Completed Practice Makes Progress

[Kayuqtuq Snowsong]

Timestamp: 25th Summer, 515,
Location: Kayuqtuq's House

Kayuqtuq needed something to play for the wedding. She had tried playing every piece she knew, but none fit. She wanted something to reflect the natures of the bride and groom. All she knew about them was that their names were Aren and Sayana. She had sent her sign up through the mail, and had never met them. She steadied her lute, and plucked a note. She silently memorized it and continued. She played a rapid series of notes, seeming frantic and urgent. Then came a soft, smooth flurry of drifting half notes. This to her seemed to be what love was like. She had never loved... well she had loved Avena, but that was different. She continued with a long, smooth, whole note. Then she opened her mouth and sang.
The words, Vani and beautiful, filled the silence with a glorious passion that erupted when they got stronger and higher, and the music flew in again, flowing alongside the singing. Kayuqtuq's fingers stung, but she ignored them. Her words continued to fly in, the notes taking new paths. Her words got higher and more feeble, the lute getting deeper and stronger. Like always, her words told a story. They sang of a love that could of gone wrong, but didn't. They sang of one who encountered terrors, terrors soothed by their lover. Her voice got raspy from singing notes lower than her natural range, so she utilized that for a sad sound, singing of one on the brink of death, rescued by their love. That part incorporated a mellow, sorrowful tone, but it rose up, to what was nearly a jig, and the words matched the music. It spoke of a happy ending, and on that note, it ended, the last note binding the whole thing together. Kayuqtuq grinned. It was actually quite a simple piece.The variation in between the notes, and the tone of the piece made it sound beautiful, but it was quite easy. "Absolutely perfect." She mumbled.

[Kayuqtuq Snowsong]

Timestamp: 25th Summer, 515
Location: The Great Bazaar
Kayuqtuq was at the Bazaar for one reason. She figured that since she had written a piece, she should probably record it. So here she was, looking for supplies. All you need is ink, parchment, quill She thought. It was hard to resist the temptations of the many market stalls with their irresistible wares. Ink, parchment, quill. Ink, parchment, quill. She scanned the sea of booths for quills and saw a booth filled with feathers. "Those are probably quills." Kayuqtuq muttered to herself. She sprinted over to the stall, and found the quills were actually feathered Inartan jewellery. "Is you know of where writing feathers are?"
She asked to the merchant, her eyes a curious orange. The merchant pointed towards another stall, displaying quills. She nodded a thanks to the merchant and scampered over to the stall. She examined several quills, and decided on a simple white goose feather. The merchant opened his mouth to haggle, but decided against it when her eyes flashed a stern crimson. She placed 5 copper mizas in his hand, and streaked off towards the ink. The ink stand was impossible to miss. Bottles of ink in every colour stacked atop another, blocking her view of the merchant, a middle-aged man who seemed unwilling to part with his ink. When she approached him, he grumbled about wanting peace to experiment with colours. "I would like cup of-" She hesitated, thinking of a word for ink. " Dark writing water" The man grunted, and very delicately lifted a bottle of black ink from the pile. "Four gold mizas." He said while screwing the top on a dark blue bottle of ink. "Will pay only one." Kayuqtuq replied. "Fine" The merchant mumbled. He handed her the bottle with a mournful look, and continued screwing the tops on bottles.
She scanned for parchment, and saw a stall with large racks of Parchment. She calmly walked towards it. The merchant looked up from the parchment with a smile. "What do you need?" She asked. "I am in needing of... flat pale writing fabric, four sheets." Kayuqtuq sighed at her feeble attempt to say parchment. "Eight silver mizas." The merchant said. "Will work." She said, and placed eight silver mizas in front of the merchant. She sighed, and strode back towards home, her purchases with her. Tommorow, I write it.

[Kayuqtuq Snowsong]

Timestamp: 26th Summer, 515
Location: Kayuqtuq's house
Kayuqtuq was bursting with excitement to record her piece. Her eyes, an energetic red, seemed to swell up, quivering like water with every movement. She pulled out her white quill, dipping it in ink, ink that wavered to long on the tip of her quill and fell, dotting the parchment with a black spot, a darkened star. Take it slowly, start with the foundations. She once again dipped it in ink, and this time, her hand darted to the parchment, and made some simple lines. These lines, she knew, were foundations for all of music. She drew a treble clef next to it, and moved on. Line after line after line formed, and all Kayuqtuq could here was the scratch of the quill and the roar of her fire. When all the lines were complete, she plucked the first note.
For a second she thought, then the simple lines of the half note emerged. A half-rest followed it, then the frenzied sixteenth notes. More half notes, their pitch flying up and down joined the rest. This was the end of the line. Her eyes flickered a calm blue, and she plucked a whole note, before marking it and continuing. She did not bother to write the lyrics, not just yet, and the strong notes flew higher and higher, her lute plucking the note before marking it. The notes went back down again, stronger and lower and more powerful. The strong notes stopped, switching to sad ones. It rose up, up, up, a merry tune that would make anyone dance. One last note erupted from the tune, and flew, flew until it could no more. The song ended.

A grin spread across her face. The music looked like a work of art, the notes special. And where the tune stopped, the words came. She brought her pen back to the top, and started anew. Kayuqtuq didn't need to think, the words just came again. Right there, under the notes, she wrote. The first lyrics came: Long ago, I spoke of love.But no one came to me. She sang as she wrote, the hearth roaring to accompany her. So now I sing, sing of ones who got their wish. For I sing for the ones who got their wish. There were few, who got their wish. Long ago, two met. She sucked in her breath. The two who met, their love was strong, and they had been, through thick and thin. For when they met, one could have died.
She breathed in, for the sad part of the song was to come. She was dangling off a cliff, lost in hardship and danger, he came up and saved her life. And they knew, to be together. So now we rejoice, for two will become one. We sing, and celebrate, this love did not fail. She brought her pen to the top of the page, and wrote the title. And there, at the top of the page, were the words: A Tale of Love.
(OOC: I apologize for my awful songwriting.

[Kayuqtuq Snowsong]

Timestamp: 27th Summer, 515
Location: Kayuqtuq's house

Kayuqtuq grunted with the effort of moving her chair. The splinters in the wood lay hidden until she ran her over the wood, a massive sliver of wood lodging itself in her finger. Her attempts to remove it with her hand were unsuccessful, so she used her teeth. Her eyes were a burdened brown, spamming down sharply with every movement. Put the chair right here, next to that support beam. She reminded herself as she pulled the chair. She dragged it directly in front of the beam, and plopped down in the chair, exhausted. She fingered the necklace around her neck. Like always, the little cord was riddled with knots, knots of every size. One of them was long, remotely like a sausage. Oh, what she would give for a plump, juicy venison sausage. Her stomach growled. Tomorrow, I'll find a butcher and get some. Not necessarily venison sausage, just something nice. Anything but fish. She walked over to her table, covered with writing supplies and her eating knife. While she gathered up her sheet music, she held her eating knife in one hand. She looked over the music, checking compelling errors. And while she checked, her other hand dud something of it's own. It carved. By the time she looked up, her hand had carved four words; rest in peace Avena. She started to cry. One tear dotted her parchment. "Don't cry! Don't! Practice! Do something you love! " She wiped a tear off her face. Her eyes were blue, flickering and covered in darker blu spots that fell like rain. Practice, Kay. She heard Avena's voice in her mind and cried harder. She dragged her body over to her lute, sitting on her bed. She grabbed her music, her eyes a stoic, unnatural grey. Not blue-grey, but steel grey. Kayuqtuq shoved her music sheet into the beam to keep it steady, and plopped in the chair. And as she sat, she played.
She closed her eyes, and let the music's rests fill her heart with silence. She opened her eyes again when the music started. She rocked to the beat, and sang like she never had before when it was time. Her voice echoed off the stone walls, amplified with her emotion. Her eyes were a passionate flame red. Everything in her body was flaming. She sang and plucked and felt it inside her like she never had before. And then it ended. Her eyes flickered a joyful fuchsia. What was that? She wondered. And her mind, her subconscious said one word: Rhaus. So she thanked him. "I see it now. I see what music is. You are power and joy, and I thank you for everything. Let me follow you in worship, for you have shown me your power." The words came out of her throat uncertain and shaky, but she beamed. She knew a moment of innovation, a genius second like that would be rare. So in that moment, she vowed to practice every day. She laughed, and again, played the piece. This time, notes were scratchy and uneven. But she laughed, and tried again.

[Sayana]

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request. If there's anything I may have missed, please PM me and I'll be happy to look into it.

 

Kayuqtuq

Skills

• Instrument: Lute: 3
• Singing: 3
• Music Composition: 2
• Storytelling: 2
• Socialization: 1
• Running: 1
• Negotiation: 1
• Observation: 1
• Writing: 1
• Endurance: 1
• Medicine: 1
• Carving: 1
• Prayer: 1

Lores

• Music Composition: Simple music with different themes keeps it interesting
• Writing down music on a score
• Song: A Tale of Love
• Medicine: Removing a splinter
• Rhaus: God of music
• When you are sad, do something you love

Comments: What a lovely thread. It was short and maybe one of your first threads in Mizahar but I still enjoyed the read. Thanks for updating your ledger and inventory with your purchases. Great job.

Your Grader,

Sayana

Boxcode design: Firenze