[*Sure, You've Got Nothing Better To Do...*]

You rise silently and bid Ichtaca follow you, leaving Yoatl sleeping in your chambers, you try to tap into her dreams for a second but this results in a stinging slap from Ichtaca. "Let her REST Excellency, she's exhausted!" She rebukes you in a more conversational tone now that you are clear of your personal chambers and there is less risk of waking Yoatl.

You walk through the 'palace' to the entrance where lies the natural amphitheater, that seems to fulfill so many different functions and have screens of woven grass brought, where the two of you sit, waiting for your hurrying entertainment advisor to approach and meet the slowly gathering crowd of would-be royal musicians. You see instruments of many types. Obviously, of course, the brass section is missing, not one trumpet or saxophone is present... (Or are they? Two young women, sisters by the look of them, hold carved conch shells, which can be made into primitive trumpets...) Leaving that aside, there are many drums, maracas of various kinds, lyers, a wooden xylophone, several different forms of woodwinds, from flutes to shwams, sarpents to something reminiscent of a didgeridoo, panpipes to a primitive recorder-like instrument, and gods help you someone's invented something not entirely unlike an early precursor of the bagpipes...

}Must suppress, must suppress, must suppress!{ You find yourself thinking...

At last Ahuiliztli comes into view, and you can see she has a satchel with birch bark scrolls in it slung over her shoulder. "Good day everyone! I'm sorry I'm late, the streets are a mess, as I'm sure you all know, now, please understand that this first round of trials will not be the final cut: we are not even choosing the core ensemble today, all we are choosing today are those with a talent for composition. Each of you has been asked to bring a written piece of music that you have composed, with the new shape notes writing to record such things as volume, pitch, and tempo. What you were not told is that this was only the first part of the test. You were asked to keep your pieces short, something that could be played while you or someone else paced twenty full paces. Now, I'm going to give you a list of instructions, I don't want you to start following them till I say I'm finished with the instructions understand?" Everyone nods and she continues.

"Now first, when I say start, I want you all to find the person to your immediate left, and hand your composition to them, or if you are on the far left of the group or if you have the same instrument as whoever is to your left, hand the scroll to me and I will reapportion them, as needed. Once that's done and not before, I want everyone to look at their new scrolls. I am going to light a timer candle, everyone has until that timer candle burns down to take the song that they've been handed, which is supposed to be an original composition for a different instrument, and 'transpose' it into the register for their own instrument. When the timer goes out, everyone is to sign their names to the scroll with their transposed song, and then await being called to perform it. Does everyone understand?" Again everyone nods...

"Alright, you can begin when I say: NOW!" Ahuiliztli barks and everyone scrambles to obey...