"Ilya Lowered His Eyes. He Felt Stupid And Ridiculous, Looking At The Flowers In His Hands. All Determination

"Ilya lowered his eyes. He felt stupid and ridiculous, looking at the flowers in his hands. All determination seemed to dissipate, his heart was beating somewhere in his throat.

– Death has looked at me and turned away so many times that I feel like I’m not even worthy of her.

– And that’s why you went up to the sacrifice, like a lamb to the slaughter? You are persistent. So, you smell of incense. Have you been to the temple?

– Yes, Quaestor.

– With your martyr eyes, this suits you well, Doctor №069."

© "Nec Deus intersit"

Art by: Wasteofplace/Chilledoutbeast

"Weißer, weißer, weißer als weiß.

Weiter, weiter durch's ewige Eis.

Heller, heller, weißer als weiß.

Weiter, weiter durch's ewige Eis." ©

Art: Lunatic Sun /traditional artwork/

silly doctor with leeches

About Asra and Julian’s Relationship

I’ve seen a few things about Julian and Asra’s relationship. And I’m really weirded out why people paint Asrian in a positive light. Yeah, I know, there’s probably some thirsty ‘ooh yaoi!’ people. But personally, Asrian makes me genuinely angry and horrified. At Asra. And yes, I can already hear people coming to defend Asra:

“Julian was in the wrong too!”, “He couldn’t take no for an answer!” “You’re just biased as a Julian stan”

Look, I’m not saying that Julian was perfectly innocent in the situation (is he perfectly innocent in any situation, really?). He couldn’t take no for an answer. He was pushy. And I’m not saying that Asra is a horrible person and should be burnt at the stake. I love Asra; he can be very kind, very loving, and is wonderful at making the MC confident in themselves.

But look at the scene we get in Asra’s route. Asra’s attitude towards Julian is sensual. He plays off of Julian’s masochistic tendencies. He -despite he himself saying OUT LOUD that he can’t give Julian a relationship, which he knew full well was what Julian was really after- still proceeds with a physical encounter (i.e. they fuck). He uses Julian as spell ingredients.

He used Julian as spell ingredients.

And I have to wonder how many times this happened. How many times did Julian come to see Asra, seeking affection, and what did he give in return? More blood? Hair? Flesh? We just don’t know. How far could it have gone?

In the end, Asra was just stringing Julian along to get what he needed, and to have a little fun on the side. He could have given a hard ‘no, Julian, we can’t be together’. Certainly not have pursued a physical relationship. Maybe he could’ve gotten assistance from Julian in the form of spell ingredients (by just asking), maybe not. But at least he wouldn’t have been using Julian. Because that’s really what it was. He was just using Julian. For a distraction from MC, for spell ingredients, for assistance, etc. And it makes my freakin skin crawl. Sweet, kind, supportive Asra was using someone.

Anyway, that’s my two cents. Just a reminder: I don’t hate Asra, I’m just really disgusted at the way he handled Julian’s unrequited affection.

The role of music in «Nec Deus Intersit»

Our story begins with a scene of the concert, held by a mysterious unnamed singer. I — the author of the story, Lunatic Sun — have decided to leave this character nameless. The music is the most important thing here. But the singer has two very specific, well-defined prototypes, and the music isn't fictional either. Let me tell you a story about it.

There was a 2.000 word limitation for each story, so I needed to cut all the classical melodies descriptions short. I imagined that during the concert the singer would start with some lyrics at first, and then the orchestra would join him.

The first chapter of «Nec Deus Intersit» is dedicated to the memory of Klaus Nomi. I also added special thanks for the inspiration and gratitude to Jakub Józef Orliński. You may guess that these two personas and their voices are interwoven in the image of the fictional singer. I’ve wanted to pay tribute to the talents of both of them for a long time.

Klaus Nomi is noted to have a very tragic story and a huge talent. I'd love to think that in a world of the Arcana he would be perceived as a magnificent mysterious man, just like he was in his real life. I believe his talent was beloved even by such a demanding and old creature with an excellent taste in arts as Valdemar.

N.B.: I'm absolutely sure that Valdemar is completely charmed by the music. There is a mention of them singing as they leave the Dungeons in the Julian’s route.

If you'd like to learn more about Klaus Nomi's recordings and learn his story, you can visit his official channel or watch the documentary «The Nomi Song» (2004) by Andrew Horn.

Jakub Józef Orliński (Polish opera singer, countertenor) amazes with his vocal skills. Just like Klaus Nomi, he has a strong part of drama in his singing. You can find his official YouTube channel here.

***

And now let’s have a look at the music mentioned in the scenes, in the order of its appearance.

N.B.: I believe that Julian (looking to the Heartsong festival as a canon) with all his love for the opera wouldn't be able to stay untouched by this music.

Vivaldi: Il Giustino, RV 717, Act 1: "Vedrò con mio diletto" (Anastasis)

In my humble opinion, this particular performance of this Vivaldi’s aria is truly unsurpassed. Jakub Józef Orliński has a really strong emotional voice, and even if you are not familiar with the Italian language, there would be no language barrier at all. This is what I call a fabulous drama.

Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni, Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, "Winter" (L'inverno): Allegro non molto

The second piece is «Allegro non molto» from Vivaldi’s group of violin concertos «Four seasons». Surely it has been performed numerous times before, but my heart belongs to Anne-Sophie Mutter due to her energy and agility. In her version you can feel all the expressiveness Vivaldi put into his work. In my perception of the «Nec Deus Intersit» story this masterpiece should sound just like that.

Henry Purcell: King Arthur, Act 3, Scene 2. "What Power Art Thou?" (The Cold Song)

Let’s have a look at the piece that sounded after the intermission and that excited Julian so much.

It's «The Cold Song» from the semi-opera «King Arthur» by Henry Purcell. The Cold Genius sings this aria when his eternal peace is disturbed by Cupid.

It was Klaus Nomi who made this song — originally performed by basso voices — so popular with the countertenors. Countertenors, in my humble opinion, added more drama to this song. Moreover, it made it possible to rethink the image of the Cold incarnation itself — instead of the ancient elder, as it was in the opera, there is an ancient, immortal and sexless being who rejects this world and prefers eternal sleep in the ice.

Here you can find a revolutionary performance by Klaus Nomi (particularly dramatic if you know his story).

And here is a performance by Jakub Józef Orliński.

Hasse: Oratorio Sacro in Due Parti: Sanctus Petrus et Sancta Maria Magdalena. "Mea tormenta, properate"

Furthermore, in the next chapter Valdemar mentions the aria «Mea tormenta, properate» from the oratorio "Sanctus Petrus et Sancta Maria Magdalena" by Johann Adolph Hasse. Here again — a performance by Jakub Józef Orliński.

Valdemar pointed out that the message of this aria suits Julian perfectly. This is not accidental, if you have a look at the text:

Mea tormenta, properate,

Ubi sunt flagella et caedes, ubi sunt flagella et caedes?

Crucem quaero, crucem date

Volo mori, o Deus in te, volo mori, o Deus in te, o Deus in te…

(Translation)

My torments, hurry,

Where are the scourges and their lacerating teeth?

I want to be crucified, crucify me,

I want to die; oh God, in you I want to die.

How would the entire concert sound? Every time I imagine it a little bit differently, especially if I hear the perfect (in my humble opinion) performance of some classical pieces. The concert may include "Adagio from concerto №3 in D minor, BWV 974" and "Sarabande" by George Frederick Handel, "From beyond" and "Death" by Klaus Nomi, "Music for a while" by Henry Purcell. But the works mentioned above are quite special and essential to this story. It was the music which was the main source of inspiration in some ways. So, if someone decides to listen to them, most likely, they will not regret.

I still pay my respects to Klaus Nomi and Jakub Józef Orliński.

art: Chilledoutbeast/LunaticSun (main line/back+colour)

This piece could be a cover for "Nec Deus intersit", but oh, so mature content. :D

Background: original the Arcana background for the Dungeons

Sketch/line: Chilledoutbeast

Colour: Lunatic Sun