Tercet Beneath The Moon Of Music

*click*

There was that sound again! How annoying.

Once more, I attempt to reclaim my consciousness. Yearning to free myself from another endless round of eerie noises and me being frustrated by all that was happening to me.

I struggled to force myself, my mind and my perception of my own body; which I severely lacked in the void, into feeling alive once more.

I imagined my heavy set eyes that felt as if they were weighed down by a pair of stones, and my body; shying away in the comfort of the warmth radiating from the blankets. Smothering me in heat.

I imagined a choking sensation that urged out of my mouth, not nearly a yawn, but more like an attempt to breathe properly in order to rouse the unsteady mind.

I imagined myself cuddling back in bed, ignoring the world around me in spite of having made a promise to myself the night before to wake earlier.

These were all the things I expected to happen in my life, all the things that I knew would happen in the morning, again and again.

And only now did this cycle break. Only for a cycle in an infinite void to begin.

Now, even the smallest things I paid no mind to before, were things that I missed. I had no frame of reference for the time that passed by in this pitch darkness.

The only thing that gave me any shred of hope, were the incessant clicking sounds that echoed across the whole space.

They sounded like the sounds that you get from using a camera. A single click and flash, and your image is immortalised. In this case, I was eternally immobilised instead.

As I was pondering on my own thoughts, all the darkness around me swirled and became tainted utterly with pure colour. Reds, grays, greens and.... Blue.

My mind was spiralling, like I was gliding down on a waterslide. Being taken wherever the artificially constructed river took me.

I had no idea what to expect, being splashed with pure blue light. The illumination of azure brought me a strange familiarity, but I could not understand where it stemmed from. My memories of it seemed as if they stripped away from me and hidden inside a box; locked without a key for me to recollect them.

It was so bizarre. But... I knew some things. I gradually understood as I took in my surroundings. It was a small room, bereft of any of the furnishings I was familiar with. It was rustic, simplistic. And dark. 

I had been sleeping, for at least... A while. In my mind; through this body, I felt that it had only been a few hours. But I knew for fact that wasn't exactly true, I was so sure that I had been trapped in such a dark void for years without end, enduring eternity. Only now, however, was I truly free to recall those painfully lonely hours. 

Feeling a compulsion to do so, I stood up and walked to the window. I set the rough fustian curtain aside to reveal the world beyond. And in my sight, I saw towering billows of grey and black, stretching towards the sky, attempting to obscure its beauty. And yet the pale blue light of the full moon scattered away the encircling gases, softly shining down on all corners of the land. Stone buildings formed from frames of wood, crude cobbled streets and carriages drawn by horses... I gazed at the world before me, and felt the disjointed memories occupy my thoughts. 

This... Was my home. A city that I found a place of solace in. Where my family is. But, the me that lives here, is not the me that passed through the void. I was Zach Albright. Prolific bibliophile of fantasy genres. I knew for certain that my story right now, was a case of transmigration. 

And in this story of another world, I had usurped the body of Nicholas Lei... Son of a civil servant and an actress, brother to three other siblings. This city was home to us, Kiwi City... 

Past recollections were dredged up from the murky waters of this mind, no, my mind. From these memories, I was given information about my situation. Kiwi City was part of the Isna Region. The Isna Region was under the jurisdiction of the Homa Kingdom. Among the fourteen nations, the Homa Kingdom is conferred the epithet 'Nation of Hospitality.' This was because of the official religion associated with Homa. It was the Nation of the Sanctified Flame, Goddess of Warmth and Domestic Affairs. 

The Sanctified Flame was patron to refugees, of guests and of course; chefs. As such, Kiwi City was similarly filled with an abundance of people from those walks of life. One of my brothers, Karl, had obtained an apprenticeship under a chef and takes courses in the culinary school situated in the city. As such, as a family we moved here to support him. 

Homa placed emphasis on familial bonds. And that reflected our current situation.... My predecessor definitely felt guilty he couldn't do much for Karl and the others. Definitely as the second eldest he felt it was up to him to step up to the occasion and be there to support his elder brother and younger siblings as much as he could. 

For Nicholas, he was still looking for a job to make ends meet and add to future tuition fees for their youngest. For Nicholas his only wish was for his younger siblings to live a far more comfortable life than what they had now currently. 

I see... So our family is what's important to us. We've recently graduated from Trenaim University, freshly out from their Department of Biology. Our final thesis "A Better Way To Classify Organisms: Systematically Categorising Organisms By Comparing Similarities In Physical Characteristics" sparked heavy debate into categorisation of organisms, living or otherwise and the interrelationships between different organisms. 

Hmm. Certainly challenged lots of current views. I mean, props for doing that. I've always wanted to something like that, guess I can live vicariously, er, live a life where I did just that thanks to my predecessor. 

Since he is me, and I am now him; I'll live up to his legacy and help our family out much as I can. I have lots more time now anyways.

Letting the windows open up, I let the cool breeze air my room. The chill hit my face, drying the tears that started to swell at the corner of my eyes.

I looked to the sky, drinking the light of the moon. The Moon of Music... The blue light of melodies, mixed with the golden hues of hope and freedom.... The blue moon spotted with gold never failed to shine down on our world. To revel properly, we have a custom of letting music play out freely under the veil of night till dawn. Anyone and everyone, if they felt it fitting, could share their music beneath the stars. And tonight was no different. Different melodies mashed together, a cacophony of sounds that could lull the city to slumber or stimulate them into raucous dance. 

Heh, I think Nicholas has a fitting tercet for this.

"Under the moon's glow, melodies take flight.

Notes dancing on beams, filling the night.

Above a symphony of stars, the Moon of Music shines forever bright."