Serenade Speaks. Well, Writes.

Serenade Speaks. Well, Writes.

Hello. I’m Serenade, and I’ll be your narrator, should you choose to write my story. Really, it’s not my story. It’s the story of Mel and his revenge against the Naidag who killed his parents. It’s the story of Aria and Sonata and their unlikely combination as traveling songstresses. It’s the story of Fux, a fox boy far from home. It’s the story of Rhapsody, a girl possessed. I may link them together, true, and I may write their stories, but it’s not about me.

You see, as I was about to graduate to Apprentice Songtress Teacher, my voice was stolen. I’m not sure exactly by who, but she lured me into the Spellcaster House we have just on the edge of school properties. She drugged me, I fell asleep, and when I awoke I had no voice. Not only that, any instrument I touched would not produce sound for me, either. All I can do is write and use the Songstress’s hand cant, a series of hand signs that we songstresses learn to talk silently and discreetly in dangerous situations.

After everyone tried everything they could think of to cure me, my mentor and the head of the Songstress School, Contra, sent me with a letter to Muse. It’s said that when Muse was born, her voice crying brought the first rain to her home town in nearly a year. She was said to be the most powerful songstress ever to exist. If anyone could fix me, it would have been her.

But the day after I arrived in her home, she and her husband, Aloysius, were murdered in the night. I was nearly killed, as well, but Mel, her son, awoke me from my sleep and managed to sneak me out and away before either of us could be put in danger’s way. He expected his parents to be able to hold their own. When we returned in the morning, though, they were dead. Mel took his father’s artifact and has been training hard in artifact magics ever since. I’ve yet to see him smile again. I sometimes wonder if he blames me for their deaths, if he feels they’d still be alive if I hadn’t come. He doesn’t say it, but some days I catch him looking at me with silent fury.

We started heading south, because the innkeeper of the town near Mel’s home told him that the mysterious men, headed by a mysterious woman, were headed that way. The woman matched the description of the woman who’d stolen my voice, and the men matched the Naidag who had killed Muse and Aloysius. South was the obvious choice. We didn’t get far before we met Aria and Sonata.

I was so glad to find two women, two songstresses, to travel with us that I wanted more than ever to break out in song. It’s so difficult to be a musician that can neither play nor sing! They told us that they had recently been sent out to do some good in the world. Sonata is in training, a bubble of energy on her first real journey. Aria, on the other hand, is a well-seasoned songstress. She could do battle against a powerful opponent with nothing more than rhythm sticks and win. They told us that they, too, were pursuing the mysterious group, so we all agreed to join forces.

A few days after we met them, we met Fux. Well, Mel saved Fux. I think he’s regretted that one ever since. Fux clings to Mel like a duck to its mother. Well, except when Fux is doing strange things by singing along with Sonata and Aria. It seems that he has an inherent ability that works in counterpoint to a songstress to create more powerful spells. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know how to direct the ability for precision effect. He’s a great source of entertainment and knowledge, despite his apparent youth, nevertheless.

And, to round out our group of adventurers, recently, just after we were attacked by a strong white-haired man, we found Rhapsody. She is tortured on the inside, having seen much horror in her life. What she has told us about herself explains why she spends much of her time hugging herself and sobbing silently. What she hasn’t leaves Mel on edge around her. I think that it’s partly because she has the same white hair and blue eyes as the man who attacked us. They may be related, because when he mentions the man, she trembles even more than usual, but I don’t think she is a friend of his.

So, we’re headed on our way farther south, looking for the woman who took my voice, the men who killed Mel’s parents, a home for Fux, the white-haired man, and maybe a way to a better world. These are amazing people. They could well be the key. Me? I’m just the narrator.