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Monday, July 2, 2012

Today's #Scifi #fantasy short story MagicSongsAndTeamwork


           Today's story is a good idea and a fun one. My only regret is that about it is that it took awhile to brainstorm so I don't have as much time to work on other stuff. I'm going to be pondering and using CJ's input as I keep writing my book. It's funny it's probably one of the most surreal endevaor's I've ever done and the most unique story idea I've had(including all the ones on this blog) and he told me I may be too afraid of getting confusing. (Because of the surrealness of my story I don't want to get confusing. But also the surrealness of my story is not like Walrus on a bicycle surreal or Alice in Wonderland surreal. I'd say more, but I don't want to just throw all my ideas out before the book is out and people take them) But enough about that, onto the flash fiction, enjoy!





Magic, Songs and Teamwork

       In the lands of Zeeyu magic was controlled by song. Though even more accurately it was controlled by the relationships of three kinds of people. The composers, singers, and the synchronizists. All together these people made magic possible.
       The composers would make the spells. They would research and create the magic words for the songs. They were famous for spending days in old library looking up old spells and figuring out the words in them. They would learn how to read dead languages just to learn some of the songs in the books and decode the magic words hidden within. (You couldn't just say a magic word for it to work. A careful eye and knowledge of the magical arts was needed to spot one, or just dumb trial and error in the field after you found some new words in an old book could work.)
       Singers would sing the words the composer would research. A composer could be the singer as well. Someone could perform all the roles in the “magical band” feasibly but they wouldn't have the time to hone their skills in singing and be able to research all the words at the same time so people specialized. The singer did not learn the words, but the syllables. They learned how to make them be said to whatever rhythm was needed for whatever spell so no matter whatever the composer threw at them they could say it even if they didn't know what it meant. The best singers could sing magic from a language they only learned about a week ago.
      Synchronizists were masters of rhythm and synchronizing. In order for a spell to select a target it used whatever rhythm the synchronizist was playing. Targeting a human and targeting a dragon required different rhythms, this factors in distance too. The singer must pronounce the words of the spell correctly as well making it go well with the rhythm of the synchronizist otherwise the spell will be unstable. A good composer will pick magic words that will make this as easy as possible for them. This is possible because many language have magical synonyms. Two different languages can have magical words for the same kind of magic so the composer has multiple choices for the same thing so the composer should pick the easiest option. The best composers are the ones that can do all that when “improvising” a spell, making one off the top of their head. Synchronizists can get in this kind of situation too. They can use various instruments to establish rhythms like drums. Many have favorites. Many pick whatever is easiest for the spell and for the singers and composers to adapt to. One famous incident had a skilled synchronizist stuck without an instrument. Many would clap at that point, but since he thought that wouldn't match the spell they needed, he decided to click-clack and smack two small rocks that he found nearby together over and over to the rhythm he needed.
       In this land magic was music honed in the perfect relationship of people.
       “Waffles!?” the singer screamed with a deep voice unfitting to his teenage age, “We turned the tree into waffles?”
       “I researched the words for hours!” yelled the composer her face turning red as a forest fire, “How could you screw them up? I picked the simplest ones!” The composer then glared at the synchronizist. “And what we weren't even aiming for the tree. We were aiming for the lead we set in the field! Thank goodness we were practicing in a field for safety! We could have hurt someone! Can't believe you missed a hunk of lead!”
        The synchronizist yelled back, “I wouldn't have had any problem with the rhythm if you two hadn't botched the song! Turning lead into gold is the final exam project. If we screw this up my grades will plummet for sure.” Her grades were so high that it would actually only turn her grade to a B in that class but it was still horror to her. Out of horror for the possibility of the outcome she was about to cry under her thick sunglasses. The way synchronizist was raised was that she was calm and collected about everything but her grades.
       “Each mistake can be a reward in of itself.” said a voice from behind.
       The composer then said, “Another 'wise saying' it must be Mr. Smith.”
       Mr. Smith then smiled, “Yes, it is I Mr. Smith, inter-dimensional traveler teacher from Earth!”
       The singer then groaned, “I'm sorry but nobody cares that your from that dumb, magicless world. Even if you've told everyone, staff and students included, a thousand times.”
       The synchronizist then asked, “So you said, 'Each mistake can be a reward in of itself' so what can we learn from this one?”
        Mr. Smith then laughed. “No,no, no. I didn't say you could learn from every mistake. What I said is that every mistake can be 'rewarding'. Look!” The teacher said while pointing at their mistake. “You got free waffles!” He smiled. “Instead of arguing about the fact you messed up you should enjoy your waffles then start from scratch. No use arguing right?”
       “Actually I think we did learn something...” said the composer.
        “Oh? What's that?” asked Mr. Smith.
        The composer smiled. “We learned the world's first waffle spell!”
        The singer then said, “If we can replicate it we could keep turning even more trees into waffles, it would be hilarious! And isn't there an alternate assignment for the final exam where you invent a spell?”
         The synchronizist then awoke the inner businesswoman in herself. “If I can make it target any plant we want we can get rid of weeds and other unwanted plants in people's yards by turning them into waffles that we could just scoop up instead of having to uproot entire trees! Or better yet we could also make...waffle farms.”
         Mr. Smith sighed. There were some times he missed the mundane world of Earth.

 
This work is copyright Langdon Kennedy you may share this(email it, print it, post it on your own website, broadcast it etc.) work unaltered as long as you credit me as the author and share a link to this blog with it and it is not for profit. If you have any questions and/or are unclear of these conditions email me at llkenne1@asu.edu

 

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