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celedyn · 9 months

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Tournament of Ages 2023

Amid the hustle and bustle of stage hands scurrying about, there is the great, heavy sound of wheels on wood. A ramp is set up and a full sized grand piano is rolled onto stage. Absolutely no smaller instrument would do.

Celedyn saunters onto the stage, passing by the puffing crew as they hurry away. He turns, staring very hard for several long moments until one rushes up with the matching bench seat, setting it before the ostentatious instrument.

Celedyn continues to stare, his blue eyes moving from the seat to the stage hand and back again as they look on with tense confusion. Finally he sighs and nudges the bench with his foot, pushing it into precise parallel alignment.

Celedyn lifts elegant hands, letting the manicured tips slide over the golden trim of the piano, scrutinizing the pristine white lacquer. He wrinkles his nose in repulsion as he finds a smudge and disdainfully polishes it away with his silken sleeve.

Celedyn gives one more accusatory look back at the stage hands and sharply flips the bottom of his robe back, seating himself on the bench. He reaches into the breast pocket and withdraws a framed picture, setting it atop the instrument with a flourish.

Keen eyed audience members would spot that the portrait in question is of Celedyn himself, smiling brightly and in embrace with another man. A photograph of Magni Bronzebeard’s face has been unconvincingly pasted over the other figure’s head.

Celedyn gently kisses the tips of his fingers and touches them to Magni’s face. He flutters his eyelashes coquettishly at the picture, then turns to the audience and gives his most winning smile as his hands find their place on the keys and begin playing.

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“You’ve got my lost brother's soul…My dear mother's eyes… A brown horse's mane… And my uncle's name.”

Celedyn gives an affectionate look to the crudely assembled Thane, his nose wrinkling slightly in amusement. Long fingers glide over the keys while he leans forward, as though singing to a lover seated atop the grandiose piano.

“You walked me down 14th Street, with a doctor to meet, after thoughts of the grave… In the home of the brave… And of the weak.”

Celedyn presses his lips into a thin line, head bowing as he strikes the keys a bit harder than needed, a thread of tension building in his shoulders before his eyes snap back up to the photo.

“But– Why’d you have to break all my heart? Couldn't you have saved a little bit of it?”

Celedyn snatches up the photo with a stormy frown. As his hands leave the keys, a second pair shimmers into view, the enchantment continuing to accompany the high elf while leaving faintly glimmering trails in their wake.

“Why'd you have to break all my heart? … Couldn't you have saved a minor part?”

Celedyn huffs and rises, tossing his head as though he imagined his hair to be significantly longer and in need of haughty flipping. He looks out into the audience, one eyebrow lifting, his expression incredulous as he saunters to the edge of the stage.

“I could have clipped and saved and planted in the garden. Damn you, I guess I'll have to get a new one.”

Celedyn plops himself down on the edge of the stage. He lifts the picture once more, singing briefly to it, but seems touched by the absurdity of it all, casting sly glances out into the crowd; a barely contained smile crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“I'd love to sit and watch you drink, with the reins to the world, gripping a smoke… Vaguely missing link.”

Celedyn laughs and kicks off the edge of the stage down into the audience. He tosses the frame over his shoulder, ear giving a single flick as he hears the shatter of glass on stage. That’s a stagehand problem, not a Celedyn problem.

“Don't ever change, you hungry little bashful hound! I got the sheep poor Little Bo Peep has lost, and filed for grounds.”

Celedyn throws his arms wide as he steps out into the audience, hips swaying dramatically, platformed heels keeping the hem of his robe just, JUST above the snow as he leaves a shimmering trail in his wake.

“But, why'd you have to break all my heart? Couldn't you have saved a little bit of it? Why'd you have to break all my heart? Couldn't you have saved a minor part?

Celedyn sighs and drapes an arm around the shoulders of %t, looking utterly exhausted but putting very little actual weight on them. He twists to stare beseechingly into their eyes as he sings, touching the tips of his fingers to his collarbone.

“I could have ripped apart and thrown into the river… Wonder if there's hearts that will deliver?”

Celedyn gives a small, private smile to %t and stands on his own once more, fluffing his hair before tossing a bright smile out towards the audience as his voice builds in strength.

“Don't ever change! Don’t ever worry, because I'm coming back home tomorrow!”

Celedyn closes his eyes and hugs himself, hands sliding over his arms as he seems to be reveling in the warmth of the moment. Blue eyes open, looking out to the distant horizon, expression bright, hopeful before he saunters back towards the stage once more.

“To 14th Street, where I won't hurry; and where I'll learn how to save, not just borrow! And they'll be rainbows! And we will finally know!”

Celedyn is suddenly startled out of his revelry as the wind picks up the photograph and blows the paper onto the side of his face. He tears it away, then stops as he realizes what he holds, staring at the paper in silence for several long moments.

Celedyn pulls himself back up onto the stage and stands. He scoops up the frame and carefully tucks the photo back into place, pinned under the shards of glass.

Celedyn seats himself atop the piano, staring into the photograph, his expression pained. He turns to sprawl out dramatically across the pristine surface, setting the picture down only for the glass and photograph to fall out once more!

Celedyn scrambles to pick up the photo before the wind catches it again, clutching the paper to his chest as though it were unspeakably precious. He looks down at himself, betrayed by his own hands and frowns, returning once more to song.

“Why'd you have to break all my heart? Couldn't you have saved a little bit of it? Why'd you have to break all my heart? Couldn't you have saved a minor part it?”

Celedyn furrows his brow and suddenly tears the photo in half! Immediately his face fills with regret, staring horrified at what he’s done. An instant later- he’s digging into Magni’s half, ripping a messy oval to retrieve his face.

“Why'd you have to break all my heart? Couldn't you have saved a little bit of it?”

Celedyn reaches into his robe and opens a locket purchased from The Ephemeral Wagon. He hesitates, shoulders sinking, his expression distant. He collects his resolve, tucking the face into the locket; then tears out his own photo to fill the opposite frame.

“Why'd you have to break all my heart…?”

Celedyn glances sidelong and seems to notice the audience’s presence once more. He lifts his chin haughtily and snaps the locket shut, tucking it away.

Celedyn scoots himself to the edge of the piano and hops down, trotting off stage as the enchantment dissipates, weakening before the music fades to empty silence.

#performance #TournamentofAges2023 #ToA2023 #Hazella #Youtube

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