A monstrous tree stood in the middle of a large, silent island. Five people slowly approached it until they touched it. As they did so, the tree glowed with golden runes, followed by a thunderous melody that broke the silence of the world...
***
A young man was taking a shower while a classical melody played in the background.
The brown-haired young man stepped out of the shower soaking wet and dried himself with a white towel. His messy brown hair stood out against his dark skin.
The young man dressed in a thick leather uniform and placed a badge on his chest with his name visible, "Andrew Collin Singh." He put on boots that matched his outfit perfectly and got out of bed with a long, deep sigh.
Let's do this.
Andrew opened the creaky wooden door and left his room, hurried past the other rooms in the hallway, and went down the creaking stairs. The walls of the house gleamed with religious paintings cleverly positioned to cover the peeling paint.
Andrew reached the first floor, where several people were browsing through the different products.
Customers at this hour?
Andrew wondered, puzzled, and went to greet his mother at the counter.
His mother smiled warmly when she saw him.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well, dear?"
His mother greeted him affectionately. Andrew forced a smile and answered, evading the question.
"What's going on? Why are there so many customers at this hour?"
Andrew asked, confused. It wasn't normal for customers to arrive at this time of the morning, especially with the current economic crisis.
"Today is the twentieth anniversary of the birth of the Dominion. Did you really forget, Andrew?"
Andrew was surprised; he had no idea that today was a special date. Now it made sense that people were coming to buy yarn. People usually knitted flags or sheets themed around the Dominion to celebrate the anniversary of the European Dominion.
"I'm sorry, I forgot."
Andrew lied. He had no idea about this date, but he didn't want to upset his mother, who always tried to make Andrew and his brother see how important it was to celebrate these dates. She wanted them to be proud of the people who had established this domain.
"Well, we'll talk about that later. You have to go to work, don't you?"
said his mother, cutting off his ramblings.
He looked at his right wrist where his watch was, the watch read 7:02 AM.
He was supposed to be at headquarters at 7:30 a.m.
Oh no...
Andrew thought, panicked, before rushing out the door of the silk shop.
"See you later, Mom!"
Andrew shouted as he dodged the shelves of yarn and ran out the door.
As he stepped outside, he breathed in the hot city air and ran between people, breathing heavily. The sun's rays filtered through the city's tall buildings and the immense curve of Maderíu. The sun was just rising at this hour, yet the city was already full of people on their way to work.
Andrew crossed the street at a red light, dodging cars, and several horns honked in response to his recklessness.
"Sorry!"
Andrew shouted as he kept running.
When he reached the symphony station, Andrew went down the stairs and entered one of the many sonotubes.
Once inside, a relaxing melody played and a current of air flowed in response to the music throughout the sonotube, carrying Andrew upward.
As the sonotubo took Andrew to headquarters, he rambled on about what awaited him today.
A new team, huh?
After working with the same squad as a tuner for two years, today he had been assigned to a new team.
Andrew thought he had good synergy with his squad, so why had headquarters made this change? Maybe they had gotten tired of him?
Or maybe they needed someone better than him?
It doesn't matter...
He was annoyed by this situation, but there wasn't much he could do but accept it.
Then the air current ended and the sonotube opened, revealing a gigantic circular room. The ceiling glowed warmly through the glass; it looked splendid.
And in the middle of the headquarters stood the foundations of a portal. It was immense, and in each corner of it stood a person wearing a priest's robe and the shield of The Orchestra, representing Barsical.
The cursed singers...
They were in charge of singing the cursed song that opened El Nadira.
Hundreds of people walked and talked, some carrying curious signs.
"Chorus Musicians Wanted"
Chorus musicians were highly sought after. Who wouldn't want a healer on their team?
Other people were organizing themselves to enter El Nadira, seemingly strategizing.
The symphony hall was fuller than ever.
"What a great start to the week."
Andrew thought to himself before walking inside, making his way through the crowd, some of whom were muscular musicians, others very handsome, and obviously beautiful musicians.
It was normal to find beauties at the symphony headquarters; only musicians came to this place.
"Why on earth would someone who can't sing come here?"
That is, except for the tuners, the workers who risk their lives daily serving as support for the musicians.
Andrew approached one of the many windows where his old friend Leticia was standing.
Andrew leaned his left arm on the window and looked at Leticia with a smile.
"Good morning, Leti, how's your morning going?"
Mrs. Leticia looked at Andrew indifferently, picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. When she put the cup down, she sighed deeply and looked at Andrew again.
"Good morning, Andrew. What do you need today?"
Andrew smiled. He was very fond of Mrs. Leticia, one of the few people who had never been fake with him. From the beginning, Leticia had made it very clear that she hated Andrew, and that fascinated him.
"I'm looking for the flute team number three,
Could you find it for me, Leti?"
Andrew smiled at her, but Leticia remained indifferent and looked at her computer, typing a couple of times before looking back at Andrew.
"Sector two," Mrs. Leticia said curtly.
Andrew smiled at her one last time.
"Thanks, Leti."
He made his way to sector two, carefully navigating between people, not wanting to bump into a bad-tempered musician.
When he reached sector two, there were four rather curious people in a remote corner.
A tall, athletic man, he seemed rather somber. A woman with blue hair stood out next to the man; they were almost the same size.
There was a young man who seemed quite confident sitting on one of the benches with a large guitar that was almost as tall as he was, and next to him was another young man who seemed quite nervous. Even so, Andrew could sense that all four of them were strong.
The first to see him was the blue-haired woman. When she saw Andrew, she frowned and approached him, each step she took in her boots echoing on the quartz floor.
Andrew opened his eyes, a little surprised by the woman's aggressiveness.
She stood in front of Andrew, showing dominance.
"Are you our tuner?" the woman said heatedly.
Andrew looked at her, a little scared, and replied.
"Yes, I am. My name is..."
The woman ignored Andrew's introduction, grabbing him by the collar of his gray uniform jacket and lifting him off the ground in a rage.
The veins in the woman's hand bulged from the force of her grip.
"You're ten minutes late. Explain yourself immediately."
Andrew just smiled shyly at the woman's display of dominance.
This is going to be hell...
he thought before answering.
"I had some mishaps, but does it matter? I'm here now, and that's what matters."
Feeling his breath catch even more from the woman's strong grip, he realized how badly he had just used his words.
"Okay, okay... I'm sorry, it won't happen again," Andrew conceded.
Instantly, the woman released her grip and let Andrew drop, gasping for air.
Andrew took a deep breath of fresh air and sighed, calming himself.
This woman is dangerous, she definitely is.
Andrew was already thinking about how complicated it would be to be with a new squad, and now he had to deal with her.
This will be a monumental task, but...
"Tell me your name, now." said the woman, cutting off Andrew's ramblings.
Why can't anyone let me think things through in peace for a moment?
"My name is Andrew. And you?" Andrew replied with a shrug.
"Adele" the woman replied instantly, without hesitation in her voice.
Adele was a curious name for this woman. Andrew imagined a different name, something that would fit her curious personality a little better.
Breaking the silence of the squad, the somber man rose from the corner where he had been leaning and picked up his violin from the floor.
The footsteps of the man's boots sounded like a visceral melody; it was simply elegant.
"Since we're all here, let's go in" the man suggested.
Andrew smiled slightly as he thought.
So you'll take on the role of leader, huh?
The two young men stood up, the first carrying his large guitar in a case.
The second had no musical instrument in sight, so Andrew assumed he was a backup singer.
As he walked alongside his team to the Harmony Arch area, Andrew felt strangely confident. He usually walked alone at headquarters, so having a team like this felt comforting. His old team used to wait for him inside the Nadira.
Don't get used to it, don't get used to it...
Andrew thought, reassuring himself.
***
Standing in front of the Harmony Arch, Andrew watched as his teammates took their instruments out of their cases, preparing to enter.
His squad approached the arch, leaving Andrew behind.
A melody that echoed throughout the headquarters announced the entry of a squad into the Nadira.
Sensing the arrival of singers, the Arch began to sing multiple songs, and the priests acted quickly.
The songs of the cursed singers put pressure on the songs of the Arch of Harmony, balancing the vibration.
When the music of the Arch finally stabilized, the portal activated, and the four passed through without hesitation.
Andrew took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Let's do this..."