Chapter 12

  The One-Legged Bard

  Fortunately, my next class was arguably the class that I still gained the most enjoyment out of. First, it still had the satisfying effect of granting my Skills level up. But more importantly, it let me see a complete badass of a teacher.

  How do I know my music teacher is a badass? Simple, she never claims to be or have been a badass. She never spoke about her past, only her present.

  Despite having a body that all but begged questions from many inquisitive students. Questions that ranged from, how did you lose your leg? How did you lose your right eye? How did you get all of those scars on your body?

  With each question, she would answer the same exact way, “I didn’t practice my music enough and it cost me. Which is why you should learn from my mistakes, and practice.”

  Hearing her speak, I knew she spoke the truth, there was something about the way she spoke that let you know she meant every word she said. It didn’t hurt that Remi Lawler confirmed she was telling the truth by his Detect Lies Skill. A skill that let the Lawlers hear lies.

  Needless to say the Lawlers were often employed as special witnesses during court cases. Particularly on high profile court cases it was not unheard of to have Lawlers present, even those without their full bloodlines active, as the initial Detect Lies Skill was able to ensure employment. Of course, the one thing no one ever told you was that in order to improve the Detect Lies Skill, you had to lie. Thus, the Lawlers practiced from an early age, not just trying to detect lies, but by lying as well. Meaning that Lawlers often sported high lying or deception-based skills, generally Acting, but sometimes more sinister Skills like Corruptive Deception, and worse Skills.

  Seeing the Lawlers and their inevitable decline into improved lying Skills as a means to increase their Detect Lies Skill, I could only imagine how much the Lawler Family has also drifted from where their ancestors began. Like the DiVoratore, I could see that family as having been far more than a clan of Necromancers, just as I could imagine the Lawlers being more than a family of professional liars and con artists. Still, there was one time when the Lawlers allegedly never lied, and that was when they spoke of their Skill. Almost like their reciting the truth gleamed from their Detect Lies Skill compelled them to be truthful. Which only further proved my idea of just how much the Lawlers had fallen away from their noble ancestors.

  Still, the fact that Remi Lawler said it, only went on to confirm two things. First, that Madame Voyou, my music teacher, truly meant what she said about why she lost her leg and eye, having a dangerous but also stylish triangular eye patch covering her right eye. Just as she had a metallic prosthetic for her right leg, for the exact same reason. The second thing the words confirmed, for me at least was that Madame Voyou had some type of Rare or Epic Bard Class. A class that gave her many Skill slots to learn different aspects of music and dance, but that her body’s current state made it so she lost access to many of those Skills. Or her ability to use those Skills was greatly diminished.

  That said, there was something both dangerous and provocative about Madame Voyou. She had curves in all the right places and her one eye let her scan the entire classroom in a second, making you feel both extremely important and the full center of her attention, despite her eye resting on you for less than a second. Again, these had to be the effects of Skills being used, some type of Scanning Skill, combined with what had to be a social Skill built on gaining attention. At least that is what I figured had to be happening, as I didn’t feel this focused with any of my other teachers.

  “Good morning class,” Madame Voyou began, she already had a bright smile on her bright red lips as she had a tambourine ready to draw even more attention. That was the other thing I noticed about her Skills, they seemed to be amplified with the aid of a musical instrument, which again only posed the thought that she possessed some type of Bard Class, and not a traditional Teacher, or Music-Player type of class. This world did have professional instrument players, and Classes for such people. These were people that were able to advance from Common Player classes to Uncommon focused classes. Not much of a change, but enough to earn a full living playing for different sporting events, or for various banquets. Sadly, as a Bloodline awakened person, I would not be able to accept such a Class. As they were generally for the commoners, or those unable to show any source of true potential.

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  “Good morning, Madame Voyou,” the class rang out. I was already moving over to my instrument, a violin. Part of Madame Voyou’s conditions for learning a true instrument were that she did not want us learning any bad habits on our own. So, if we wanted to practice with our instruments, we had to do so with her watching. She was also the one that pointed out that if we just wanted to improve our Music Theory Skill, then all we had to do was practice breathing in a rhythm, while mentally performing a song, or while singing. But she was a stickler for her instruments, and she somehow knew how to play every instrument perfectly. Just a single glance let her know if we were out of posture, or if we had done something incorrectly.

  “I see that some of you have been practicing improving your Music Theory Skill on your own, most impressive,” Madame Voyou exclaimed happily, her glowing eye taking a moment to stop on each of us that apparently improved our Skill. I couldn’t help but feel that she paused on me for a bit longer, or maybe this was an effect of the Skill she used, but regardless of why, her gaze felt amazing and warming. This warmth reminded me of her favorite saying, the one she began every Music Class with.

  “Now can you all tell me why Music is important?”

  “If done right, Music is the closest thing to legal Mind Control.” The class, and I, recited mechanically.

  “Exactly, with music you have the ability to change someone’s mood. Taking them from extreme anger, to joy, to sadness, and back. For those of you who are truly taking this seriously as a career path, talk to me, I can help show you how Music is more than just a recreational activity.” Madame Voyou stated, again her beautiful blue eye scanning the room, but seeming to pause on me the longest.

  “Now that we are getting closer to the end of the year, I want you to see the purpose of the notes before you. We are all on the same song, but our parts are different, our speeds and cadences crash into and through one another. If done without guidance we sound chaotic, but when we come together and work our parts as a group, we can create something amazing. Something where even those without any magical talent or capabilities can still work magic.” This time when Madame Voyou scanned the crowd, her eyes seemed to focus on a few students. Students who clearly neither expressed or seemed to possess magical or bloodline related talents. Seeing them getting called out in such a way made me feel a bit sad, knowing that their paths were limited, and yet they were probably the best musicians here.

  “On three,” Madame Voyou declared, and then she picked up her prosthetic right leg and stomped it down once, twice, and then on the third time we began creating orchestrated chaos.

  It was clear from just the first few notes, that we had all been given different sheet music, that we were on similar but completely different songs. Many students stopped immediately, the noise and cacophony of different sounds being too much for them. I kept playing, but only because I was able to focus through the noise and continue my notes. The Madame did not call end, and a quick glance at her showed that she was enjoying this odd spectacle of chaos.

  “Good don’t stop, keep going, find your place and join back,” Madame Voyou called out, her voice the only crisp sound on a sea of noisy and violent waves of sound.

  In the end, only a handful of students kept playing, there were the two or three non-magical students that Madame Voyou glanced at that still played, along with me. Though I was having a harder time keeping up, as it was clear that their pace and cadence was faster than my own. That’s when I realized the trick of this whole event. What the Madame was trying to do. Eventually I just closed my book entirely, realizing that the notes didn’t matter, the only thing that mattered was keeping cadence and being in the same musical range.

  That was when, I just closed my eyes and let the music take me. C-sharp, A-minor, faster cadence, draw out and express the next note. Soon, I found myself lost in my own trance, one where I heard the musical notes that persisted between all the chaotic cords and different notes.

  I went deep inside me, to a place where I was on a shore, watching violent waves crashing into the surf before me. Then with nothing more than my music, I fought back the waves. I calmed the sea, and made the ocean obediently rock back and forth. Every so often, the wave would roll back, trying to get away, so it could charge back with fury, but I persisted. I would focus my attention on those waves, drawing their attention and then draw them into my own cadence and timing.

  It didn’t matter what song I played, as it was ephemeral, like a perfectly spoken speech used to sway a crowd. While the words could be repeated, their impact would never be the same. That was how this song was, I felt years of Music Theory coming back to me, known cord combinations that are very soothing to the ear, those were used to set up harder to reach, but still just as entertaining chord progressions that made music something more intangible, something truly amazing.

  That is how I played, me standing on my shore, watching all the waves slowly lose their violence, until finally only I stood. The waves silent, as even the last of their energy seemed to have dissipated. That is where I found my energy and focus all striving towards, until finally the last of the inspiration dropped and I opened my eyes, wanting to see my reflection in the clam ocean.

  When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that I was not in my isolated island at all. But rather, I was the center of two dozen sets of eyes all staring at me in shocked amazement. Feeling their gazes upon me, I paused as I didn’t know if they were mad that I somehow kept playing.

  I was almost going to ask what I did, but that’s when I saw a system message letting me know I had done something completely off.

  I paused, looking at the message, and then realized what it was saying. I had somehow managed to unlock a Skill upgrade event? But how?