G CLEF KINGDOM, YEAR 4/4, COMMON ERA

E5, D5, C5, and B4 sallied out into the hallway and were immediately set upon by their enemies, who sliced through the notes’ bodies with upward-slanting strokes.

A4 assumed a defensive crouch in the bar next door. Born without a stem or a tail, A4 was a smaller target. Her enemies entered the bar and slashed with their demisemiquaver swords—1, 2, 3!—but the attacks went high, and she survived to fight another day.