'The Song of the Blackbird'

The Song of the Blackbird (Original old Litherian: Il Canto del Merlo) is a Litherian opera written by Florina Castellani in 1379 ANG. It is notable for several prominent figures who went to see it being assassinated during the performance, to such a degree that bold, bored, or foolish Litherian nobles often deliberately visit a showing to display their confidence in their security.   Plot   Based on the life of Castellani's cousin, a Litherian noblewoman named Armina Merlo, the play follows a fictionalised version of her life from the teenage years. In the first act, a 16-year-old Caldadera is forced into an arranged marriage with a nobleman from a rival family, Lucio Morricone. She goes to live with him in Quethdon (now New Daneska), but her life is upended when he is murdered by an Everian spy. Managing to injure him with a washing-iron, she escapes but he swears revenge. Joining the Temple of Renthven disguised as a man, she receives sword training and meets an Everian priest named Greenhand, who she befriends and eventually asks about her husband's murder. He is shocked, and promises to investigate.   In the second act, Merlo returns to her hometown to find her and Morricone's families at war, each accusing the other of destroying the unifying marriage. She attempts to explain the involvement of Everflame, which only leads to the families accusing each other of being traitors to the Kingdom. This gets the attention of Licrio, an agent of the King, who summons the Imperial Guard to the city. The Guard break up the fighting, incensing patriarch Milo Morricone, who is stabbed through the chest after questioning the Captain.    In the third and final act, the Guard launch an extensive investigation, finding evidence that Dante Merlo, Armina's father, hired an Everian mercenary with ties to its military to kill Lucio Morricone. He is arrested and slated for execution, and Armina goes to visit him. He tells her that he killed Morricone because she had never wanted to marry him, and thought that uniting against a common enemy in Everflame would mend the relationship between the families. Dante asks that Armina let him die, but she instead goes to the Captain of the Guard and falsely confesses that she hired the mercenary to get out of the marriage and planted the evidence in her father's desk. Her father is set free and replaced by her, and she is sentenced to death on charges of treason.    As she is brought up to the guillotine, a dual scene shows Greenhand rushing on horseback to the village while the execution begins. As the blade falls, Armina says her last words, some of the most famous in theatrical history: 'Con un corpo posso ancora volare nella prossima vita, ma senza testa non canterò. Così finisce il canto del merlo...' ('With a body I may yet fly to the next life, but without a head I will not sing. Thus ends the song of the blackbird...'). Greenhand, arriving too late, tells the Captain that the mercenary was not an Everian agent, but an escaped prisoner who had been court-martialled for trying to provoke a war with Litheria. Upon finding out that Armina is already dead, he challenges Dante to a duel, blaming him for her death, but Dante refuses to defend himself. Greenhand drops his sword, calling Dante a coward, and swears that all Litheria will pay for what happened to Armina.   Cultural Significance   The opera, being one of the first Litherian pieces of theatre to feature a foreign protagonist, spread rapidly and was performed in Hallermin and Thronehold just a year after its first showing in Old Daneska. The quote 'Thus ends the song of the blackbird' has become synonymous with tragedy, though it has been given other meanings with regards to various assassinations. The ending, in which an Everian priest swears that Litheria will pay, eerily foreshadowed the outbreak of the First Arcane War several decades later, in which the real Greenhand's son fought as a war cleric. A monument in Old Daneska prior to its destruction in the Second Arcane War in the shape of a blackbird memorialised those who had died in the Darhemian War, especially those who suffered from torturous interrogation methods. The blackbird is also the mascot of the 'Unfortunates', a division of the Fifth Litherian Great Army known historically for bad luck. Alongside other international Litherian operas, Il Canto del Merlo is believed to have been a major influence on Ironheart theatre, including the legendary playwright Jurgen Rockfell.    Assassinations   Apart from its cultural impact, the play has become notorious for the assassinations which occurred during its performance, both in Litheria and elsewhere. Supporters of those killed often quote the line 'Thus ends the song of the blackbird' to express the perceived injustice, while opponents often use it with negative connotations, as the blackbird in Litherian culture is emblematic of both bad luck and evil (similar to black cats in Gildmire). Notable individuals assassinated during a performance of Il Canto del Merlo include:

• Oscar Calligari, 1397, Duchess Theatre, Old Daneska. Calligari, a merchant and nobleman, was stabbed in the back 3 times by a cheated business partner. His body was not discovered until the end of the play, as his cries were drowned out by the sounds of battle on stage and the theatre was mostly empty.
• Verdianna Polio, 1406, Temple of Heinrich, Old Daneska. After surviving a poisoned drink, Polio was beheaded in a fight with a member of the Imperial Guard acting on the orders of the Emperor. She was suspected of plotting against him, but no conclusive evidence was ever found.
• Garwen Trissel, 1407, Old Mare Theatre, Renthegar. A notable crime boss, Trissel was killed along with his entire accompanying audience when his rivals set fire to the theatre and barred the doors.
• Azelia Napoli, 1460, Duchess Theatre, Old Daneska. An Everian spy during the First Arcane War, Napoli was strangled from behind by a Litherian counter-intelligence agent. The body was dumped into the River Fialle, and the death ruled a suicide.
• Giancarlo Scilari, 1832, Duchess Theatre, Old Daneska. Scilari, a famous womaniser, was drowned in a barrel of wine by his cousin, Carla Bravuomo, whose wife he had been having an affair with.
• Bjorn Ironhand, 2146, The Second Great Music Hall, Goldmarsh. Ironhand, a dwarven businessman who briefly declared himself King of Gildmire during the so-called 'Month of Madness', was arrested by guards loyal to a rival and died of blood loss after trying to escape and taking a slash to the back.
• Emperor Verspucci III, 2309, Theatre of the Mind, Quethdon. In one of the most brazen power plays in Litherian history, Emperor Verspucci III was killed by necromantic magic from a group of Priests of Yithtar. Without the support of the other temples, however, the effort came to naught, and his son Verspucci IV ascended to the throne.
• Tolk Guiseppe, 2455, Theatre of Gold, Nouvre. Baron of Hallermin and brother of Randus Guiseppe, the Baron of Verdegar, Tolk Guiseppe was poisoned by members of La Mafiosi, placing the more co-operative Mertoni Salvadore in the position.
• Viviano Beltramo, Aleandro Di Laura, Edgardo Petrarca, Tiziano Sicurella, Morena Bernabei, Rina Rado, and Zanita Santel, 2461, Priest's Theatre, Old Daneska. Meeting to discuss the future of the Litherian Empire after Ardito II's ascension to the throne, the seven heads of Litheria's temples were all killed with a single magical piercing arrow by Bernoulli Cenni, the new Emperor's half-brother and right hand man, as part of a bid to secure power in preparation for a major offensive into Verdegar and Candlekeep.