Carillon
Random Writing Challenge for worldofscribble, write from the point of view of an inanimate object.
The individual notes draw me back, each fragment of melody seeking for my essence through the darkness where I rested. I was well hidden, shrouded in layers of protective silence, but the summons was relentless, each persistent chime, each resonant peal of sound calling me forth, demanding my presence.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I began to awaken. The song continued, as it must in order for this evocation to be successful, bridging the gap between where I was and the world beyond. It had always been so, the act of summoning was as much a test of faith as of endurance. The musician, my new master, had to be strong in both heart and mind after all.
Was it time? It had been so long since the passage of time had been any concern to me. But yes, there was light now, I could feel air around me, and whereas before the notes of the conjuring had tugged and coerced me forward, they now pooled around my feet, their arduous task finally accomplished. I had returned, and the music stopped.
"General, you are with us again?" the voice was almost as melodic as the bells had been.
I was standing at the tower's parapet, Cartagra, the capitol city, spread out beneath me. Although it was difficult to tell for certain from this vantage point, Cartagra was not as I remembered. Familiar buildings which I knew stood close to the tower, seemed to no longer be standing. The streets, what I could see of them from this height, were oddly deserted.
"I am General Ho Weng Kin," I confirmed, rising into the air a few inches and turning to face my new mistress. "Your summons called me forth, and I am now yours to command."
The child, she couldn't possibly have seen her sixteenth birthday as yet, rubbed her hands together with pleasure. She was beautiful, auburn hair cascading past elegant shoulders, her slender form confident and erect beneath the silken dress she wore.
"oh, excellent. The way that old fool carried on at the end, drooling, and crying, and begging for mercy, I was pretty sure we had gotten the right answers out of him, but torture can be such an iffy thing, no matter how much fun it is."
"Torture?"
"Of course," the elegant shoulders I had so admired a moment before gave a careless shrug, "you didn't think I was going to endure countless hours in some boring library, digging through dusty tomes for just the right spell to bring your statue to life, did you?"
"I am certain my mistress knows best," I responded, although I was certain of no such thing.
There were armies nearby. The grouping of soldiers, like the notes of the carillon before, pulled at my awareness and summoned my attention. Maps of the surrounding terrain sprang into being in my mind, the opposing forces accurately represented down to the finest detail.
"Do you see them?" my mistress whispered. "The old man said that you would be able to see, that you could control every aspect of a battle."
"I see them, mistress. Both armies, the one your father commands, and the one you command with your brother as well."
She laughed, her amusement ringing out as clearly as my summons had earlier.
"And, do you see how small a force and how poorly equipped my dear brother's army is also?"
"Yes, and they have chosen very poor ground on which to make a stand," I commented disapprovingly. "No wonder you felt it necessary to resort to magic to rescue your cause." I hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "Mistress, you should know that there is a group of your father's soldiers in the city as well. They will arrive at this tower soon."
Her smile was enigmatic.
"Yes, drawn by the sound of the bells no doubt."
"I assume that you will want them destroyed, along with your father's other forces?"
"Destroyed?" one regal eyebrow drifted skyward. "Why certainly not."
"Then, what is your bidding, mistress?"
She sighed, walked to the parapet, and gazed down at what I now knew to be the ruined city beneath us.
"As you've seen, my dear brother is a horrible tactician, and would be an even worse ruler I fear." Leaning forward, she put one hand to her eyes, gazing intently downward, and then straightened back up. "I do believe you're right, general, there are soldiers in the city. More excitement than this ruin's seen in years."
I remained silent.
"The other problem my brother possesses is a total inability to share," she continued, not seeming to need any response from me at all. "Much better I think if his army is the one which gets destroyed, and my father's soldiers find me here, recently escaped, in command of the most formidable general our world has ever known."
"This is your wish then, mistress," I asked, "the total destruction of all your brother's forces.?"
"Yes," she purred, sitting down on the low wall around the tower's edge, "I think that will do quite nicely."
"Done!"
I floated until I was hovering immediately in front of her, and extended one of the statue's arms until its hand was resting on her right shoulder.
"If I may say so, mistress, you leave a great deal to be desired as a tactician yourself."
"What?" her voice was full of outrage.
"Truth," I insisted, and pushed her over the parapet. "With every gift of magic, there is a price."
The individual notes draw me back, each fragment of melody seeking for my essence through the darkness where I rested. I was well hidden, shrouded in layers of protective silence, but the summons was relentless, each persistent chime, each resonant peal of sound calling me forth, demanding my presence.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I began to awaken. The song continued, as it must in order for this evocation to be successful, bridging the gap between where I was and the world beyond. It had always been so, the act of summoning was as much a test of faith as of endurance. The musician, my new master, had to be strong in both heart and mind after all.
Was it time? It had been so long since the passage of time had been any concern to me. But yes, there was light now, I could feel air around me, and whereas before the notes of the conjuring had tugged and coerced me forward, they now pooled around my feet, their arduous task finally accomplished. I had returned, and the music stopped.
"General, you are with us again?" the voice was almost as melodic as the bells had been.
I was standing at the tower's parapet, Cartagra, the capitol city, spread out beneath me. Although it was difficult to tell for certain from this vantage point, Cartagra was not as I remembered. Familiar buildings which I knew stood close to the tower, seemed to no longer be standing. The streets, what I could see of them from this height, were oddly deserted.
"I am General Ho Weng Kin," I confirmed, rising into the air a few inches and turning to face my new mistress. "Your summons called me forth, and I am now yours to command."
The child, she couldn't possibly have seen her sixteenth birthday as yet, rubbed her hands together with pleasure. She was beautiful, auburn hair cascading past elegant shoulders, her slender form confident and erect beneath the silken dress she wore.
"oh, excellent. The way that old fool carried on at the end, drooling, and crying, and begging for mercy, I was pretty sure we had gotten the right answers out of him, but torture can be such an iffy thing, no matter how much fun it is."
"Torture?"
"Of course," the elegant shoulders I had so admired a moment before gave a careless shrug, "you didn't think I was going to endure countless hours in some boring library, digging through dusty tomes for just the right spell to bring your statue to life, did you?"
"I am certain my mistress knows best," I responded, although I was certain of no such thing.
There were armies nearby. The grouping of soldiers, like the notes of the carillon before, pulled at my awareness and summoned my attention. Maps of the surrounding terrain sprang into being in my mind, the opposing forces accurately represented down to the finest detail.
"Do you see them?" my mistress whispered. "The old man said that you would be able to see, that you could control every aspect of a battle."
"I see them, mistress. Both armies, the one your father commands, and the one you command with your brother as well."
She laughed, her amusement ringing out as clearly as my summons had earlier.
"And, do you see how small a force and how poorly equipped my dear brother's army is also?"
"Yes, and they have chosen very poor ground on which to make a stand," I commented disapprovingly. "No wonder you felt it necessary to resort to magic to rescue your cause." I hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "Mistress, you should know that there is a group of your father's soldiers in the city as well. They will arrive at this tower soon."
Her smile was enigmatic.
"Yes, drawn by the sound of the bells no doubt."
"I assume that you will want them destroyed, along with your father's other forces?"
"Destroyed?" one regal eyebrow drifted skyward. "Why certainly not."
"Then, what is your bidding, mistress?"
She sighed, walked to the parapet, and gazed down at what I now knew to be the ruined city beneath us.
"As you've seen, my dear brother is a horrible tactician, and would be an even worse ruler I fear." Leaning forward, she put one hand to her eyes, gazing intently downward, and then straightened back up. "I do believe you're right, general, there are soldiers in the city. More excitement than this ruin's seen in years."
I remained silent.
"The other problem my brother possesses is a total inability to share," she continued, not seeming to need any response from me at all. "Much better I think if his army is the one which gets destroyed, and my father's soldiers find me here, recently escaped, in command of the most formidable general our world has ever known."
"This is your wish then, mistress," I asked, "the total destruction of all your brother's forces.?"
"Yes," she purred, sitting down on the low wall around the tower's edge, "I think that will do quite nicely."
"Done!"
I floated until I was hovering immediately in front of her, and extended one of the statue's arms until its hand was resting on her right shoulder.
"If I may say so, mistress, you leave a great deal to be desired as a tactician yourself."
"What?" her voice was full of outrage.
"Truth," I insisted, and pushed her over the parapet. "With every gift of magic, there is a price."