Aengen Concert, 1/27/2001, Daerlynn’s Concert Series, Arthe Hollow Inn

As transcribed by Mykk Dalys

 

It has been 364 years, 25 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

It is the 1st month of Akroeg the Ram in the year of the Silver Unicorn.

It is currently winter and it is dawn.

 

The night winter sky is a crisp, clear, starry black.

 

[Arthe Hollow Inn, Common Room]

The room is filled with long, low tables and stools, where several people sit eating hearty bowls of Arthe Hollow's popular lamb stew.  A large stone fireplace dominates one wall.  Daisy Burdock, the inn's cook and waitress, crosses the room carrying a precarious arrangement of bowls and plates.  She stops briefly to tease and joke with a regular customer.  A sign is posted prominently next to the archway.  You also see a wooden menuboard, a polished wooden bar, some wooden stairs, and an open doorway.

 

 

 

***********************************

         THE GUEST LIST

***********************************

 

Aengen Paranien of Elanthia, an Elf

Journeyman Ailill Dreaghnean of Elanthia, a Human Bard

Huntress Amabella Moonmad of Elanthia, an Elothean Ranger

Commander Argot Dominai of Elanthia, a Gor'Tog Barbarian

Ashreen (sorry, no further info available)

Belulhe Baringsford, an Elven Cleric

Blackrune Aki'zekh, a Rakash Paladin

Bubbinster Bladebender of Elanthia, a Dwarf

Daerlynn Soulmyste of Elanthia, a Human Bard

Mercenary Easem Grinnidat, a Gor'Tog Barbarian

Enchantria LakeDreams, a S'Kra Mur

Tale Singer Espritia Melodics, a Human Bard

Hunter Eupholus Bennetti of Elanthia, a Dwarf

Minstrel Gerint Idon's-Heron, a Human

Glaerith Daell of Elanthia, a Halfling Moon Mage

Hartblest Saiman, a Human

Heston Falconsong, an Elothean

Sentinel Ingwe Eregion of Elanthia, an Elven Paladin

Isembard Isimbard, a Human

Taleweaver Jaebom Clivin, a S'Kra Mur Bard

Jaqueni Onofrio of Elanthia, a Human

Madrigal Jenkz Monttoya of Elanthia, an Elf

Karmina Burana, a Human

Journeywoman Keeyanna Fleurent, a Dwarven Bard

Kindryd Irovytree, a Human

Minstrel Lemack Grenezeal of Elanthia, a S'Kra Mur Bard

Lisca Theyd, an Elven Moon Mage

Battle Empath Melindrha Quinnell of Elanthia, a Halfling Empath

Micwolf Winterlorn, a Human

Mykk Dalys of Elanthia, a Halfling

Razzleberrie Dalure of Elanthia, a Halfling

Serennade Nightharmony of Elanthia, a Human

Monk Shantavi Leshath, a Prydaen

Thessala Ne'Seleness, an Elothean Moon Mage

Tramin Treymoor, a Human

Travail Keehosh, an Elothean Warrior Mage

Madrigal Xaphira Vonara, an Elothean Bard

 

 

 

**************************

         SET LIST

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"I call you in"

Bardic Heart

"I was singing in the tavern"

The Haven Lady

Murrula and the Yearkling

"Idon was walking brisk and fair"

"Sing me a love song"

The Visitors

"Most bards will sing love songs"

"There was a cat"

"When first we met"

 

Encore:

 

"Oh do not sing for Sorrow"

Ma's Advice

 

 

 

 

Daerlynn says, "I wanted to thank you all for coming..."

Daerlynn exclaims, "As you may or may not know... this is our fourth concert!!!"

Daerlynn exclaims, "And we have bards already lined up for the next two as well!!!"

Daerlynn beams!

Daerlynn says, "So ... keeping in line with the three wonderful Bards we have had so far.. Dreamheart, Dewsong.. and Lethargy..."

Daerlynn says, "I would love to introduce a beautiful Bard that I know I have always loved to hear sing... and wished I would hear more often....  "

Daerlynn yells, "Aengen!!"

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen says, "thank you! I am so proud to have been invited by Daerlynn to play for you all."

Aengen says, "well, then let me begin"

Aengen opens her medium velvet case.

Aengen gets a slightly worn ash mandolin resurfaced with a cherrywood inlay from inside her medium velvet case.

Aengen gets a cotton rag from inside her medium velvet case.

Aengen puts her rag in her medium velvet case.

 

Aengen chants in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "I call you in, and call you in

     And call you in by three.

     Music is the magic here

     That binds you all to me."

 

Aengen chants in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "So sit you down and lend an ear

     And raise a drink with me.

     We'll spend a few anlaen here

     In tuneful insobriety."

 

(Aengen grins and bows with a flourish to you all.)

 

 

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen asks, "Okay, then let me begin and see where we end up, shall I?"

 

Aengen gazes about the room appreciatively, admiring the flash and gleam as the assembled crowd glitters in the candlelight. "You're a rare, fine, handsome group" she announces, "and it's a pleasure and a privilege to be singing for you in this admirable establishment."

 

Aengen tunes her mandolin absently as she continues, saying "I think I'll start off with a song that was written at the request of a bride. She wanted some songs of Bardic Love at her wedding, and wanted them so determinedly that she held a contest and challenged any bards who wished to have their say."

 

Aengen wryly asks, "It's not often I get an actual invitation to sing out, so how was I to resist such a chance?"

 

Aengen flattens her palm over the strings of her instrument, glancing up with a smile as she announces "Now, bards being famed as we are as lovers of many things - men, women, song, drink, knowledge, travel - the list is near endless - this gave me some difficulty! So I beg you all - give me your ears for as long or short a time as you wish, and I will try to return the favour by entertaining you if I possibly can."

 

Aengen exclaims, "This song is called "Bardic Heart", and was written by your humble servant. Oh - and if any of you care to sing along, I'd never object at all!"

 

Aengen settles her mandolin casually and launches into a lively tune, fingers dancing across the strings.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "I'm a tavernkeeper's daughter, at the crossroads I was bred -

     Words and music filled my ears right from the start.

     Wherever voices sang, well, that's the place where I was led -

     My mother said I had a Bardic Heart."

 

Jaebom's tenor, Daerlynn's alto and Isembard's tenor join with Aengen's mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "Oh, I'm a true and loving bard -

     My love endures, my heart is wide.

     I'll keep my love within my heart....

     With room for countless more beside!"

 

Aengen scans the room as she plays, her foot tapping briskly in time to the music. As her eye lights on you, she lowers her lashes and flashes you a shamelessly flirtatious glance before launching into her next verse.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Oh, my tavernkeeper mother has a soft spot for a bard,

     She's a woman loves the fiddle and the drum.

     Singers, players, gypsy rovers with a wink get past her guard

     And from all the world's four quarters they have come."

 

Aengen whirls about, her fingers drumming a rapid soft tattoo from her mandolin before returning to coax a ripple of notes from the strings.

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "Oh, I'm a true and loyal bard

     And I will love you all my days.

     My every love like gold I hoard

     And yet I still will go my ways."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Thus it was I grew with music and the restless come and go

     Of the makers of that music as they passed.

     And I learned that bards are rovers, and the open road our home

     And that if we think to settle, it won't last."

 

Aengen winks at you.

 

Aengen dances in a widening circle, feet flashing and stamping as she plays.

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "Oh, I'm a true and loyal bard,

     To all my loves forever bound.

     I love them all, the dark, the fair -

     I simply cannot stick around!"

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "And we'll always travel lightly, and our eyes will boldly meet -

     We are Idon's sons and daughters, after all.

     Murrula gives us voices but the dark youth gives us heat.

     A Bardic Heart can warm you most of all."

 

Aengen glances up, her eyes meeting yours as she smiles slowly, holding your gaze for a long moment before spinning away in her dance, the music for a moment wilder and sweeter as she turns.

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "Oh, I'm a true and loyal bard

     And if my eye on you should fall

     I swear I'll love you faithfully

     Though I will not stay long at all. "

 

Aengen smiles teasingly, the bright notes of the melody she plays hanging like laughter in the air.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Now my heart contains my music and the memories of each place

     That my roving days and nights have brought me to,

     And each remembered place contains the well remembered face

     Of a love to whom I always will be true."

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "Oh, I'm a true and loyal bard

     My heart is deep, my heart is wide.

     My heart's a mansion and will hold

     All the loves that I can abide."

 

Aengen whirls in a tight circle in the centre of the floor before coming to a dead halt with a stamp of her feet, only the wide folds of her skirt still awaying as she stands, and only the faint echo of her music hanging in the air.

 

Aengen smiles and curtsies deeply, holding her mandolin out to one side as if presenting her partner to the audience.

 

Aengen says, "and that's at least part of what a bard is - just ask us."

 

 

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen asks, "Well now....having warned you, what shall I sing to you next?"

Aengen ponders.

Aengen says, "You know, this is a very pleasant Inn, and it minds me of another I know.....and a strange night I had there once. "

Aengen asks, "I'll sing you of that, shall I?"

Aengen exclaims, "okay, okay - then here is the song of another winter's night!"

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "I was singing in the tavern

     One cold and windy night

     When in there came a stranger

     To the warmth and noise and light."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "He had the strangest, strangest eyes

      that I had ever seen.

     All black as is the darkest night

     But with a silver sheen."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "A shadow fell as he came in

     And voices all did fail.

     The firelight seemed to falter

     As the flames sank and grew pale."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "He gazed about the silent room,

     His face as calm as sleep,

     And all who met his dreaming eyes

     Fell still, and seemed to weep."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    ""Play for us, Bard" he did command

     And indicated me

     And to my horror my hands played

     All independently."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "A darker music never heard

     Than what I played for him,

     And all who heard could say no word

     But listened, faces grim."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "And all night long I played his song

     And not a soul could speak.

     The stranger sat before the fire

     And held us 'til daybreak."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "At last the sun began to rise

     And dawnlight crept inside.

     The stranger rose without a word

     And vanished with the night."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "We rubbed our eyes and glanced about

     And met each others' stare

      and looked away and gazed around

     As if he'd not been there."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "But ever since that visitor

     Took his rest by that hearth

     The tavernkeeper's kegs are full

     With ale of noble worth."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "And I have seen my mandolin

     Act strangely in the night

     For when I play at end of day

     The strings shine like starlight."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "So though I would not name a name

     I have my theories.

     I sing and play, and praise the day

     And savour the night breeze."

 

Aengen gazes at her mandolin.

Aengen casually observes the area.

Aengen says, "and it's the truth. I swear."

Aengen nods.

 

 

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen says, "oh, I like you. Please, have more drinks and settle in."

Aengen asks, "hm.....now, I have one or two winter songs, a couple of melancholy ones - some fluffy lightweight ones. How about we call it a Bardic Salad tonight?"

Aengen says, "I'll sing you a song of a Lady in Riverhaven, shall I? A fine lady she was, and clever and bold."

Aengen exclaims, "okay, the Haven Lady!"

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "There was a fine, fair lady did live in Haven town

     And suitors came in crowds and droves her favour for to win.

     But she was fine and free and proud and laughed them all to scorn

     And all she said was "Go your ways, for none will enter in!""

 

Aengen says, "and the lady said:"

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "O none of you will please me

     O none of you will do.

     So go your ways, you arrant knaves,

     For none of you will do."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "They cluttered up the market, they blocked the alleys too,

     And overflowed into the road and loitered in the lanes.

     They preened and quarrelled and strutted, and tossed the dice all day

     And boasted of their tailors and invented new card games."

 

Aengen says, "And the lady said:"

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "O none of you will please me

     O none of you will do.

     So go your ways, you arrant knaves.

     For none of you will do."

 

Aengen sticks her nose up in the air haughtily.

Aengen winks at Gerint.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "The city fathers were distraught, and begged the lady choose -

     "Take any one" the old men cried, "just so the rest will go!

     They're cluttering the market and they're clogging up the lanes...

     Please sacrifice yourself!" they cried, but the lady answered "No"."

 

Aengen says, "And the lady - most emphatically - said:"

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

           "O, *none* of them will please me!

     O, *none* of them will do!

     So go your ways, you ancient knaves,

     For none of them will do!"

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "The city fathers wept and wailed and beat upon their breasts

     And made loud noises, frequently, about urban decay.

     When they started talking treason, their wives all took a stand

     In voices firm to indicate the lady had a say."

 

Aengen says, "And all the wives thunderously asserted:"

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "O none of them will please her,

     O none of them will do.

     So go your ways, you all are knaves

     And none of them will do."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Oh the city fathers grumbled and the suitors carried on

     And you'd think the world was ending for the noises of them all!

     And as they whined and whimpered and they grumbled in the street

     That fine and fair brave lady did elope over her wall."

 

Aengen says, "And she sang as she climbed aboard the ferry:"

 

A chorus of voices join with Aengen's leading mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "O none of you could please me,

     O none of you could do!

     For I've a love already who's

     Worth every one of you!"

 

Aengen says, "And as the ferry pulled out of sight, the last that fine fair lady heard of her unlamented suitors was the sound of their yelping, as the wives of the city fathers grabbed their brooms and swept their city clean with a will and a whacking."

 

 

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen says, "you are all most kind and gracious."

Aengen smiles about the room in pleasure.

Aengen says, "Now then....a winter song. "

Aengen says, "You folk are just having too much fun - we need something to quiet you down for a brief moment."

Aengen says, "it's an old tale - not all that common, but I know it from my girlhood."

Aengen smiles.

Aengen says, "I'll sing you of Murrula and the Yearking - it's almost the right time of year, anyway."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "On the longest night of bleak winter

      When the air is like iron in the mouth

      The Yearking sits ancient and dying

      And dreams in the dark of his youth."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Murrula comes down off the mountain

      Through the cold night and the snow

      And every place where her foot steps light

      A patch of spring grass grows."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "The Yearking sits dreaming in shadow

      In his arid and crumbling hall,

      Eyes turned within to old visions

      As he waits for a last dark to fall. "

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "To his gate comes fire-bright Murrula -

      The doors all swing back at her hand.

      Through the empty keep she approaches

      And flames leap at her command."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Murrula comes near to the Yearking,

      Kisses him tender and sweet.

      Murrula's kiss is the breath of fire,

      Murrula's touch is heat."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "The old king cries out as she finds him

      And flames rise around him like wings.

      He burns in the heart of her fire, and his youth

      Is reborn as Murrula sings."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "The Yearking flies up like the phoenix

      As winter gives way to the spring

      And he and Murrula are fire and flame

      Dancing life back into everything."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "And they are old friends and lovers

      And each year the mystery's the same.

      She burns away the cold of dark death

      And they bring the spring back again."

 

Aengen asks, "You didn't think Hodierna could bring in the spring ALL by herself, did you now?"

Aengen winks.

Aengen bows.

 

 

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen says, "Well now - having sung of Murrula, I must sing of Idon"

Aengen says, "he's a jealous lad, and I must keep him pleased with me."

Aengen smiles at you, her gaze travelling around the room slowly.

Aengen quietly says, "I have a song to sing of the Lord Idon, and of a certain time that all did not go...quite...as he expected. I hope you enjoy it."

Aengen coaxes a lively tune from her old mandolin.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Idon was walking brisk and fair

     With broken hearts to bind his black hair.

      Bored and idle,looking for fun,

      he cast around for another one."

 

Aengen dryly says, ""And I'm sure you all know what HE'S like.""

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "A pretty blonde maid went walking by,

     Nose in the air and a spark in her eye.

      Idon glanced once and then he winked twice

     But she tossed her head as cool as ice."

 

Aengen shakes her head, saying "Well! you can imagine Idon's response to a challenge like that!"

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Idon blinked once in disbelief

     And followed her close as a stalking thief.

      She laughed at him and danced away,

     Swinging her skirt like a child at play."

 

Aengen smiles to herself, plucking the notes of a wild and giddy dance tune from her mandolin.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Idon was trapped in the blur of her dance -

     Struck dumb as a stone in enchanted trance.

      Fight as he would, still caught at her whim,

      Kerenhappuch had bridled him."

 

Aengen glances about the room, her gaze lingering on the fine men present appreciatively. Her eye catches yours and she winks at you teasingly before launching in to the last verse.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "So all you fine men who make so free

     Remember my song and listen to me.

      Rove wild as you like, and break hearts all over -

     Somewhere, someone will return the favour!"

 

Aengen song ends in a flurry of skirts and a flash of ankle as she bows with mocking grace, rising laughingly.

 

 

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen says, "One of the things people ask for quite often is a love song - it's a mystery to me, but wedding guests seem to like them, you know? Anyway, I'm an obliging bard and try to keep the audience happy, so I do my best to write love songs for them. The trouble is, I am terrible at it. They tend to take a bit of a wrong turn every time."

Aengen ponders briefly.

Aengen says, "This doesn't mean that, having sweated and laboured and muttered and cursed until I finally managed to churn one out that you won't have to listen to it tonight, however. So......here's a nice, light, happy love song for you all to - I hope - enjoy, at least a little."

 

(Aengen picks a lively, bright melody from her mandolin, the notes skittering through the air in a giddy shower.)

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Sing me a love song, the lady entreated,

     And make it be happy and end with a smile.

     And so I reflected and rummaged in mem'ry

     And this is the tale that I then sang for her."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "There was a brave maiden did go out a-hunting

     A-hunting she went with her bow and her spear.

     She frighted the cougars all out of the forest

     And out of the meadows she started the deer."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "And as she was stalking most lithe and delightful,

     Stalking through forest and stalking through stream

     She came on a young man all handsome and charming

     Who gazed in amazement and swore her a dream."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "She laughed at his folly and tried to pass by him.

     He reached out a hand and did beg her to stay.

     She fair looked him over and found him so pretty

     That she stowed her weapons and lingered to play."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "He held her so closely and touched her so sweetly

     That she had no thought for the hunting at all.

     So down went their weapons, and down went their armour

     And down on the ground did the both of them fall."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "The green grass grew lush and the green grass grew high

     So no sight nor sound of these two could be seen.

     And they played in the grass and the time it did pass

     And no one could tell where these lovers had been."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "The cougars returned and heard whispering sighs,

     The deer in the meadows heard soft little sounds.

     But spears all were grounded and arrows stowed safely

     And there was no danger that day on those grounds."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Now what may have come of that brave hunter maid

     Or to the fine lad who enticed her eyes so

     I never did hear to be certain of telling

     But for one day at least I think love ruled them both."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "And all this is meant to just give you a moral.

     Oh, love may be passing or love may last long.

     However it comes, be it pleasing or tragic

     You can bet there's a bard who will make it a song."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "However it comes, be it pleasing or tragic

     Be it noble or comic or innocent-sweet

     A bard will determine to capture it's magic

     And sing with no mercy howe'er you entreat!"

 

(Aengen strikes a pose and looks extremely smug.)

 

 

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen says, "Okay, my next one is a tale from a long time ago. I hope you enjoy it."

Aengen quietly says, "My people are of the Sand Elves, as you may guess by looking at me - though it has been long since they left the deserts, and I myself only know those sands in dreams and tales. "

Aengen strokes a soft hiss from her bodhran, like the drift of sand in a light wind.

Aengen smiles and glances around the room.

Aengen says, "This is one of those stories - my great-grandmother told it to me, so it must be the truth, you will all agree."

Aengen grins and rattles a sharp tattoo on her drum to recall your attention.

Aengen says, "This is called "The Visitors"."

 

Aengen recites:

 

    "Long and long ago, the story says

     There was a traveller of the desert ways -

     Kiloren was his name.

     If any then alive knew the sand's secrets

     It was he."

 

Aengen recites:

 

    "On a night dark and clear as shadowed glass

     In dreams he heard the beat of wings go past.

     He rose up from his sleep,

     Stepped to the tent flap, opened and drew it back

     To see."

 

Aengen coaxes a low muttering rumble from her bodhran, like distant summer thunder.

 

Aengen says, "This is what Kiloren ever after said....."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "I saw two silent travellers, tall and bright -

     One cloaked in utter darkness like the night,

     The other grey and shining as star light."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "I bowed to them, and bid them welcome be,

     Lifted the tent flap, let them enter free.

     They exchanged glances, stepped in silently."

 

Aengen glances around the room, catching your eyes with her gaze as her fingers tap out a strange, halting beat.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    ""Be welcome, strangers. Stay and rest", I said.

     As is our custom, offered fruit and bread

     Water and wine, such comfort as I had."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "From the dark figure's hood flashed darker eyes

     That struck me silent, sharper than thrown knives.

     Fear took me by the throat and bid me die."

 

Aengen rattles the tipper threateningly, an ominous, low rythm shuddering through the room.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Dergati's eyes will make a man run mad

     From beauty, and from horror, it is said.

     I know her glance stole all the heart I had."

 

Aengen gaze is focused somewhere distant and dark, fascinated and repelled.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "The grey-clad figure laughed and sighed in jest,

     Said "Sister, you should be a better guest -

     No need to leave our host so sore oppressed.""

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Petulant Dergati sulked and swept outside

     As laughing Phelim leaned, and bid me rise

     And gave me back all I'd lost to her fierce eyes."

 

Aengen laughs, glancing about at you and beating a playful rattling rythm from the drum, her foot tapping irresistably in time.

 

Aengen recites:

 

    "Kiloren would have thought it all a dream -

     When he arose next morning, so it seemed!

     Until he stepped outside...

     A fountain played, clear as Dergati's dark eyes -

     Phelim's gift."

 

Aengen says, "And so my great-grandmother swore to me - and Phelim's fountain may play in the heart of the desert to this day, for all I know."

 

Aengen bows, solemn-faced, with a smile lurking in her eyes as she draws her cloak about her and withdraws.

 

Aengen exclaims, "and it's all true, too - would I lie to such a fine group? Never....nor would my grandmother!"

 

 

 

[back to Set List]

Aengen boosts herself up to perch on the bar, crossing her legs in a flurry of skirts and making sure you catch a glimpse of her ankles as she does so. She settles her mandolin, stroking the strings lightly as she grins at you.

 

Aengen teasingly says, "Now then - you know I told you I can't write love songs. I try, Murrula knows I do try....but they just don't cooperate. This next one, for instance - it was supposed to be so....ehrm......different from how it turned out."

 

Aengen asks, "Still, let's give it a try and see what you all think.....maybe some of you will agree with the philosophy, hm?"

 

Aengen flashes you all a cheerful wink as she launches into her next song.

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "Most bards will sing love songs, and I'm no exception.

     If you ask me, I'll sing one as blithe as a bird.

     I'll play a sweet song and ignore the deception

     But I know love is false by the stories I've heard."

 

Keeyanna's alto, Daerlynn's alto, Espritia's alto and Isembard's tenor join with Aengen's mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "So give me your silver, give me your gold

     And I'll sing of love that will never grow cold.

     Give me a drink of the velvet red wine

     And I'm sure I can sing of a love for all time."

 

Aengen sings in a mezzo-soprano voice:

 

    "When I was quite young I believed every story

     Of love everlasting and ladies like doves,

     Of heroes who fought for their bright ladies' glory -

     But I've learned since then nothing's briefer than love."

 

Aengen glances sorrowfully in to the depths of her tragically empty goblet.

 

Aengen teasingly says, "Unless it should be the time between pouring the wine and finishing it. "

 

Keeyanna's alto, Daerlynn's alto, Espritia's alto and Isembard's tenor join with Aengen's mezzo-soprano as she sings:

 

    "So give me your silver, give me your gold

     And I'll sing of love that will never grow cold.

     Give me a drink of the brandy so rare

     And I know I can sing of a love past compare."