Daka’s Fall
This was a long-overdue commission for a long-time Officer and fiction writer. He asked me to score one of a few scenes ranging from the whimsical to the downright tragic.
I chose the downright tragic. I don’t get many opportunities to write for this emotional extreme, so I welcomed the opportunity.
The Scene
Daka and Jemi… Both hyenas, known as Scavengers in my novels… Daka is possessed by an evil spirit and is forced to fight Jemi (who is the protagonist). Jemi of course doesn’t want to fight back and gets his ass handed to him.
The evil spirit wants Jemi to suffer, so instead of killing Jemi…the spirit forces Daka to fatally stab himself in the gut in front of Jemi. You can just imagine the heartbreak that Jemi has to go through has his lover dies in his arms, saying those magic words before he dies.
The Music
The song begins with the realization that Jemi’s lover, Daka, is mortally wounded. A feeling of helplessness, of being so small. A single piano melody.
With whatever breath is left in him, Daka speaks as the harmony to Jemi’s line. As the strings fade in, Jemi realizes his time with Daka is nearly spent. It gives him a brief pause, a hesitation.
In that moment, as the synth takes the melody, Jemi remembers their life together. Daka’s melody begins alone at first, but coaxes Jemi’s melody out of the piano. Near the end they are both playing together, Daka’s melody rising higher.
Daka begins his ascension into the afterlife and fades away. Jemi realizes he is now alone, hitting him like a great weight.
A single piano melody reminds him of this, painfully, at first. He is weak. Small. But he knows he will never truly be alone. Daka’s harmony will always be with him, bringing him strength. The mood is still dark, but it ends on a major chord.
