[V7C7] Tia’s Essence
Translated by Jodas 7: To the NorthShe heard a wonderful sound. Tia could feel that such a sound required careful attention and practice.
(Someone’s playing an instrument.)
Imagine there was a young girl and an old man with a creaky voice. Their voices would obviously sound quite different. It would be very hard for them to try making the same sound.
However, instruments could make the same sound. Obviously, there were individualities that became evident through each performance, but it was possible to make the same sounds regardless of your age or gender.
The music humans made with these unified sounds was beautiful in a whole different way from the songs of Harpies, made with their varying voices.
Human music, and especially the more beautiful pieces, was made by considering countless minute details, refining and rewriting it over and over, until it became a harmony that lifted the heart.
What she could hear now was one such piece of music.
“Hey, Tia, where are you going!?”
“This way.”
With her ears at attention, Tia waddled quickly to follow the sound.
Eventually, she arrived at the Third Spire: Water Bubble — Their original destination.
However, the source of that wondrous music was not the Management Office on the ground floor. It came from a window on the second floor.
The song that had been playing up to that point came to a close, and the next song started up. It was a song she knew.
(This is the song that Rukiye liked!)
When she listened in on a pleasing sound, a Harpy’s mouth instinctively begins to sing.
When there was music, no Harpy could resist the urge to sing.
“Winds of the grasslands, blow forever more. Following your shadow, blow forever more.”
As she sang, she climbed up the stairs. She could hear Wren mutter “Whoa, you’re good.” as he followed behind her.
“Where is that white birch of yore? Where is that white birch of yore…?”
Once they reached the stop of the staircase, she opened the door to the room where she could hear the sound coming from.
Inside was a large black instrument.
She’d seen this once, in one of the books in that girl’s room. This was called a ‘piano.’
Playing that piano was an old lady with white hair cut into a short bob.
“O you who waits across the sands, scoop up some stars and toss them to the wind, and send them all the way to me.”
At the ideal timing to allow the fading note of the piano to linger in the ears of any listener, Tia stopped the vibrations in her throat.
Then, she leaned in to savor that trailing reverberation of the piano strings.
That last reverberation at the end of a well-calculated song slowly and softly melting away into silence was one of Tia’s favorite things.
Because it allowed her to feel two emotions at the same time: that lingering melancholy that lamented the end of the music and that giddiness she felt in anticipation of the next song starting up.
As Tia savored the reverberations of the piano, the woman who was playing it looked at her.
Sharpness, knowledge, and refinement. All three of those qualities were contained in balanced harmony inside this woman. Defined wrinkles outlined her face and, although she was clearly at the age of an old lady, something about her strangely did not feel ‘old.’
The woman spoke with a somewhat bemused tone.
“Sing anything you want. I’ll provide accompaniment.”
At those words, Tia’s eyes shot open and her whole body shook.
“Pyofuwaa…” a sound of delight slipped out from her throat.
“Yessss!!!! Yesyesyes! Yeessss!!!”
Tia let out a squeal of joy that could be heard from well outside the room. Wren looked on in shock.
“Whoa, you surprised me! Huh, are you really that happy about that…?”
“She said she’d provide accompaniment! She’d make music together with me! Pyofufufufu…”
Perhaps because the Wedge Tower was a gathering place for mages, there were few people who were willing to indulge themselves in music.
The most common music Tia heard here at the Wedge Tower was the irreverent humming of Old Man Kappel, Management Office Director.
Tia’s heart shook with joy as she took a deep breath.
Normally, when she sung at the Wedge Tower, she kept her voice down. Now, however, she opened her throat without restraint and sang.
“Before the flowers get their color, the scent heralds the coming of spring
It falls as rain across the land, it covers the ground like snow”
When she finished the first line, the piano started to play.
She could hear as many sounds as she had fingers. This was an instrument that made beautiful music by layering sounds upon each other.
What a wonderful thing.
“It was a white gold. A brief, fleeting sweetness.
It was a red fish. A brief, fleeting dream.”
She liked this. She liked this a lot. She liked this a whole, whole lot.
With such feelings in her heart, the Harpy sang. Loudly.
“Now, shake your branches and stomp your feet. Break away from that ring and run about.
Now, shake your branches and clap your hands. Break away from that ring and join hands.”
Tia found the sensation of her voice and the piano melting together intoxicating. It felt so good. So, so good.
When the song came to an end, a wave of relaxation swept through Tia’s body and she let out a long breath. “Hahu….”
“Impressive. Your expressiveness is exceptional.”
The old lady spoke softly. Hers was a quiet and contemplative yet straightforward and powerful voice.
Out of curiosity, Tia asked.
“Miss piano, have you sang a lot?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because you’ve got that voice.”
As a person’s body grew older, their throat would get weaker. Naturally, their volume would drop and their articulation would worsen.
However, her voice showed no such indication of her age. This was the voice of someone who continually trained their throat.
It was unusual to see a person with a voice like that at the Wedge Tower.
There were a fair amount of people who simply had powerful voices. Sevil and Hütter, for instance.
Sevil, who had experience commanding troops on the battlefield, had a voice that could be heard clearly from far away. More than simply being loud, she had a power to her voice that could inspire others.
Tia’s instructor Caspar Hütter, meanwhile, had an extremely adept way of using his intonation and articulation. This was a man who was good at talking.
Be it Sevil or Hütter, both of them had a charm to their voice that made her want to pay attention every time they spoke.
However, Tia felt that the old woman before her was not anything like Sevil or Hütter.
She had trained her throat specifically for singing. To make music.
“I am Spiremaster Alto, of the Third Spire: Water Bubble. I assume you are the Apprentices Tia Vogel and Wren Bayer, yes?”
“Piyo!” As Tia let out a voice, Wren hurriedly straightened out his posture.
Spiremaster. That meant she was pretty important.
“I heard talk that there was an Apprentice who was interested in learning choral magic. Would that be you, Tia?”
“Piyopp!”
When Tia gave her cheerful response, Wren elbowed her in the side and whispered “You’re supposed to say ‘Yes, that’s me’!”
Tia hurriedly corrected herself.
“Yes, that’s me!”
“Do you want to learn choral magic?”
“Yes, that’s me!”
“And are you aware what sort of thing choral magic entails?”
“Yes, that’s me!”
When Tia responded with a little too much enthusiasm, Wren elbowed her in the side again, shouting “Dumbass!”
Tia quickly covered her mouth. Alto was looking at Tia expressionlessly. Had she already made her angry?
When Tia groaned “Pirorororo…” Alto spoke calmly.
“Choral magic is not a particularly outstanding form of magecraft. It is something that has historically only been used for ritual purposes. The distinguishing feature of choral magic is the way that it amplifies through resonance. By adding your song to someone’s incantation, it allows you to strengthen that person’s spell… That is the sort of magic it is.”
Amplifying through resonance — That was just like the Harpies’ songs.
A Harpy’s song would reverberate more powerfully the more voices sang in harmony. Thus, they could increase the power of their songs.
“That is all that choral magic can accomplish. Does it not sound like an incredibly inconvenient form of magic?”
“I don’t really know what you mean by in-con-venient, but I wanna do choral magic! …Please!”
“Why?”
Alto asked with increasing sharpness in her voice.
(This person is like stone.)
A large, solid stone wall in human form — She felt an overbearing pressure as if such a thing stood in her way.
“Just because you’re good at singing? Because you like singing? Is there any reason for you to feel attached to choral magic?”
“Piyo…?”
Tia wouldn’t let those piercing words talk her down.
But, they did make her wonder something.
“Spiremaster Alto, it sounds like you want me to say ‘okay, I’ll give up then’…”
“…I suppose so. To be honest, I was hoping you would say something like that.”
Spiremaster Alto was asking why she wanted to learn choral magic.
If it wasn’t an answer that could convince her, then she probably would not be willing to teach it.
“Piropiropiro…” Tia buzzed her lips as she thought.
Hütter had told her it was very important to always ask ‘why?’ So, she would try thinking about it.
(Why do I want to learn choral magic…?)
She thought that she wanted to learn how to do new things.
She thought that choral magic would be ideal for her.
Digging deep underneath those superficial feelings, she questioned herself.
“Um… Wren, what do you call this kind of thing?”
“Ooh, time for a pretty boy hint? Alright, ask away!”
Alto looked a little exasperated, but she didn’t tell her to cut it out.
Therefore, Tia did not hesitate to ask Wren for help.
“Um, it’s something deep inside the deep inside part of me; something really important! If I don’t have it, I won’t be me. That kind of thing.”
“Ah…” Wren folded his arms and groaned, then answered in a whisper.
“Like your essence?”
“Piyo!” Tia blinked and turned back to Alto.
“That! Singing is my essence, so if I’m going to learn magic, I want it to be choral magic!”
Flying and singing. That was everything to a Harpy.
Therefore, she wanted it. Therefore, she needed it. She could think of no better reason.
For the first time, Alto’s stern face softened into a bitter smile.
“Your essence, that’s a big deal.”
“There’s nothing big about it? It’s a super obvious thing to me.”
When Tia gave that response, Alto suddenly ran her hands across the piano.
Her wrinkled fingers tapped on the beautifully arranged white and black keys.
The sound that came out was like a relentless, shrill laugh. Yet nonetheless, it came together as a complete piece of music.
“I will be honest with you, Tia Vogel. I am envious of your voice.”
The movements of her fingers, her playing style, showed a clearly advanced talent. She moved her fingers in delicate, restrained ways that a Harpy with poor dexterity could never accomplish.
“Good grief, age truly does take its toll… Regardless, I am prepared to be frightened by a youngster. Tia Vogel. I will teach you choral magic.”