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| Music! Gotta master them all!; A musician's tale.. | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 1 2008, 06:01 AM (713 Views) | |
| shadowyi | Jun 1 2008, 06:01 AM Post #1 |
[music of paradox]
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So as I was taking part in the RPG unfolding in thread games, I was suddenly struck by inspiration to write a story. I'm a casual writer, and my works tend to more of the fantasy genre. I love Pokemon, and thought I'd model a story after it. I'll add the story to the original post, and well, enjoy! 6/1/2008 - The story begins.. Ailur woke up and stretched, briefly scowling at the sun beams that were merrily dancing in her eyes. She loved sleep and hated waking up. The 11 year old sat glumly on her bed, blowing at her side bang that had fallen into her face. At the first look, her hair looked black, but in the sunlight it revealed brown tints. She had startlingly gray eyes set in a squarish face that tapered off to a narrow chin. Standing at 167 cm, she often looked diminutive but had quite a set of lungs and often produced a sound far louder than it seemed her small frame could produce. Ailur batted at her blankets for a little while, then suddenly sat bolt upright as a thought occurred to her. It was the day of the Choosing! As her mind processed that thought, her body was already in full action as she leapt off the bed, yanked a brush through her long hair, frantically threw on some clothes (while pulling out half her wardrobe in the process), scrambled around for her watch and a flute case, looked around wildly and dashed out the door. She left behind a scene as if a tornado had just passed through. Ah, how typical of Ailur Windmaker. Ailur flew downstairs and ran out the door past her startled parents. Her brother Itaru bit back an oath as she careened past him in the doorway. "Try not to kill anyone else, T-Rex!" He called after her. "What's up with her?" He asked his parents as he dropped into a chair, looking appreciatively at the breakfast spread. Ailur's mother smiled fondly, "It's her Choosing Day." Choosing marked a very special day for the children in the world of Unamei. In the world of Unamei, music was an integral part of life. It was a way the peoples communicated, expressed themselves, and lived their lives. With an instrument, a person had access to a power within themselves that could otherwise not be unlocked. One could lift heavy objects with their music, travel rapidly or even heal someone. And on their 16th birthday, any child who wished to do so could go to their conservatoire to present themselves for their Choosing. At the Choosing, they are given an instrument that would forever be the category of instrument they play. It was the type best suited to their personality, temperament, and soul. Take the Windmakers for example, they were a family and lineage of flutes. A lighthearted, optimistic figure, Ailur's mother played the piccolo (alright well, it's a close relation to the flute). A strong man with integrity, Ailur's father played a bass flute. Her brother Itaru hadn't quite decided if he wanted to be that specialized, and played the general concert flute for now, but recently he had been ruminating about creating his own, personalized flute. After receiving their instruments, a child would usually choose to go on a journey through the lands of Unamei, learning and growing with his/her music. All her life Ailur had been treated to the wild tales of what had happened on her parents' and brother's journey, and she was breathless with excitement that it was finally her turn! ..in fact, she was so excited that she ran through the streets of Torau recklessly, at one time bumping into a construction worker playing the tuba. Pompompom--spomk! A foundation of steel rods for a building had been laying itself down, but thanks to Ailur's crashing into the worker, one of the steel rods had been deformed with a huge bent in the middle. "Ailur!!" The worker shook his fist after the rapidly departing girl. "Your parents will hear about this! This will take another half hour of playing to fix this!" He sighed and flipped through his bag for a sheet music that would serve a different purpose than the one he had been playing. "Sorry!" She yelled behind her. For all her sterling qualities, restraint when excited was definitely not one of them. Often labeled with a maturity beyond her years, that maturity somehow always mysteriously vanished when Ailur was excited. After 20 minutes of huffing and puffing, Ailur finally came to a half in front of a beautiful building made of marble. Its scale was huge, with colonnades all around the outside perimeter. Large floor length windows ran around the outside walls, and faint sounds of an orchestra could be heard from one of them. This was the heart of Torau, Torau's conservatoire. Now that she was finally here, Ailur gripped her flute case a bit uncertainly. Where was she supposed to go from here? She gazed up at the gently sloping roof, trying to recall a mental map of the place. Now where would she find Magister Vartu? Her dilemma was solved as an old man slowly walked out of the conservatoire's big oak doors. "Ah, Ailur. Your mother sent me a message on the wind telling me you would be here shortly. Right on time I see." Magister Vartu smiled benignly. Ailur clasped her hands in front of her and bowed deeply, "Magister." She responded. One always showed respect to Magisters, for they were the ultimate authority and keepers of musical wisdom in Unamei. Most small towns only had lower ranking people, but Torau had the fortunate luck to have a Magister in residence. Magister Vartu was the keeper of Choosing, he was the one all the youths came to see when they were of age. "Well come on in, I know you must be impatient to start off on your journey!" He gestured for Ailur to follow him, then promptly set down on a course through the conservatoire's many hallways. Some were filled with sunlight, some with plants and flowers, and others with statues of famous Magisters or Adepts. When a Musician reached a certain level of skill and had the necessary talent, he or she could choose whether to take up a didactic role and teach (with Magisters being the highest ranks), or continue journeying and becoming an Adept -- the pinnacle of technique and use of music. "Here," Magister Vartu entered a spacious dome room crammed with many cases and books. "Normally I would ask the candidate to wait while I set up the Choosing table, but judging from your family background I would say you already know what you want?" He smiled at Ailur as she nodded. No question about which instrument was most suitable for her, not when 100 generations of Windmakers had all been given flutes. "Come into the back then, where all the relics are kept when not in use." Back when Unamei was formed by the gods (don't worry, this isn't going to be a religious story!), it is told that they also created all the instruments as well. For each type of instrument several prototypes were created, and were imbued with the very essence of what the instrument was. Those particular instruments are called relics, and are in fact unplayable. Rather, their purpose was to indicate which instrument was best suited for each child. Since then, the many regions of Unamei have each claimed their own instruments. The land of Ilar that the town of Torau was located in was known for its woodwinds, it had the largest selection of woodwind relics. Ailur caught her breath in excitement, no one had ever been in the storage hall before! She quickly scuttled after Magister Vartu as he pushed aside a heavy drape, and entered a rather dimly lit room. Inside, various types of woodwinds sat in display cases, looking to all eyes as perfectly normal instruments. However, if one picked them up and tried to play them, no sound would come out of it. The wise man walked past several display cases, and Ailur stifled a giggle as she passed by a tuba case. Hope that worker didn't have too much extra work to do! She followed Magister Vartu and stopped in front of a case holding the standard concert flute. She stood in front of it as the Magister lifted away the covering that was shimmering with music notes. "Protection songs," Magister Vartu said in response to her curious look. "Now stand in front of the flute, and.. well. You shall see." Ailur dutifully stood in front of the flute, wondering what was supposed to happen. A moment passed by. Several moments passed by. ...those moments turned into minutes, but nothing happened. Ailur felt quite disappointed, so this was what the Choosing was about? Standing in front of a dusty old relic? She felt stupid that she had been so excited this morning. Swiveling her head, she looked up at Magister Vartu. He had a frown on his brow and a look of uncertainty on his face. "My dear... I'm sorry. It appears the flute is not for you." Ailur scoffed in disbelief. Um... what?! 6/3/2008 Every fiber of her being stood in outraged shock. This was not happening!! This could not be happening. She must have heard wrong. MUST HAVE!! Ailur turned an outraged face towards Magister Vartu. "What!?" (It seemed that decorum also goes out the window when she was mad.) Magister Vartu was still staring at the relic in odd realization. "It... seems that the flute does not choose you." Ailur brandished the flute case she was holding in the Magister's face. "How is this possible? 100 generations of Windmakers have chosen flutes. I have been dreaming of the day that I receive a flute since I was small and tried to eat mother's flute! This flute case is proof that the flute is the best instrument for me!!" By now her lungs were producing that famed loud sound. Magister Vartu sighed and steepled his fingers. Ever now and then he gets one of these, a child who is so set on an instrument that he or she would not accept that the instrument did not choose them. Of course, it was a more serious fact considering this was Ailur Windmaker. Why, Vartu remembered when her brother Itaru had come in for his Choosing. He had been 10 steps away from the flute relic when it had lit up and started singing like a bell. No doubt there, just like there was no doubt here that the flute was not choosing Ailur. "My dear... the meaning behind Choosing is not that the player chooses the instrument, it's that the instrument chooses the player. I'm sorry, but it's obvious here that the flute does not choose you." Ailur stared at the Magister in sudden fury. She felt cheated, cheated of a childhood dream that she had cherished for a long, long time. Babies get blocks to play with, she had gotten the pieces of a miniature flute. She had had a flute shaped pacifer, a bottle painted with flutes. She loved the wind chime made of silver flute pieces above her crib, and had insisted her dad make her bed frame out of a flute when she grew up. All this and more marked a life of a love for the flute, and every day she itched for the need to grab one and play. But no, children were not allowed to have their own instruments. They could only play their parents' or family's. As a small child, Ailur had refused to play with either of her relatives' flutes. She insisted that the first flute she played would be her own. And now it seemed that she would never touch one. How dare the Magister tell her these dusty old relics did the choosing? They weren't even alive. "Come along Ailur," Magister Vartu managed, after much tugging and pushing, to move a furious Ailur from the flute case. "Let's find the one meant for you." Ailur stomped angrily along the hall, glaring at every single case she passed. Come on, I dare you. She angrily thought, daring every single instrument she passed to choose her. She would break her flute case on the damn instrument that dare break her cherished dreams. Maybe that flute relic was sleeping or something, she could always come back to it! She scowled particularly ferociously when she passed a clarinet. Oh she would wreck that relic with glee if it chose her. That annoying kid in her class played the clarinet incessantly since he had gotten it a month ago. The problem was, he wasn't good at all and sounded like a honking duck. Of course, all the other kids hero worshipped him for having an instrument. BLAH!! The duo went down the hallway, stopping after passing the panpipes. Magister Vartu halted, none of the instruments had chosen Ailur. What on earth was going on? "Erm.. maybe we should walk back." He proposed hesitantly, a case like this was unheard of! So back they walked, starting with the panpipes, passing by the clarinet, a piano, a violin, the flute (as Ailur looked at it with hopeful, desperate eyes), and several others before ending at the tuba. Still, none of them had done anything special for Ailur. Magister Vartu was fully perplexed by now, there must be an instrument here for Ailur! And yet, they were out of instruments to pass by. "Well? Do I get to choose one myself now since nothing happened?" Ailur asked in a very ugly tone. This was supposed to be the most special day of her life, and it turned out to be a big fat disappointment. Good thing she was the only one at Choosing today, Ailur didn't think she would have been able to face it if she had been part of a large group. But perhaps she could choose the flute and make it work somehow, even if the flute hadn't chosen her. But Magister Vartu shook his head and dashed her hopes. "No my dear, the instrument has to do the choosing, not you," He thought for a bit, then brightened. "Ah, we do have one more instrument. I've put it permanently in storage because it's never Chosen anyone. Perhaps it's the one for you." He quickly walked off, leaving Ailur to digest this unwelcome bit of news. Was she about to get someone's leftovers? Some arcane, half broken travesty of an instrument? She whirled around and was about to go demand a flute when the Magister walked up, something displayed in a carrying tray. As soon as the Magister had turned around, some music had started playing. Ailur looked at him, momentarily entranced. What was this beautiful, mellow sound? It soothed away her anger, outrage, and fear that she was not a true Windmaker without a flute. An enchanting melody wove around the storage hall, Ailur could swear she could almost see the notes shimmering on the air... Magister Vartu smiled in relief as the music stopped. "There, I thought this one might be it." Ailur drew closer and looked apprehensively at the thing resting on the carrying tray. It looked.. like.. a blob. A blob with holes. ...a blob with holes with a longer blob. What on earth was this? It had nothing of the elegance of a flute, she looked sadly at the flute case she held in her hand. It would never see any use. "What is it?" Ailur asked, not really caring. Magister Vartu smiled, hoping this meant that the child had accepted this turn of events. "This is a very special type of woodwind, called an ocarina." 6/8/2008 Ailur looked at him with dull eyes. What the hell was an ocarina? It sounded like a vegetable. Was she going to brandish a vegetable in her amazing quest throughout the world? She'd always imagined a fully pieced together flute strapped to her back, facing all oncomers, the elements and anything that might come. This.. little pile of a.. thing was an abomination. It even sounded like a cheap flute knockoff! (She conveniently forgot how she was entranced by the ocarina's voice just a few moments ago). Its stupid piping sound could not match up to a flute's, nothing could match up to a flute! "..and so, the ocarina is actually an instrument with an ancient history, it's just not as mainstream as some of the other woodwinds, so you don't see it that often." Magister Vartu concluded his little spiel on the ocarina's history, ...not that Ailur had been paying any attention in her defiant refusal of the ocarina. Perhaps sensing her intentions, Magister Vartue smiled and said softly, "An instrument's choice is irrevocable, you cannot choose another. This is the one meant for you, best start getting used to it." Ailur rolled her eyes at him and muttered, "Whatever." She looked on with disinterest as the Magister disappeared in the backroom to grab a standard issue ocarina. Ailur firmly resolved to hate the ocarina and everything to do with it. Nothing could take the place of a flute in her heart! A majestic, glorious flute... there was nothing like it in the world. Sneaking a peak at the back room, Ailur decided to double check that the flute relic wouldn't choose her. Maybe those display cases blocked something or another... She hurriedly walked back to the flute relic. There was that little matter of those protection songs... aw. What could happen? Ailur raised a hesitant hand to the flute's display case and reached towards it. "Owwwwwww!!!" A flash of lightning arced to her hand. She hastily drew her hand back, tears springing to her eyes. So that's what those protection songs did. Well, she wasn't going to let some stupid lightning stop her from her dreams! The flute was something she always wished for on her birthday, for 11 years now! That dream was within reach, and even though a pile of sh-dump of a thing had sang for her, she knew the flute was the best instrument for her. Gritting her teeth, she raised both hands to the display case. "Nnnnnn!!!" Ailur screamed through gritted teeth. Lightning flashed again and again, lacerating both her hands. When she laid hands on the display case, electricity ran through her entire body. The ampere was not high enough to kill, but definitely high enough to hurt like heck. It was a fine line between death and pain, but that showed off Magister Vartu's skill. Ailur fought through waves of pain and swayed on her feet, but defiantly stood her ground. She would go through all this and more to realize her dream! Unbeknownest to her, the Magister had emerged from the back room at this point and was watching her with sad eyes. Every once in a while there was a child like her, unwilling to accept that their dreams had to change. It was heartbreaking, to be sure, but the relics knew best. Since she had gone so far, the Magister was going to allow her to break her heart thoroughly, to drive home the point the truth that another instrument was meant for her. He watched. Ailur flung the display case to the side, tears streaming down her eyes. She looked down at her hands and gasped, they looked like they were covered with a thousand cuts. She flexed them gingerly and quickly stopped when blood started oozing out. Looking at the relic with hopeful desperation, there was a look in Ailur's eyes that looked like she was willing to lay down her life for her dreams. Slowly, ever so slowly, her hand inched forward. Maybe it would sing for her if she touched it, that was the mark of a Choosing wasn't it? A feeling of hopelessness threatened to drown her, she slowly... laid her left hand... on the relic. And waited. It was silent. Deathly silent. Ailur could hear her blood echoing in her ears, in the entire hall in fact. Just as Magister Vartu started forward, the flute lit up dully, and sounded a long, flat note. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Now this had never happened! No two instruments had ever both sounded for one person. Yet... that note was different from the typical Choosing. It did not sound glorious or joyous at all, no feeling of warmth or welcome. No music of acceptance played from it. Rather, it sounded... regretful. Sorrowful. Almost as if the relic was apologizing for not choosing her. Perhaps it recognized her in a way, after all, it had chosen 100 generations of Windmakers. He rested his hand on the girl's shoulder, she looked so defeated, so frail, as if the world has crashed down around her. A lone, hot tear trickled painfully down Ailur's cheek. This was too painful to bear. That note had pounded into her heart like a death knell. In fact, she swore her heart had stopped for a second. Without looking, she groped behind her for the instrument the Magister held and ran away, away from a place that had humiliated her two times. The conservatoire used to be Ailur's favorite place, now it would be a long while before she could even look at it again. Ailur walked defeatedly through the doors into her home. From the careful, wary way her parents and brother were looking at her, she knew that Magister Vartu had sent them a message already with his cello. "You want to see what I got? Here it is." She tossed the ceramic blob now covered with little smears of blood in the direction of her brother. Itaru hastily caught it, his eyes widening in dismay as he looked at the blood smeared on it. Her mother gave a soft exclamation and pulled out her piccolo. She played a soft ditty, playing until the cuts had gone away while Ailur devoutly wished she could turn deaf and blind. She suddenly realized that she couldn't stay at home, not with all these painful reminders of what she would never have. She ran upstairs, grabbed the gear that she had packed in excitement the night before (what hopes I had then..) and hurtled back downstairs. On the first floor, she paused and tearfully embraced her parents. Tears for her disastrous Choosing? Tears for leaving her parents for the first time? Tears for her embarkation on a journey into the wild and unknown? Who knew? Her parents murmured words of encouragement and said they would contact her when she felt better. Itaru kissed her on the cheek and handed her a now clean ocarina. "Be careful out there little one." He said softly. Ailur nodded, shoved that distasteful lump into her knapsack and ran out the door. When she reached the woods that marked the end of Torau, she paused briefly and looked back, bidding mental farewell to her beloved home. What a horrendous way to leave her home! She had always dreamed that she would be leaving in much different circumstances. With hope, gladness, and anticipation! Now she just felt dread and plodded dully into the woods ahead. 6/9/2008 Ailur walked glumly around, her feet scuffling at the leaves on the forest floor. This was so stupid! Her grand adventure, now turned into a grand torture. She decided to rest for a moment since she was halfway between Torau and Veridan (city names will sound familiar, I cannibalized the Pokemon ones :D). She picked a likely looking stump and sat down. Alright, time to assess the situation. She had all her gear and hadn't been eaten by any scary animals. That was a plus. She didn't have a flute for her instrument. That was a minus. She had a close cousin of the flute. That was a... who knows. She had a little dumpy looking thing that seemed to be what animals excreted out of their behind and sounded like a cheap imitation of her beloved flutes and would never take the place of a flute in her heart and just sucked because she'd wanted all her life to get a flute and now she didn't and now she wouldn't be able to look at a conservatoire for a long time and --- STOP! Ailur sighed. It was pointless to keep dwelling in self pity and anger. Sure it sucked, but this is life heh? (Her good sense was finally kicking in here). She sighed again and pulled her... dump of a thing from her bag. She paused and looked at her knapsack with pride. It was made of the finest, softest leather, treated for wear and tear against the elements. All straps and stitching were triple stitched with the finest yet toughest cord. A very lightweight sleeping back sat rolled up on top of it. It was thickly padded on the bottom but very thin on top. It had the ability to keep one warm in negative 20 degrees Celsius weather but also whisk away heat and perspiration in 45 degrees Celsius weather. There was a built in goose down pillow, and the top of the sleeping bag could be zipped over the head for protection against rain. There were also hooks and straps on the top and bottom, allowing the sleeper to string it up like a hammock or just to hang it. It was the most luxurious sleeping bag that Torau could offer. The flap immediately underneath the sleeping bag was flat and empty. It had been set aside to hold her instrument supplies. Right underneath was a bigger flap that held her ID, wallet and other assorted essentials. Lotion, medicine, and a mini first aid kit was also contained in the compartment. Underneath that was the big main compartment. That held her clothing (Ailur had enough for a weeks' worth), music books (again currently void of flute sheet music), a map of Ilar, some food supplies, a collapsible all purpose pot that could fold down into a frying pan, and space for whatever else Ailur wanted to cram in there. A large heavy duty water thermos sat in a side pocket, and the other side pocket was empty. There were multiple loops and hooks on the knapsack's outside, just waiting for more gear to be added to it. The knapsack as a whole could also be deconstructed to become an overhang when it started pouring at night. All in all, Ailur was outfitted fabulously. 6/10/2008 She paused, then looked at her knapsack with a mixture of pride and sadness. She had saved most of her allowwance every year to put towards this equipment. There was a very special modification in the padded back. There was a very thin sheath, designed to house a fully assembled flute. It was constructed so the person could pull it out easily and stow it just as easily. However, this addition was not as comfortable for the wearer's back. Well, guess I'll never need it. Ailur moped, then suddenly ripped off the addition in fury. She felt so cheated and so angry with the world. A flute was there, right in front of her, she could almost feel it. ...Yeah. Right. Ailur sat there, moping for another hour. As the sun set and night settled over the forest, she became aware of a slowly brightening circle in front of her.  The circle slowly widened until it was the size of her head, its opaqueness clearing up to reveal the faces of her family."Mom! Dad! Itaru!" Ailur exclaimed happily, briefly distracted enough to forget her Choosing woes. Her brother waved and said, "Mom and Dad say hi." Her parents were otherwise occupied on their flute and piccolo. Since Ailur was quite a distance away from Torau, both parents were needed to play the song that would carry their image and words to their daughter. "How's your first night out? Has your ugly face scared any bugs to death yet?" Ailur scowled, Itaru never stopped making fun of her! "Only kidding, but really, are you alright? Do you need any additional gear? Mom and Dad say we can still send you stuff, but soon you'll be out of our range." Ailur thought briefly, then shook her head. "Nah, we did a good job of buying stuff. I think I have everything I need." Her parents nodded, still playing their song. Itaru nodded as well, "Alright then, send us a message when you reach Veridan." "How am I supposed to do that? I can't even play that.. my.. thing..." Ailur's voice trailed off, her face losing the traces of happiness she'd felt at seeing her family. "Look up a illuminor when you get to Veridan. It'll be in their conservatoire." Itaru smiled and picked up his flute. The three started playing a complex song as Ailur watched in bemusement. What were they doing? And what was an illuminor? The circle holding her family's images slowly dimmed, and Ailur hastened to wave bye. The circle went opaque, shrank, and finally disappeared from existence, leaving behind a brown bundle. Ailur picked it up and flipped over the note attached to it. Present from us! The note was written in Itaru's cheerful scrawl. She unwrapped it carefully to reveal a... belt with a... holster? What an odd contraption. Am I supposed to wear this around my waist? She put it on, arranging the holster at her right hip. What went into it? She thought for a moment, then narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Taking her.. thing of a dump from where she had put it on the ground, she placed it into the holster. Yep. Perfect fit. It was obvious that her parents had scrambled to buy the finest they could. The belt and holster was made of the same soft leather as her knapsack and was treated against the elements as well. Ailur sighed. She knew it was her family's way of helping her feel better about the outcome of her Choosing. Thanks... I guess. She sighed and looked at the blob resting by her right hip. 6/11/2008 Ailur blinked her eyes open slowly and s.t.r.e.t.c.h.e.d. She crawled out of her sleeping bag and blinked happily. What a world of a difference a night's good sleep would do! Why, she didn't feel any strain in her muscles from traveling so hard yesterday, her spirits were restored, and she was ready to face the world with her... oh. Dump. (Yeap, Ailur has named her ocarina the dump. Marvelous ain't it?) Bleh. So maybe the world wasn't all roses and cherries (or whatever the expression is) after all. She packed her gear away and stood up. Mmmm. Forest air smelled so pristine and nice. She'd heard about pollution and smog in the big cities (a thing about technology in Unamei, they have electricity but no planes, cars, or mass transportation. You'll see what I use for transportation later. They have machines, especially the type you see in factories. No weapons! Music is so much more versatile than a nuclear warhead -- unfortunately.. It's an odd mix of a rustic utopia with modern evils. You'll see.), with her sensitive body, Ailur hoped she wouldn't have trouble breathing. So. Onward ho! Veridan city awaited her. She kept the dump in her side holster. Although she loathed it and wished nothing more than a flute, she didn't want to break the damn thing.. at least she thought she didn't. After one last final stretch, Ailur strode out towards Veridan city. She had been walking for the better part of an hour when she heard the faint strings of music. A fellow traveler? Curious, she followed her ears to the source. Ailur stepped into a clearing where a boy was practicing on a... violin? No not quite... she had never seen the instrument before. Standing in front of him, she gawked a bit. A new instrument! How exciting! For a brief moment her old self was restored to her. The joys of discovering new music was one of the reasons why people went on quests, and she'd discovered a new instrument on her second day of travel! Waiting politely for him to finish his song, she took a good look at the boy. They seemed to be of a similar age. He was about half a head taller than her and had a lean, ever so muscular build. Maybe he'd traveled a lot. His eyes were closed to the music as his left hand worked the strings and his right hand the bow. His brown hair was spiked rather messily, and he was dressed in khakis and a t shirt. Ailur listened, appreciating the music. The sound was similar to a violin's... but not quite. It seemed to be a practice song as he kept playing notes up and down a G major scale. His left fingers spasmed briefly in uncertainty, then he sighed as his bow struck a sour note. "Dangit, I can't change fingerings soon enough." He lowered his instrument and smiled a warm, welcoming smile at Ailur. "My music seems to have attracted an audience, how are you? My name is Ontaer." She smiled back, that cheerfulness in his brown eyes was infectious. "I'm Ailur, I was walking through the woods when I heard your music. It's really nice! What instrument is this?" 6/12/2008 Ontaer smiled, "This is a viola, close cuz to the violin. It's not that common in Ilar." He turned his viola around in the sunlight, letting Ailur get a close look at it. "The tone is similar, but it's deeper and a lot more mellow. It's also more full bodied and loud." Ailur looked at admiringly at how the sunlight played off the grain of the wood. "It's beautiful! How long have you been playing it?' Ontaer started stowing his viola away, "Oh.. three years now. I'm 19, musician rank. You?" Ailur widened her eyes in surprise, a musician rank! Wow. She was only a novice, the rank given to those who'd just started out on their journey. After novice came player, and that was divided into junior and senior player, then came musician, then came master, then came adept. Her goal was to reach adept and travel around the world in search of new music! How exciting.  "I'm just a novice, I started my journey yesterday after I got the dump.." Did I just really say that out loud? Oops.Ontaer raised a sardonic eyebrow, "The dump? Charming name for your instrument." He nodded towards the side holster. "An ocarina right? One of the rarest woodwinds in Ilar, it's a great honor to be chosen for it. Yet you don't like it?" An honor eh? Ailur had never thought she would meet someone who would think having the dump was an honor. "How do you know about oc-ocarinas?" She stumbled over the word a little as she realized it was the first time she had actually said the instrument's name out loud. Ontaer finally finished putting everything away and swung his black and red nylon knapsack on his back. "Well, my family goes to our vacation home in the Orange Islands (sound familiar?? :D) every summer, and the Orange Islands are home to most of the ocarina makers in Unamei. I grew up seeing ones made out of wood, bamboo, plastic, metal, ceramic, clay.. etc. A side holster's the most common way to carry a transverse one around." Ailur's head was a bit reeling from all the information in his last couple of sentences. Vacation home? Geez, seems like she'd met a rich kid. Clay metal plastic? Wow.. didn't know that. ..wait. Transverse? Were there any non transverse ..ocarinas? "...have you eaten lunch yet?" Ailur asked suddenly. At Ontaer's negative, she smiled. "Do you want to eat lunch now? I'll cook." "Haha sure, I'm low on food supplies so I'd greatly appreciate that." They sat down and Ontaer started a fire with a low D note. The two started talking as if they were old friends and Ailur lost no time in grilling Ontaer for information about her instrument. It would seem that her interest had been sparked. 6/13/2008 Their stomachs and Ailur's mind full, the two friends started cleaning up the remains of lunch. "Now that you've fed me, I should repay the favor. Would you like a battle demonstration?" Ontaer asked. Ailur's heart leapt, this was one of the things she traveled for! "Of course I would!" "Alright, one second." Ontaer unpacked his viola again and played a simple ditty. Ailur smiled, this was a very familiar tune to her. She heard this all the time on TV and in the streets of Torau. When he had finished, a rectangular box divided in half had appeared drawn into the ground. This was your very basic battleground. Each opponent would stand at the end of the two sides, and their avatars would be separated by the dividing line. 6/14/2008 "So first things first, you'll have to summon your avatar." Ailur looked at him in confusion. What avatar? Seeing her hesitation, Ontaer explained, "You know, the thing that appeared when you first played your instrument." Ailur stared at him in mute agony. As the seconds dragged on painfully, Ontaer's gaze sharpened. "Have... you not played your instrument yet?" Ailur shook her head, suddenly embarrassed. Ontaer ran a hand through his hair. "Erm... Choosing gone awry eh?" Ailur decided to tell her new friend more about herself. "My full name is Ailur Windmaker." "Windmaker!" Ontaer's eyes widened in sudden comprehension. "I've heard of your grandfather! My mother is the news anchor for one of the major Ilar news channels. They still joke that Hadar Windmaker was named Windmaker because he created the winds and weather, he was that eerily accurate!" Ailur smiled, grandpa had always picked the best days to go out picnicking. The weather was always breezy yet sunny, and he always timed it down to the dot when it came time to whisk the kids inside. "So.. erm.. oh.. yeah.." Ontaer suddenly realized why Ailur might not have played her instrument yet. "..yeah.. 100 generations of Windmakers have been chosen by flutes. I'm the first one to be chosen by something else. Kinda like the shame of the family." Ailur said dejectedly. "Are you sure you're the shame of your family? You must be very special to be chosen by another instrument in 100 generations." Ontaer saw the silver lining in this situation that Ailur didn't. "You're not boring and the same like everyone else. And besides, the relics know what they're doing. Even if you had received a flute, you wouldn't have been happy. It wouldn't have been the one best suited for you." Some of Ailur's thoughts had gone down that path the night before, but she had firmly mired herself in a bog of self doubt. Hearing them from an objective standpoint though managed to beat some of themselves more into her. "But.. the dump.. I mean ocarina.. isn't.. I mean.." "It's not a flute." Ontaer said what was on her mind. "You're right, it'll never be a flute. But in so many ways, an ocarina is better than a flute. Sure it's not as graceful or the same sound, but it's so much more portable!" He gestured at her side holster in excitement. "You can pull it out in a second in an emergency. You certainly can't do that with a flute! You either have to waste some time it, or have it continuously assembled and have a metal rod sticking into your back. It'd also be tough to maneuver around with." Ailur cocked her head to the side, she'd never quite thought of it that way. True, when she was growing up she'd often watched Itaru put off cleaning his flute. It seemed like such a hassle, first the inside, then the outside, then checking the fingerpads for excessive moisture.. "So c'mon, give it a try. There's a new world of music waiting to be discovered!" Ontaer said coaxingly, seeing that Ailur seemed to be relenting in her dislike of the ocarina. Ailur sighed. The dump certainly wasn't as glorious as a flute... oh whatever. "So.. what am I supposed to do?" She said in resignation as she pulled the dump from the side holster. Ontaer smiled, victory! "Just play your ocarina, the tune will come to you. Mind you, it will be the only time that you'll play so beautifully. After you summon your avatar for the first time your playing level will go back to what it really is, which is nada." Ailur nodded in understanding, then lifted her dump. "How do I hold it?" She felt a little bit guilty that she had ran off without even bothering to find out more about her instrument. Ontaer smiled, "This at least I can help you with. Let's see... on the Orange Islands I saw people hold it like.. this." Moving towards her, he positioned her hands so that her left hand covered the bottom holes, and her right hand the top holes. As she fumbled with the instrument, Ailur smiled back up at Ontaer. He had.. really broad shoulders. She blushed a little bit. After her fingers were positioned properly, she raised it to her lips. With a pang, she realized that it was held the exact way a flute was. Great, I don't need any painful reminders right now. Unsure, she looked at Ontaer who nodded encouragingly back at her. Here goes nothing.. She raised it to her lips. ..and produced a sound like she had heard in the storage hall. It was a simple piece, starting off languid and fluid but quickly picking up speed to end in a flourish of notes. "Wow..." breathed Ailur. Some type of energy had been played into being. It was a swirl of red and pink, swirling around with great energy. Looking at it made her smile, there was somehow an infectious cheerfulness in it, almost as if the energy was dancing. She looked across the rectangle to where Ontaer was standing. He stood solemnly and played his avatar song. It sounded like a classical piece, grand and full. His avatar was a turquoise being, with the sides being tinted green and blue. The two avatars were standing about two meters away from the dividing line. "This is your basic battle setup," said Ontaer. 6/16/2008 Ailur nodded, a kind of shaky excitement gripping. She was standing on the battlefield! Something she'd daydreamed about since five! This was way. too. cool. "The basic goal is to obliterate the opponent's avatar," she said, drawing on her knowledge from watching battles all her life. "Attacks have to stay within the box, and in larger spectacle matches, the borders are reinforced with containment songs to prevent the audience from getting hurt." Ontaer smiled. "Battle fan eh? That's exactly right. Now, your biggest problem is that you've never played your instrument, and that you don't have any songbooks." Cue blush from Ailur. "Since you won't be able to defend, I guess I'll just pulverize your avatar." He raised his viola and started playing. Ailur raised an eyebrow. Hmm. Completely defenceless? Maybe not. She raised her dump, nothing that it felt clunky and unwieldy as she wasn't playing her avatar song, covered all the holes and blew. The sound was airy and made Ailur want to giggle, it certainly had none of the pure, ethereal quality that she had produced earlier. Shrugging, she opened and covered holes randomly, until she realized with another pang to her heart that the fingering was similar to a flute's. Ontaer had started playing a quick ditty, conjuring up energy in the shape of arrowheads. They sped towards Ailur's merrily shimmering avatar. Ailur by this time had figured out how to play a scale, and quickly blew as quickly as she could, frowning ferociously at the incoming arrowheads. She definitely overblew some notes, and others were too flat, but her first attempt at battle was good enough to produce some results. The air between her and her avatar shimmered a little, then rushed at the arrowheads, blowing them out of the way. Ontaer's mouth opened in astonishment, "Wha--?" He had expected no resistance from the novice. "Natural talent eh?" He raised his bow again and played a mighty A major chord. That sent a semi circle of energy hurtling towards Ailur's avatar. Her eyes widened and she frantically tried to play a scale again, but Ontaer's attack ripped through her avatar, dispersing its energy to the winds. "Woah.. one attack?" She gasped. "Haha, it wasn't that strong. Your avatar wasn't that strong either, it's because of your lack of experience and strength as a novice. Don't worry, you'll improve." He smiled. The two friends scuffed out the rectangular box. "Not bad for your first battle! I was surprised when you came back at me." "Yeah, it was more of a spur of the moment thing than anything else." But Ailur still smiled with pride. "Bellies full, battle finished, what do you say to traveling on to Veridan city?" Ontaer grabbed Ailur's knapsack and handed it to her. The two left the clearing and started their way to Veridan city. 6/18/2008 "Ooh, pardon me, excuse me," A middle aged housewife murmured as she scooted past Ontaer. Ailur stopped at the first building that marked the beginning of Veridan. "Wow..." she breathed. Veridan had to be at least two times bigger than Torau. The buildings were mostly painted in some shade of green and had the same blue shingled roof. It was filled with hustle and bustle and just... life! This was quite a change from the tranquil that filled Torau. People there lived idyllic lives, but sometimes just a bit too.. peaceful. "C'mon let's go explore the town!" Ontaer grabbed her hand and pulled her down a big street. The two explored Veridan for a little bit, noting all the cute houses and dodging laughing, shrieking children that seemed to run all over the place. Ailur waited briefly when Ontaer ducked into a gear shop and came out triumphantly holding a bow case. "I've been looking all over for this maker's cases!" He said happily as he strapped it to the back padding of his knapsack. "It's built for durability and most important, ease of unpack and packing." He grinned and drew his bow out in one fluid motion. "Ta da!" He slid it back in with another flourish. "Haha, that still looks a bit cumbersome though, to have two parts to an instrument," Ailur patted her side holster. "I like how my dum-- err.. instrument can be slid quickly in and out." Ontaer looked at her for a second, and then smiled gently. "You should be doubly glad that you didn't get a flute then. That thing has three pieces to be assembled. If you went on to play a bass one, you'd have another moutpiece and a really heavy instrument to lug around." Ailur blinked slowly. True... Maybe this ocarina business wasn't so bad after all. Ontaer looked at Ailur, she seemed deep in thought. Good, maybe I'm finally getting through to her and convincing her that the ocarina is better for her. He nodded in satisfaction, glad that his efforts at cheering her up were finally paying off. The two continued on their exploration, Ontaer waiting for what seemed a really long time when Ailur ducked into a clothing boutique. He eventually gave up waiting and went in to drag her out. "But those other shirts were really cute too!" She protested loudly as Ontaer emerged, dragging her with her knapsack. "You really don't need them," He rolled his eyes at her. "You already got two shirts and another pair of shorts. Do you honestly think you have room to fit in three other shirts?" "Yes!" Ailur stuck her tongue at him defiantly, but then backed down. "Oh alright.. I don't really need them. I guess I should be saving my money anyways..." She looked wistfully back at the store as Ontaer hustled her down the street. "Girls..." He muttered to himself. 6/19/2008 The two continued their exploration of the town, stopping into a bookstore where Ailur picked up a book with 1000 recipes of cooking food while traveling. When she went up to pay, she saw that Ontaer was already waiting, a brown package in hand. "What's that?" Ailur asked, curious. "Present for you," Ontaer said as he gave the package to Ailur. She looked at him in curiosity, then wrapped it to find a book giving very comprehensive information on the ocarina. "Thought you could use it." He smiled, a bit hesitant now. What was he thinking? She called her ocarina the dump. For all he knew, she would twist the book into some flute shape and beat him unconscious with it. Ailur smiled back, understanding the good intentions behind his present. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, maybe I'll even read it someday." The tension in the air evaporated, and they walked out onto the street. The two came to a half in front of a large, blocky looking building. Ontaer nodded in satisfaction, while Ailur was obviously puzzled at why they were here. "Look," Ontaer gestured. "Verdian's gym." "Oh... you're here to get your next badge?" Ailur asked. "Nope, we're here to get our badges!" Ontaer grinned. "..and.. you're crazy. I lost to you, what makes you think I can beat a gym leader of Master rank?" Ailur didn't know much about Veridan, but did know that its gym leader was of Master rank. "Ahh don't think so much. You'll be fine. Let's go let's go." Ontaer pushed a loudly protesting Ailur up the steps. Story continued here. Edited by shadowyi, Jun 21 2008, 03:21 PM.
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| ImmortalOffspring | Jun 1 2008, 08:38 AM Post #2 |
One with the floor
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Awesome story. Please do continue the story, I was actually a bit disappointed when it ended so abruptly.  You write well though. I tried myself with some fanfictions, but it never really took off, and I quit after just 8 pages. Writing is fun though, and sometimes you get this idea you just have to put on paper, lest you forget the whole thing.
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| shadowyi | Jun 3 2008, 03:02 AM Post #3 |
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[music of paradox]
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Hehe next bit up! Perhaps the ending of this next bit was a bit predictable, but hey.
Thanks for the compliment! I've written a few fanfiction in my time, although never finished a story because I would lose interest. Hopefully that doesn't happen here. |
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| Turbo852 | Jun 3 2008, 06:08 AM Post #4 |
 
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Shocking! I actually said "No!" out loud when the flute didn't choose her. (no one is around to hear me though). Such a sad moment. I started to wonder if she was meant to go to a different village where they had non-woodwinds. Maybe percussion was for her? But as it was revealed that there was one more instrument hidden away, I knew what it was going be. Very nice writing. I would love to see a continuation. This would be a fun world to live in. Being able to do things by playing music. It reminds me a little of the game LOOM. |
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| Pandaman | Jun 5 2008, 11:26 AM Post #5 |
part panda, part mudkip, all me
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Just the idea made me think of people frustrating over catching the legendary golden triple ocarina in an ultraball. xD STAY IN THE F*CKING BALL!!! xD And all the tiny little mini pendants that pop up all over the place and annoy the hell out of people xD But really awesome story! Sorry bout the rant, I'm a pokefreak >.< I write myself, but the big story I'm working on never seems to want to come together... |
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| shadowyi | Jun 9 2008, 04:06 AM Post #6 |
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[music of paradox]
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Puahaha, that's one of the major different things about my story, no catching needed. I can well imagine the scene for catching a golden triple ocarina though lol. Brilliant ideas for the mini pendants! I'm playing several sequels already, and the more I write, the more it'll deviate from Pokemon. Glad you guys are enjoying it! Another update just uploaded. |
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| kissing | Jun 9 2008, 07:01 AM Post #7 |
The Whistleblower
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I used to study Literature at school, and analysing text is a specialty of mine
(something I haven't been able to do for a long time, due to Pharmacy..which is a lot of science
 )I am going to write a full analytical essay on your writing after my exams are over :lol:  And I will enjoy it
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| Pandaman | Jun 9 2008, 07:14 AM Post #8 |
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part panda, part mudkip, all me
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Awesome! can't wait to hear more
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| shadowyi | Jun 9 2008, 06:01 PM Post #9 |
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[music of paradox]
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Lol if you do a full analytical essay you'll find tons of grammar errors and the like probably.
Only half an update, no time to finish it, gotta dash off to somewhere else. |
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| kissing | Jun 10 2008, 03:25 AM Post #10 |
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The Whistleblower
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Indeed.... one could perhaps describe you as quite dashing ? :wub: |
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| shadowyi | Jun 10 2008, 02:35 PM Post #11 |
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[music of paradox]
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Lol. Another short update! I can't wait for the story to progress.
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| Pandaman | Jun 10 2008, 09:38 PM Post #12 |
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part panda, part mudkip, all me
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I think short updates are better
That way you have the excitement of waiting to hear what's next!
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| shadowyi | Jun 11 2008, 07:58 PM Post #13 |
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[music of paradox]
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Another mini update and introduction of a key character! Dundundun.. |
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| Pandaman | Jun 12 2008, 08:14 AM Post #14 |
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part panda, part mudkip, all me
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Write more! Now!
 I want to read more
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| ForestsRequiem | Jun 12 2008, 01:13 PM Post #15 |
Formerly Ocarinaman
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Please write more soon Shadow! You are a talented writer, though the choosing of the Ocarina was predictable, but this is  so you didn't really have a choice
 Keep up the great work
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| Pandaman | Jun 12 2008, 01:23 PM Post #16 |
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part panda, part mudkip, all me
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I reckon I might have to add your story to my "awesome stuff written by friends" collection
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| shadowyi | Jun 12 2008, 03:51 PM Post #17 |
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[music of paradox]
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Hehe aww thanks Mario! And thank you everyone for liking my story so much. Commencing more writing now... check back in half an hour or so.
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| Pandaman | Jun 12 2008, 04:26 PM Post #18 |
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part panda, part mudkip, all me
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yay! I'd start writing again too, but I have to figure out a whole bunch of stuff... |
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| Turbo852 | Jun 13 2008, 01:25 AM Post #19 |
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Wow, so many updates! I really like the story so far. I almost want you to actually write some little songs th characters are playing so that we can know what they sound like. I think it would be so fun to live in this world you've created. |
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| ForestsRequiem | Jun 13 2008, 01:33 AM Post #20 |
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Formerly Ocarinaman
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YAY! It's not the hated dump anymore!  s FTW!
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| Pandaman | Jun 13 2008, 07:59 AM Post #21 |
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part panda, part mudkip, all me
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Yay more ^^ and don't tell me they're going to visit on the back of a giant turtle thingy xD |
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| shadowyi | Jun 14 2008, 06:15 AM Post #22 |
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[music of paradox]
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Super short edit, more like a teaser than anything. I'm mad that when I clicked submit, the boards had been converted. I was bounced out of my account and when I relogged in, all my edits were gone.
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| Pandaman | Jun 14 2008, 09:35 AM Post #23 |
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part panda, part mudkip, all me
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That sucks!!! Did you try clicking back? That usually works for me... And I you gotta remember to copy everything before posting long posts/big changes... |
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| Mikael | Jun 14 2008, 11:03 AM Post #24 |
Does not approve of christmas
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Oh dear. You should really copy it into MS word or something like that before posting long posts. I hate when this happens :( |
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| shadowyi | Jun 15 2008, 02:11 AM Post #25 |
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[music of paradox]
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Yeap, I've got a copy of it in Word now. Another update, some action is about to begin! |
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| ImmortalOffspring | Jun 15 2008, 01:54 PM Post #26 |
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One with the floor
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This is awesomeness. I really enjoy your story, Shadow. Looking forward to the next bit.  Only one thing though, my inner geek emerging. You can have extremely high voltage before anything goes wrong. What you need is amps. Just a few milliampere directly across the heart is enough to start a cardiac arrest. On the other hand, 100 000 volts are easily survivable. Edited by ImmortalOffspring, Jun 15 2008, 01:55 PM.
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