By: Keegan Posted on: July 08, 2006
Standing to the right of the stage, a cloaked figure seems to hover. Smoke oozes
up from out of the stage around him, licking at his ankles. Cloaked entirely in
black, he seems an ominous character, swaying from side to side. The backdrop
is hidden in darkness and the stage is empty. However a large pile of black
pillows is piled up in front of the stage, directly in front of the cloaked
character.
From deep below, the orchestra begins to play a deep ballad, climbing slowly in volume and pitch.
Suddenly a deep voice booms from within the cloaked figure as he begins to sing. His voice conducts power and fills the room with an ambience of joy. Waves of peace and serenity gush over the audience, swirling and sweeping amongst the crowd. The voice of an angel fills the entire theatre with a amazing sense of completion and utter satisfaction.
The robed character begins to sing, "Death..."
"From all around, creation sounds
A new song of ends,
Of tracking shadows, ghosts of darkness,
waiting while it mends.
Finality of death comes once,
And only then no more.
A never-ending, always pending
Death you do abhor."
The bass booms dramatically, smoke billowing up from the stage. A spotlight sweeps across the backdrop revealing a large silhouette of a willow tree in the background. A vulture swoops down from the rafters, seemingly out of nowhere, squawking madly and circling above the cloaked figure.
Without warning, a beautiful woman cartwheels nonchalantly onto the stage. She lands gracefully and throws her head back, shaking her long hair seductively. Although she carries herself with an air of youth, her hair is streaked with grey. She looks out into the audience, her eyes concealing wisdom only ever possessed by those of old age. With a quick glance off the stage and a mischievous giggle she darts behind the willow tree.
With that, a man bounds eagerly in, lust burning in his eyes. He is younger than she, but his legs drag behind him, tripping each other as he runs. He hurries from left to right, staring frantically out into the audience with searching eyes. He almost trips as he runs, but he manages to compose himself and he too scurries behind the willow tree.
Simultaneously the woman glides out from the other side, twisting and turning her body, swirling her hair in the wind. She smiles as the man leaps out from behind the tree in quick pursuit. Waggling her finger at him, she swallows her smile and cartwheels gracefully across the stage.
The music rises in intensity, climbing even higher in pitch while maintaining volume. The music seems to dictate the movement onstage, directing the woman melodically with the use of stringed instruments and the man with the use of clumsy bass and percussion.
The man leaps towards the woman, trying to grab her but finding only air. As he lands, he loses his footing and falls backwards landing heavily on his behind. He swivels on the ground and crawls toward her only to see the woman leaping back over him, her legs spread wide. She turns to wave teasingly at the man and then darts away behind the tree once more.
Letting out a strangled yelp, the man leaps to his feet.
He shouts, "Mother! Mother! Come back at once!"
He too sprints behind the tree, emerging from the other side in quick pursuit of his mother.
The woman turns to look behind her and shouts, "I shall never sleep with you, Anake. Callisto shall be my one and only lover."
He yells, "No! NO! Let it not be so! Sleep with me!"
She speaks softly. "Never."
With that, she turns and dives carefully off the stage into the pile of pillows, disappearing, seemingly consumed by the great mound.
"NO!" he shouts, running desperately across the stage. He leaps awkwardly into the mound of pillows, throwing them to either side, behind him and into the audience. Suddenly, a shining knife appears at his fingertips and he begins to tear at the pillows in his rage. White feathers fly up into the air as the black covering is torn away. Still the woman cannot be seen.
Abruptly, the feathers become a shade of deep blood red raining down around him. A deathly scream tears from within the pile. Standing on the stage behind, the cloaked character joins in with the screaming, throwing his hands up into the air. From the pile of cushions the woman lurches out suddenly, her body stained with blood. She falls back amongst the pillows, silence enveloping the room. Anake pauses guiltily, gazing down at his bloodied hands. Frantically he scrambles away, dragging his mother's dead body behind him.
All of a sudden the cloaked character lifts his hands up into air and brings them down dramatically, letting out an unearthly scream. As he brings down his arms, his black cloak falls away from his body, revealing a person entirely contrary to his angelic voice. The man is deathly pale, bones protruding from his body. His skin is stretched tight across his hunched body. There is no visible hair on his body, no eyebrows, not one hair on his head. His eyes, deep chasms of darkness, sit snugly above his long ridged nose. The man stands completely naked, bar a blood-stained sheet wrapped hastily around his waist. He smiles eerily and begins to talk.
"And so begins our tale. A tale of death once and death thrice, of banishment and insanity. Of grief and of vengeance. We meet Sinope, the very first of humankind, spawn of Maya and the Unnameable Horror. And then enter her children, the Offspring, of which Anake was only one."
One by one, a procession of humans begin to march on to the stage. First we see Anake walking alongside another woman of similar age. Tears run down her face as she clings tightly to Anake's arm. Behind them enter three more, a man and two women, their faces stained with tears. They hold hunting gear- bows and knives. Another man enters next, dragging his sister behind him. Trailing behind them all, plodding slowly, Callisto enters carrying Sinope's limp body in his arms. As he walks he gazes deep into her lifeless eyes, tears rolling silently down his cheeks. He places Sinope's body in front of the willow tree, everyone gathering around.
The man continues to speak. "We merely watched as time and time again Sinope refused Anake's advances. And then you wept as we watched the very first murder- the death of Sinope at the hands of her very own son."
The pale ghost of a man sidles slowly over to the willow tree where Sinope's body now lies.
"The body discovered, the killer not...and the Great Mother displeased"
A sudden spotlight shines down immediately directed at Anake. Anake covers his face and falls, hitting the ground hard. The music crescendos, reverberating throughout the room. All turn to face him, each person a different palate, a canvas with emotions splashed haphazardly.
Callisto is the first to turn away, breaking down into intense tears.
"Some could not handle the grief. Others did not experience it..."
The woman closest to Anake holds him close, miming an argument with the others. Another woman, the most beautiful of them all, stands to the side, tears flowing down her face. She keeps removed from the argument, not knowing what to do or whose side to take. The four remaining Offspring stand stony-faced. They point strongly at Anake, motioning for him to leave immediately. They spit on him and curse him.
Anake runs quickly from the stage, covering his face with his arms. A moment later, the woman who first entered with him runs after Anake, banishing herself to remain with him. One by one, each of the Offspring leave. They walk away slowly, some in pairs and others alone. Soon, only Callisto remains. He is an elderly man, yet whereas he used to walk youthfully, he now moves like an old man also. He sinks down to Sinope's side and buries his face in her chest, tears streaking down his cheeks. He wails.
"And with that, Anake was forced to leave. One plus one means two less Offspring. The rest remained but the Offspring were divided and Callisto... Callisto suffered."
The now-uncloaked figure pauses and smiles, his upper lip curling to reveal his top row of teeth.
"Death does not linger at only one."
The character limps to Callisto's side, one of his bony legs dragging slightly behind. He bends down and begins to sing softly into Callisto's right ear.
"Understanding evidence,
Understanding life.
Your lovely Sin-o-pe,
An affair with a knife.
No need for her to die now.
If only she were here.
Your overflowing passion,
The occurrence is most rare
Anake should suffer greatly.
Anake should surely die.
Kill him, Kill him slowly.
I would never lie.
Kill him, Kill him slowly.
I would never lie.
Kill him, Kill him slowly,
Kill him, let him die."
Throughout the song, Callisto tosses and turns. He thrashes this way and that, stuffing his ears with his fingers, trying to block out the noise. Tears leak from his eyes, wetting his anguished face. As the song develops, it becomes progressively harsher and the angelic voice takes on a much rougher tone. At the same time Callisto becomes more and more subdued, until at the conclusion of the song he stands. He stares out at the audience, his eyes deathly cold, his heart rock hard. With an agonising scream, he leaps from the stage and pushes his way through the audience, exiting behind them.
"Kill him, let him die," echoes throughout the theatre.
Traipsing to the left, the strange man lets out a cruel laugh as four characters, an elderly couple and a young man and woman, enter from the right. At a closer look you see that the couple is Anake and his sister. They have clearly aged and wear clothes woven from plant life.
Anake turns to his sister and begins to speak "Ahhh, Lysithea. Your presence does radiate this place. Though our siblings leave us abandoned and our father turns his back, may we wake tomorrow better people."
He lies down softly on the ground, lying at the foot of the willow tree. Lysithea lies at his side while their two children walk behind the tree. The lights dim and the entire stage is cast into shadow. As a low throbbing hum fills the room, the barely-clothed ghost of a man traipses towards Anake's sleeping body. He stands over him, throws back his head and sings.
"The time, it has arisen,
The time is finally here.
Revenge comes once or never.
Callisto, he comes near."
As he finishes the last line, Callisto enters from the right. His hair, a now pure white, has grown long and scraggly and his face is smeared with dirt. He walks with a limp and his eyes burn a fiery red. He attempts to runs to the left, a slight limp hindering his speed. As he reaches the centre at the front of the stage, a piercing screech of music booms throughout the theatre. Callisto falls down onto his knees, but swiftly spins his legs from under him, pushing himself up from the floor and back onto his feet. He hurries off into the left wing as fast as he can muster.
"Oh, how time comes swiftly.
Stop not to draw a breath.
Hurry now, Callisto,
Tis time for Anake's death."
Callisto walks slowly from behind the willow tree, making his way silently in front of the un-named character but behind Anake's sleeping body. He stands very still while staring down at Anake. Pale twig-like arms rise up, from behind Callisto, holding a sharpened rock. Callisto reaches up and tightly grasps the rock between his own two hands.
The music begins to crescendo. As Callisto drives the rock downwards, you can hear the last line of the verse echoing around you.
"Tis time for Anake's death."
Anake makes not a sound as the explosion of red bursts from his neck. The music continues to reverberate around the room as Callisto drives the rock down once more, then again and again. Unbeknownst to Callisto, Lysithea awakens and darts quickly behind the willow tree. As the rock is jammed down for the final time, Callisto falls onto his knees and screams. Fresh blood trickles down his face, mixed with salty tears.
He screams out, "SARAPIS! END MY LIFE, CRUEL ENDOWER OF FATE! KILL ME! END MY MISERABLE LIFE!"
His screams turn into sobs. "Oh, End, my miserable life. End my--"
Still standing behind Callisto's body, the skeleton-like man begins once more to chant his tuneful song.
"One's joined my realm of death,
But with one comes one more.
Sinope first, Anake second,
A third enters my door."
During the song, Anake's two children enter from either side of the tree. The male throws one end of a rope to his sister, and together they swiftly wrap it around Callisto's neck, strangling him viciously but quickly. Callisto thrashes to either side, but it is not long before his body goes limp. The two siblings drop his body to the ground with a dull thud. They stare for a moment at his dead body, their faces blank, betraying no emotion. They seem detached and impassive to the situation. They turn quickly and stride behind the willow tree. As the siblings make their exit, the unnamed character begins to walk forward. A pool of blood has since emerged between the two corpses, but the man walks directly through it, staining his feet a dark shade of red.
"From all around, creation sounds
A new song of ends,
Of tracking shadows, ghosts of darkness,
waiting while it mends.
Finality of death comes once,
And only then no more.
A never-ending, always pending
Death I do implore."