A Mirror of Song

Spooky Sundown 2020

Verdant Row can be chaotic or peaceful to a fatigued adventurer. Managed by spirits, this town serves as a temporary stop for a person to rest and eat. If there is no trouble about, a stay here is lovely, due to the nearby picturesque scenery. Read more...
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Vanessa LaNore
Character
Seeker of Legends
Level
02
24 / 24 HP
21 / 21 MP
0p / 0g / 0s / 60c
Race: Fae and Human
Class: Bard and Summoner
Posts: 99
Joined: October 14th, 2019, 3:30 pm
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 8 times

A Mirror of Song

Post by Vanessa LaNore »

Vanessa travelled more often than she could truly afford if you considered her finances. The University barely paid, expeditions were lucrative but fund often long delayed, and despite her best efforts she had yet to find away to enjoy what her mother had always called lesser food and drink. This trouble was easily solved, her talents in music and illusion were always in demand and could easily cover finer delights wherever she roamed. Knowing this, the Half-Fae arrived in the ever-exciting Verdant Row with naught but her wits, a desire to cause trouble, and her magical collection. As the last vestiges of sunlight began to drift away the Bard grinned; the streets were already packed with people. After sundown, things were going to get a whole lot worse.

The moon was well in the sky but the ever-bustling populace seemed to have hardly noticed and Vanessa reveled in the constant motion around her. Finding a small clearing where a series of boxes had been left half piled, she removed her book of music and a magical focus from her pack. After a moment's preparation, the Bard called into existence a simple fiddle made of hardened illusion. She hopped along the boxes, settling herself atop the highest point and placing her small frame well in view for the curious passersby just beginning to look her way. She tugged at her summoning contracts, bringing the cat-spirit Kip into being. Overjoyed to be released, the cat-in-water-dragon-form flitted about, chirping and trilling softly before coming to drape around his master's shoulders.

Vanessa grinned at the spirit's antics and brought her hands up to the ready position, her bow resting just above the fiddle's strings. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before and just kept a smirk from her lips as silence fell on the surrounding observers. She opened her eyes, the power of her Fae magic making them glow like scintillating fire as she put bow to string. The sound that emerged from the fiddle belied the instrument's simple appearance; a lilting thread wrapped in a faint hum of a woman's voice, clear and yet distant. What started as a drifting melody and indistinct singer soon became a lingering and haunting song with words that all could comprehend regardless of language. The voice became many and seemed to emerge from all around, floating among the crowd as it sharpened to clarity.

When you get what you want in your struggle for wealth,
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself:
And see what that man has to say!


It isn't your father or mother or wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass,
The one whose verdict counts most in your life:
Is the one staring back in the glass.

He's the one you must satisfy beyond all the rest,
For he's with you right up to the end...
And you have passed your most difficult test:
If the man in the glass is your friend.


You may be one who got a good break~
Then think you're a wonderful guy;
But the man in the glass says you're only a fake:
If you can't look him straight in the eye.


Woe be unto him that ever tries,
To deceive the reflection beyond,
For all your words will ring as hollow lies:
When you believe the man you have conned.


You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years…
And get pats on the back as you pass;
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears:
If you've cheated the Man in the Glass!


Vanessa removed the bow from the string and the last notes echoed through the stunned silence around. "So- who's going to buy me a drink," she offered out with a wink and barely contained her laughter as her words shook many from their stupor. Several reached for coin purses, a mixture of confusion and excitement in their eyes. Vanessa gave a bow and hopped down from her perch and slid into the crowd, ready to enjoy the fruits of her labor.
Word count: 686
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