Little Mandolin

Tizzrah recites:

"Good eve'n everyone.

It is an honor to perform in this lovely house

and among such talented folk.

I wrote this song very recently in honor of my mother, whom I never knew.

Tis the tale of my family, a tale that, until this night, I have told no other.

P'raps it is here, in Sylvanfair, it was meant to be told.

I have named it, 'Little Mandolin.'"

Tizzrah begins to dance her fingers across the strings of her mandolin, and a lilting melody fills the room.

Tizzrah sings:

"When I was a child in my grandmother's home

In the deep Sylvan woods of her daughter

When evening sifted softly from the stars

Through the canopy that sheltered my bed

she would say..."

Tizzrah sings:

"Your mother was an only child

Like you in many ways

When I look at you, I remember her

She was the joy of my days"

Tizzrah sings:

"Her eyes were lit with happiness

Her merry laughter filled our wood

But more than anything,

She loved to sing

I'd give my life for hers, if I only could"

Tizzrah gently increases the pace of the tune, her fingers dancing and skipping on the strings.

Tizzrah sings:

"Your mother was a lovely girl

She became a beautiful woman

The lads would come a court'in

and her father had to shoo'em"

Tizzrah sings:

"She never seemed to notice

She was a million miles away

All day long, her heart was in her songs

and that little mandolin she would play"

Tizzrah sings:

"When Grandmother spoke of my mother's mandolin

She would bend down and draw it out from under my bed

She kept it in a velvet sack, and it looked almost new

Then she would whisper 'Some day, love

You may want to play this, too."

Tizzrah sings:

"Your mother loved this instrument

She always carried it with her

When she played her little mandolin

her eyes would shine like the stars glitter"

Tizzrah sings:

"All our people loved to listen

For she played all the day long

They called her "Little Mandolin"

and they'd say 'Mandy, let's have a song...'"

Tizzrah looks down at her mandolin, and though the music she coaxes from the little instrument speaks of sadness and longing, the melody is beautiful.

Tizzrah sings:

"Grandmother's hands would stroke the old wood

and her fingers brush softly at the strings

and as I waited once more for her thoughts to return

I could almost hear my dead mother sing

and she would tell me..."

Tizzrah sings:

"Soon people came from everywhere

Just to listen to her sing

She was magical, and a joy to all

like the first bud of Spring"

Tizzrah sings:

"Then little Mandolin would play

Oh how her fingers flew

She loved her mandolin

More than anything

and she believed it loved her too"

Tizzrah sings:

"When Grandmother came to this part of the story

I held my breath and waited, for often she would say no more

But sometimes she would grow thoughtful, and in soft, distant voice

She would tell me what had happened

to the daughter she adored..."

Tizzrah sings:

"It was an evening like this one

When your mother went away

I was filling the water jars

by the lake on that day"

Tizzrah sings:

"I could hear her singing softly

And I hummed along to the lovely tune

Then suddenly

There was silence

underneath the silver moon"

Tizzrah sings:

"My heart flooded with dread

As I slipped through the darkness

The woods were strangely hushed

as though an enemy were upon us"

Tizzrah sings:

"I came to the clearing where

She sang 'most every night

And what I saw there

In the quiet glade

nearly killed me from fright"

Tizzrah's fingers fly almost impossibly fast down the neck of the little mandolin and across toss the strings. Deep notes ring out beneath the melody as though warning of terrible danger.

Tizzrah sings:

"There on the rock

Where she would sit and play her tunes

Was nothing but her mandolin

glinting softly in the moon"

Tizzrah sings:

"She was dead or had been taken

T'was no question in my mind

Her little mandolin

Was her dearest friend

she would never leave it behind"

Tizzrah sings:

"Our people searched for many days

They were desperate with sorrow

And every night, in the firelight

we'd always say, 'We'll find her tomorrow...'"

Tizzrah sings:

"But the days slipped into years

And we never saw her again

Our forest was too quiet

without our little Mandolin"

Tizzrah increases the pace even more, her fingers a blur across the strings. Her eyes close, and as she plays, it is as though she and the mandolin keen their mourning as one.

Tizzrah sings:

"For many years my Grandmother said nothing more

Of the night when she lost her only daughter

Then on the eve of my first century

After my people had feasted me

She took me aside and told me how

I came to be born..."

Tizzrah sings:

"Though Mandolin had been gone

For more than twenty-nine long years

I never gave up hoping

though I shed countless tears"

Tizzrah sings:

"Then one mid-summer's eve'n

As we danced in the starlight

As is the custom of our people

on every fair summer's night"

Tizzrah sings:

"Everyone stopped suddenly

All had heard the same sound

Then someone stumbled

Into the clearing

and crumpled to the ground"

Tizzrah sings:

"It was our little Mandolin

We stood, shocked and unbelieving

She was heavy with child

and she was pale and barely breathing"

Tizzrah sings:

"Everyone began to talk at once

We all rushed her side

I couldn't see for my tears

for I believed she had died"

Tizzrah sings:

"Her eyes fluttered open

She looked up at me and smiled

Then her face tensed with pain

for she was about to have her child"

Tizzrah sings:

"We lifted her very gently

still she moaned loudly and shivered

All night long she was wracked with pain

finally her babe was delivered"

Tizzrah bows her head and sighs deeply as she once again concentrates on her playing. Each note rings out purely, and sadness pours from the little mandolin as she plays.

Tizzrah sings:

"I remember my grandmother smiled and held me tight

And I knew she was telling me she was glad I was with her

My heart beat uncontrollably, for this was all so strange to me

Yet nothing would have stopped me from hearing everything that night"

Tizzrah sings:

"For many days your mother

Tarried close to Lorminstra's door

I begged the gods for my daughter's life

there was nothing I wanted more"

Tizzrah sings:

"I rocked her gently in my arms

At last she opened her eyes

She was as fragile as a snowflake

in our warm summer skies"

Tizzrah sings:

"She asked to see her daughter

I brought you to her right away

She gazed down at you with tenderness

and told me what became of her that dark day"

Tizzrah sings:

"On the eve' we last saw her

She was singing in the glade

When her voice failed completely

and she dropped the mandolin she played"

Tizzrah sings:

"The last thing she saw

Coming toward her in moonlight

Was a human man

Gesturing his hands

then everything faded from sight"

Tizzrah sings:

"When she awoke, he was with her

And she feared for her very life

But he said that he would never harm her

he only wanted her for his wife"

Tizzrah sings:

"She was horrified and refused

He merely shook his head and smiled

'I would prefer,' he said, 'that you submit willingly'

'for you shall carry our child'"

Tizzrah sings:

"Again she denied him

Still he treated well

When she asked him why he had chosen her

he'd only smile secretly, but never tell"

Tizzrah sings:

"She was given every luxury

In his dark, forbidding tower

For many years, she was his prisoner

held by his obsession and his power"

Tizzrah closes her eyes for a moment, and though she continues to play, a brief flicker of pain crosses her face.

Tizzrah sings:

"Every evening when he came to her

He would beg for her to sing

He brought her many beautiful instruments

but she wouldn't touch a string"

Tizzrah sings:

"She yearned for her little mandolin

Like she yearned for a lover

She refused to play

And every single day

she told him she would never hold another"

Tizzrah sings:

"He was endlessly patient

And she could see in his eyes

That he loved her deeply, so one day

she offered him a compromise"

Tizzrah sings:

"She told him, "Yes, I will sing for you

'But you must give me something in return'

He knew right away what wanted...

for what she so desperately yearned"

Tizzrah sings:

"'That is something I cannot do'

He told her with dismay

'Unless you promise you will be my wife

'then I will send you home some day'"

Tizzrah sings:

"With a sinking heart, she agreed

It was the only way she knew

To see her mandolin

And her home again

but she was heartbroken, too"

Tizzrah sings:

"They were married the next day

Before a servile, old cleric

And she submitted to him with dignity

though it left her trembling and heartsick"

Tizzrah sings:

"And every night she sang for him

As she faithfully had promised

But as she'd sing

As her fingers plucked the strings

Her soul grew more wounded

and lost"

Tizzrah's fingers race across the strings, and her eyes shine with unshed tears. She trembles slightly, but when she continues to sing, her voice does not falter.

Tizzrah sings:

"For more than twenty years

She lived thus, inwardly crying

Then one day he called her to him

and he told her he was dying"

Tizzrah sings:

"He said 'I saw you sing one day

'I was one of many others

'I fell in love with you instantly

'and knew I could never love another'"

Tizzrah sings:

"He said 'I have worked magic all my life

'But until that fateful day

'I never knew love

'Or understood joy

'not until I heard you play'"

Tizzrah sings:

"She leaned down to touched his cheek

For he was endlessly kind

She was sorry he was dying

yet there was something on her mind"

Tizzrah sings:

"As he looked at her with love

He thought he knew what she wanted

'Stay with me until I die,' he begged

his face was desperate and haunted"

Tizzrah sings:

"She was moved by his love for her

but she had something else to say

'I will stay with you,

'and I hope you tarry

'long enough to see our babe'"

Tizzrah sings:

"His eyes lit with happiness

He fell asleep holding her hand

But it was not to be

For you see

the wizard never woke again"

Tizzrah brushes her fingers gently across the strings and slows the pace of the melody, and her expression is distant and thoughtful.

Tizzrah sings:

"She left for home that very morn'

It took her months to find her way

And though I questioned her

About this human wizard

that was all she would say"

Tizzrah sings:

"You fell asleep in your mother's arms

She kissed you gently and held you close

'Now I have another love,' she said

'though once I loved my mandolin the most"

Tizzrah sings:

"Her face lit up with joy

As I placed her mandolin by her side

She gently placed you in my arms

then held her little mandolin and cried"

Tizzrah sings:

"Tentatively she touched the strings

I had kept them oiled and tuned

Then she began to sing

And play her mandolin

and her music filled the room"

Tizzrah launches into the lilting melody that began her song, and the mandolin rings out, as though suffused with sudden happiness.

Tizzrah sings:

"Our people ran to listen

There was cheering in the air

It had been many years since we heard her

and her song was just as fair"

Tizzrah sings:

"And then our little Mandolin played

Oh how her fingers flew

She loved her mandolin

More than anything

and she believed it loved her too"

Tizzrah slows her fingers and gently bridges from the happy melody into a soft, mournful whisper.

Tizzrah sings:

"But those long years of grieving

Had weakened her badly

And I knew she was exhausted

by her long, arduous journey"

Tizzrah sings:

"She fell asleep still smiling

Her little mandolin tightly clasped

Then as the silver moonlight

lit her lovely face

I watched my daughter breathe her last"

Tizzrah bows her head. Her long golden hair completely covers her face. A shiver passes through her slight frame and yet the haunting, beautiful melody continues to pour from the little mandolin. It soars ever louder, each shining note as beautiful as the one before until the music fills the room and it is though this one instrument sings with many voices of love, and loss.

Tizzrah brings the mandolin to a ringing crescendo and then stops suddenly. She brushes the hair from her face, and looks up, as though startled back to the present.

Tizzrah clutches the mandolin close and starts to play again. Her fingers pick out one note, then another, one by one, letting each note ring out to silence before beginning the next. She increases the pace just a little, and without preamble, launches into the melody again.

Tizzrah sings:

"My grandmother's eyes filled with tears as she told me

We held each other close and we cried

My heart broke to think of her life cut short cruelly

Yet, at last, I knew my history

and why my mother had died"

Tizzrah sings:

"Though he had claimed to be in love

When he forced my mother to be his wife

I knew my father had killed her

and that he had paid with his own life"

Tizzrah sings:

"Two centuries passed, and when

My loving grandparents died

I left my home and my people

my mother's mandolin by my side"

Tizzrah sings:

"When I play her mandolin

Oh how my fingers fly

I'll never be as good

As Mandy was

but I know I have to try"

Tizzrah gazes down at the little mandolin on her lap and, for the first time in many long minutes, smiles again. Her fingers give one final sweep across the strings, and then the notes fade to silence.

Tizzrah stands and curtsies gracefully. Then, still cradling the little mandolin close, she walks to rejoin the audience.


				*Elanthian Love Songs* *Little Mandolin*



	Home \| ELS Home \| Gems \| Magic \| Perchance to Dream \| Perchance to Dream, Again \| To Be or Not to Be Alone \| Waterloo \| The Dance \| False Hopes \| Warrior Man \| In Her Eyes \| Equinox \| Tickled Pink \| Sonnet to a Sepulcher \| Tormented \| Galathil Mélawen Calanor \| Golden Doeskin Boots \| Not a Fairy Tale \| Pale Crab Ball \| Aisling Naofa \| Little Mandolin \| Wedding Song \| Character Development Help \| Links \| Greeting Cards \| Awards \| Author Notes \| Guest Map ~ Poll


		Little Mandolin This was written especially for the Sylvanfair Turnleaf Festival in Wehnimer's Landing and was performed by Tizzrah (her first-ever public performance!) on day 21 of the month Imaerasta in the year 5102.



		Look at Tizzrah You see Tizzrah Labandita. She appears to be a Half-Sylvan. She appears to be young and very tall. She has sparkling dark eyes and fair skin. She has waist length, upswept golden blonde hair. She has a delicate face, a freckled nose and small pointy ears. She is in good shape. She is holding a rosewood mandolin in her left hand. She is wearing a sprig of jasmine, a graceful nutmeg satin gown trimmed with glossy tiger-eye stones along the daring neckline and some delicate crystal-heeled boots. Tizzrah turns to face the audience, then sits down gracefully. Tizzrah gently cradles the little mandolin she is holding in her lap. She lightly brushes her fingers against the strings and gazes down at it fondly, then looks up and smiles. Tizzrah recites: "Good eve'n everyone. It is an honor to perform in this lovely house and among such talented folk. I wrote this song very recently in honor of my mother, whom I never knew. Tis the tale of my family, a tale that, until this night, I have told no other. P'raps it is here, in Sylvanfair, it was meant to be told. I have named it, 'Little Mandolin.'" Tizzrah begins to dance her fingers across the strings of her mandolin, and a lilting melody fills the room. Tizzrah sings: "When I was a child in my grandmother's home In the deep Sylvan woods of her daughter When evening sifted softly from the stars Through the canopy that sheltered my bed she would say..." Tizzrah sings: "Your mother was an only child Like you in many ways When I look at you, I remember her She was the joy of my days" Tizzrah sings: "Her eyes were lit with happiness Her merry laughter filled our wood But more than anything, She loved to sing I'd give my life for hers, if I only could" Tizzrah gently increases the pace of the tune, her fingers dancing and skipping on the strings. Tizzrah sings: "Your mother was a lovely girl She became a beautiful woman The lads would come a court'in and her father had to shoo'em" Tizzrah sings: "She never seemed to notice She was a million miles away All day long, her heart was in her songs and that little mandolin she would play" Tizzrah sings: "When Grandmother spoke of my mother's mandolin She would bend down and draw it out from under my bed She kept it in a velvet sack, and it looked almost new Then she would whisper 'Some day, love You may want to play this, too." Tizzrah sings: "Your mother loved this instrument She always carried it with her When she played her little mandolin her eyes would shine like the stars glitter" Tizzrah sings: "All our people loved to listen For she played all the day long They called her "Little Mandolin" and they'd say 'Mandy, let's have a song...'" Tizzrah looks down at her mandolin, and though the music she coaxes from the little instrument speaks of sadness and longing, the melody is beautiful. Tizzrah sings: "Grandmother's hands would stroke the old wood and her fingers brush softly at the strings and as I waited once more for her thoughts to return I could almost hear my dead mother sing and she would tell me..." Tizzrah sings: "Soon people came from everywhere Just to listen to her sing She was magical, and a joy to all like the first bud of Spring" Tizzrah sings: "Then little Mandolin would play Oh how her fingers flew She loved her mandolin More than anything and she believed it loved her too" Tizzrah sings: "When Grandmother came to this part of the story I held my breath and waited, for often she would say no more But sometimes she would grow thoughtful, and in soft, distant voice She would tell me what had happened to the daughter she adored..." Tizzrah sings: "It was an evening like this one When your mother went away I was filling the water jars by the lake on that day" Tizzrah sings: "I could hear her singing softly And I hummed along to the lovely tune Then suddenly There was silence underneath the silver moon" Tizzrah sings: "My heart flooded with dread As I slipped through the darkness The woods were strangely hushed as though an enemy were upon us" Tizzrah sings: "I came to the clearing where She sang 'most every night And what I saw there In the quiet glade nearly killed me from fright" Tizzrah's fingers fly almost impossibly fast down the neck of the little mandolin and across toss the strings. Deep notes ring out beneath the melody as though warning of terrible danger. Tizzrah sings: "There on the rock Where she would sit and play her tunes Was nothing but her mandolin glinting softly in the moon" Tizzrah sings: "She was dead or had been taken T'was no question in my mind Her little mandolin Was her dearest friend she would never leave it behind" Tizzrah sings: "Our people searched for many days They were desperate with sorrow And every night, in the firelight we'd always say, 'We'll find her tomorrow...'" Tizzrah sings: "But the days slipped into years And we never saw her again Our forest was too quiet without our little Mandolin" Tizzrah increases the pace even more, her fingers a blur across the strings. Her eyes close, and as she plays, it is as though she and the mandolin keen their mourning as one. Tizzrah sings: "For many years my Grandmother said nothing more Of the night when she lost her only daughter Then on the eve of my first century After my people had feasted me She took me aside and told me how I came to be born..." Tizzrah sings: "Though Mandolin had been gone For more than twenty-nine long years I never gave up hoping though I shed countless tears" Tizzrah sings: "Then one mid-summer's eve'n As we danced in the starlight As is the custom of our people on every fair summer's night" Tizzrah sings: "Everyone stopped suddenly All had heard the same sound Then someone stumbled Into the clearing and crumpled to the ground" Tizzrah sings: "It was our little Mandolin We stood, shocked and unbelieving She was heavy with child and she was pale and barely breathing" Tizzrah sings: "Everyone began to talk at once We all rushed her side I couldn't see for my tears for I believed she had died" Tizzrah sings: "Her eyes fluttered open She looked up at me and smiled Then her face tensed with pain for she was about to have her child" Tizzrah sings: "We lifted her very gently still she moaned loudly and shivered All night long she was wracked with pain finally her babe was delivered" Tizzrah bows her head and sighs deeply as she once again concentrates on her playing. Each note rings out purely, and sadness pours from the little mandolin as she plays. Tizzrah sings: "I remember my grandmother smiled and held me tight And I knew she was telling me she was glad I was with her My heart beat uncontrollably, for this was all so strange to me Yet nothing would have stopped me from hearing everything that night" Tizzrah sings: "For many days your mother Tarried close to Lorminstra's door I begged the gods for my daughter's life there was nothing I wanted more" Tizzrah sings: "I rocked her gently in my arms At last she opened her eyes She was as fragile as a snowflake in our warm summer skies" Tizzrah sings: "She asked to see her daughter I brought you to her right away She gazed down at you with tenderness and told me what became of her that dark day" Tizzrah sings: "On the eve' we last saw her She was singing in the glade When her voice failed completely and she dropped the mandolin she played" Tizzrah sings: "The last thing she saw Coming toward her in moonlight Was a human man Gesturing his hands then everything faded from sight" Tizzrah sings: "When she awoke, he was with her And she feared for her very life But he said that he would never harm her he only wanted her for his wife" Tizzrah sings: "She was horrified and refused He merely shook his head and smiled 'I would prefer,' he said, 'that you submit willingly' 'for you shall carry our child'" Tizzrah sings: "Again she denied him Still he treated well When she asked him why he had chosen her he'd only smile secretly, but never tell" Tizzrah sings: "She was given every luxury In his dark, forbidding tower For many years, she was his prisoner held by his obsession and his power" Tizzrah closes her eyes for a moment, and though she continues to play, a brief flicker of pain crosses her face. Tizzrah sings: "Every evening when he came to her He would beg for her to sing He brought her many beautiful instruments but she wouldn't touch a string" Tizzrah sings: "She yearned for her little mandolin Like she yearned for a lover She refused to play And every single day she told him she would never hold another" Tizzrah sings: "He was endlessly patient And she could see in his eyes That he loved her deeply, so one day she offered him a compromise" Tizzrah sings: "She told him, "Yes, I will sing for you 'But you must give me something in return' He knew right away what wanted... for what she so desperately yearned" Tizzrah sings: "'That is something I cannot do' He told her with dismay 'Unless you promise you will be my wife 'then I will send you home some day'" Tizzrah sings: "With a sinking heart, she agreed It was the only way she knew To see her mandolin And her home again but she was heartbroken, too" Tizzrah sings: "They were married the next day Before a servile, old cleric And she submitted to him with dignity though it left her trembling and heartsick" Tizzrah sings: "And every night she sang for him As she faithfully had promised But as she'd sing As her fingers plucked the strings Her soul grew more wounded and lost" Tizzrah's fingers race across the strings, and her eyes shine with unshed tears. She trembles slightly, but when she continues to sing, her voice does not falter. Tizzrah sings: "For more than twenty years She lived thus, inwardly crying Then one day he called her to him and he told her he was dying" Tizzrah sings: "He said 'I saw you sing one day 'I was one of many others 'I fell in love with you instantly 'and knew I could never love another'" Tizzrah sings: "He said 'I have worked magic all my life 'But until that fateful day 'I never knew love 'Or understood joy 'not until I heard you play'" Tizzrah sings: "She leaned down to touched his cheek For he was endlessly kind She was sorry he was dying yet there was something on her mind" Tizzrah sings: "As he looked at her with love He thought he knew what she wanted 'Stay with me until I die,' he begged his face was desperate and haunted" Tizzrah sings: "She was moved by his love for her but she had something else to say 'I will stay with you, 'and I hope you tarry 'long enough to see our babe'" Tizzrah sings: "His eyes lit with happiness He fell asleep holding her hand But it was not to be For you see the wizard never woke again" Tizzrah brushes her fingers gently across the strings and slows the pace of the melody, and her expression is distant and thoughtful. Tizzrah sings: "She left for home that very morn' It took her months to find her way And though I questioned her About this human wizard that was all she would say" Tizzrah sings: "You fell asleep in your mother's arms She kissed you gently and held you close 'Now I have another love,' she said 'though once I loved my mandolin the most" Tizzrah sings: "Her face lit up with joy As I placed her mandolin by her side She gently placed you in my arms then held her little mandolin and cried" Tizzrah sings: "Tentatively she touched the strings I had kept them oiled and tuned Then she began to sing And play her mandolin and her music filled the room" Tizzrah launches into the lilting melody that began her song, and the mandolin rings out, as though suffused with sudden happiness. Tizzrah sings: "Our people ran to listen There was cheering in the air It had been many years since we heard her and her song was just as fair" Tizzrah sings: "And then our little Mandolin played Oh how her fingers flew She loved her mandolin More than anything and she believed it loved her too" Tizzrah slows her fingers and gently bridges from the happy melody into a soft, mournful whisper. Tizzrah sings: "But those long years of grieving Had weakened her badly And I knew she was exhausted by her long, arduous journey" Tizzrah sings: "She fell asleep still smiling Her little mandolin tightly clasped Then as the silver moonlight lit her lovely face I watched my daughter breathe her last" Tizzrah bows her head. Her long golden hair completely covers her face. A shiver passes through her slight frame and yet the haunting, beautiful melody continues to pour from the little mandolin. It soars ever louder, each shining note as beautiful as the one before until the music fills the room and it is though this one instrument sings with many voices of love, and loss. Tizzrah brings the mandolin to a ringing crescendo and then stops suddenly. She brushes the hair from her face, and looks up, as though startled back to the present. Tizzrah clutches the mandolin close and starts to play again. Her fingers pick out one note, then another, one by one, letting each note ring out to silence before beginning the next. She increases the pace just a little, and without preamble, launches into the melody again. Tizzrah sings: "My grandmother's eyes filled with tears as she told me We held each other close and we cried My heart broke to think of her life cut short cruelly Yet, at last, I knew my history and why my mother had died" Tizzrah sings: "Though he had claimed to be in love When he forced my mother to be his wife I knew my father had killed her and that he had paid with his own life" Tizzrah sings: "Two centuries passed, and when My loving grandparents died I left my home and my people my mother's mandolin by my side" Tizzrah sings: "When I play her mandolin Oh how my fingers fly I'll never be as good As Mandy was but I know I have to try" Tizzrah gazes down at the little mandolin on her lap and, for the first time in many long minutes, smiles again. Her fingers give one final sweep across the strings, and then the notes fade to silence. Tizzrah stands and curtsies gracefully. Then, still cradling the little mandolin close, she walks to rejoin the audience.



		~ Image, above ~ "Muse" (Winged Ones" Gallery) Copyright Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, 2002. All rights reserved. ~~ Shadowscapes.com ~~ Midi, "Romance" written and performed by Claude Ciari ~ click here to download JA: I miss you so much. Please contact me if only to tell me you're okay. g o o f b a l l _ t i z z y (y a h o o)