The Lost Sacred Instruments

Sayane could feel a shift in the very air around them as she and Attis rushed to the loading docks to await the arrival of the instrument retrieval teams. Hours earlier, the messengers for the host races had arrived with intel on the locations of the Great Harmony Shards. A host of Revolution members and Councilors had received them then escorted them into another dome for debriefing. Sayane had yet to meet them, but at the moment her priority was her friends.

Every step forward lifted the dread she had felt in their absence, and now that she knew they were all safe and accounted for, she could finally breathe in relief. Bursts of landing thrusters could be heard ahead on the other side of the hangar doors, and Sayane nearly cheered out loud as her heart swelled.

As the doors slid open, Sayane burst through and saw the sleek dropships and attack craft lowering down in a glow of orange. Azag and Echo were there at the siding of their craft, waving excitedly.

“Woohoo!!!” Sayane cheered out as she jumped with joy.

Attis let out a howling cheer as he jumped onto Sayane’s shoulder to welcome the guests.

Sayane could see their clothes were dirtied, and nearly every member of the team was bandaged. Some manner of skirmish had occurred, but they were all safe and alive. As soon as the vessels had settled, Echo leapt down in joyous triumph as Azag limped to the lowering dock door.

“Poor Esca lost a hand right there at the end!” Azag shouted as he descended.

“Awww, your baby. Is she okay?” Sayane asked.

“I’ll be able to fix her,” Azag replied as he reached the ground and rushed forward with as much speed as his leg allowed.

Before she realized what was happening, he was embracing her and lifting her into the air with one arm while her arms wrapped around his wide ribs. Attis jumped into Azag’s other hand and the trio held one another in a loving embrace. Azag looked up to Echo and held out his hand. The offer seemed to surprise Echo, who hesitated.

Azag nodded, and Echo bowed, then joined the embrace.

“Echo’s direction was amazing. We made it to the vault without any issues. We were halfway through loading the ships before we encountered any Silencers!” Azag explained.

Behind them, Erosc limped forward. His eye was bandaged, and Sayane could see a large gash across his already weathered face.

“Erosc! Your eye?!” Sayane asked as Azag lowered her.

“I don’t need two eyes to swing a blade. I will be fine,” Erosc smiled.

Machina wenches churned, and the prizes began to rise from the containment cells below deck. Wondrous elation sang within Sayane’s spirit as she saw the hints of dozens of grand new instruments. Floral curves of molded metals flowed into strange digital dials. Spiralling rings stacked on top of one another as open chambers like speakers faced forward. Pointed beams stood statuesque as their ends cut open to reveal wind chambers.

In total, there were well over forty pieces of symphonic sound. It was more thrilling than Sayane could have imagined.

“What wonder,” Sayane whispered.

“Well, go see them!” Echo said as he motioned forward.

Sayane closed her eyes as she let out a squeal of excitement before rushing forward. Without even planning, she began to hum to the instruments. As soon as the sound left her throat, the host of sacred instruments responded in their own wonder.

Bursts of pink and purple light arcs bent out in calming bends before receding, then rushing out. It was like the instruments were breathing. Feeling the arcs felt like feeling a warm bedsheet after a wash. Sayane kept humming, and the arcs grew in power. Their glows curved then snaked outward to every being in the hangar, sending an emboldening wave of fortitude and hope into their souls. Several of the revolutionaries dropped their tools and weapons in shock as they stood in awe.

Sayane reached the instruments and extended her hand to the nearest device. It was the size of a bedroom, and as tall as a small tree. Metallic fluting rose from its base harnesses with subtle digital chiming sounds as it responded to her touch.

“I’m so happy to meet you,” Sayane said to the instruments as she rested her head on the cylindrical sacred sound device.

Before the night had even ended, every instrument had been unloaded and moved to a new staging area, which was designated as Sayane’s studio and rehearsal space. After a slight bit of convincing to the Council, Sayane had moved her bed into the space with her new friends. She knew she needed to sleep, but she also could not contain her excitement.

Though she was just one person and she knew she would not be able to play more than a few instruments at once, her mind was already racing with creativity as she imagined the new capacity for songwriting she would soon be unveiling.

As the rest of the base fell to sleep after another day of surviving, hints of strange, long-lost sounds could be heard in the faint distance of an isolated safety dome. Within that dome, Sayane went the entire night without sleeping.

When Azag arrived the next morning with a breakfast dish of toasted leaves and wild fruits, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the expected sight before him. Sayane was asleep on the floor, laying beside two devices that were not much smaller than her. All around the room, metallic arms and braces had been unfolded. Several of the devices were quietly whirring in waiting. Others floated and spun in their chambers. One enormous device hung in the air with dozens of glowing orbs holstered at its front. Every orb followed Azag as he slowly lowered his stubborn legs onto the ground.

His brace had been repaired, but due to its new componentry, it was still quite rigid and not yet broken in. A soft grunt left his lips as he sat beside Sayane, and she stirred awake.

“Mmmm?” she muttered as her unruly purple hair drooped over her puffy eyes.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Azag said as he set her foot on the ground.

“What time is it?” Sayane murmured.

“End of the morning. We didn’t see you at breakfast, so we figured you had worked through the night.”

Sayane rubbed the sleep from her eyes and let out a yawn.

“I made good progress with them!” she smiled.

“Every sound is so foreign yet so known to me. But it feels like something’s missing. I guess I fell asleep thinking about that missing piece…”

Blue glowing eyes peered out from Azag’s mask as he looked at the wondrous devices all around them. Merely sitting in their presence was moving something in his spirit. Nearby, several small devices and one hulking container were waiting. Sayane saw him looking towards those who were set aside.

“I couldn’t figure those out. I sang to them and they responded, but they don’t seem to be instruments.”

Azag forced himself up and made his way over to the devices. The largest one immediately caught his eye.

“This is a crate. Not an instrument,” he said as he undid a latch on a small waist pouch.

Within the pouch were dozens of clamps, tools, and hinged blades.

“You brought your tools?” Sayane smiled.

“In case you needed help,” Azag explained as his hands grazed along the edges of the container.

After several seconds of searching, his fingertips found their target.

“Gund latches!” he whispered in excitement.

An unplanned desire moved through Sayane’s legs and up her hips as she watched Azag work. Blushing cheeks caused her face to warm, and she was grateful he was distracted with his efforts. Once the blushing subsided, she returned to watching his fingers as they methodically slid along rounded edges and felt the grooved openings of hidden shafts. Lips parted. But Sayane contained herself.

Though he had admitted he wanted to kiss her when he was under the effects of the truth serum, he had never again made an advance, and Sayane had never found a moment that felt right. Indeed, she wondered if he would even want to anymore, or if her newfound importance to others had secretly caused him to convince himself that it was no longer his place.

But for Sayane, his place was with her. More than with her, in that exact moment, her femininity was craving that he was against her.

Those urges were swiftly pushed aside when the enormous crate popped and began to open.

“Ha!” Azag cheered as he stood with another grunt.

“My contraptionist!!” Sayane cheered as she bolted up to see what the container held.

What greeted them was a padded holding bay for twenty fist-sized crystals which were mounted within elaborate gold stands. Seeing them reminded Sayane of Attis’s communication crystal.

“Are these like what Attis had?” she asked.

“I think so! They look like long range Voice Carriers!” Azag agreed.

“Voice carriers?” Sayane asked.

But the crystals gave her their answer. As she spoke, every one of them shone then replayed her words.

“Wow!!” Sayane clapped.

“Wow!!” the crystals echoed.

Azag lifted one to observe it.

“It was said these could span countries and still hold clarity. All you do is speak into one, and the others will receive and broadcast your sound.”

His voice did not echo from the crystals as he spoke.

“They only respond to songstresses, though.”

Sayane looked down at the crystals and spawned another idea.

“We could send these out across the lands! While we’re on tour! Every show, I’ll set one on stage with me, and that way, thousands of others who aren’t there can listen in!” she proposed as the multitude of crystals replayed her words.

“That’s an amazing idea!” Azag agreed as he handed the crystal to Sayane.

A small, elegant device caught Azag’s gaze, and he lifted it up to inspect it further. Sayane returned the crystal to its container and closed the lid before joining him.

“I was absolutely stumped with that one. It’s small. I was afraid to damage-”

Azag triggered a switch, and the device snapped open to reveal a curved brace with intricate cabling and swooping accents. Rows of small purple crystals lined the main bracing, which flowed downwards into a triangulated point. Azag eyed the device, then glanced at two metal bracers that were nearby. Without a word, he approached Sayane and placed the device on her head. It was a crown. Then he picked up the bracers and rotated them until their decorative grooves aligned and opened like cuffs.

The crown began to shine with ethereal purple light. All across the room, the other instruments rose to life. Azag lifted Sayane’s wrists and clamped the cuffs over her wrists, then rotated them into alignment. Once the bracers were both in place, every single instrument awoke in full glory. Before either of them could fully respond, the entirety of the symphony exhaled in majestic life as hundreds of sounds breathed in harmony.

“Whaaaaaaaaattttttt?” Sayane muttered.

“HAHAHA!!!” Azag cheered out.

“It’s a vision crown!! The ancient artisans used to wear them. It allowed their craft tools to perfectly sync with them, allowing them to achieve whatever vision they held! What wonder!!” Azag laughed with a voice that shook from being overwhelmed.

Even Sayane found it hard to comprehend. As she imagined sounds, they suddenly sounded from random instruments.

“Drum!” she called and dozens of synthetic taps echoed out.

“Deeper! More digital?!” Sayane requested.

Heavy tats and taps of bass sounded forth.

“Electric violin!” Sayane thought in her mind as adrenaline surged through her body.

Electric strings screeched out high notes of rushing excitement.

More and more thoughts of sounds and compositions exploded in Sayane’s mind which immediately came to life. For all of her training in her previous life, she had never learned any instruments. She did not learn music theory. But she knew music. At its most raw, true, creative and impactful form, she knew music. She knew what music SHE wanted to create. Standing there adorned with this crown and the bracers, every possible musical concept imaginable was at her fingertips.

She was no longer just a singer. She was a musician, a composer and a conductor.

When her eyes finally opened and the symphony calmed, Sayane turned to see she and Azag were no longer alone. Attis was there, along with Erosc, a large, wide, rocky creature whose back was lined in jagged stones, and a tiny glowing figure that was small enough to rest on Attis’s shoulder.

All four of their guests were frozen in absolute wonder. The rocky being’s mouth hung open in shock, and even Attis struggled to speak. After a second of waiting for him to speak but only receiving silence, Sayane laughed and stepped forward with a bow.

“You must be the messengers from the Grand Harmony Shard realms. My name is Sayane. I’m a songstress, and we need your help.”