• Solo • [Starter Quest] Third Test

[Rei'sari]

19th Cylus, 719

It was worse this time somehow. During her first test, Ari'sora had been confident, certain that she would pass, and be allowed to go home. And when she had failed, she had been devastated. But she had been determined to improve, and she had. By the time she was tested a second time, she was still confident. Slightly less so perhaps than during the first test, but confident all the same.

Now, though...now things were different. There was more at stake totrial. In the past, she and Ryl'ryn were the only ones who suffered if she failed her test. But this time, Ari'sora knew that Mi'zuri would suffer the consequences of failure too should she fail. What terrified her even more was the fact that she couldn't be certain that Rin'saia would be spared punishment should she fail. Her daughter wouldn't survive if she was forced to suffer the brutality of one of her captors' punishments.

Failure was never an option for her before, but it was even less of one now. And after having failed two tests already, Ari'sora had very little confidence that this time would be any different.

"You can start playing at any time." Vyndar said coldly.

"Yeah, what the hell are you waiting for?" Hathelrri demanded.

Ari'sora could hear the impatience in her captors' tones. The word "can" didn't actually mean that she had any choice in the matter. So with a sinking heart that was filled with a sick dread, she began to play hesitantly.

[Rei'sari]

19th Cylus, 719

She needed to warm up first, just as she would during one of her practice sessions. But unlike a practice session, she had a critical audience...one who wouldn't tolerate anything but her best performance. So she disguised her warm up as best she could. She used the notes of the scale, but she created short bursts of melodies out of them rather than playing them in order.

From there, she moved into longer melodies still involving just the basic notes of the scale. But these were played at varying tempos, and alternated with short bursts of complimentary notes of a different pitch. After several bits of this, she could tell from Vyndar's and Hathelrri's expressions that she was pushing her luck, so she cut her warm up short, and began to play in earnest.

Ari'sora was tense, and anxious. She was both determined to succeed and terrified of failure at the same time. And those emotions were reflected in her music. The tone of the notes she played was dark and heavy, betraying her feelings. But at the same time, it was hauntingly beautiful. Ari'sora couldn't settle on any one song to play because the choice of the song was every bit as importance as the performance itself. If she chose wrong, it would cause her to fail then and there.

So instead, she improvised, playing the music that came to her on the spot. She seemed to play her best when she was improvising, or playing songs that she herself had created anyway, so it was as good a strategy as any. But she could see the disapproval in Vyndar's and Hathelrri's eyes, and she knew that it wasn't good enough. That she wasn't good enough.

Desperately, Ari'sora began to take risks in her melodies. She began to add more and more complex notes. Some were performed correctly and they enhanced the music that she was playing nicely. Once or twice, she even saw interest in Vyndar's eyes, and if the smile on Hathelrri's face was anything to go by, he was enjoying the music too.

But other times, her gambles did not pay off. Either she mistimed notes that she could play consistently, or she gambled too big by playing the most complex notes that she could; ones she had just learned recently, and could not play correctly every time she tried yet. Those notes took away from her performance, and the disapproving glares in her captors' eyes as she made mistakes made her feel sick to her stomach. That didn't improve her performance any.

[Rei'sari]

19th Cylus, 719

After yet another mistake sparked irritation in Vyndar's eyes, Ari'sora began to grow desperate. She switched back to playing notes that she was more familiar with, but she began using them in complex melodies that would still show the extent of her skill. This strategy seemed to be more successful since the annoyance slowly left Vyndar's eyes. He didn't seem particularly impressed with her efforts, but he wasn't angered by them anymore either. And Hathelrri seemed to be enjoying her performance. Ari'sora decided her decision was the right one, and continued her efforts.

As she continued to improvise, Ari'sora ran through a melody that was part of the introduction of a song that Ryl'ryn had told her that Hathelrri especially liked. At Hathelrri's sudden sharp interest, Ari'sora decided to take a risk. Choosing the wrong song to play would result in her failing the test immediately. But if she picked the right one, that just might be enough to allow her to pass her test.

The problem with that was that she didn't know which songs Vyndar liked, or did not like. Since he was the primary judge, he was the one that she needed to please the most. But pleasing Hathelrri would be a step in the right direction, so she decided to take the risk and play the one song she knew that he liked.

She could tell that Hathelrri was enjoying the song. But Vyndar's eyes were expressionless, betraying nothing of his thoughts on the matter. Still, Ari'sora played the song all the way through to its conclusion. She knew that she couldn't play the song a second time without angering Vyndar. He didn't like repetition, and he had made that painfully clear to her in previous tests. So she went back to improvising. But she started out by improvising the melody of the song she had just played. It was a careful line to walk, but she made certain that it was different enough that she couldn't be accused of playing the same song twice while still using parts of the original melody. Her gamble seemed to work. Hathelrri grinned as he tapped his foot along with the melody.

After a while, Ari'sora moved on from that melody and worked with others that seemed to spring from it naturally. As long as she stuck with what she was familiar with, her performance was flawless. The music was pretty, varied in terms of notes, and technically correct. And since she was improvising, some of her emotions could be heard in her music. Many people might have been satisfied by her performance. It wasn't enough though, and Ari'sora knew it. She could see it in Vyndar's expression. It wasn't that he was angry or annoyed by her performance...but he clearly wasn't impressed by it either.

But what to do about it? If she did nothing, she would fail this test too. Should she try playing the more difficult notes again? When she had pulled them off, it had pleased Vyndar. "When" she did was the issue though. She couldn't play them correctly every time yet, and failing to do so would anger her captor again. Ari'sora didn't know how many mistakes she could afford to make before Vyndar failed her. And yet...not taking the risk would cause her to fail too. Did she really have any other choice?

No, she really didn't. Once again, Ari'sora began incorporating the most difficult notes she knew into her wordless melodies. As before, sometimes she succeeded...and other times, she did not. Every time she failed to play a note perfectly, Vyndar scowled at her. Each failure on her part made Vyndar's eyes darken that much more. Finally, after Ari'sora's fifth mistake, Vyndar stood.

"Stop."

Ari'sora froze. She stared at the glass flute, unable to even glance in her captor's direction.

"You have failed." Vyndar said coldly.

Ari'sora shuddered, knowing painfully well what her failure meant.

"You have to admit that this is her best performance yet, though. She has improved." Hathelrri said.

Vyndar nodded.

"I do not deny that. But she hasn't improved enough to pass the test."

Hathelrri shrugged.

"Go wait in your sleeping area. You can tell the other slaves that you failed while I decide what the consequences of your failure will be."

Ari'sora fled the room. An order was an order, and she was quick to obey. And she was grateful for the order because with or without it, she was unable to endure the cold, relentless look in Vyndar's eyes any longer.

[Doran]

Ari'sora:

Knowledge:
Detection: hearing emotions in someone's voice
Musical Instrument; Percussion (Glass Flute): x 5

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: 5, for a performance.
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 10

- - -

Comments: Poor Ari’sora. Her anxiety after having failed two tests is almost tangible. The description of her playing (and the way she feels while doing so) was very well done in my opinion. Vyndar is a fairly intimidating person. You’ve done a good job when it comes to his characterization. I’d be afraid of him as well!

I wonder what exactly the consequences of failing for the third time will be. I’m kind of worried, to be honest. I wonder if Ari will get a fourth chance to pass the test. I think that she did a good job, even though she didn’t play perfectly!

I wish you had provided a bit more background information when it comes to the tests in your thread. This is only a minor issue though as I figured out what is going on by checking your CS.

Good job, and enjoy your rewards!

P.S.: I might have added “Deception” to the list of skills used as Ari tried to disguise her warm up in your second post and “Detection” for hearing emotions in someone’s voice.