Author's note: Thanks to Skillet for the song from which I borrowed a title.


There were two things Syllendë hated most. One was far too dreadful to even think about. It turned her blood cold with crippling terror, even if uttered in a mere whisper, or wordlessly so in a pair of feverishly fervent eyes, or even as a thought in her own mind. The other… the other was more manageable. As long as her lute remained at hand, she could stave it off.

She blamed it on his mother. His mother had been one of them, one of the stars. Every creature was guilty of the deed, and Syllendë hated it no less from them, but the stars were the worst of all: they had been the first to join That Which Was Most Dreadful in it, and were far from earthly corruptions besides. Only in Overland's day and in Underland's dark was she safe from them.

And then one of those loathsome creatures had tread the earth. Though half-star only, it had been Syllendë's great pleasure to kill her. Besides, it had brought the son into Syllendë's hand.

He was useful, star-blood notwithstanding. More human than star, he could be reined in, subdued, broken. She could shape him, mold him, fashion him to her purpose.

She had only to keep her lute within reach.

She could not drown him out, but there was more than one way to dam a flood. With it, she crooned his tempests to peace and lulled him to slumber before he woke. If he resisted, she could comfort herself till his hour was over and suggest that he too would benefit from the same. And if his fervency blazed too hot, she would disrupt it with a music contrary to his own.

As long as Syllendë played her lute, she could stop him singing.


Prompt: Rilian's mother was a star's daughter. Did that change anything about his abilities, childhood, or personality?

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