He never had to announce this particular concert. They all knew. Everyone who felt the loss of the war wanted to hear the Soldier's Lullaby(1), to hear the sadness that spawned the root of their joy. He hated this time of year. He hated being sad, he hated remembering the reason why he was so lonely. None of that mattered. Her face had to be remembered. Even if it had to be in tears, he had to remember her. He stepped up onto a platform that would be serving as his stage for the night. He took a deep breath not caring if the crowd was ready, this was for him. He took a breath and remembered.

"Hey Tor, what are you doing tonight?" I called to the scrawny kid running up the long steps to the Voice Academy.

"Hiya Sil, nothing as of now. What did you have in mind?" His cheerful voice didn't slow his pace. It didn't really matter if you were late to class, but everyone who attended the Music Academies wanted to be on time.

"Any chance you want to go to the Cello Academy concert tonight? I managed to grab a few tickets, and I may just happen to have a couple extra." I smiled as he stopped on the steps almost falling over.

"Time."

"Sunset, they are taking the third main auditorium." I laughed. He knew as well as I that the first five auditoriums were broadcasted by the Shaping masters, and getting tickets to see those shows live was just about impossible.

"I don't want to ask do I?"

"It would be better if you didn't." The truth was that the tickets were a graduation gift from the Cello Academy. I hadn't told anyone I had enrolled there because I was getting tired of the attention. Completing Academy courses with the kind of speed I was going at wasn't unheard of, just…no one had done it in as many Academies as I had. "I guess I'll be seeing you tonight then Tor. Oh! How many tickets do you want? I can spare a few."

"Woah, if that's the case I could use an extra. Meridith loves the more classical instruments."

"No problem Tor."

The crowd was hushed as his eyes flashed open, the rest signaled the beginning of a new section of the piece. He added one every year. This year's was still writing itself in his mind.

Still inspired by the Cello Academy's performance last month he hummed a bit of Grace(2) as he walked from the Percussion Academy to the Voice Academy for rehearsal for his own concert that night. He turned a corner down an ally created by two sandstone academies. The clean swept street allowed him to hear clearly the rustle of dormant feet moving at his presence. The waiting men quickly stepped in front and behind of Silan cutting off his possibilities for escape.

"Don't be too alarmed Sil, we aren't here to do any harm. Quite the contrary actually. We want you to join another academy."

"Is this really necessary for an invitation? Just send it by messenger like the rest. Plus, I've already been invited to them all."

"Not this one," another man said. "This one you've never heard of. You have almost completed your time in the Shaping Academies. You have a talent for guiding sound and light. Based on that alone we would consider you for this Academy, but with your prodigious skills in the actual music craft, we are required to do so. You are hereby invited and admitted to the Soulscape Academy of Music. This one may actually be a challenge for you."

"I've…never heard of it."

1. Alex Mitchell

2. Apocalyptica