Originally published in Dream Theater · 2016
2016 tour program story explanation
Article7 min read
The Great Northern Empire of the Americas would look eerily familiar yet terrifyingly primitive to the people who occupied roughly the same territory three centuries before. After a great calamity precipitated a gradual societal collapse, medieval-like feudalism reemerged alongside the relics of technology and “progress” from a now all-but-forgotten era. Safety in servitude replaced ambition. An aristocracy replaced nobility. The ever-watching omnipresent NOMACS broadcast an empty cacophony; all that remains of music and creativity in this dystopia. But in Ravenskill, a village situated on Endless Isleland, a lone voice heralds the arrival of a reawakening in human consciousness. Freedom of expression finds a way, in the purest of musical outpourings not heard in generations, to stir the hearts of the people and shake the very foundations of power.
Act I
The only music heard in the Great Northern Empire of the Americas comes from the NOMACS. Initially designed to broadcast the most “perfect” music imaginable, their endless drone is now the only form of entertainment for a populace robbed of creative ambition. The humanities are discouraged. Only work brings meaning, in the view of the larger culture, which has regressed to feudal primitivism in an effort to resist the technological wasteland that preceded the current dystopia. Lord Nafaryus is absolute ruler, with his family members by his side. Poverty is a way of life for all but the elite class. But in Ravenskill, a hero is born. Gabriel is not so much a warrior of sword and steel as a Chosen One offering deliverance through song. His supernaturally magnificent talent stirs the people of his village, which spreads further throughout the remote reaches of The Empire. His older brother, Arhys, encourages Gabriel to accept his gifts and fulfill his clear destiny. Arhys is a warrior, Commander of the Ravenskill Rebel Militia, which assembles and strengthens in light of Gabriel’s transformative power. Arhys made a deathbed promise to his one true love, Evangeline, who died in childbirth, to create a better world for their son, Xander. In his younger brother’s gift, he sees a chance to fulfill that promise to his late beloved.
Accompanied by his wife, Empress Arabelle, and their two children, Crown Prince Daryus and Princess Faythe, Lord Nafaryus travels to Ravenskill to see this “Gabriel The Astonishing” for himself, arriving to find the villagers assembled in the town square in awe of the sounds erupting from a worn relic of an acoustic guitar and Gabriel’s angelic voice. Even Nafaryus is enthralled for a moment, as the organic and fluid music stirs feelings of passion, power, and self-worth long buried under the boot of tyrannical rule and the ever-present din of the NOMACS. But none are as moved by Gabriel as Princess Faythe. The undeniable chemistry between Gabriel and the Emperor’s daughter is apparent to all. Seeing the people’s wonder at Gabriel’s gift, Nafaryus is consumed with a jealous rage and orders the Rebel Militia disbanded and The Chosen One to surrender himself within three days, or all of Ravenskill will be destroyed.
Empress Arabelle discovers her daughter’s plot to visit Gabriel, now in hiding under the protection of his brother’s militia and their surrounding allies. Princess Faythe descends upon Ravenskill in disguise, unaware that her mother has sent Prince Daryus to follow her in secret. Gabriel and Faythe are convinced that the power of their union combined with the gift of music, can convince her father to resist the NOMACS drone and renew the passions within his own heart, restoring peace and justice. Daryus, however, has another plan. He offers Arhys a Faustian bargain: turn Gabriel over and Xander will be guaranteed a life of privilege and care, a life offered only to royalty. Daryus hopes to win the favor of the father he’s always felt neglected by and Arhys, with his son as the all-important center of his own universe, reluctantly agrees to the deal.
Meanwhile, with the aid of her mother, Faythe convinces the Emperor to give Gabriel the opportunity to change his mind with a single performance. Gabriel has agreed to surrender himself to the crown should the Emperor remain unconvinced. A secret music player treasured by Faythe for her entire life had in fact once belonged to her father as a boy. She knows he has felt the power of true artistic expression, long before he’d abandoned all compassion in the quest for power, long before he’d accepted the NOMACS and the false sense of security they provided. Gabriel will perform for the Emperor at an abandoned amphitheater, where real music was once performed, on the edge of a town called Heaven’s Cove. Faythe will duet with him, convinced the musical demonstration of their loving union will turn the tides in their favor. Certain he will remain unconvinced and arrest his daughter’s suitor, Lord Nafaryus and his wife set out for Heaven’s Cove, with royal guards in tow.
Act II
The stage is set for an epic and dramatic collision of people, agendas, and passions that night at Heaven’s Cove.
Gabriel tells Commander Arhys of the impending performance - including the location and that Faythe will join him there beforehand to rehearse and spend what may be their last minutes alone together. Gabriel is unaware of his brother’s planned betrayal. Arhys, in turn, tells Prince Daryus where he’ll be able to find and apprehend Gabriel. He does not make Daryus aware of Faythe’s role in the proceedings. Daryus believes it will be only the three of them at Heaven’s Cove, that Arhys will be able to tell his militia he’d put up a fight against the prince, and the prince would be able to tell his father he’d captured The Chosen One on his own.
Arhys arrives to the decrepit amphitheater ahead of schedule, unaware he’s been followed by his curious son, Xander. As Daryus approached, with a look of evil and mischief in his eye, Arhys summons the strength found within his brother’s song but a few days before and vows then and there to never betray Gabriel or the people of Ravenskill. A fight ensues between Arhys and Daryus, these two siblings of the lovers whose songs could bring peace to the Empire. From his hiding place, Xander hears his father die by the prince’s hand. Screaming, crying, Xander emerges from the shadows and clutches his father’s lifeless body, startling the prince.
A cloaked figure approaches just then. Believing it to be Gabriel, Daryus brandishes his blade and administers a seemingly fatal blow, realizing only in the final moments of his strike that the cloaked figure is in fact his sister, the princess. Faythe had been listening to music on her father’s ancient music player’s earphones hidden as ever under her hood, and was therefore caught completely unaware by her brother’s sword.
Expecting to see his beloved, to prepare for what could result in either the beginnings of peace for the Empire or his own sacrificial death, and to sing, Gabriel is shocked beyond belief to instead discover this grisly scene - his brother lying dead on the ground, his nephew in tears, his lover near death, all of it clearly the handiwork of the crown prince. Covering Xander’s ears with his hands, Gabriel unleashes a supernatural scream, the likes of which cause the prince’s ears to bleed, rendering him irreversibly deafened, even as Faiths headphones protect her ears.
In the distance, Nafaryus and Arabelle hear this scream and hasten their approach. The nearby townspeople are awakened and begin to assembly in the amphitheater, bearing witness to this strange and frightening scene in Heaven’s Cove. Burdened by his own responsibility, forlorn with the dying princess in his arms, Nafaryus begs his daughter’s forgiveness. She is smiling up at him, but drifting, moments from death. At that moment, the Emperor realizes Gabriel is truly The Chosen One. Perhaps the power of his voice could revive the princess and save her from death. He begs Gabriel to attempt this miracle. But alas, the bloodcurdling scream that crippled the prince has robbed Gabriel of his voice. He tries with all of his strength to sing, but only the faintest whisper emerges.
It is then that something that can only be described as Astonishing occurs: a murmur of voices rises up into a choir, creating a thunderous melody the likes of which could break the heavens. It is the townspeople, inspired and astonished by all that has transpired, now singing together as they had heard often Gabriel singing. The Astonishing moment gives Gabriel the strength of will to revive his own voice. The Chosen One, Gabriel The Astonishing, unleashes a song of such unprecedented power Faythe is revived. Lord Nafaryus orders his men to seek out, disable, and destroy every NOMAC in The Realm, and in the coming days and months and years, will govern with fairness and justice, freeing the people from the shackles of a life without creative expression, and working with the Empress to implement new systems of economics and harmony. Gabriel and Faythe raise Xander as their own, giving him the life Arhys had sworn to somehow provide. The people swear allegiance to a life where art and creative individualism is celebrated, not outlawed. The Astonishing power of music made by humans is treasured and enjoyed once again, and forever.