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"Naga and the Serpent"
A poem of The Slayers,
by Shunsuke -|||
Part the second
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V: The Wyrm
Deep caverns housed that perilous beast
A foulness and evil that alone would have stank
Putrid, its ichor, caustic and black
A blinding, bottomless hate, so dark and so dank
Spring times were stolen from this beauteous land
For four hundred years, the dew with blood dripped
For too long they cowered, those who lived in the valley
>From the well of their efforts, the wyrm it had sipped
The newborns it sampled, the farmers and flocks
The innocent villagers, their fam'lies and wives
Powerful lords and kings, all helpless against
The face of the wyrm, all fled for their lives
With scales and spear wings, it flew 'cross the skies
Its eyes sharp and sure, its domain it surveyed
All claw and all tale, those who saw it they claimed
The screams and the weeping of the victims it preyed
"Gold and new flesh, I take flight on this day
I who long rules over lands that I see
As long as I live, these lands be ne'er free
A meal of blood, I taste flesh that I flay
For am I not the most gilded of all?
Am I not the most feared across the skies?
Strike fear into both the fools and the wise?
Am I not the one whose proud voice does call?
Centuries come, and centuries may go,
Many a knight has fought, many have died
And so many more will in years to come
Yet my reign of terror doth vastly grow
Would take but one swordsman to carve my hide
I must strike them, for I do fear that one"
Wisdom with time comes, as do fear and lies
Treasure and troves do amass into piles
Knowledge and skill from decades its life
The wyrm lived this long, and hath learned well its wiles
But just as no man can wield a sword in his sleep
And no righteous man can be his own confessor
One can only be brutal so long
There can be no tyrant who can kill his successor
The dragon kept its watch, ears set to the winds
Its nose gathered scent, some new kind of fragrance
Blood like no other, with a pinch of the magical
Not the king and his sullen, downtrodden vagrants
Had a man been near, a fool in those caves
A sound that was made, beheld by no men's ears
Rattling scales, of a beast living in fear
A sound like no other made in four hundred years
VI: The Path Through The Woods
With farewell to the king, did they make their way
Out of the village, with the hopes of all
On this early spring morn, with wishes and cheers
The villagers they did hope for early fall
Many miles did they trod away from the keep
Along the path through the woods throughout the day
Through burnt and torn trees, did the sun shine
As though it had wanted to guide them on their way
The cobblestone road, now rutted, unkempt
Wound its way through the valley, toward the spire
It stood in the sky, stand of stone aloft
Like a spike through the heart, and filled them with ire
Seen all 'cross the valley, 'twas the beast's home
>From where it could see the span it surveyed
The homes and the fields, the lands and the beasts
The cheated farmers from whom it purveyed
The road it grew worse, 'til no wheels could pass
Only horses and those who were sure of foot
Only fools and the damned, went beyond the line
Where living things stopped, lay only ashes and soot
At the edge of the trees, the party they camped
Hidden amongst branches, unpacked their provisions
>From where they could foment their plan
A place of safety, to make their decisions
Asking questions of they, retainers six,
A barrage of questions, the mages inquired
What knowledge could be gleaned from these men
Until all were ragged, of puzzlement they tired
Night was not the beast's chosen time
All felt safe in the dark of the stand
Lit them no fire, for 'twould tell the beast
Nay, 'tis only fools that would tip their hand
VII: A Glimpse Of The Tail
With dawn came the call of the bird in the cage
Surely, no need, the wyrm awaken first
No need for them all to die foolishly sleeping
No need to let the beast on them slake its thirst
Awoke, they broke camp, and watched for the skies
The two mages thus, they ventured fo'ard
Into barren wastes that surrounded the spire
A desolate land, so bleak and so scarred
The scurrying sounds of rats at their feet
Amongst the bones of heroes before
Death awaited the ill prepared, it seemed
For their numbers ran to the many score
A flap of wings! A sound from above!
Looked, they, up, as the rock fell between
They dove each aside, the stone shattered at once
In skies clear, a glimpse of the tail was seen
The battle, they thought, 'twould be fought on the mount
But to their dismay, and 'twas their mistake
Far off in the distance heard they the screams
And they knew, their men's lives did the beast take
The mocking laugh of evil flew not ten feet overhead
As in front of them did its maw drop bloody meat
The wings of the beast knocked them to the ground
The force of the air swept them from their feet
They reached the camp, torn and tattered it was
The men lay in pieces, fear seen on their faces
One was beheaded, another impaled,
And both before they had run but ten paces
The third and the fourth, crushed by a weight
Surely lay dead where the beast had once stepped
Fifth and sixth torn as they hid in tents
Only now stood the wagons, where the weapons were kept
VIII: In The Presence Of Evil
Alone, stood the two, in a perilous strait
'Gainst a minion of hell, a lizard perversed
Its mocking laugh echoed into their bones
'Twas their folly, into its domain they traversed
Time not for thought, and none for respite
Did the wyrm grant them as it pondered the two
The taste of their blood, not be they a threat
And within scant seconds, did attack them anew
Flew it by, once, did barely miss clutching
Naga's hair and head within its sharp claw
Whilst Ciaran swung round, his blade striking scales
No piercing of flesh, and no damage he saw
Circled round, the wyrm did it turn
And began its descent to, it seemed, kill them both
But Ciaran pushed Naga, and she fell to the ground
Puzzled and pained, she then heard him quoth:
"Yea, though I stand in the valley of death
I fear you not, not in ten thousand days
Here is my sword! It is you that it slays
And it is I, who will take your last breath
I shall tame this snake, and winnow its lust
Nevermore your desires rape this fair land
For with righteousness placed at my right hand
And so shall I win awe, honor, and trust
Come to me, you foul denizen of hell
Dost thou think thyself a worthy foe?
You, who would dare, to make me your repast?
Would thou know my secret? Dare, you I tell?
Knowledge that you fear, knowledge you should know?
Then you I tell: this night shall be your last
The beast it flew down, and didst spread its teeth
Ciaran with sword, readied buckler as well
Naga stood frightened, afraid for her sage
Wond'red why would he not battle on with a spell
Then did the fray with the dragon commence
It struck her at once - not the claws, but the plan
Stunned she was, could not move in time
To cast the spell that would save her man
Her face filled with horror as she watched the sight
A scene of pure evil, it tore at her soul
Her friend, her companion, her man, she didst see
With a single motion, in wyrm's maw taken whole
A scream, she now heard, but couldst not discern
If it be the large beast's rally cry
Ciaran's of pain, as teeth cut his bone
Or her own that shattered the stillness of sky
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End, part the second
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