Celestine Aetherscape Contest
A small Aetherscape chamber.
A strange material covers all surfaces here, muting all sound. Five seats arranged back-to-back in a circle sit at the center of the room. Servos on his suit whirring erratically, Ninvahn stands here restlessly. Ausaeus is here, calmly examining his surroundings. Ren gives the surroundings a look of composed interest. Vaxis is present here, feet barely touching the ground. His wings buzzing occasionally, Urid lurks here. Spacer Kieran is here, sprawled out on the ground. Ata is here, frantically attending to an absurd-looking machine. Sorcha stands here. A crane-armed carrybot rumbles along here. A turret has been deployed here, with a mounted laser barrel. An aerodynamic drone is hovering in midair here. A slim control panel is mounted upon the wall. 3 meat-stuffed rolls are here. 3 cups are here.
Ausaeus retrieves a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Grek stands off to the side, fiddling with some manner of jurry-rigged handheld device. Her wings flutter nervously.
Ata yells from nearby, "Okay!"
Ata runs erratic laps around his machine, a monstrosity of electronics and 'borrowed' university lab equipment vaguely resembling a piece of absurdist art. It is mushroom-shaped on one side and horn-shaped on the other with iriil circuitry running up along the mushroom-side, glittering and pulsating. It whirs and beeps as he directs his nanites to perform various tasks to keep the machine up, "Come now, Motoko, please be a good nannie and reduce flow to the inverters by six percent. Porter, get ye to the kith-gravitic cabling and check the casings."
Ata seems aware that the chamber is filling up and he shouts a cry, somewhat muffled from his position crouched at a low access panel on his machine, "COMPOSERS to the corners please, AUDIENCE please take your seats in the middle, I've brought some more in for the occasion, I know it's a bit cramped!" The machine churns a plume of smoke with a hiss, "Annie, please work faster on those heat dampeners. WE WILL START RIGHT AWAY!"..
Ausaeus nods.
Kieran stands up.
Kieran shuffles to a more comfortable spot.
Grek fidgets in place for a moment before retreating into a corner, as directed.
Kieran sits down.
Ren nods while moving towards a free seat. "If you say so."..
Ausaeus finds an open seat in the audience area and settles in for the performances.
Ata smacks a button on the side of the machine which suddenly goes deathly quiet except for a barely audible hum. He gestures wildly, mumbling a set of commands to his nanites. The machine is enveloped in a thick cloud of nanites who seem to have taken over its operation for now. Ata proceeds to a position near the center of the chamber.
Ausaeus sits down.
Raseru sits down.
Ausaeus takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Urid shuffles toward an empty seat.
Ata calls out a loud announcement, his voice swelling at unexpected points, "Friends! Fellow citizens! Thank you for coming today for what MUST be known to us as the first of the UTTERANCES of WILLSPACE. I have devised in the pursuance of OUR GREAT QUEST a SENSE machine which will measure a set of kith-gravitic readings of each composition."..
Kieran stares unflinchingly at the strange machine.
Urid sits down.
Ata seems to transform all at once, normalizing his posture and speech. He takes on the pose of a university lecturer, "It is precisely these measurements which I need to further my research, and the reason for our gathering today. As to not alter the readings I request that you refrain from breathing for the duration of each performance. If you need to breath please do so with long, deliberate breaths, as if sipping through a straw. Kith users are requested to please refrain from using any kith techniques. Kith users should also disable their limbic system from processing emotions, as any emotion, outward or inward, may alter the readings."..
Vaxis gives Ata the once-over, eyeing him suspiciously.
Vaxis ceases levitating and moves to a chair.
Vaxis carefully removes a Blinker 1-XXX goggles.
Ninvahn settles awkwardly into place as the servos whir erratically at the adjustment. His breathing slows in response to the upcoming performance.
Ata has now fully assumed what appears to be a regulated state, devoid of any perceptible mania, "I would like to thank the three composers today, Oacena, Viola, and Grek, for three fantastic submissions. Viola will not be able to join us today, but has provided me the necessary implements to play it for you! It would have been impossible for me to judge between such fantastic contributions to the coveted Shen art. Thankfully, the Sense Machine, not I, will decide the winner of the contest! The theme of the compositions today is the Empyreals, whose Legacy encompasses both the two Kiths and Life itself."..
Grek mumbles under her breathe, "Limbic system?" before shaking her head..
Vaxis carefully removes a Nimble PTX-G-1a gauntlet.
Kamilla sits down.
Ausaeus carefully removes a Nimble PTX-G-1a gauntlet.
Ausaeus carefully removes a Blinker 1-X goggles.
Oacena flows in from the west.
Ren says, "Oh my. What strict requirements, these are."
Oacena exhales tiredly as she returns, now alone.
Ata beams. "Now, lets move on to the music! First up is The Empyreals of Utan Mir, composed by Oacena. You have the floor Oacena." Ata takes his place at his machine and motions for Oacena to begin...
Kieran grins with excitement and anticipation upon hearing the subject matter.
Ausaeus says, "His machine is...something special, that is for certain."
Ronin has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Albion.
Kamilla stares meaningfully at Ausaeus, places a finger on her lips, and hisses, "Shhh!"
Ausaeus smirks at Kamilla.
Oacena is still trying to catch her breath when she hears Ata speak. Amber eyes widening, she goes, "Huh? Who?"..
Kieran flashes Kamilla a subtle smile.
Kieran directs their attention to Oacena.
Ata heads to the corner and boots up the Aetherscape studio equipment, "Whoops, forgot to plug it in!"..
Kieran scratches their head in confusion.
Raseru gazes upon the strange equipment.
Vaxis cringes and drops his face into his palms with a shake of his head.
Oacena fans herself nervously as she drifts over to the back of the chamber where she inserts a datacard into the control panel. Keeping her gaze off the others, she chews on her lip as trembling fingers flip switches and hover over a final button.
Ronin has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Albion.
Urid twiddles his antennae at Ata and the machinery.
Oacena clears her throat and murmurs, "I'd... like to invite you all to kindly take your seats if you haven't, and close your eyes to experience the aetherscape wholly."..
Kieran closes their eyes and tempers their breathing.
Vaxis smiles encouragingly, and does just that.
Oacena makes sure the door is closed, as well. Then... Like the vastness of space, the chamber is a dark, silent void to encompass you in emptiness, allowing for the faintest echoes of sound to twinkle into existence...
Urid lowers his head and holds his antennae close to his beak.
Oacena, too, closes her eyes as the piece begins... Far off stars across the black, the softest strums of notes come lightly. They tiptoe, tread, and tumble, glittering with life in this silent world. Enter a ponderous, low humming that reverberates within the chest, tickling the tips of the fingers. A presence of calm authority has come, as if to cradle the mischievous stars... But of course, to non-Shen ears, they'd be the beginnings of shrill scratches upon concrete and metal.
Sorcha closes her eyes and listens carefully.
Nykara has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Ronin Sa'rogue.
Oacena tries not to pick at her nails in case the sound disturbs the aetherscape... One by one, the trills of tiny, shimmering motes delight in the slurs of their lower-pitched guardian. Some mischievously seek to escape the pattern, singing irregularities in electronic frequencies, but the versatile hum of their Keeper ensures that all stays in tune. All is a harmonious choir of fragile strings strengthened in their unity, their song swelling in the span of a stolen breath.
Urid shivers, pressing the tips of his antennae together beneath his beak in an attempt to minimise the effects the shrillness has on his senses.
Oacena steadies her breathing as the piece continues... A flurry of woodwind-like noises cyclones into the scene, chasing after the motes with the mirth of youth and wanderlust. Up and down, out and around they go, the subtleties whooshing past your ears and doubling back to tease at their whim... To translate, the screechy Shen noises get even more irritating as they surround you.
Oacena peeks an eye open to check reactions, especially from the non-Shen... A tremolo seems to express laughter of this new element. Synthesizing itself between the initial sounds, a great wall of it shudders as it speedily solidifies before you. Once complete, its looming thrum dwarfs you with a gasp into slowed-down bassy trembles, hollow echoes, and whispers that are gone as soon as they've come...
Kieran appears to meditate intently on the subtle sounds, perhaps whisking away nostalgic memories invoked by the Shen ritual, bringing themselves wholly to the present.
Ninvahn is in a visibly relaxed, meditative state.
Raseru's fur stands on ends.
Grek presently has her entire body clenched up in a silent full-body wince, twitching whenever a particularly screechy noise happens.
Oacena swallows hard as the aetherscape carries the listeners to deeper levels of either relaxation or hell... A faraway cry rings out! Then closer to the right, and another to the left. The voices sound like they could be Shen but distorted to meld with the general flow of the aetherscape. You hear the wall of sound start to ripple in reaction, angered and anxious from the digital bell-ringing of intruders coming up behind you.
Oacena holds in a breath as the next part commences, no doubt wracking the more sensitive eardrums present... In all its fury, the sound wall lets out a loud shriek - a blaring cacophony of percussive crashes and crackling whistles, out of which surges a devouring bellow that seeks to quake the chamber. Down falls the wall, crumbling and cracking by your ears in an attempt to drown out the incessant bells!
Kieran opens their eyes open widely.
Urid tries to close his wing cases tighter, his head slowly lowering as if he's trying to put it between his knees, which are pressed together in an instinctive attempt to shrink away from the sounds.
Oacena steals a glance at Ata's odd contraption, checking the readings on it... Like maelstroms do the maddened melodies swivel and swirl all around you, as though trying to drain your lungs of air. In this movement of frenzy and maladies, you barely notice the bells being snuffed out - one here, one there, one a little farther out. You sense the anger slowly dissipating when the piece begins to soften in relief.
Sorcha takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Kieran lets out a mild, contented smile.
Oacena sucks her cheeks in to suppress a chuckle at those cringing... The piece continues: But alas, too soon, too late. All at once, the shrill ringing comes back to haunt the distrought other presence. The sharpness of the noise, the vibrato... Beneath it, the pained moans of the lower samples, reducing their rage to naught.
Oacena seems to calm down at this point, a little less nervous now... Then, there was nothing at all. Not the bells, not the groans. But just before you think it is over, you catch it... The faintest murmurs of a lone instrument, quiet with a despair that is only magnified by the emptiness that it is left with.
Oacena appears relieved at the calm faces of her kin, despite how the conclusion of her piece seems to drill echoes into the ears of the foreigners... Wisps of relaxing, ethereal tuplets try to rouse their fallen with encouraging musical pulses, but they sound too weak to grow any louder than they are. Too broken. Too defeated. Yet they sing on, despite there being none left to join their requiem. The war is over, but they sing on...
Sorcha smiles softly.
Urid quivers like a tightly strung wire.
With the end of her composition, Oacena breathes out loudly and hangs her head to ease out any remaining tension. "Thank you. That was my interpretation on the Empyreals of our lost ancestral race when the Ishvana brought them to extinction."..
Ata gives up a round of applause.
Kieran congratulates Oacena with some wild clapping.
Ausaeus takes in a breath as the composition ends, his nanites no longer oxygenating his blood. "Splendid."
Ausaeus gives up a round of applause.
Raseru claps his hands together merrily.
Grek clicks her mandibles together as she claps politely. "Bravo."
A strange material covers all surfaces here, muting all sound. Five seats arranged back-to-back in a circle sit at the center of the room. Servos on his suit whirring erratically, Ninvahn stands here restlessly. Ausaeus is here, calmly examining his surroundings. Ren gives the surroundings a look of composed interest. Vaxis is present here, feet barely touching the ground. His wings buzzing occasionally, Urid lurks here. Spacer Kieran is here, sprawled out on the ground. Ata is here, frantically attending to an absurd-looking machine. Sorcha stands here. A crane-armed carrybot rumbles along here. A turret has been deployed here, with a mounted laser barrel. An aerodynamic drone is hovering in midair here. A slim control panel is mounted upon the wall. 3 meat-stuffed rolls are here. 3 cups are here.
Ausaeus retrieves a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Grek stands off to the side, fiddling with some manner of jurry-rigged handheld device. Her wings flutter nervously.
Ata yells from nearby, "Okay!"
Ata runs erratic laps around his machine, a monstrosity of electronics and 'borrowed' university lab equipment vaguely resembling a piece of absurdist art. It is mushroom-shaped on one side and horn-shaped on the other with iriil circuitry running up along the mushroom-side, glittering and pulsating. It whirs and beeps as he directs his nanites to perform various tasks to keep the machine up, "Come now, Motoko, please be a good nannie and reduce flow to the inverters by six percent. Porter, get ye to the kith-gravitic cabling and check the casings."
Ata seems aware that the chamber is filling up and he shouts a cry, somewhat muffled from his position crouched at a low access panel on his machine, "COMPOSERS to the corners please, AUDIENCE please take your seats in the middle, I've brought some more in for the occasion, I know it's a bit cramped!" The machine churns a plume of smoke with a hiss, "Annie, please work faster on those heat dampeners. WE WILL START RIGHT AWAY!"..
Ausaeus nods.
Kieran stands up.
Kieran shuffles to a more comfortable spot.
Grek fidgets in place for a moment before retreating into a corner, as directed.
Kieran sits down.
Ren nods while moving towards a free seat. "If you say so."..
Ausaeus finds an open seat in the audience area and settles in for the performances.
Ata smacks a button on the side of the machine which suddenly goes deathly quiet except for a barely audible hum. He gestures wildly, mumbling a set of commands to his nanites. The machine is enveloped in a thick cloud of nanites who seem to have taken over its operation for now. Ata proceeds to a position near the center of the chamber.
Ausaeus sits down.
Raseru sits down.
Ausaeus takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Urid shuffles toward an empty seat.
Ata calls out a loud announcement, his voice swelling at unexpected points, "Friends! Fellow citizens! Thank you for coming today for what MUST be known to us as the first of the UTTERANCES of WILLSPACE. I have devised in the pursuance of OUR GREAT QUEST a SENSE machine which will measure a set of kith-gravitic readings of each composition."..
Kieran stares unflinchingly at the strange machine.
Urid sits down.
Ata seems to transform all at once, normalizing his posture and speech. He takes on the pose of a university lecturer, "It is precisely these measurements which I need to further my research, and the reason for our gathering today. As to not alter the readings I request that you refrain from breathing for the duration of each performance. If you need to breath please do so with long, deliberate breaths, as if sipping through a straw. Kith users are requested to please refrain from using any kith techniques. Kith users should also disable their limbic system from processing emotions, as any emotion, outward or inward, may alter the readings."..
Vaxis gives Ata the once-over, eyeing him suspiciously.
Vaxis ceases levitating and moves to a chair.
Vaxis carefully removes a Blinker 1-XXX goggles.
Ninvahn settles awkwardly into place as the servos whir erratically at the adjustment. His breathing slows in response to the upcoming performance.
Ata has now fully assumed what appears to be a regulated state, devoid of any perceptible mania, "I would like to thank the three composers today, Oacena, Viola, and Grek, for three fantastic submissions. Viola will not be able to join us today, but has provided me the necessary implements to play it for you! It would have been impossible for me to judge between such fantastic contributions to the coveted Shen art. Thankfully, the Sense Machine, not I, will decide the winner of the contest! The theme of the compositions today is the Empyreals, whose Legacy encompasses both the two Kiths and Life itself."..
Grek mumbles under her breathe, "Limbic system?" before shaking her head..
Vaxis carefully removes a Nimble PTX-G-1a gauntlet.
Kamilla sits down.
Ausaeus carefully removes a Nimble PTX-G-1a gauntlet.
Ausaeus carefully removes a Blinker 1-X goggles.
Oacena flows in from the west.
Ren says, "Oh my. What strict requirements, these are."
Oacena exhales tiredly as she returns, now alone.
Ata beams. "Now, lets move on to the music! First up is The Empyreals of Utan Mir, composed by Oacena. You have the floor Oacena." Ata takes his place at his machine and motions for Oacena to begin...
Kieran grins with excitement and anticipation upon hearing the subject matter.
Ausaeus says, "His machine is...something special, that is for certain."
Ronin has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Albion.
Kamilla stares meaningfully at Ausaeus, places a finger on her lips, and hisses, "Shhh!"
Ausaeus smirks at Kamilla.
Oacena is still trying to catch her breath when she hears Ata speak. Amber eyes widening, she goes, "Huh? Who?"..
Kieran flashes Kamilla a subtle smile.
Kieran directs their attention to Oacena.
Ata heads to the corner and boots up the Aetherscape studio equipment, "Whoops, forgot to plug it in!"..
Kieran scratches their head in confusion.
Raseru gazes upon the strange equipment.
Vaxis cringes and drops his face into his palms with a shake of his head.
Oacena fans herself nervously as she drifts over to the back of the chamber where she inserts a datacard into the control panel. Keeping her gaze off the others, she chews on her lip as trembling fingers flip switches and hover over a final button.
Ronin has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Albion.
Urid twiddles his antennae at Ata and the machinery.
Oacena clears her throat and murmurs, "I'd... like to invite you all to kindly take your seats if you haven't, and close your eyes to experience the aetherscape wholly."..
Kieran closes their eyes and tempers their breathing.
Vaxis smiles encouragingly, and does just that.
Oacena makes sure the door is closed, as well. Then... Like the vastness of space, the chamber is a dark, silent void to encompass you in emptiness, allowing for the faintest echoes of sound to twinkle into existence...
Urid lowers his head and holds his antennae close to his beak.
Oacena, too, closes her eyes as the piece begins... Far off stars across the black, the softest strums of notes come lightly. They tiptoe, tread, and tumble, glittering with life in this silent world. Enter a ponderous, low humming that reverberates within the chest, tickling the tips of the fingers. A presence of calm authority has come, as if to cradle the mischievous stars... But of course, to non-Shen ears, they'd be the beginnings of shrill scratches upon concrete and metal.
Sorcha closes her eyes and listens carefully.
Nykara has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Ronin Sa'rogue.
Oacena tries not to pick at her nails in case the sound disturbs the aetherscape... One by one, the trills of tiny, shimmering motes delight in the slurs of their lower-pitched guardian. Some mischievously seek to escape the pattern, singing irregularities in electronic frequencies, but the versatile hum of their Keeper ensures that all stays in tune. All is a harmonious choir of fragile strings strengthened in their unity, their song swelling in the span of a stolen breath.
Urid shivers, pressing the tips of his antennae together beneath his beak in an attempt to minimise the effects the shrillness has on his senses.
Oacena steadies her breathing as the piece continues... A flurry of woodwind-like noises cyclones into the scene, chasing after the motes with the mirth of youth and wanderlust. Up and down, out and around they go, the subtleties whooshing past your ears and doubling back to tease at their whim... To translate, the screechy Shen noises get even more irritating as they surround you.
Oacena peeks an eye open to check reactions, especially from the non-Shen... A tremolo seems to express laughter of this new element. Synthesizing itself between the initial sounds, a great wall of it shudders as it speedily solidifies before you. Once complete, its looming thrum dwarfs you with a gasp into slowed-down bassy trembles, hollow echoes, and whispers that are gone as soon as they've come...
Kieran appears to meditate intently on the subtle sounds, perhaps whisking away nostalgic memories invoked by the Shen ritual, bringing themselves wholly to the present.
Ninvahn is in a visibly relaxed, meditative state.
Raseru's fur stands on ends.
Grek presently has her entire body clenched up in a silent full-body wince, twitching whenever a particularly screechy noise happens.
Oacena swallows hard as the aetherscape carries the listeners to deeper levels of either relaxation or hell... A faraway cry rings out! Then closer to the right, and another to the left. The voices sound like they could be Shen but distorted to meld with the general flow of the aetherscape. You hear the wall of sound start to ripple in reaction, angered and anxious from the digital bell-ringing of intruders coming up behind you.
Oacena holds in a breath as the next part commences, no doubt wracking the more sensitive eardrums present... In all its fury, the sound wall lets out a loud shriek - a blaring cacophony of percussive crashes and crackling whistles, out of which surges a devouring bellow that seeks to quake the chamber. Down falls the wall, crumbling and cracking by your ears in an attempt to drown out the incessant bells!
Kieran opens their eyes open widely.
Urid tries to close his wing cases tighter, his head slowly lowering as if he's trying to put it between his knees, which are pressed together in an instinctive attempt to shrink away from the sounds.
Oacena steals a glance at Ata's odd contraption, checking the readings on it... Like maelstroms do the maddened melodies swivel and swirl all around you, as though trying to drain your lungs of air. In this movement of frenzy and maladies, you barely notice the bells being snuffed out - one here, one there, one a little farther out. You sense the anger slowly dissipating when the piece begins to soften in relief.
Sorcha takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Kieran lets out a mild, contented smile.
Oacena sucks her cheeks in to suppress a chuckle at those cringing... The piece continues: But alas, too soon, too late. All at once, the shrill ringing comes back to haunt the distrought other presence. The sharpness of the noise, the vibrato... Beneath it, the pained moans of the lower samples, reducing their rage to naught.
Oacena seems to calm down at this point, a little less nervous now... Then, there was nothing at all. Not the bells, not the groans. But just before you think it is over, you catch it... The faintest murmurs of a lone instrument, quiet with a despair that is only magnified by the emptiness that it is left with.
Oacena appears relieved at the calm faces of her kin, despite how the conclusion of her piece seems to drill echoes into the ears of the foreigners... Wisps of relaxing, ethereal tuplets try to rouse their fallen with encouraging musical pulses, but they sound too weak to grow any louder than they are. Too broken. Too defeated. Yet they sing on, despite there being none left to join their requiem. The war is over, but they sing on...
Sorcha smiles softly.
Urid quivers like a tightly strung wire.
With the end of her composition, Oacena breathes out loudly and hangs her head to ease out any remaining tension. "Thank you. That was my interpretation on the Empyreals of our lost ancestral race when the Ishvana brought them to extinction."..
Ata gives up a round of applause.
Kieran congratulates Oacena with some wild clapping.
Ausaeus takes in a breath as the composition ends, his nanites no longer oxygenating his blood. "Splendid."
Ausaeus gives up a round of applause.
Raseru claps his hands together merrily.
Grek clicks her mandibles together as she claps politely. "Bravo."
5
Comments
Oacena weaves a tiny flourish with her hand and dips into a light bow before moving to sit with the others.
"Cool!" Kamilla exclaims.
Vaxis's mouth turns up as his face breaks into a smile.
Ausaeus flashes Oacena a joyous smile.
Ausaeus nods at Oacena.
Ata walks over to a control panel, inserts a data chip, and presses a few buttons: A low, humming drone begins. The edges of the noise flicker - electric white-noise, like the glare of a broken street lamp. It continues for some time, buzzing and spitting through patternless modulations.
Urid lifts his head slowly, as if uncertain the performance is over. His antennae unfold and he looks around, bobbing his head encouragingly at Oacena as she leaves the machine.
Vaxis says, "I apologize, but I must depart early. Thank you for hosting this, Ata."
Vaxis gives a respectful bow.
Nykara has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Ronin Sa'rogue.
Vaxis hovers away to the west.
Ata gives a respectful bow.
Kamilla waves and says "Goodbye!"
Ata continues. Eventually, the tap of falling water droplets mixes in. There are several, all falling at different rates - at times scattered and even, slowly phasing toward simultaneity.
Oacena says, "To vaxis Be well, Vaxis."
Oacena totally did that while he was in the room but eh.
Ata continues. There is a roar - fire, transmuting into the clarion call of booming horns. Percussion snakes in like hissing embers, a cymbal shimmering mirage-like over the music's violence.
Ata continues. Tiny, bright bells dance over the pounding, constant murmur of the horns. Their harmony is interwoven, forming a tight, dizzying polyrhythm that stands syncopated against the boom of the drums.
Ata continues. One drum bellows - and then the cry of a viola slips in, cutting effortlessly through the maze of rhythm. Its melody is low, mournful, an arcing glissando that carries the suggestion of melisma.
Sorcha inclines her head politely.
Sorcha leaves to the west.
Ata continues. The music is sheer chaos now. An anarchic blaze of rhythms fight for dominance, and the viola sweeps through each of them, echoing all yet mirroring none.
Oacena slowly nods to herself as the aetherscape goes on, closed eyes tightening with concentration.
Ata continues. The viola's cry is imprecise and harrowing, the hiss of its sliding notes like steam from an inferno. The sound itself is distorted, electric - even aside from its recapitulation of the other rhythms, it is somehow familiar.
Ata continues. As the viola swoops low, rumbling upon its very lowest string, the source of the familiarity becomes clear: low and electric, it's the humming drone from the very beginning.
Ata continues. The tones rise, arpeggiating through rich, five-tone Shen chords - crashes of harmony and dissonance, rising higher, higher, the viola circling the peak of the aetherscape, tension building, building, until...
Ata continues ...the beat drops. The drums cry raucously, and the viola's melody surges ahead, uniting the rhythms in a storm of electrified sound. The other elements of the aetherscape trail behind, creating a polyrhythmic round that echoes the central motif. The viola is gone, suddenly. Its sound steams away to nothing, leaving the music muddied.
Ata continues. The aetherscape undergoes a slow, polyrhythmic phase, echoing the raindrops near its beginning: the rhythms begin to shift and mingle, drifting in and out of one another. As they do, each takes on characteristics of the others, an intermingling and borrowing that catches like fire.
Ata continues. Chaos in the noise, once more! A panoply of notes and rhythms spider brokenly through the air. Silence is only to be found in pauses, breaths, and quick gasps between the tumult. The horns scream; the drums hammer out a relentless panic; the sharp clack of wood blocks joins them, and soon after the shrill retort of a bamboo flute.
Ata continues. Warlike, the aetherscape - its tones all-consuming. Chaotic polyrhythm wars for dominance, wars to become the music's central pulse, and resolutions are but fleeting, soon dividing, teeming, multiplying into a panoply of paces. The sound wails and screams like battle, like sundering itself.
Ata continues. A howl splits through the aetherscape. Sharp and distorted, it quells the protest of the other rhythms.
Ata continues. Slowly, the source of the howl - the missing viola - dwindles back into its characteristic drone. The electric pulse crackles. Then it steadies, a humming, constant beat, thrumming with comfortable energy.
Ata continues. The music returns about the central drone, soft, subtle, and constrained: it is no longer polyrhythmic but united, fitting neatly and mathematically around the viola's steady hum. The horns are regal and bright; the flutes a soft, shimmering harmony; the cymbal gentle and distant; the drums, measured and militaristic.
Ata continues. The tapping of raindrops returns - and it is only this that remains random, ill-constrained, dancing through the order of the aetherscape. The tap of wood blocks interweaves with it, followed by the rumble of low drums. The crackle of flames fills the spaces between the inconstant percussion, the sound rising, rising, to devour the aetherscape...
Ata concludes the music ...until, as the only sound remaining, it dies away.
Ausaeus gives up a round of applause.
Kieran claps their hands together merrily.
Raseru claps his hands together merrily.
"Wow!" Kamilla exclaims.
The machine churns a few clouds of unsettling smoke before coughing out its measurements, which Ata hastily scribbles, Thank you to Viola for that submission! Finally we have Grek with an untitled piece. You have the floor Grek!
Oacena slowly nods as the piece comes to an end, lips upturning and hands coming together in applause.
Ata gives up a round of applause.
Smiling as she applauds, you say, "Trust Viola to go with string instruments."
Ninvahn raises his cup to Ata.
Ausaeus says, "Very well done. I'm impressed a non-Shen understands the art form well enough to adapt it as their own. Shame she isn't here, I will have to discuss it with her later."
Oacena seems a bit surprised at something you comments, but she makes no mention of it.
Urid breathes out a sigh of relief, resting his cup of vuu honey on his lap long enough to applaud briefly, then reclaiming it and plunging his beak into it.
Kieran nods at Ausaeus.
Kieran retrieves a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Ausaeus takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Urid takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Kieran takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Ata happily tells you, "Whenever you're ready."
Grek shoots Oacena a look of confusion before shaking her head and taking her place next to the control panel. There, she inserts a data cord from a small handheld device into the panel, takes a deep breath and begins.
Raseru prepares for yet another mind boggling piece to be presented.
Grek flips a switch on some handheld device, signalling the audio equipment around her to commence the performance. A mathematically simple tone is played over the speakers - a constantly increasing frequency, starting well outside the range of unaugmented perception and gradually increasing at a fixed volume so near to silence that it can barely be heard at all. As the tone progresses, various members of the audience take notice at different times in accordance with their age and race - each able to first hear the sound at a differing initial frequency.
Eventually, the tone rises out of your perception entirely, too high in frequency to be detected by organic senses. The tone repeats, louder this time, rising into and out of perception once more and then again and again and again. At the close of the fifth repetition, a violently loud chord is screeched throughout the hall, startling several members of the audience who had been lulled into calm contemplation by the repetitive sounds surrounding them. The sound repeats thrice, each time in a new, even more upsettingly unpleasant timbre. Grek winces silently each time it is played.
As the audience gets their collective bearings, Grek taps her foot once, causing a an unsteady ticking sound to arise over the speakers - each tick and tock varying in pitch in a manner completely contrary to the variation in beat. Each tone emerges in a different location within the chamber, clever instrumentation making this motif seem to wander the room.
Urid straightens out of his initial hunch as the performance begins. His antennae unfold and undulate gently, as if he's enjoying the music. He is one of the startled audience members moments later, and refolds his antennae, his wing cases shutting with a dull thump.
Grek As the two motifs mingle - clicking and clashing - a third sound joins them: that of water babbling chaotically forth from a fountain unseen. The sound of it seems to surround the chamber, drawing closer and further in a steady rhythm, in and out, in and out. It is the presence of this constant undertone of noise which reveals the fourth motif when it appears - chaotic periods of silence interrupting the other three tones, almost as if the audio equipment itself were gradually sputtering out.
The fifth and final motif briefly drowns out all others as it makes itself manifest: the rising shepard tone, ever increasing in octave without ever shifting itself out of audible pitch. In accompaniment is the opening tone of the tale, played in thrice inverse to herald the exit of each of the other tones in order - the clashing crushed, the clacking cancelled, the burbling banished and the silences ceased as the other three each exit in turn. All that remains is a single eternal monotone. Grek kneels in response, her head bowed.
Ata's machine starts to smoke, letting off upset whirs and the occasional crackle halfway through the shepard tones. Ata goes to quieten the machine and remedy the problem, nanites swarming it.
The monotone continues unchallenged for several minutes - long enough that one might wonder whether this is the conclusion to the aetherscape, an endless, empty ending - but abruptly the final motif wavers as Grek silently presses fist into palm. The constant pitch quivers as if struck and the four motifs briefly reassert themselves, returning the aetherscape to the structured chaos which preceded the fifth tone's arrival. Yet soon they are silenced once more by the steadily increasing sound. A second blow is struck, returning the four for longer, followed soon after by a third which sends the ascent into reverse - now plunging downward forevermore.
Viola saunters in from the west.
Viola slips in and tries not to be obtrusive about it even though she is.
Kieran raises a slight eyebrow at the strange machine before turning their attention back to the piece.
A security detail, consisting of one beleagured-looking Redeemer, follows Viola in. They take seats near the edge.
Oacena cracks an eye open when she hears Ata's machine begin to give out.
As the remaining motifs reassert themselves, there is a sudden crash at the entrance to the hall: the ushers throwing the doors open to allow the echoes in as the acoustic equipment blasts out bursts of static, timed precisely to allow Viola and her Redeemer escort to enter. As all descends into chaos and noise, Grek rises and takes a bow.
Urid lifts his head, his antennae splaying at the sound of the monotone.
All at once with the blast of static, Ata s machine bursts into flames. Ata stands up from his seat and runs over to his machine, sending desperate commands to his nanites.
Ausaeus blinks.
The machine implodes with the sound of a backwards explosion and leaves behind a vacuum sphere of cold darkness with begins to pull matter powerfully into the void. Ata lets out a brief shriek, but instinctively starts to mutter some words under his breath. A dark and monstrous shadow emerges from before his feet and, just as the sphere explodes, the shadow consumes the sphere, preventing any harm from coming to the audience.
Viola starts to get up: "Uh you need someone to uh..." she trails off, though. Her Redeemer takes her arm and guides her back into her seat - just as the sphere explodes...
Ausaeus stands up.
Kieran stands up.
Oacena winces at the outcome of the piece, watching Ata with a half-open mouth. She scrambles to her feet in a single, fluid motion.
Ata looks about himself, unsure. "What a curious result! Why, this indicates a most exciting connection between the Sunderer aspect and- oh& I guess I should have seen this coming."..
"Wow!" Kieran exclaims to you.
Ninvahn searches around for hostiles for signs of sabotage.
Urid stares at the imploding machine and the sphere of shadow.
Kieran sinks into a trance-like state, their jaw slackening and their expression becoming empty and feverish.
Grek flees the stage, taking cover behind a spare chair!
Urid stands up.
Kieran meditates, standing motionless in the center of the room.
Ausaeus glances warily at Ata's machine. "This is...expected, cousin?"..
Uncertainly, Viola says, "The explosion was cool I liked the explosion."
Ata says, "It comes with the territory!"
Ata curls his brow, "But I suppose we need to have a winner to this little contest thing. Hrmm." He thinks for a moment, "Ah ha! We will have a VOTE! If you were here for all 3 performances, please direct a TELL to my Mindsim. I remember who came in late. If you did your vote would not be fair!"..
Nervously, you say, "The doors being opened at the end was intentional. I bribed the ushers to do that. But nothing was supposed to explode!"
Ata says, "With no readings from the final performance, we will have to take it to a vote, alas!"
Ausaeus sighs, placing his hand on his forehead, shaking it slightly before returning to his seat, his normal flat facade back in place.
Ausaeus sits down.
Oacena opens her mouth to speak but simply deigns to remain silent, a subtle smile gracing her lips.
Ata says, "That said, the quality of the submissions was impressively high. The winning submission will receive 20 credits, and the remainder 10 credits."
Kamilla says, "I am sleepy."
Kieran flashes Oacena a joyous smile.
Urid says, "I am glad I got to take in the performances. It was... a unique experience."
Nykara has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Sintor.
Raseru rushes to Kamilla and starts to shake her by the shoulders.
Ren says, "Oh yes, it was definitely unique!"
Oacena slants her gaze to Kieran for a moment, half unsure and half acknowledging as she holds the smile.
Raseru stands up.
Kamilla gives Raseru a hug.
You tell Viola, "Do forgive me for incorporating you into the performance. But, well. We were going to throw the doors open at that point regardless to purposefully ruin the anechoic element. And it seemed fitting?"
Raseru flashes Kamilla a joyous smile.
Viola tells you, "Yeah it was a great entrance I wish I could city favor you for it just perfect."
Ata says, "Okay, that should be all the votes. If I missed someone please send me a TELL now! Let me just tally them up here."
Ausaeus says, "The Ascendancy is clearly blessed with many talented individuals."
Ausaeus nods.
Viola says, "Hell yes we are."
Ninvahn intones in a ponderous tone, "Perhaps, I shall endeavor to compose one, one of these days."..
Ata says, "Okay, votes are in. The winning entry is Oacena's 'The Empyreals of Utan Mir'!"
Ata says, "Congratulations Oacena!"
You beam broadly.
Ninvahn claps his hands together merrily.
Kieran says, "Hooray!"
Ninvahn says, "Well done!"
Urid gives up a round of applause.
You say to Oacena, "Congratulations!"
Kieran congratulates Oacena with some wild clapping.
Viola beams broadly at Oacena.
Raseru claps his hands together merrily.
Ren stands up from their seat, clapping while looking at Oacena with a sincere smile.
Ata has transferred 10 credits to you.
Urid says, "Congratulations, Oacena."
Ninvahn says to you, "You did a very good interpretation of our arts. Congratulations to you too."
Oacena stares listlessly towards the platter of spicy veggie rolls as Ata says her name. It takes her a while of looking at the faces clapping at her for her to realize what had just happened. "Oh-- OH!".
Ata gives something to Viola.
Ninvahn opens an UltraViola(R) container and eats the spicy vegetarian roll inside.
Kieran chuckles long and heartily at Oacena.
Helpfully, Viola says to Oacena, "You just won the thing CEO."
Ata passes a cup of fermented vuu honey to Viola, "Not sure if you're a drinker, or if your Redeemer approves, but you missed out at the start so here you go!"..
Oacena coughs into her hand and dips her head respectfully towards Ata, then towards the rest of the audience. "I did not realize until thirty seven years later," she croaks at the Guardian aside...
Viola turns to Ata, nodding her head in thanks. She makes to drink - and her Redeemer security detail lunges, wrestling the cup away. He scans it for toxins. She begins to swear at him. A scuffle breaks out. Finally she snatches it away, triumphantly.
Muttering, Viola says, "Jackass..."
Ninvahn eyes the Redeemer suspiciously.
Viola takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Urid says, "I must go now. I will see you all later."
Ninvahn says, "Thank you for those renditions."
Viola waves at Urid.
Ninvahn says, "I must take my leave."
Ninvahn rumbles away to the west.
Urid casually waves his hand in the air to say goodbye.
Urid thumps away to the west.
Oacena murmurs to Ata, "Thank you for hosting such an event, cousin. And to all who attended."..
Ausaeus says to Ata, "Excellent job organizing. I'd like to discuss the results of your machine at a later time, if that's alright? I must be on my way for now."
Kieran says to Ata, "Thanks for organizing such a lovely event!"
Ren says to Oacena, "Admittedly not all subtleties were caught by my untrained person, but I must say I felt an experience of intense emotion from your performance. Well done."
Ata says, "Thank you all for coming! Sorry for the explosion!"
Kieran says to Oacena, "Thank you again for the stunning performance."
Viola says to Ata, "Nah the explosion was awesome."
Raseru says, "Don't sweat it Ata, glad I attended this event."
Raseru ears still ringing from the past performances.
Oacena rubs behind her frill as she tells Ren, "I'm sorry about that... But I am glad that it has provided a unique cultural experience for you. Hopefully, Coriolis organizes festivals that will showcase Human and other races' music, yes?"