The Rising - Ennead 1

Scene 6 - Kaspar's Dreams, Act 1

Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue
-Plato

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
-Aldous Huxley

The universe can hear music in the soul
-Lao Tzu

Mahmoud 'Mad' Ahmad rotated his left shoulder slowly, grimacing at the slight twinge that still remained. He scowled, annoyed, then picked up his electric bass.

Even after a week, the death grip of his Royal Hineyness the First Maker still ached. Now he thought about it, Jin, a Summoner acolyte, also had an insane grip. What the hell did Summoners do with their fingers? Crush rocks?

After strumming a few chords and riffs, he closed his eyes and tried to do it without looking. His 'teacher' Brianna O'Conell had rushed him horribly and this was one of the ways in which she had done it. Trust her to do things her own way without consideration for others. He grinned slightly at the memory.

About half an hour into his solo session he heard a sound coming from the door of their family's council flat. It was a sequence he was used to: keys jangling, being inserted one after the other, muttered curses each time the wrong key was used until finally the door opened.

The Faerie teen sighed, set the guitar down on the cracked leather sofa and trudged to the door. His father was there, slouched into a corner in what was becoming a more and more familiar sight.

The elder Ahmad's eyes were drooped and his silken black hair was tussled. He was only one bottle away from blacking out; it was a miracle he had managed to get home at all.

"It would probably have been better if he hadn't" Mad mused carelessly.

Appalled, he furiously rubbed his right temple, suppressing the thought.

"Here we go Dad, let's get you to the room." He croons gently, putting his fathers arm over his shoulder and slowly guiding him from the cramped entranceway.

Unlike the generic 'mad and angry' drunk portrayed in popular media, Rahim Ahmad was a miserable drunk. He wept copiously as he was dragged to the larger of the flat's two bedrooms. It was larger by only a hair really.

Father and son finally staggered to an un-laid bed, treading on clothing, food packets and paper plates scattered on the carpet to get there.

As he was eased down onto the bed, Rahim cupped one side of Mahmoud's face gently. "Ah Mahmoud my son, my dutiful first born. Why are you still here? Isn't your useless father too much of a burden on you?"

The corners of Mad's eyes twitched.

He had thought of leaving, more times than he could count. But he had made a promise to his Mum, and so he stayed. Even after his sister left to stay with their Aunt, he had stayed.

He had thought his father wouldn't catch the look in his eyes, but the sod did.

When Mad gently shut the door he could still hear his father sobbing into a pillow.

He glanced at his watch and cursed softly under his breath. He was supposed to meet up with the crew at their spot. He rushed to the living room to pack up his gear then put a ready meal inside the microwave and set the timer.

He glanced at his watch again, groaning. Time couldn't have passed that fast! He sighed heavily and threw a sending towards a familiar mind.

"You're running late again aren't you?"

Monica's sending was dry and nonplussed.

"Something like that" he replied sheepishly.

"Can you check the bathroom stalls and..."

She cuts in before he's done with the request, "Keaton already checked. Second one from the right. Now hurry!"

Monica's sendings usually had the texture of a whispering wind rustling through riverside grass. Today the gentle breeze seemed a little... frantic. Mad was intrigued as he faded out into the stall of a rather cheap restaurant.

"Whatever the news is, it had better be good".

***

His sneakers squelch as he trudges to the screened off 'special occasions' table in the corner.

He should have known; Keaton was always one for practical jokes. The loo stall he had been led to was flooded.

His ire faded when he was a couple of steps away from the table where the other five were clustered.

It was comforting to sense it again; the gang's little secret, Harmony.

He always forgot how good it felt to be connected. Somewhere in the center of his mind it clicked on and everything around him changed.

The Faerie's senses felt like they had woken up. His vision was sharper and his hearing clearer. He could almost see the emotions rolling off the people walking by outside.

The large round table already had six chairs around it. Four of which were occupied.

Keaton and Kyle Gaines sat across from each other.

The twins were as different as night and day. Keaton had bleached and styled his reddish brown hair. It was now a platinum blonde that made his dark eyebrows stand out; Kyle's hair on the other hand was combed and parted demurely. Keaton wore a ratty t-shirt that revealed a lot of his ink; Kyle wore a clean and neatly pressed Rhino polo shirt. Keaton had turned down entry into Eton, the school Kyle went to.

Between the twins sat Monica and Jin.

Monica and her mother had come in from Jamaica about ten years ago. Demure and tiny, she had beautiful mocha-and-cream skin and had been the first girl Mad had had a crush on.

Jin Takazawa, Jin the Genius, sat beside Monica, pensive as usual. He still had on his Saint Paul's tie.

It irked Kyle that Jin had turned down a scholarship to Eton for one at St. Paul's, their rival school. Like everything else Jin did, the choice probably had a very rational explanation. The rest of the crew figured there was something going on between Jin and Monice, they could literally feel it; Harmony could do that. Somehow it still felt intrusive to ask.

Mad set his guitar case down before looking around for the final member of their circle of six.

She was weaving round a table towards them, tray of drinks balanced on her left palm, her ginger hair in a ponytail. Brianna O'Hanlon. They had been friends since kindergarten, like him, she was first generation Society.

Brianna punched him in the shoulder, snarling "That's for being late," and then hugged him with free arm, murmuring "and that's just because" before she set down the tray.

She had been his personal bully since forever; it was no wonder she had initiated into the Knight path. She was also the reason they got to hang out at Solly's restaurant so often.

Brianna and Mad had discovered Harmony in class one or two. It had something to do with Mad's knack.

Of course, back then they had had no clue about knacks or minds. It had been Rufus Gaines of the Scotland Yard, invited over to their class months later to talk to them about the police who'd seen their potential and slowly tapped them to join the Societies.

Harmony had been kept a secret even from others of the Societies, but the crew had grown in fits and starts.

First the twins, then Monica and finally Jin - who everyone had started out hating before they grew to know him.

Jin was the one who had actually first called it Harmony. He posited that it was similar to Resonance but more complex. The name seemed to click with all of them.

After a lot of experimentation they figured it was unique to them alone. It had something to do with their affinities for music.

It had initially been just Mad's but had grown to include all of them. And about two or three years ago the oddities had started.