Murmurs and excited discussions continued to emerge from the crowd and the juries discussed for themselves before looking at the unperturbed Raya.
"The moment I saw this transcription, I immediately took my violin and sight read the piece… I will tell you this is extremely hard even for me…" One of the juries told the other.
"We all did that and so we have all the idea of how hard it is, but since this was the piece she chose… we have to give her a chance."
"Alright then… we will be recording her performance anyways.
Soon the judges appeared to have reached a consensus.
"Well then student Raya, whenever you are ready."
The judges prepared the music sheets in their hands to be ready to scrutinize Raya's performance to the last note.
"She must be insane… now the judges will not let go if she commits a tiny mistake… How arrogant." The contestants backstage were now gloating at her bold action because now it successfully caught the attention of the judges.
But that kind of attention was actually pressure for violinists like them.
Raya was not even a bit bothered by this. She chose this piece because she fell in love with it the first time she saw the music sheet.
For her, it was a great honor to play this piece in front of many listeners for the first time in ages!
Raya positioned her violin and lifted her bow. Eli, Desmond, and the rest of the bunch clasped their hands in nervousness and anticipation. They prayed that Raya would be able to execute the piece.
Raya took a deep breath and immediately played the first bar which sets the tale of the story of the Elf King.
Double stops with the accompaniment of left-hand pizzicato while keeping up the tempo.
The juries almost stood from their seats!
Especially when they were already recognizing how Raya played three different voices while not stopping the repetitive double stops on top of the lyrical lines!
Everyone was already holding their breath when they felt instantly drawn into the piece's music and story.
They felt like they were on a kind of spooky chase by the Elf king while they brave the harsh wind of the night to take the feverish little boy back into their home.
How the Elf King tried to lure the child to go with him by using different attractive things.
How the boy told his father that the Elf King wanted to take him and how the father tried to comfort him.
But when the piece ended, they felt the heartbreak of the father.
As Raya concluded the last part of the piece with extreme solemnity and desolation.
The father held his son's lifeless body… as they finally reached their home.
There was complete silence in the hall.
"It… it is indeed playable…" They were left with their mouths agape when they heard Raya play the piece.
"Can you hear the voices of each character? My hair stood on end when I realized that I could easily recognize whose character was talking in the piece… Such superb playing ...."
"I… I don't know… I am overwhelmed." one of the judges looked defeated as he shook his head in awe.
But the chairman of the jury, who kept silent, stood up and clapped his hands. "Bravo young lady! Thank you for playing such a brilliant piece for us to hear! I have no words but bravo!"
"Yes! Bravo!" The crowd came to their senses and immediately stood up and cheered in praise.
Raya kept a calm gentle smile as she bowed in a graceful posture.
There was not a trace of arrogance or pride on her face, only relief and happiness that she was able to bring this piece out for the listener's appreciation.
Even the contestants backstage were caught off guard. Especially Halter and Gallia who would play immediately after Raya. How are they supposed to overpower her performance?
It was not only because the piece was already something rare and controversial.
Then they heard how Raya played it, and all of their hearts turned cold. Clearly, none of them were on a level where they can play that piece as expertly and sensibly as Raya did.
The violinists that were supposed to play right after her turn were now immediately overwhelmed with pressure and nervousness.
Even their respective coaches were now looking dark and troubled.
Queen Tehila, however, was all smiles and extremely proud! She remembered how Raya would cry frustratingly as she tried to learn the piece.
Eli and she repeatedly convinced her that it is alright if she was not able to learn the piece, that they can always look for another piece. But she insisted that this piece was the perfect one for her.
And so, with the assistance of Eli with regards to interpretation, and her, Queen Tehila for the execution, the three of them worked their way until Raya was able to confidently play the piece.
Now they have seen the fruit and it was overwhelmingly gratifying!
Just as expected, the next performances were not able to outshine Raya's performance. The worst part was that Halter and Gallia even committed a few mistakes because of extreme pressure.
The judges could only sigh in disappointment. But they did not pity the two violinists. One of the qualities of a good musician is understanding how precious it is to have an intact state of mind in any situation.
The moment you are on stage, your mind must be on the music and not on things that do not matter at the moment. These two violinists failed to exercise this, which is why their performance was not executed well.
In the end, the crowd cheered as Raya received her championship trophy. The second placer was Segev who fortunately played before her and the third placer was another violinist from the Vanderford alliance nation.
Halter and Gallia followed to 4th and 5th rank which was to be expected due to their shaky performance.
Thus the string competition concluded with the Farauld Magic Institute bagging top positions in all three categories.
After it was announced, the entire academy was in celebration.
Emperor Valentin was also so happy that he immediately invited everyone from the team to go to the palace for a celebratory dinner.
The eight students were overwhelmed. They did not expect that the Emperor would go all the way to invite them all to dine with him!
It was such an honor!
"Wah… I feel pressured…" While they were on the way to the dining hall, Max rubbed his shoulders.
"Marie, Raya, and Hailey all finished within the top three… as for me… I don't know if I could even get to the top ten!"
Randel looked at him and calmly commented, "You will, or else you will have to undergo another intensive training with the Forgeworn workshop."
"Er… mentor… I'd rather not do it once more…" As if remembering something horrible and traumatic, Max shuddered and scratched his head meekly.
Eli lightly chuckled as she watched the mentor-student duo. She never thought that the quiet Randel would have this side. Most possibly it was because of Max's fiery and energetic personality that he acted like this.
"Well, that goes the same for me and Anna. Imagine, even in the finals we are competing with eighteen other people. How are we supposed to keep calm?" Raphael added.
"Just believe in your mentor and your own growth. There is a reason why all of you were able to hold on until the finals. That already proves how capable you are." Eli smiled and encouraged them.
"That's right! Listen to the young lady Eli! She always amazes me because not only is she brilliant with her talents, but she always carries herself with calmness and confidence!" Suddenly, there was a hearty chuckle coming from the intersection of the corridor.
Emperor Valentin and the three princesses with the women of the Imperial family all marched to enter the dining hall.
Everyone greeted them with respect and waited for them to be escorted to enter the dining hall.
"Oh.. no no… there's no need for such formality! My daughter in laws and my queens were your mentors, and so become comfortable as we all dine!" Emperor Valentin waved his hand to signal everyone to enter the hall simultaneously.
When the door opened, the golden light of the chandeliers and the magnificent array of food immediately welcomed all of them making the students hold their breaths in awe.
They were immediately brought into their seats.
Surprisingly there was no trace of awkwardness and stiffness in the dining hall probably because most of the students were already close to their respective teachers.
This sight made Emperor Valentin smile in satisfaction. Especially seeing the women of the imperial family finally look like they were enjoying their time with their proteges.
Before they would look like they were just going on their own ways as royalties, but now, he could see the sense of fulfillment on their faces.
Smiling, Emperor Valentin lifted the wine glass to officially start the dinner, "Let's make a toast for the victories we made today and for the next matches to come!"
"To the Empire's Victory!" They all answered.
