Czerny

[Code Name] Czerny [Gender] Male [Combat Experience] None [Place of Birth] Leithanien [Date of Birth] Sep 10 [Race] Elafia [Height] 182cm [Infection Status] Originium crystals distributed across surface of body, confirmed Infected by medical examination.

[Physical Strength] Standard [Mobility] Standard [Physical Resilience] Standard [Tactical Acumen] Standard [Combat Skill] Normal [Originium Arts Assimilation] Excellent

Czerny, renowned musician from Leithanien's Afterglow. Took up a concurrent post as a Defender Operator at a local Rhodes Island branch office following the Vyseheim incident.

Imaging tests show the indistinct outlines of internal organs, obscured by abnormal shadows. Originium granules detected in the circulatory system. The subject is confirmed to be infected with Oripathy. [Cell-Originium Assimilation] 11% Large distribution of crystals across neck and back. [Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.25u/L Condition stable, no signs of deterioration for the time being.

William Fichte Czerny—just mention his name, and any resident of the Afterglow will be filled with pride and reverence. Aside from his eminent talent for composition, he also has impressive skill with piano performance. His fingers are unusually long, allowing him to span 11ths with ease; thus, many of his pieces tend to be quite taxing to perform. Even so, this doesn't stop the people of the Afterglow from playing his magnum opuses with full enthusiasm, day after day. Late night in the Afterglow, when babes in the cradle refuse to sleep, it is his lullabies sung at their sides. When lovers embrace in gentle dance under the streetlamps, it is his serenades that guide them. When old faces pass on in serenity, it is his requiems sounding by their coffins. Being ill with Oripathy, Czerny only infrequently goes outdoors, but when he does, every note he inks flows in the steps of traveling singers, crossing endless rolling mountains and rushing rivers, to places further and further beyond. In the bright-lit ballrooms of the Afterglow, ensembles played Czerny's dances all throughout the night, but he himself had no interest in such venues; his focus was mostly spilled into sheet after disorderly sheet of staves. At times, he'd do nothing all day, simply sitting at his desk in silence. Nobody could blame him for it, for everyone knew that that was everything sustaining him. During the Vyseheim incident, Czerny's life was at one point gravely endangered, but it was that near-death experience that changed his mind and had him join Rhodes Island, which gave him the opportunity to leave Leithanien. Ever since, a land far wider than the Afterglow, than Leithanien herself, has been slowly unfolding before his eyes. Henceforth, no longer has that cramped little desk contained his thirsts, the yearnings for faraway lands roaring through Czerny's mind without abate.

'Mr. Czerny's, um, let me think... sure, I've met worse people to get along with, and yeah, on the whole, I guess he means well. I don't know—sometimes you just really wanna slap him, you know? Everything's telling you to do it.' 'I get you. He's the most difficult patient I've ever met, period. Last week I was telling him, uh, don't pull all-nighters, don't work too much, eat when you should, take your meds on time—I went over it three times, at least! But I went to the dorms this week to give him a checkup—ugh—guess what I found?' 'I mean, what else? Sheet music all over the floor, mugs full of coffee stains, completely untouched dinners—oh, also, obviously, Mr. Czerny himself half-dead.' 'Guys, stop talking. My hand's itching already.' 'But that's his job, isn't it? You know there's a billion people onboard who work like that...' 'Shut up, you li'l slug. Keep defending him and you'll get a week of graveyard shifts.' 'I... give me a break, I like him! He's an amazing musician, seriously! And last month he gave me a whole jar of hand lotion. He was really considerate, insisted I should treasure my own hands.' 'Yeesh—if treasuring them means twenty coats of cream a day like he does, count me out.' 'Look, this is why you keep getting those hangnails. Listen to Mr. Czerny and you wouldn't.' 'Hmph. Yeah, of course he wouldn't. He comes to Medical if he gets the tiniest scratch on his fingers.' 'Honestly? If my hands were worth half as much as his, I'd do the same.' 'Okay, that settles it. Both of you, get on your new overnight shifts, stat.' 'Hi, is anyone sitting here? Everywhere else in the canteen's taken.' 'Oh, no, sure, go ahead.' 'Thanks. Oh, right, have you heard the new song Mr. Czerny just released? It's marvelous!' 'Uh, we haven't had the time to...' 'Look, there was this report from only a little while ago. It says he announced he'd donate all the proceeds from it to help Leithanian children who've been orphaned by Oripathy. It's hard to believe how nice he is... he barely even keeps much cash of his own.' '......' 'Oh, aren't you eating that? You've got so much left. What's the rush?' 'I'm doing a check-up!' 'Check-up for who?' 'Czerny. Who else?' —Informal conversation between Medic Operators at the cafeteria. 'I wasn't eavesdropping. I just happened to sit down right there.' —As stated by Operator Hibiscus.

Before analyzing any piece of music, we must also conduct an in-depth analysis of the composer's experiences achievements. As we all know, William Czerny was born to a renowned family of musicians from the Afterglow. His mother Hayley Czerny raised him alone after his father passed away while he was young. As a pianist well-versed in musical theory, Hayley tuned pianos for a living following her husband's death. As she had no one to take care of him, she often brought her son to work. Although many of her customers were talented pianists, all of them without exception were amazed by the young Czerny's extraordinary talents. And as he had yet to formally study piano, many of them taught him everything they knew. Hayley died of illness when Czerny was fourteen, and he became infected with Oripathy by accident while dealing with her funeral arrangements. He had no choice but to abandon his plans to attend a music academy in Leithanien's capital, and instead studied under a famous local composer in the Afterglow. There, he met his teacher's eldest daughter. Her name is unknown, and all we know about her from our interviews with him is that Czerny sees her as a lifelong friend, and that she possessed great musical talent as well, but not only did their rivalry never get in the way of their friendship, it made them all the more inseparable as they appreciated each other's talent. Those wondrous days lasted six years, and Czerny had already become a performer of great renown by then. However, no amount of being in the spotlight could have illuminated the dark fate that shrouded him at the time. When he was twenty, his dear friend died of her worsening Oripathy symptoms. Shocked, the great musician was unable to recover from this setback and turned to the creative process to release the pain in his heart. After shutting himself in for a year, the world was introduced to his magnum opus, 'Morgen und Abend'—the piece today's lecture is on. This 'Morgen und Abend' elevated its composer to the top ranks of Leithanian musicians, yet behind it was a pain so great that it swallowed the composer whole. This great pain tore open a deep, deep fissure in his iron-like body, and it is through this fissure that his soft, inner self finally caught a glimpse of the true face of the outer world. ...I suppose I should leave it at that. Let's listen to this piece ourselves. —Excerpt from the lecture records of Leithanien's top music academy's music appreciation course's fourth session.

My most respected Frau Kal'tsit and Doctor, the research I have been conducting has ground to a halt due to a budget deficit, and I am hoping the two of you will grant me additional funding. This research project aims to help our young operators master Originium Arts through musical education, as well as to study the specific effects a person's musical skill has on their Originium Arts education. Using myself as an example, I ran into quite a but of trouble when I first studied Originium Arts during my formative years. I spent months making no progress at all. However, I later realized that Leithanien's Originium Arts system goes hand in hand with its music, and my musical gifts were like a rich mineral deposit waiting to be mined. Which is why I immediately adjusted my study plan and banished from my thoughts all the basic theories I'd read in the books. Instead, I applied the music theory I had mastered directly to my Originium Arts, in the end greatly improving my learning efficiency while putting in only half the work. Secondly, a person's Originium Arts education is of great value to our research on the role music plays in the Leithanian Originium Arts system. Leithanien's top Casters are almost without exception great musicians, and monumental musical works often led to breakthroughs in Arts development throughout Leithanien's classical Arts development history. It is also evident when looking at their history that the two's developments closely align with one another. Whenever Arts development reached a high point, a golden age of music occurred at either the same time or shortly after. Likewise, whenever the development of music stagnated, so too did the development of Arts. My research has progressed far enough for me to draw the conclusion that the results our young operators achieve every step of the way are closely tied to the breakthroughs in their musical education. Further research should be able to illuminate the specific role that music plays. Finally, I would like to note that music has widespread applications in the Originium Arts across all of Leithanien. In particular, in the Afterglow we have a unique medical Arts system for dealing with Oripathy, and its effectiveness has been proven by my protracted experiments. Naturally, if you are able to provide me with more funding, I can immediately put this research project on the agenda. —Excerpt from Operator Czerny's 'Research Funding Application'

'I've always thought that creating music is like walking a tightrope in a storm.' He sets down his beer bottle and turns to you to lament. 'Your soul is the tightrope under your feet. It must be sturdy enough to withstand the strong gales, born of our desires and emotions. The winds are absolutely terrifying, beneath our feet lies a bottomless abyss, and our path ahead is but that narrow rope.' He swallows his saliva as if what he is about to say is difficult to broach. 'I'm afraid, Doctor. Always have been.' 'Because the melody in my head is also the sound of the rope swaying violently in the storm.'

Czerny is <i>not</i> fond of public appearances. Nor fame, nor wealth, nor riches, nor power. Unfortunately, his type draws all the more attention the truer they are to themselves, wherever they may be.