The First Heist
The Nameless first made their presence known by interrupting a covert handoff between a group of Deathlands Scavengers and a Spirit Warden.
The artifact, a clockwork head, was also the target of the Wraiths, another notable gang of thieves with a penchant for hand signals and perfect coordination. The Nameless returned the head to their contact, Lord Scurlock, who received it gratefully.
In the process of stealing the head, the Nameless managed to reveal the Spirit Warden’s identity as Cassiopeia Beasby, a moderately-notorious socialite. As anonymity is a major calling card of the Spirit Wardens, Ms. Beasby was dismissed in short order.
Scandal!
Head Heist Heralds Horrifying Hardships for Housebreakers!
The world of ARCANE ANTIQUITIES was rocked today by a DARING HEIST in which a CLOCKWORK HEAD was stolen by UNKNOWN PERPETRATORS.
The head, believed to be recovered from the depths of the LOST DISTRICT by a gang of DEATHLANDS SCAVENGERS, was set to be handed over to a representative of the anonymous SPIRIT WARDENS at the LORD COMMISAR’S THEATRE during a performance of THE TRAGEDY OF MINIKA ARYA.
Unbeknownst to all, the mysterious WRAITHS thieves guild had gotten wind of the item, and had disguised themselves as dancers. This gambit set them backstage, where they attempted to interrupt the clandestine handoff.
However, the prize was intercepted by an UNKNOWN GANG, who SUBDUED OR KILLED all involved parties before vanishing into the night. Initial reports suggesting the Wraiths had obtained the head after a brief pursuit were proven false. It is believed that the unknown gang consisted of TWO LIGHT TECHNICIANS, AN IRUVIAN THEATER CRITIC, A NOBLE OF UNSPECIFIED FOREIGNNESS, and an ARCHITECTURAL CRITIC WITH IRRITABLE BOWELS.
“I don’t know anything,” said LORD CLELLAND, who was present at the performance, “Who are you? You don’t know anything! I don’t know anything! Nobody knows anything!”
Our periodical can reveal that the WARDEN REPRESENTATIVE was none other than CASSIOPEA BEASBY, an Iruvian merchant new to town. This information was revealed only to THE UNKNOWN GANG, and may represent VALUABLE CURRENCY in future endeavors.
And now, our review of The Tragedy of Minika Arya.
Impressive sets. Lead singer was good. Bit predictable.
A woman sits in a darkened room, old finery covered in cobwebs and dust cloths. She is covered by an old robe, with a shawl that might itself resemble a dusty cobweb. Her hair is gray and wild, and her eyes are flint-black.
She finishes writing on the parchment she is bent over. We see it is a parody of a newspaper article, written in a spidery scrawl.
She looks down at her finished work, smiles, and eats the paper. Her eyes and mouth briefly glow blue.
Having done that, she leaps into the air and lands feet-first on the ceiling. She does not fall, but rather stands there, as though gravity has gotten a bit confused (as, indeed, it has). She curls herself into a sitting position … and waits.
Minika Arya
The following is an interpretation offered by Linmer and Orianna.
The story of Minika Arya (filtered through the libretto’s lens, with the knowledge that you both now have) is tragic no matter how you look at it. The opera tells the story of a poor orphan who lost her parents in a shipwreck, guided wayward by the evil priests of an ancient and terrible goddess (Vazara) who is implicitly responsible for her orphanage.
She is guided deeper into the priesthood until the culmination of her tragic arc, which involves her being hollowed out by Vazara to serve as her blasphemous Chosen. So possessed, she is forced to uphold the very pantheon that orphaned her.
The opera ends with a literal and figurative Deus Ex Machina, in which a massive setpiece representing the Immortal Emperor (elsewise known as the Cinder King) begins to reclaim the world from these awful gods. Minika Arya is forced to ride into battle against him, but the Immortal Emperor shows her mercy and frees her from her possession.
Newly empowered by the Emperor, Minika Arya ends the opera in a triumphant fashion, vowing to walk by his side and free all who have been used as poorly as she. Editorially, this belies the title “The Tragedy of Minika Arya”, but there’s some censorship codes in the Empire, which includes a directive that any story involving the Emperor’s intervention cannot end tragically.
During the concluding scene, there is a long, seemingly shoehorned-in digression in which Minika Arya pulls out ensemble characters and declares them her aides and helpers, just as she is aide and helper to the Cinder King. One of the ensemble characters is “Elia, the Dreamwalker”. Based on the text pattern and norms of propagandized fiction in the Empire, this digression was probably mandated by the Emperor’s own historians.