The music crescendoed and the lone figure on stage lifted a tan hand high as trailing silk bellowed out. Golden stage lights captured the figure as tawny wings snapped open with a sharp-
*crack*
“Ashes be our misfortune,
Fire begets our rebirth,
Glory falls to Desolation.”
Bells jingled as dexterous feet kissed the ground only for a moment before the dancer took to the air once more.
The wind whistled, light reflecting the lemon highlights upon beige feathers.
“Lost the fuel,
Wrath the spark,
Conquest as the raging flame.”
Black fabric flared and sparkling light followed, the humming energy in the air rose higher and higher.
“So~ War—
Burn it all down,
Heaven falls now,
Tainted we all shall—
Find~ Peace.”
The beating of drums accompanied the spectacle, harmonizing with the rumbling of the earth and crackling of lightning covering the night sky.
“Peaceㅡ
You legacy,
You essence,
Of glorious freedom—
Peace.”
With support from the lilting drag of the chorus, beating of drums, tinkling of bells, and humming of the audience, golden strands of light began to manifest and detach from each and every Wūshǐan(1) present.
The golden strands of fortune twisted and twirled as they rose up, up, and upward still. Until they resembled golden rays returning to the heavens above. But it wasn’t the heavens that they were returning to, no, the strands were gathered into a crackling gold ritual formation that spun and glowed with power.
Then with a finale—
Bang, bang, boom.
—the ritual activated.
Beams of light shot down, connecting the stars above and world below as the ground pulsed with a warmth that emanated through every citizen of Huánghuì(2).
Fortune ran through the ground beneath their feet like veins did their bodies.
The spectacle lasted for several candle-lights, as Lushinmo itself rang with glamor and splendor.
Night slowly faded, the ritual’s effects gradually receding, and even the buzzing of festival goers had long died down.
Things calmed, Soliel(3) shone on the horizon and shrouded the now deserted stage and festival grounds in the tranquility of a new day.
Stretching wings created a beautiful picture in the new light of day as a lithe body with tired eyes moved around backstage to finish the cleanup.
A shout tore through the peace, “Raphael! Get over here! I need you to fly up and get the lights down!”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Raphael sighed, shaking the lethargy out of his body for just a bit longer, soon he would finally be allowed to rest.
He walked over to the stage director. “How many do you want me to take down?” He hummed, with a tired, soft croon coming out unbidden.
“Tired ey? Don’t worry little bell, we’re almost done here. Just get me the four corner ones and you’re free to change and go home after,” was the reply.
“Mmkay,” he answered, only to get a wave in response, the director shooing him off to finish the task that was assigned to him.
With that little exchange, Raphael lethargically went about flying around the large stage and, one by one, took down the small corner spotlights. After he’d finished one, he would gently place it into a padded box since, even as tired as he was, he knew better than to risk breaking something that cost more than two months of his salary.
When the final spotlight was safely tucked away and the boxes brought where needed, Raphael was finally free to change out of his performance outfit and get back to his worn but comfortable nestflat(4).
Now if only things worked out that way.
“Raphael!” The director’s voice once more shouted.
He turned to face her, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else and he’d fall asleep standing if she kept him for a minute more.
“Hehe, sorry Raph’. But this really is important though, you know I wouldn’t keep you after a festival for longer than necessary.” She looked him in the eyes, serious and commanding attention.
Raphael felt his spine straighten in an ingrained response and some of the fog of exhaustion that clouded his mind cleared.
He nodded to show that he was listening and gave her the go ahead to talk about whatever it was that needed to be said.
“First of all, I am super proud of you! That performance was breathtaking!”, she excitedly chittered, “And I wasn’t the only one who thought that.”
Her small, light pink and violet wings flapped enthusiastically, he could almost feel the way her elated mood brushed against his skin as her mana vibrated and made her halo brighten to an almost silvery color.
“I’ve always known that you would go on to do greater things. But I didn’t think it’d be this fast!” She said, a hand patting his shoulder with glee.
“What happened?” Raphael asked, voice slightly apprehensive.
The director grinned before finally getting to the point, “One of the nobles wanted to sponsor you! You can go into their court to learn further magicks(5), and perform for lavish gifts, and— Ahh! Aren’t you excited?!”
Raphael was, in fact, not excited. This was going to upend his entire life. He would have to move into a noble’s court, losing contact with everyone he cares for and loves, having to relearn the rules and expectations in an environment with people who could get him executed for looking at them wrong.
But he could, at least, ask which one of those raptor-brained nobles he had so unluckily gotten caught up with.
“Yea…very excited, totally…Ah, do you know who sponsored me though? Which household?” Raphael asked, pushing the words out through his inner panic and rapidly growing worry.
“Ahh! That’s the thing! It’s the Jihuǒ’àos(6)! Do you understand?! The Jihuǒ’ào household! They chose you as their sīdié gōngzhě(7) to sponsor your first year as Guìxí(8)!” She ranted, speech speeding up and getting louder with each exclamation.
“Do you realize the amount of Guìxís I’ve known that took years to get notice or who never even managed that? Some of them train their entire lives, working as sīdié gōngzhě for decades and only becoming a Guìxí sīdié gōngzhě(9) near the end of their careers. Only to be forced into retirement because they weren’t able to get the nobles’ attention enough to continue with the job.” The director was near shouting by the end of the rant but, thankfully, looked a bit fried after the outburst.
“And— that’s the Jihuǒ’àos! The same Jihuǒ’àos who are rumored to be the strongest fire mages on this side of Sanguis(10)!” Raphael attempted to inch himself away from her and the frenzied state she had fallen into, only to get grabbed by the arm and held there as she continued, “Raph’, little bell, our sunbird. This is an opportunity of a lifetime here, take this seriously, try to fit in, and, most importantly of all, do not, and I repeat do not, antagonize the Jihuǒ’ào household! Do you understand?”
He nodded, flummox. Was it really that big a deal to be sponsored by a noble your first year as the Guìxí dancer of Shǎchén Jùduǎn(11)? And, why did it matter that the Jihuǒ’àos choose him? If anything, it was worse, they have a reputation for being temperamental and explosive with an arrogant attitude. So wasn’t this one of the worst trash-flocks to be noticed by?
“Alright, whatever you say, Director. Do I know when I’m supposed to move in yet?” Raphael said, trying to steer the topic away from whatever the director had just ranted about.
The director jumped a bit at the words, releasing Ralphael’s arm and standing up straight to brush off whatever imaginary dust had gotten on her clothes.
“It wasn’t explicitly said but I do believe they want you there by Kestli-Beihiln(12),” her damning words echoed in the silence of the theatre.
Which also meant that tomorrow and the day after is all the time Raphael will have to pack and inform everyone that he would be moving in to work for a noble household…
Great.
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1) “Wūshǐan” (Term), formal/species name of the ethnic race more commonly referred to as Lushians. Fun fact: It translates literally as Tainted Angels.
2) “Huánghuì” (Name), the shortened native name of this country. Fun fact: It translates literally as Brilliant Metropolis.
3) “Soliel” (Source [Celestial]), the [Celestial] source star of this solar system. Fun fact: It flashes the red of blood during sunset.
4) “Nestflat” (Term), Lushian equivalent of a low rent apartment. Usually fitted for 2 but there are larger ones that are usually of lower quality.
5) “Magicks” (Term), plural of magic. Usually used in relation to magical fields of study.
6) “Jihuǒ’àos” (Noble Household), a noble family which has a legacy of fire magic and a prideful nature. Fun fact: Their name translates literally as Prideful Fire.
7) “Sīdié gōngzhě” (Term/Job), a profession similar to Earthling dancers with the addition of ritualism and acrobatics added on top. Perhaps artist-performer is the most apt descriptor. Fun fact: It translates literally as Silk-butterfly Artisan-dancer.
8) “Guìxí” (Term/Job), the job promotion after Sīdié gōngzhě i.e. “lead dancer” on Earth. Fun fact: It translates literally as Noble-chief.
9) “Guìxí sīdié gōngzhě” (Term/Job), the full name of the Guìxí job title. Translation: Noble-chief silk-butterfly artisan-dancer.
10) “Sanguis” (Source [Foundation]), the [Foundation] source planet of this solar system, i.e. the name of this world.
11) “Shǎchén Jùduǎn” (Noun/Place), the biggest theatre of the Jifāng de Shǎchén District. Fun fact: The term “Shǎchén” in Jifāng de Shǎchén and Shǎchén Jùduǎn translates to “Flickering-Dust”.
12) “Kestli-Beihiln” (Time/Date), the world of Sanguis operates on a different time system than most realms, to keep things short and simple, there are 8 days in a week, 3 weeks in a month, and 16 months in a year. “Kestli-Beihiln” then, is day 3-week 1. To translate: It is like saying, “Wednesday, next week.”