The Velikiy Cello

The Velikiy Cello (Великий Вилончель) is the name of the cello that belonged to Avatar Yakov. It is a cello made of ebony wood, referred to by Yakovians as the Chernoye Derevo Cello (Blackwood Cello). The cello was originally made by a Yakovian woodworker sometime in the 5th century. The worker stole the ebony wood from some traders near Tavrupa, and they chased him all the way home to Albatross. After spending a winter constructing the cello, he was able to hide it among his other crafted instruments. After a few months, many people began asking about it, so he knew he had to hide it from the public. He kept it in the back room of his woodwork shop.

Selling the Cello
The cello was sold in the winter of the 491 to Macqueline Velikiy when she came in looking to buy a cello for her husband, Avatar Yakov. Having been to the shop before, Macqueline knew the worker kept some instruments in the back and asked if she could look around. It was there that she spotted the ebony wood among the others and insisted that be the cello she buys for her husband.

The Chernoye Derevo Cello was the worker's most prized craft, but he was honored to know that it would be used by Avatar Yakov himself, and thus he had no reason to refuse payment. The cello has remained in the Velikiy Estate ever since, coming out only on evenings Yakov and his wife would play and sing together at the Rising Sun Inn in downtown Albatross.

Legacy
After the death of Avatar Yakov, the cello quickly became the symbol of the city of Albatross, being featured in the center of the city's coat of arms. After the last of the Velikiys moved out from the estate, the estate became the number one tourist destination in the country, most visitors citing seeing the cello as being their prime motivation.

Through times of war and peace, the cello remained in the salon of the estate untouched for centuries.