Carrying A Celtic Cross
Suggested Theme:
Main Theme- Faery's Love Song (Tha Mi Sgith)
After his Christmas debut, his friends presumed that Kaz would sing for them on Valentine's Day since it was a major holiday like Christmas. However, they got nothing from the surprisingly talented singer. They weren't woken up at the crack of dawn. They weren't dragged back to the Crypt of Eternal Echoes. They weren't treated to a wonderful duet of Kaz and Reggie. They got absolutely nothing on the romantic holiday.
Instead of inquiring directly to Kaz, they decided to ask Reggie. For all they knew, Reggie and Kaz could still be planning some sort of concert for them, but had to reschedule it for later. Reggie frankly told them that there wasn't going to be another duet. Apparently, it was just a one-time show for the joyous holiday. The gang was mildly bummed, but was grateful to at least have had the chance to hear Kaz sing.
Unbeknownst to his friends, Kaz had been preparing a song for the holiday. It just wasn't for them. Neither was the song set to debut on Valentine's Day. He had spent the past two months researching and rehearsing for his song. He also had to spend a solid week of repurposing old Halloween costumes into a "festive" suit. He also had to spend several hours gathering Dractyl's scales and a bunch of disgusting fungi in Perim. All of this was for H'earring.
The snacks are a consolation gift if the mutated rabbit hated his singing. By the Cothica, H'earring better not hate his singing! Or make fun of his outfit. Kaz is wearing a shamrock-green vest and suit jacket that were part of a Riddler costume. He has on black slacks and black derbies that were part of Nolan's Scarecrow costume. He has a turquoise belt to hold up his slacks that comes from a Chaor costume. The Master's fob watch is hanging around his neck like a tie. Out of all his Christmas gifts, the fob watch is his most cherished.
He slicks back his hair and puts in his contacts. He wants to surprise H'earring, so he plans to go to H'earring's house late in the night. Also, he doesn't want his friends finding out about his late-night excursion. They, especially Peyton, have big mouths and would blab to H'earring. He hopes nothing will go horribly wrong, but he's heading into the UnderWorld at night. Something will go wrong, but he only hopes that H'earring's snacks will still be in the hiding place that he stashed them in. If not, then the UnderWorld Scout will just have to settle with a song.
It is the night of March 17, or better known on Earth as St. Patrick's Day. Kaz knows that Tom, Sarah, and Peyton are celebrating tonight like most youths without an ounce of Irish blood in them. Tom is drinking illegal, green-tinted drinks at the parentless house of some popular bimbo along with most of the popular kids. Sarah claims that she will be "dancing" at her friend's house with a Jacuzzi. Peyton and his family are hosting a St. Patrick's Day party and family reunion, which is an excuse for most of them to drink and dance like idiots. All of them promised that they won't go to Chaotic, since they'll be too smash to even be able to port their codes.
Kaz was invited by Tom and even by a fellow UnderWorld fan to a party and to get wasted with them. He declined as coldly and heatedly as Chaor. Was Kaz offended? No, in fact, he doesn't care that St. Patrick's Day is being as used an excuse to get wasted. Today is very significant for him for two reasons. The first and most important is that it's H'earring's birthday. The second involves his dad…..
Kaz arrives to H'earring's small and dreary house in UnderWorld City. So far, he has been able to skulk through the darkness without setting off any sentries or alarms around the city. He was pleasantly surprised to find H'earring's snacks still in their hiding place. Perhaps the only bad thing that will happen involves how far too tight his outfit actually is in this volcanic wonderland. Or H'earring disliking his singing. Either way, he's fairly content and rapping on the UnderWorlder's door.
"H'earring, it's me, Kaz!" The door finally swings open like a trapdoor in a villain's lair. The mutant rabbit comes out with nervous look on his face. Shit, Kaz thought when he saw H'earring pulling at his ears. When H'earring does this nervous habit, it means that Chaor has given him an unpleasant task.
"Let me guess, we have to go to Chaor's keep?" It wasn't a guess; it was more like an inevitability. H'earring nods his worried head. Kaz sighs; they both walk to Chaor's magnificent but equally dreary castle. Before he enters through the secret passageway, Kaz hands H'earring his disgusting treats.
"Happy birthday, H'earring." Kaz can feel his heart stop beating when he saw the sad look on H'earring's face. This is bad. That look means that Chaor didn't divulge a single hint to why the UnderWorld Lord nee-wants Kaz this time.
"He just had to ruin your birthday." Kaz stupidly lets slip from his mouth. His annoyance got the best of him, again. He can't help but be angry with Chaor. He spent almost two months on this song and now it was for nothing! While at it, H'earring looks positively miserable on his own birthday. They reach the secret passageway after five minutes of walking. H'earring pulls down the torch with a glowing stone and the passageway opens. Kaz immediately goes in, fairly versed in this routine. However, he doesn't hear H'earring coming.
"Sorry, Kaz, but Lord Chaor wants this to be a very private audience. So it'll just be the two of you." Kaz's anger has died quicker than a fire in Glacier Plains during a blizzard. This has never happened before. Usually, Agitos and Takinom are there whenever Chaor summons him for some mission. Kaz isn't sure what this means. Maybe Chaor trust-oh who was he kidding? Chaor trusts no one. Friends are expendable, Chaor told him that when he nearly killed Kaz's best friends. Kaz starts walking, knowing that Chaor will have the answers he seeks. He hopes that the UnderWorld Lord is in a "good" mood because he doesn't want a glowing rock being hurled at him like the last time!
Chaor's throneroom is empty of any life save for Kaz, Chaor, and the glowing torches. Chaor is sitting in his stone throne on his stage inside the volcanic cavern of stalactite. Chaor is lit by the hidden chandelier of glowing rocks above his horned head. He looks like he's bathing in calming hellfire before going on a bloody campaign. His features are as stoic as a gargoyle statue, which means he's not pissed right now. Kaz is hoping the temperamental gargoyle will stay this way.
"Hello, Chaor." As intimidating Chaor is in this hellish light, Kaz isn't willing to play the cowardly, loyal worm tonight. He isn't angry, but he isn't going to be scared into submission.
"Kazzy, you're going to sing for me." Kaz could feel his face grow hot. He knows that his face is decorated with splotchy patches of red from his embarrassment. He did not expect Chaor to say that. He expected to get yelled at for being insolent. Did someone told him? Sarah, Peyton, Tom, and Reggie are the only ones who know that he can sing, but they aren't fond of the UnderWorld or Chaor.
"How did you find out?" Chaor's eyes are as brilliant and cold as an ocean of frozen flames. Clearly, Chaor isn't going to answer him. Kaz takes in a deep breath to calm himself. Right now, his head is running the lyrics of the song that he was supposed to sing for H'earring. He'll just have to sing for Chaor and hope that the red gargoyle gets a laugh from it.
"Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich, buain na rainich,
Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich daonnan"
The song is called "Tha Mi Sgith", which roughly translates to "Faery's Love Song" in English. His dad used to sing this song to him when he was alive. Kaz had no idea what any of the words meant, but he loved hearing his dad's Irish lilt echoing throughout the song.
"'S tric a bha mi fhìn 's mo leannan,
Anns a' ghleannan cheòthar,
'G èisteachd còisir bhinn an doire,
Seinn sa choille dhòmhail"
His dad came from Ireland, but left because of his haunted childhood. Kaz never asked for an elaboration as a child because he didn't want to upset him. His dad even left behind his surname when he married due to his bad memories.
"Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich, buain na rainich,
Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich daonnan"
His dad was the one who told him, "The truth is the truth." Unfortunately, it almost ended with Kaz being sent to a looney bin. He was able to get out of it, but his dad wasn't so fortunate.
"O nam faicinn thu a' tighinn,
Ruithinn dhol nad chòdhail,
Ach mur tig thu 'n seo gam shireadh,
Ciamar thilleas dòchas?"
Kaz could feel his voice nearly crack from past anguish. He cannot tell if Chaor heard that crack; Chaor's face doesn't even twitch. At least he isn't throwing fireballs at me, Kaz thought.
"Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich, buain na rainich,
Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich daonnan"
His thoughts about his father is thankfully shifted to thoughts about Chaor's childhood. H'earring once told him that Chaor wasn't always in charge; the UnderWorld used to be ruled by Van Bloot's father, Gothos. Also, Kaz knows that Chaor is definitely a descendant of Kiru, so, at some unspecified point in time, Kiru's family must've been kicked out of power.
"Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich, buain na rainich,
Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich daonnan"
Perhaps, Chaor's parents were in charge when he was a child, and then Gothos murdered them in order to usurp the throne. However, Kaz feels like he would've found out by now if that were the case. Also, if that actually did happen, then Chaor would've been killed by Gothos to make sure that no UnderWorlder would side with the slaughtered royal couple.
"Cùl an tomain, bràigh an tomain,
Cùl an tomain bhòidheach,
Cùl an tomain, bràigh an tomain,
H-uile là nam ònar"
Maybe Kaz could redact his earlier question and ask the UnderWorld Lord about his childhood? Would Chaor actually be willing to tell a human about his secretive childhood? No, no he wouldn't.
"Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich, buain na rainich,
Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich daonnan"
Most likely, Chaor was abandon at birth and had to raise himself. Kaz isn't certain if that would be true either since he doesn't know anyone abandon at birth to testify how orphans would act. He has movies to go by, but most of them are about chosen ones that go on wonderful adventures and live happily ever after.
"Anns an t-sìthean, o, gur sgìth mi,
'S tric mo chridhe ga leònadh,
Nuair bhios càch a' seinn nan luinneag,
Cha dèan mis' ach crònan"
Kaz almost wishes that Reggie was here; at least he wouldn't be alone with Chaor. However, strings would be a better accompaniment to the song than drums. Maybe he should get together with Reggie again and perform another song for his friends one day.
"Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich, buain na rainich,
Tha mi sgìth 's mi leam fhìn,
Buain na rainich daonna"
Kaz ends his song with a bow like he was a peasant before the Queen of Fairies. The bow is part of the song because he wanted to make H'earring feel like someone important for his birthday. He knows that his bow means absolutely nothing to someone like Chaor.
"What language were you singing in?" Kaz immediately refrains from saying, "A human language, duh." It isn't wise to mouth off to Chaor. Besides, he doesn't ruin one of the few "good" moods that Chaor is in.
"Irish Gaelic. It's my father's tongue from a Tribe called Ireland back on Earth." Well, he's hoping that the song is actually Irish Gaelic. For all he knows, his father could've been singing Scottish Gaelic, or a combination of the two.
"Can you translate the lyrics?" Kaz is grateful at his perfectionist tendencies. He looked up the English translation of the lyrics when he was practicing the song, so he could learn what the song was about. The translation he found wasn't exactly the best when sung, but he's able to sing it.
"I am tired and I am alone,
Cutting the bracken, cutting the bracken,
I am tired and I am alone,
Forever cutting the bracken"
He had to look up "bracken", which is roughly defined as some sort of fern. He presumes "cutting the bracken" means clearing a path in the woods or something. He knows that the English version is going to sound awful to Chaor because it just doesn't sound as elegant as the one sung in Irish Gaelic.
"Often, my love and I,
Were in the misty glens,
Listening to the sweet choir of the grove,
Singing in the corpulent forest"
Right now, the song seems like any old love song albeit with more advanced vocabulary. His voice sounds raspier like his vocal cords are about to rip. This is what he gets for not requesting a glass of water after finishing the first time.
"I am tired and I am alone,
Cutting the bracken, cutting the bracken,
I am tired and I am alone,
Forever cutting the bracken"
It's actually more appropriate to have a worn out voice. The song is about someone who is tired and alone when their lover isn't around. Kaz feels like he captures the idleness quite well.
"If I saw you coming,
I would run to meet you,
But if you don't come here to search for me,
How can hope return?"
Kaz finally realizes the irony of this song after spending almost two months working on it. This song is pseudo romantic by nature, which would've made a perfect gift for some melancholic couple on Valentine's Day. He could almost blush now that he's singing a "love" song to Chaor.
"I am tired and I am alone,
Cutting the bracken, cutting the bracken,
I am tired and I am alone,
Forever cutting the bracken"
He wonders if Chaor realizes yet about the "romantic" nature of the song. But then again, Chaor doesn't seem like the type to give a damn about romance. He's probably just going to grunt about how stupid the song is after Kaz finishes.
"Behind the knoll, the top of the knoll,
Behind the lovely knoll,
Behind the knoll, the top of the knoll,
Every day, alone"
He likes singing "knoll" over and over again. It sort of gives his tongue and vocals a bit of a break. Also, his father loved using "knoll" to convey a mystical tone to the song.
"I am tired and I am alone,
Cutting the bracken, cutting the bracken,
I am tired and I am alone,
Forever cutting the bracken"
By the Cothica, he wants to just give up at this point. There's only two stanzas left, but he could hear his voice fading and cracking with every word sung now. If Chaor didn't pick up his rasp before, then the UnderWorld ruler has now!
"In the fairy hill, oh I will be tired,
And often my heart would be wounded,
When others sing their songs,
I will do nothing but drone"
Maybe he should've just given a summary of the song rather than sing the entire English translation. He's putting far more effort in this performance than he had to for his Christmas one. His friends were fairly easy to please because they were surprised that he could actually sing.
"I am tired and I am alone,
Cutting the bracken, cutting the bracken,
I am tired and I am alone,
Forever cutting the bracken"
On the last word, his voice finally gives out. He erupts into a coughing fit, which makes him feel like he swallowed a wad of sandpaper. He should've just done this at the crack of dawn like the last big song he sung. H'earring would've been grumpy, but at least Kaz wouldn't have to sing twice.
"Here." During his coughing fit, Chaor must've gotten up and fetched him a cup of water at some point. Maybe from behind his throne? Kaz drinks the water without much thought. It could be poison, but as long as it soothes his sore throat; he could care less. Plus, he has his Scanner to save him if that is the case.
"Thank you." Kaz hands back the stone goblet to Chaor. The water was refreshing if a bit ashy in flavor. Chaor does not go back to his stone throne, which doesn't alarm Kaz. The UnderWorld Lord knows that Kaz's voice is weak after his performance, so he probably got close to the human to be able to hear Kaz's whispery answers better.
"You sing quite well." Kaz grins like a prideful warrior that he knows. He actually got a compliment from Chaor!
"I've been singing in secret for years. I surprised my friends a few months ago with my singing." Kaz knows his words sound like boisterous babble, but he has a right to be prideful. For years, people have presumed that he's only good at "nerdy" things like Chaotic or "Star Quest". It feels wonderful like being asked out by a hot girl when he proves those naysayers wrong.
"Yes, I heard your song a few months ago. Half the UnderWorld did." The Crypt of Eternal Echoes has many tunnels, so there is truth in Chaor's hyperbole.
"You should have seen the outfit I was in! I looked like….well like David Bowie. He's a musician on Earth. His voice is loads better than mine." It's true, at least to Kaz who actually heard the David Bowie and Bing Crosby rendition. Chaor grunts like he disagrees, which inflates Kaz's ego.
"So how did you figure out that I was the one singing in the Crypt of Eternal Echoes?" Kaz boldly asked again. H'earring couldn't have possibly told Chaor because he is still in the dark about it. His friends would rather be as from Chaor as possible.
"I have spies all over UnderWorld City that saw you leave the Crypt of Eternal Echoes after your song was over." That makes perfect sense. Of course, Chaor would have spies everywhere. He has to figure out who are Van Bloot sympathizers, at least before he became "brainwashed", and who support him. Also, this explains how Chaor found out about Kaz's presence in the UnderWorld tonight. One of Chaor's spies must've spotted Kaz being sneaky during the day and told Chaor about it.
"Why did you want me to sing for you if I may ask?" Kaz asked as politely as he could. He wants to know because Chaor probably has better things to do than to listen to some human sing.
"I wanted to hear you sing again. Your singing is wicked." Kaz's face becomes a patchwork of red again. He got another compliment from Chaor!
"Thank you. I was supposed to sing that song for H'earring. Today is his birthday." Chaor narrows his eyes like he did when Kaz told him it was a bad idea to raid the OverWorld Arsenal.
"I know. When my spies told me that you were hiding some Dractyl scales, I knew that H'earring is the only Creature who actually would eat it. You were preparing some surprise for him for his birthday, so I told H'earring that if he saw you then you were to be sent here." Selfish bastard, Kaz thought and smiled.
"Your father taught you the song. What was he like?" Kaz is tempted to port out now, but that would incur Chaor's wrath. It would be best just to answer the question and hope that is all the red gargoyle would ask no more.
"He was the most beautiful man in the world. He was a sculptor who loved to sculpt gargoyles, fairies, dragons, and mystical sigils." Kaz left out that he wished he looked like his dad. He knows that he looks like an ugly duckling in comparison to his swan of a father. He knew people who bought his dad's sculptors only because they wanted a piece of his beautiful dad.
"He believed that there was another world. It wasn't an afterlife, but a living world with sentient beings. He was right, but he died before he could find out." There are some secrets that Kaz would never tell. How his dad died is one of them. He hopes Chaor can respect that sentiment.
"I would've liked to meet him. He sounds as appealing as you." His dad was fascinated with gargoyles. Half of the backyard was filled with those stone sentinels. He would've loved to create a life-sized sculpture of the UnderWorld Lord.
"Yes he was, but he's in his magical world now." His dad told him they were descendants of fairies and other mythical creatures. When they die, they'll get to go to the Otherworld and be with their magical kin forever. Kaz believed him until he died.
"You can go now." Kaz feels weightless. Sure, he didn't get to sing for H'earring, but at least the green rabbit got his treats. He got to sing his song and he received praise. He's happy. Happiness is as important as the truth. He ports out with a big smile on his face. It has been the best St. Patrick's Day he had in years.