“Have you read that story before?” Mana asked Cobal. She’d finished reading it much quicker than he did and had moved on to another story but when he closed the book she looked at him for his opinion. The book itself had some more stories included and then a biography of the author, but Cobal wasn’t much interested in that part.
“I liked the story. I hadn’t read it before and I wonder if it’s based on a real event.”
Mana’s eyes brightened. “Are there humanoids in your world that look like big talking mice?”
“You mean Wildfolk? They’re not a very common species on our continent, but I hear that they have large kingdoms across the sea.”
“I want to see that some day.”
“Why?”
This seemed to give Mana some pause for thought. “I don’t know, it just sounds incredible. It’s something so alien to my own experience. We’ve seen some folks that are strange by my standards already, but a mouse that’s like a human is a fairy tale story. I would love to learn more about them.”
“You sound almost like Salandra,” Cobal joked.
“That’s just because she’s on your mind constantly,” Mana joked back. “But I do understand her urge to learn more about things that are unfamiliar. It’s what life is all about.”
Cobal shrugged. He was perfectly content without learning about Wildfolk. “There’s a Wildfolk warrior in the palace guard back home, perhaps when we return you can ask him about his people’s history.”
“That would be nice.” The duo spent another few hours reading before their attention got taken up by something else.
The floor below where they were reading was the entrance hall and it seemed like someone had started a performance on the piano that was there. The sound was pleasant and almost felt like waves coming over them so after exchanging a quick glance they both put their books away and went downstairs to see the performance.
Sitting behind the piano, barely visible above it, was an older man. He had just finished his first musical piece and his fingers were trembling as he moved his music sheets around to prepare the next one. Thin graying hair rested softly on his shoulders and although he looked to be quite old, his eyes had a youthfulness to them that almost caught Cobal off guard. Not only that, he looked familiar in a strange way.
Cobal and Mana weren’t the only two who were curious about the performance and the man had already drawn quite a crowd even though he’d only just started. Cobal flagged over a nearby scribe who came running up after he did so. “Excuse me, was this a planned performance? There’s so many people gathered here so quickly.”
The scribe – a young boy who couldn’t be much older than twelve, nodded excitedly. “This is Sala’Thania, a pianist who has been performing at the Sapphire Respite for years. He’s soon planning to retire so people are eager to catch some of his last performances.”
“I see, so he’s quite good then, I presume? I mean, the first song was already very pleasant to listen to.”
The boy smiled. “He’s one of the best if you’d ask me.”
Cobal smiled. “Thank you for the information.”
The boy scampered off and Cobal exchanged a look with Mana. “That’s an interesting name to find here, isn’t it.”
Mana nodded. “We’ll definitely have to see if we can get the chance to chat with him.”
Their conversation quickly paused as the old man put his fingers back on the keys of the piano and started his next piece.
The music started calm and then slowly picked up in tempo without ever feeling rushed. Cobal couldn’t help it but close his eyes and feel his consciousness travel elsewhere. First he found himself sitting in Ravadier, worried about his future while eating one of the local pasaja fruits as Mana sat behind him working on her schematics. The music changed tempo and he found himself standing in the crowd at the harvest festival, watching his friends perform and laughing and drinking with the elves of Milinia. Another tempo change and he found himself watching his breath turn into small clouds that went into the sky as Mana spent some time playing with the kids in Fitseren that they encountered early on in their journey here. Picking up the pace significantly the piece went towards and end and he saw the night sky above the hot springs that they visited after they had freed Grac and killed several of the bandits. The uncertainty that Cobal had felt about killing several men during their travels was slowly washing away from him as he soaked in the hot water while listening to the beautiful music. Then a high note rang through the main hall of the library and he found himself back where he started, looking at the old man finish his performance. Without Cobal ever realizing, tears had started streaming down his face. When he looked around it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who this happened to as many people were quickly wiping their face while others were just letting the tears flow freely, not worried about how others would perceive them. Mana seemed to be one of those people as she was standing there remembering something just like Cobal had. He wondered if her memories were of their journey together or if she also recalled things from her old life. He also knew that he was not going to ask her. A thunderous applause erupted throughout the room as the old man got up and took a short bow, before shuffling off towards the back.
After recovering from the emotional shock that the song had delivered, Cobal quickly made his way through the crowd towards Sala’Thania. “Excuse me, Sala’Thania?”
The old man turned around to look at Cobal, his eyes sunken deep into his wrinkled face yet still shining with life when they met Cobal’s gaze. “Yes, young man?”
“I was wondering if I could have a few moments of your time, I was wondering if you know a friend of ours.” Mana had followed shortly after him and was now standing just behind him.
“Is this friend of yours a performer here?” Sala asked.
Cobal shook his head. “My friend is Kimi’Thania, spirit of music.”
The old man’s eyes narrowed even more before a smile crept on his face. “Well follow me then.” He motioned over a nearby scribe. “Excuse me, Silvander, could you get me and my guests some wine?”
“Tea for me if that’s alright,” Mana added.
The boy nodded and ran off.
“Follow me please, I have a private chamber nearby where we can chat.”
They followed Sala’Thania down the hall and into one of many chambers that were closed off from the public. There they sat down on a comfortable pile of pillows as Sala’Thania straightened his back and stretched. He still looked like the old man from the performance, but here in a private chamber he portrayed much more vigor. “Now I won’t drop my glamor completely, but I’m sure I can let my guard down around you folks. At the very least you probably know this isn’t how I truly look.” He grinned.
“So you are Kimi’s family then?”
Sala nodded. “Kimi’s my sister’s daughter. I’ve been wondering how those little rascals have been doing.”
Cobal’s face darkened a bit. “Well, last we saw her she was teleported away by the magic of a strange cult, so I wish I came bearing better news.”
Sala laughed. “If that’s the worst of it all then I don’t think I have to be particularly worried. Us spirits are resourceful. I’m more curious about how her music is compared to when she was still wobbling around as a toddler belting out false notes.”
“I would have liked to see that,” Mana said. She was about to continue but the door opened and the boy named Silvander brought in the tea and wine. After he left Sala said. “Please, what were you about to say?”
“Well, we met Kimi in strange circumstances along with her brother. She was locked behind strange magic and we helped her free herself. After that she wanted to continue traveling with us, so we brought her with us to Milinia where she gave a wonderful performance that I still remember vividly. After that we traveled together to the capital of Blueyerd after which we eventually got separated.”
“I see, and what of Kori?”
“He stayed behind near the place where we found them, and didn’t feel like traveling.”
“Fair enough. I should pop by when I retire here and see how they’re doing.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that, you’re clearly not as old as you’re portraying yourself to be,” Cobal remarked.
Sala chuckled. “I’m that old, but us spirits obviously age differently. I’ve let my glamor age normally so that I can retire and find a new place to live after this. Staying in the same place for decades can get boring after all. It’s much better to move on to new horizons.” He looked over the duo. “But enough about me, I want to know more about Kimi’s friends so I can tell my sister all about them when I visit home.”
“I see, so you’re a prince and you were born in a different world. That makes you a little bit like a spirit.”
“How so?”
“The spirit realm is separate from the rest of the world. We live in our own little world and travel freely to and from. So we’re not technically from here.”
“Can we visit the spirit world?” Mana asked excitedly.
Sala paused. “It’s possible. But traveling there needs to be done with the guidance of a spirit and we have very strict rules surrounding the practice. You wouldn’t be the first to do it, but it is far from common.”
“I see, then I suppose that’s not going to happen anytime soon,” Mana said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
“Anyway, I’m glad to have met you folks, I was actually hoping to go find Kimi when I finished up my performance here.”
“Oh?”
“You see, my sister wants her to come back for some important family business. I’m not quite sure what she was talking about but she asked me if I could go and find her, as she hadn’t contacted home in quite a while. If you could relay a message to Kimi then that would be most wonderful. I will head to where Kori is by myself.”
Cobal nodded. “I’m sure we can relay a message, although I am not quite sure how long it will be before we meet her again, as we got separated.”
“That’s fine, if she hasn’t shown herself yet I’ll go find her after I talk to Kori.”
“What message exactly should we relay to her?”
“Just that her mother has been asking for her presence in the family home. She should be heading that way as soon as possible. That is all I have to share with her.”
“We can certainly relay that, no problem at all.” Cobal shifted his weight to one side and took a sip from his tea. “Your performance in the main hall was great, I felt myself drawn into my own memories while listening to it.”
Sala’s eyes brightened and he smiled broadly. “I’m glad to hear that, that means I’ve done my job.” He got up. “I’m afraid I have other business to attend to so I will see you out now if you don’t mind, but it was nice meeting some friends of Kimi. If we ever meet each other again let’s catch up a bit, shall we? If I had more time I would have loved to learn more about you two as well.”
Cobal shook his hand and Mana followed suit. “If we find the time we’ll definitely come and have some more tea.”
Opal Kaharis 