Fekdodap

By Anders Sandberg

Level two talisman

This musical instrument was originally devised by mages living in the Shard Realm of Mind, and a few of these have appeared on Earth. The fekdodap is a bizarre contraption, looking like a combination of a harp and a saxophone; it is covered with buttons and strings, and the player blows through a mouthpiece formed like a snakes-head. The sound is equally bizarre, the weird harmonies are not unpleasant, but make most listeners uneasy. The real reason is that the instrument actually empowers the imagination, and can make listeners experience remote places and times, scenes from the deep umbra and their own subconscious if the listener is sufficiently relaxed or unaware (it greatly enhances dreaming if played to sleeping people, and its effects on LSD trips is beyond belief).