View source for Revelia Carnivale - 2022-07-16 - Carnivale Concert (log)

Performances from the [[Revelia Carnivale]] Concert, held 16 Koaratos 5122 (July 16, 2021), hosted by [[Argent_Aspis|House Aspis]] and [[House Paupers]].

==Opening and Welcome==
'''[Den of the Dragon]'''

'''Some open curtains of heavy, dark green velvet drape the vast stage, and argent tenting protects it and the closest  from the elements without ruining the view of the rest of the audience.  Globes of ethereal, magical lights hang overhead, beaming their glows in strategic directions controlled by a series of overhead ropes and pulleys that disappear behind the dark, backstage curtains.  A shiny silver plaque adorns the front of a podium to the right of the stage and a walkway leads up and out.'''

'''Obvious exits: none'''

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Dremerie recites melodically:

    "Everyone please sit down."

Dremerie recites melodically:

    "Put your animals to sleep.
     Your crickets in dark pockets.
     And sorcerors, if I see any animated whatevers, I'll get nasty!!"

Dremerie glares.

Dremerie recites melodically:

    "I know it's hard to do,
     But please try not to leave DURING a performance.
     Please be polite and do all that between them."

Dremerie recites melodically:

    "Not tossing spoiled fruits.
     Though, if they are really bad,
     I might allow a bit of Troll-snot."

Dremerie winks.

Dremerie recites melodically:

    "Please refrain from speaking when someone is using the stage,
     Or otherwise performing."

Dremerie recites melodically:

    "And now...
      
     I give you...
      
     Lady Traiva!"

Dremerie grins at Traiva.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Traiva recites cheerfully:

    "Welcome to the Carnivale Concert!"

Traiva merrily cheers, "Revel Revelia!"

Traiva recites warmly:

    "In honor of Bardfests past, the Chair of Aspis, Aurien, will say a few words.
      
     (While the rest of us breathe a sigh of relief that he does not need to expose his toes again to tally judges' scores.)"
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Aurien recites:

    "Good evening all and Welcome to the House of the Argent Aspis!"

Aurien recites:

    "When we ended bardfest after 25 years most of us felt we should have something in place so as to ensure the perfroming arts and all the talented people in the lands would still have a venue to show us their talents!"

Aurien recites:

    "Added to that I always found an occissaion like this always had the ladies wearing their finest which another thing to look forward to!"

Aurien recites:

    "I assure you , this will be a wondrous night and I wish to thank all of those who volunteered their time to us! Sit back and enjoy!"

Aurien exclaims, "Let the perfromances commence!"
</pre>

== Meril Performs ==

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
You see Meril.
She appears to be a Sylvankind.
She is average height.  She appears to have come of age.  She has hardened, piercing forest green eyes and fair skin.  She has waist length, flowing auburn hair pulled back with a branch-entwined crown of green moss agate-winged butterflies and verdant ferns, leaving her side-swept bangs to brush across her temples.  She has a delicate face and slightly downswept pointed ears.
She is in good shape.
She is holding a silver-strung red birch mandolin fitted with leaf-cut green jade pegs in her left hand.
She is wearing a sage-hued wild silk cloak secured with a forest jade clasp, a flute-sleeved doeskin blouse underpinned by gold-blended ametrine silk, a lattice-woven suede corset belt, a cord-stitched suede mandolin case with an oak toggle latch, a cornflower blue flyrsilk skirt decorated at the hem with dangling teardrops of gingery golden chrysoberyl, and a pair of bronze silk stockings embroidered with rosettes under a pair of russet brown slippers set on copper heels.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Meril recites brightly:

    "Welcome, everyone! I am Meril, and I am glad to have the chance once again to share a tale here in the Den of the Dragon."

(Meril waits briefly as most of the stage lights dim, then takes her place at the center of the stage, taking a deep breath as she looks over the audience. The background wavers perceptibly in the fading light, settling to a soft blue.)

Meril recites cryptically:

    "This tale comes from a time long past, in a city by the sea."

Meril leans forward and drops her head down, her gaze focused upon her red birch mandolin, as she strums a chord.

Meril nods once.

Meril gives her head a gentle toss, causing the wisps that surround her face to flutter away from her eyes.	

With a slow lead-in, Meril begins a gentle ballad on her mandolin.

Meril sings:

    "In a city of many bridges over canals long and wide,
     Where in the winds of autumn, trees were swaying side to side,
     Where thirty years had passed since last the tyrant reigned,
     I tended to the tables, just as lately I was trained."

Meril slowly modulates through a series of chords, building a beautiful melody.

Meril sings:

    "They came into the tavern, the soldiers on their leave,
     Each bearing a flame-red emblem embroidered on the sleeve,
     Led by their proud young captain, no stranger to this place,
     And beckoned for my service as they took their seats apace."

Meril picks out a simple melody, as if it were the first thing that came to mind.

Meril sings brightly:

    "'Welcome, and what might I offer to you fine folk this time?
     Might the comforts of the tavern help to wash away the grime,
     For by your manner you are returned here from a hard patrol,
     And so much work out on the roads must surely take its toll.'"

The tempo of Meril's song slows slightly, taking its time to convey a message of gentleness and rest.

Meril sings grimly:

    "'It is hard work,' he nodded, raising a gauntleted hand,
     'For the brigands are ever restless when impoverished is the land,
     And poor is the season's harvest, so trouble out there brews,
     But we shall stamp it out, and you will soon hear better news.'"

Meril performs a series of vigorous strums that uplift the spirit in their powerful sound.

Meril sings brightly:

    "'Supplies have been thinner of late,' I said, making to agree,
     'But fret not now, for our ales are the finest by the sea!
     And we have plenty yet, so I bid enjoy them one and all,
     And if there is any more you need, I am always at your call.'"

The tempo of Meril's song slows slightly, taking its time to convey a message of gentleness and rest.

Meril sings sweetly:

    "They stayed late into the evening, and all seemed well amused,
     And as they left, the captain pulled me aside with an excuse:
     'Come visit the palace tomorrow morn, at sunrise if you please,
     Perhaps I can invite you to the ball, if my lord father agrees.'"

With careful concentration, Meril draws out a series of notes, allowing them to layer into a sweet harmony.

(Meril strums the chord wordlessly for a space, humming the melody to herself. The yellow lights above the stage begin to brighten, casting a subtle glow over the background.)

Paying studious attention to her mandolin's strings, Meril begins layering major seventh chords as a foundation to a song of inspiration.

Meril sings:

    "The palace stood over the city square with its walls of shining white,
     The banners flew high on the towers, fluttering as wings in flight,
     And the trees along the road, arrayed in colors of the fall,
     Swayed slowly at our passing toward the king's great audience hall."

Meril sweeps the music upward in a swelling crescendo of vibrant harmony.

Meril sings:

    "The captain was dressed in his princely garb, a long blade at his side,
     And the guardsmen deferred with a bow as he led us both inside.
     I looked up at the windows, the tapestries arranged --
     It was the same hall I remembered, though the emblems all were changed."

Meril plucks her instrument's lower strings, adding a driving bass foundation to the melody.

Meril sings:

    "Upon those tapestries was woven a triumphant scene:
     The choosing thirty years ago of a new king and queen,
     Given to a knight who avenged his lord and brought peace to the land
     By hunting down a murderous witch, defeated by his own hand."

Meril accentuates her song with emphatic strums, adding to the intensity.

Meril sings:

    "The king was aged and weary now, but his gaze was perceptive still
     As used to surveying men as a commander is at drill,
     And he leaned forward as we approached, knowing well the request
     That was to be made of him after the prince's formal address."

With careful concentration, Meril draws out a series of notes, allowing them to layer into a sweet harmony.

Meril sings:

    "And to the side the princess sat, dressed in the finest gown
     Of flowing silks and golden threads beneath a jeweled crown.
     She offered a courteous greeting, but beyond paid little mind
     But attended to a book in hand, as to reading she was inclined."

Meril bridges her song into a new key, taking it to new heights of intensity.

Meril sings gravely:

    "As the prince put forward his request, the king's impatience grew
     And it was not long ere voices raised and both their tempers flew.
     'You will honor the family,' the king pronounced, 'before your fancy and fun,
     And wed the lady as arranged, and your sister to the baron's son.'"

Meril makes a dramatic change in the song's dynamics, sweeping from soft to loud in a sharp crescendo then back into the middle ranges.

Meril sings:

    "The princess looked up from her reading, and she said not a word,
     But by her sigh, this quarrel was not the first she had heard.
     A shadow passed over her face, and she regarded me once more,
     With a glimmer of a guess that had not occurred to her before."

Under Meril's nimble fingers the song takes on a solemn coloring, grey but somehow full of quiet energy.

Meril sings:

    "The king, tiring of argument, dismissed us with a wave.
     The prince gave his apology, his expression sad and grave.
     The princess watched us with a gaze that held a curious shine --
     So when I turned to go, I made for her a subtle sign."

The quiet strains of Meril's lugubrious melody evoke memories of cloudy autumn days and now-quiet battlegrounds.

Meril sings:

    "The prince escorted me to the square and offered recompense,
     And I gave him reassurance that he had meant no offense,
     But as we parted, I heard the sound of trailing steps behind --
     And knowing who it was, I left a trail for her to find."

Meril allows the harmony to range into the higher tones, giving it the high wail of wind through the branches over the undercurrent of the melody.

(Meril closes her eyes and lets the melody drift for a verse, humming it once again. Behind her, the bright yellow stage lights fade, giving way to a colder and deeper violet.)

Meril reaches up and removes the crown from her auburn hair.

Meril gazes thoughtfully at her branch crown.

Meril taps a branch-entwined crown of green moss agate-winged butterflies and verdant ferns, which is in her right hand.

Meril put a branch-entwined crown of green moss agate-winged butterflies and verdant ferns in her wild silk cloak.

The quiet strains of Meril's lugubrious melody evoke memories of cloudy autumn days and now-quiet battlegrounds.

Meril strikes a bleak diminished chord, allowing the notes to hang for a moment before adorning them with further tones.

Meril sings:

    "She waited for me on the river bridge, like a girl from a simple town,
     Without the flowing layered silks, without the jeweled crown,
     Dressed in a traveling blouse with wooden buttons at the hem,
     Though her eyes still glittered in the dark, as bright as any gem."

Meril makes a sharp decrescendo, forcing you to strain to hear the soft notes.

Meril sings sternly:

    "'I came here for a question,' she said, in a tone that was wary yet.
     'For that was glamorie I sensed, and I shall not soon forget.
     And by the way you walked those grounds as if they were your own,
     Are you not the witch from the tales my father once had known?'"

Meril deliberately strums an unhurried theme, letting each chord hang in the air for a time before striking another.

Meril sings pleadingly:

    "'The tales say that he slew her,' I offered with a slight smile,
     'He avenged his liege that day, and ruled as king for all this while.'
     'That is what he has told us, yes, but yet you stand here now.
     A wrinkle there must be in the tale, and I would that you tell me how.'"

Meril builds a soft harmony behind the cheerless melody, as fleeting as memory but as insistent as regret.

Meril sings:

    "I took a breath, regarding her with a long and thoughtful look,
     As she peered back closely, as though to read as deeply as her book.
     I had thought before, in my surmise, the prince was best to use --
     But perhaps, if the princess knew, she would have her chance to choose."

Meril brushes her fingers lightly over the strings, allowing the haunting minor seventh chord to hang eerily in the air for a moment before beginning her sad melody.

Meril sings softly:

    "'The king before him was a tyrant, and he, a captain in command,
     Had seen the ruin and misery it had brought across the land.
     So he sought an elder wisdom, and seeing his soul adrift
     I met him in a hidden glade and offered him a gift.'"

Meril's harmony dances about the melody, intertwining about it with pure, shining notes.

Meril sings grimly:

    "'It was a matchbox with old magic that held an unquenchable flame,
     And within he found the purpose and the reason that he came.
     Wielded a power now against which none could yet defend,
     We walked into the palace hall, and there we brought an end.'"

Meril plucks her instrument's lower strings, adding a driving bass foundation to the melody.

Meril sings powerfully:

    "'When it was done, he turned to me, and there the tales speak true --
     For while I lived, another could seize the power that he knew.
     And so he took his sword in hand and in one swift attack,
     He struck me down, driving the merciless blade through my back.'"

Meril makes a dramatic change in the song's dynamics, sweeping from soft to loud in a sharp crescendo then back into the middle ranges.

Meril sings gravely:

    "'Now thirty years have passed, and he has hidden it well,
     But the matchbox still rests in a vault, still holding the same spell,
     The spell that has its source in me, whenever it should burn --
     And so long as someone wields my power, I always will return.'"

Under Meril's skilled fingers the song takes on a questioning tone, as if wondering why tragedy must cast its shadow on life and light.

Meril sings:

    "She thought on this in silence, then at last thanked me for the tale,
     And asked for a place of delivery where she might leave her mail,
     For if there were some need of it, she might send through a clerk --
     Then she went back to her palace, and I to my tavern work."

Under Meril's nimble fingers the song takes on a solemn coloring, grey but somehow full of quiet energy.

(Meril plays the verse again without words, focused keenly on the melody. The stage lights begin to brighten again, shifting into a fiery red glow.)

Meril sings:

    "Something was changing in the city, as smoke in the seaside air,
     Perhaps the unrest was simmering through long and meaningful stares,
     Perhaps the conspiracy had help inside, as ever the whispers grew --
     Until a rebellion ignited, and then swiftly came the news --"

Meril bridges her song into a new key, taking it to new heights of intensity.

Meril sings:

    "How the old king fell in the fighting as the palace was burning down,
     How the prince withdrew in disgrace and at last surrendered the crown,
     How the princess vanished in the chaos, and none knew where she might hide,
     Or if she fled in a night-time carriage with her prized books at her side."

Meril makes a sharp decrescendo, forcing you to strain to hear the soft notes.

Meril sings:

    "And on one winter morning, when order had returned
     To the city rebuilding slowly the great hall that had been burned,
     And all about was changing, as once they had before,
     I found a simple matchbox placed neatly at my door."

Meril strums one final soft chord then allows her mandolin to fall silent.

(Meril offers a smile at last as she sets down her red birch mandolin and looks over the audience.)

Meril earnestly professes, "It has been, as ever, my joy to play for you all. Thank you for staying to listen."
</pre>

== Yardie Performs ==

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Traiva recites:

    "He made his theatrical debut just last year with the Carnivale Concert. Here to entertain us one again is. . .
      
     Yardie!"
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
You see Yardie.
He appears to be a Faendryl Dark Elf.
He is average height and has a trim build.  He appears to be young.  He has piercing violet eyes and silken black skin.  He has very long, straight blue-black hair with a small section pulled to the right side and braided with woven cord around a simple iron treenail.  He has a narrow face, a flaring nose and full lips.  He has a puckered, raised scar on the back of his left hand that forms a perfectly symmetrical spiderweb.  He also has a tapered jawline and well-proportioned features.
He has an inked crimson crest depicting a crossed quill and rose on his wrist.
He is in good shape.
He is wearing an intricately woven necklace of coppery damask and sable flyrsilk ribbons, an enameled onyx night sky pendant, a heart-shaped dichroic glass locket, a glass-caged rabid wolf spider talisman, an ebon-sheened silvery lor quill tucked behind one ear, a fitted thistle grey tweed vest over a mithglin-hued marbrinus shirt buttoned with silver, a delicately crafted hexagonal mithglin ring, a thin etched eahnor band, a pair of soft midnight blue trousers, and a pair of cushioned silver-threaded black socks under some charcoal silk shoes paneled in matching suede.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
(Yardie slowly takes center stage, he faces the audience, a hint of nervousness shimmers his form.)

Yardie takes a deep breath.

Yardie slowly empties his lungs.

Yardie rubs his hands over his shirt nervously as an expression of unease flits across his face.

(Yardie takes a deep breath, glances at the audience and opens his mouth, hesitating a moment.)

(Yardie closes his eyes and sings in a soft baritone that slowly grows in strength.)

Yardie sings nervously:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd.
     On my word and soul I'll peer all through the earth to find you."

Yardie sings nervously:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd,
     On my word and soul I'll appear and stand right beside you."

(Yardie begins nodding his head to an unknown beat, slapping his hand against his thigh, creating a tempo that flows with his words.)

Yardie recites cheerfully:

    "Well this tale all begins in the Krag Slopes,
     Where people looking for adventure fought with mad hopes.
     A young elf made descent from the dark
     To the task of a healer pulling herbs from the earth's heart."

Yardie recites:

    "Trudging along and fighting beasts, he began to mumble,
     On his knees he fumbled, collision, another stumbled.
     His gaze locked on the source of misdirection,
     Gorgeous in the moonlight, became the goal of his affection."

Yardie recites softly:

    "Compelling some strange connection the two exchanged a glance,
     Elven beauty before him on the stroke of chance.
     She said, "They call me Ona, I didn't spy your shadow,
     Minotaurs galore drew my focus upon the battle."

Yardie recites curiously:

    "I see your blood is elven though your colors present a different clan."
     He nodded, grinning cheekily, he blurted out "I am!"
     He said, "They call me Inu, and in my search of lichen,
     A woman such as you has spurred on my excitement."

Yardie recites quietly:

    "But fate would determine the contrast as most unlucky,
     Though moments are rare someone like you would come and bump me."
     She said, "How about I extend to you a fair offer,
     My bounty, your herbs, if it is not a bother."

Yardie recites optimistically:

    "He sighed, "And then once we are done, it is where our encounter ends."
     She replied, "Or perhaps we'll be the best of friends."

(Yardie grins to himself, glancing at the audience, singing with growing confidence.)

Yardie sings warmly:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd.
     On my word and soul I'll peer all through the earth to find you."

Yardie sings:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd,
     On my word and soul I'll appear and stand right beside you."

(Yardie turns his attention to the audience, smiling as he continues to recite the story through rhyme.)

Yardie recites warmly:

    "Day and night, the pair enjoyed the talking,
     Not aware that Oleani's spell had befallen.
     Inu, he felt the calling, wobbly, he had fallen,
     Her smile etched in his mind but had reason for his stalling."

Yardie recites:

    "In the past, he owed a debt, but lack of silvers left no means to pay,
     "Should I confess it all to Ona?  What is she to say?"
     Meanwhile, the elven women battled with her own dilemma,
     "Should I mail my heart to Inu, would he return to sender?"

Yardie recites mysteriously:

    "Both battled in private with pain and vanities of sin,
     Would their demons held within be good enough for her or him?
     Fortune favors the bold, a letter written for her had told
     "Meet me at the at the docks, aboard my sloop, the truth it will behold."

(Yardie widens his eyes as if backing up slightly from an unseen danger.)

Yardie recites surprisedly:

    "And as he prepped the ship with loving decorations,
     His debtors had arrived to ruin this occasion.
     Ona arrived to find where Inu lay, an arrow to the chest,
     Fury arose, Ona shrieked, thirst for blood, she could afford no rest."

Yardie recites:

    "Blades of malice carved through as her heart was torn asunder,
     She knelt beside the elf, glimpsed at festive props, and then began to wonder.
     "My love," he said, "I hoped our union would rightfully extend,
     And now I pray my soul does not ascend."

(Yardie sighs and lowers his eyes and head to the ground, the dulcet tones taking a somber tone.)

Yardie sings sadly:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd.
     On my word and soul I'll peer all through the earth to find you."

Yardie sings sadly:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd,
     On my word and soul I'll appear and stand right beside you."

(Yardie crouches to the ground, as if looking upon one of the many fallen.)

Yardie recites frantically:

    ""Inu," she cried.  He did not state a word,
     "Inuwa!" In the moonlight, her cries remain unheard.
     She checked for signs of life while his body lay still,
     His heart tattoos the faintest beat, Inu maintained his life through force of will."

Yardie recites nervously:

    "Press for time, Ona sifted through her herbs and potions,
     Frantic with commotion
     She worked to bring him back to motion.
     Aboard the sloop that softly bobbed atop the ocean"

Yardie recites nervously:

    "Ona scurried through her belongings for a blade,
     And like a surgeon, she plucked the arrow from the festering wound it made.
     "Stay with me," she begged as she struggled through the tears,
     Shedding away those fears and hoping for the years"

Yardie recites hopefully:

    "To look back on the days when she and he would share their smiles,
     Overcoming all their trials with fond memories for miles.
     Fighting against the shadow of death threatening to creep,
     Weary and spent, she treated him until she succumbed to sleep."

(Yardie closes his eyes as if he drifted off to rest for a few seconds, then startles up to life, looking around the stage.)

Yardie recites worriedly:

    "She stirred, her eyes touched by rays of light,
     A banshee she shrieked, "No!  I rested the entirety of the night!"
     Worried about her other, her spine let out a violent shudder
     "Be with me," she muttered upon teary eyes that fluttered."

(Yardie curls his lips into the happiest of grins.)

Yardie recites relievedly:

    "She looked around, confused and purely unaware,
     Weak arms slipped around her waist, Inu was still there!
     He was pale and weary, worn from his brush with death,
     Inu spoke, "My love, you are the reason I remain with breath."

Yardie recites devotedly:

    "Beloved, without you, I'd be forfeit of life,
     It is not how I intended to ask you to be my wife."
     And when his words disappeared and were devoid of something clever,
     He found a way to share his heart in a way that was much better, so he sang:"

(Yardie closes his eyes and his fists, balling them up and losing himself to song.)

Yardie recites triumphantly:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd.
     On my word and soul I'll peer all through the earth to find you."

Yardie recites triumphantly:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd,
     On my word and soul I'll appear and stand right beside you."

(Yardie shifts his tone, growing soft, as if almost a whisper, his eyes look to the ground before closing.)

Yardie recites softly:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd.
     On my word and soul I'll peer all through the earth to find you."

Yardie recites softly:

    "If I'm all alone and feel as though I'm all lost,
     I turn my thoughts to you and even though we're star-cross'd,
     On my word and soul I'll appear and stand right beside you."

(Yardie opens his eyes, glances around the room, relieved, and smiles to himself before taking one long bow.)

(Yardie bows one last time, then quietly exits the stage.)
</pre>

== Nazarr Performs ==

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Traiva recites:

    "Now, our next performer is another veteran of this stage."

Traiva recites:

    "Please settle and prepare yourselves for . . .
      
     Nazarr!"

Traiva lets out a cheer!

The backstage curtains part slightly, and Nazarr steps out onto the stage.  A glimpse of the shadowy backstage is briefly visible before the curtains close behind him.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
You see High Lord Nazarr Csaba Faendryl the Master Rogue.
He appears to be a Dark Elf.
He is strikingly tall.  He appears to have come of age.  He has piercing grey-green eyes and vibrant, black skin.  He has short, straight bone white hair drawn away from his face into a braided half-bun skewered by a slender orb-capped silver hairstick.  He has an angular face, a slightly crooked nose and classically elegant, chiseled high cheekbones.
He has a tattoo depicting a silvery circle of interlocked Faendryl sigils on his neck.
He is in good shape.
He is holding an elegant scrimshaw ivory lyre inlaid with a faenor vine in his right hand.
He is wearing an onyx and golden topaz earring, a silk-lapelled velvet frock coat fastened with silver and smoky glimaerstone buttons, a dark red vaalorn lute symbol accented with gold, a leaf-cradled dark cobalt rose, a pale plum satin ascot, a jet black embroidered linen vest with a single pocket over a white silk shirt with tiny rose-gold cufflinks, a glacial white smooth glaes armband, a wide vaalin band wedded with a slender ring of feystone, a silver Voln ring, a fringed leather gem sack, some plum velvet knee-breeches, a pair of dark silk stockings under a pair of polished dark panther pelt knee-boots.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Nazarr recites:

    "I wrote this because I've been thinking a lot lately about my parents and siblings."

Nazarr recites:

    "It doesn't make any sense for a gifted bard and a talented instrument maker to give up professions they love, run away to a human village in the mountains, and take up rolton farming, does it?"

Nazarr recites:

    "Or why not only my parents but all the older elves of that village would fight to ensure that their children never left without ever explaining what they feared."

Nazarr recites:

    "So I wrote this. I call it "The Secrets That We Keep.""

Carefully Nazarr places his hands on the strings of his lyre, pauses a moment in reflection, then begins the quiet, forlorn strains of a gentle ballad.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "When I was a little boy two hundred years ago,
      My father told me softly, "There's something you should know--
     If, when you're grown, you leave this town, then never speak its name.
     Our village is adrift in secrets, frantic lies, and shame.
     Our village is adrift in secrets, frantic lies, and shame."

Nazarr expresses all of his sensitivity and talent through his lyre as he carries the sad ballad into the next verse.

Nazarr aimlessly plucks at his lyre, first trying one tune, then another, then playing a continuous set of phrases packed with familiar song fragments.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "Now I was young and foolish, and to me this made no sense
      But I'd no wish to be thrashed for wanton disobedience."

Using moving fifths and inverted chord structures under an unknown melodic line, Nazarr creates a musical potpourri, using whimsy as his guide.

Nazarr shrugs.

Barely paying attention, Nazarr noodles through a lightweight improvisation on his lyre, capriciously using random chord-progressions and simple melodic lines.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "Five years ago, I left home. 'Twas then I realized
      My mountain village was just stuffed with secrets giga-sized.
     My family and my village both have secrets giga-sized."

Nazarr shudders.

Nazarr thoughtlessly wanders through an improvisation, using fifths in the bass -- little melody snippets issue from his lyre through happenstance and spontaneous invention.

Bringing his own special touch to the song, Nazarr plucks a quiet, yet passionate refrain on his lyre, like wind whistling through the trees.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "First there's my sister Eskarne, who truth from dream can't tell
      Before her eyes swarm ever-changing futures she can't quell.
     We kept her curse a secret, so none would think us mad.
     Eskarne deserved far better from our family than she had.
     Eskarne deserved far better from our family than she had."

Nazarr performs an even more haunting and poignant rendition of the mournful ballad on his lyre, his fingers touching the strings firmly, then softly.

Nazarr says, "My parents gave her to a convent of Jastev when she was still a child. I don't know if she's even alive we've never received a single letter from her."

Bringing his own special touch to the song, Nazarr plucks a quiet, yet passionate refrain on his lyre, like wind whistling through the trees.

With lots of great chord work, Nazarr varies the rhythm, contour, and intervals as he pulls the tune from his lyre, bringing an intensity to the air that is all his own.

Nazarr says, "Hopefully, she's alive and simply hates us instead. Yay."

With a marvelous display of the sublime, Nazarr strikes his lyre with intense energy, giving profound voice to the composition.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "Then there's my brother Aybek, named for Dad's dwarven friend,
      But by my parents' standards, he came to no good end.
     He ran away to Tamzyrr. He's a Paladin of Koar.
      My parents won't acknowledge him as their son anymore.
     My parents mourn and say he isn't their son anymore."

Nazarr's lyre playing becomes spare yet sensitive as he approaches the depths of the ballad's sorrow.

Nazarr says, "Koar is very unpopular among elves who live in the Empire, thanks to Chaston's Edict and Chaston's followers."

Nazarr performs an even more haunting and poignant rendition of the mournful ballad on his lyre, his fingers touching the strings firmly, then softly.

Nazarr says, "At the same time--seriously? Aybek is a bit stuffy, but he's still my brother."

Using careful motions and placing his fingers precisely on the strings of his ivory lyre, Nazarr produces a sound that is at once big, subtle, and full of a thoughtful spirit.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "And next there is Uzoma, who's just pure Faendryl
      A regal necromancer with manner proud and chill.
      He left after a quarrel and only writes to me
      Our parents thought they had the right to tell him what to be.
      Our parents thought they had the right to tell him what to be."

As Nazarr intertwines the lines of a solemn fugue on his lyre, he produces lingering, moving lines that are neither miserable nor depressing but intriguing.

Nazarr performs an even more haunting and poignant rendition of the mournful ballad on his lyre, his fingers touching the strings firmly, then softly.

Nazarr exclaims, "I don't know what their issue is with sorcery.  It's a fine old Faendryl tradition!"

Nazarr's lyre strings sing with a poignant sweet sorrow, like a widow standing at her husband's grave.

Through his delicate, pointed playing, Nazarr draws out a wan pavane on his ivory lyre, evoking images of sunsets and lowering clouds.

Nazarr exclaims, "They thought Uzoma should be a village schoolteacher, though--and in an even more isolated village.  He'd've gone mad in a week!"

Using careful motions and placing his fingers precisely on the strings of his ivory lyre, Nazarr produces a sound that is at once big, subtle, and full of a thoughtful spirit.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "Yours truly enraged all the elves by being a disgrace
      I battled guards to make them solve a brutal murder case.
      An old elf was the victim. The guards could not care less
      And quickly sewed me up as the chief suspect in the mess.
     They quickly sewed me up as the chief suspect in the mess."

As he performs a strident march on his lyre, Nazarr increases the intensity, showing clearly that he has cultivated a fine fingering technique, which he brings to bear with confidence.

Nazarr's lyre strings sing with a poignant sweet sorrow, like a widow standing at her husband's grave.

Nazarr says, "And no, I didn't do it. Even before I left home, I had this strange tendency to not kill friends."

Nazarr's lyre playing becomes spare yet sensitive as he approaches the depths of the ballad's sorrow.

Nazarr expresses all of his sensitivity and talent through his lyre as he carries the sad ballad into the next verse.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "I have glimpsed other secrets to which I can't give word:
     The baker wincing at a footstep she has scarcely heard
      The flash of metal weapons, a flash of stifled rage,
     A momentary glance that says the village is a cage.
     A momentary glance that says the village is a cage."

Nazarr's lyre strings sing with a poignant sweet sorrow, like a widow standing at her husband's grave.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "And in that village still's a generational divide
     The children leave for foreign lands, while elders humbly hide."

Bringing his own special touch to the song, Nazarr plucks a quiet, yet passionate refrain on his lyre, like wind whistling through the trees.

The melody takes on a sweet languor as Nazarr's fingers easily caress the strings of his ivory lyre.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "But what they're hiding for or from will never be confessed
      That secret will die with them when they go unto their rest
     That secret will die with them when they go unto their rest."

Nazarr places his fingers deliberately on the strings of his ivory lyre, ensuring that each sonorous chord rings clear and true.

Nazarr's graceful shaping of the lyrical adagio is as elegant and gracious as a swan gliding across the evening pond.

Nazarr says, "So my family is fractured. And so is my village, really. And no one will tell me WHY."

Nazarr plucks a quiet song on his ivory lyre with ease and subtlety; the musical nuances appealingly intimate.

Nazarr says, "But I miss them, y'know? I miss them all."

Nazarr's graceful shaping of the lyrical adagio is as elegant and gracious as a swan gliding across the evening pond.

Nazarr holds back his tears, his eyes glistening with pain.

Nazarr exploits the warmth in the piece as his hands caress the strings of his lyre in luscious melody and harmony.

Nazarr sings with a clear tenor:

    "I'd like to tell my parents they have no more to fear,
     That they're safe now, whatever ill befell them yesteryear.
     But I don't think they'd listen. As I've gained skill and fame 
     It's been two years since I have seen a missive with their name.
     It's been two years since I have seen their address or their name."

Nazarr places his fingers deliberately on the strings of his ivory lyre, ensuring that each sonorous chord rings clear and true.

The strings of Nazarr's lyre resonate long after the last sonorous chord is struck, his fingers lingering in the air.  Finally Nazarr takes a deep breath and drops his hands as he looks up.

Nazarr smiles sadly and bows gracefully and respectfully to the audience.
</pre>

== Missoni Performs ==

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Traiva recites:

    "As we settle ourselves once more, let us prepare for yet another performer who is no stranger to the stage."

Traiva recites:

    "Prepare yourselves for the lovely. . .
      
     Missoni!"

The backstage curtains part slightly, and Missoni steps out onto the stage.  A glimpse of the shadowy backstage is briefly visible before the curtains close behind her.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
You see Missoni Sabretache Faendryl the Witch.
She appears to be a Dark Elf.
She is shorter than average and has a fragile, slender frame.  She appears to have come of age.  She has long-lashed chimerical viridian eyes and richly toned, olive brown skin.  She has waist-length, glossy black hair with a subtle cobalt sheen that is sharply contrasted by a snow-white blaze curling down the right side of her face.  She has a pinched face, a sharp and severe nose and a prominent collarbone marked by a tiny mole.  Her pointed chin and delicate bone structure contribute to the waifish appearance of her visage.  She has scintillating prismatic lacquer brushed onto her neatly kempt fingernails.
She has an oval blood red eye tattoo on her neck, some inked whorls of mist on her arm, an eight-tined star tattooed in lapis ink on the top of her right hand, a winged lark-shaped mark on her leg, and a wild desert rose tattoo on her foot.
She is in good shape.
She is holding a woven modwir flower basket in her right hand.
She is wearing a braided silver-bronze lariat neck chain with a turquoise tassel charm, a polychromatic silk gown draped with gauze flower petals from collarbone to ankle with a nacreous chiffon chemise stitched with tonal vines at its high waist underneath, a lor signet ring, and a pair of delicate silver footflowers beaded with lapis lazuli.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Missoni takes a deep breath.

(Missoni strides to the front of the stage, her bare feet padding softly upon the floorboards. A small flower basket is clasped before her in both hands.)

(Missoni kneels to sit on her heels, lowering the basket to the floor in front of her. "The Mother's creations," she begins, "are many and varied.")

Missoni kneels down.

Missoni carefully places a woven modwir flower basket on the floor.

(Missoni reaches into the basket to pull out a few blossoms, scattering them in an arc in front of her.)

Missoni removes some cothinar flower from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops some cothinar flower.
Missoni removes some sovyn clove from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops some sovyn clove.
Missoni removes a dark blackish-purple mournbloom from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a dark blackish-purple mournbloom.
Missoni removes a single black tulip from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a single black tulip.
Missoni removes a vivid scarlet flamestalk from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a vivid scarlet flamestalk.
Missoni removes a rose-marrow root from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a rose-marrow root.
Missoni removes a blaestonberry blossom from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a blaestonberry blossom.
Missoni removes a brilliant yellow sunflower from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a brilliant yellow sunflower.
Missoni removes a simple red rose from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a simple red rose.

Missoni remarks, "But few have such a depth for expression," as she reaches again into her basket to produce more blooms, arranging them in a spray across her lap, "as flowers."

Missoni removes a stem of verbena from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a stem of verbena.
Missoni removes a mountain dryan from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a mountain dryan.
Missoni removes a sprig of edelweiss from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a sprig of edelweiss.
Missoni removes a freshly-cut daffodil from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a freshly-cut daffodil.
Missoni removes a stem of bleeding-heart in shades of blush and white from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a stem of bleeding-heart in shades of blush and white.
Missoni removes a stem of fresh lilac from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a stem of fresh lilac.
Missoni removes a slim spray of milky peach daisies from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a slim spray of milky peach daisies.
Missoni removes a pale white trillium from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni drops a pale white trillium.
Missoni smiles softly, plucking a vivid rosebud and tambourine from her basket.
Missoni removes a tight cerulean rosebud with ash grey-tipped petals from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni removes a mist grey silk-screened tambourine rimmed with carved silver tendrils from in a woven modwir flower basket.
Missoni cups the blossom of the rosebud in the cradle of her hands and brings it to her face to inhale deeply of its scent.
Missoni tucks the stem of her rosebud behind her ear, adjusting it to ensure its security.

(Missoni lifts the basket and sets it off to the side, then pauses briefly, regarding the arrangement of flowers spilling over her lap and across the floorboards. The hues stand out vibrantly in the bright lights of the stage.)

(Missoni begins a rhythmic tapping of her tambourine against her thigh, beginning the song in a clear mezzo-soprano.)

Missoni sings warmly:

    "When we were children together,
     We used to frolic in the wood,
     And when I had a tantrum,
     You calmed me as well as you could,
     With sweet, juicy blaestonberries,
     And the occasional baked good."

Missoni picks up a blaestonberry blossom.

Missoni smiles as she brings the blossom to her nose momentarily, then tosses it into the basket.

Missoni put a blaestonberry blossom in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni picks up a rose-marrow root.

(Missoni lifts the rose-marrow before her in her palm as though singing her verse to it.)

Missoni sings wistfully:

    "We grew up and lost each other,
     Through the turning of the long years,
     But I was always watching you
     With rose-marrow behind my ear.
     You were called to fight in the war,
     And started a risky career."

Missoni put a rose-marrow root in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni sings wistfully:

    "For several years you stayed away.
     Though I tried to love another,
     I could not tear you from my mind.
     I opened a florist with Mother.
     Kept cothinar pinned to my shirt,
     Hoping for you, my dream lover."

Missoni picks up some cothinar flower.

(Missoni drops the flower into the basket, her tambourine still providing a chiming background for her rich voice.)

Missoni put some cothinar flower in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni sings resonantly:

    "I am planting you a garden.
     I am watering it with care.
     Rose-marrow and cothinar
     Are woven through my hair."

Missoni sings wistfully:

    "And then one day, you came back home,
     With scars to show for your trials.
     I prayed that you would notice me,
     I looked at you with a smile.
     You came into the flower shop,
     And browsed around for a while."

(Missoni leans forward, her eyes scanning those gathered and a hopeful smile blooming on her face.)

Missoni sings wistfully:

    "You left with a lovely bouquet,
     For a lady that you adored.
     And when you went, it felt to me
     My heart had been pierced by a sword.
     I went into the wood at dusk,
     And cried in agonized discord."

Missoni picks up a stem of bleeding-heart in shades of blush and white.

(Missoni touches the bleeding-heart to her chest, holding it there as she sings her keening verse, her eyes lifted to the heavens.)

Missoni sings with vibrato:

    "At once I heard a stirring sound
     From 'neath the bleeding heart nearby.
     Just as it had been years ago,
     You attempted to soothe my cry.
     But now, instead of a cookie,
     With a single rosebud, you vied."

Missoni put a stem of bleeding-heart in shades of blush and white in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni sings with vibrato:

    "I am planting you a garden.
     I am watering it with care.
     Red rosebud and bleeding heart
     Are woven through my hair."

Missoni brushes her fingertips along the petals of the rosebud behind her ear, and her eyes grow distant as if in contemplation.

Missoni sings warmly:

    "You told me that you had followed
     My journey away from the town.
     You told me that you had something,
     That would surely abate my frown.
     You offered a bouquet of lilac,
     And upon one knee you knelt down."

Missoni picks up a stem of fresh lilac.

(Missoni cranes her neck to the side, shivering the tambourine to turn her rhythmic tapping into a constant chime. She runs the sprig of lilac down her sharp jawbone before placing it in the basket, her eyes following the bloom.)

Missoni put a stem of fresh lilac in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni sings warmly:

    "You told me I was in your mind,
     Since the moment you'd gone away.
     You tucked a flamestalk in my hair,
     And in a bed of leaves we lay.
     We recalled childhood long past.
     You said you'd marry me someday."

Missoni picks up a vivid scarlet flamestalk.

Missoni put a vivid scarlet flamestalk in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni sings breathily:

    "That year flew by more quickly,
     Than the most sudden summer storm,
     You left sunflowers by my door,
     And then in winter kept me warm.
     When at last Lumnea drew near,
     We married, and I was transformed."

Missoni picks up a brilliant yellow sunflower.

Missoni put a brilliant yellow sunflower in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni sings breathily:

    "I am planting you a garden.
     I am watering it with care.
     Bright sunflower and flamestalk
     Are woven through my hair."

Missoni picks up a simple red rose.

(Missoni begins a quick rhythm of taps and shivers, the metal cymbals of the tambourine shivering with movement.)
Missoni sings breathily:

    "You gave me roses of deep red,
     And finally I felt true bliss.
     We kept verbena in our vase,
     And I felt naught could be amiss.
     That winter I conceived a child.
     On my stomach you placed a kiss."

(Missoni brings the rose up to her nose, her eyes closed as she inhales its fragrance. With it still in her hand, she gathers the stem of verbana and places the pair gently in the basket.)

Missoni put a simple red rose in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni picks up a stem of verbena.

Missoni put a stem of verbena in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni sings softly:

    "But before the child could be born,
     They called you to fight in the war.
     Garlands of daffodil and sovyn,
     And fearful of what was in store.
     I read letters from you and prayed,
     That you'd come back to me once more."

Missoni picks up a freshly-cut daffodil.

Missoni put a freshly-cut daffodil in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni picks up some sovyn clove.

Missoni put some sovyn clove in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni sings mournfully:

    "Our son was born while you were gone,
     He had your chocolate brown hair.
     I lay him down in the daisies,
     And kissed his little hands so fair.
     But he did not live two months, love,
     And now I only know despair."

Missoni picks up a slim spray of milky peach daisies.

(Missoni lifts the daisies between her thumb and forefinger. Her hand trembling, she tucks them into her hair and sings the next verse, her fingers lingering on the petals.)

Missoni sings tremblingly:

    "I only plant black tulips now.
     I need you to return to me.
     I got a letter yesterday,
     That told me it will never be.
     It said you were slain in battle.
     How to deal with this cruelty?"

Missoni picks up a single black tulip.

(Missoni grabs the black tulip roughly with her fist, her brow tensed in anger and her tambourine's rhythm sporadic. She tosses it carelessly at the basket, and it flies wide, flopping with bent petals to the ground.)

Missoni sings hauntingly:

    "I plant edelweiss by the window.
     I hang dryad over the door.
     I rest trillium on your grave,
     But hope will visit me no more.
     Only longing and solitude.
     Death, please take me, I implore."

(Missoni lifts herself to kneel up high, the three blossoms spilling from her lap and falling to the wood planks. She tosses her tambourine aside and clasps her hands, gazing up as if in prayer.)

Missoni drops a mist grey silk-screened tambourine rimmed with carved silver tendrils.

Missoni sings hauntingly:

    "I was planting you a garden.
     I was watering it with care.
     Now only worms and mournbloom
     Are woven through my hair."

Missoni picks up a dark blackish-purple mournbloom.

(Missoni's voice grows soft until the final note dies away. Her eyes turned towards the mournbloom, she lifts it slowly from the floor and clutches it to her breast before bowing her head.)

Missoni put a dark blackish-purple mournbloom in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni picks up a mist grey silk-screened tambourine rimmed with carved silver tendrils.
Missoni put a mist grey silk-screened tambourine rimmed with carved silver tendrils in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni picks up a sprig of edelweiss.
Missoni put a sprig of edelweiss in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni picks up a pale white trillium.
Missoni put a pale white trillium in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni picks up a mountain dryan.
Missoni put a mountain dryan in a woven modwir flower basket that is on the ground.

Missoni stands up.

Missoni picks up a woven modwir flower basket.

Missoni bows.
</pre>

== Khyrion Performs ==

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Traiva recites:

    "We now have a new comer to the Dragon Stage!
     Though I hear he is not new to the storytelling craft."

Traiva recites:

    "Welcome now, in his Carnivale Concert Debut --
     Khyrion!"
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
You see Khyrion the Pit Fighter.
He appears to be a Half-Elf from Vornavis.
He is taller than average and has a trim build.  He appears to be youthful.  He has lagoon opal-hued eyes and tanned skin.  He has very short, sandy blonde hair tucked under a tightly knotted linen bandana worn as a skullcap.  He has a broken nose and well-muscled shoulders and arms.
He has a writhing coral kraken tattoo limned in verdigris on his arm.
He is in good shape.
He is holding a tumbler of Southron Balefire whiskey in his right hand.
He is wearing a salt-bleached mottled leather jacket with short-cropped sleeves, a simple cotton vest, a lapis storm petrel pin, an iron-studded shoulder guard made of articulated leather scales, an oiled light leather courier bag with polished faenor buckles, a pair of crossed blackened leather straps, some short rolaren-scaled black leather gauntlets, a faded cerulean sash secured by a strand of sea glass beads, a sea-worn beltpouch clasped with veil iron plates, a pair of tan loose-fitted pants, and some rolaren-toed boots set on ironwood heels.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Khyrion dusts himself off.

Khyrion sits down.

A foggy indistinct ghost materializes in a swirl of sparkling mist.

Khyrion recites:

    "Lads, lasses!
     This is a tale best suited for a dockside dive, not a stage.
     So if'n ya need a refill on your drink, now's the time!"

Khyrion raises his Balefire whiskey in a toast!

A foggy indistinct ghost fades through the stage left exit.

Khyrion flashes a wide grin.

Khyrion takes a drink from his Balefire whiskey.

Khyrion says, "I'll take that as a good omen, then."

Khyrion winks.

Khyrion begins, "Heard this one from an ol' sailor, deep in 'is cups one night."

Khyrion nods once.

Dremerie recites melodically:

    "Erebor has approved the performances!
     3 cheers for Erebor!"

Khyrion says, "There once was a smugglin' crew, haulin' their latest load over to a cove they'd use for drop-offs."

Khyrion casually observes his surroundings.

Khyrion says, "For the voyage, they had taken on a new lad, green to the gills, excited to be a part of such a successful crew.  A bit prideful, even."

Khyrion says, "They get to the cove an' the lad sees it's nothin' special.  Not hidden."

Khyrion wryly says, "Didn' even 'ave to navigate treacherous shoals or shallows to get there."

Khyrion winks and flashes a sly grin.

Khyrion says, "He asks about such to the cap'n. "No worries, lad!" the cap'n says, "It's guarded right well, I assure ya."."

Khyrion says, "The crew shares a knowin' chuckle and a few elbow the lad playfully."

Khyrion says, "Well, they took their crates and barrels and bundles ashore, tucked 'em behind some foliage."

Khyrion jokes, "Ya know.  Typical smugglin' behavior."

Khyrion appears to be struggling to keep a straight face.

Khyrion says, "By the time the work was done, it was evenin', an' yet the cap'n tells 'em to haul anchor and put some distance 'tween them and the shore."

Khyrion says, "But they'd not sail for open waters, 'e said.  Had to wait for the right weather."

Khyrion nods understandingly.

Khyrion says, "Anyhow, night came, and the young lad was on watch.  As he would be every night, since new blood 'as to pay their dues with the crap jobs."

Khyrion winks at Gwynek.

Khyrion quietly says, "That night the fog rolls in thick, unnatural like.  An' it was deathly silent on the deck."

Khyrion admits, "Easy for anyone to get spooked in those conditions, but more so on an unfamiliar ship, in unfamiliar waters."

Khyrion says, "The night goes on and then the lad hears a loud splash in the water.  Then more splashin', and a call for help."

Khyrion says, "His first instinct was to rush to aid, but ... somethin' stopped 'im.  A cold feelin' in 'is gut.  Somethin' about that voice just didn' soun' right."

(Khyrion glances around the room slowly.)

Khyrion says, "The lad yells out, but no response.  From the person in the water, or from the crew on board.  Maybe 'e was hearin' things."

Khyrion shrugs.

Khyrion says, "Mornin' comes and he reports this to the cap'n.  Cap'n orders a head count.  All present and accounted for."

Khyrion says, "The crew has a good laugh.  Young blood got afeared on night watch, tale as old as the sea.  "Try not to nod off and have nightmares next time," they tell 'im."

Khyrion flashes a wide grin.

Khyrion continues, "Second night, fog rolls in thick again.  Along with that same deathly quiet.  Unnatural quiet."

Khyrion says, "Then the splashin'.  And the callin' for help."

Khyrion frowns.

Khyrion says, "The lad pinches 'imself.  Not asleep.  And 'e knows he ain' just hearin' things.  But 'is feet are rooted to the deck."

Khyrion says, "Because that voice just isn' right.  It's deeper, somehow."

Khyrion malevolently says, "Wetter."

Khyrion narrows his eyes.

Khyrion says, "The fear has 'im cold."

Khyrion says, "So, for another night, the lad holds fast.  This time with 'is back flat up 'gainst the mizzen."

Khyrion chuckles.

Khyrion says, "He reports to the cap'n again the next morn'."

Khyrion grimly says, "This time the crew ain' laughin'."

Khyrion says, "The young lad pleads with the cap'n, askin' him when they'll make for open water and be away from the blighted cove."

Khyrion says, "Cap'n looks to the sky.  Says the weather ain' right.  Feels it in 'is knees, and those ne'er lie.  They will wait."

Khyrion shrugs nonchalantly.

Khyrion says, "Now, sailors are a superstitious lot, ya know.  When the lad awakes for his watch that evenin', he hears murmurs."

Khyrion whispers aloud, "Cursed.  Moontouched."

Khyrion darkly says, "Bad omen."

Khyrion frowns.

Khyrion says, "The crew refuses to sup with him."

Khyrion continues, "Third night, third night's watch.  Again with the fog.  Again with the splashin'."

Khyrion says, "Again with the croaks for 'elp."

Khyrion says, "This time he's determined to clear 'is name.  He summons 'is courage and crawls through the fog, feelin' 'is way to the railin' on the deck."

(Khyrion mimes patting the deckboards.)

Khyrion says, "He creaks his head over.  Just barely peekin'.  Lookin' towards the water."

Khyrion squints.

Khyrion simply says, "Nothin's there.  Not a thing."

Khyrion shrugs helplessly.

Khyrion takes a drink from his Balefire whiskey.

Khyrion looks rather relaxed.

Khyrion says, "And no more noise, for that matter.  No more splashin'."

Khyrion says, "The lad gets to 'is knees and peers a li'l farther.  Nothin'."

Khyrion says, "Even he's beginnin' to doubt 'is mind at this point.  He stands up."

Khyrion says, "Quick as a flash he hears a thuddin' across the deck an' somethin' shoves 'im over the railin'."

Khyrion clenches his jaw.

Khyrion says, "Down into the waters o' the cove."

Khyrion says, "Lad comes up for air, splutterin', coughin'.  Squintin' back up at the ship."

Khyrion quietly says, "One by one, the crew appears at the railin'.  Then the cap'n.  Hats in hand.  Silent."

(Khyrion stares around the room.)

Khyrion says, "The cap'n solemnly intones, as if to the waters themselves: "As agreed, your payment"."

Khyrion says, "The lad starts swimmin' like mad, aftside, towards the nettin' on the side of the ship."

Khyrion says, ""Two days your blighted cowardice cost us, boy! Wouldn't even dive in to save a crewmate?" the cap'n sneered."

Khyrion grimly concludes, "It was the last thing the lad heard before somethin' cold wrapped around his leg and yanked 'im to the depths."

Khyrion takes a drink from his Balefire whiskey.
Khyrion looks rather relaxed.

Khyrion nods once.

Khyrion raises his Balefire whiskey in a toast!
</pre>

== Traiva and Tolwynn Perform ==

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Allyria recites:

    "Up next, to close out the evening, Traiva and Tolwynn"

The backstage curtains part slightly, and Traiva steps out onto the stage.  A glimpse of the shadowy backstage is briefly visible before the curtains close behind her.

The backstage curtains part slightly, and Tolwynn steps out onto the stage.  A glimpse of the shadowy backstage is briefly visible before the curtains close behind him.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
You see Chatelaine Traiva Verethundi the Incantress.
She appears to be an Aelotoi of the Mrae'ni Clan.
She is petite in stature and has an hourglass figure.  She appears to be in the prime of life.  She has smoldering, viridian-flecked dark hazel eyes and rose-tinted ivory skin.  She has hip length, softly curled deep cordovan hair with a pair of plum-tipped alabaster roses woven into the strands.  She has a heart-shaped face and high cheekbones.  She has a pair of jade-veined elongated emerald wings.
She has a stalk of blush-hued tuberoses nestled in vivid jade green leaves on her arm, a wispy dancer tattoo on her foot, and a knotwork and dragonfly tattoo on her neck.
She is in good shape.
She is holding a knitted moon and star-patterned moonlight silver silk scarf in her right hand.
She is wearing a wide velveteen choker set with a great purple hairstreak butterfly, and a dress of fluid amethyst marbrinus whorled with silver.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
You see Lord Tolwynn Verethundi the Fortune Seeker.
He appears to be a Human from Seareach.
He is tall.  He appears to be in the prime of life.  He has tempestuous grey-green eyes and evenly bronzed skin.  He has waist-length, thick jet black hair pulled back into a kelyn-bound braid.  He has a chiseled angular face and slightly upswept ears.
He has a stylized green wisp marking on his neck.
Miniature wisps of green spiral outward from him before fading away.
He is in good shape.
He is wearing a mercurial urnon Ivas symbol, an amber-inset golden Paupers pin, a silk-edged cloth-of-silver shirt, a sleek black cloth-of-veniom longcoat, some silvered black steel bracers, a wide gold and black jade band, some formal-cut black silk trousers fastened with a double row of matte black kelyn buttons, and a pair of polished black leather boots buckled with kelyn.
</pre>

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
(Tolwynn stands to the side of the stage, barely lit in the darkness as a harp begins plucking a light melody. Overhead, white lights begin to flicker on and off across the stage, like twinkling stars.)

(Tolwynn strides smoothly across the stage, his heel-to-toe steps creating a gentle rise and fall to his movements. He traces the patterns of the flickering lights, focused intently even as Traiva flits behind him on her toes as a second harp adds a gliding bass to the music and a pale rosy glow floods the theater.)

(Traiva darts behind Tolwynn as the light pattern causes him to turn, her legs flicking with a mischievous playfulness. She lifts her moonlight silver silk scarf high above her head, fluttering it in Tolwynn's direction.)

(Tolwynn turns around, facing Traiva at last. He wraps one arm around her waist while clasping her hand in his and leads her into the start of a flowing waltz step, a trail of flickering lights following them.)

(Traiva spins out from Tolwynn, her amethyst skirt swirling around her legs and the scarf's flowing end wrapping around her hips, the flickering light catching its moon and star pattern.)

(Tolwynn takes Traiva into his embrace as the warm tones of a flute join the harps. He glides across the stage with her, the lights blending from rose to violet to blue, evoking a twilight sky. Every few steps he swings her high in the air and then back onto her feet, the movement smooth and effortless.)

(Traiva rises onto her toes and crosses her legs to move with quick, precise steps away from Tolwynn diagonally across the stage, her scarf trailing behind her. She lowers her heels to the floor as Tolwynn strides toward her, quickly rising to her toes to repeat the movement just before he can catch her.)

(Tolwynn follows Traiva, grasping her waist before she can flit away a second time. He tosses her into the air, leaning forward as she turns a half-rotation and lands on one foot facing him, her knee bending deeply and the other leg stretching straight out behind her.)

(Traiva presses her hands to Tolwynn's shoulders as he lifts her, her feet swinging out slightly as he spins around with her. He lowers her smoothly to the floor, gliding around the stage in a rocking waltz.)

(Tolwynn turns Traiva to face away from him as the lights fade to a dark blue and the flute fades to leave only the plinking harp, one arm wrapped snugly around her torso and the other extended to clasp her outstretched hand. They slow their steps and gaze up in wonder as slivers of white lights stream over the top of the stage, the flute flowing through the theater again as the light show intensifies.)

(Traiva clasps Tolwynn's hand at her waist and lifts his arm just enough to duck beneath it, spinning to face him once more. She drops his hand and grasps his shoulder, her other hand reaching around to draw the moonlight silver silk scarf across his back.)

(Tolwynn's hands encircle Traiva's waist as the flickering lights begin to fade. They share an intense gaze, their faces tilted toward each other as they turn in sweeping circles, their legs crossing one over the other.)

(Traiva slides her hands down Tolwynn's arms until she can clasp his hands, one end of the scarf falling from her grip to the floor. The two fall to their knees in a slow, controlled movement as the stage dims to nearly black with only a soft glow of light illuminating them and the plucking harps slow, letting each note hang in the air.)

(Tolwynn catches the loose end of the scarf as he twists Traiva slightly and guides her onto her back, the flute breathing out a long, low note. He draws the scarf across Traiva's torso and covers her body with his, his hands braced by her shoulders to keep his chest raised slightly. There is a quick flash of light, and then the stage goes completely dark.)

(Traiva and Tolwynn are side-by-side on their feet as the stage lights gradually return, bathing them in the previous twilight glow, with the moon and star-pattern scarf draped gracefully from Traiva's arm. Tolwynn leans into a low bow while Traiva's deep curtsy lowers her nearly to the floor; he then gathers her up in his arms and carries her down the steps to set her on her feet in front of the pews.)

Traiva sinks into a deep curtsy.

Tolwynn bows.

Traiva gratefully says, "Thank you all."
</pre>

== Closing Remarks ==

<pre{{log2|font-size=100%|border=none|margin-right=10%}}>
Traiva recites:

    "And thank you all for our second stunning Carnivale Concert!"

Traiva recites:

    "We could not do it without the brave souls who share their talent with us."

Aurien recites:

    "Well done all and I thank all of the performers!"

Aurien exclaims, "I aslo thank all those that came just to watch!"

Traiva recites cheerfully:

    "Revel Revelia!"

Traiva recites:

    "Many thanks to House Aspis for the use of their stage and their assistance."
</pre>

[[Category:Logs]]