Cast: Khira (Prince's love), Illin (Prince), Beobe (Queen), Sathi (Foreign princess), Avira (Starbird queen), Tol (Starbird prince), Nyro (Prince's friend), Chondris (Khira's magic friend), Vuesu (Khira's friend), Palace chorus (Beobe's toadies), Retinue (Illin's and Nyro's courtiers), Foreign chorus (in Sathi's homeland) Synopsis:

I. : Khira, young daughter of a village authority, bids a lengthy, repetitive, and tragic farewell to Prince Illin, who is being sent abroad on the pretext of princely education and embassy establishment, but who is really being separated by his mother from his "unsuitable" love to broaden his horizons in the general direction of Sathi, a princess of her own country. The prince reciprocates Khira's affections and reluctantly departs with his friend Nyro and retinue, little knowing the plans his mother will soon have in mind for her.

II. : Tol the Starbird Prince, meanwhile, has fallen in love with Khira from afar, but, being a bird, runs into some problems trying to woo her. She is faithful to Prince Illin and will have nothing to do with Tol, even refusing to talk to him, which breaks his heart. He proceeds to mope around his castle all day doing nothing of particular use. This understandably makes his mother, Avira, angry. She vows revenge on the girl, and plots with Queen Beobe, Illin's mother, to abduct Khira and make her Tol's bride. Avira then performs a long-range spell for forced and irrevocable betrothal.

III. : Khira, at home, hears of Queen Beobe's plans from two friends who are also ladies of the court, Chondris and Vuesu, who journey to her village home. She moans at length about the birds' evilness. Vuesu, somewhat enamored of the starbird prince, tries to convince Khira it won't be so bad, but fails miserably. Chondris is adept in the art of magic, and gives a few vials of sleep potion to Khira for use on Tol. The palace chorus barges in and commands Khira, who managed to hide her friends, to come to the palace before Beobe. She resists, but they drag her off by force, the ladies watching in horror.

IV. : Illin and Nyro, on unsteady feet on foreign soil, are both unfairly and unwillingly entranced by Lady Sathi, to whom Beobe wishes to betroth her son. She sings an entrancing song and wines and dines the guys with a banquet prepared for their arrival, the foreign chorus urging them on. They are pretty much taken in, but when midnight comes along and Prince Illin refuses to go with Sathi because of a vague memory of Khira he still retains, she's angered and accidentally loosens her spell-hold on him and Nyro, though the rest of the retinue is completely taken in and parties out. Nyro and Illin hear a desperate plea from Chondris and Vuesu, across the miles by Chondris's own magic.

V. : Tol and Avira wait for Khira at the palace, and, when she arrives, take her to their own dwelling. She cries herself to sleep. Chondris manages a dream appearance and warns her of Tol's sordid intentions and tells her to use a potion or two while waiting for Prince Illin who will hopefully come and rescue her. Khira rises quickly and drugs the birds, but then disdains to follow the rest of the advice and steals a horse to ride home on.

VI. : Illin and Nyro, meanwhile, escape from Lady Sathi's palace and ride home, stranding their retinue who wake in the morning to sing of the horrors of overeating and hangovers. Prince Illin arrives at the birds' palace and gets skewered (killed, murdered, revenged upon) by Tol while searching for his escaped love. Nyro, who had accompanied him, rides back to Khira's village and brings her the sad news. Avira follows covertly, and, though Chondris and Vuesu try to warn Khira of the bird queen's coming, she's too busy being tragic to notice, and Avira transforms her into an evil starbird. The returning retinue come in time to bemoan the incident and skewer Avira in turn. Khira, now a starbird, becomes the queen of them on Avira's death, because of her magical betrothal to Tol. This upsets Queen Beobe immensely, and she dies of frustration. Alternatively, the returning retinue come in time to accidentally skewer Khira, thinking she was Avira, who flies off in anger. This heartens Queen Beobe immensely, but Tol is devastated.

Script/Lyrics/Libretto/Whateveryoucallit

Khira:

My darling sire, my own bright moon,
I beg of you in greatest grief,
Do not forget your little loon,
But keep me dear, as life is brief! ,

Illin: Sparkling star, who outshines me,
Lovely loon on calmest lake,
Your image will forever be
With me, whilst ever breath I take!

Khira: You whom my heart so much desires,
Who, when you touch me, flames will burn,
Must sorrow greatly for those fires
For always, my love fate shall spurn. Farewell!

Illin: My tears fall thick and hot, and now,
Before I leave of love must take
Do undertake this solemn vow:
Thy love I never shall forsake! Farewell!

Retinue: Come now, good prince, from damsel fair:
Your queen a tedious ride commands.
Come, young sire, and, swift as air,
Depart with us for distant lands.

II.

Tol (recit. watching Khira through mother's spell):

Such beauty I have never seen,
On earth or here above the skies!
Intend I do her love to glean
And love her here when here she lies.
Yonder I wing to woo my love
For fair is she and, like the dove,
She mourns the absence of her own
Dear Prince. I shall find her alone.
(to Khira, who screams at his appearance) Ravishing beauty meets my eye,
Small and beady though it be,
Conquer beauty fleet can I
For not a maid can resist me.
Pray your Prince does not return
For you are mine now, by my claim
Quite possessive, you must learn
Am I, and not too quick to tame.

Khira:

Begone, foul fowl, and come not back!
Your visage frightens me afraid
Kind though you be, you're all too black
Of heart, and evil for this maid.
My heart is conquered, even still
Though long my dear may be away
No evil Starbird love can kill
Or steal, though long my prince may stay.
No more shall I consort with you:
Your evil ways will never win
My heart, or even a kind view;
Speak not to me, bird black as sin!

Tol:

O cruelest goddess in the land,
With careless words you break my heart!
Never shall I make this brand
Of hopeless love to passion start.
(TolÕs palace. He sighs unproductively)
Avira:
How long have you been moping now?
An hour, a day, a week, a month?
And what great action will you show
To win her heart whom your love shunneth?
She's ruined you, the goody brat!
If you must have her, then you will.
And Queen Beobe, tit for tat
Will be rid of her son's great ill.
(magics a communication spell with Beobe)
Beobe and Avira:
Clever, fiendish, scheming friend,
Help me now, to fiendish end
Ally, great and noble queen,
Give me aid, a woe to mend.
Avira:
Perfect product of my egg,
Melancholy and downcast;
Comfort for him I humbly beg:
Bring hither beauty unsurpassed.
Beobe:
And I too beg thy comfort now.
That wretched village-chief's one child!
Do apprehend the nuisance sow
So my son King of All is styled.
Goodbye for now, sinister bird,
My child has gone, to fall enspelled
By Sathi, Lady of her Word
Who Khira's beauty quite excelled!
(end communication spell)
Avira:
I swear I shall bring the girl here
And give her to you as your bride,
For she has dared your heart to jeer
Or e'en as if your love to chide!
By this great spell I shall attempt
The Fates to win to me secure.
To hold her wishes in contempt
And bind her to you, magic pure.
(wordless singing for the spell)
III.
Khira:
Not a moment passes by
When all my face is fully dry.
Torn, my heart is, by the pain
Of absence, though I weep in vain.
Icy dread and distant fear
Cross my soul with every tear
Trekking down across my jaw
For the fear of what I saw.
Great, my anguish and my grief,
When my dreams showed me the thief
Of my darling Illin's love:
Premonitions from above.
Voluptuous, exotic witch,
Seducing my beloved Prince!
No, no, my love! Resist that which
Would disregard what's happened since
You looked in my devoted eyes,
And realized where your purpose lies!
Chondris:
Khira, we bring you woeful news!
Thy true love's mother hither plans
To take you there, and then to use
Her ways to banish you, to Starbird Clans!
Khira:
To banish me?
Vuesu:
As Starbird's bride!
Khira:
Not Tol, the inf'mous worldwide?
Chondris:
That is the one, the baneful bird
The one to whom love's just a word,
Who cares not for your prior vows
But takes as likes, through all he plows.
Vuesu (adoringly):
But surely he is not so bad!
He's never been but kind to me,
(Though that honor I've never had,
to meet his Lordship pers'nally).
He's really such a shade of black
He'd darken up the brightest night
And if he'd carry on his back
His friends, I'd sure be there, all right!
His wings, so very wide and strong
Would beat as do the oars of boats!
And surely he'd stay all night long
By you, exchanging bookish quotes!
It can't be so extremely bad!
I'd change with you, in shorter time
Than none at all! (I've always had
A sort of crush; Is that a crime?)
Khira:
No evil wings can take the place
Of Love, true love, as I have held
For Illin as a steady base
Since first our hearts did truly meld!
This vile bird cannot persuade
My heart, ever, to love forgo,
For never will my ardor fade
For passionÕs fire dwindles slow!
Chondris:
That may be so, but better yet
To be untempted by his wiles.
The Starbird keeps a magic net
Of traps and snares and artful guiles.
These take, for they are sleeping vials.
Vuesu:
If need be, dose the birds with these,
And they will fall at once asleep,
For, birdlike consciousness they freeze.
Chondris the magic leaves did steep.
But hush! Who up the road does creep?
Khira (looking out the window):
The palace guards! What want they here?
IÕve done no wrong, neither have you.
But hide thee now, I have a fear
These guards will plague us though not due.
(Chondris and Vuesu hide)
Palace Chorus:
Come! Come with us, you menial wench!
Do as your Queen decrees, and come!
Your soul's rebellious fires sheÕll quench
With Starbird greed. Proceed, you scum!
Khira:
What have I done to be so scorned?
What is my crime, that I am bid
To go to palace, never warned
Of my offense, soldiers amid?

IV.
Sathi:
Be welcome, my lords, and be merry!
Thy pleasure we attend
Be free from care, stay and tarry
With us, the day to end.
Thy meat and fine drink stand at table
Thy pleasure we await
Thy bedclothes are satin and sable
Thy wants for to abate.
Desire to effect is our purpose
Thy pleasure we fulfill.
No provincial maid can usurp us
Our duty beckons still.
Foreign Chorus:
Indulgence beckons, come hither
Nyro and Illin:
We come, we come!
Foreign Chorus:
And feast with mouths and eyes
On foodstuffs and bodies, the zither
Playing sweet tunes to rise.
Be welcome, my lord, and be merry!
Nyro and Illin:
We do, we do!
Foreign Chorus:
Thy pleasure we attend
Be free from care, stay and tarry
With us, the day to end.
Sathi:
How please we your lordship, and sire?
Nyro and Illin:
Oh, greatly, greatly!
Sathi:
Then show us how we do!
Take of us the burning dance-fire,
My lordships, two and two.
(dance sequence)
(Sathi tries to lead a stumbling Illin to a private room)
Illin (looking bewildered):
No! What trick is this, that you have led me
Down the path of infidelity!
My mother! It is she who's tried to tread me
Down with wine and courtship, vile she!
I have a lovely maid, now I remember
My heart is hers, and her alone it is!
I'll go from here, fleet horses I'll onward spur
For Nyro may not yet remember his!
Sathi:
Thanks to your wretched maid, he soon must do so;
Now both of them I have truly lost!
My deal is done! I could not overcome, though
Illin's heart to me remains as frost.
(exits)
Chondris and Vuesu (from elsewhere):
Rise, and go, lord! Faith cannot save her now!
She is captured! Follow thy sacred vow!
Chondris:
Don't leave her alone, alone in the night!
The fate is near striking, a love-killing fright!
Vuesu:
Haste and draw nigh her, or else she must die.
Her destiny waits, but to you we cry!
Intermission
V.
Avira:
You will obey my nestling's every word
Or suffer, so be well and truly warned!
Your Illin's heart is flighty as a bird;
Expect for your love to be by him scorned.
Tol:
Rest now, dove, and fall not to despair.
The privilege of guesthood here is yours.
Gently, on the cooling evening air,
My av'ian cousins sing across the moors.
Come to dinner when you feel recovered.
We shall be at table in the meantime
Having your best favorites discovered
We'll have the supper you like most ere long time.
(Tol and Avira exit)
Khira (with tears in eyes):
Oh, my Illin! Is it true, what they say?
Love, forever, forgotten in a day?
(cries self to sleep)
Chondris (in dream):
Wake, my dear, and use the magic vials!
Your host has plans which would not suit your love.
He'll come as soon as he has made him ready,
To your chamber, calling you his dove.
Illin would be tormented forever
If he heard of anything so foul,
Spell the birds, and guard them, ceasing never,
But when he comes, away with him from there prowl.
Khira (waking in a fright):
Come, O sleeping drink, and see your victims
Wolfing down the food they do not see.
I now present to you this fearful dictum:
The birds shall sleep, thereby setting me free.
(sneaks to table and drugs food, birds drooping) Now, vile av'ian captors, I escape thee
Riding to my love by pale moonlight.
Though he may be also riding to me,
He will not escape my loving night-sight.
I will find him in the morning hours
By the light of one bright morning star
which, though now it glares and darkly glowers,
Will, when I see him, smile from afar.

VI.
(Retinue wakes little by little, expressing great pain and nausea)
Retinue (unhappily):
How strange, how strange a song
That flies within my heart
A fiery, icy fugue
In which I have no part,
No instrument to play.
It burns when I am here
But freezes when I leave;
The ache is hard to bear,
Its purpose, to achieve
Sobriety today.
Alas, no cure is known
For this fev'rish unthink
It bothers those alone
Who overeat and drink
Too far carried away!
(Exeunt Retinue)
(Scene moves to Illin, arriving at Tol's palace. Illin enters and comes upon the drugged birds, who are in the process of waking)
Tol:
Where is my Khira? Why have you stolen her!?
She was to come to dinner when she recover'd!
You, I see now, must have made off with her!
I will destroy you for your crime, young lover!
Illin:
She's gone, then? Oh, the heart rejoices!
You birds could hold her not, with your cruel voices.
You yourselves will pay for stealing her away.
One to one, foul fowl, but no foul play!
Duel me, you sin-black bird, I pray!
(Tol nods curtly, and a duel is initiated with sword and claw, but Avira trips Illin and Tol kills him. Right at that instant, Nyro enters and sees Illin die. Horrified, he manages to flee, and though he thinks the birds haven't noticed him, Avira follows covertly. Scene shifts to Khira, and Nyro rides up)
Khira:
Good evening, noble friend, I see you are returned!
My darling Illin, comes he also now?
Why look you so bereaved? Come, you've a welcome earned!
What news have you of him? You'll speak, I vow!
(Nyro can't stand it and turns from her, but she follows and faces him)
I see the news is ill, my friend, but please, is he,
I beg of you, on his way here at haste?
I cannot wait for long, I'm sure you will agree,
For now the birds shall come, no time to waste.
Nyro:
No, no, Khira my friend, the birds shall not come here.
They saw me not as them I did escape.
Oh, Illin! My great prince, I'll say in greatest fear,
Has been slain by the starbirds, eyes agape!
(Khira, at first disbelieving, folds and weeps)
(Enter Chondris and Vuesu, hurried and fearful)
Chondris and Vuesu (despairing):
Did I not tell you to stay with the birds?
That Illin and his retinue approach'd?
Perhaps not in so many actual words,
But hush now, do not yourself more reproach.
Rise, Khira, and flee from here now with us,
For evil, base Avira followed him (indicates Nyro)
And comes to find him, grim and ruinous,
And wreak revenge on friends of your Illin.
(Khira has been steadfastly ignoring them and crying profusely. Enter Avira)
Avira:
And truly speaks the magess of the outlands!
My darling Khira, you shall join my son.
I call upon the pledge I made, of magic,
That you would wed him ere aught else was done.
Your plight shall be enough of rightful vengeance
Upon your sniv'ling friends and all who helped you,
That I need not compel myself in violence.
You shall be one of us! Yes, it is true!
(Khira is transformed into a starbird just as the Retinue arrives, and they see it is Avira who has transformed her, and revenge themselves upon her. Khira's visage shines with queenly light, indicating her new royalty. Tol, watching magically from afar, is ecstatic, but Beobe has something reminiscent of a cerebral hemmorhage and collapses, dead) (Alternatively, Khira is transformed into a starbird just as the Retinue arrives, and, due to an unfortunate arrangement of the characters, they see her first and kill her, shouting angrily about the death of their prince. Avira, looking on in horror, is noticed and they are confused. The scene shifts to Tol, who, watching magically, is aware of Khira's death, and kills himself)
END