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By: Ben (Wow, I'm corny. Heh. Well, here's just a little look at what Suya is. Muhahaha.) The tavern stank wretchedly of alcohol in all its mind-corrupting forms, the whole of the building isolated in the town. No business would survive within a foot of the stench. It was the customer killer, yet it managed to pack the whole of the rather large log building with townfolk, mostly men, with only the only pretty little flowers the female waitresses that swished their hips in practiced rhythm with the general sound of the tavern. Fiddles hummed stacatto, furious in their quest to keep up with the slurred chatter and drunken belly laughs of the patrons, balanced in their high, squeaky voice by the low, plantive murmur of their much larger counterparts, the cellos, making the entire building shake visibly along with the low voices of the large-bellied and rough-handed aging men that clapped younger counterparts on the back and rolled with a base laughter and took long pulls of the firey liquid their dented pewter cups. Everyone was too occupied, or too dulled by drink to notice anything but the drink in their hand and the laughter and chatter of the stench-filled yet earthly scene. Suddenly, the music switched from its repetative bouncy tune to serve as simply a background for the physical atmosphere of the tavern to something that drew to a climax and a final close. The now sweating, slim and lanky fiddlemen bowed, as did their companions and left the stage...all save for the piano man who smiled from the shadows of the short wooden platform stage and gestured to someone in the room hidden by wall. The laughter and chatter dulled only slightly, as most cared nothing that their background sound had been cut out. A small, dark green leaf fluttered from the room, carried on an unseen wind that somehow stretched its invisible form to trace a chill down the people that actually noticed its spines. It twirled acrobatically in the air, slowly falling to the ground to signal the soft footsteps of a figure that emerged from the hidden room. A dark, stainless brown cloak hovered about the shadows of the feet, mixing its own shadows with them and creating the illusion of floating. The form was of average height, with the loose fabric of the cloak giving no hint of the girth of the figure, draping over the hands and making them ghostlike in the shadow. The face gave no token of identity, either, seeming wholly non-existant within the fluttering hood that fell somehow perfectly to hide the whole of the appearance of the person. The cloaked figure floated to the front of the stage, steadily massacring the sounds of the tavern as all attention drew with wonder at the odd stranger. A hand raised slowly, all falling to silence by the end of the motion. The audience felt a sense of wonder mixed with a shadowy foreboding. A few more leaves fluttered to sleep upon the cold wooden floor. The slender, pale fingers moved their ghostlike forms from the sleeve. "I would like to sing to you all, if you would be so kind as to give me your attention." The melody of the words spoken was enough to be a song in itself, soft and caressing like the hand of the odd wind, with a feminine smoothness to it, yet able to prick the ears of those even the furthest away. Silence. The woman lowered her hand and made a light gesture to the pianoman, who simply nodded quickly in reply and played a soft, slow tune that held the same calm melody of her voice. And she began to sing. No words, just a tone that the piano failed to imitate as it smoothly flowed about the room, making all gape in wonder at what sort of angel could generate such a thing. The song wrapped tightly even the most drunken of minds, pulling them up from the stupor for long enough for the emotion of pure wonder to fill the body. All were too intent on the shadowy hole that spewed forth the sound from its fluttering edges to notice the leaves. One at a time, they fell until they formed a thin circle about her. All at once, their sleeping forms lost their natural green, exchanging it for an strange black, that seemed to eminate from the air around the very leaves. The black aura spread around the woman and, if those that were not so drunk with wonder looked close enough, a sinister and triumphant smile formed in the very aura... ((To be continued...)) <~~Back to Stories <~~Back to Suya Index |