Original Tunes (Story) Collaborative S1E2: The Summoned Being

#1

Previously: A sect is performing a ritual where one innocent person is murdered and brought back from the dead only to carry with them some dark powers.

This theme: The summoning happens, but what/who appears? The harbinger of doom, a hero in the making, or does something else definitive happen as the result of the ritual? Your submission will define what was the immediate outcome.

Here is the full quotation from Danilo, I’ll make no interpretations myself:

A sect is performing a ritual where one innocent person is murdered and brought back from the dead only to carry with them some dark powers. I pictured a dark dungeon, maybe in a big city underground and forgotten spaces.

The lyrics at the end are:

“Redi ab inferis (come back from hell)
fers tecum tenebras (bring darkness with you)”

Will everything go as planned?

Rules:

Every music style is welcome, you can make 8bits musics, orchestral arrangements, live recordings, electronic music… As long as it fits the theme, everything is allowed!

To enter, your song must be an original creation of your own made specifically for this thread.
You can upload your songs on Youtube, SoundCloud or any other place that allows the listening without having to download it.

Your song must be 1 minute long MINIMUM.

You must include a description of the scene you are trying to paint/accompany your theme with, and a clear hint for the next scene/theme.

Deadline: 27th of February

2 Likes
#2

What’s the timeline/deadline?

#3

Edited the post (27th), thanks!

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#4

Congrats to @Danilo_Ciaffi :smiley:

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#5

Congrats, Danilo, and thanks to everybody for their comments on my track last time! Hopefully I can come up with a good continuation to the story. :grinning:

#6

Well, hopefully I do this correctly with it being my first entry.

Here’s my piece titled “Ground Dirt”.

You awaken and see the mages sprawled around you on the ground. Despite the recent events, you feel quite calm. However, looking down at your hands you notice there is much more fur than you’re used to.
“So much for knowing anything like the back of my hand anymore… they must have imbued some of that ground troll essence into me.”
You look up as you hear fast paced footsteps and decide it would be a good idea to get out of here. You head toward the room’s entrance and glance to your right. A slime monster’s eyes open in the back of its head and stare in your direction. You know the encounter should be an easy win, but fight or flee - it’s your decision.

A couple hours later, you see the way out. A shaft of light shining down maybe 20 ft.(~6 m) and a ladder ascending to the point of origin. You grasp the first rung and start climbing, but who’s to tell what you will find when you reach the top…

I conceptualized my piece as the bgm for this dungeon exploration/escape gameplay segment.

4 Likes
#7

Well this is an interesting theme, will pick up my guitar this weekend and try summoning up some inspiration. :slight_smile:

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#8

I see what you did there

#9

Here’s my track for this month:

One member of the sect had a bad feeling about what was going on so he quietly backed off, hoping the others wouldn’t notice. If something was to go wrong he would be ready to get the hell out of the ritual site.

And sure enough, everything didn’t go as planned. The murdered person remained dead but something else was happening: An eerie purple mist was starting to emerge seemingly out of nowhere and in the middle of it was a pair of eyes. Those didn’t belong to a human.

He had almost reached the dungeon door when the screams of the other sect members were drowned out by a loud roar. Suddenly all the vows and promises he had made to be a part of this felt meaningless: Whatever they had managed to summon was coming and he didn’t care to find out what it was so he ran.

Will our anti-hero find the way out of the catacombs before the living nightmare catches him? I hope my composition answers that question!

4 Likes
#10

Alright, I’ve come up with a track and a scenario!

The sect stands around a summoning circle, performing a chant. At the center is a young man (rougly age 18) tied to a stake. The man is gagged and struggling to break free. The circle of hooded summoners breaks to make room for the leader, who chants these words:

“Redi ab inferis, fers tecum tenebras… COME FORTH, TARTELAS!”

The summoning circle illuminates, and a chilling wind begins to swirl. The candles around the circle flicker as the circle glows brighter and wind picks up. Brighter and brighter, faster and faster. The young man squirms and screams through the gag for help, but to no avail. He closes his eyes, awaiting his death. Suddenly, everything stops. The teen slowly opens his eyes and looks down. He is still alive! The man looks around to see the bewildered summoners faces amongst the candlelight. On the young man’s left, however, is a still figure. The boy cannot make out the figure’s face, as the candle under the figure has been extinguished. “Why is that candle out? Is that what caused the summoning to fail?”

Before the boy can think further, the figure slays the summoners on their left and right. The figure dashes to the center towards the boy. He winces and closes his eyes. Again, the young man opens his eyes to find himself still alive, and this time freed from the stake. “Stand! Let’s go!” the hooded summoner barks as they rip the gag off the boy. The lead summoner screams at the group, “Get them! Do not let the prince escape!” This new ally grabs the prince’s arm and dashes back to the initial position this new ally was standing at. Just beyond the summoning circle lies a tunnel. The two dash in whilst the summoners scramble to begin their chase.

The prince is completely lost after a few turns in the tunnels. The figure has quickly lit a torch to light the way, sword at the ready. “Looks like they came prepared, whoever this is. Can I trust them?” the prince thinks to himself.

“Who are you?” the prince asks the shadowed figure.

“This is no time for these questions, I’ll explain later.” the figure states. “These tunnels are dangerous. Can you wield a sword?”

“I thought you said now was no time for questions?”

“Answer the question or die.”

“Yes, I c-c-can!” the prince nervously stammers.

“Take this.” The rescuer hands the prince a sword. “We will need to fight our way through the undead to make it out of these tunnels.”

“The undead?!” the prince exclaims. The ally hands the prince a sword. Plain, but sharp and balanced. Just enough to get the job done. The two begin their trek through the tunnels, all while hearing footsteps and yells from the group of summoners.

[insert gameplay]

The two break out of the tunnels into the main streets of a city. The ally drags the prince around through a few different alleyways to ditch the summoners.

“Ok, we have lost them. Can you please tell me who you are now?” the prince exclaims, inbetween heavy breaths.

The ally removes their hood to reveal a woman. “The king sent me. My name is…”

What city is the prince in? Who is this woman? What relation does this woman have with the king? How did she know how to navigate the tunnels? Who was the dark summoning cult? Who is Tartelas?

3 Likes
#11

Well I have completed my submission for this month and would like to thank everyone for their advice in the previous rotation. Hope you enjoy!

The dark sect is complete…the room grew still as the ritualists gaze longingly at their vessel…The silence had been broken suddenly as an eerie wheeze gave way to evil laughter. Fire erupted as the ritualists soon became encircling by the flames within the sects stage of performance. The fire illuminated the area casting shadows on the ground which danced around seemingly possessed as the human vessel could be seen shaking violently…before stiffening up once more…slowly…sitting up. The abomination tilted its head forward to gaze at its audience… it’s eyes appeared white briefly as they slowly rolled back into position…The ritualists became horrified as the abominations crimson eyes leered hungrily upon them. One tried to speak, alas, only a gasp of fear emerged, while another simply paralyzed in terror watched as the incarnation slowly climbed off the dolmen…attempting to realign its bone structure. Shifting its body quickly as the sound of bone snapping reset its frame as it began taking on a more ominous form. …Sweat slowly trickled down the face of a ritualists …briefly clinging to his chin before slowing dripping to the ground…in the final moments as the droplets reached the floor the abomination struck,swinging its arms viciously eviscerating two of the ritualists as they slumped to the floor screaming! The abomination reached out grasping one of the remaining ritualists as the other stumbled back to avoid it carelessly…only to be consumed by the encircling flames…The incarnate had incredible strength, lifting it’s prey skyward, effortlessly with only one arm. Both shared a brief moment in each other’s eyes… fear stricken the ritualists…malicious intent in the eyes of the incarnate…slowly raising its second arm into position for the killing blow while the ritualists struggled to break free…the abomination struck Without any further hesitation, slaying the last of its prey…In that same moment a scroll slipped out of the ritualists robe. The abomination cast aside the corpse to the dancing flames as it cautiously crouched down to investigate the contents therein. The incarnate slowly unrolled the scroll and began reading it.”Theo, your orders are to travel to heart of the Satronoxian ruins. Gather three of your most trusted followers and bring Galthadors body. There and only there, can you perform the ritual of resurrection. Once completed,lead your group to the east through the Crypt Of Forgotten Souls and meet up with us at the Shrine Of Talathos. Great dangers lie ahead on your journey, travel swiftly and silently. Sincerely, High Priest Of The Black Crows.”

#12

I will need at least Friday, maybe some of Saturday to get mine done. So for any late joiners or people waiting for polling to start, a few days more!

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#13

Wow some people really put efforts in their story, it’s super cool guys!

#14

Ditto, thanks for that! :+1:

#15

This is uhh… me trying out seemingly random stuff on the fretboard.

The ritual is completed, and dark energies surge through the sacrificed body (our hero). The being from beyond however fails to subjugate the offering; there is a surge of backlash as something absorbs the malevolent energies and separates from the body - a nearly identical figure of the sacrifice.

Life returns your body, and you see what appears to be you standing next to you. But you know and feel that it is only the projection of something you once had - all the evil you could harbor but never did. You try to catch this creature and seal away the evil, but it knows you just as you know it. The frantic dance ends as the creature flees into the dark. The cultists are dead, an evil force wielding your skin is on the run, and only you can imagine what might happen next.

You look for a way out, and eventually find your way outside. The city is alive and minding its own business, but for how long?

In other words the next theme would be less dramatic, instead about the city we are in.

3 Likes
#16

Hopefully not too late to throw something in the mix.

As the ankh shatters in his hand, the lead summoner hears his fellow necromancers behind him heaving panicked breaths, quickly giving way to screams of pain. They bleed from every orifice as their bodies shrivel and burn. “No! We called you forth from oblivion, you shall serve us!” The new body of the ancient sorcerer pharaoh rises as the summoner’s vision clouds over with his blood, flames engulfing the room, and he can hear a terrifying voice in his head: “I serve no one. All serve me.”
The pharaoh walks into the unknown landscape, as the castle behind him burns and crumbles.

1 Like
#17

Voting time

How: listen to all the entries, and evaluate how the composition fits the theme (prologue), does it go along with the description etc. Pick your favorite, and post your choice in here along with your reasoning.

Also somehow indicate your runner-up - in case we have a tie.

We’ve also traditionally given comments for the other tracks too, but this is up to you.

At the end (in a few days or so) I will count the most popular choice, and continue with a new thread/theme based on the ‘winner’.

#18

So sorry I didn’t manage to join, but I’ll toss my vote in trying to make up for last month.
You guys did great, it was a lot of fun reading through the stories!

Just for fun, my idea to follow up with the prologue would have been for the sacrifice to wake up seemingly unchanged and it would look like the ritual has failed. The sept would then proceed to murder the sacrifice to start new with a new subject, and at that point something would unleash and the powers that everyone thought they failed to summon would turn against them, slaying all the accolites. The idea from here going forward would have been to have the evil force and the victim to coexist in the victims body and to play on the balance between the two personalities.
anyway, I’ll shut up

Justin: very JRPG-ish, sounds like some sort of stealthy escape, nice

Tremendouz: This one fits so well with the story, it’s very compelling and I think there is a good balance between the chase element and the dramatic part

Dewey: Loved the composition by itself, the variety and orchestration is very good. However I got caught off guard by the calm section after 0:30 that (while sounding very good) seems a little out of theme to me, at least reading through your script. Very nice tune tho

Obsession_Dragon: I think you got the vibe right wrt the script, for some reason the music gives me the idea of this facts being remembered, that could be cool as well. Good job

Avaruussaha: I like this idea a lot, the sound of it sounds very “psychic” although maybe not as tense as I would expect (that last part may suffer from my personal bias towards sad and creepy stuff). Great playing as always

TheBitterRoost: I like this one a lot, you talk of an ominous and powerful being and the music sounds exactly like that

My preference goies to Tremendouz, with TheBitterRoost as runner-up

#19

I enjoyed the entries this month!

Justin - Definitely has an RPG feel to it. I like the tension that the synth “warble” adds!
Tremendouz - Lots of great variety, the tension and energy is great!
Obsession_Dragon - That creepy laugh in the middle spooked me! I think you captured the vibe of your script very well.
Avaruussaha - I really like the dance feel of this track! Definitely encapsulates trying to capture some doppelganger that dodges your every move.
Bitter Roost - What a rocking track! Really fits the scene of a pharaoh walking away with a castle crumbling behind, haha.

For my vote, I think I’m going to go with Avaruussaha’s entry, with Bitter Roost’s as runner-up. My vote is a 50-50ish split between music quality and how I can interpret the prompt for next month.

#20

May I start by saying really enjoyed listening to all your tracks and reading all your stories, really talented individuals here! I also appreciate the feedback, helps me to improve. That being said, I choose Tremendouz submission. With the follow-up being TheBitterRoost.

Justin Thornburgh; nice work give a sense of suspense and mystery. Cool idea for the next chapter of the story. Nicely set up with the open ended ness and choose your own adventuresque style.

Tremendouz; Great work on this track. Gives an exciting sense of adventure/ battle sequence. The story runs along well with your track and is left wanting more.

Dewey_Newt; Awesome work. Feels Adventurous and exciting. Great work on the story. Well thought out and told in great length painting a portrait to run along your music. Nice work

Avaruussaha; Wow that’s pretty cool. Nice work gives me a sense of excitement with a splash of mystery. I feel your theme fits well to your story, which is also great. Like the idea of a doppelgänger. I would also be interested hearing more of this story. Great work

TheBitterRoost; awesome work on this track. Appreciate the Egyptian/metal, gives me a sense that things are getting serious in a battle setting. Nice work on your story too. Makes me wish there was more to read, however it was fitting to the song length so good work.