all so similar looking, no matter where you go. That was oddly comforting. He stood staring outside for what seemed like forever, until someone gave a polite little cough behind him.
Startled, he turned around to find a complete stranger in his living room. What was even more unsettling was that the stranger was smiling as wide as possible at him. After a few silent moments, with him looking at her puzzled, and her continuing to smile at him, she finally broke the silence with a “So it is true!”
“Erm… what’s true?”
If possible, she smiled even bigger. “So you don’t know? Even better! I get to bring you around town, and show you everything, and… oh, it’ll be fun!” Dmitri looked even more puzzled at this. “Oh… you really don’t know anything, do you?” With that she bowed, and said, “My apologies, Instrument. It is a great honor to be the first to greet you. Perhaps we should sit down, and I’ll explain everything in more detail.” With that, she led him over to the sofa and sat down. “You don’t come from this world, do you? Everyone born here would know who and what you are…” He shook his head. “Ah, that does explain it.” She smiled again. “Well, here there’s two types of people; most don’t come from this world, but are drawn here when there is a use for them. You are what is known as an ‘Instrument,’ since you are able to add to our town’s song. I am a Singer, and believe me it’s more of an honor to be an Instrument; for every five Singers (more in the bigger cities), there’s one Instrument. But, no matter, you’re here because one of the previous Instruments ceased to be…”
“Ceased to be? You mean, died?”
She bit her lip, trying to find a way to explain it to him. “Not… really. You know how in your world, instruments eventually wear down, or become unplayable through either disuse or too much use? Of course, where you come from, there are things you can do to prolong their life - replacing parts, doing routine maintenance and all that, but eventually the instrument becomes too brittle or worn out to play. It’s kind of like that here, only we aren’t able to replace parts of Instruments; instead, we’re merely able to take good care of them, and make sure they aren’t being worked too hard. Thankfully it’s a time of peace, so not everyone is needed to play at the same time, but… still, eventually, an Instrument becomes too worn, and just… ceases to be. No one knows what happens to them; we assume they go back to their own world, but a new Instrument always comes to take their place, for better or for worse. This time, that would be you!”
Dmitri looked a little less confused, but most of this still didn’t make sense. “Worked too hard? Time of peace? Better or worse? What do you mean?”
She laughed. “Well, everything here is run by music, which is the job of our Singers and Instruments. Singers tend to take care of day-to-day things, like crops and merchanting, but Instruments and the top Singers make sure things are balanced throughout town and throughout the world; every now and then rival towns try to take over other towns for the use of their Singers and Instruments, with the goal of adding power to their own town‘s Song. When that happens, everyone needs to focus their talents on stopping the invasion. Luckily, this town is usually neutral in those struggles; no one has every seriously tried to take it. You’re lucky with that - there are far worse places to have ended up in.” Dmitri found himself smiling at the fact that his music would be appreciated here. “But, what am I going on about?” the stranger continued. “We need to get you shown around, and shown to the right people, and get you set up for living here!” With that, she grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.
Dmitri shuffled along behind her for a bit, thinking and surveying his surroundings. For the most part, they seemed similar to what one would find on Earth; the dwellings didn’t seem too outlandish, even though there were a few that his mind couldn’t grasp completely yet. The one he had just passed, for instance; it looked like it was made out of solid stone, but it… breathed. In and out, in a sick parody of a living thing; not only that, it changed, too, ever so slightly with each pulsing. He didn’t realize that he was staring until the stranger grabbed his hand and pulled him along.
“Don’t have many houses like that where you come from, I take it?” she teased playfully over her shoulder as they practically trotted down the street in what Dmitri could only guess was the direction of downtown.
“Erm, no. Not… like that, per se.” He considered the house again. “They didn’t breathe, for one thing.” He was somewhat hurt when the stranger burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” he asked indignantly.
“Just…” She imitated him. “They didn’t breathe!” She laughed for a few more moments.
“Well, yes, the understatement of the year, I suppose,” Dmitri admitted, and felt his mouth twitching in amusement. By that time she was mostly in control of herself again.
“You’re taking this whole thing rather well, you know. Most of the time people are freaking out, or denying everything that’s happening to them, or demanding that they get sent home immediately. They settle down eventually, of course, but they can be difficult to manage at first.”
He shrugged, embarrassed. “It just seems pointless to get worked up over this. The situation can’t be changed, and like you said - there’s worse places to be.”
She sighed theatrically. “If only more people acted like you, my job would be so much easier.”
“What is your job, anyway?” Dmitri asked after a pause.
“Oh! I’m one of the people who help the Councilor train new people, and make sure they’re in fitting positions in the town’s set-up.”
“It sounds important…”
“Oh, it is, very important, but that’s good, because it can only lead to better things.”
Dmitri raises an eyebrow at this, but kept silent. Ambitious, this one is, he thought. I better keep on her good side.
Whatever other musings he would have thought were interrupted with a cheerful “We’re here!” from the stranger. Dmitri blinked and stared at the building that they were standing in front of.
“This?”
“Yep!” She smiled broadly.
“This doesn’t look like an important building…” He trailed off, trying to understand how this was the center of government in the town. It looked more like a garden shed than anything; he didn’t want to ruin her pride with that tidbit, though.
“Oh… well, it’s much more impressive inside. In you go!” Abruptly, she pushed him through the doors; he flinched, but passed through them with ease.
“Was that a hologram?” Dmitri asked, stunned.
“Not in the strictest sense, no. It’s made up of the semi-solidified music that surrounds us all in here, and only lets in those who belong.” She looked proud. “I helped to make it.”
“And a very fine job of it you did, to be sure,” he replied. Taking note of his surroundings for the first time, he asked, “Was all of this done with solidified music?” It felt like he was stuck in the purest of diamonds. Everything around him was light and color and beauty. Dmitri didn’t even realize the oddness of the place; the fact that the room was much bigger than it should have been, and that it looked like the two of them were walking on pure air, didn’t faze him at all. The area was calmness and splendor solidified, and everything pulsed with music. Loud and soft, slow and fast, solemn and bright, all blended together to form a melody that was breathtaking in its majesty, yet was overwhelmingly simple at the same time.
“Of course! This is the absolute center of our town’s Song. Do you think it would be made of anything else?”
“No…. no. Of course not.” He stood there, flustered, while she flashed a grin at him and bounced over to a desk he hadn’t noticed before.
“Instrument Dmitri is here for his appointment and assignment, Syl dear,” the stranger said to the secretary behind the desk.
Syl studied her nails. “The Councilor is expecting you. Through the normal doors, please.” The desk faded into the background again.
“You knew I was coming?” Dmitri asked; he wished there was some way to find things out without all the questions. He felt like a child, having to ask about everything.
“Not you in particular, and we weren’t entirely sure when you would show up. The old Instrument ceased to be a few days back, so we knew you’d be here soon. And we were right!” She almost looked like she was going to hug him out of joy, and very well might have if they didn’t reach a door just then. “Behave yourself,” she whispered, and then giggled. “And try to keep your composure.” With that, she knocked on the door.
A voice spoke from the other side. “Come in, come in.”
Dmitri froze – just why was he supposed to behave himself in there? Well, he knew why (partially, at least – it wouldn’t do to have the town leader angry about something), but why did the stranger feel it was necessary to warn him about it?
The stranger glanced at him, and stifled a giggle. He could almost swear she enjoyed torturing him.
“While I’m sure the both of you have all the time in the world to waste, I happen to be a very important man who needs to work, so if you wouldn’t mind – COME IN!” The music around the two of them blared for a second, and then Dmitri found himself in a rather typical office.
“Another letdo…..” he started to mutter, then stopped himself. The person (if you could call it that) behind the desk was hardly anything of a letdown. If the area outside of the room was pure music, and shone the way it did, Dmitri had no idea what could cause a person to glow in the way the Councilor did. All he could do was stare – the sight was too beautiful of one to turn away from, in the same way a fierce thunderstorm is – the sheer power contained in such a sight gives it a grace most things cannot hope to achieve.
After an unknown amount of minutes, something nudged him out of his daydream. “I told you to behave,” the stranger whispered good-naturedly. “Staring is not a way to do that.”
“But… he’s…” Dmitri stuttered.
“He’s pure music. Come now, did you expect the leader-in-name of a town to be anything but?” The speaker’s voice was a rich bass – something an Earthly composer could only dream of having in his symphony. Nothing Dmitri had ever heard could remotely compare to it. “Now sit. We have much to discuss.”
“Yes… sir…” he mumbled and sat down obediently. The stranger quickly filled the Councilor in about hat she did and didn’t explain to Dmitri so far, and took a seat for herself.
“Well,” the Councilor paused, and tented his fingers. “Cecilia here certainly gave you a good introduction to our way of living.” She beamed at this. “But there are still some things you should know. Cecilia, dear, can you do a quick scan and tell me about him really quick? Just the important things, and send the rest to me later.” He flashed a blinding smile at Dmitri. “She’s a world-class MindReader, a special talent from where she’s from, or so I hear. This will be painless, I assure you, and will end up answering many hours worth of questions in a split second. Now look at her please.”
Cecilia stared into Dmitri’s eyes for a few seconds, then started speaking. “Dmitri Savva, age 62, no known family, lyric and music producer, dimension Earth…” and so on. She stopped after a while. “That should be all you need to know now, sir. I’ll give you the rest as soon as I get it into an orb.”
“Very well done.” The Councilor stared at Dmitri for a bit, then smiled again. “Earth, eh? Nice place, or so I’ve been told. My predecessor was from there, surprisingly. A Bach, I believe, born to some famous father or another. He would talk about his family and homeland while he was training me. Wonderful Instrument; if you’re the same caliber, then you’ll make out well here. There are a few things that you may find different.” He counted them off on his fingers. “One: you will not age, ever. Nor will you grow younger. Two: we do not name our days, or keep track of months or years, because of this. There is no need, and no one could settle on just how long a month and a year should be back in the old days, so we keep that tradition running. Which leads to our next point - number three. Events are kept track of either by the era of the Councilor they happened in, or by how many days ago they happen. Four: You will not have trouble keeping track of the days, however; for some reason, we are all able to keep perfect track of them while here. Five: you will not have any trouble communicating with anyone, no matter what world they came from originally. Something here allows us to all communicate equally, probably the same something that makes us all look human-like. Six: if anyone gives you any trouble, and I mean anyone, come directly to me. I don’t allow that sort of thing to happen in this town. We all need to get together harmoniously to preserve a strong town Song, so petty bickering and fighting will not be tolerated. Seven: You will get a new name, for the length of time you’re here. Once again, it’s tradition, and most people don’t like to go against what’s been done for years and years.”
“It’s mainly to help people let go of their past live and to get started here without any ties to their old lives,” Cecilia broke in, and blushed when she realized what she did. “Sorry sir.”
“Quite all right. That should be it for now. Welcome to our Town, Instrument.” The Councilor stood up and bowed formally. Dmitri was at a loss for what to do, so he bowed back clumsily and muttered out some form of thanks. A small bar of hummed music reached his ears from Cecilia’s direction; it sounded proud, so he guessed he did something right. The Councilor sat down and looked bored. “Now, Cecilia, you know what to do next. A bit of testing, get him situated, all the normal things. You’ve done that a million times, so you shouldn’t need help.”
“Yes sir.” She bowed and pulled Dmitri out of the room through yet another pair of doors. The room they entered was empty of everything, except for a huge cushion in the middle of the room. “Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable. This won't last long, I promise.” She smiled at him and started walking around the perimeter. Dmitri shrugged and did as she asked. The cushion wasn't as soft as it looked, which was slightly disappointing. “Ready?” He nodded. “Ok, first of all can you please concentrate on your song? How is it normally?” Dmitri smiled; this, at least was something he was used to doing.
Soon the music filled the room, which made Cecilia grin more. “Oh good! You're a natural at this! Most people don't learn to do that until their second or third thousand days here. Now, have you ever been able to consciously change how the song went?” He shook his head; why would he want to change such a sound? It was blasphemy to suggest such a thing.
“I... see. Did you ever notice it changing against your will?”
“Well, it's never exactly the same, if that's what you mean.”
“No, no, what I mean is…” she paused. “Don't worry about it for now. Has it ever disappeared?” He shook his head. “Never at all?”
“Except for when I got sent here, nope.”
“Oh... Well, that's natural - your senses go completely dead temporarily when you're switching worlds.”
“You're making me feel like a freak you know... Cecilia?” She didn't appear to be listening to him. “Hello?” She stared at him blankly. “Are you ok? Answer me!” He started to get worried; she seemed fine a second ago. Still staring blankly, she walked over and sat down next to him. “Erm, honestly, Cecilia, answer me, you're starting to freak me out.” Without a word, she pounced him and started to lick his face; he struggled to get away, being careful not to hurt her. “You've gone bloody insane! Get off me! Help! Someone!”
With a snort of disdain, she sat back and glared at him. “You fool, you aren't Instrument quality at all. You'll be found out soon, and be sent home.”
Her words chilled Dmitri to the bone - to have such a wonderful world at his fingertips, just to lose it like that? How could he live without it? “But... You said... it wasn't possible…”
She smirked. “I lied.” He stared blankly at her, until she broke into a smile. “Well done! Your song stayed strong constantly, which is a good sign- at least you won't fail when we need you the most. Just... wait here one moment, please.” She scurried out of the door they entered from.
When she re-entered again, the Councilor followed behind her. She looked nervous, and kept glancing between him and Dmitri. The Councilor seemed collected, and more complacent. “Cecilia says you have an out-of-the-ordinary Song, one she's never came across before, and asked me to do a bit more testing.” He strode over to where Dmitri was sitting, and in one motion hit him on the back of the head. Hard.
Dmitri exploded. “Just who do you people think you are? What type of examination is this?! You're all mad! Mad! If this is what the world's like, send me home now.”
The Councilor just glanced at Cecilia, and raised an eyebrow. “One million tests, and he has to go and break your record. What a shame.” He smiled and Cecilia started to cry.
“But he just s-s-sat there, and his song didn't change, and I got scared and he didn't do as he should have and that’s even scarier, and I had to get you and now he's still weird, and…” She started to hiccup from crying and trying to speak.
“There, there, it's all right, you did the right thing.” He pat her head and looked at Dmitri. 'You see, Instrument, oddity isn't usually welcomed in this world. Everyone has their part and they fit in completely, or the town is weakened and destroyed. The few that are slightly different are used to the best advantage possible, of course, but... lately there's been reports coming from the south of another oddity - an Instrument that should have ceased to be, but hasn't. I honestly don't know much about the situation, but it doesn't sound very pleasant. Cecilia was scared you would turn out to be like him.” He turned to her, and his voice became gentler, less business like. “You little fool, anyone can hear he has a peaceful Song. Even if he wanted to act peaceful but intended damage, he couldn't hide that in his Song. You know that.” She sniffled and nodded. “You still did the right thing. I'll make a note of that in your file.” She smiled slightly at this, and dried her eyes.
“Unfortunately, Dmitri,” he said, back to business, “Our town needs versatile people. I don't know how you can fit in just yet, but we never had an idle citizen. Cecilia, dear, do you know of any positions free?”
“Um, none that'll fit him, but jobs could be rearranged easily. The town record-keeper could use a change of pace-maybe we could put her in the empty spot in the file room here? I assure you she's very diligent in keeping things sorted out. And…” She glanced at Dmitri. “His Song could be useful in the records office. Too many people go there too excited or scared to tell their story straight. If he learned how to use his Song properly, he could help sooth them so they make some semblance of coherency.”
The Councilor nodded. “Very good plan. Go inform the head record-keeper of the change, that's a dear.” She scurried out of the room. He sighed, and turned towards Dmitri. “She tries, really, but was pulled from her real home too early. She's…” he paused, thinking. “Oh, only about 15 or 16 Earth years old, so you need to humor her sometimes.”
“So I'm not weird?”
He laughed. “Oh, no, you are, but not in the way she made you sound. You should fit in well, actually, as long as you don't mind basically transcribing people's experiences. All of them go into the record storage for future reference. Nothing's too small to be recorded; most of the time you need to get all the small bits together to form a larger picture. And, who knows, perhaps we could teach you to control your Song more reliably anyway. It wouldn't hurt to be able to attack, not only defend as you can right now.”
Last edited by AnimeFan on Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:29 am; edited 1 time in total
Just a little quick update, it isn't that long unfortunately.... Same goes as before - any suggestions/comments/corrections, etc are welcome!^__________^
In the days that followed. Dmitri slowly settled into a routine. The record keeper’s task proved relatively easy, and helped him meet and grow to know the people of the town. Some only came to see him when rare or important events happened to them, while others seemed to use him as a personal diary keeper. The showed him more about the job and life in the town than he could have found out on his own. Each member had their own record book, which was slowly (or quickly, depending on the person) filled, and when they either ceased to be or filled the book up, a new one automatically took its place. The old one was placed in a storage room, ready to be read by future people.
Cecilia was actually the one who showed him how to retrieve the old books. She waltzed into his office one day, Sang a few words and names she wanted to read about, and curled up in a corner to read the books out of the way. He remembered his shock at how she did that.
“Oh, it’s nothing really. In past times the Instrument in charge of the office would have a Singer working here with him or her, also – the Instrument would take down the information, and the Singer would retrieve the books for whoever needed or wanted them.” She grinned at him. “Most Singers nowadays know how to do it, it’s just a variation of the summoning skills we develop. Most again, though, wouldn’t dare just walk in and take the books without your permission.”
He found himself grinning back at her. “Cheeky little thing you are. Since you’re here all the time, would you mind acting as my Singer, too? Just to retrieve books that I need? It’s nearly impossible for me to find them as it is now.”
She laughed and shook a finger at him. “Sure, but I shouldn’t help your laziness any. The books are all there, all you have to do is find them.”
He groaned jokingly, imagining the piles and stacks and what had to be miles of shelves, all covered with books. “There has to be millions of them, though!”
“I already said I’d help you, silly!” She grinned impishly at him and went back to reading.
Today could have been a repeat of that day. She waltzed into his shop, seemingly without a care or duty in the world, exchanged a few pleasantries and her borrowing a few books to read. She did seem to have more free time than anyone else in the town. Dmitri figured that it was because of her position; the Councilor probably didn’t provide much work for her to do, so she was free to help elsewhere. “Heh,” he muttered, looking at her reading in her usual corner. She had quickly gotten over her fear of him; he was sure that was partially the Councilor’s influence as well. Still, it didn’t keep her away now, at least.
Over in her corner, Cecilia yawned and turned a page. “Could you turn your Song down a bit, please? It’s too peaceful; I’m going to fall asleep.”
He did as she asked. Secretly he disagreed – who could fall asleep when there was such wonderful music to listen to? – but it probably wasn’t good to have her fall asleep in his office and thus keep her away from her duties. The Councilor was a nice person, but Dmitri was sure that it wouldn’t take much to make him mad where Cecilia was concerned.
“Thanks!” She went back to reading, and he did the same. Dmitri knew she wouldn’t be interrupted by very much now; when the burst of music that announced a visitor sounded, she didn’t even look up.
“Hail, Recorder,” the visitor said. “I have an update of Avdima.”
“Ah, one second then. Please, make yourself comfortable.” The visitor nodded, and sat down. Dmitri looked at Cecilia and sighed; he hated interrupting her, but it really would take ages for him to find the book on his own. As if she could hear his thoughts, she Sang a quick series of words, and the book appeared in his hands. “Heh,” he muttered. "It really is useful to have a Mindreader around sometimes." Although it was too low for her to hear, she still flashed a grin in his direction and went back to reading.
"Ready when you are, Linos," Dmitri said, opining the book to the first blank page.
Linos looked more troubled than he normally did. "I don't know where to start, Recorder..." Dmitri winced inwardly at the "Recorder" in place of a name. It sounded impersonal, and reminded him of his oddness every time. The Councilor, in one of his rare visits, did assure him that everything was fine, that it sometimes took people tens of thousands of days there before they got the name they would be called. "When the perfect name shows itself, it'll become obvious."
"You should start where your last report left off," he said calmingly, sending a bit of his Song to soothe Linos' nerves.
"Yes. Right. That would be best, wouldn't it?" Linos cleared his throat. "My friend sent a message approximately nine days ago, right after I came here last, telling me that Avdima had given an ultimatum to the town nearest her. The town was divided; half wanted to surrender peacefully, while the others were willing to fight to the end. They agreed to surrender, finally; all except for their Lead Instrument. She was there whey they executed him; ostensibly on a merchanting trip, but she really wanted to gather information for her town, because that was the next logical step Avdima would take after that town. She didn't go into much detail, but what she said sounded horrific." His voice gained a sickly fascinated tone. "I've told you how they did it before, right? With fire? It's so destructive... the reason it's banned here. It destroys everything - melts metal, burns wood. We may not be actual Instruments, but it destroys us just as much as one you can hold and play." He paused again. "The music, the power, inside the Lead Instrument was ignited, not his flesh. He burned from the inside out; can you imagine that? The flames shot 10 feet into the air, and singed the people in the first few rows of the viewing area. He had full support of the town members, even until the end. They didn't abandon him. He must have been a powerful Instrument." Once again he paused, perhaps imagining the scene; with a little shake he came back to the here and now. "We had an arrangement to send messages every other day to each other. It's been nine days. I haven't heard form her since." Another slight pause, then: "I'm sure she's okay, though. She did warn me that she probably wouldn't be able to get a message through if and when her town was taken over. And she had enough influence in her town to make them all submit peacefully. She had to, after what she saw."
Dmitri chilled at his words, but tried to keep his demeanor calm. His Song became louder, trying to sooth the three of them in the room. "I'm sure she's fine, don't worry. About how far is her town from here?"
“Oh. Let's see." He thought for a moment. "About 10 days, I think. There's only two or three towns in between here and there though. Even with Avdima taking an average of a month per town like he's been doing, to make sure it's completely under control, it'll take him a mere three months, tops, to get here." He stood up abruptly. "Of course, if the towns in between here and there refuse to surrender, it will take a lot quicker. Whoomph! All up in flames." He shuddered and turned to go. "I thank you for listening, Recorder." The music sounded again faintly as Linos left.
Cecilia closed her book softly. "Well," she said.
"'Well' indeed. You'd make out well in intrigue, little one; I thought you were too busy reading to listen." The light banter from earlier was gone, though.
She Sang the books back to their rightful places and shrugged. "The curse of being a Mindreader; no matter how well you shield yourself against general noise, strong emotions will still get through." She paused. "He's really worried about her, you know. Seep in his heart he fears she's lost forever to him."
Dmitri nodded, slumped in his chair. "Is this why you feared me at first? Because of this Avdima?"
She stood up straighter and gave a quick nod. "We had... reports. From other towns. This is a common thing for him to do; unless the town submits completely, he'll kill a few important people. No one really knew how he did it, but... I thought you would be just like him, since you weren't like us."
"I see." Dmitri nodded.
She sighed and put her hand on his shoulder. "I have to go tell the Councilor, but I'll be back as soon as possible. Would you like me to bring you the reports we had of him for your records?"
He nodded, and she turned to follow Linos' path. "Don't worry, though," she whispered. "I won't let the Councilor or the town stand up to him. We've been too used to peace for too long."
Over the next few days, Cecilia proved true to her word. Soon his entire desk was filled with globes and stacks of papers, amounting to almost an entire year’s worth of reports. He made copies of the ones from the Councilor’s office, and sent the originals back along with copies of Linos’ journals (and journals belonging to other people) so the Councilor and Cecilia could read them.
He could tell that the situation was bothering Cecilia horribly, but she hid it well. As optimistic as ever, she assured him that the Councilor would eventually be brought around, and that everyone would be safe. Her voice trembled a little when she said that, though, and she tended to hide herself in her books quickly after. Dmitri could only shrug mentally, and hope someone more competent was helping her cope; he did the best he could with his Song, but he wasn’t used to dealing with children and their emotions.
Dmitri was too busy to worry much, though, despite caring about Cecilia. The reports had to be read and organized; no easy feat to begin with, it was made harder by the types of information in them. Before Avdima, the towns that fought with one another merely used battles of Song (both the fighters’ individual ones and the much more powerful Songs belong to the individual towns) to determine a victory. This did lead to deaths, as any fighting between armies tends to do, but by all accounts nowhere near as much as hand-to-hand fighting would, since most of the deaths came from people ceasing to be from depleting their Songs.
Dmitri also studied Avdima’s character closely. While the person known as “Avdima” had been in the world for what seemed to be a while, the name must have been a relative new one, as there were very few (if any) records of him before the first town’s takeover. At first his intentions seemed noble enough; he wanted to end the “class” separation of Singers and Instruments, and seemed to also want the end of the inter-town wars. He had to ask Cecilia about that; in their town, Singers and Instruments seemed to be pretty much equal. She assured him that the record was correct; in other towns the Singers were seen as inferior, since they did the everyday tasks, while the Instruments had to mainly just sit back and make sure the town’s Song was in order.
Dmitri shook himself, and set himself back to writing a summary of Avdima for the town’s records. It was strange, to him at least, how power seemed to corrupt people eventually. Throughout the days after Avdima’s climb to power, he seemed to become more and more power-hungry, caring only for making people submit to him.
The worst parts of the whole situation, by far, were the troops and Avdima’s punishments. When his troops signed up for the army, he somehow leeched the magic out of them, leaving just enough for them to stay in the world without ceasing to be. This seemed, from multiple observations, to have twofold benefits. Since his troops had no more usable magic to deplete, they no longer could cease to be; apparently magic needed a certain base amount to be used, which was why most people were never transported to the world to begin with. The lessening of the Song levels also appeared to make them immune to attacks using Song. Partially because of this, Dmitri assumed, the troops had started using physical weapons (that somehow all centered around fire, although reports were hazy on that aspect); the attacks proved to be deadly against the relatively unprotected Instruments and Singers, and towns folded quickly when faced with such power. So. Avdima had his army, his as-of-now invincible army. Dmitri sighed, and massaged his temples; he had almost forgotten about the executions.
Avdima executed people far too freely for Dmitri’s liking. He almost always had the town leaders executed, unless they submitted absolutely to him. He had whole towns obliterated because they “dared” (according to the official proclamations) to send peaceful Songs towards his army, instead of submissive ones. Dmitri chilled at that; Avdima wouldn’t stop at killing single people, too, if he found them “preaching” peace with Song, instead of complete meekness. Dmitri still couldn’t change his song. Shuddering, he finished the summary and moved to reading the new reports.
He studied, took notes, and tried to figure out what to do. The reports still trickled in, tracking the progress of Avdima. “He moved to the next town. They surrended.” He felt relief for Linos and his friend. “He finished there and moved on. The town remained defiant. There’s nothing left.” A quick stab of fear there. One month of planning gone. The second report came from the town after that. Now the army was only about 5 days away.
After that report Dmitri gulped and gathered his notes. On the way to the Councilor’s office, he noted that there was no sign at all that there might possible be a battle here soon. He wasn’t quite sure what he expected to see; people locking and fortifying buildings, perhaps. People looked, for the most part, largely unaffected by the news. He knew they had heard, though; the Councilor had made an official announcement as soon as enough details were known.
Outside the door to the hall, he paused to make himself presentable (even though he needn’t have worried – they both had seen him entirely disheveled before, hair on end and ink spots all over his fingers and hands), and walked through the now familiar spaciousness. He greeted Syl and waited impatiently while she rang the Councilor. Once again, after bidding him to continue, she faded away.
He found Cecilia and the Councilor conferring together over a desk of papers. Cecilia hadn’t noticed him come in, and the Councilor seemed more distant than Dmitri had ever seen him. She gave an exasperated sigh and flopped against the back of her chair. “What other choice do you possibly have?!” she almost screamed. Her head flopped more over the top of her chair, and she saw Dmitri standing in the doorway. “Oh, good, reinforcements! Tell him that it’s the right thing to do, will you? Please!”
“Erm… whatever it is, I’d trust her judgment, sir.”
She grinned at him, bad mood forgotten. “Finally a sane person! Thank you.”
The Councilor threw his hands in the air out of surrender. “What other choice do I have? Fine! I’ll surrender myself and the town, and advise the others to do the same. Anything past that is out of my hands. Happy?” Despite the harsh tone, his eyes twinkled out of amusement. Dmitri half-thought he had long made up his mind to do that anyway, and had just been teasing Cecilia for fun. She apparently didn’t notice that; with a cry of joy she bounded across the Councilor’s desk, scattering papers and globes everywhere while she hugged him. After a moment, the Councilor gave a little cough, and she stood up and faced Dmitri. “Do you have news for us, Recorder?” she asked, her face shining from happiness.
He smiled at her. “A new batch of reports, plus advice and a request. It appears you’ve already achieved part of the request part already though.” She beamed back at him. He placed the newest papers in her hands and cleared his throat.
“Avdima has taken over the town closest to here, sir. This happened approximately two weeks… erm, fourteen days, I mean, ago; the reports had a hard time slipping around the guards he set up. The town is only five days’ worth of marching away; at best we have 20 days or so before he’s at our doorstep.”
The Councilor nodded while the smile hung just a bit crooked on Cecilia’s face. “We still have a few days to prepare then, even though there isn’t much left to do.”
“Erm... about that. You've read the previous reports, I assume?” When they both nodded, Dmitri plunged ahead. “Then you know that Avdima's more than likely to torch the entire town just because he feels one person is disobeying him. The town and everyone in it needs to be completely humble, completely subordinate to him and his whims. I can't do that with my Song; you know I've tried to change it, but still haven't been able to. There's reports in that stack I gave you, and ones from before – he kills all those who try to make their songs peaceful, instead of meek. For some reason he fears that, but I don't want to bring his wrath on the entire town.”
The Councilor leaned back and tented his fingers, sighing. “This has occurred to me, yes. Pray tell, what do you propose we do, then?”
“That's the thing, I don't know. You could hand me over to the army, as a peace offering.” Dmitri winced. “I would really rather you didn't do that, though.”
“And you know we wouldn't do that, you're just as much a part of the town as anyone else,” Cecilia said quietly.
He smiled slightly. “Any other time I'd be happy to hear that, but it makes the next suggestion even harder to say.”
“Next suggestion? It better be more feasible than the last two, Recorder.” The Councilor’s voice was tinged with icy concern.
Dmitri cleared his throat and grimaced inwardly. “It... isn't. Not by much. But... you could always let me go. Run away. No presenting me to Avdima, no risking the town's safety just because of me. No risk to you at all.” He stopped, thinking about what he just said. Bowing his head, he continued. “I'm sorry, it makes me feel like a complete coward, suggesting that. But what other choice is there?”
Cecilia and the Councilor looked at each other, then at Dmitri. “I wouldn't call it a coward's suggestion, per se,” he mused slowly. “More like... a tactical retreat. A sacrifice for the greater good, in a way that will end up hurting no one. Tell me, do you plan on just hiding if you go away?”
“Erm... I haven't really thought about that. I can't really survive on my own in the wilderness, can I? And it wouldn't be right to burden myself on another town....”
“You aren't a burden on...” Cecilia burst out hotly before the Councilor silenced her with a look.
“Of course I am, little one. At the moment, with Avdima looming, I'm a burden on anyone I'm around.”
The Councilor nodded. “How about we make a deal, then?”
“Hmm?”
“You retreat, and we allow you to. No... not merely allow – we keep it hidden, and try to hide the fact from Avdima as much as possible. In return, you will not only warn the other towns of the danger, but you will try to help them come up with a way to stop him. And you will not forget your duties as Recorder.”
Dmitri nodded dumbly. “It's the least I could do, sir.”
“Well then!” The Councilor sat straight up and shuffled a few papers on his desk. “Where's the nearest town, dear?”
“A few days due west, I think.”
“And after that?”
“South, a little. An easy day's walk, leave one town at noon, be at the other by dusk.”
“Splendid!” He shuffled more papers, apparently trying to find a particular one.
She looked at Dmitri appraisingly. “He'll be needing supplies then?”
“Ah, yes, that's right. Food, a good set of traveling clothes (preferably at least somewhat camouflaged, there's a dear), water, all light enough to fit on his back. Do you think that's manageable?”
She scoffed. “Of course it is! You forget I know exactly what's needed for traveling.”
The Councilor smiled benignly. “Of course, a temporary memory lapse I assure you. How quickly can you have it done?”
Cecilia pretended to think it over, while the two men sat, waiting, for her answer. “I don't know,” she said, drawling out each word.
“Please?” The Councilor said, sighing theatrically enough to make teenagers worlds over envious.
She pounced him again, then flew past Dmitri and out the door humming measures of something under her breath. “I'll have it done by the time you finish briefing him!” she called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the nearly endless room.
“Erm.... what just happened there?” Dmitri asked. The whole exchange took only a few seconds, nowhere near enough time to have actually discussed anything. And no one felt the need to ask him about anything.
The Councilor grinned with more mirth than may have been proper for the occasion. “Just Cecilia being her true self,” he chuckled, shuffling through a few more papers. “Ah, here we go.” He pulled out a pale blue sheet. “How rude of me, sit please.” Dmitri could do nothing but sit, watching the Councilor wrote a few lines onto the sheet. With a flourish he signed it, then sealed it with his Song. “Heh. Been a while since I've had to do that,” he muttered. “Nowadays a quick concentrating'll send it to wherever the message needs to go, anywhere in the world. Still, it's better to send this along in person, this time.”
Dmitri took the sheet from the Councilor's out held hand and turned it over; what used to be the size of his hand was now able to fit between the first knuckle and his palm. Yet it was still as thin as ever, with no seams. “I approve, but... what is it?”
“A letter.”
“To?”
“Did I forget to put that on there? Ye gods, I've been losing my mind lately; don't tell anyone, though. Can't have a sign of weakness, especially now.” A few more flourishes, then he handed it to Dmitri again.
“It's Avdima's fault, I expect, puts too much stress on you.”
“Well, then when I meet him I'll be sure to tell him he's the first one ever to have that effect on me.”
“I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that, sir.” Dmitri turned the letter over, musing. “How will I find this person?”
“Oh, just start asking around for the Recorder when you get there. It won't be too odd; he's seen as being among the best in the whole world – it's actually normal for young apprentice Recorders (among others) to travel to be taught by him. He'll take you in gladly.”
“Should I say it's from you, sir? If so many people go to him, he might not take yet another random person in.”
“Yes... wait, no. No, he won't recognize that. Say it's from...” he paused, then shrugged. “Ah, what can it hurt now. Say it's from Bragi – he'll recognize that name.”
“Bragi, then” Dmitri bowed after a sudden burst of insight. “An honor, sir.”
The Councilor gave him a calculating look. “Just as long as you realize that name doesn't leave your lips until you get there, understand? It wouldn't be good for you to be waylaid by overzealous townspeople.”
Dmitri gulped. “I understand, sir.”
“Good, good.” At that moment Cecilia waltzed back into the room, carrying a knapsack that almost appeared to float by itself.
“Clothing, good, shelter, water, even an expanding walking still, all able to compact itself and fit into the marvelous bag, with a negator of most of the gravity built in. It would be a negator of all of it, but that would gain a few waylaid looks as you go by with a floating backpack!” She said, crowing and slipping it onto Dmitri's back.
“It's amazing!”
She beamed at him. “Glad you think so!”
“That should be it, then,” the Councilor said, standing up. “Remember, go right there, don't delay for any reason. And go straight to their Recorder. Don't forget anything I said.” Cecilia must have caught a thought from him, because she darted a sharp glance in his direction.
“Just how much did you tell him?” she muttered.
He laughed. “Nothing you don't already know, little bird.”
“If you say so.”
“Tch, you know I speak truth.”
“The way you two are together...” Dmitri stuttered, utterly confused again.
“Ah, my apologies. We need to start focusing on matters of state.”
Cecilia sidled up to Dmitri, whispering conspiratorially. “Avdima's taking more of a toll on him than he lets on. It's a good break for him to smile, even laugh, from time to time.”
The Councilor obviously overheard her, but did nothing but walk around the desk and clamp a hand onto Dmitri's shoulder. “Go well, and bring peace to our world, Rhodion.” He paused, then grinned at Cecilia. “It works, at least.”
“Rhodion? But why.... oh, I see, very good.” She beamed back.
Hmm, it isn't the worst of names, Dmitri thought, musingly. “I will, sir.” He bowed again, then walked out of the room, building, and life he had come to know and understand.
One more part after this, then the story's done..... XD As always, comments/corrections/suggestions are always welcome! <3
Joined: Oct 16, 2004 Posts: 376 Location: Marietta, GA
Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:11 am Post subject:
I saw three typos. Two in the previous installment that I haven't read until just now where you had "the" instead of "they" at the beginning of the sentence in one of the first paragraphs. That same paragraph was a little awkward at its end. Again in that installment, instead of "they" you had whey. I don't remember where the third typo was, but it was an s instead of the letter it was supposed to be.
I enjoyed the continuation of the story. I'd give more input if I had more time, but I have to write up a chemistry lab. _________________ Le Roi Soleil
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