Brice/Introduction

The sound of a familiar female voice sings a song with masterful melancholy.

" Open your eyes to the light .... I denied it all so long... oh so long.. say goodbye. Goodbye... My heart is broken... Release me... I can't hold on... "

Brice slowly opens his eyes and pushes the coffin open. He carefully steps out and begins to move towards the stairs... As he ascends the staircase, his voice begins to echo from the halls as he takes each step.

" The paths that I once tread... have all but gone. Only embers.. now smolder.. where bridges once burned.. "

He stops as he looks at his reflection in a broken mirror. His fingers trace over the smoothness of his porcelain colored cheek.

" I feel alive and yet.. I fear... what may happen now.. I know... I can't return... "

He continues to walk as he pulls his hands to his chest.

" And I hear me say again... oh let me not return... Damn the illusions of redemption.. and the hopes that held me here.. "

Determination fills his eyes as he pushes open the door and exits his crypt. He continues to sing.

" I will oppose all that would befall me... with this rage inside of me.... I'll defy.. what I would become. "

As he walks more quickly, he sings with more energy.

" The solitude.. and anger... that do battle inside me... will always guide me to the answers... that I know I may not see... they are the bonds that hold me tighter... they are the chains that weigh on me.... One day..... I know they will be gone... "

He ascends more stairs until he is standing on the balcony, looking over the ocean. His voice is soft and almost uncertain as he sings to the moon's light.

" But can I start again..? and erase this pain? .... By casting doubts into the waters... asking judgement of the sea.. though fortune ... may guide the fools.. I have no wish to be free... until I am gone.. "

He stares at the sea while he contemplates his next move...