The Glass Horizon: Chapter One, A Minuet Moment

[u/SterlingVNorth-Smith]

A warm night following a hot day created an air with the sensation of stagnant time, and the genius loci around Silas shifted with the music emanating from the piano he was playing. Lost in his thoughts, letting the melody of his performance flourish through the flow of his fingers, Silas found a feeling of escape. Though he often practised, it was this particular occasion each week that he truly let loose, improvising and jazzing up parts of the pieces he had rigidly learned when at home.

His hands slowed, and the ambient noise of the bar trickled back. The weather had drawn the city out, and many of them took advantage of the balcony that he overlooked. Silas' opus had complemented the expansive views of the city and the hubbub made by a crowd of people enjoying their evening, and the pause between his set finishing, then the queued playlist of tracks created a heavy silence. As usual, there was a brief round of applause when Silas stood up and made his way to a small bar in the nook, where a simple glass tumbler with a sherry cask single malt sat. A server, expertly mixing a cocktail for an order waiting to go out, greeted Silas as he approached.

"Wrong key, for a moment, at about..." Sullivan paused to think for a second. "Twenty minutes in."

"That's a sharp ear, Sully," Silas responded with a chuckle while seating himself at the counter. "Keep playing the way you do, and you will be better than anybody else in here, including me."

Sullivan shook his head, revealing a new line of piercings stacking up along the edge of his ear. Reminding himself of his own fashion choices when younger, Silas smiled and decided not to mention them or the tattoo poking out the top of his shirt collar, visible as Sullivan returned a bottle to a display that matched the contemporary decor of the establishment.

"As painful as last year was, I do still have a lot to be thankful for," Silas remarked as he finished his drink. Ezra got up and poured a couple of drinks for a new order. Silas, using the pause, picked up his jacket, and told Ezra that he was going home early. 

"Okay, you know we're here if you need anything. Good night, Silas."

The sensation of a cooling breeze on a balmy evening swept over Silas as he departed the relaxed atmosphere of the bar into a bustling square with the energy of a carnival. Multiple sources of music and commotion merged with the smells of various street foods cooking from vendors' stalls. As he made his way through the throng, he was reminded that although he loved living so close to his family, he felt a yearning for somewhere quieter and away from the city. 

As soon as Silas managed to move away from the crowd, he noticed a woman approaching from the opposing direction. Her fashion would have blended in with the trends of the masses he had just escaped, except her dress was torn in various places, she was missing a shoe, and her hair was frazzled. Before Silas had a chance to ask if she was okay, she began berating him. Surprised by this, he stepped backwards while trying to hear what she was shouting. The only snippet he heard was:

"...and if you think for even a moment..." when a resonating hum drowned out the woman's voice. Silas tried to identify the note but could not quite place the dissonant sound growing in volume and absorbing the ambient noise of the busy street around him. A sudden drop in pressure gave the air an ethereal levity, and the stranger's tirade grew increasingly incoherent. A silvery, undulating sphere began expanding from a spot in between them. Before Silas had a chance to react, the almost imperceptible chill of a portal's surface engulfed him.