Let sleeping tricksters lie...

This is a cover of Doug McArthur's 'Merlin', heavily based on Valerie Housden's choral arrangement that Nat used to perform with the nMC choir.

Lyrics:

It's not so dark in the cave tonight
Just over here there's a crack of light
Tomorrow’s the day

I heard the workmen talking through the wall
They're digging for a brand-new shopping mall
Just knocked off for the day

Now it's late at night and the stars are deep
I don’t mind, I don't need sleep
I've been sleeping for quite some time

And I'm ready to dance with the Devil's daughter
And I don't need to walk on water
‘Cause I know
I can run on wine!

There's voices humming through the ground
Spirits that kick old bones around
And the winds pick up again

And the ocean slows its tides to wait
The lions roar at Heaven's gate
The forest people call my name

    (Emrys Lailoken)

They called my name and never understood
That I am the spirit of the wind and wood
And I am the name in the writing on the wall

    (Come, come! Come to us!
    We call you!
    Emrys Lailoken)

And I don't know when, I don't know how
I do know I'm much stronger now
And I wouldn’a woke if I hadn't heard you call!

    (Emrys come!
    Come wild man in the wood
    Your people call you
    Emrys Lailoken)

Well, I remember when they put me here
The workmen wrapped in masks of fear
Slowly rolling in that stone

    (Dona nobis!
    Dona nobis!
    Dona nobis pacem!)

They nailed my hands to the Rowan tree
They burned my body, they blinded me
They buried me here alone

    (Dona nobis pacem!
     Pacem!
     Pacem!)

And Arthur kissed my bloody eyes
Said, "You will live, we will die
But you will harm nobody here."

    (Please leave us in peace!)

And over his shoulder, high on the hill
I see her watching, laughing still
The lovely Guinevere

But Arthur cursed when he saw me smile
The sun went dark, the wind went wild
And they put me in this place

For years I've slept in this holy park
Slowly healing in the dark
I can hardly wait
To see that workman's face


Credit:

Lyrics and melody copyright Doug McArthur, used with permission.
Countersong copyright Valerie Housden, used with permission.
Cello and soprano vocals guest performed by Jane Cameron.
Lead vocals and flute performed by Nat Titman
Countersong vocals performed by Jenny Hackett and Nat Titman.
Bodhran drum pattern arranged by Valerie.
All other synth instruments arranged by Jenny.
Instrumental melodies composed by Jenny, based on Valerie's choral arrangement.
Produced by Jenny, and recorded, mixed and edited by Jenny and Nat.

Merlin

"Far enough, I think, from what used to be cities, and what it’s like there now god only knows…"

An urban counterpart to the song 'Worlds End' from Talis Kimberley's album The Hearth and the Hive.

Lyrics:

It started with the riots and the blackouts
Supermarket shelves were looted bare
With our neighbours barricaded in their homes, we slipped away
On a desperate escape to anywhere

Nothing grows amongst the tower blocks and buildings
And the vermin all died out or fled the nest
There's just scavengers and looters, barbarians and thugs
In the concrete wilderness

We all used to think the countryside was savage
And we used to call the cities civilised
Now the places you can farm and hunt and forage
Are the only ones where people can survive

And I used to say technology would save us
‘Til the day it simply left us powerless
Now machines are left discarded in the side streets
Of the concrete wilderness

[Radio monologue]
We've been on the run for a year now, avoiding roads and open spaces.
It's astonishing how quickly people changed, like humanity was a cracked veneer. 
I had a pocket book on surviving in the wild.
The rest got burned that first winter, before the hungry ran out of pets...
The book says that we should log our experiences for reference, but I don't want to be reminded.
If things get back to normal, this may be the only record of what happened.
And that's why I'm writing this down.
So I can forget.

I had friends before who lived out on the farmland
And they'll probably fare better than the rest
But the villages are all kept well defended
So us wanderers will have to do our best

They'd shoot us all on sight, and I don't blame them
In their place I doubt that I'd do any less
Cause I've seen the barely human wreckage that emerged
From the concrete wilderness

[Radio]
And that's why I'm writing this down,
so I can forget.

Credits:

Vocals by Nat Titman.
Synth by Jenny Hackett.
Lyrics by Stacy Smith, used with permission.
Melody, setting and inspiration from Talis Kimberley's Worlds End, used with permission.
Produced by Jenny, and recorded, mixed and edited by Jenny and Nat.

Radio samples from:
soundbible.com/2099-AM-Radio-Tuning.html
freesound.org/people/Fringer_Cat/sounds/426068/

Concrete Wilderness

WIP state cover of Against Me!'s Violence; arrangement Jenny, vocals Aly.

Violence WIP

This story was written for and told as part of the opening Storytelling event in the Spirit Valley of Kuruk. A roleplaying adventure told over the last week of April 2020, as part of the Second Life Fantasy Faire, to benefit Relay For Life.

You may read along with this story via the following link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kqzkdYOglcNtbO8Mj5jD3bLYpOM-PPEO_tQhrMxjHKE/

The character speaking is Nat Merit, one of the pilgrimaging children who have come to the Spirit Valley to join the Grizzly Cubs and defend the spirits of the valley.

For more information about our roleplaying setting, read here:
https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/the-grizzly-cubs-at-spirit-valley-of-kuruk/
https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/the-grizzly-cubs/

Follow updates from the Grizzly Cubs roleplay adventures here:
https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/the-grizzly-cubs-at-spirit-valley-of-kuruk-updates/

Or join us in Second Life!

How The World Got Its Dips And Bumps - A Fantasy Faire 2020 Story

This story was written in reaction to the unplanned death of my roleplaying character of eleven years, during the 7th annual Children of the Stories days-long Second Life Action Roleplaying event, as part of the 2020 Second Life Fantasy Faire in benefit of Relay For Life.

The narrative features scenes set in each of the previous six years of roleplay worlds, which each feature different incarnations of the same characters each with differing backstories and personalities.

When this story was told in Second Life amidst the roleplay setting on the final day of the Fantasy Faire event, it was presented by my new roleplaying character, an over-enthusiastic adventuring bard who is a talking squirrel with a love of alliteration. In many ways this story functioned as an introduction to my new character, and a farewell to the old (who will still occasionally manifest as a ghost for special occasions), as well as a way for me to process my complex feelings at the death of a character who has embodied my childish spirit of escapism and fun for so many years.

You may also enjoy the (unintentionally foreshadowing) Just So story that Nat Merit told at the start of this year's roleplay:
https://soundcloud.com/quarridors/how-the-world-got-its-dips-and-bumps-a-fantasy-faire-2020-story

You can read some background on this year's roleplay setting here:
https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/the-grizzly-cubs/
And read recaps of how the story unfolded here: https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/the-grizzly-cubs-at-spirit-valley-of-kuruk-updates/

And find recaps from previous years here:
2019: https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/the-bubo-owls-at-tensors-flying-market-updates/
2018: https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/magpies-at-the-bazaar-dungeon-updates/
2017: https://fantasyfaireslarchives.wordpress.com/the-lilypods-at-mudrana-updates/
2016: https://fantasyfaireslarchives.wordpress.com/?s=echtra
2015: https://fantasyfaireslarchives.wordpress.com/events-2/roleplay/rickety-watchers/
2014: https://fantasyfaireslarchives.wordpress.com/roleplay/rickety-weasels/

Children of the Stories

The Death of Nat Merit - A Fantasy Faire 2020 story

A musical duo based in Nottingham, UK. Quarries & Corridors are Nat Titman and Jenny Hackett. Their debut album, Going through Changes, releases in early October 2019.