Inside the Musicians' Association of Altor, in Victor's office.
Having calmed down from the excitement of his talented student's return after a long absence, Victor chatted with Lucian about the customs and folk music of various regions across the continent. The atmosphere was warm and pleasant.
"Wonderful, truly wonderful! Lucian, your travels have yielded quite a harvest." After their exchange, Victor lavished praise and delight without reservation, since it was clear that Lucian had developed solid insights into folk music and absorbed it well.
Since Victor himself had toured concert halls across many nations on the continent, Lucian described his journey as having traveled from the south-central regions all the way to the Storm Strait, then—having suddenly gained certain ideas about the folk music of that area—doubling back along his route and settling down for an extended period to study. Lucian did not falsely claim to have returned from the southern continent, the Sacred Hertz Empire's northern reaches, or the Kingdom of Syracuse and the like—that would have been far too easy for Victor to see through.
Lucian felt entirely at ease before his teacher, nodding with a smile. "Actually, the folk music in many places is remarkable, with its own unique style. It's well worth absorbing into our own musical compositions."
"That's precisely what we call musical accumulation," Victor explained, holding nothing back from Lucian and teaching him selflessly. "If you never go out, look around, and listen, and just stay in Altor the whole time, it's easy for your thinking to become rigid and your compositions to become repetitive. Of course, the other crucial part of musical accumulation is the settling and eruption of emotion." He continued laying out his philosophy. "And Lucian, every gap in your musical foundation has been filled—proof of your diligence and perseverance these past three years."
Three years ago, no matter how exceptional Lucian's memory or how strong his bodily coordination, it would have been nearly impossible to master the fundamentals of music perfectly in under a year. At best, he could only perform like a brilliantly talented musician. In ordinary conversations, Lucian could hold his own with regular musicians and composers, but when facing musicians of Christopher's or Victor's caliber, gaps would inevitably surface. Fortunately, they were both generous elders who understood that Lucian had only recently begun studying music, so they never made a fuss—simply pointing out and correcting his mistakes in passing.
During his travels and his life in Arling, apart from the study and research of Arcane arts and Arcane Magic, Lucian spent at most half a day a week guiding his apprentices. The rest of the time, he used music to both amuse and relax himself.
This was hardly uncommon among mages. While focus was the foremost condition for success, the study and research of Arcane Magic sometimes required enduring tedium, and other times one could easily become so immersed as to lose touch with the "real world." Without some other hobby as a counterbalance, mental breakdowns and eccentricity were genuine possibilities. That was why most Archanists had their own ways of unwinding—such as the "Hand of Annihilation," who was an accomplished oil painter and a remarkable ladies' man.
Just as Lucian was about to reply, a polite knock came at the door—light, rhythmic, and entirely unhurried.
As a student, Lucian rose to his feet and walked to the door, pulling it open.
"Chairman Christopher?" Lucian was surprised to find the "living legend of music" standing at the doorway.
Christopher had aged considerably—his wrinkles had grown far more pronounced—yet, just as in his younger days, he kept his beard neatly shaved. He smiled warmly. "Lucian, welcome back."
"Mr. Chairman, what brings you here?" Lucian still used the familiar form of address, even though the actual chairman was now Othello.
Christopher chuckled. "I was waiting for you, young man, to come pay this old man a visit. When a long time passed with no sign of you, I had no choice but to come find you myself. I'm terribly curious about what you've seen, what you've experienced, and what new music you've brought back."
Compared to three years ago, Christopher seemed more lively and humorous—as though he were growing younger with age.
"I was planning to come see you right after finishing up with Teacher Victor…" Lucian said, a touch embarrassed.
Christopher gave a wry smile. "I'm joking, of course. In truth, I've come to invite you and Victor to attend a small recital by a young man. He's from the south of the Gusta Empire—a fine young fellow who has endured great hardship without ever abandoning music. After quite a journey, he finally made his way to Altor. During the music festival, I happened to hear him performing on the street and found it rather interesting, so I invited him to give a small concert in the Association's performance hall, so we could properly appreciate his work in full."
"On the street?" Victor, recognizing Christopher, had walked over to the door as well, and raised a question in surprise.
If a street performer had talent impressive enough to catch Christopher's ear, that young musician surely wouldn't have been overshadowed by the crowd of street artists and Bards. His reputation should have reached Victor's ears long ago—so why had he never heard of him?
Christopher nodded seriously. "He had no money and couldn't afford to rent a venue to perform symphonies. All he could do was accompany his singing with the piano. His songs were quite popular during the music festival, but most of the gentlemen in the Association have an instinctive aversion to songs that aren't operatic or hymnal in style—they consider them vulgar, simplistic, not worth serious attention. Oh, and his name is Franz."
"I trust your judgment, Mr. Chairman. Is the recital about to begin?" Victor asked with a smile.
Christopher pointed upward. "Yes, let's be off. The ladies and gentlemen are all waiting for us."
Lucian and Victor walked on either side of Christopher. After a few steps, the old man suddenly chuckled. "Lucian, Franz told me that he greatly admires you. Your music gave him strength—without it, he never could have persevered on the path of music."
"Oh?" Lucian let out a sound of mild confusion.
"Franz's father was an ordinary citizen who worked a lowly job at a trading firm. The family had no money to expose him to music, but when he was young his voice was exceptional, and he was selected for a church choir, where he learned vocal fundamentals and basic composition theory. Later, unwilling to become a castrato singer, he left the choir. By then he had already fallen deeply in love with music, and he began devouring every scrap of musical knowledge he could find from libraries, the Musicians' Association, and anywhere else—drawing inspiration from local folk songs and poetry."
Christopher gave a brief account of Franz's background. "Sadly, his compositions at the time failed to win the favor of the nobility or the public. Then his father passed away, and he fell into destitution, forced to take all manner of work just to stay alive. He worked as a dock laborer, tended warehouses, tended bar, and even worked as a Bard—all while continuing to study and create music and poetry. By the time he was barely twenty-two, both his body and his spirit were in terrible shape."