Medieval Epic Part Two

[Tami]

High atop the battlement
The lord surveys all
His eyes taking in
The troubling sights below him

Ordered confusion and yet
His men were at the ready
For what was to come
This they knew not

He prayed to his god
In hope they wouldn't too
Soon be the silent ghosts
Of an unknown tomorrow

He turns to look out
For a sign in the darkness
As his mind unbidden
Plays over the day
Although it rushes by quickly
It seems a lifetime ago

His eyes see reflections
Grow big in the fog
Flashing fresh in his mind
Reliving the horror
Of Two days ago now,
...

...From atop the tor
Down he gazed in silence
As across the plain
A path of smoke floated

Strewn about the field
Like cast-off toys
Soldiers and mounts
Lords and serfs alike

No life had been spared
On the trampled ground
More red than green
Destruction was vast

Cottages burned
Castle razed
The village gone
No foe to be seen

Silence around him
The only sound to be heard
Remnants of death
Lifted on the wind

What force could move
With such seeming speed
No trace no corpse
No foreign banner

Down the slope
He spurred his steed on
Skirting the carnage
To move past the ghosts

He could feel them everywhere
Encircled about him
Their breath on his skin
In silence they plead

He listened to echoes
And watched for life
Yet any vestige of hope
Died in the fading light

Feeling exposed
He pulled his cloak closer
Confusion battled logic
Move on, he must do

An alarm to raise
But which way to ride
Whatever came through
Left him no clue

Slowly turning his horse
He watched the horizon
Nothing east, nothing south,
Nor west did he see

But there in the north
In the sun's final light
A trick of the eye,
Or a fire's dull glow?

Onward he rode,
Indecision his guide
Gallop on blindly
In hopes he could help

Or ride on with caution
And survive to warn others
His warrior's heart
Cried out in rebellion,

Refusing to listen
A battle raged within.
But patience won out,
Astute in its valour.

He rode on through the dusk
The air's chill biting deeper;
His thick woolen cloak
Made him no warmer.

Redder the glow
On the nearing horizon;
Indecision run rampant
Time running low.

A shift in the saddle,
He feels no easier.
Death hangs near,
A dark cloud about him.

He enters the wood,
Made bright by the fire.
Guiding his horse,
But not really seeing.

Listening hard,
Not hearing a sound,
No animals about,
Not a bird took flight.

The flames took shape
In the eerie twilight,
Their dance of destruction
Almost hypnotic.

Muffled behind the
Fire's deep roar
The screams of men
Leaving this Earth.

The rider sat quietly,
His mount exhausted
Resisting even harder
The instincts of a fighter.

The village ablaze
Chaos roamed free
Black smoky tendrils
Dance through the air.

The rider sat upright
For again he sees
A one sided fight~
There's no enemy here.

Surveying the fields
He prepared to step forth
As he gathered the reins
His mount bolted away

Almost unseated,
He regained control
Then looked about him
Seeking the cause

Instinct led his hand
To the hilt of his sword
The firm grasp of his gauntlet
Hiding his fear

The thickening smoke
Burned in his eyes
Through the blur of tears
A huddled shape appears

There in the bramble
With soot smudged face
A child looks out
Fear holds him still
In his hiding place.

The dark rider
Releases his sword
And slowly dismounts
Reins in his hand.

He approaches the child,
Speaking quietly,
"Don't worry,
You're safe with me."

His voice assuring himself
As much as the child,
He leans down
The child whimpers and
Tries to back away.

There behind him,
Stopping his movement
Lies twisted and torn
The body of a woman.

The child touches her
Suddenly remembering
He tearfully cries out
"Momma wake up."

The rider moved aside
The bare thorny branches,
Picking up the small boy
He murmurs quietly to him.

His eyes take in
The child's silent mother;
The pain of her death
Etched on her face.

The little boy shivers,
Bringing the rider back
His mind was wandering
Some unknown abyss.

Wrapping his cloak
About the cold little boy
Then slowly he turned
To face the darkness before him.

Night at last had overtaken
The rest of the day,
The fire had dulled to
A deep red glow.

"Find somewhere safe,
Protect this young victim"
The warrior's mind
Told him.

He lifted the child
And set him ahorse,
Then he settled behind him
A solid calming force.

Gently he urged
His mount to a walk,
Wondering where to turn next
He decided on home.

They journeyed through the dark
Huddled against the cold,
Their only light
Shone down from the Moon.

The dark rider's horse
Stepped carefully along
His head drooping down,
Exhaustion a close companion.....

End of Part Two

Copyright 2004 by me under my real name

[Jim]

<img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... ocking.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(ack)\' /> I wish I could write like that. Good job Ada <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... >/good.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(Y)\' />

[color=\"purple\"]*waits for part 3[/color]

[Vercz]

[color=\"green\"]wo0t!!!!!!!


love it ada, well done again <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... >/good.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(Y)\' /> [/color]