(Log) Solor and Kiya Ballet

[LonelyNeptune]

I was asked to post a log of this a while back, but real life got in the way.

Theodora takes a deep breath in and hangs her head a moment and then makes her way to the centre of the stage amongst a group of other, similiarly dressed young ballerinas. She turns her head to one side and rises up and down on a pair of woolen skin-tone feminine split-heel ballet shoes a moment and then sets herself into the dancer's first position.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

* A voice announces from somewhere above the stage:

A morning at the slave market in the land that will be known as Edessa. A raid has recently taken place and a grouping of young Farin women is presented for sale. The Royal Vizier watches over the proceedings with the cold indifference one expects from a sorcerer.

The girls huddle and comfort one another as the Auctioneer demands to know what each of them is good at. What makes the price of their life worth paying. *

* Slinking in to sit above the stage is a figure of a man who can only barely be seen in siloutte - dressed a shimmering, rainbow batik silken choga with rhusht pukkan - the dread figure of the Sultan's Royal Vizier. *

* The narrator's voice announces again:

One by one the slave girls are brought before the dias and the demand is made - what are they work? Some clamor and argue domestic chores or handicrafts, they display things they have made. Some display their beauty. They are each purchased and sold - one by one until only Kiya is left alone with the Slave Master and the Vizier.

The slave master demands to know what Kiya can do that is worth her life. Kiya dances. *

Theodora looks aside and lowers her eyes and then rises from flat to demi and then finally up to standing en pointe as she rises up with a little saute - a hop to land on her toes. It sets her into a sylph-like motion and she drapes her hands in front of her, and tilts her head this way and that. As music begins to tremor in the background, she wavers back and forth on her feet and begins a slow dance across the stage, rising up her arms held together at the wrists and raised with a demurred look that invokes or seeks to invoke pity, like a prisoner begging for respite.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.
  
Theodora shifts on her feet to move arriere - backwards away from the audience keeping her wrists together and lifted. She moves her head back and forth with all the lyrical gesture like she might be crying, silent as it might be. She leans to one side and the other on the very tips of her toes like she wobbles but then catches herself - it seems to be on purpose.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora swings her arms as she holds her wrists together and works on a battement fondu - she shifts her weight onto one leg and slowly bends her weight to sink into her knee with her working foot pointed on her ankle. As her standing leg straightens, her working leg extends to a straight position in the air like she's kneeling and then standing up again while remaining aloft.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

* Soft, lyrical Farinesque style music plays on strings and soft percussion during the dance from Troubadours hidden in the wings. *

* There's a pause in the music and then somewhere off-stage there's the rather loud and painful crack of a whip. *

Theodora flinches visibly even though she is not the one hit. She works to perform a series of traveling turns by quick steps that involve alternating feet - her toes tremor against the ground and her legs brush against one another. She's silent - the tremoring Farin style music and the whisper of an elegantly sheer pair of pearly-white muslin salwar pants the only accompaniment to the dance. She closes her eyes and moves her head back and forth, her little pin-curls bobbing.
  She appears to be a master at dancing. 

Theodora works on her shoulder position and again breathes, her visible stomach trembling as she twists her torso from the waist and upwards so that her one shoulder has moves forward and the other back. Her head slightly inclines over the front shoulder and works continue to do so with her wrists pressed together. She watches the shadowed form of the Vizier and takes the risk of daring to approach. She steps to where something has been set and picks it up in her hands with her bound wrists. And she lowers her head as she shuffles to present it and leaves him a glass of wine. She practices the same shuffling moves on the flats of her feet to move away her head bowed.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora shuffles back to her spot on the middle of the stage and turns in circle - an elegantly sheer pair of pearly-white muslin salwar pants billowing as she turns. She dips at the knees and then sets her one leg to rise to settle against the inside of her other thigh and breathes in and out working to attempt to lean back and forth on the tip of her one toe to support her entire weight.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora leans her head back and lifts up her wrists and breathes in and out to work on an interlace - she gathers herself and then takes a leap - and in that split moment she extends her stronger left leg behind her into their air in the midst of the jump and then works to brush her other leg back as well, and turns to land in the arabesque position. She hangs her head at the end of the move and she sinks down to her knees on the stage and raises up her arms - the performance apparently set to an end. Her breathing remains heavy and there's a flush to her cheeks.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

* From his spot within the shadows the figure of the Vizier, dressed in his shimmering, rainbow batik silken choga with rhusht pukkan beckons with a slim finger to the Slave Master. His hand displays a swirling pattern of curious golden hued symbols and signs - the mark of a Daravi sorcerer. He snaps his fingers and gold coins appear and he passes them to the Slave Master and he points to Kiya and then seems to disappear - likely? behind a darkened curtain or trap door. *

Theodora bows her head as she's led off with the other slave girls off stage.

* The previous set is dragged away and the extra market visitors and others move back to the wings. In their place emerges ferns and other plants that are pushed onto the edges of the stage and a background of lush greenery. The previous extras are replaced by some Apprentices dressed like a cadre of Daravi soldiers with spears and shields. Some of them bump into each other - perhaps like new recruits might as they work to gather into a straight line. *

* The narrator announces from above the stage:
The jungles of the Sultanate. A band of soldiers, elite and proud prowl the dense jungle with spears and shields - there is a hunt. Foolhardy with Daravi bloodlust they wear no armor save their own pride. Foremost amongst them stands Solor the Captain. His men salute him and he pats them on the shoulders and there is a moment of camaraderie. But out from the bushes jumps their quarry - a tiger! *

Norrig makes the call to his men and cuts them off with a sharp gesture of his hand- this fight is his and his alone, and there will be no interference. The men do not question his orders - he is their Captain and such things are not done. They move to encircle him and the Tiger. The dance music is set by the percussive beat of their spears upon the stage in a thumping rhythm.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Norrig flips a simple, grey, wrapped cape fashioned of thin wool back over his shoulder.

Norrig reveals a bared torso and arms, rippling with packed muscles and strange, heathen symbols!
  Norrig appears to be of Tremendous strength.

Paithoon de Permin emerges from the shadows of the stage and stalks back and forth with a lanky prowling grace. He stands flat and then flexes and leaps into the air in a proud grand jete his powerful legs pushing off into a leap. As he lands his body turns and his arms are scoops at the shoulders and his fingers are bent to look like claws. His steps are clearly predatory and he moves near silently, his feet brushing across the floor on the tips of his toes and leaving barely a sound. He works to trace an oblique circle around Solor.
  He appears to be incapable at dancing.

Norrig proudly bares his sword and sets aside his vest keeping a wary eye on the beast before him. His bare chest reveals the complex swirls of savage Daravi tattoo-work - each line a life that he has taken in the name of his Sultan. He raises his sword over his head and sets himself into position and then calmly stares at his enemy and gives a gesture all but bidding the beast to attack.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Paithoon de Permin springs into action! He bends at the knees into a deep plie and shifts his legs apart, and he gathers all the strength in his powerful legs and leaps off the stage to an impressive height! He shifts his legs apart and with both knees bent outward his toes nearly touch, like a wildcat springing onto his prey.

Norrig answers and prepares to meet his foe in battle and prepares a grand battement - his one leg kicks high to the front and is held in this extension until his supporting leg swiftly leaves the floor and meets the raised leg in a beat or in multiple beats. Each beat is emphasized by the soldiers who pound the ground and give the fearsome whoops and hollers of the Daravi war-cry.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

* Apprentices about the theatre hidden dressed in black shuffle in the shadows and red pieces of shining glass are set in front of the lanterns about the theatre. The stage is bathed in sanguine light and then shadow in waves as the two danseurs pantomime their great battle. While the slave girls dance was willowy and delicate and en pointe, the male dance is about leaps and jumps - the Tiger and Solor each attempting to outflank one another. *

Paithoon de Permin moves within the flickering red lights and launches himself into a cats jump - where both his knees and feet are drawn up - he reaches a full split with an arched back and he spins to land on a single foot. It is a grand showing of the Farin Master Bards strength, flexibility, and control.

Norrig answers with a grand tour of his own he jumps straight into the air from a bent knee position and then completes a turn and then lands in the fifth position with his feet in reverse. He does a single, a double, and then a triple turn and on the last he catches the Tiger with his sword! A trail of blood - a fluttering red silken scarf is pulled from the Tiger.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

*The candles are snuffed on the stage by the Apprentices and a shadow of falls over the stage. When the red lights are re-lit and the scene comes back into focus - the Tiger is no more and Solor stands triumphant with one foot on his dead foe. He lifts his sword up proudly and the scene ends. *

Norrig lifts a stylized, costume tiger fur worn tossed over the shoulder to the audience and heads back behind the stage curtains. [Join]

Paithoon de Permin waits as the scenery begins to be changed for the next scene, and then slinks off the stage.

* The ferns and other plants are again pushed off-stage and the first set of billowing canvas and odd market stalls returns and with it the 'extras' set as shopkeepers and shoppers who begin to mill about the space. *

The voice of the narrator calls from above the stage:/"Solor and his company of soldiers walk around the Town Market and he is clad in the new tiger-fur cloak draped over his shoulder. The women in town remark on what a fine match he will make - they wonder who the Sultan will give him permission to marry. Kiya and the other palace slaves are out gathering water from the well and are attending other tasks, overseen by their stern-faced slave-master.

From across the crowd of the milling town square, Kiya and Solor lock eyes. They are both smitten. Kiya leaves behind a flower for him on the well - a blooming poppy that is only allowed to be grown in the Palace gardens so he knows where to find her." *

* The town square set is set up on the stage. Novices and Apprentices mill about as townspeople dressed in the pantaloons and tunics, shawls and flowing dresses one might otherwise expect to find upon more familiar Farin from the region of Edessa. Natural hued linens for the slaves and servants and brighter reds and yellows of the artisan class. *

Norrig enters with his company of men who whoop and holler and indicate their Captain's fine new tiger cloak to all who pass by. Solor demures at first and waves them away with a certain air of humility. They pester and call for him to tell those gathered the great story of his conquest over the Tiger.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Norrig straps a stylized, costume tiger fur worn tossed over the shoulder over his shoulder.

Theodora arrives with the other slave girls from the Palace, brought to the Town Square well under the watchful gaze of their fierce eunuch slave master. Her manner is demure and her movements quiet. She works to cheer up some of the other girls and puts her hand to their cheeks. Kiya leads the girls in a traditional Farin style woman's circle dance for a moment stepping up en pointe and doing a serious of pirouettes until the slave master harshly reminds the girls to finish their tasks.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig across the Square is being pushed to recall the great Tiger battle and he finally relents. He sweeps his arms from side to side and then draws out his sword in grand display, branding the curved blade over his head much to the awe of several young boys who have gathered to watch him. He steps up to his feet and does a quick cabriole, jumping into the air! A scissor kick, his left leg rises and his right is thrown up to meet it. His legs touch and his left is pointed yet higher before he's returned to the station of the ground both feet coming to rest.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

* There is a pause in the faint thrum of Farinesque music in the milling city scene and from across the Square Solor and Kiya meet eyes. The lights are dimmed until the lanterns focused on the pair take precedence. A silence and percussion plays a beat like a heart. And like that the moment is gone and the lights return to their full strength. *

The slave master grows impatient and barks at Kiya and the other girls who are shuffled back into the Palace gates. As she turns to go - she slips up a hand to remove a flower from her hair. A brilliant red poppy - only grown in the Palace gardens. Sacred it is forbidden by any without the Sultan's permission. She holds it close to her heart a moment, and turns in a quick circle en pointe and wavers with it. She sets it down on the edge of the fountain, and disappears behind the Palace gate. [Theodora]

Norrig reaches out his hand after the departing Kiya and picks up the flower. He smells it and lowers it and a look of determination crosses his face. Before he returns to his men and tucks the flower away laughing and returning to soldier's boasting.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Norrig gets a delicate, brilliant red poppy flower of watercolor paper.

Norrig leaves south.

* The scenery is shifted again, and what emerges are planters of paper-folded poppies like the one dropped previously. Some of the ferns and greenery returns from the jungle scene to create a garden. Jasmine and neroli begin to circulate around the Theatre from the braisers off the stage. *

* The ringing voice of the narrator calls out:/"When dusk sets, Solor climbs the garden wall to get into the Sultan's Palace into the womens quarters - a crime with the punishment of death to meet with Kiya. He catches her praying Davite prayers - something else that is fatal amongst the Daravi. The forbidden lovers spend the night in the Sultan's garden, but when the dawn arrives, painfully they must part."  *

Theodora breathes in and works to step from flat, to demi, to pointe and rises up onto the flats of her toes, she does a series of releves - rising up and down on her toes and patters about her side of the stage like she's searching for something. She puts a hand to her forehead and wavers back and forth in a half swoon like she's lamenting something. She sinks onto her knees and offers a Davite prayer.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig climbs over the garden wall and lands with the grace of a military man no doubt having done so on countless missions in his past. He sweeps his eyes about and puts his hand to the hilt of his sword.  After widening his eyes dramatically at Kiya's purity, he launches himself upright and in a quick couru, on his fingertips. His ballet shoes probably help a lot, as he glides with concentration to the opposite end of the stage. There, he lays eyes on Kiya, and slowly begins a couru in reverse approaching the woman from behind, his face one of quiet adoration.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora blinks and looks about - theres a flower in her hands that she tucks into her hair. She studies Solor for a moment and puts out her arm as she flutters back on her toes and tilts her head away, and looks nervous. She leans to one side and back with a rustle of her pantaloons and waves a hand in a bent circle in the air about, like pointing out the confines or the walls of her little garden. She shakes her head and hands at him, he should not be here.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig widens his eyes at the rejection, but his heart is undeterred. He steps forth, eyes flapping gracefully, like curling smoke, to each side, looking down at the woman. He sucks air behind his teeth, considering her, and makes a passe, before extending his leg to the side and up with considerable elasticity, in a developpe. Showing the woman that he is not afraid.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

* A lyrical, romantic tune to begins an interlude, softly at first and building like the scene between the Prima and the Danseur. *

Theodora watches Solor approach and rolls her neck to one side and moves into a plie, bending her knees to gather the speed to launch into a pirouette, spinning in a circle and then finally shifts her knee out to a fouette as she shifts her weight onto her left leg and then whips about in a circle. She moves to flutter over to approach her partner and act like she's drawing something from his side - his sword. She holds it flat in her hands a width apart and she seems to lament at this and set the little object aside putting her hand back to her forehead and leaning back.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig moves and counters Kiya like the opposite ends of a wave, in symmetrical harmony yet so distant, so different. But as they flow, they begin to synchronise into something closer, something purer, beating like one heart. He moves his hands to her small waist reassuringly, comfortingly. He begins to use a finger spin help her pirouette in place - spin a circle until she comes to a stop on the tops of her toes.

The lovers pause in a quiet moment before Solor lifts Kiya uses his powerful arms and he lifts his forbidden love in the air!
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora breathes in as Solor lifts her. She leans back and arches her back and works to lean back and point her left foot at her knee and extend it and shifts as she's held in the firm grasp of her partner and then leans over to brush her fingers against the ground in a display of grace.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig dips his head, humbled by the purity of Kiya, of all she represents. He slowly, slowly begins to lower her, powerful arms not bothered by her featherlight weight. And he deposits her on the ground, and now does a demi pointe. He begins to move in synchrony with Kiya, two hearts beating as one.

Or one soul in two bodies.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

* The tune begins to shift in key and register like the sun beginning to rise and the night sets the lyrical shift with the warbled strings like a morning dove showing the arrival of the dawn. *
 
Theodora arches her back at the height where she's lifted by Solor, reaching back her arms and then slides down him as she's lowered to the ground onto the tips of a pair of woolen skin-tone feminine split-heel ballet shoes. She moves her arms behind her brushing against him with a faint sigh. They stand an inch or two away, each swaying as the other days and her pattering sylph-like moves contrasting against his more masculine ones, subtle and gentle. As the song begins to change she takes on that side sighing demeanor and begins her slow work to unwind herself from the man.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig sighs in deep longing as he is ghosted by Kiya's fingertips. Torn from within, he lets her go, his hands fruitlessly trying to catch even a whiff of her hair, her scent, her glow. And he begins a backwards movement, leg after leg straightened back, the two lovers parting.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora works to perform a series of traveling turns by quick steps that involve alternating feet - her toes tremor against the ground and her legs brush against one another. She leans back and swings her arms about her and at the last she picks up the flower from her hair and tosses it behind her shoulder to Solor. She lowers her head in a sign of lament and puts her hand to her forehead and patters off the edges of the stage. 
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig moves back with his trophy flower behind the curtains. [Join]

A young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes leaves out from the wings backstage and takes to the divan set out on the stage. Her posture is relaxed but expression remains regal and fierce - a born commander, bristling with as much poise as moustache [Join]

Paithoon de Permin nods to the other actors as he saunters by to his spot at the banquet table of the Daravi Court. He flutters a shimmering, rainbow batik silken choga with rhusht pukkan as he goes and lifts up his head. He moves to sit next to aya. Or something akin to sitting like crouching.
 
Paithoon de Permin sits down in his odd crouch-sit upon a divan at the royal table.

* The sets are changed and furniture is dragged out and rainbow silks draped about the stage creating the ambiance of a rich space. Some carpets are laid down upon the stage and music begins to play Farinesque but with a darker minor key. *
 
* The voice of the narrator calls out from above the stage:

The Royal Court at breaking fast. Kiya and the other slave girls serve the Sultan and the Vizier. The Vizier attempts to present Kiya with gifts, she demures and attempts to decline. The Princess - the daughter of the Sultan is called for. The Princess demands that Kiya serve her but eventually dismisses her much to the annoyance of the Vizier. As Kiya leaves, Solor arrives - called for by the Sultan, the lovers pass by one another and share a moment - the Vizier and the Princess notice.

The Sultan declares to Solor that he will marry the Princess so he can assure his bloodline will inherit both martial prowess and his foul magics. The Royal Vizier promises to serve Solor as the new Heir-Apparent. Solor laments at the thought of marrying the Princess and she prepares to dance for him. *

A young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes reposes on his divan overlooking the operations of his Court in early morning. He flicks his wrist about and the lights flicker overhead. He steps off his divan and spreads open his arms in a grand gesture, walking heel-and-toe in a demi-pointe about the stage. His hands stretch proud before him, fingers tattooed with a swirling pattern of curious golden hued symbols and signs contorted in some odd but plainly purposeful fashion. The people bow their heads and keep down their gaze in his presence - it is clear that their respect for him comes in large part from fear.
  a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes appears to be a master at acting.

Theodora is lead in with the other slave girls and makes her slow maneges about the stage moving between the nobles and dignitaries spread out with quick spins and turns as she tries to keep up with the increasing number of demands. She reluctantly heads to serve the table of the Sultan where the Vizier watches her closely. She sets her left foot in front, and lifts her right foot into the pirouette and also turn to the right in a pirouette en dehors as she tries to dodge the Viziers attempts to embrace her.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Paithoon de Permin makes gestures with his hands decorated in a swirling pattern of curious golden hued symbols and signs and presents Kiya with a number of gifts seeming presented with slight of hand - a bottle of jeweled perfume, a necklace. He waves his hand and shows her the wonders he could give her with the forbidden arts if she would relent and agree to be his. Each of his gestures is more grand and elaborate than the next and look nearly out of place for this regal looking figure to be attempting to win the heart of one of his slaves. But the look upon his face makes it rather clear he is smitten with her. 

Elizabethany arrives - her head held high. Every movement, every muscle makes this woman's regal bearing dangerously clear. She walks with a risen chest and open arms on a demi-pointe and makes her way over to kiss the ring on the hand of the Sultan, a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes. She sits next to him and flings out her arm in a gesture of righteous annoyance to call Theodora to come serve her.  
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

Theodora approaches Elizabethany with her head bowed low as she walks on her heel-and-toe walk, she stays in a demi-pointe and her turn out is exaggerated to the Princess, emphasizing her humility and she tends as she is asked to. She keeps her eyes low and demure, her lashes brushing her cheeks. She makes a mistake and spills something at the table in her nervousness, and is rewarded with a resounding rap upon her knuckles from the Princess' golden fan. She winces and withdraws her hand, cradling and then she looks up to see Solor enter the grand banquet hall and whatever pain she had seems to melt away.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig enters through the grand archway, his baring that of a soldier - his shoulders back and his head held. As he approaches the proper distance from the Sultan, he draws his sword from his belt and holds it over his head. He draws his feet together and does a deep plie bend of knees before him and then slowly leans forward and sinks into his knees and lowers his head all while keeping his careful grip on the sword. He waits until the Sultan gives him a dismissive wave and then he rises back and and replaces his sword into his belt.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

... And then at the table behind the Princess Norrig spots Kiya and his arms span across his chest and he lofts them to raise to greet her. Until he seems remembers himself and turns the gesture into placing his hand at his heart and dipping his head again. [Norrig]
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

The Vizier looks between Solor and Kiya and what seems to pass between them and he makes some flick of his wrist and the glass hes holding shatters into pieces. He slowly begins to unfold himself from his divan and seems set to act until ...

A young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes, the Grand Sultan, makes to raise up his hands with a powerful and purposeful sweep of their arms. Three sharp claps ring out from the blows then, their carrying noise dismissig all of the servants from the room in a dutiful rush.
  a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes appears to be a master at acting.

Theodora for her part looks heart-broken as she looks across at Solor from the wide gulf between them. As she turns to go, the Vizier reaches out his hand to grab her wrist, possessively. He waves his fingers at her with some kind of gesture and she gasps. She puts a hand up to her forehead and turns away and then makes her way away. She rises up from flat, to demi, to en pointe as she makes her escape and pauses a moment to brush by Solor.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

* The music holds a single note on a viola, the single clear sound wavering and holding like time itself has come to a moment of calm stillness. The lights at the banquet table are snuffed and all of the lanterns and lights of the theatre are turned to focus in a spotlight on Kiya and Solor. *
 
Norrig repeats for just a moment the dance the lovers had in the Sultan's garden, he slides up behind Kiya as she rests her head upon his shoulder. He rises from flat to demi and lifts her arms to stretch out with hers and then moves to spin her on the tops of her toes and then they both settle into a altitude one behind the other like a peacock and peahen in display. And then just as soon as it arrives - the moment is broken. And he must retreat.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

* The lights returns to their normal glow as Apprentices mill about in the darkness to relight candles and lanterns and the music returns to its darker Farinesque beat. *

Theodora puts her hands to her heart and then her hands upon the chest of Solor, and then exits the stage on demi heel-and-toe.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.
  
A young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes stands as Solor moves to take his designated place at the grand banquet table - whatever has passed between his Captain and the slave girl seems to go beyond his notice. Indeed one might note that the movements and behaviors of most of the slaves and servants do not seem to register with him, so lofty are his attentions and concerns (indeed, his very importance). With a sweeping hand between Solor and the Princess, the Sultan makes his grand announcement. Booming words, affectedly masculine and accented, soar out into the audience, "Solor! It is my Will that your prowess and my dread powers be joined in dynasty! So do I DECLARE that you shall wed my daughter and strengthen my great lineage!"
  a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes appears to be a master at acting.

* A sad harmony of the love theme of Solor and Kiya begins to play in the background. *

Elizabethany , The Princess, boldly stands from her place as she looks over Norrig with a haughty sort of look, but the more she studies him, the more she seems to take rapture in what she sees. She leans over and kisses her father's hand, showing that she will obey his wishes. She moves to a spot in front of the banquet table to dance for Solor - her new betrothed.
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

* A seductive, spirited tune in that oddly dark Farinesque tone begins to play in the background. *

The narrator announces from above the stage:

The Princess lusts for the strong Solor and she dances for him - she hypnotizes him with magic. She entrances Solor and he pledges that he will follow his orders and do as the Sultan demands and will marry the Princess. 

Elizabethany slowly lifts her left hand up above her head, following a sinuous side to side to side path that ripples down her body. With the one hand still above her head and the other dramatically extended, she begins to sway gently back and forth, accenting with a pop of her hips at each side that elicits tinkling from her belt.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

With a slow sweep of her arm introducing the motion, Elizabethany's feet carry her into a circling maneuver that follows the ebb and flow of the rhythmic pattern she steps.  Stepping first onto her toes, knee extended out dramatically, she gives a bounce of her ankle before she puts her weight fully into it. [Elizabethany]
  She appears to be champion at dancing.
 
Elizabethany rotates her arm in a graceful gesture that floats past Norrig's nose as she twirls past the table, fingers trailing behind.  Her steps carry her further, hips swaying side to side, causing the rings at her belt to jingle against one another.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

As Elizabethany reaches a turning point, leaned backwards with her arm extending the curve of her form, she directs a smoldering smile back at Norrig, who she recently swept past, offering a wink as she locks eyes with him.  With a swift side-to-side motion of her hips, she sets her belt to another brief jingle. [Elizabethany]
  She appears to be champion at dancing.
 
Elizabethany sweeps her arm back in, pulling herself into a twirl that continues her sashaying steps across the floor.  Graceful movements, accented by the sensual sway of the hips, trace out an almost star-shaped pattern as she crisscrosses the floor, pausing in a dramatic dip at each point, catching Norrig's gaze at each turn, starry eyed.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

Norrig despite his hesitation, despite his desire not to notice or be enticed by the bewitching dance of The Princess, he is enraptured and looks upon her. The soft face of love that he has for Kiya is not what he has now, it is the driven lust that one might expect conjured up by a Daravi sorceress.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Elizabethany concludes the dance positioned directly before her betrothed's place at the table, dipped just slightly down with her foot carefully positioned behind and around her.  Her hand is extended out to him in offering, palm up, but her gaze is locked upon his.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

On rising up to her feet, Elizabethany offers Norrig a meaningful smile, not breaking her gaze from his until she steps around behind him.  As she passes, a finger trails, accidentally perhaps, across his shoulder and she travels along to the opposite side, settling down next to the other side of her father - a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes.  [Elizabethany]
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

Norrig now enchanted leans over himself and kisses the ring of the Sultan - he has accepted his command and will marry the Princess.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.
  
Paithoon de Permin slips into the wings of the stage.

* The furniture of the Royal Court is shifted about and moved and drapery creates a similiar, but more intimate space on the stage. Upon the wall is set a painting of the proud Solor in his tiger-fur mantle. *

"The Princess calls for Kiya in her private quarters. Unlike the Royal Vizier, she is above the idea of parley with a slave in front of open Court. The Princess tells Kiya the news - that Solor will marry her and become the Heir-Apparent. Kiya wails and laments.

The Princess offers Kiya various jewels to each bigger and more elaborate than the last. In the end, the Princess offers out something beyond price or measure - a writ of freedom. Kiya refuses even this.

The Princess grows indignant, she tells Kiya that Solor will never be hers."

Elizabethany repositions herself just off the side of the stage, waiting there.

Theodora makes her way into the Quarters of the Princess on the pitter pat of heel and toe. She keeps her eyes lowered and her head bowed. She looks about with a look of abject awe but then settles onto something that confuses her - on the wall is a grand painting of whom the audience will recognize as Solor sitting proudly in his tiger-fur cloak with his sword upon his lap.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

Theodora puts her hands to her heart and raises up from flat to demi to en pointe on the tips of her toes in a pair of woolen skin-tone feminine split-heel ballet shoes and delicately step by step she makes her way over to the painting. She lightly puts her hands upon the frame and leans her head over towards it with an over exaggerated sigh.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Elizabethany emerges, taking a few steps towards Theodora on pointed toes, her brows high on her forehead with offense. She extends out a hand and snaps it towards the slave girl, pulling in a gesture that demands immediate attention.
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

Theodora stands, continuing to stare at the painting of Solor, as a peaked sort of flush works to the woman's cheeks as she all but seems to sort of nuzzles against the artwork lost rather serenely in her own little world. For her part the Princess and her demand is ignored - if it is even heard at all given the starry-eyed gaze the woman has.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

Elizabethany leaps forwards, grabbing Theodora's hand by the wrist, pushing her first out to such an extent that their arms are fully extended and then pulling her in through an intense twirl that leaves the slave girl cast off to the side and herself standing beside the portrait, her toe pointed out and her chin lifted, gazing down her nose in the other woman's direction.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

Elizabethany puffs her chest in a gloating stance, a smug smile playing at her lip, as she turns slowly about once, hand floating across in front of the portrait, indicating him clearly. She moves smoothly into a graceful pose, one hand at her chest and the other before her and the portrait on display, caught in her gaze, drawing pointed attention the place where a ring would be.
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

Theodora breathes in and out from her spot on the ground where she's been tossed and watches the interaction between the Princess and the painting. It isn't the demure reaction certainly one would expect of a slave - it's angry, and jealous, and defiant. And then she leans over to the ground and begins to lament, her forearms and her palms flat on the stage as her forehead lowers and her shoulders heave like she's sobbing.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

Elizabethany turns to face again towards Theodora, the smug look continuing on her face.  She moves forward on graceful steps towards the slave girl, stopping on her way over to fetch a box from her dresser and then dumps it over the crying Kiya. The twinkle and shine shows precious gems in a rainbow of colors.
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

Theodora for her part doesn't react or move to retrieve what is surely a life's worth of gems and continues to lament and sob.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

Elizabethany goes and plucks something out of her desk, a piece of paper with a bright, shimmering phoenix upon it. There's a quiet in the air and the other servants stop and watch in wonder - a writ of freedom. She flings it down onto the ground near Theodora. 
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

Theodora looks at the paper and considers it for a moment. She holds it to her chest and looks off with a look upon her face as she seems to daydream about embracing freedom.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

* A tune begins to play in the air - the sweet, romantic melody that the audience no doubt now recognizes as the main love theme between Solor and Kiya. *

Theodora looks over at the painting of Solor upon the wall and then does the unthinkable she slowly rips up the writ of freedom and shakes her head - she will not leave these lands without him.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting. 

Elizabethany is indignant.  She steps forward to put her finger under the chin of Theodora and when she has caught the other woman's eyes, she directs out a hand to point imperiously into the distance with more finality than a simple dismissal from the room.
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

Theodora pauses for a long moment and hesitates but then puts her hands to her eyes and bows her head to show the proper respect and humility - and then flees from the room.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

* Apprentices dressed as servants scamper around the stage and happily pick up the gems that the Princess has scattered about, working to stay out of her angry gaze. *

The narrator announces from the catwalk: The Princess realizes that Kiya cannot be bought or sent away so easily and thus must to be gotten rid of ... permanently.

Elizabethany sweeps out to center stage in a graceful fury, taking up a pose that stretches from the point of her toe to the arc of her arm and the lift of her nose.  Indignation practically thrums from her every muscle as she holds the stance for a few long moments.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

An accusing gesture of Elizabethany's hand is flung towards the direction the slave girl left, casting her off into a series of intricate steps that maintain the harsh sharpness of anger despite their perfect form, her limbs, her neck, exaggerated, elongated, held just a fraction past comfortable at each beat as the rhythm builds to a crescendo. [Elizabethany]
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

Elizabethany stops suddenly in a pose where one arm floats up above her, wrist flipped sharply back.  Her toe points behind her, the line of her leg reflected in the other arm.  The nature of the dance shifts, the first arm floating slowly downwards as an evil smile grows on her lips with the dawning of an idea, malevolence echoed in her eyes as they meet the gaze of her audience.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

With sinuous movements, Elizabethany slides one leg out behind her, raising it up as her body leans forwards, penche, an arm reaching out towards the floor.  As she sweeps her fingers across the ground, she catches them up in something that was sitting there:  a long, thin stick which she keeps pointed towards ground as she rises up again. [Elizabethany]
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

Elizabethany curls the first arm around with a serpentine grace, gesturing, beckoning upwards as her raised leg sweeps around to take place behind and at an angle to her other leg.  As she beckons upwards with one hand, the other directs the stick slowly upwards, drawing along with it a broad ribbon, that, thanks to subtle motions in her wrist, ripples up with the side to side sway of a waking snake.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

Elizabethany draws her ribbon snake up along the length of her body, rising up onto her toes with the motion, hesitations following the cadence of an intake of intimate breath.  She turns in place as it travels across her neck, head tilted back, causing the length to twist lightly about her, coils of serpent, as her hand reaches full height above her head. With a sinister side to side sway, motions somehow both hypnotic and unnerving, she fixes the audience in her gaze, intensity and anger gleaming in her eyes.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

As if in a single motion, Elizabethany draws the ribbon up from around herself and leaps into a complicated turn, her foot touching the ground for only a moment with the full rotation as the other swings wide around her.  Landing smoothly with her weight forward and her chest puffed, she sweeps back again in a moment like the threatening strike of a snake. [Elizabethany]
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

Elizabethany darts her tongue out against her top teeth in a threatening hiss out at the audience, eyes flashing with anger and self-satisfaction.  Turning on her toes, she proceeds gracefully off stage, ribbon snake trailing alongside her.
  She appears to be champion at dancing.

Norrig emerges from the curtains and raises his palms, saying: "Alright, we will be having an intermission now. We will resume in a small while. Thank you all!" [Join]

Norrig clears his throat and raises his palms, saying in a serene yet loud voice: "The show will be resuming shortly. Please, kindly return to your seats."

Paithoon de Permin makes his way back out from the back with that slinking manner of his, and goes over to repose in his previous spot near the Sultan.

* Apprentices are poked out of corners from taking their break and again the previous grand set returns of the Sultan's Court - the Royals taking their usual places. And now, Solor sits with them, his plain solider's gear replaced with finery. *

Norrig moves quickly to take his spot at the Sultan's table.

The narrator announces from above: "The Royal Court sits at the banquet table for the grand announcement of the engagement of Solor and the Princess. Courtiers and artisans arrive and present gifts to the Sultan and the engaged couple. Fine spices, fancy jewels, bolts of expensive silk are set before him. Solor sits next to Princess, enchanted and watching her with a dream-like quality. The Princess sits with a basket of flowers on her lap. The Vizier has Kiya and the other slaves brought in to entertain the Court. Kiya dances." 

A young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes reposes on his sofa and idly watches the gifts that are brought before him. He seems bored. He snaps his fingers and two slaves are brought out and he tosses a knife skittering onto the floor between them. He waves a hand between the two of them and tosses between them a paper the audience had previously seen - a slip of paper with a bright, shimmering phoenix.
  a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes appears to be a master at acting.

Paithoon de Permin for his part seems amused for a moment at the chance for a bit of gladitorial blood sport and watches and begins to spin his fingers into the air. But then inspiration seems to hit and he leans over and whispers a suggestion to the Sultan - who seems receptive. He dismisses the two men with a snap of his fingers. The pair continue to struggle between them for the paper and the knife as they move out of the sight of the sorcerer.

* The lingering background music changes to a lavish beat and the company of slave dancers is brought out. The girls follow a dance in the style that the Princess previously displayed - they lift their hands above their heads and tremor their hands over their bodies. They move and sway with pops to their hips as they jingle and shimmy. *

* The five girls spin and move in a circle. They link hands and clap loudly and spin away and in from one another en pointe in a twirling number of pirouettes. Those of keen notice might realize that at some point their group of five is now a group of six. The girls spin into the middle of a circle and drop to their knees their hands flat on the ground and heads bowed - Kiya stands up from amongst them. *

Theodora puts her hands up above her head and inclines herself backwards. She sweeps her arms about and raises up en pointe. She swings and rocks back and forth between her two feet. She brushes her legs back on one another and swings in a circle and puts her hands up to her eyes. She struggles not to look at the table where Solor sits with the Princess.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

The Vizier opens his eyes and watches Kiya dance like a cat watching a bird. He tracks her movements with a lustful stare and makes some motions with his hands as he does so she moves to move close and then further away in her dancing.

Norrig watches the dance impassively at first like he does not even notice that Kiya is there. But the more she dances and the longer he watches her, something seems to change upon his face and the dull dream-like gaze begins to clear and he blinks and then stands.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Theodora does a grand fouette - she raises her one leg to point at the knee of the other and then whips about in a quick circle - extending and stretching out her leg as she spins like a dervish. She rolls her shoulders and puts her arms out straight and looks then across the wide gulf between her and Solor like they had first at the Market. She extends her arms out towards him but as she does so, she grips at her heart and spins to end her dance. She sinks down to the ground and drops into the position of the other slave girls - hands flat on the ground and her head bowed.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

* The music holds as one scene seamlessly leads into the next. *

The narrator reads the sad proclimation from above: Narrator: Solor remembers his devotion to Kiya and the Princess spell on him is shattered. The Princess falsely praises Kiya and presents to her a basket of flowers and says they are from Solor. Kiya is over-joyed until ... the viper jumps out from flowers!

Kiya is bitten and collapses. The Vizier shows Kiya how he can cure her with magic, if she will promise to be his. He makes threat against Solor if she will not relent. She prays a moment and enjoys a quiet moment with Solor and then tragically dies.

Norrig stands from his seat next to the Princess and does a spin away from the sorceress. He does a quick series of turns heel and toe to cross the space and try and reach Kiya but he is detained by two of the bodyguards of the Sultan. He struggles against them and tries to command them as their brother-in-arms to let him go, they hang their heads in shame and shake their heads, they will not help him.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora stays in her spot on the ground on her knees, her head bowed and her hands upon the floor. When she looks up a basket of flowers is set before her. She looks up and in her confusion sees that Solor no longer stands with the Princess. She rises from her knees and bends to pick up the basket of flowers and rises to her feet in semi and then up to en pointe. She embraces the flowers and smells them - Poppies from the Royal Garden as she had once given Solor. She spins about with the basket in a series of pirouettes, her heart a blaze.

But then suddenly, she stops ... and grips her heart and thumps her fist against her chest twice and begins to make a sad harken back to a mirroring of her opening dance. Kiya shifts on her feet to move arriere - backwards away from the audience. She moves her head back and forth and she leans to one side and the other on the very tips of her toes like she wobbles but then catches herself - but this time, it does not seem to be on purpose.

She puts a hand limply to her wrist, does one last spin and then does a dancers dead mans fall to the ground.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Elizabethany stands and triumphantly points a hand towards Theodora, the dying slave girl.  She places her fingertips upon her breast, with a dramatic breath, but out to the audience she offers a sly, gloating smile, utterly pleased with herself.
  Elizabethany appears to be champion at acting.

* The lights above begin to flicker as lanterns and candles are snuffed and re-lit quickly by scampering Apprentices scurrying across the catwalk. A harmony of the love theme between Solor and Kiya begins to play in a sad, minor key. *

Paithoon de Permin hops across the banquet table in a bound of grace and lands flawlessly without a sound. He moves to slide next to the fallen Kiya and begins to make gestures with his hands and presents to her a little shimmering bottle from the insides of his sorcerer's coat of many colors. A cure!

* The lanterns above are turned and a shimmering green haze descends about the stage - it glitters off the golden tattoos of the Vizier to create an odd haze - like the shimmering and shining scales of the viper. *

Paithoon de Permin leans over and begins to whisper something to Kiya and he brushes his hand against her cheek and then beckons to her with a hand. Her life for her love.

* The music in the background slows and switches to heavily focus drums. The tune is a thrumming thump like a heartbeat that grows slower and slower and more faint. The lights above switch from the green above into a shimmering and inviting pure blue *

Theodora looks over to Solor and extends her arm towards him. She struggles a moment and looks at the Vizier and a moment passes where she seems to consider but in the end she rejects his offer of magical salvation and defiantly murmurs under her breath the Declarations.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

This interplay between slave and snake and Vizier draws a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes's attention, intrigue showing in exaggerated motion upon their face while pensive fingers stroke the upper curl of their moustache. A sadistic grin plays over their lips. [a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes]
  a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes appears to be a master at acting.

The Vizier stands up disgusted and spits upon the ground with venom like a snake would, he recoils from the Davite prayers and then reaches up a hand - looks at Kiya and snaps his fingers. He waves a hand at the guards to release Solor and when the two men pass he leans over and whispers something low. He gives the most obviously fake bow of respect as Solor passes by and moves by him.

* The lights above are turned to the glowing red last seen in the battle with the Tiger. The music slows to a drum roll and then the drums of the heartbeat then suddenly eerie silence. *
 
Norrig takes the fallen Kiya up in his arms and laments over her. He picks up her limp form and spins her in a circle, trying to repeat their pas deux... it is no use. He lowers her back to the ground and kisses her forehead as he cradles her in his lap.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora looks up at Solor and smiles weakly, she brushes her hand against his cheek and then puts a hand to his chest. She whispers to him softly and presses something into his hands - a poppy from her basket of flowers and something shining and hidden. She smiles at one last time and then her hand limply hits the stage.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

* The lights and lanterns are snuffed one by one until the last spotlight is on Solor and Kiya and then that too is snuffed and the stage settles into darkness. *

[LonelyNeptune]

Elizabethany proceeds off stage in the darkness.

A young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes retreats from the stage to wait in the wings

Paithoon de Permin slinks off stage as the lights are off.

Theodora follows afterwards into the dark a moment.

Norrig steps back into the dark, dark curtains.

* Things are moved around the stage to create the sense of an interior space, like the Princess' Private Quarters. Hunting trophies decorate the walls - amongst them a large rhino horn. *

The narrator calls from above: "The heartbroken Solor marries the Princess to fulfill his duty. His wedding night he lingers in his groom's chamber. His men come and try and cheer him and encourage him towards the chambers of the Princess beyond with the ribald encouragement one expects. He dismisses them.

Sitting alone, Solor shows the gifts the dying Kiya presented him with - a poppy from the Sultan's garden and a Davite Chalice necklace. He sits and considers them. He prepares the Poppy and smokes and dreams trying to escape his sorrows."

* A pantomime in shadow upon the wall plays out to show the marriage of the Princess and Solor. Solor goes through the motions stiffly and with the rigidity of a soldier obeying orders. Whatever heat of the blood he had for the Princess is gone with his lament in the loss of Kiya. He steals away from the wedding party and lingers in his chambers. *

Norrig walks heel-and-toe about his chambers - his movements are stiff, his arms clinging to his sides. He looks down at the Tiger fur draped across his shoulder and then seems to conjure up the memory of his grand battle and remembers his grand battement from his famous battle - his one leg kicks high to the front and is held in this extension until his supporting leg swiftly leaves the floor and meets the raised leg in a beat or in multiple beats.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

* A group of his soldiers bust in at just the moment to catch him in his memory of the glory days and they praise him. Several repeat his grand battement themselves and walk about reminding him of his past glories. One brings the battle standard of the Sultan - the shimmering phoenix and show Solor how he will again be needed soon. Several of them seek to urge him towards the bridal chamber and one Lieutenant makes a rather brash showing of 'volunteering' to assist him with the Princess if necessary. *

Norrig through all of it is stoic and mostly silent, but he lets the men chatter amongst themselves. Eventually however he holds up his hands and he bids his soldiers leave. They begin to protest and he pulls rank and orders them to go with a flourished gesture.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

* Reluctantly, the soldiers filter out of Solor's chamber. *

Norrig paces around for a bit longer and then reaches into his pocket and pulls out the brilliant red poppy that Kiya have previously given him. He smells it and holds it close and twirls it back and forth in his fingers. An idea comes to him and he prepares the poppy with a pipe of his. He reclines on his couch and falls asleep and begins to dream.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

* Incense smelling heavily of spice is put on to braziers near the stage. The smoke begins to create a hazy that ripples across the stage. Lyrical, dream-like music heavy on violas begins to play. *
 
* From amidst the haze come ballerinas moving on heel and toe and zig-zaging down a wooden ramp coming down the back of the stage. They each take two steps and go from a plie knee bend to a delicate arabesque, and then two more steps to pose in tendue derriere. Dressed in shadowy grey they are like wisps of smoke - spirits that glide across the stage. *

* Slowly by slowly each of the spirits are brought onto the stage in a single file. The Prima leads them into repeating the same motion over and over with a beautiful delicate monotony. She keeps her face tilted and away from the audience as she leads the others. Each of the dancers in perfect timing bends down and extends one leg out into a deep reverence and then rises up into a beautiful stretch. They blend into a couru moving across the stage, brushing their legs back and forth as they stand en pointe. *

Norrig wakes within this hazy dream world and stretches as if waking from one dream into a different dream. Confused, he spins about in a circle and moves from dancer to dancer trying to gather what has happened. He tries to embrace each of them and they put out their arms and shake their head until he comes to the end of the line and there stands Kiya - and he realizes he is dreaming of the dead and laments.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.
 
* Slowly the other dancers filter back up the ramp the way they arrived until only the lovers are left on the stage. *

The narrator explains from above: Solor dances with the spirit of Kiya who reminds him of her love and devotion even past death. He is moved and converts to the Davite faith of his beloved to join her.

Theodora offers out Solor a beautiful scarf that presents the bond that ties them together, even past death. She rises up on the tips of her toes and lofts her hands and a voluminous scarf of midnight blue silk painted with stars over her head in a fluttering motion. She stretches out her leg before her and then does a series of little hops and repeats the motion, each movement fluttering and moving the scarf.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.
 
Norrig works to follow the lead of Kiya to meet her motions that are flowing and calm. Each movement of hers is met with him falling more and more into sync with him moving with her as the lovers once shared in their first dance in the Sultan's garden. With each movement he gains confidence until by the end he and Kiya are moving in proper unity.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

Theodora does a series of swift pirouettes away from Solor but bound within the silken scarf each of her movements away from him draws the two of them closer.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig embraces Kiya as she comes within grasp and lamenting what he did not manage in life - he kisses her!
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Theodora demures after the kiss and retrieves the silvery Chalice that he has hidden in his pocket. She waves her hands about the dream land and she spins away from Solor again at the flutter of the scarf.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting.

* The lanterns are turned and the shimmering, inviting blue light of the Well-Spring is cast down upon the stage. *

Theodora waves a hand about and beckons to Solor with one hand and then in a swift series of pirouettes, she spins past him, collecting the scarf. She leans and kisses him on the cheek and then disappears with the other shades.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig sinks down onto his knees and prays the Declarations as he had heard Kiya do previously. He prays fervently and tosses the proud tiger fur at his shoulder aside - and his sash of command. He rises and returns to his spot on the couch and then wakes with a start.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Theodora slinks her way off the stage.
* Apprentices scurry to remove everything from the stage at a flutter. A ladder hidden with paper-mache to look like a cliff-face is dragged onto the stage and a backdrop is lowered from the ceiling to show a stark desert landscape. *

* When the scene lifts, here, the full company of the Theatre has been assembled, every Troubadour not needed for the music or the lanterns has been set to stage and set up on opposite sides of the stage dressed as either the forces of Lithmore or those of the Sultan. The swords and spear upon this stage are wooden with silver paint, but even here with a few dozen they shimmer like stars on the night sky. *

[Action: a young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes stands on a platform above the stage, appearing as though on a cliff above the fray ]

* An uneasy silence descends upon the stage - the calm before a great storm. From amongst the throng step some notables - upon a cliff overlooking the battle the Sultan and the Vizier take up their place to command the troops. The banner of a shimmering phoenix is unfurled upon the sinister side of the stage where they are stationed. *

Paithoon de Permin moves to take his place at the Sultan's right hand.

The narrator calls out from above: Dawn breaks over the field of battle between the dread Daravi forces of the Sultan and those of the kingdom of Lithmore under the banner of Her Majesty, Charmaine ab Harmon. Each of the Five Duchies stands under the banner of their Duke or Duchess and the battle for the fortress of Queens Landing begins.

Solor pledges himself to serving and takes to the field. The Admiral leads the Royal Fleet and the Earl Marshall leads the Knights in a brave charge. The two forces clash!"

Paithoon de Permin steps up and raises his hands in his a shimmering, rainbow batik silken choga with rhusht pukkan and calls out a single haunting phrase echoing with a bartione boom over the gathered troops below - the twisted and dark tongue of the Enemy:

* A decidedly eerie silence settles over both the stage and the audience at that, and the ill-ease with which some of the actors have with that level of realism is obvious. There's a long pause until the Daravi soldiers below - dressed in war paint and spears clatter and bang. Somewhere above the lights flicker and the sheet of iron clangs the rolling sound of thunder. *

Norrig steps out from the side of the Lithmorran forces. Across the field he seems to recognize the soldiers who attended his wedding, those that were his brothers-in-arms, he beckons to them across the field. They turn their back upon him, he is shunned. For a moment, he looks heartbroken and forlorn but out from the soldiers behinds him steps the Earl Marshall.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Vlora von Vashaak presumably enters from behind some curtain off stage, she seems to have been pushed... and ends in a little skid. A little reluctant. Though, clad in fine, resplendent armour inscribed with words and badges of honour. The soldiers part as one, permitting the Earl Marshal to stride towards Norrig. Along her shoulder is rested a titanic great-sword of damascus set with a chalice pommel, a dangerous, menacing weapon. She draws in a deep breath, and locks her eyes upon the man before her. "Kneel." She announces, her booming, Vandagan voice piercing the hall like the steel of her sword. "Look upon this man," A pause, and she forrows her brow to summon the words. "Who heard the call of the true Faith, and fights now to free his land and people from what shadows them. We come here as liberators, not conquerers. Remember this!" Those last words a booming shout as she brings her Knightly bearing to fruition.

Words pass between her and Solor in quiet, and she passes him a tabard of the Knights Lithmorran. "An Oath given, and an oath remembered." And then, to emphasize the point she gives Solar a rather solid back-hand. SNAP. Probably harder then she ought to. She lets it sink in moment, pats his shoulder and then turns to disappear into the troops to her position of command.

Norrig sort of rails from the hit a moment and stands and falls in with his new comrades-in-arms, lost within the sea of grey-and-blue he stands within.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

* What happens next can only be described as choreographed pandamonium wherein the two opposing sides of danseurs all cross the stage in leaps, bounds, rolls, and movements and engage in a grand pantomime of armed combat. Combatants on both sides have rather elaborate deaths with crimson red silken sashes being pulled out of costumes to morbid effect. *

* A horn is blown and off the stage arrives the Royal Fleet! At the helm of a wooden boat pulled onto the stage is the Admiral. *

So it seems another member of the audience finds themselves pushed onto the stage and the Lord Justiciar makes his appearance! Perhaps as expected of a naval depiction sitting on the Admiral's head is a tricorn hat. He plucks it from his head and waves it, encouraging a cadre of more Troubadours dressed in standard Tubori sailor style to make their way onto the stage and joy in the pure chaos that is the present scene. He absorbs the scene for a moment pulls a painted wooden cutlass and then jumps into the fray, "For the Queens Justice!" he shouts.

A young woman with dark hair and bright aqua eyes begins to weave a careful dance high up upon the stand above the stage. The elaborate movements start slow, carefully atop the platform so high, but it is to a whirling dervish of movement that sends their coat of many colors fluttering like rainbow winds about their person. Rapidly spinning on heel and toe , the whirling storm takes to a prowling dance; their hands force themselves to one side, fingers curled like hooked claws! They shift the other direction, and at last follow the Sultan's great leap and aerial split into the air! 'He' lands in a forward tumble, playing up a 'falter' and resting there. 

 Hooked hands now grip at the chest of his glimmering tunic, clutching where the Daravi heart probably is in utter anguish. Gasping, air-directed moans emit from his lips before, at last, he collapses to the ground and stills.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

*Up above the clattering of the iron sheet and the flickering of the lanterns begins a pattern that builds all appearance of a raging storm. And then curiousness of curiousness from the catwalk above it seems to snow. At least until any member of the audience smelled or Lord forbid tastes the snow and the regular theatre subterfuge of soap flakes is revealed.  *

*There's a loud crash of cymbals and the soldiers begin to clear the stage. Some of the more ham Apprentices 'method act' and refuse to walk because 'they are dead' and make their friends all but drag them off. The stage hands appear and on ropes and pulleys the grand set piece of the painting of the fortress of Queens Landing begins to be tugged away, moving inch by inch off stage as the dread spell of the dying Sultan takes effect. *

* As the fortress disappears from sight, the lanterns are blown out and darkness descends upon the stage. *

Paithoon de Permin reaches down to pluck the crown from the dead Sultan's form and snorts.

The narrator announces from above: "Solor, now a convert of the Davite faith has forsaken his command in the Sultanate's army and left before union with the Princess. He has sworn allegiance to the arrived forces of Her Majesty - Queen Charmaine ab Harmon and seeks out the Vizier across the battlefield.

The two grapple in fatal combat - and end up with very different fates."

* From across the chaos that is now the battlefield Solor stalks to find the Vizier - the music that plays is chaotic and Apprentices re-emerge dressed in the clothes of the Lithmorran and Daravi forces dodge by in the background in smaller mock battles. But as the two foes spot each other from across the field the lights are dimmed and the spotlight is focused only on them. *

Paithoon de Permin squints as Solor approaches and he settles aside his robe and shows off the painted a swirling pattern of curious golden hued symbols and signs that run over his chest and back. Gold leaf they shimmer and shine in the flickering lights of the Theatre and display words and phrases in some unknown tongue. For his part, he doesn't reach for a weapon save a knife from his side. Something small and black - and made from obsidian glass. He lays it in the flat of his palm and gestures with it as it becomes an extension of his arm and seemingly his will. He prowls on the other side of the stage, indeed, like a tiger might.

Paithoon de Permin stretches out his arms and raises up his hand and begins to pace in a circle, sweeping his foot about in a circle, scratching at the ground before Solor like a bull might. He snaps his fingers dramatically.

* As the finger snap hits the air, Apprentices scamper about and snuff the lights on the stage a moment. There's a big dramatic pause and then the scamper around and set the lights back on. From somewhere up in the rafters is the shaking of an iron sheet that waves and produces the sound like thunder. *

Norrig holds a stiff grey-woolen scimitar sword trailing rainbow ribbons in his hand.

Paithoon de Permin waves a hand across the stage to Solor, "You were a proud Captain of the People of the Sun, Solor. You have by this point forsaken your faith, your home, and your Sultan. And now you have come to fight a Sorcerer with a sword over the life of a slave." His voice hisses and drips with sarcasm and disgust, "Your thoughts of the Wetlander's dead King will not save you now."

Norrig circles the opposite way, trying to look as imposing as he can. He calls back, "Quiet, Viper. Do not sully the name of the Prophet King and sully it by uttering it with your viperine tongue. The time for a reckoning has come -- win or lose, live or die, it matters no longer!"
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Paithoon de Permin raises up to his full height then and sweeps a palm flat across the surface of the stage. A string is pulled up on the stage and a little painted length of silk - painted with flames pops up and is pulled back and forth by some Novices from the sides of the stage and shimmies back and forth like a little dancing fire.

Paithoon de Permin leans over to spit on to the ground with all the venon a viper would no doubt produce and sneers, "You wish to become a Wetlander, you wish to embrace their weak ways? Then come across the line, Traitor, and come die like they do."

Norrig narrows his eyes and replies curtly, with the candor of youth but also, the hopelessness of a shattered heart: "I have seen the light, the purity and the righteousness. I will show you its power. Prepare yourself!"
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Paithoon de Permin hisses out between his front teeth at that and the little piece of silk is snapped and flung at Norrig like a piece of hot fire. "Purity? Purity? Purity is for the weak, maidens, and fools. Like your slave girl." He leans back at that and the lights dim again and he moves forward with his sorcerer's blade to move to get past the buckler of Solor and sweep at his feet.

Norrig makes for a graceful dodge by jumping back: "Be quiet, worm. And do not mention her name" he raises his sword behind his head, "or I will make this slow!" he snaps in passable fury as he strikes elegantly.
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

Paithoon de Permin paces his way across the stage and murmurs something at Solor with a sweep of his hand something low and trembling in the tongue of the Daravi - "Var" For his part he seems to be making his own grand showing of his talents - haughty and proud and doesn't take the threat of the other man with any real weight. He rises himself up and flips around his back with his knees bent and lands on a knee. He sweeps one of his feet behind him and rises - smoothly in one sold motion. He begins to pace around the other man prowling like a Tiger. "I have all the time on Urth."

* As the man speaks, the lights up above shimmy and shake as the lanterns are spun about like things are shifting. The music begins to fade and slow and then it settles into something pulsing. Like the time in between breathes it holds a long silence and then all the instruments strike at once - overlapping drums. Each hit like the thump of a heavy heart. *

Norrig narrows his eyes at the devilish tongue being uttered, following the Vizier as he rolls and tumbles about like a viperine cultist. He lunges forward, his sword singing a symphony of sorrow and blood as he promises his prowling opponent: "You will soon be gasping for one more last breath!"
  He appears to be a master at dancing.

Paithoon de Permin slides his bare foot across the floor of the stage and turns in a series of quick turns to dodge around Solor smoothly in a whip and then ends up behind the man. He leans forward and whispers with his hiss-like voice, "Then the Gods can prepare the Abyss for two," and there's a glimmer of the obsidian blade in the man's palm and it disappears with one solid motion, no doubt jerked up and disappearing somewhere into the flesh of his opponent.

Norrig straightens up and opens his eyes wide, stumbling. He falls to a knee, heavy weighted.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Paithoon de Permin struts about for a moment, rather proud of himself and showing it. He starts to roll his wrists and prepare for something else nefarious no doubt as the lights shimmy and shake up above the stage but the call of Solor has brought the attention of others. And from somewhere off stage is slung an wooden arrow and the bellowing cry is given - many voices of the actors hidden in the wings,

"For Dav! And for the Chalice!"

There's a puff of grey dust as the arrow hits into the centre of the chest of the man, smearing his ceremonial tattoos and he stumbles.

Norrig favors one side with his hand as his hated enemy is felled as well. He looks up at the ceilings as the 'battle' unwinds furiously around the pair of fallen combatants. He whispers, but it is loud and sure as he says in near despair: "Kiya, my love... take me with you to the Springs!"
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Paithoon de Permin settles over onto his knees and collapses as he seems to struggle to breathe - clawing at his throat. All of his gloating falls to the wayside and then he seems to be scared. The lights are snuffed out on his side of the stage from above while on Solor they stay on and the Vizier writhes on the stage in darkness. A red spotlight is shown upon him as lanterns are turned about and there's a sinister sounding music that begins to play from the hidden orchestra. He moves and tumbles into the trapdoor of the stage with grace - down into the maw of the Abyss.

Norrig seems barely aware of the dark happenings nearby as the tainted Vizier meets his just fate of howling horrors and slithering darkness. For his part the hero of this story, Solor the soldier, Solor the Converted, Solor the dying, is undone. He lets his head hung, hia chin touches his chest, his eyes close. At his sides lie his arms, still holding their implements of war, now silent and useless. The battle, his battle, has come to an end.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

* The thrumming music of the battle and the tormented end of the Vizier comes to an end. The soft lyrical music of the tune that the audience would note as the love melody between Solor and Kiya begins to play. Blue lanterns are lit and moved back and forth like the wavering call of water. *

Theodora appears at the end of the stage - she patters her way over to Norrig on heel and toe and offers him out her hands. She bends down and takes his tools of war from his hands and shakes her head - he won't need them anymore.
  She appears to be a master at dancing.

Norrig looks up, the weariness of a lifetime of struggle lifted from his shoulders. He looks freshened, unconcerned, and in peace. Rising, he takes the hand and surrenders his useless weapon and shield, ready to do the spirit's bidding.
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.

Theodora takes the hand of Solor and leans over and gives him a chaste kiss on the cheek. She smiles at him with a softened expression of clear devotion and then the doors are opened and blue fabric moves back and forth - the inviting call of the Spring. She moves to lead him towards it.
  Theodora appears to be competent at acting. 

Norrig shudders the tiniest bit at the blessing of that redeeming kiss. Beaming at Kiya in pure, almost infantile joy, he follows, obedient, to meet his fate at the end of his journey.

The pair walk off hand-in-hand into the beyond.

FIN
  Norrig appears to be capable at acting.
 
* The music stirs to a final conclusion and the performance over, the opposing soldiers on the fringes of the stages turn back to being bosom buddies and there's jokes whispered around the Troubadours stationed about about who is paying for drinks. *

[Kinaed]

<3