The Adventures of Velonese Lightstrings

A teller of tales, builder of legends, and lover of words.

[velonese]

A Throne Nearing Perfection

It is a challenge: to wake.

I have been the Emperor of Throne for so long now, it feels like it could have been a thousand springs gone by - each one more beautiful and compelling than the last. Each morning I wake from restful sleep, alive and awake.

I wake.

It is strange, when I open my eyes, it is not from a dream. They are not heavy or weak, instead, they feel closed, despite being open wide.

Somewhere in my mind, throughout my exalting rule, the women, the wine, and the power - somewhere a minuscule thought set the foundation of the world just slightly uneven.

While touring the grounds one day, I left my courtesans behind, riding Ephialtes out beyond the game woods and into the distant rolling pastures of my lands.

From there, we stopped beneath an apple tree, and I took pause to take in my surroundings. At the height of peace and calm, I felt a shooting pain race through my side, and panicked, trying desperately to remember how I got here. Not the tree, but to “here” - to “this” - how I came to be, now.

This absurdly unanswerable question was of such great pertinence that it drowned the pain, like an ocean beneath an ocean.

I fell to the ground, wracked. A voice tore through the sky, saying “The sun sets on a land of eternal night.”

When I woke, I was in my bed, and my courtesans begged me not to punish them for losing me. The doctors and clerics of my kingdom told me I was to recover.

But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

Of course I could remember where I came from, or how I came to be Emperor it was, as they say “a story told and retold by child and old”- but the sunset stayed with me. Perhaps I was only now aware of it. The sun never set, but hung always, casting great shadows across the land.

In my heart, I could see it - my time here must end.

The final tune.

A song. A song of life and death. The song of death to those who taught me, for I learned it in a dream.

I recall his words:

Just hum this tune to find yourself But weary put it to the test For once gone by all truth is lost So ends the eternal quest

Here, you see, truths abound You’ll find them if you look For here has life with quantity All taken from a book

I learned it to wake - but I dreamt on.

When I wake, will I not be convinced there is yet another dream awaiting me?

[velonese]

My first order as King is to declare myself Emperor

velonese makes a terrible king

[velonese]

If you fear a situation will come to blows, begin singing - you stand to make your opponent too uncomfortable to attack you.

velonese, advice for use in adventuring - Vol I

[velonese]

A king is no greater than the sum of his subjects - that is to say, a king with only one vassal is gaining nothing by calling himself "king."

velonese

[velonese]

A path is only challenging in retrospect - in action, it is either functional or impassible.

velonese just before being ousted as navigator

[velonese]

Somewhere, Nowhere

And so there I lay. I could not focus my eyes, for there was nothing to be seen. I could not remember, for I was not conscious to do so - I could form no thought - there was void...

Then

A Throne.

An empty room, and a throne.

I am one of the truly lucky ones - the blessed and fortunate - for I know where I am, and what I must do.

Beyond the shadows of the space past magic, buried within the creases between the past and the future, there is a place known as Throne. Some are said to seek it for answers, as all things present, past and future happen in Throne always - but no one is said to ever return from it wiser.

How I came to be in Throne remains to be discovered, should I pass it's tests. I stood, naked against the emptiness, and sat upon the throne - as a great king might.

Scooped up from eternity And poured out Awoken by the fool That drives the mind Relentlessly ever forward

--Jester of Throne

"My lord," the courtesan said, bowing, " we all eagerly await your reply - what is your decision?"

I must find out why I am here.

[velonese]

Slashed

I made the decision to explore the shadowy mansion here in the city.

The illusions were easy enough to ignore, but, somehow, the thought never crossed my mind that there was anyone real within.

A moment of time Eternity unwinds Cut short in a lightning flash

My seeking soul My thoughts, my goal Washed away in a dagger slash

Fear and pain Wax, then wane Washed away in a blood-red swell

Blackening sight Endless twilight Soundless lips that cannot tell

--VL

My blood is spilling away faster than I can measure, and all has gone black.

But yet I am. What have I done?

[velonese]

Longing for Destiny

I can't stop thinking about that Shadowy fortress... what must lay within a place so well guarded by magic?

Life without challenge is deeply boring. While Trackar, Kevlok, Elix and Rigg live the fine life, I can't abide by it for so long.

I live the fine life everyday - I see no specific reason to celebrate it for only a short time.

I tried to sell them on the idea of the palace, but they were beyond uninterested - they are like animals at a trough.

Here I find myself At home In all places Longing To be alone Lost Scared Filled with inescapable destiny

--VL

I think I may have to go alone.

[velonese]

The Palace of Shadows

We stumbled into a well-guarded manor in town. Many guardsmen guarded it on a tight patrol - though the locals seem to ignore it, anything well protected must be valuable...

What is more disturbing is that the guardmen are not really alive at all.

Twenty bound Tight in round Atop the night's watch post

None below Dare to go Beyond arm's length at most

Vigilant eyes Part of their guise Convincing all but the best

My eyes are true I can see through Illusions were meant as a test

If they guard What lay barred Beyond their ghostly station

If protected It is expected Something powerful guards the location

-VL

My curiosity may get the best of me...

[velonese]

The Oldest Profession

I do enjoy sharing my art - and for some reason... a reason that I have a sneaking suspicion that I will discover shortly, Kratas is nearly devoid of song & songsmiths.

While it has been an interesting experience, the people of the city are surprisingly tight-fisted - if you give something away for "Free" - as in, perform in the street - they accept it at cost - not value.

So I have been making an effort to let the well-to-do crowd know I am present, as a few extra coin never hurt... not to mention I buried all my money.

Despite the obvious arrangement wherein I play music and they set a few coins free, there are those who are both stingy and demanding.

I was asked this today and before "Will you rhyme and riddle more?" Such inquiry is really not the norm in fact, it's thoroughly poor form I am not lying to suggest trying Nor trying my hand at lying So to whom I discussed I more 'stated' - more than questioned I thus: "Will I rhyme and riddle more? Well, do I look like your cheap verbage whore?"

--VL

The answer was disappointing, since I am either working the streets for money, or working them for free. Either way, perhaps it is best if I don't beg the question.

[velonese]

If almost robbing someone was a crime, the world would be entirely victims.

velonese on the state of Kratas, the city of thieves

[velonese]

The end of a journey is perhaps less interesting than the journey itself, but the destination always yields change.

velonese upon arrival in Kratas

[velonese]

The details are supremely important to the participants, but unimportant to the listeners.

velonese upon being asked to explain how he talked his way out of an attack from the Irontooth clan's warband.

[velonese]

Your end will only briefly appear in the middle of our story...

velonese attempting to avoid a violent confrontation with a Scorcher

[velonese]

The Path of Promise

As we passed Daiche, the small river port that feeds Kratas, we came upon the Path of Promise, a cobbled road with yellowish clay bricks, presumably meant to look like gold. Heavily travelled, it is one of the safest places around Kratas. In fact, it is possibly safer than the city itself - which lay above us in the foothills of the Tylon Mountains.

Perhaps all of the bandits and highwaymen are too busy fighting one another for the best spots to rob anyone who passes by - or perhaps Garlthik One-Eye, the legend of legends, is secretly guarding the trail.... but what matters is that it is safe, at least from most threats.

As we followed it, making our way higher and higher, I saw a small sapling climbing between the stones. The only life in these rocky and desolate hills.

In the blink of chance A moment free A green lifeline Writhing from between the bricks Upwards into anything Each moment unknowing Of where it truly is Or where it is going Above all - home And moreso each moment

--VL

I know the sapling will be crushed by some unwitting boot, or mangled by a horse-hoove, but it doesn't - does it?

[velonese]

The Diametric Twins

How big is the world?

The measurement becomes important, I suppose - but in the world of the imagination, how massive are the possibilities?

I wondered this as we headed North from a small village called "Tallweather" and encountered a small village, also named "Tallweather"

I am not flabbergasted that the two might have similar names... no, and not even surprised that their names are the same - but they are the two closest villages to one-another!

Just imagining the missed-connections, and mistaken deliveries boggles the mind!

It, like its sister city, was pleasant enough, but I thought I would give them a song to remember the difference.

Tallweather Two Where trees are Blue And the sky a brilliant green hue

Where the mayor is kind And the masters don't mind When the worker relax and unwind

But Tallweather One Is no place for fun A wretched place, and home to none

The people are cruel And evil's the rule To even pass by you must be a fool

Like light and dark Like sage and lark The twin Tallweathers are worth the remark

--VL

A strange place indeed.

[velonese]

The Fool-proof Plan: Deliver Ourselves to the Thieves Den

Of all the places to bring our wealth, the overall desire is Kratas.

I would laugh were it a joke.

We are en-route to Kratas - also known as The City of Thieves.

Elix, being a thief, knows some people there... and well, one thing led to another and he seems to have some investors lined up for a "fool-proof" plan.

"What's the worst that could happen?" - he asked me.

I replied in my usual fashion when asked such a ludicrous question, honestly: "Well, we might be robbed, tortured, killed, and have our bodies unceremoniously dumped into an unmarked grave... but on the bright side, they might not torture us."

I was, in the end, the only dissenting voice to the plan. They even went so far as to brand me a "grump".

I went to the beach a young man Eager to discover the mysteries That were in store for me I attended, seeking to find inspiration But I watched the people play Frolicking to and fro Falling into the waves over and over Running to and from the sea A sickened ire rose in me And I stood to shout "STOP" But no one heard They were childish I turned away, unable to watch And left an old man Back hobbled, knees shaking Burdened by my judgement cast Burdened with the weight of my woe

-VL I have gone along with them - but not before securing a few choice valuables in a hiding place known only to me.

As big as my ego, as humble as I, this place is just enough to keep a few coins dry.

I hope I don't have to listen to another one of his sales pitches on the way to Kratas. I pray this journey is mercifully quick. Also, a note: The people of Tallweather are quite hospitable if you are wealthy. As a measure, we were offered 22 daughters, and 4 sons disguised as daughters. 5 of them in total were already married.

I would be keen on comparing notes with another traveler through that little hamlet at some point.