The Guqin, Late at Night

[yinyangwizard]

It's late, by local time: the main bar is quiet and sparsely populated at this hour. Those few still hanging about can hear the soft notes of a guqin (or kin no koto, as the musician usually calls it) drifting over from beside the fireplace.

Abe no Seimei, garbed in a dark grey kimono with black vertical stripes and a pair of black hakama, kneels on the rug beside the coffee table where his instrument rests. He is currently playing a classical piece appropriate to the season.

One does sometimes like to play in relative solitude, but that does not mean one is averse to an appreciative audience.

[OOC: For purposes of future roleplay, the sequence of encounters threaded below this post is 1. Lan Zhan 2. Jin Guangyao 3. Wei Wuxian 4. Wen Ning.]

[Tinytag: Lan Zhan]

[Tinytag: Jin Guangyao]

[Tinytag: Wei Wuxian]

[Tinytag: Wen Ning]

Comments

[thesecondjade]

He's been told men from the land of Wa are here, but he hardly expected one to be playing guqin. It's Lan Zhan's hands that were usually on the strings.

He appears, in his pale blues and crisp whites, robe light for summer and simple. He eschews his brother's complex wardrobe, though he does like his clothing neat and well made. But he takes a seat near by to listen, quiet and respectful.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei lets the final note of the song linger, only taking his finger off the string once it has faded into complete silence.

"It is always good to meet someone who appreciates a scholar's instrument," Seimei remarks in Lan Zhan's general direction.

[thesecondjade]

"I play as well," Lan Zhan says, before he offers his greeting bow from his seat. "I am Lan Zhan, called Lan Wangji. If I may ask, how long have you been playing?"

The music is good, though it is-- in his most humble opinion -- below Lan standards, but certainly above Su standards. A nice place to be, honestly.

[yinyangwizard]

"Since my twelfth year," Seimei responds, which is true while not exactly being a full and honest answer. One might get the impression that he has been playing for twenty or thirty years, when in fact it has been much longer.

(Lan Zhan has powerful magic - Seimei can see it in his aura, which is bright but calm, as one might expect to see in a young disciple who is a reincarnated Akashic master.)

[thesecondjade]

"Sixth," Lan Zhan says, though he knows he is younger (perhaps significantly; there is strong spiritual energy here, that much he can sense) than the other man. "The Gusu Lan specializes in musical cultivation."

[yinyangwizard]

"Ah, so you are a cultivator! We do not have cultivators in my world: we have Taoist mages, but they go by other names."

It appears that the Landlord has developed a fondness for cultivators recently.

Seimei stands up and bows in the Japanese fashion, with his arms at his sides. "I am Abe no Seimei of the land of Riben. I belong to the Akashayana, which also includes most of the Taoist mages."

[thesecondjade]

Lan Zhan rises to return the respect, before he gestures. "Do you use your spiritual energy through your guqin? The Lan clan has mastered and refined many techniques."

And right now he's really keen to expand that repertoire. He'll have to get a taste of this man's Cultivation, see what he can do.

And then maybe run Joy by him.

[hat_and_dimples]

There is a young man with golden robes and an ornate black hat sitting nearby, working his way through some ledgers.

When he hears the guqin, he puts down his work and just listens, looking shyly in the direction of the man playing it, but not darin to disturb in any way.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei, deeply engrossed in his playing, does not notice the young man yet. He starts playing something that the young man is unlikely to have heard played on the guqin, or ever, before.

That's one of the great things about the guqin - it's so versatile you can play a Bach cello piece on it.

[hat_and_dimples]

Jin Guangyao steps closer, listening with fascination.

This sounds unlike anything that Lan Xichen ever played!

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei ends his piece and looks up at his audience. "That piece is from a faraway land, and meant for a different instrument, but it fits the guqin quite well nonetheless. Would you like to hear another?"

There's a lot more to the guqin than old Chinese classics.

[hat_and_dimples]

"Oh yes, please," the young man says. "My name is Jin Guangyao" -- he bows, very properly, arms held before his chest -- "and I have never heard anything like this from my friend who plays the guqin on a very high level of cultivation."

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei stands and bows in the Japanese fashion, arms at his sides. "I am Abe no Seimei of Riben."

He thinks to himself that if Jin Guangyao's robes are any indication, his family makes a point of literally wearing their name on their sleeves.

The young man's aura shows definite signs of magical talent and, perhaps more significantly, the distinctive dagger points of an ambitions nature.

"You mentioned something about cultivation. Is your friend a cultivator? We have no mages by that name in my world, but I have heard of them here."

[undead_radish_seller]

Wen Ning comes closer when he hears the guqin, hesitation in his step; but when he sees that it's not Lan-er-gonzi who's playing but the man from the land of Wa he met when he was still new here, he sits cross-legged on the nearest sofa and just listens, a rather goofy smile on his face.

Even fierce corpses can enjoy music!

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei, seeing Wen Ning goofily enjoying himself, indulges him with a somewhat goofy piece.

(Back in the day, Seimei used to play this song at scholarly drinking parties at some point after everyone was slightly tipsy but before they got maudlin drunk.)

[undead_radish_seller]

Wen Ning gets up from the couch and bows in gratitude, then flops down again to listen properly, with a smile on his face.

A big white-and-tabby cat comes to join him.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei takes a break to adjust the tuning on his instrument. "Wen Qianlong! It is good to see you again! Has one of the forge cats taken a liking to you?"

[undead_radish_seller]

"Good evening, Abe no Seimei!" Wen Ning says, still cuddling the cat. "And yes; this one is called Ferdinand."

He struggles valiantly with the name, but does manage a suitable approximation.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei knows how hard it is to master European languages: it took him a lot of work.

"That is quite impressive: the forge cats generally lose interest in me shortly after my supply of treats runs out."

[alongfallfromgrace]

If there's a sound bound to draw the attention of Wei Wuxian, it's the sound of a qin. He suspects before he finds the player that it isn't Lan Zhan - it doesn't sound like any of the Lan Clan pieces he knows, but it could be that Lan Zhan has learned or composed something new.

As it is, there's a young man with a dizi tucked into his belt, leaned up against one of the support beams, watching this stranger play, politely waiting for a pause in the music to introduce himself.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei finishes his piece (it's a short piece) and starts retuning his instrument. Now is probably as good a time as any!

[alongfallfromgrace]

"You play very well." He calls, pushing himself up to stand and bow properly, Chenqing clasped in his hands. "I am Wei Wuxian, and very grateful for the diversion."

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei has heard of Wei Wuxian, and what he has heard makes him very concerned. He keeps the recognition of his face, but takes a close look at Wei Wuxian's aura - a constantly shifting cloud, restless and roiling and darkened at the edges. He has been using some dangerous magic.

Seimei stands up and bows in the Japanese fashion, arms at his sides. "I am Abe no Seimei of Riben. It is always a pleasure to meet someone who appreciates a scholar's instrument."

[alongfallfromgrace]

He is currently using some dangerous magic to keep himself from crumpling to the floor, but he has absolutely no intention of telling anyone that. He's managed to keep it to himself for years now, so he's doing well on that front.

"I am afraid I cannot take full credit - my friend plays, and I have learned appreciation from him." He hopes Lan Wangji will forgive his presumption, if he ever hears of it, but... surely he can claim that much?

Maybe?

He doesn't take it back, regardless.

[yinyangwizard]

"That is all right. There are so many instruments in the world, and one could not possibly learn them all in one lifetime - it is sufficient to appreciate them." He kneels down again, and gestures for Wei Wuxian to sit down across from him.

"Are you a recent arrival? I do not recall seeing you here before."