The premiere of the modern classical romantic drama, I Once Was in Arcadia!
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On the stage of the Okhema Theatre.
The lights dimmed and the whispering audience members, even if they had little interest in the performance, still fell silent.
No one knew what this new play was about or what it bring. Unless they saw something truly boring.
So actually… everyone still respected the stage. After all, that's the charm of a live performance.
Furina couldn't help but get drawn in. She stared at the darkened stage, heart stirring with emotion.
The lights, the sounds, the stage, and the curtain that symbolized the beginning of everything,
All of it reminded her of her own past.
The bitterness and sweetness of life on stage had become part of her memories, good ones, bad ones, all shaping who she became.
And now, as that familiar feeling returned, those faded memories began to revive again.
Wooo~~~
A dull horn sounded.
"Legend says, in the land of ancient myths…"
"There existed Okhema and many city-states…"
"They fought sometimes, made peace sometimes."
Phainon's dramatic narration began.
Here, Phainon acted as the narrator, introducing the simple setting to the audience.
The setting wasn't complicated, City-states, leaders, wars, and the Titans they each believed in.
These elements were not unfamiliar to Greek locals who had grown up watching operas and classical dramas.
"A foreign traveler came to Okhema…" The curtain slowly rose.
The set was revealed. Many goods were piled beside a cart, with several people standing before them, holding weapons.
Guard (played by Mydeimos)
Merchant (played by Hyacine)
And the foreign traveler (played by Phainon, wearing a gray wig)
The three of them watched the figure before them nervously.
A being made of stone with a gray armor and a covered face.
A half-mad Titankin- the creation of the Titan of Strife. (played by Aglaea)
"Kill…"
"Pa… Paris…"
A hoarse, screeching whisper came from under the mask.
To perform this role well, Aglaea had adjusted her tone, pressing her voice very low.
If one didn't know her well, they would never guess the woman in armor was Aglaea.
That mature, elegant voice had become hoarse, as if weathered by years.
And thus the story began.
It seemed a Titankin of strife wanted to rob the merchant for some reason.
However, as the gray-haired traveler stepped forward, the Titankin was no match for the powerful traveler and staggered away in defeat.
Before leaving, the Titankin left behind a cryptic phrase.
"Paris…" After the opponent fled, the guard(Mydeimos) crossed his arms and mocked: "A coward under the Strife's command fleeing? What a joke…"
In any case the goods were safe.
The merchant sighed in relief, but when they began to gather the scattered items after the battle, she sadly realized that her most precious cargo was gone.
"That item is no ordinary thing."
"It's the sacred relic of Mnestia, her personally crafted Golden Silk!"
Seeing the traveler's puzzled expression, the merchant told the legendary story related to the relic:
"You've heard of it, haven't you? In the age of creation, Mnestia spun the world's love and her own self into silk, a gift to the Titan Cerces."
Mnestia, Cerces, Names that had appeared earlier in the narration. All connected to the Titans.
The 300 audience members watched quietly, their minds following the flow of the play's unfolding wishes and themes.
Since the treasure was tied to the Titans, and also to the Titan of Love, it was indeed a valuable artifact.
The audience seemed to sense how the story might develop.
Was this an adventure tale? If it lacked an epic or tragic tone and only focused on the adventure itself, it might seem a bit shallow.
But for now, the audience wasn't bored. There was already conflict, and an intriguing goal had been presented.
So the following plot was worth anticipating.
There was also an amusing behind-the-scenes story.
Phainon's traveler character was originally written to be a little… scummy. But Phainon simply couldn't act that way.
No matter how humorous the lines were, Phainon's delivery always came across as too upright and serious.
...
The curtain slowly fell. The first act ended.
Backstage, the staff under Tribios' direction were quickly changing the set.
Meanwhile, the actors were in their dressing rooms, changing into new costumes for their next scenes.
A few dozen seconds later, the curtain rose again.
The second act began.
The gray-haired foreign traveler set out to track down the Titankin. The stage backdrop had been replaced with symbols of battle and strife.
Here, the traveler found the Titankin again. But unlike before, she now appeared frail and weak.
She kept muttering the same name, Paris.
"The golden thread… stolen by Paris…" The Titankin's lines made the story more interesting.
The sacred relic of Mnestia, according to the Titankin, it belonged to someone named Paris?
The gray-haired traveler didn't attack but tried to uncover the truth.
"The golden thread belongs to Paris?"
"Yes… Paris…"
"It seems unless I find this Paris, you won't hand over the treasure. Where is he?"
"Gone… to Arcadia." The delirious Titankin fell into confusion again, unable to say anything useful.
The gray-haired traveler continued alone. He wandered through a ruined city, facing fully armored, godlike foes.
These powerful enemies were no match for his skill.
After a long, fruitless search, the traveler stepped to the very front of the stage.
All surrounding lights went dark. Only one beam shone on him.
"This is troublesome."
"No clues at all. Do I have to take the golden thread from the Titankin by force?"
"If no miracle happens, that might be the only way."
The traveler fell into monologue.
And in the darkness, where the audience couldn't see, a group of staff members quickly replaced the set with the bustling Okhema Market.
The theater troupe, dressed in new costumes and playing the roles of townsfolk, once again took to the stage.
Bang!
When everything was ready and the traveler's monologue ended, the lights came on at just the right moment.
"A miracle has truly appeared."
"Is it Oronyx?" The traveler said in surprise, "He brought me back to the past?"
The seamless change of scenery and the novel setting of time travel made the audience even more interested in the play.
They had become quite intrigued and wanted to get to the bottom of everything.
The traveler began visiting cities of the past and talking to the people there, searching for clues about Paris.
He didn't find the person, but he found many legends about Arcadia, and about the golden thread.
Some said it was at the center of the world, some said it lay beneath the sea of Styxia, and others said it rested on the backs of a swarm of butterflies.
But everyone firmly believed that Arcadia must exist. And the golden thread was indeed an mythical treasure.
To the townsfolk, the golden thread symbolized the highest form of romance, a love that endures until death.
It was woven from actual gold, and its resemblance and the love story behind it made it a treasure in any tale.
More information about the golden thread was told by a gorgeously dressed, beautiful woman.
[A/N: Take a guess?]
"Customers who admire Mnestia do indeed love the so-called 'Golden Thread Dress.'"
"But weaving it with soft gold thread is not only costly but also makes it hard to move in. It's better to use dyed silk or fabric instead."
"Compared to the creations of the Titans, dyed golden threads and metallic fibers are mere imitations of the gods' work. To obsess over the quality of these counterfeits while losing the beauty that clothing should have, that's more disrespectful to 'romance,' isn't it?"
Strangely enough, this beautiful woman was quite elegant. Yet her idea of romance wasn't quite the same as what the audience imagined.
But at this moment, as the audience grew immersed in the play, they began to realize something.
After following the traveler's investigation and uncovering so much information, people started to sense that this story might indeed be about romance and love.
There must be a touching love story between the Titankin obsessed with the golden thread and Paris.
Otherwise, she would not have been so fixated, so determined to retrieve the thread even in her madness.
Many sentimental audience members had already imagined a grand romance in their minds.
"The play is getting more and more interesting."
"I want to see the story between the Titankin and this Paris."
"It must be an undying love." Someone in the audience whispered this.
...
On the stage, the traveler who had gathered all the information returned once again to the front of the stage.
The lights dimmed. As always, the same technique was used.
In his monologue, the traveler organized his thoughts, while backstage a new set was prepared.
When the lights came back on, the traveler had returned to where it all began, in the ruins of the city.
The Titankin lay on the ground, though no one knew when she had fallen.
She looked much weaker than before, and even her murmurs lacked the spirit from earlier.
To uncover the truth and to free the Titankin from her inner torment, the traveler set out on his journey once more.
Passing through the doorways of the past (with seamless set transitions), the traveler this time did not appear in Okhema, but in a courtroom during a trial.
The Titankin (Aglaea) was severely wounded and stood in the suspect's location, undergoing a trial.
The charge against her: defeat in battle.
"Even triumph is no reason for arrogance. Defeat, worse yet, is a disgrace to us. Our ancestors once said: the filth upon Castrum Kremnos must be washed away with blood."
The Titankin spoke with humiliation.
The commander stepped forward and began a grand declaration:
"Who are the defeated upon the battlefield? Who are the flies that mistake blood for nectar? Who defiled the warmth of Nikador's light?"
"It is you, His own creation!"
"You betrayed your destiny, failing in your assault on the army of Okhema."
"The glorious Castrum Kremnos will shatter your shameful body and by death's hand erase its stain."
"Children of Nikador, take your disgraced sister to the dungeon. Let her await judgment along with the other coward!"
This ornate and elaborate decree, delivered as a judgment, fit the stage drama perfectly.
The audience watched without blinking. As the Titankin was dragged into the dungeon, everyone finally saw 'Paris'.
It was Anaxagoras, heavily made up, his original appearance unrecognizable. His background as a professor of classical art gave him remarkable skill.
Paris looked every bit like a free-spirited wanderer, one who sought freedom, art, and ideals.
And the "coward" mentioned by the commander, the one imprisoned with the Titankin, was him.
But this "coward" looked relaxed, even in such dire straits. He still found the heart to invite the Titankin to escape together, to stop serving Nikador.
The Titankin's reaction was fierce. She used every vicious word she could think of to attack him, calling him a glib-tongued rogue, a scoundrel, a shameless seducer.
The audience grew more and more excited.
From their view, they could almost predict what would happen next.
A Titankin and an idealistic rebel, the clash between obedience and freedom, duty and love.
And surely, the Titankin would fall for him. The two of them would create a love story that would move hearts.
Perhaps, in the end, they would find that legendary Arcadia together, and become the embodiment of romance.
Predicting the story didn't make the audience lose interest. On the contrary, it made them even more eager.
Because, from what they'd seen so far, the Titankin's homeland and its military devotion were clearly evil.
Paris, who cherished freedom, was naturally the "righteous" one. The story of Aglaea finding freedom under Paris's guidance was exactly what everyone wanted to see.
In the dungeon, the Titankin dismissed Paris' words with scorn, her attitude harsh and cold.
But Paris only laughed heartily, completely unfazed.
And when the traveler arrived, Paris didn't hesitate to ask him for help, to help them both escape.