The Redemption of House Palanahle
You see Tanager Skydancing.
She appears to be a Faendryl Dark Elf.
She appears to be young and untried and of a diminutive height. She has strange flame-bright emerald eyes and dusky skin. She has long, glossy black hair bound in a multitude of slender braids. She has an oval face, a small nose and high cheekbones.
She has a dark violet woth flower tattoo on her forearm.
She is in good shape.
She is wearing an exotic blood red rose, a flame-hued watered silk cloak, a silver-inlaid pale crystal pendant, a firebird patterned silvery gossamer houppelande with a fitted crimson damask bodice, a raven black leather lysard case, an opal and crystal-strung bracelet, a knotted crimson satin sash with a flame-etched ceremonial dagger hanging from it, a carved witchwood case engraved with a pattern of exotic flowers, and some vibrant red silk slippers.
Tanager says, "My Guard has, among other talents, an exceptional voice... so I hope you will welcome him as I do as he assists me in performing a duet."
Tanager put a colorfully beribboned tanik tambourine painted with a streamlined firebird in mid-flight in her witchwood case.
Tanager just closed a carved witchwood case engraved with a pattern of exotic flowers.
Tanager says, "This song was inspired by a legend of my homeland... which is not, I must make clear, New Ta'Faendryl.
Tanager carefully looks herself over.
Tanager says, "All appearances to the contrary."
(Tanager inclines her head slightly to Mekthros.)
Mekthros looks thoughtfully at Tanager.
Mekthros nods.
Tanager says, "There is a wedding custom in my homeland that requires the bride and groom to exchange gifts-- rather like the dowry customs practiced in human lands, but with a greater depth of consequence."
Tanager says, "If these gifts are not of equal value, it will forever indebt one of the pair to the other."
Jacinto stands up.
Speaking to Jacinto, Tanager says, "Glad you decided to join me."
Jacinto grins.
Tanager grins impishly.
Tanager says, "In extreme cases of mismatched status and property, one of the pair becomes little more than a servant...."
Tanager smiles faintly and humorlessly.
Tanager says, "This is not a desirable thing."
Tanager says, "I present to you now my own adaptation of this tale."
Jacinto takes a few steps to his left.
Tanager recites:
"The Redemption of House Palanahle."
Jacinto starts jumping around like a twelve-year-old.
(Jacinto strides in proudly, his shoulders stiff in an almost military fashion. )
Jacinto smiles wryly, spreads his arms, and begins to sing in a mellow baritone which he punctuates with taps of his foot
Jacinto sings:
"For all of our history
Our House has stayed landward,
Palanahle's cursed by the Sea.
But diviners be damned
When our parents were murdered
Without acting, we'll also be."
(Tanager moves to stand beside Jacinto, lifting her chin and straightening her back in an obvious show of pride and unity.)
Tanager sings:
"And so we arranged
For two old Houses' union--
An equal-right wedding's the cost."
Jacinto sings:
"But the treasury's empty
And rumors are flying
Without dower, all hope is lost."
(Tanager turns to face Jacinto and gazes up at him imploringly. Her clear, commanding soprano rings through the night air as she addresses him.)
Tanager sings:
"Go hither, my brother,
And seek out a fortune,
Palanahle House is in need.
Without equal gift-right
I'm slaved to my husband
And our one hope can never succeed."
(Jacinto turns away with anger in his eyes.)
Jacinto glares.
Jacinto sings:
"Poisons and toxins
The tools of cruel cowards"
(Tanager shakes her head in warning, and the ambient light flashes across her emerald eyes.)
Tanager sings:
"House Palanahle will prevail,
But our vengeance must wait
Till we've saved our own lives."
Jacinto removes a fragment of blackened bone from in his sable cashmere longcoat.
Jacinto grips his blackened bone a little tighter.
(Jacinto exerts tremendous strength upon the spine of bone in his hand, causing blood to drip forth from his fist. A dull snap is heard and Jacinto releases, dropping the bone back into a pocket.)
Jacinto put a fragment of blackened bone in his sable cashmere longcoat.
Jacinto sings:
"I avow by their deaths: I won't fail.."
Tanager glances over at Jacinto and winces.
(Tanager flexes her right hand for a moment in sympathetic pain.)
Jacinto melodically says, "Aelyssara, my sister,"
Tanager melodically says, "Oh Anjar, my brother,"
(Jacinto and Tanager sing in chorus, "The Sea is an Empire wide.")
Jacinto melodically says, "But I'll dare every wave,"
Tanager melodically says, "But I'd wait twenty years,"
(Tanager and Jacinto sing in chorus, "To once more have you by my side.")
(Tanager retreats to the left as Jacinto retreats to the right. Despite the notable difference in height between the pair, they match their footfalls to the same rhythm, and space opens rapidly between them until they gaze at each other across a separation of six yards.)
(Jacinto reels back and forth like an agitated zombie, flipping his head from side to side in the process.)
Jacinto strides a few steps forward.
Jacinto smiles with grim resolution as he charges to the left, bracing as though expecting impact into something of great mass. His eyes widen, suddenly, and then he exhales with a smile. He begins to sing again, with a sense of hope in his words.
Jacinto sings:
"The wild ocean water
And sea winds enchant me.
I'll press ever on with my quest
My sister is waiting
To save us from downfall
And only once home may I rest."
Tanager sighs.
Tanager sings:
"All is arranged now.
The wedding-day comes
When my mourning-grace reaches its end.
I weep for my parents
And dream of waves tumbling.
With you, all my hopes sail, my friend."
(Tanager stares beseechingly at Jacinto.)
Jacinto gazes up into the heavens.
Jacinto sings:
"The stars seem to wheel
In the heavens above
The compass spins left and then right.
The crewmen are frightened
I hide my fear from them,
And silent sail on through the night."
Jacinto hangs his head.
Tanager folds her arms over her chest.
Tanager is hugging herself.
(Tanager turns away from Jacinto to look forlornly across the courtyard.)
Tanager sings:
"Today is the day
That you swore you'd return home.
Oh, Anjar, how could you delay?
Our enemies rise up
In ranks to confront us,
And yet you still roam far away."
A pained expression crosses Jacinto's face.
(Jacinto stares about with wild eyed desperation.)
Jacinto sings:
"We're lost, and starvation
Claws fierce frenzy through me.
I miss you, my sister, twin-soul.
When the broad-winged bird circled,
I drew back and fired,
Fell on, and devoured it whole."
Tanager gathers a fistful of her gossamer houppelande in one hand, then glances uncertainly around.
Tanager sings:
"I wait at my window
And watch fenvaok wheeling.
The sun rises, then slips away.
My bridegroom is waiting
With growing impatience
And I cannot think what to say."
Jacinto melodically says, "Aelyssara, my sister,"
Tanager melodically says, "Oh Anjar, my brother,"
(Jacinto and Tanager sing in chorus, "The Sea is an Empire wide.")
Jacinto melodically says, "But I'll dare every wave,"
Tanager melodically says, "But I'd wait twenty years,"
(Tanager and Jacinto sing in chorus, "To once more have you by my side.")
Jacinto falls over.
(Jacinto weakly raises a hand up, gazing forth at the audience with reddened eyes. Like a distressed marionette, he slowly raises himself into a standing position, joint by joint.)
Jacinto stands up.
Jacinto sings:
"Like one rising from drug-haze
I regained my senses
But there the dead albatross lay.
Its blood stained the deck
And its blood stained my hands...
Dark clouds rose to make night out of day."
Tanager shudders.
Tanager removes a plum silk eahnor-bladed fan from in her watered silk cloak.
(Tanager deftly snaps open her fan and flutters it in front of her face, obscuring her mouth and nose but revealing her wide, emerald-hued eyes.)
Tanager sings:
"Like circling vultures,
The noblemen watch me
With veiled knives in words gently said.
If I cannot marry
As equal and noble,
Both my House and I will be dead."
Jacinto gazes in wonder at his surroundings.
(Jacinto seems filled with pride at having found the strength to stand. He steadies himself for a moment, then stares in horror as he falls backwards once more. )
Jacinto falls over.
Jacinto slowly empties his lungs.
Jacinto gasps.
Jacinto takes a deep breath.
Jacinto sings:
"I've not claimed your dowry,
But walls of black water
Rise threatening high, then crash down.
My ship's torn to splinters
I shout lost instructions
My sister-- Aelyssara-- I drown."
(Tanager's voice is a low, despondent threnody, but every word still carries clearly to all parts of the courtyard.)
Tanager sings:
"Last night, they brought word
That the driftwood on shore
Was the hull of your tall vessel proud.
If 'tis true, then my veil
As I walk down the aisle
Will be my own funeral shroud."
Tanager slowly extends her hand and flicks her eahnor-bladed fan closed in one smooth, fluid motion -- allowing the small smile playing upon her lips to be seen once again.
(Tanager presses the fan to her forehead for a moment as her shoulders droop with weariness and grief.)
Jacinto gazes in wonder at his surroundings.
Jacinto takes a deep breath.
Jacinto raises an eyebrow.
Jacinto sings:
"As I inhaled black water
Pale heads rose around me:
The sirens had come for my death.
'You are fair as my sister,'
I whispered to one maid...
She kissed me and gave me her breath."
Jacinto smiles a crazy lunatic grin, filled with hope. Tanager's woeful demeanor contrasts with Jacinto's hopeful grin, and her pure soprano voice aches with despair as her song rings across the courtyard.
Tanager sings:
"I sit as a prisoner
Alone in my room
And watch for some last sign of thee.
I cannot conceive
That the chill green expanse
Could have brought down a spirit so free"
Tanager kneels down.
Tanager casts her eyes upward, begging the gods for guidance.
(Jacinto makes swimming motions for a few moments, then pushes himself up to stand.)
Jacinto stands up.
Jacinto wobbles, looking a bit faint.
Jacinto sings:
"The glittering siren
Drew me underwater
Till reaching a coral-built cave.
As I breathed by her mercy
She brought me inside
Face to face with the Judge of the Wave."
Jacinto cowers.
(Jacinto raises his hands high and looks stern, if a little foolish.)
Jacinto sings:
"Then Lord spoke to the siren:
'By My will, his bloodline
Has been banished from My domain
He sealed his own fate
When he slaughtered the albatross
Daughter, don't question My reign.'"
Jacinto stamps his feet.
Jacinto glares.
(Jacinto waves his arms as he walks around, eyes alighting on different members of the audience, mouth moving in silent discourse.)
Jacinto sings:
"'His line is condemned
For its history of bloodshed
Yet he came here out of true need.'
She spoke on in sea-tongues
With meaning opaque to me.
At last, the Lord spoke: 'Proceed.'"
Jacinto seems to be waiting for something.
Jacinto sings:
"'How much do you love her?'
The fair siren murmured.
I answered, 'I'd die for my twin.'
'Your own fate is sealed,
But her life may be spared.
Die with me here... be purged of your sin.'"
Jacinto gasps.
Jacinto turns to face Tanager.
Jacinto melodically says, "Aelyssara, my sister,"
Tanager melodically says, "Oh Anjar, my brother,"
(Jacinto and Tanager sing in chorus, "The Sea is an Empire wide.")
Jacinto melodically says, "But I'll dare every wave,"
Tanager melodically says, "But I'd wait twenty years,"
(Tanager and Jacinto sing in chorus, "To once more have you by my side.")
(Tanager rises to her feet gracefully. Her face is utterly calm, and her voice is as cool as running water, but her eyes are blank with despair.)
Tanager stands up.
Tanager sings:
"Today is the day, for
My mourning is 'over'--
Today is the day that I wed.
I would wait twenty years, but
I have not that choice--"
Tanager smiles bitterly, and her composure breaks on an anguished cry: "How the sunrise paints black water red!"
Tanager takes a few graceful steps backwards.
Tanager takes a few steps to her left.
(Tanager turns to face Jacinto, but she stares blindly away, keeping her eyes unfocused.)
Tanager sighs.
Tanager put a plum silk eahnor-bladed fan in her watered silk cloak.
Tanager sings:
"I stand at the altar
That mocks Oleani
And stare past my husband-to-be...."
(Tanager turns her head ever so slightly, and her gaze connects with Jacinto's. As they stare at each other, Tanager lifts her voice in sudden triumph.)
Tanager sings:
"And then my heart leaps
As I stare at the ocean
For there sails a ship on the sea!"
Tanager places a hand over her heart.
Tanager sings:
"I cry to the priestess
And run from the chapel,
Then freeze in confusion and fear--"
Tanager's face turns slightly pale.
Tanager sings:
"For this is a ghost-ship
Crewed all by pale sea-wights...."
(Tanager presses a hand to her mouth, and the end of the verse comes almost in a horrified whisper.)
Tanager sings:
"And yet-- oh, my brother!-- you steer...."
Jacinto smiles a conceited little smile of triumph, tempered by a sadness in the eyes.
Jacinto sings:
"Aelyssara, my sister,
I've come as I promised.
From death I come out of the Sea,
Bringing a cargo
Of lost shipwreck-treasure
For Palanahle-- and for thee."
Jacinto removes a pearl-hilted blue ora claidhmore from in his sable cashmere longcoat.
(Jacinto presents the claidhmore to Tanager, resting the flat of the blade on open palms.)
Jacinto offers Tanager a pearl-hilted blue ora claidhmore.
(Tanager and Jacinto slowly approach each other, keeping their gazes riveted together. Horror and wonder mingle in the dark elf's clear soprano as she sings.)
Tanager sings:
"The noblefolk scatter
As Anjar drops anchor,
All cowards, they give way in shame.
My brother stands proudly
With brine-crusted weapon,
His eyes filled with phosphorescent flame."
Tanager accepts Jacinto's blue ora claidhmore.
Tanager is admiring Jacinto.
Jacinto strikes a heroic pose.
Jacinto sings:
"For thee, Aelyssara,
That thy groom must call thee
Not equal-- but his mistress true!
Should any hand harm her,
Know I watch my sister--
Your malice will give way to rue."
Jacinto smiles at Tanager, a radiant gaze filled with admiration. He pauses for a moment and straightens his posture.
Jacinto melodically says, "Aelyssara, my sister,"
Tanager melodically says, "Oh Anjar, my brother,"
(Jacinto and Tanager sing in chorus, "The Sea is an Empire wide.")
Jacinto melodically says, "But I'll dare every wave,"
Tanager melodically says, "But I'd wait twenty years,"
(Tanager and Jacinto sing in chorus, "To once more have you by my side.")
Tanager smiles brilliantly as she reaches out to take Jacinto's hand, but he is already stepping away from her, and her dusky fingers close only on air.
Tanager sings:
"Then Anjar retreated.
I cried to my brother,
'You've honored our line on this day--
You've answered your vow.
Oh my brother, my twin-soul,
I beg thee, by love of me, stay!'"
Tanager gazes at Jacinto with a look of utter sorrow in her eyes.
Jacinto turns to face Tanager.
Jacinto sings:
"'A second vow calls me,
Which may not be broken,
The price of the curse and my sin.
I cannot, though I love thee.
Remember me, sister--'"
Tanager softly says, "And then he dissolved on the wind."
(Jacinto spreads his arms expansively.)
Jacinto sings:
"A shipful of pirates' gold,
Diamonds, and emeralds,
With brilliance to rival noon's star
For thee, Aelyssara.
Remember, I loved thee!
I'll watch you still, ever afar."
(Tanager takes a slow, hesitant step backward, and a visible shiver runs through her body.)
(Tanager turns away from Jacinto to gaze over the audience. Starlight glimmers across the tears in her flame-bright emerald eyes, but she is smiling softly as well.)
Tanager sings:
"And when I go walking
Alone in the morning,
I whisper his name to the Sea,
For someday my brother
Will rise from the ocean
And once more together we'll be."
(Tanager reverently presses a kiss to the blade of her blue ora claidhmore.)
Jacinto melodically says, "Aelyssara, my sister,"
Tanager melodically says, "Oh Anjar, my brother,"
(Jacinto and Tanager sing in chorus, "The Sea is an Empire wide.")
Jacinto melodically says, "But I'll dare every wave,"
Tanager melodically says, "But I'd wait twenty years,"
(Tanager and Jacinto sing in chorus, "To once more have you by my side.")
Jacinto bows deeply at the waist, honoring Tanager.
The long, gossamer skirts of Tanager's elegant houppelande puddle around her feet as she sinks into a curtsy low enough to honor royalty.
(Tanager and Jacinto turn toward the audience once more, and he repeats the formal bow as she repeats her graceful curtsy.)
Tanager clearly says, "Thank you all for coming. Have a good night."
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