With Music through the Silence (Tg) Draft (Patreon)

It was a night like any other. The cold wind was blowing through the alleyways, while the moon shine covered the entire city. Occasionally, one could hear the howl of werewolves echoing through the night. It gave this city a certain feel of dangerous beauty.

As you might have guessed, this city was home to more non-humans than humans. From cyclopes to dragonewts, and werewolves to elves, one could find pretty much any species in that city if one looked hard enough. But the rarest species of all would definitely be humans.

And it just so happened that Oliver, an orphan in his teens, was a human. About a week ago, he had sought refuge in the city from the wilderness outside of its protective walls. Rather than turning him away, Lucian, a werewolf guard tasked with protecting the city, offered him a place to stay in his own four walls.

Oliver was very scared of Lucian initially. After all, he had never really interacted with anything other than humans before, so Lucian’s nocturnality, claws, fangs and howling at the moon alienated him at first. But by then, Oliver had learned to live with the werewolf that was willing to show him that kindness.

There was just one problem with Oliver. Even if no one knows why, he somehow always gets way too scared of every other person he meets. So much so that he usually doesn’t manage to bring out a single word out of his mouth. Conversations with Lucian were hard, but possible. But as soon as a third person appears, no words would leave his mouth.

So it was on this cold night when Oliver had received a gift from Lucian. Oliver had previously expressed his love for music. He had never played any instrument before, but just listening to music had always calmed him down in the past. So Lucian had bought him a special violin as a gift, to help Oliver learn to express himself again.

According to the merchant, there was an ancient enchantment on the instrument that would help anyone that wanted to play it, to learn how to do so. Though what even the merchant didn’t know, was how that enchantment actually worked. And Oliver was about to find out.

Immediately after Lucian left the house for work, Oliver began to play his new instrument. And as promised, after a few missed attempts, it was like he was guided through the music he himself played. To him it felt like a gentle invisible hand was guiding his hand through the movements and a silent voice told him what came next.

In less then a few minutes he was already playing songs to the utmost perfection, which made his heart overflow with joy. However, what he didn’t notice was that during his recital, both of his hands shrank down a bit into a more daintier form as his skin colour shifted to a more dark tone.

Filled with more joy than he had ever felt before, he stormed out into the night, eager to show Lucian his new skill. He had become like a father figure to Oliver, so it was unsurprising that he wanted to show his newly acquired skills to Lucian.

With every step he took towards the guardingpost, his legs increased in length ever so slightly. The darker pigments that made themselves home on his hands now also started to spread across his legs, making his skin smooth and devoid of hair. But Oliver didn’t notice any of that.

As he ran across the streets that were lit by dim moonlight, he noticed that he could suddenly see much better than he was used to. Not because he was glowing, but because the violine gave of a faint glow that seemed to illuminate the area.

Oliver stopped in his place and looked at the instrument in his hands. It felt to him like it begged him to be played. He couldn't ignore it any longer, therefore he just placed it below his chin and started to play, letting the music guid him every step of his way.

The rest of his body seemed to respond to the music and while still blissfully unaware he grew taller yet again. Blue butterflies appeared out of nowhere and danced around him, almost as if they were cheering on him.

In a matter of seconds even his core and face had taken on the dark pigmentations, and we're now shifting around in other ways, almost in resonance to the music. His waist grew slim but toned, his face fiercer but softer. And with a pirouette on the spot, his hair flew outwards and grew into a ghostly white mane, that made even made himself watch in awe.

As Oliver finished his solo, what looked like blue magic streamed out of his violin, building a vortex around him. He was scared at first, but not for long, as the gentle voice of a spirit spoke to him. He could not understand any of its words, but he knew what it was saying. So he didn’t resist and let her magic wash over him.

The magic she cast seemed to target his chest and behind the most at first, causing both to increase their volume and give him an overall very feminine build. And curves of a woman, all it took was a gentle whisper of the spirit, for him to lose his proof of man.

Yet she did not mourn. She knew that she had received the blessing of the dark elves, a race feared for their unpredictability and dark power. But she knew that they were not evil, just living in the shadows to help those in need. The spirit had told her everything.

From that day forward, Olivia, as she now went by, was another protector of the city that she had quickly grown to love. Practically dancing through the night, playing music wherever she went. She was still too shy to talk, but anyone who heard her play could tell what she was feeling.

As such she became a guardian of the night, ready to help others just like Lucian had helped her before. And if you listen carefully, then maybe you can even hear her beautiful music tonight.

-------------

I wanted to try something different for once. A storybook told story with no dialogue. I hope you like it.