View Single Post
  #7  
Old May 30, 2012, 07:26 PM
aquagon aquagon is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 155
Default

Ok, like I mentioned in other thread, here's the translation for the story notes of this album, which cover all the events that happen during its songs. The translation and writing could use some improvements in a few parts, but I hope it's good enough for everyone. The entire story is authored by this album's lyricist, Nao Hiyama.


Spoiler:
Prologue

--The sand continued spilling itself.
Deep in the forest, in the clumps of bushes where the buzz of the insects
can be heard resounding all over.
A collapsed man had a hourglass in the palm of his hand, which showed that
the life of its owner would end very soon.
His lips had gone so dry that even using his voice for anything was a hard task.
Yet the sand still continued spilling itself relentlessly.

While he absentmindedly looked at it, the man's eyelids became heavier,
and he closed his eyes.
He heard the voice of a girl calling out to him, which caused his faraway
memories to flow one after other. Oh yes, this had already happened long ago.
This was a story of when he was a child, and like now, he felt he had death
looming right behind him.

First Movement - Nightmare

Whenever he thought about his father, he thought he looked too old for his age.
It might have been because his mother had always to be in bed due to the
plague, but his father was always was plucking out the white hairs that
were among his normal colored hair, and always sighed as if he was tired.
To the boy that always spent all his time in a corner of this stagnant room
-- to Forgeit, his father's figure wasn't a object of admiration, but instead,
it was just a symbol of rejection. His father thought that depending on
the kindness of other was foolish, and he had tacitly told him that he wouldn't
allow being asked any sort of questions.
He was born and raised in city located in the north-east of the continent,
which was called Cardamon.
Around ten years ago, the sunlight had gotten much weaker due to a natural
disaster. The temperature gradually dropped, and the town was struck by
a blizzard that didn't allow anyone to see beyond a few steps ahead of them.
While the people felt in their skins that the world was heading to its own
destruction, they couldn't do anything but to continue living while hiding
their anxiety.

That day, his father, with his unshaven face, was walking ahead of him in
silence. They had to walk around a half-day to reach the forest at the southwest
to search for food, which was the hidden job the men of Cardamon were doing.
The value of money had already heavily declined, and the shops in the town
were pretty much out of stock for all kinds of food. While several years
ago a single gold coin would have been more than enough to buy enough wheat
for a family of four to eat for an entire year, there was so few wheat now
that not even two hands filled with gold coins would have been enough to pay for it.
To put it simply, there wasn't any food in the city.
The more prosperous people simply left the city entirely with their families
and moved themselves to the more central cities managed by the landlords.
On the other hand, the famine had gotten so serious that pretty much everyone
who remained in Cardamon were starving. The fights for food became so frequent
that even the entire social order was lost.
And furthermore, the number of members of each family also went in sharp
decline -- especially because of the children and the elderly being regularly
subjected to "sudden disappearances".
Because of all this, Forgeit was always afraid. The last month, the elderly
members of a family that lived next to his house had gone missing, and the
last week all of the begging children in the alleyway across his house had
disappeared too.
--("This time it could be my turn").
Unable to even ask that, he could only continue following his father's back.
They silently continued walking until his father suddenly stopped, surveying
the inside of the evil forest. Because of the trees, the place was so gloomy
that the owls were hooting inside despite it still being daytime.

"...Let's rest"

Suddenly raising his voice, his father sat up at the roots of a oak and
unpacked everything he had been carrying in his pouch. Several black fruits
came down rolling from it. They had a bitter taste, but due to their nutritional
value, they were still considered as precious food.
Most likely, this was his last meal.
His father silently used a knife to rip the shell from the fruits, and began
throwing the shells into a recently excavated hole. As he saw his father
doing this, Forgeit then felt that an intent to kill was leaking out from him.
-("Once we've finished eating, he's surely going to cut my neck with that
knife. Then he'll throw my corpse into that hole and bury it...")-
Although he tightly grasped his hands, drenched in sweat, he didn't have
any strength due to the hunger. He sat still there, visibly trembling. Within
that freezing cold, his pulse greatly rose, and he saw the figure of his
father, who silently continued peeling the fruits and throwing their shells
in the hole, as something extremely eerie.
-("Run away...")-
Someone whispered to him from the depths of his mind.
-("If you don't run now, you'll get killed...")-
Provoked by that voice, the boy got his head filled with a sense of danger,
and took a decision.
In any case, if he just stayed silent in there, he would get killed.
Forgeit picked up one of the sticks that were used to excavate the hole
with both hands, and swinging it with all his strength, he struck his father
in the back of his head.
A thick sound and the screams of his father echoed throughout the place.
Forgeit picked up one of the fruits that still remained in his hands, and
ran away as fast as he could. He didn't pay any attention to his father's groans.

-("The only thing I can do is go as far as I can. I have to run to somewhere now!")-

His hunger was such that he should have collapsed shortly later, so he couldn't
believe that he still had so much energy remaining. He still continued running
at full speed, to put a distance large enough to leave anyone perplexed.
Once he was out of breath, Forgeit leaned on a nearby tree. Hyperventilating,
he felt an abnormal and hot pain in the pit of his stomach. Something
in his throat was making him nauseous. The lack of food in his stomach provoked
him into vomiting, which made him to finally stop and rest a bit.
No matter how much time passed, his father didn't come after him.
He had managed to steal a fruit, which he now carried in his pocket. This
was the only food he could grab. He knew pretty well that this would only
give him a few days to live.
However, stealing the food from others was considered as a serious crime.
This would be more than enough for his father to never forgive him. But
if he was still alive, it would be ridiculous that he didn't come after Forgeit.
Even if he forgave his son's crime, the fact that his son had found death
by venturing by himself into an unknown land might have been better for
him. At the least, he wouldn't have to kill him with his own hands. Most
likely, even someone like his father should have felt at least a little
guilt for killing his own child.
While Forgeit realized this later on, currently he was still running away
from his father as much as he could.

He walked the mountains down, and continued southward, walking to where
he felt it was warmer, no matter how little.
Whenever it got dark, Forgeit straggled into the forest with his feet, which
had become quite hard by now, but this only made him to roam into the road-less
thickets for several days.
During the day, he had to keep himself hidden from the monsters that wandered
around. During the night, he had to fight against the hunger and the cold.
And whenever he slept, he had nightmares about being chased by his father
and the townspeople.
They always shouted "Die!" at him, repeating it like some sort of curse,
and under the form of demons, they always caught him.
If he died, he would have wasted away a ration of food enough for feeding
one person. He remembered that the elderly people that disappeared a month
ago told him this was even more serious than breaking filial piety.
He was attacked by their dirty hands, and frantically tried to shake them off.
This caused him to awake drenched in sweat, and upon realizing it was just
a dream, he continued walking.
He got afraid of the fact that he was always stopping to rest in the same exact place without noticing it.
But he didn't have any sort of destination. He didn't know how to go back
to his hometown, and even if he got back, the people most likely would have killed him.
During his nights in the forest, he was completely alone. Alone enough to
drive anyone crazy.
As he didn't have a place to go back anymore, he could only continue going
on. As if someone told him to do so, he resumed his walking.
A short time later, he had completely depleted all his food and strength
within this sea of trees.
Now, where he should head?
When Forgeit finally reached the limit of his physical and mental strength,
he fell to his knees, and began feeling that death was finally looming behind him.
As if the cold soil was inviting him, he collapsed on the ground. If he
let himself go like this and closed his eyes, would it be okay if he never
awakened again?

There wouldn't be anything to be afraid anymore, neither there would be
more [nightmares], if he just died quietly?
And at that moment, a song reached his ears.
And just in that moment, a girl appeared before Forgeit, who was covered
in mud and wounds.
-"Did you get lost?"-
She seemed to be the same age as him, although a little taller.
Like descended wings, the girl swung around her soft silver hair, pointing
to the road he had right before his eyes. And like the wings the Goddess had, the
white laces the girl wore were transparent, allowing to see the sky through them.
Within the light filtering between the foliage, she extended her hand to
Forgeit. She had shiny and silvery long hair, and unlike Forgeit's own dirty
and dried skin, her skin was so white that it seemed to be transparent.
Her eyes were of a bright hazel.
Forgeit didn't say anything: he was at a total loss for words.
The girl took out a fruit from the basket she was carrying in her small
arms, and offered it to Forgeit.
-"Let's go together!"-

Second Movement - Encounter

The girl who had saved Forgeit was called Seshiara Apiareid.
She lived with her mother, Marta, in a village called Rhubarb, which has
hidden deep in the forest.
She was a songstress called the [MESYARIA], and it seems she was the person
who could call upon miracles by singing the [Songs of the Aria]. Somehow,
she always received a very special treatment from the villagers.
At the least while he was under Seshiara's protection, no one would be cruel
to Forgeit.
While this was a settlement with an unique ideology and outlook on the world,
young Seshiara's voice and will still had a tremendous importance for them.
Thus, Forgeit settled down in the village, and little by little got used
to live in it.

A month later, the day for the Flower Festival was coming closer. It was a celebration in which the villagers would give their gratitude to the forest and celebrate their abundant crops.
This was a traditional festival that was held yearly in the village, and
Seshiara would sing during it her [Songs] as the MESYARIA.
To Forgeit, who had never experienced a festival during all his lifetime,
seeing all of the villagers working cheerfully in the preparations for it
was quite strange.
All the kinds of work in Cardamon were horribly painful to do. But instead,
the villagers in this place were working vividly and filled with happiness.
Seshiara found him looking at the other villagers working, and ran up to
him while weaving her hands.
-"Okay, take this, Forgy. This is your part"-
Then she gave him an empty basket. Seshiara laughed at his confused face.

-"We'll go gathering flowers until we fill these baskets. We'll drop them from the highest tree in the village at the very end of the festival. As they say "those who don't work, won't have any right to partake in the festival." So come and help me!"-
-"...I don't want to"-
Forgeit may have been small, but his refusal was quite loud.
-"The people of Rhubarb don't like having me around. Although they don't say it, their eyes always tell me 'You're an outsider, so you should go away as soon as possible' "-
-"...The eyes can talk?"-
-"They can, and I can hear them"-
Although the adults treated him kindly and said all sorts of gentle words, their gazes were cold. To them, he wasn't anything but a sponger that wouldn't leave the [House of Lady MESYARIA]. That is what Forgeit indirectly was saying to her.
-"Of course not! Isn't everyone saying you're a good child, Forgy, because you're so studious? You can read pretty fast, and you told me you've already read all the books I have on my house"-
-"That's because that's what you say, and since you're the MESYARIA, everyone follows you. But you actually know about it, too. This village doesn't welcome outsiders. Maybe it'd be better if I went back to my hometown"-
-"...Hey, let's go to the forest!"-
Seshiara forcibly led him by the hand, so Forgeit didn't have more choice than to run at her side.

The inside of the forest was reached by following an small detour in the road at the exit of the village. Thick vegetation extended all over the place, enough to make anyone lose their sense of direction.
Seshiara then began singing a [Song], which she said it was to help them gather the flowers.
Her singing voice resounded, which stirred all the flowers around them.
Then they all lit up with lights, as if it were to show them where they were, while other flowers began making sounds similar to that of bells in response. The branches of the trees swayed, despite there not being any wind, and made a rustling sound.
It all seemed as if Seshiara was conversing with them through her [Song].
Upon causing this miracle before his eyes, Forgeit sighed as he muttered this:
-"...You look just like the Goddess"-
Although this was compliment, it wasn't mere sarcasm: he really intended to tell her how he felt.
However, he noticed that the smile Seshiara always had in her face had vanished,
and that she seemed to have lost her energetic attitude. She just wove her head without any energy, as an small sigh escaped from her lips.
-"My [Songs] aren't still good enough. I'm clumsy, sing the wrong lyrics, and I'm not all-powerful like the Goddess. And Mother always gets angry at me for ruining the most important parts..."-
-"They aren't enough...?"-
How something that had the power of causing such amazing miracles couldn't be enough for them?
While Forgeit was still confused about what he wanted to ask her, Seshiara continued.
-"That's why get so nervous when I'm singing, even during the Flower Festival. I might end up failing again. I might not be able to even sing. Why? Who decided from long ago that someone as clumsy as me should sing these [Songs]? That's why I've always regretted being born in the family of the MESYARIA...
But now, I thought that for the first time, I could sing for the sake of someone else"-

Seshiara gave a fleeting glance at Forgeit.
-"...So, I want you to hear my [Song], Forgy. You've been here an entire month, but you still haven't showed me your smile"-
The embarrassed expression that had appeared in Forgeit's face was reflected in Seshiara's sad eyes.
Despite this being so important, he couldn't understand it. And honestly, he was even confused about the treatment that Seshiara was giving him. Before coming here, he always lived cowering in an small corner of a dark city. His father had told him that the hunger was making everyone crazy, so whenever he went out, he was afraid of getting noticed by anyone on the street. He spent his days just breathing quietly, so no one would harm or kill him.
During the night, he surrounded his bony body with his arms and hunched to make himself as small as possible, in order to not become a hindrance. He hardened himself to the point of becoming unable of hearing the snores of his father and older brother sleeping beside him, to the point where any sound would get on his nerves. His sleep was always shallow, because the only person that could take care of him was himself.
After having asked him this as if it was a love confession, Seshiara's expression darkened. She was surely thinking he was pitiful. These feelings came from knowing that the city from where he had come had no food for anyone, but according to Forgeit's father, becoming a beggar could be seen as gaining a weapon against the more fortunate people.
However, although Forgeit himself thought that the way in which he lived back them was quite poor, he never thought of it as something painful. He had been living in poverty as far as he could remember, and since he had to spend all his energies just to continue living, he didn't have any time to ponder about unnecessary matters.
Still, he felt that his current life was more painful for him than these days in which he didn't have anything to eat. Feeling like this was incomprehensible to him.

When they returned to the village at dusk, the Flower Festival was beginning. In an stage the people had built in the main plaza of the village, there were some musicians playing flutes and drums. The villagers made a circle while laughing, and began sharing with each other their food and beverages.
It was a very prosperous village. They were protected from the monsters by a barrier, and there was enough food for everyone. There wasn't anyone interested in causing harm to others. As long as he helped with the work in the village, he'd be allowed to study and read as much as he wanted.
And more importantly, Seshiara was very gentle to him.
But whenever a certain unidentifiable uneasiness ignited, Forgeit's heart became enshrouded in shadows.
-("You should just get rid of it.")-
He went away from cheerful clatter of the festival, as he heard a voice coming from somewhere inside the mist.
-("You killed me, stole my fruits and ran away, and finally ended getting a good enough social position to make yourself happy, huh, Forgeit?")-
This time he even felt he had heard the voice of his father.
-("You killed me. But now, I won't tell you that those who can't protect themselves will someday die, because the dead don't have a mouth... Wasn't that what I taught you? If you overtake this prosperous village, you'll survive. And that's what you'll end up doing")-
Beyond the dancing sparks of the lit torches, he saw the figure of his father inside the darkness, smiling evilly at him.
-"What happened? Are you okay?"-

When he came back to his senses, Forgeit realized that Seshiara was looking at him.
-"...It's nothing"-
He didn't want to explain anything. He didn't want either for Seshiara to know why he was all dirty and covered in mud when they first met.
-"I really should go back..."-
He felt that he was making Seshiara worry about nothing again, which caused him to say these words without thinking, even when he fully knew that he didn't have a hometown to which he could return anymore.
-"No! As you're now, Forgy, you won't ever go back there!"-
Forgeit was left at a loss for words. Then, so he wouldn't try to leave again, Seshiara gave him a very harsh look, something she had never done before.

Back in the plaza, Marta was waiting for them with a very ornamented costume in her arms.
-"About time, Seshiara. Where had you two gone to? Everyone is looking forward to your [Song]!"-
-"Sorry. We were gathering flowers in the forest"-
She gave her own basket to Forgeit, and went with Marta to begin getting ready.
-"...Please, listen well, Forgy. Don't go back there..."-
Although he still hesitated a little, Seshiara's intensity pulled Forgeit in, and he finally headed to the stage, now decorated with flowers, while he watched her attentively from behind.
Now he looked at her well, she was trembling.

However, she was still the [MESYARIA] above that stage.
-"...Now, we will give our gratitude to the forests and the Goddess, who again gave us their blessings during this year... and also, to our precious people"-
After saying this, Seshiara took a deep breath, and began singing.
It was a mysterious melody woven with the ancient words of the forest. Even Forgeit could feel that it had become a warm light that was enshrouding everything around him. All of the villagers were receiving the power of Seshiara's [Song] of gratitude, and closed their eyes to feel it more strongly.

A few moments later, the wind began blowing as if it were responding to the song, and the flower petals gathered in the baskets began flying up. While Forgeit intended to protect the baskets from the wind, he was completely into looking at Seshiara's beauty, as she continued singing in the middle of that flower shower.
Accompanied by these flowers, she looked just like the winged Goddess. That was quite a mysterious and graceful spectacle, from which Forgeit was unable to take his eyes off.

-"...Why do you think that Seshiara told you to not go back to your hometown?"-
When Seshiara had begun singing her second song, Marta had gone to Forgeit's side, and asked this to him.

-"...Because she gave me peace"-
Forgeit answered.
-"And I'd like always to feel like this, instead of how I was before, where just thinking about not dying was enough to me"-
-"...I see"-
For the first time, Forgeit had put into words his feelings, and he had the feeling that Marta understood what he said.
In contrast to the inferior environment of his hometown, while his current life caused him some pain, he also had found something he never wanted to lose, because it was in this village where he had learned about the beautiful things that life has.
Before his eyes, he was being blessed by these countless flower petals, like the girl singing in the stage.
-"...If you can live in peace, then it'd be good for you to stop being dishonest"- Forgeit slightly nodded to this, and Marta decided to leave the conversation there.
-"Looks like she made a mistake in the lyrics again, huh?"-, these were the kind of things that Marta said to herself at Forgeit's side, as they both listened to Seshiara's [Songs].

Third Movement - Homecoming

The seasons revolved several times, and the days of their childhood became a thing of the past.
Seshiara and Forgeit grew, and as the day for one more of the several Flower Festivals they had shared came closer, they made their eternal vow.
Thanks to their marriage, and that they had twin daughters, finally Forgeit stopped being an [outsider], and became much more diligent. As he now was one more member of the village, and Seshiara's husband, he pledged he would be more helpful to others from now on, no matter how little.
As for Seshiara, while she still continued singing as the MESYARIA, she also became an exemplary wife, and the mother of two beautiful girls.
Said marriage was blessed by all of the villagers.

However, during a certain day, as winter came closer...
-"Looks like other of the cities in the east has died off"-
During a meal, Marta told them a rumor she had picked up.
This wasn't something uncommon to hear for these times. People would frequently leave their hometowns in search of more prosperous lands, no matter how little, but the ones that didn't have enough strength or money to do so would be doomed to rot away with their town.
However, Forgeit was unable to merely dismiss the rumor for some reason, and decided to ask about it further.

-"...What was the name of the town?"-

-"I'm certain... it was called Cardamon"

The next instant, Forgeit stood up from the table, as if something had made him jump off his chair.
It was a feeling that he couldn't describe in any way.
Cardamon... it had been a long time since he last heard it, the name of the city in which he was born. The city where the father that tried to kill him and his mother should be living. The hometown to which he thought he would never have a chance of returning.

Despite this, something made him want to check it with his own eyes. He wouldn't believe that nothing remained of the town until he saw it with his own eyes. Although he was now married to Seshiara and was formally accepted as one more resident of Rhubarb, he didn't feel compelled to believe that his hometown had fallen into ruin.

-"...But you're still going, right?"-

When he came to his senses, Forgeit noticed Seshiara's strong gaze shooting through him.
Before he could even move his lips to form an answer which he couldn't come up with, Seshiara clearly told him this:

-"...Don't go back there"-

She was looking at him in the exact same way as when they were children. Her hazel eyes hadn't changed at all in all this time.

-"Seshiara..."-

-"At least, don't go alone. I'll go with you"-

After they left the forest, they stayed in an inn in a small village, and
continued walking for a few days.

-"Even if you go to Cardamon, you won't find anything worthwhile in there",-
this was what a peddler told Seshiara and Forgeit when they passed at his side, and following a map they bought from him and Forgeit's own vague memories, they began ascending a mountain path.

As they continued advancing, the vegetation became more sparse, making the ragged rocks in the place stand out more.
They continued going up the slopes as the road became more sandy, until they had a mountain pass before their eyes.
Forgeit lowered his eyes from the map. If they were in the right path, the town should be visible from this pass.
But as soon as this realization hit him, Forgeit stood completely still.

-"...Are you tired?"-

Seshiara's sudden question made him come to his senses at once. They had gone this far, yet he still was hesitating to see what had happened to his hometown. He was afraid of these [nightmares] showing up before him again.

-"Do you want me to go and check up first?"-

Raising his head as he sensed the worry Seshiara was feeling for him, Forgeit shook his head.
At this point, standing still in this place, it was already too late to have second thoughts.

Of the gate that impeded his passage when he was a child, nothing but the wooden pillars that formed it remained. That was were "Cardamon" was written. While some vestiges of the city barely remained, the place was completely devoid of any human presence. And within that dreadful silence, an apologetic wind blew throughout the place. This raised large clouds of dust, which made Forgeit cough violently.

-"...This place has really become a ghost town"-

He walked through the now road-less streets, and stood still in the place where his house once stood, searching in vain to see if someone was still around.
The father who once tried to kill him wasn't there anymore. Year after year, he only continued thinking about how to survive while he was in this putrid environment, but he didn't have the money or strength necessary to move out from this city. He most likely was now dead.
However, there was no way of confirming that. That's why Forgeit had a hole in his heart he would never be able of understanding. With this, it was now impossible to know why his father had acted in such a way back then. He would never know why he did those things during all of his life. And while it was easy to imagine what could have happened to his father, he could never come up with a satisfactory enough answer for it.
Now he had the ruined settlement before his eyes, he began showing he too unexpectedly had feelings similar to nostalgia.

-"...I might have been convinced that this all was just a [nightmare]..."-

Forgeit softly whispered after a brief sigh.

-"...But after coming here, I understood everything... the [nightmare]... was reality itself..."-

He was born in a city were even order was nonexistent, and raised in a place filled to the brim with evil intentions. As long as they could eat a little more than others, the people of this city was cursed to be jealous and hateful towards each other. He still clearly remembered these hellish days, in which the people would pull each others legs just to see them unhappier than themselves.
He was the only one who managed to escape from this, and survive to the current days.

-"...I got sand in my eyes"-

Forgeit began rubbing his eyes, and turned his back on Seshiara.
However, he was unable to control the feelings that he had welled up in his heart.
They then began overflowing, as his tears made the ground at his feet blurry.

And in the middle of that, the pain struck in his heart, and he began wailing. Similar to a soft rain becoming a downpour, it continued relentlessly beating his heart. The tears that had broken off his eyes' dam began falling like raindrops to the arid ground, and were absorbed by the soil of his hometown one after other.

-"FEL MIE MESYARIA,SYUA FEL ARY ARIA NEO..."-
-"FEL FIRY ARIA SAR WEL..."-

It was the [Song] he had heard countless times. Behind Forgeit's crying, Seshiara was singing. While he before could only hear the melody of the [Song], Forgeit was now
capable of understanding the meaning of its lyrics.

-"I'll give the [Song] to you"-
-"I'll embrace everything, so don't be afraid of the sadness anymore"-
-"If you do so, that will take you back to a gentle world"-
-"I'll be here eternally"-
-"Like the land in which you step and the blowing wind will always be at your side"-

As it was being led by the colorful singing voice, the wind returned to being a little warmer. The plants around them suddenly regained their colors, as if they had just been given water, and even the flowers bloomed in response to the song.
Most likely, this was how this place looked before the sunlight had become so weaker.
However, as he felt the appearance of the scenery created by the [Song] beyond his blurry eyes, Forgeit didn't notice that the [nightmares] had crept up at his side once again...

Fourth Movement - Madness

There was a kingdom at the other side of the sea east from Rhubarb's forests.
And in the main country that consolidated this kingdom on the continent, a temple was built for worshiping Goddess Aria.
Inside it, a private room was made to receive the MESYARIA, Seshiara, when she came to this kingdom.
A young boy with golden hair frequently came to play with her. He was the fifth Prince of the current Royal Family. While he really loved his older brother, he had passed away, and told Seshiara he was cheered by the [Songs] she sang in the royal court.
From that moment on, both the Songstress and the Prince began being friends in secret.
He was charmed not only by Seshiara's [Songs], but also by everything she told him.
He had a great interest on the sights and stories of the world outside the castle,
which were completely unknown to him, and always invited her to drink tea with him to listen to her stories.
They became such good friends that Seshiara also began affectionately telling him about her daughters, who should be around of his same age by now, and were now in her hometown.
And among these conversations she, also told him of the incident that caused her to be separated from Forgeit, back when they were at Cardamon's ruins.
At that moment, a man unexpectedly saw when Seshiara sang her [Song]. And that man happened to be a landlord that had come to check the situation of the city.
The landlord pulled Seshiara apart from Forgeit, and forcibly sent her to the kingdom at the other side of the sea. Invited to the temple were Goddess Aria was worshiped, Seshiara began being treated like a saint, but this also meant she had her freedom taken away from her.

--A saint doesn't need mundane things like being a wife.

And with that phrase, both Seshiara and Forgeit were pulled apart from each other.

-"Seshiara! Someday, I'll go and find you! I promise it!"-

This was the last scream that Seshiara heard from Forgeit back then. He said it with a bitter voice, filled both with sadness and rage...

-"...And you believe in that man, right?"-

Seshiara silently nodded to the boy after he asked that question.

The people demanded for Seshiara's [Songs], and endlessly continued asking for miracles.
At first, they were pleased with small miracles, such as making the flowers fill with light or making them sound like bells. This was enough for the people to recognize Seshiara as a Goddess.
However, their requests only got larger and larger with each passing day.
The weakening of the sun only brought anxiety to each day. An anxiety in which hope was impossible to see. She understood very well why the people clung to these miraculous [Songs] to the point of it being even painful to see.
Therefore, to respond to their feelings, Seshiara sang the best she could.
To make her [Songs] reach the sun. And to wipe the grief from the hearts of the people, no matter how little.
However, the sunlight only got weaker, and the next winter was longer and colder than the one from the previous year. The people began feeling that this meant an ominous
future and a collapsing world were the only things that awaited them.
No matter how many times Seshiara sang her [Song of Encouragement], it was impossible for her to cause a miracle as large as strengthening the sunlight.

-("--That singer is really a Goddess?")-

Soon enough, such doubts began surfacing among the people.
And at that time, Seshiara's health took a turn for the worse, to the point in which she even fainted in the middle of one of her [Songs].
-("--That saint can't even sing a [Song] correctly. She must just be a worthless
fake that the guys at the temple are keeping")-
-("--Who does she think she's deceiving to gain a better position?")-
These negative and evil words reached Seshiara's ears.
Things even got to the point that people appeared in the temple spreading evil rumors about her, including that she was the responsible for weakening the sunlight.
Seshiara endured all of this extreme pressure, and despite this, she kept singing...

-"FEL MIE MESYARIA,SYUA FEL ARY ARIA NEO..."-
-"FEL FIRY ARIA SAR WEL..."-

On the other hand, since Forgeit had been rejected by the temple, he decided to get a job on the Royal Research Institute of Antiquity. If they wouldn't allow him to be with Seshiara despite being her husband, he could only gain a position high enough to do it with his own effort.
Fortunately, he was quite a diligent person. Ever since he was a child, he had studied in Rhubarb all sorts of knowledge about the ARIA language and the [Songs], which apparently were considered a treasure trove by those who researched about the ancient times. With just his abilities, he managed to get to the top, gaining the position of expert, the trust of the chief of the Institute, and a large number of subordinates.
All of this was just to meet with Seshiara once more, to keep the eternal vows they had exchanged back at Rhubarb.
This time, he would be the one who would extend his hand to Seshiara, and tell her "Let's go back together".

A certain day, Forgeit received a letter.
It had as its subject: [You have been allowed an audience with Songstress Seshiara]. However, the sender was unknown. While he had suspicions that this could be a trap to trick him into something, Forgeit ran to the temple as fast as he could.

-"...Are you [Forgy]?"-

This was what a boy waiting in front of Seshiara's room -- the Prince, who was also the one who sent the letter -- asked him. That way of calling was the same nickname that Seshiara had always used to call him. Forgeit immediately assumed he had a position high enough to allow him to become good friends with her. As if he was inviting him, he allowed Forgeit to go into the room first. It didn't seem as something Seshiara would have liked, as the room was excessively decorated. Forgeit continued making his footsteps echo throughout the place, as if it were to break the silence.
Vases made from white porcelain. Illumination made with jewels embedded into it. A marble desk. Beautiful ornaments all over the place, to the point in which it felt suffocating. He continued walking, while a very bad presentment began coiling inside him.

Seshiara was sleeping in a bed further inside.
She had a very calm expression. However, she was as cold as the ice, and as immobile as a doll.
Even if she opened her strongly shut eyelids, her lips would never weave [Songs] anymore...

-"...Seshiara... what is it...? Why are you...?"-

Unlike the words that escaped from his lips, his head was refusing to think anything. He didn't want to understand what was happening, until his heart forced him to. Because this wasn't the Seshiara that was taken away from his long ago.

She was now no more than a corpse.

At the same time he got hit with this realization, he dropped the flower bouquet he was
carrying in his hands, and fell to his knees.

-"...Seshiara wanted to see you since a long time ago. Therefore... at the least I wanted to grant her this, as her last will..."-

This was what the Prince told him silently, right behind him.

-"Why... how did this happen!?"-

-"As you know, no matter how many times she sang her [Songs], the sunlight wouldn't return to how it used to be. The public opinion blamed her for this, and although she had many chances to escape, she still chose to remain here and continue singing. And that drove her to this point... as she continued waiting for you to arrive..."-

Upon hearing these words, Forgeit's pulse turned into a great chaos.

-("....Who killed Seshiara?")-

From the depths of the darkness, the voice of [nightmares] whispered this. The people worshiped Seshiara as a Goddess all by themselves and expected things of such a level from her, but as soon as they realized that improving their lives was way beyond her hands, they completely changed their attitude towards her.
A single hope turns into ten despairs, and that was the level in which Seshiara suffered.
The terror and anxiety that was enshrouding the people gave way to evil wills, all of which hit a single songstress. All of it, hitting a strong, gentle but still powerless and fleeting songstress.
Seshiara had a sense of justice stronger than most people, and she also had feelings of empathy stronger than most people.
That she wished from the bottom of her heart to save the people was unmistakable,
but how much did she regret this? And how much was she condemned for it, too?
This worried her, made her fall ill, and finally, it took her life. In that way, even her shining existence itself was forced to die off.
Without even being able to say a single phrase: "Save me..."

-"...Forgive me... Seshiara..."-

Regretting that he was unable to even be with her in her last moments, Forgeit's
trembling fingertips caressed Seshiara's cheeks. He wasn't even able of putting these feelings into words...

-("--The one who killed Seshiara was...")-

Was it the fault of the people who pressed her so much?
Was it the fault of the kingdom that threatened and forced her to be the MESYARIA?
Was it the fault of the landlord that heard her [Song] at Cardamon?
Or was it... Forgeit's own fault?

-("--If you had been able of protecting Seshiara, she wouldn't have died")-

Yes... if he hadn't thought of going to his hometown, nothing of this would have happened. He now had let Seshiara die without even lifting a finger, after she had extended her hand to him and saved him from his obsession with the [nightmares] during their childhood.
The girl who ran while pulling him from the hand under the radiant light of the sun.
The girl who carried a basket filled with flowers and sang a [Song] to him with a sad face.
All of these memories of Seshiara during their childhood raised one after other before his eyes, and Forgeit's breathing completely stopped.

-("--The one who killed THAT Seshiara was no other than YOU, [Forgy]")-

The [nightmares] began covering Forgeit from his feet upwards, and began pulling him to the unknown bottom of the darkness.
From now on, he could only hear the voice of the [nightmares].
Before long, the light vanished from his eyes.
This was the beginning to a new nightmare...

Finale

From then, a long time had passed.
The man had in the palm of his hand a rusted hourglass. Almost no blue sand remained in the top part of it.
Too much time had passed already. The world and its people had completely changed.
The era in which he had lived was now ending, he could feel it in all his being. Opening his closed eyes once more, he noticed how dazzling the light was.
He understood it was the end, but didn't despair at all. At least this meant he would be able to awaken at last from these long [nightmares].
Everything would end here.
Once the last strength he had to keep his eyes open faded away, he would say goodbye to this crazed world.
And thus, at the moment in which the very last grain of sand fell, he thought he had heard the voice of a girl calling out to him...

-"Let's go together!"-

(The End)

Last edited by aquagon; Jun 2, 2012 at 10:49 PM.
Reply With Quote