The Winged Rot
Dark night, darkness bright
Consummation of all light,
If you will, if you may
Listen now with all your
might.
For here’s the tale of one so
great,
An immortal man that saw too
late
That all the actions he’d
performed
Had been watched since he were
born.
Yet at the end it mattered not
For at tales end thus did he
rot
He was born an only child
The flame of wildness in his
eyes,
And into power he did grow
In early years taught sword
and bow.
His father was a lordly knight
Born to die and born to fight,
On one such day this man did
both
And rise to power he was
loathe.
So Lucian became a Lord,
And rage-filled took his
father’s sword.
At once he gathered all his
men,
Heard the tale of the demon’s
den
Where there in almost human
form
There dragon hid like Devil
spawn.
It was he that slew the
knights
On one barren winter’s night.
So heard the boy the very tale
And likewise filled heart with
bale.
Trained he in the arcane arts
Till finally he spoke at last.
Silent had he been of late,
Often looking out the gates
Of his city he now ruled
Thinking on his father’s ghoul.
At the festival he called
His knights who watched his
father fall
And so at Samhain did he wind
The horn that told that they
must find,
The Dragon thing that could
not die,
Born in darkness, darkness
bright.
Came they to the Broken Caves,
Littered with bones and
rotting game
Lucian held high his spear
His knights shivered in
whispered fear.
Deep inside from in the maw
The cavern bellowed mournful
caws
And slowly did a mist exude
Telling them to come intrude.
Silently he led them on,
Mist swallowed them till each
was gone.
Now listen eager to this part,
Take this legend to your
heart,
For in this cavern one did
sleep
A dragon did this creature
keep,
So into darkness where men
feared
Envy, vampire, stroked his
beard
And so in shadows Lucian led
All of his knights to certain
death.
Ten thousand men had come with
him
Each sworn oaths against all
sin.
Like crazed paths the mewling
came,
Full of fear some knights went
lame
So by the time they found a
door
His ten thousand were now
four.
Let us see what Lucian saw,
Blood and acid dripped to
floor,
The very walls with fire
steamed
And in the distance horrors
screamed.
But driven by his father’s
sword
This lordly man broke through
this ward.
Asunder did the doorway break
The world did tremble with
earthquake,
And some knights could take no
more
They fled, slipping upon old
gore.
Banshee cries they did
discern,
Calling on them to return,
But Lucian, mad in his haste
Called out that time was not
to waste.
Into battle they did go,
against the dragon, Arkengau.
An hour did this battle last,
Till Lucian with shame did
cast
His spear into this creature’s
heart
And watched as he redeemed his
past.
And so with cheer his knights
reduced
To only fifty, they did hew
The Dragon’s mighty head and
laughed
Facing now a wall of glass.
But Lucian, his mind now clear
Shouted out a wail of fear
For there where once no man
had stood,
A man eyed them as hawk to
food.
Another fight now did ensue,
Till fifty lay dead; cold and blue
And Lucian he stood alone,
His sword held loosely as last
hope,
His armour rent upon the
ground
At this creature he now
frowned.
“What, foul monster is your
name?”
The creature spoke the very
same.
Then Lucian found he could
see,
They were the same to some
degree.
“Never!” He said. “We’ll never
be.”
So again these beings fought,
Lucian with skill once taught,
Envy with the speed of hate
He drove the Lord Knight back
a pace
So furious this battle waged
They like two dancers on a
stage,
When all at last and in
despair
Lucian thrust without a care.
Would you now know how this
ends?
Would you care if tale I bend?
Would you listen if spoke?
Would you listen if I wrote?
For no one knows how such
things cease,
Who should triumph: man or beast?
But for certain we all know
That envy every man can show.
So it must be the creature
won,
And Lucian’s thrust made him
undone,
This esteemed knight that sort
revenge
For no other did he send.
He led his knights into the
black,
And none recall if one came
back.
But hear me now for this I’ll
say:
That winged man that hid from
day
And cast lost knights upon the
floor
With savagery that none
foresaw,
That thing did have a treasure
kept
And none could know of this
except,
The Dragon that the young
knight killed
His fire filled breathing at
last stilled.
Yet when the creature came to
feast,
Upon Lord Lucian’s neck so
neat
He answered once the question
asked
As though it was an arduous
task.
This the vampire did tell,
His prey now under deadly
spell,
He came close to the armoured
lord
And kicked aside the blood
stained sword,
So did it whisper in his ear,
That its secret held so dear,
Was that in every thirty years
Another man it must endear.
Another man must lose his soul
So that Envy has control,
At last the creature spoke the
truth,
“I the father you forsook.”
Dark night, darkness bright
You have listened till day’s
light
You did will this very May,
That you would read or hear
this lay.
Did you think this tale so
cruel?
Did you feel the tale too
tall?
This tale of one who saw too
late
And used to look from city
gates?
But would you know the very
truth?
That Envy hides under your
roof,
And in each shadow of all men
That turn aside and commit
sin?
Fear not as it matters not
For at the end, all things
will rot.
I think I'll try and write something a little funnier. All this talk of lurking shadows and stuff... it's not good for everyone. Hardy-Hah! Lol...