Sweet Sonata
Dance upon the winds of your wildest dreams
Thousands of years ago, there was a beautiful and powerful mage. Coming from humble beginnings, she was sent to the capital once her instructor realized her potential. She was to become the King's personal mage when she was of age.
The king had a son who was quite close in age, and the two were often heard playing and running about the corridors.
Yet she and the young prince grew closer over the years, a close friendship blooming into something more.
It should end this way, right? A fairytale ending.
But not everyone gets a happy ending.
The king was furious when his son refused to marry the young woman he had chosen, a marriage to seal the future of two kingdoms.
His love was taken in the dead of night, carried away to the prison she would spend the rest of her life in. Her castle was dark..cold..and lacked any of the opulence in which she had been raised.
A magical barrier had been erected by another mage, keeping her bound to the castle grounds. If she stepped foot outside the line she would be gripped by immense pain and eventually pass out from it.
Several years passed, the prince had married his princess and he had become king. But he never lost hope that one day his love would be returned to him. This angered his Queen, who again sent the mage out to the girls prison.
Her punishment was severe, sheer torture. Cursed with immortality, a mirror spelled to give her one glimpse of the outside world. She could watch her prince whenever she liked, but he would never hear nor see her. She was cursed to watch him live his life..she watched as he became a father..learn to love his Queen dearly.
And he forgot she had ever existed.
The King took his last breath soon enough, the young woman sobbing as she lost everything that she had found joy in. The Queen had got what she wanted..the prince was forever hers.
Shortly after the death of her prince, a mage returned to her. The woman was the first person she had spoken to in decades..lost within her own loneliness and heartbreaking sorrow.
The mage offered her a small gift. With each tear that was shed, an illusion was born. To her..they took on the appearance of loved ones long gone. Yet the moment she tried to touch them they would vanish once again. She had others to speak to..she wasn't alone.
For the first time in forever the castle became a beautiful city of light. Gardens were overgrown with hundreds upon thousands of flowers..an eternal Spring.
She never forgot her prince..even if he had forgotten about her. Eventually, with no one alive that knew of her..the world forgot her. No one wandered accidentally into the ward, for it looked like nothing more than the crumbling remains of an old castle..the stone walls fading into cobble, the roof of the stable entirely fallen in among the rotted wood. It was utterly abandoned, the ever increasing fear as they approached the ward.
If one was ever brave enough to push past, what lay before them was quite literally the picturesque castle in fairy tales of old.
It's said that her whispers can be heard in the night, bringing blessings to those who were lucky enough to hear her. The hills around the city especially echo her song, her pleas for freedom. It isn't unheard of to hear her cry, Her sobs turning. to heart wrenching sorrow in the dead of night.
The legends of her occasionally send men looking for her, spurned on by the simple wish to turn her tears to laughter. For when she does laugh, the sun seems to shine brighter amongst the hills. Everything seems at peace, warm and safe within her protection. She beckons those she believe will be able to lift her from her curse so she might again walk the lands. A handful of young men had made it to the very edge of the ward, yet in the end their own terrors drove them away.
So she waits..and whispers prayers that one might push past the ward, for once they were through..the city beyond was breathtaking.
Except there was no sound..the well kept streets empty and devoid even of wildlife. The homes and businesses that lined the main causeway eerily empty. The silence was unnatural at best, alarming at worst.
As one approached the castle itself, signs of life began to appear. The darting of a rabbit into the lush hydrangeas, the flit of birds among the trees. It was odd, one never actually saw the animals..just their shadowed forms.
Stepping foot past the enormous gate, what lay ahead was out of a dream. The soft echo of conversation breaking the silence, the laughter of children. The voices came from the shimmering human like forms that wandered the inner bailey. The courtyard was packed with the forms, seemingly going to and fro on their daily routine.
It seemed the arrival of someone else drew whispers of alarm, a fast little runner darting into the castle. Murmurs of the goddess, the Queen fell from their lips. No one knew what was happening..yet when asked the forms simply stared straight through him, as if words fell on deaf ears. The closer one came to the castle, the more realistic the illusions became, echos of people she had observed through her mirror. Yet the moment anyone touched them, they were gone in an instant..after all they were just tricks of the light.
This had to be the prison of the Lady of Light, an old story that should have never been real..yet it was right there before them.
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This story is meant as a 1x1 plot, set within a medieval world. Literate writers only please, as there is no dice system the magic will have to be self controlled. For example, the lady has been practicing her magic for thousands of years. Yet she can only make illusions, none of which are actually alive.
I would be playing the Lady.
Ideas for this include-
A descendant of the original prince learns that the fairytale he grew up with actually was more than just a story.
Someone is drawn toward the location, despite appearing as if it were ruins..he pushes past his fear to see what lay beyond the ward.
The lady has been calling out to someone for his entire life, existing only in his dreams. Or so he thought.
