First doings

The night before the Nenseru Woods concert, the musicians, organisers, and volunteers working the concert gathered in the makeshift tent-park established for this purpose. Water had been run from a nearby river to the tent-park, and so there were showers for bathing. Waste generated from those at the concert would be processed by a massive filtration system brought in for this purpose. It had take 7 separate and very sizeable transports to get the equipment in place and properly plumbed.

There was a stage located at the base of a curved upslope, forming a natural amphitheatre for those attending. This sloped area could easily accommodate 150,000 people, though at the very top one would be some distance from the performers.

Food kiosks were set in place everywhere. Help stations were set up in strategic places. Countless numbers of restrooms, unisex to keep with the spirit of the concert, were placed around the concert, living, and parking areas. Ample amounts of showers were ready for the expected crowd.

A main medical tent was set off to the side of the concert, with a cleared and closed off space for the medical lift tasked to the site. In addition, two other smaller med-stations were in place. There were those tasked to keep order, those tasked to take tickets, those tasked to parking, to directing people into the concert area. There were tags for children and their parents, this to match if they became separated.

Every vendor at Nenseru had to commit to follow certain principles relating to the environment, what they sold, and how they would treat their customers and the land. They also agreed to share some of their profit with EREGS, the sponsor of the event.

Water was not to be sold anywhere within the sanctioned grounds, it was to be free and available for everyone attending. EREGS had seen to it fresh water stations populated the area.

Several illegal broadcast stations were going to be present, but they had some unknown means of blending into the crowd yet transmitting the music out and around the world. Brellian had not anticipated this; he wrongly assumed any attempt to broadcast by an illegal would create a fixed and visible location where those involved could be identified.

As the concert organisers gathered, they were amazed at how many were already on the grounds, camping and enjoying themselves, gloriously anticipating the following day of music.

Llhaesa was annoyed in that she had little to do; there were equipment handlers and roadies to handle moving and set up logistics. And so she turned to the musicians who had graciously agreed to join her in the concert, running over her intent for the following day, who was interested in a solo performance during breaks, who wished to improvise during songs, and whether anyone had anything they would like the band to play.

Llhaesa then outlined what had been held back as a surprise: the N’rellia Undergraduate Philharmonic would be there for the entire day, providing orchestral arrangements, and doing their own set of 5 pieces. This was one of the most renowned and prestigious orchestras in Arrhazon. If any who wished to solo wished to make use of their talents, she assured the gathered musicians, please see me after.

Jahrae admiringly watched as llhaesa went about her tasks with cool efficiency and terrific organisation. “She is all business now…” Jahrae silently observed. “…fully immersed in her element.” If someone asked her to name one flaw or one thing about llhaesa she disliked, Jahrae would simply say there isn’t one thing, not one.

Llhaesa chose not to be paid, though she had been offered a very sizeable amount for performing. She was an EREGS member, and she was performing at their request and on their behalf.

The other musicians followed her lead, as she suspected they would This was to be an all star band, and she would see to it that each had a moment to perform onstage individually, or with others as they felt comfortable. Llhaesa intended to be just another member of the band through most of the day, but she was specifically asked to take the spotlight and not hold back as the concert moved into the night time hours. The show was scheduled to end at midnight, and by then she should be quite exhausted.

There were several breaks scheduled for the band, and not every performer would be onstage for every song. Well, with the exception of the tall blonde one, she was not about to rest – aside from the scheduled breaks – until the show was over.

Jahrae was acting as a liaison for llhaesa, handling the issues that came up during the course of the event, as well as assisting her parents with the overall coordination of services throughout the park. Public administration courses have their upside, just as watching llhaesa organise does.

As night fell on the eve of the concert, the fields around the concert area started to become pock marked with ambient artificial light. Llhaesa asked Jahrae if she wished to take a walk with her, and so the two set out to meet some of the early arrivals.

Over the next several hours, the two newlyweds roamed the park, chatting with the concert goers, having a drink with them, even sharing some of their food offerings.

None acted like they were stunned to meet the musician, and for that llhaesa was grateful. She was quite uncomfortable when people treated her like some sort of royalty.

For her part, Jahrae had brought along her sense of humour, making full use of it to break the ice with those they chatted with. With one memorable comment, llhaesa filed it away in her mind for future retribution. Jahrae began by introducing herself and then llhaesa as ‘L’il Ms Innocent Fantasy.’ That particular comment carried the need for payback. “And well…payback time is coming!” the musician thought, knowing full well she would soon have a stage and a not so small audience all to herself.

Jahrae sensed her partner’s mind was calculating a means of revenge, and so she tried to defuse the issue with a too little, too late comment. “…but I do love her fantasies!”

Llhaesa took care not to drink too much; she needed to be sharp the next day. And so she nursed through two drinks during their entire stroll about, while Jahrae was less inhibited.

One very happy area was of a group of a few hundred southeast quadrant women, they had rented five livery transports to carry them and their gear to the concert.

Both llhaesa and Jahrae felt close kinship with the women, and the two stayed with this group for an over an hour.

There was one in particular that really impressed llhaesa, she seemed a born leader. Jahrae was chatting with another, and so it was just llhaesa and Elsrensia – who identified herself as a physician – in this conversation. With everything else going on, llhaesa would ultimately never mention the name to Jahrae, but in the moment, she was more than impressed with Elsrensia. Llhaesa rightly intuited that this woman was a future significant player in their movement for equality.

The two talked strategy for 15 minutes or more before another of the group arrived and was introduced to llhaesa. Shortly after, llhaesa and Jahrae gave their best to the group, saying they had to continue on their circum-navigation of the camps of the early arrivals.

Finally, somewhere after midnight, the two returned to their own tent, laughing and giggling. M’traliel and Khahishra were already in the tent – the two couples were sharing – and woke when the two noisy camp explorers entered.

Once awake, they were ready to go a while longer, and so the four played cards for another hour. The cards seemed to suck the energy out of them, and they finally settled into bed…

…until Djellrin entered and woke Jahrae at sunrise. “Up and at ‘em, J-har!” he whispered as he gently rocked his daughter awake. She responded by yanking the sleeping bag over her head.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Djellrin persisted by tapping on Jahrae’s shoulder that hid under the sleeping bag. Jahrae felt the unwelcome and repetitive touching and tried in her half sleepless state to ignore it and return to blissful sleep, but realised her dad was not going to accept her plea for more sleep. She pulled the covers back, and moved to wake llhaesa. “No… don’t wake llhaesa, J-har. She needs her sleep for performing!” Djellrin was pampering the guest of honour, even if it was his new daughter.

“What about me? I need sleep too!” Jahrae protested.

“You wished to help me and your mum with our part in this, and in fact, you aren’t helping with our part, you have duties all your own to see to. Llhaesa’s task is different, and most of what you need to do needs to be done early. She will be working late.” Jahrae hated it when her dad made sense.

Breakfast with a side of flannel

Llhaesa woke 2 hours later – she had not heard Jahrae get out of bed earlier – rising up on one elbow, using her free hand to unzip her side of the merged sleeping bags. She slowly rose from this on elbow position into one of sitting, gathering her bearings. After a few moments, she rose to standing, reaching her arms and hands fully upward, hands coming together, her body reaching upward, stretching.

M’traliel and Khahishra were already up. As llhaesa rose and stretched in front of her friends, both caught themselves silently biting their lip and drawing in a deep breath.

Llhaesa was wearing pyjamas due to the coolish night previously, yet even clad in flannel jammies, the long legged, blonde haired, and tall musician was breathtakingly beautiful. M’traliel playfully turned to Khahishra and started chewing on her own hand, whilst signalling with her eyes and expression the reason why. Far from being offended, Khahishra looked back at M’traliel mischievously, her impish eyes all aglow, glanced towards the still stretching llhaesa, then back to M’traliel – and promptly reciprocated the chew on hand gesture. Both had spent time living with llhaesa, and yet they never took their friend for granted in any way, shape, or form.

The two burst out laughing, catching llhaesa’s attention. “What’s so funny?” she truly wished to know.

M’traliel would hold nothing back; she was quite used to teasing her friend – as was llhaesa in return. “You’re just too damn hot for your own good, llhaesa. You are sending the two other very horny dykes currently in this tent into a state of shock with your incessant and prolonged stretching!”

Llhaesa seriously blushed, the reddish hue rising from her throat upwards across the length of her face. Reaching down, she grabbed both her and Jahrae’s pillow, threw the pillows simultaneously at the teasers, precisely connecting with M’traliel, whilst hitting Khahishra in the stomach area.

Looking for a quick escape, llhaesa grabbed a robe from her travel case, and then the small bucket she brought along to accompany her on showers, finally setting off for the shower tent.

The showers were individual, self contained stalls, not one big open collection, and so there would be no more talk of ‘hot.’ “Sheesh” llhaesa giggled inside, shaking her head with her thought.

Once showered, dried off, and back in her robe, llhaesa returned to her tent. M’traliel and Khahishra were on the way out, headed for the food area and breakfast. Llhaesa promised to catch up to them shortly, after dressing. As she brushed through her hair, llhaesa noticed the minerals in the water had an interesting effect on her hair, causing it to significantly curl as it dried. In addition, the minerals caused the shading of her already light dirty blond hair to turn lighter. “Oh, well” llhaesa thought, trying to reconcile with her frustration “not much I can do about this, will just have to live with it.”

It was to be a warm day, somewhere around 29C. Llhaesa chose shorts – she preferred them loose but short, not three quarters of the way to her knees – along with a white EREGS tee, with their emblematic rainbow ring just below the lettering.

Now dressed, she went to the most likely place to find Jahrae – the office tent – and sure enough, llhaesa’s wife was fully engrossed in paperwork, finally looking up at llhaesa as she reached her desk. “Well, good afternoon L’il Ms Fantasy, was the sleep as good for you as its absence wasn’t for me?” Jahrae’s teasing picked right up where she left off.

Once again llhaesa filed away a mental note on payback, and changed the subject. “I’m headed for the food area for breakfast, and thought I’d see if you wished to accompany me.”

“Sure, but can you give me five minutes? I’m almost done this.” Jahrae knew llhaesa would wait.

(Almost) show time

Music was to begin at 9 am. To Jahrae, it seemed llhaesa had slept fully half a day later than she, but the reality was llhaesa was up at 7 am, at Jahrae’s side and ready for breakfast by 7:35.

Llhaesa wished to be at the musician’s area no later than 8:15, and asked Jahrae if she was ready to help co-ordinate band activities and schedules. Jahrae nodded in the affirmative. She could see llhaesa was rapidly morphing into business mode, but there was something more, something Jahrae had seen on occasion, a twinkle of eye, a sense of purpose, of simultaneously weighing exactly what she wished to play and what she wished to say. If Jahrae’s knowledge of her partner was accurate, llhaesa was going to give this crowd – and EREGS – everything it wished for and a whole lot more.

“Jahrae, when we get to the music area, I’d like some time to do a little Aailhra. Not much time, maybe 15-20 minutes, but it I need that time to attune my mind to where it needs to be today. Would you mind fending off people from me for that time?” llhaesa already knew Jahrae would protect her like a junkyard watchdog.

Finishing breakfast, things started happening fast. They were into the music area, and llhaesa was looking for the most secluded yet in the open spot she could find. M’traliel was in there, assisting Hrilleae on whatever task they were handling in the moment.

Llhaesa chose the corner that seemed to have the least amount of activity. She had no qualms about practising Aailhra in front of others, this was her own belief, there was science research to back it up, and it worked for her.

And so she sat down cross legged, hands formed in prayer and resting against her chest, with fingertips touching the base of her chin. She silently ran through the sacred symbols, and then began to give Aailhra to herself.

Jahrae was standing several feet away, waving off anyone who approached. She would point at the meditative llhaesa and then raise a finger to her lips to signify quiet.

Fifteen minutes later, llhaesa finished up, and then spryly sprang up off the ground. She was now ready to go. It was 8:40.

All of the band that was scheduled to take the stage was there and ready to go. All were familiar with the material, and all were quite capable of playing together without a run through. And since improvisation was the rule of the day, any error could quickly be covered over by sailing off on another tangent.

Llhaesa walked up on the stage and looked around. She had never seen so many people in one place. There were waves and waves of people, the entire acreage of field were blotted out by the gathered crowd.

As she looked off to the sides and back as far as she could see, more were streaming in. “Wow! She thought excitedly. Walking off the stage, she spotted Djellrin and inquired. “How many are out there?”

“We are estimating 225,000 at the moment, and many more coming. I’m told there is traffic backed up for miles. This is great, llhaesa! Thank you so much!”

“No need to thank me… dad!” Llhaesa’s use of the term briefly caught Djellrin by surprise, but he adjusted and relished in what it all implied.

Five minutes to go. The band is now onstage, tuning up. There is a baby grand here, for later. For now, it is electronics. And what llhaesa had set up for keyboards was impressive visually, it was impressive technically, impressive in its complexity, and that anyone could actually be making use of all of those keyboards.

She was soon to show anyone who might be wondering just how it was done.

Play until we drop

At precisely 9 am, llhaesa walked out to the centre stage, foregoing having someone introduce her. There were no wires. Llhaesa was wearing a tiny, barely visible microphone.

The stage was dwarfed by amplifiers on both sides. Some were mounted above the stage. And there were amplifiers alongside the gathered crowd, this so everyone was fully able to embrace and get lost in the music.

“Good evening and welcome to Nenseru Woods! Wow, look at you out there, having a great time, here to support a great cause…” Llhaesa was stopped by a woman’s voice out of the crowd. “We love you, llhaesa!”

Hearing this voice in the crowd, llhaesa laughed; unwittingly giving the crowd a chance to run with the sentiment. “T’yaeli! T’yaeli! T’yaeli! T’yaeli! T’yaeli!” the chant was spreading through the crowd, gaining in volume and in intensity.

Llhaesa let this continue for a full minute – she did not wish to be seen as ungrateful – before finally motioning for the crowd to quiet down. The noise dropped to an acceptable level, and she renewed speaking. “Before we begin, a few housekeeping announcements. I’ll start with one of my own. Several days ago, supposedly unknown to our parents, Jahrae Khentavra and I married. I…”

Once again the crowd volume overwhelmed, with almost everyone – now estimated at 300,000 – applauding their congratulations. After another minute, llhaesa spoke again. “Thank you, thank you! Jahrae and I appreciate it.” And at that, llhaesa publicly called for the notoriously publicity shy Jahrae to take the stage with her. Jahrae good naturedly responded, the crowd again wildly cheered. As they did so Jahrae yelled to llhaesa – for no one else could hear her, even while yelling – “you are soooo going to pay for this!”

The two women embraced and kissed, llhaesa holding on for a long, passionate kiss. The crowd was now rhythmically egging them on “Go! Go! Go! Go!” Finally llhaesa let Jahrae up for air, and they separated from their embrace. Jahrae winked at llhaesa, turned and bowed to the crowd, and then waved as she walked off the stage.

Again, llhaesa spoke. OK, I’m told that the area C restrooms have been repaired, for any of you patiently waiting. Syrsehra B’yadhae, your child has been found and is at information kiosk H. Yay!” And the crowd cheered.

“How many of you wish to hear music?” The crowd roared it’s approval. “How many of you wish to hear music right now?” The crowd goes wild. The area above llhaesa belatedly comes alive with her three dimensional image, making it easier for those way in the back of the field to see.”

Llhaesa motioned the crowd for silence, and then put her head down for a moment. As she raised her head back up, she began to sing a capella. Llhaesa wrote the song especially for this moment, titled Equal.

Her voice was at its finest, hitting high notes, low notes, and everything in between. She was almost through the first stanza, and as it drew to the last words, llhaesa quickly turned to the band, raising her arm. With the last lyric of the first stanza, llhaesa’s arm rapidly moved downward, and a wall of sound projected outward from the band. Llhaesa’s ballad like first stanza had metamorphosed into a full out, high intensity anthem on gender equality and freedom, finally calming into a crowd-participating chant. The band stopped, and llhaesa sat down on the edge of the stage, legs hanging over the side. She chanted with the crowd; let people get lost in the comfort that can come with a chant. She climbed back on her feet, raised her hands, and stretched out a closing note. Those in the crowd were taken aback at how long she held the final note, and as llhaesa went quiet, the crowd rose as one to its feet and cheered.

The bane of your past is the bane of your future

Somewhere in the middle of the crowd, Sk’vra Kjurha was watching – with total contempt. Sk’vra hated llhaesa for what she had done to him. Sk’vra should have been acclaimed as the best of their class, but competing against llhaesa had left him burned out, a shell of his former skill. While he would never say it aloud, Sk’vra bitterly thought “the damn bitch had thrived while I failed.”

The hatred went beyond school grades and musical acclaim. Llhaesa was significantly taller than Sk’vra, and everyone thought she was ‘hot.’ Sk’vra had never heard that word associated with his name.

Several weeks before, he had met with a representative of Brellian’s secret guard. Sk’vra had heard of the group, and over time found a way to get a message to the commander. Sk’vra wanted in.

A meeting was arranged with Commander Kherhakesa, who listened intently to Sk’vra’s plea for admittance to the elite Chief of Government protective force.

“You claim to know things about this – this T’yaeli, and she is of interest to us. A concert is placed for Nenseru Woods, and I would like you to go there and gather information. If you turn in a useful report, we will consider your request.” The Commander was non-committal in dangling a carrot in front of Sk’vra.

Sk’vra sensed the Commander’s hesitancy, but this would be the best offer he would get. He had to prove himself, and he would go to Nenseru Woods and do just that.

And so Sk’vra was in the crowd, watching llhaesa play, watching the crowd shower her with love. “People around me are actually talking about her running for office!” his mind wailed to itself, ratcheting up his level of motivation to do llhaesa harm.

Sk’vra planned to sneak down to llhaesa’s tent – it was marked, he already had seen it – and plant transmitting equipment.

The band was now into its sixth song, and they would likely do 14 more before breaking. He needed to act before they finished this set.

Sk’vra began to move through the crowd, brushing curtly by some, politely excusing himself past others. His heart was racing in anticipation.

By the time Sk’vra reached the private staff living area, an hour had elapsed. He had little time left. There were staffers around the parameter, but the child he had just paid was about to deliver a refreshment to the staffer ahead of him.

As if on cue, the child appeared and handed the drink to the staffer. After the child moved away, the staffer thanked the child for his kindness, opened the container, and began a prolonged pull of the refreshment. As he did so, Sk’vra casually walked just outside the staffer’s peripheral vision, quickly ducking under the dual ropes, and into the private area. He was in.

Within minutes, the device was well hidden away, and he calmly left the tent. He walked out straight past the staffer, acting for the entire world like he belonged. The staffer noticed the lack of an identifying badge, but the person was leaving, and so he did not bother to stop him.

Sk’vra had met with success, and trusted the Commander would be pleased.

First break

At the first intermission, llhaesa and Jahrae retired to their tent. One prominent folk artist was now on stage, doing a set that was scheduled for a half hour. Llhaesa was exhilarated with how things had gone with the first set, but Jahrae was playfully plotting revenge.

“Well, L’il Ms Innocent Fantasy, you got me, but I’m not done yet!” as Jahrae said the words, she jumped llhaesa and began to tickle her ribs. The two laughed and rolled as they tried to get the other, but the effort changed into an embrace and a kiss.

“How about this one?” Jahrae whispered, speaking louder as she outlined the story in her mind. “Llhaesa, you are a highly paid operative for the secret opposition. You’ve been paid millions to find a way to kill Brellian N’verinkar. In order to do so, you move into a flat on the outskirts of the rebellious section of the capital city. You pretend to be a harmless musician, but in reality, you already have in place the mechanisms needed to finish him off. All that needs happen now is for you to give the final command!”

The transmitter picked up this story outline, dutifully sending it to a special interface address. At that moment, Jahrae spilled the huge and opened top drink she had brought in with her. The drink destroyed the delicate electronics of the transmitter, and nothing further of their conversation was transmitted.

Llhaesa groaned. “That’s a pretty lame fantasy, Jahrae. I was hoping for something more – personal, provocative, alluring, and well… orgasm-inducing!”

“In what… 15 minutes? Am I now going to call you L’il Ms Quickie Fantasy?” Jahrae quickly retorted.

At that, the two roared.

The break passed all too quickly, the silliness remaining throughout. It was time for more music, and Jahrae marvelled at how llhaesa could switch from playful partner mode into work mode at the tick of a clock. Her wife was all too motivated for her own good.

The concert midlands

The pattern continued. Roughly two hours on, 30 minutes off. After the third set finished, llhaesa had left the time open, it was time to chat with the crowd.

“Hope we are making this a worthwhile day for all of you out there. I know those of us on stage are having the time of our lives!

The band is giving everything they have and more, and I am so very grateful to they and to all of you for being here in support of a worthy cause.

There is more to do, however. It would be nice if we could gather for a weekend and take care of government housekeeping for the year, but it isn’t going to work that way, not when those in power do not wish to change, and do not wish to give up their control over our society.

“Brellian…” the sound of his name triggered a chorus of boos from the huge crowd, causing llhaesa to chuckle. She resumed. “Brellian is intent on setting our government back centuries, and in some cases take it to places we’ve never been in terms of oppression of gender.

Now I ask all of you: do I appear to be some kind of threat? Do I look genetically unequal to you? Mentally unequal to you? Is there anyone who would wish to stand in front of me and say ‘yes’ while looking me straight in the eyes?

Do I not have equal ability? Does my gender impair my ability to perform? Impair my ability to feel? Impair my ability to think? Impair my ability to move?” The musician looked towards Jahrae off to the right of the stage before continuing. “Or impair my ability to love?

Should I be consigned to menial tasks and underpaid for my work? Should women be banned from serving in our government? Should we be banned from gathering as we please?

And I wonder… what is it you are afraid of Brellian? We agree on one thing, but we see it in two very different ways. We women of Arrhazon carry an incredible amount of power within us. I see that power as a great societal resource, while you apparently fear that power to the point it keeps you up at night worrying on how to curtail it.

Brellian, you… are a coward!” At that, the crowd roared, and started in again with the ‘T’yaeli’ chant. “T’yaeli! T’yaeli! T’yaeli! T’yaeli! T’yaeli!” continuing for minutes before llhaesa could sufficiently quiet them and resume speaking.

And Brellian… do you think you can stop us by stopping me? You can get me, shoot me down where I stand… but my spirit will live on. It will haunt you – haunt you down, and bring you to justice before the Arrhazonan people. You murdering coward, hiding in your downtown tower… afraid of… me.

Well, know this Brellian. The women of Arrhazon demand nothing less than full equality in our society. And the people of Arrhazon demand a return to democracy. You will not stop this by way of stopping me.

And just so you know, so all of you know… I’ve come to change how I view things.” At that, an audible gasp of worry was heard emanating from the crowd. “I used to desire only to advocate, to call attention, to rally all of you. Recently, those I love have worked – hard – to convince me that calls for me to lead – to lead in all the word implies – should not be disregarded. Yes… when the time comes, I will be willing – if all of you and the rest of Arrhazon wish to have me – I will lead!”

At this statement, the crowd, anticipating a llhaesa pullback, was now armed to their teeth with a visible symbol of hope who would lead them to change. And they showed their appreciation, cheering and whistling and celebrating for 10 minutes before llhaesa moved to closing.

One more thing – I should have mentioned this earlier instead of the self-involvement – EREGS is you. You need to be involved in any way and every way you can. You will change this world, not me – all of you here or listening elsewhere today.

I’m llhaesa t’yaeli, and on behalf of EREGS, I thank you for coming!”

Once again the crowd roared, and once again the ‘t’yaeli!’ chant was heard, louder than ever, but then the sound changed. Llhaesa noticed the subtle shift, and had to listen for a few moments before realising the chant had changed to ‘t’yaeli… Arrhazon!

Llhaesa bowed and waved and walked over to where a grand piano had been placed during her chat with the crowd. Llhaesa intended to quiet things a bit with a half hour of piano improvisation.

She started with a faithful rendition of a centuries old masterpiece, at least until midway through. Llhaesa began to improvise, and to one observing her performance, it was as if the music conveyed her emotions through sound. Here was a master at work; the very best Arrhazon ever had to offer the universe as one of its own.

Worldwide

The concert was broadcast by every illegal station, and some estimated that better than half the planet’s population was listening.

As the chants began in Nenseru, crowds began to gather in several cities, also chanting T’yaeli!

In the southeast quadrant, those not at Nenseru were in the streets, where broadcast was piped out windows of flats, storefronts, and offices otherwise closed for the weekend. Within an hour, the crowd topped 6 digits.

Reports began to reach Nenseru that demonstrations were underway in cities around the world, all with the common element of shouting llhaesa’s surname.

Brellian

Brellian officially was not listening; this… this concert was making him feel ill to go along with his increasing outrage. The time was fast approaching for a warning arrest of that t’yaeli instigator, but first he had to allow time for things to quiet some. Arresting her today might well backfire.

No one who reported to Brellian dare give him the true estimates of demonstrators and supporters. Their unfiltered reports put the number at somewhere between 100 and 200 million around the planet, out of a total population of 10 billion. Not good. Not good at all. That number was perilously close to critical mass, where those remaining would now feel safe joining the rest. This close to critical mass, Brellian would act quite irrationally and ruthlessly if he knew the truth.

Nenseru Woods

Llhaesa finished her classical and improvisation mini-set to yet more wild applause. She still had the night to go, where she was going to let her hair down and perform with wild, unhindered and unrestricted abandon.

It was time for her to take an extended break, extended measured as 3 hours, then to take the stage and give it all she had left to give.

Llhaesa had one surprise left, a surprise for M’traliel, because llhaesa intended to ask her friend to team up with her once again. Llhaesa loved M’traliel’s style of guitar play, even as M’traliel hated to be on stage performing. While llhaesa respected M’traliel’s wishes for the most part, she also knew once the two of them started jamming, the audience would disappear from M’traliel’s field of view.

The hard part was getting M’traliel to pick up that guitar, and for incentive… llhaesa intended to promise what M’traliel most loved to hear llhaesa play, but which no one else had ever seen: a violin.

Nap time

Llhaesa wasted no time. She wasn’t hungry, but for strength purposes made quick work of some high energy food preparation of Jahrae’s. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it tasted damn good.

The two settled down and snuggled, and llhaesa was out before Jahrae, which amused Jahrae – after all, she was the one who got up earliest. Within minutes though, Jahrae was in classic snoring mode – and llhaesa, unlike with most Jahrae snore-fests, never heard a thing.

Bring on the night

At 7:30, llhaesa was roused out of bed by Khahishra, and this time it was llhaesa’s turn to let the out cold Jahrae continue her quest for the world’s record in snoring. The two women giggled at Jahrae’s noisemaking, Khahishra’s attention now diverted in search of a torch, whilst llhaesa once again grabbed her shower bucket and made for the shower tent. She had only a few minutes, but she felt clammy and sluggish. A shower would be the perfect cure.

The double moons were beginning to etch their way through the fading azure sky. Soon the moons would set in a black background, framed by the more distant stars in the night sky.

Llhaesa loved to look at the night time sky, even at this early point in the night; she had to consciously will herself to continue onward to the shower.

The shower lasted less than five minutes, starting with hot and moving to freezing cold. Llhaesa was refreshed, and she didn’t give a damn about her hair being wet. This wasn’t a fashion show, it was a concert. And besides, with what she intended to do on stage; her hair would dry soon enough.

5 hours!

Llhaesa had already spoken with the band about how long they would play. Everyone was agreeable to at least a four hour night performance, but most clamoured for them to play until they were too tired to stand any longer. Llhaesa agreed to wing it after midnight, and if anyone was too tired to continue, they should catch her between songs. After midnight, she would leave a slight delay in between songs.

At 8:15 pm, having convinced the reluctant but always agreeable M’traliel to come onstage and play, the band was ready to go. Llhaesa’s famous keyboards were now being played by an N’rellia student, while she mischievously hid the electronic violin behind an amplifier. Only the band knew llhaesa was going to play for an extended period with the violin.

“Good evening, Nenseru! This will be our final set of the night – “llhaesa was interrupted by shouts of disappointment before continuing “we have agreed to play until at least midnight –“ a round of cheering “or perhaps longer!” This time, llhaesa paused to let the crowd show appreciation for the band’s effort.

“When you see one of us drop onstage, it will mean that person is sleeping, and it is time to quit. I hope I’m not the first to drop!

Thank you for being such a great crowd. I wished to share with you news from other parts of the world.

The southeast quadrant streets are full of concert listeners partying and showing their support for us. Cities around the world have such revelry taking place. We are getting estimates of 100 to 200 million – that’s million with an m – people out in support of this cause. You all are wonderful – every single one of you here and around the world!”

And with that, llhaesa calmly walked over to the amplifier that sat off to her right, and grabbed the violin. She wished to do this quickly, and hoped she did not bungle the pick up.

With her patented lightning quick reflexes, llhaesa picked up the violin and bow, one with either hand and in one motion tucked the violin under her chin and began to play. The band timed their play perfectly with llhaesa, and they were off on and running with a rousing and rocking song.

The band segued without break into yet another rocker, this time M’traliel moved in close to the violin clad llhaesa, the two taking turns answering each other’s play.

As the closed it out with a flurry, the crowd was on its feet and cheering. Still, llhaesa was staying fairly tame with physical antics on stage. She intended to let loose after 10.

Cartwheels, whirlybirds, and windmills, oh my!

The band played on without a break, and as she had promised to herself, once the clock showed after ten, it was time to start getting a bit showy.

Llhaesa began with a reprise of her spinning move at her N’rellia graduation, except this time while playing a violin – arms raised to shoulder level. No one was quite sure how she did this.

Llhaesa’s moves would make a professional gymnast envious, and left the huge crowd loving every minute of her antics. No one was quite certain how she combined all this with music, but she was holding an instrument in some moves, popping up or landing precisely in front of others. She even ended up on top of the grand so gracefully and effortlessly it seemed she had always been there.

Jahrae and Khahishra were watching llhaesa from the side of the stage. Turning to Khahishra, Jahrae yelled “this is nothing. You should see her in bed!” That collapsed both of them on the stage laughing so hard they were soon gasping for air.

All of llhaesa’s moves were showy, but they were never primary. The music was at her usual high standard, what people expected from llhaesa.

Finally, somewhere around 1 am, the musician was ready to end the programme. The entire band had either dutifully remained onstage or ready to play, but llhaesa had left everything she had on the stage.

Walking to the front of the stage, llhaesa decided to reprise the Equality song and chant, except this time she jumped off the stage, and started moving through the crowd.

Jahrae looked on as llhaesa disappeared into the crowd; all that she could see was a small pocket opening in the crowd as llhaesa moved forward, while closing behind her. Soon, Jahrae could only hear llhaesa’s chanting voice. Looking toward the 2d monitor, video was streaming of her moving through the crowd, hugging, slapping palms, bowing slightly – yet still chanting.

The entire crowd was into it, and soon Jahrae was caught in the moment, repeating the chant refrain.

This continued for a half hour, the band was on light duty play as the chant was slow and rhythmic; after a minute it was addictive, playing onward in one’s mind.

Finally, llhaesa had reached the very back of the property, and called out “one last time!” She slowed the chant, stretching out the very last word, the band now in one final flurry to close the song out.

Virtually everyone at Nenseru was holding an electronic torch or old fashioned candle; their cheering lasted for at least ten minutes.

Somewhere in the crowd llhaesa’s voice called out “Thank you everyone for coming and for being such great supporters of EREGS. May we see the results of our efforts soon!”

And with that, the sound and video systems shut down, while the stage lighting dimmed to a soft amber glow.

Jahrae was worried; fully an hour after her last words she had yet to return. Just as she resolved to go look for her wandering partner, llhaesa came up from behind her. “Miss me?” she asked while simultaneously wrapping her arms tightly around Jahrae. Llhaesa might be exhausted, but she wasn’t ready for sleep quite yet.