December Spotlight Series – Christmas Karaoke Party – Part 11

I started this section planning to have them talk more about the song, but felt like examining this little side-path instead. So, this one deals primarily with a type of magic in Kaeya’s world.

Sunlettes

Roll Call: Kaeya, Willow, Kalinin, Therris
Song: Carol of the Bells
Scenelette Type: Meta

“So, are we doing this thing acapella, or did we want accompaniment?” Kaeya asked her song-team. 

The four of them were doing Carol of the Bells, which meant there weren’t any decisions to make about who was singing what, and the song didn’t lend itself well to any kind of dance routine. There should have been very little to discuss.

The meeting should have been short and efficient.

Why wasn’t the meeting short and efficient?

Annoyed, Kaeya snapped her fingers loudly in Willow’s direction to make him pay attention. The chubby scientist was constantly getting distracted by asking questions about each of their worlds. His own world was, to use his words, ‘So boring you could cry.’

Kalinin, their soprano, was obviously partaking in these festivities under duress. She wasn’t much help

And Therris… well, Kaeya didn’t know what to think of Therris.

The old man had spent the majority of the meeting staring out a window, which was even sadder when you considered that they were in an undeveloped area of the MetaSpace and there was literally nothing outside that window but white nothingness. He only spoke when he absolutely had to, and his answers made it seem like each word cost him dearly.

“Sorry,” Willow said, looking sheepishly downward. “What did you ask?”

“Accompaniment,” Kaeya repeated.

“I mean, I’d appreciate it,” Willow said.

But Kalinin shook her head, “It’s not traditional.”

Willow asked her, “Do you have this song in your world?”

“Not specifically, no.”

“But you do have music,” Willow said. “Is music a big deal? What kind of instruments do you have?”

As the blond-haired fantasy enthusiast dissolved into another series of questions, Kalinin caught Kaeya’s eye with a silent ‘help me.’

“Focus,” Kaeya said. “Please. We still have to talk about outfits.” But nope, she’d lost them again. She really couldn’t afford to stay here forever. She had a second song that was meeting that afternoon.

Sighing, she decided to give the dorky little scientist a few minutes to get some questions out of his system, and sat down in the chair next to their very quiet and very grumpy bass singer. “I heard there was a poem,” she said, though not necessarily to him since she didn’t anticipate it becoming an actual conversation. “There’s a group of characters who absolutely don’t want to sing, so they got assigned to read a poem instead.”

Therris made a soft sound in his throat that Kaeya chose to pretend was engagement, so she went on.
“Can I assume you’re on the waiting list for that group?”

“No,” he said.

Was he angry with her? Had she offended him in some way? In general, Kaeya wasn’t too precious about other people with sensitive feelings, but it bothered her not knowing what she’d done to earn this guy’s continued shortness with her. “You know, you can say no to these things,” Kaeya said. “The events. The parties. The author can’t force you.”

Well, technically, she could. And did. Often. But Kaeya somehow didn’t think the author would be exercising that kind of power for the sake of some silly songs. Maybe if—

“I apologize,” Therris said.

“Really?” Kaeya said. “Why?”

“I’m not suited for these things,” he said, speaking slowly, choosing his words carefully. “But the song, the four part harmony…”

“Yeah, I guess we don’t have a lot in the way of deeper vocal ranges,” Kaeya agreed. Her book’s villain fell into the category, but he wasn’t here for obvious reasons.

“I’m just so…” He paused long enough for Kaeya to run a quick errand, before finally finishing, “… tired.”

Kaeya wasn’t sure what to do with that. “Coffee?” she offered.

His lips twitched in what was almost a smile. “Not that kind of tired. There’s a curse… Not in this place, but when I’m in the book…” He let out a long sigh that seemed to last a year. “Sorry,” he said again, which offered very little by way of conclusions, but Kaeya thought she could fill in the rest of the blanks on her own.

Curses were a common issue in her world. She, luckily, hadn’t had much experience with them, but she’d heard more than enough stories. It was actually why she avoided dealing in magical items when she could.

And she might even have something she could do about Therris’s condition, something far more effective than a hot, caffeinated beverage. They were called ‘sunlettes.’ The Presydium probably had a more official, scholarly name for them, but she didn’t know what it was, nor did she particularly care (as was her standard policy with that place.)

Sunlettes are a magical artifact – similar in origin to the Bard’s Choice which had caused so much trouble in her life, except these were much more common. They were relatively easy to find, originating in the roots of very old trees and worming their way to the surface of the soil where they were eagerly harvested.

They had a hard, almost flakey texture. They could be broken down into smaller pieces easily, with each piece retaining a proportional share of the magic. It didn’t glow in the same way the Bard’s Choice did, but it was warm to the touch, and a much brighter shade of yellow than one would expect to find lying nestled among tree roots.

They weren’t all that valuable, though her clients kept bringing them to her. Sometimes, if she was in a soft mood, or the person looked like they really needed the money, or if it was a child and who looked just so excited about their (mostly insignificant) discovery, she would buy the little shards anyway. As a result, she always carried a small bag of them with her, even in the MetaVerse.

She took that bag out now, unwrapping it carefully because every second the shards made direct contact with a person’s skin, a little of their magic seeped away. Therris squinted at them. “Are those… sunlettes?”

“Oh, good,” Kaeya said, “You’ve heard of them.”

“I worked for the Presydium,” he said. “Of course I’ve…” The sentence didn’t seem worth finishing.

“Well, take one, then,” Kaeya said, offering the little pile, and when the man hesitated, she added, “Christmas gift.”

Therris gingerly plucked one of the little shards between his fingers, and immediately drew in a long, deep breath. When he let it out, it was like he was a decade younger. Sunlettes didn’t usually have that strong of an effect, but maybe it was just the comparison between how much of an energetic void Therris had been carrying. 

He looked up with her, eyes wide and suddenly clear and bright. “Thank you,” he whispered with such deep humility that Kaeya instantly felt uncomfortable.

“It’s really nothing,” she said, retying the bag and handing the rest of the shards off to him. “Here. Just use them when you need to.”

“I…” he looked down at the bag, but made no move to take it. “I couldn’t pay you for them,” he told her, which was honestly such a weird thing to say in a fluid reality plane like the MetaSpace.

“I can get more,” Kaeya said, tucking the bag into his palm when he hesitated too long. She sat back, marveling at how a relatively weak clarity charm could make such a huge difference in him. “So… do you use those in the book?”

“These? Never.” He said. She thought he would tell her that in the few decades between her story and his, the sunlettes had become harder to find or something, but instead he admitted, “I’d never be able to afford them.”

“Oh,” Kaeya said. She forgot sometimes what people generally considered ‘expensive.’ “Well, let me know if you run out.”

“Thank you,” he said again, and for the first time, really examined the song they’d be singing together.

This was actually the first time I really worked with Therris in the MetaSpace. I like the guy, but after everything he’s been through, I sort of just let him sleep when he’s ‘off the clock.’ So, thank you Kaeya for coming up with a solution for me!

December Giveaway!

At the end of December, I’ll be giving these three bookish ornaments to one lucky person! I made these beauties out of upcycled novels (Left – Pride and Prejudice, Middle and Right – Sherlock Holmes)

To enter, just comment on any of my blog posts for the month of December! And, if you really want to increase your chances, you can also comment on the pinned post on my Facebook Page.

Last day to enter is December 30th. Winner will be announced on December 31st. Good Luck!