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“There be the Mist Beast” is an ancient play, dating back to around 1300 BC. It was written by a Solvaan playwright in the aftermath of encountering and taming an Elysian Mist Beast to serve as her companion. While the narrative of the play is doubtlessly not how she went about taming the beast, the playwright still wove great metaphorical significance into their work. Also gifted in the art of music, she created possibly the first musical-drama work to exist in Corontium, with the medium remaining small into the present day. The play itself broadly remains obscure but has grown in popularity in recent years, resulting in its translation into the Common language.
| There be the Mist Beast | |
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| Literature | |
| Author | Sezzia Missaal Bel-Ivsul |
| Genre | Drama |
| Printer | Yalennir Printing |
There be the Mist Beast
[The stage is set with two main features. Two great “boulders” sit on the left and right sides of the stage, facing each other. As the curtain opens, the Shepherd sits on the stage-right boulder, overlooking a vista.]
- Shepherd: Oh how I sit here, basking in the feeble sun.
- Maybe its light shines bright and then shines deep to pierce the mists of my birthland.
- I look out upon these fields as though they were my kin,
- And I watch the animals as they graze upon the fruits of those family members.
- They feast and feed, to fill their bellies full,
- And I yearn to see them through the day in safety, without harm.
- Yet passing over the skies, I do perceive a shadow!
- Flee sheep, flee! Divide, like the parting of a door!
[The Shepherd stands up suddenly, as a great shadow passes over the lighting for the stage. They jump down, out of sight, behind the stage-right boulder. From stage left appears the Elysian, who goes to sit down on the same-side boulder.]
- Elysian: Yet another snatched, yet another morsel taken, and I grow tired.
- Tired of the ceaseless up and down, up and down, chasing prey,
- And piercing a veil to a realm so beautiful. The sun does shine bright, yes,
- But it sits in boundless blue forevermore, with white and grey only on occasion.
- Rain can come, and great clouds change shape, but so much of it is practiced.
- Down below, among the earth, life moves stranger and much different.
- I yearn to venture forth among it, but my great wings demand I remain above.
- Pulled apart inside, oh how my nature is so divided!
[The Elysian jumps behind the stage-left boulder, and “takes flight,” with the Shepherd slowly climbing back up to sit upon their boulder.]
- Shepherd: Another life gone, little to weep for in the grandeur of the world,
- And yet, young it was, deserving of more fulfillment in roaming the fields.
- My long years would never hope to match, but even so,
- I now sing a song of passing. May it find itself in peace,
- Quiet and joy wherever an animal’s soul does part. For if the realms
- Take us complex Elves, why not the less complex, and more easily administrated?
- I babble like the great mountain rivers – such pointless thoughts.
- Now let me tune my instrument to sing the song.
[The Shepherd produces a lyre (or other stringed instrument) and begins to play “In The Mists, All Is Found,” a common Solvaan musical composition. Sheet music can be read on Pages Eight to Ten.]
[The Elysian remounts their rock slowly, crawling up, to gaze at the Shepherd as they play. The Shepherd should play the music softly, and also sing softly if they so wish]
- Elysian: My cloudy mind is pierced by notes of sweet sound,
- The likes of which my form has never felt before!
- The beating of my own heart is the sole rhythm with which I am familiar,
- Yet here before me sits one of those who I must dodge in my weekly dives
- Serenading the world without fear for those who hear.
- Is this for me, or them, or the world itself? Does all sound like this fair
- Or are they a master of this foreign craft? I must hear more, I must learn more,
- And I must become familiar with the tune.
[The Elysian focuses on the Shepherd’s song. The Shepherd brings their voice to full volume, and after some time of bobbing along to the beat, the Elysian begins to hum and vocalize. The Shepherd, looking surprised, carries on but has become aware of the Elysian witnessing their musical talent. The two ultimately sing together and finish the song. The music then switches to something played off-stage. Choices vary and are offered on Pages Eleven and Twelve.]
- Shepherd: From here on the earth, I have looked up into the sky to see your kind fly,
- And I was filled with fright from my earliest days. But now I stand, a full adult,
- And I witness you as a creature of magnificent intelligence.
- Prey not upon my herds, instead learn to guard them here with me in sweet melody.
- Elysian: From up into the sky, I have looked down upon the earth to see how you tread.
- It is a meager life, but one full of far more texture than the air,
- And greater sights than in the boundless clouds. All is small from up on high,
- I want to see it up close.
[The two figures approach each other, touching their hands together, locking their fingers, and then enter a choreographed dance of motions, jumping from one boulder to another as the music swells. Reference the choreography on Pages Seven and Eight.]
[The two ultimately roll apart, and then jump together, to now land on the stage itself, hands clasped and raising up as the music cuts out. The pair are also no longer required to sing their lines.]
- Shepherd and Elysian Together: We now together move as one, a union of mind and intention. We are guardians of earth and air, of the animal and sentient, and we will remain so for as long as the wings unfurl far, and the legs swiftly stride.
Trivia
- While the play is short in terms of its lines, the nature of the lines being sung, especially in Modern Altalar, tends to lengthen it. The complex choreography and musical elements also add a good deal of time.
- It is common for Solvaan performers to be engaged for the performance, and for the Solvaan Shepherd to adopt the appearance of the Elysian Mist Beast in the final moments of the play.
- There are versions of the play for the other three Mist Beasts well known in Solvaan culture, though these were written centuries later as improvements on “There be the Mist Beast” and pseudo-sequels.
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