Embrace the Absurd, Halt it if it Hurts

Masks by Kai-Te (Murphy Rise)

A man bares his soul while hiding his face. Song inspired by the RP game Sigrogana Legends 2.

Thumbnail image: https://www.deviantart.com/xertris/art/Feigning-Rook-by-Linzi-Kilima-1088982211

Stalemate by xertris

A great hoplite stands in the fray.

His hardened body and armor glean in the light of the day.

His arms honed by hours of training galore.

In his hands a  spear and shield, and on his belt a sword.

He a approaches his enemy, undaunted and unfazed.

He moves to thrust his spear into his enemy’s face.

In response the foe attempts to respond, but in the end slips.

Instead of slaying the spearman. He just removes the spear’s tip.

He successful blunts the hoplite’s spear with a chop,

But once the tip's been dealt with the warrior stops.

He doesn't advance to permanently end this spearman's assault.

He stands back and waits, and observers are thrown into tumult.

Standing still, he parries and chops the spear tips heading his way.

but beyond this the warrior fails to proceed further into the fray.

He’s yet to call for allies to join him in the fight.

He’s yet to bolster his armor to resist enemy slights.

He’s yet to do anything else to finally end this threat.

Thus any observers facepalm and fret.

Perhaps his vision is stunted, by the fog of war.

He doesn't see the spearman, and is content to parry with his sword.

He dares not proceed unto the unknown or is pulled back by his mates.

For a time the parrying is working so why risk some unknown mistake.

Perhaps he is a coward, and can do no more.

He knows and sees the spearman, and is frightened to the core.

Of course in this his officer is partially to blame.

Their orders could be sub par, or the man improperly trained.

Perhaps the warrior wisely curtails his zeal.

Though careful deliberation, he decides aggression isn’t ideal.

He may lack the resources to decisively finish the foe,

So he bides his time for another strategy to grow.

Perhaps both combatants have worked out some plan.

Staging the battle as a front to garner what they can.

In the best case the battle is a show for all to enjoy.

At worst the battles a pretext to through fear, deprive and destroy.

One must not forget the spearman also plays his part.

His spears do little damage, yet he also stands apart.

His motivation may match the swordsman’s  though his weapons have more reach.

For as long as he stands back, he has no ground to beseech.

One way or another the affair will end.

Someone may win, and another bends.

All may have their fill and leave it at a draw.

In an open field, by a forest with tall trees,

children laughed and played in the sun and the breeze.

They had great fun, but their parents were dismayed.

The forest was so close, so why not play in the shade?

The kids would get sun-burnt and bitten by bugs.

All so that they could play around plants no taller than shrubs.

Their parents played by the tall trees when they were young.

And yet it was the tiniest plants the little ones played among.

The elders encouraged the kids to play under the leaves and they did.

When the sun was too hot, they'd climb their heights and in their branches hid.

But they would always return to the field,

and from it their joy came in abundant yields.

In time the kids lost the time to play,

returning less and less as the years spread away.

As the kids retreated, the weather did not.

The greatest plants were well remembered, while the least were forgot.

Wind, rain, storms, and animals came.

Nature over time transformed the plain.

Only the hardiest and strongest plants came through,

and where once was a field, a young forest had grew.

The kids had their children , and  took them to the park they once knew.

Not all their old green friends had made it, but not all had been run through.

They recognized the trees in the forest. Only saplings in their youth.

Once wild and untamed, had in old age, became couth.

Time had been great to some of the foliage they'd enjoyed,

and now, their kids, on the same ground were deployed.

To the new parent’s dismay, the children ran out in the field,

Just beyond the new forest their parents held to an ideal.

They implored their kids to try playing in the forest.

And they did... for a time,

Epirus's Folly by xertris

by xertris

I once walked a thousand miles, and I was better for it.

My feet were covered in callouses, and I mostly ignored it.

Unsightly to the eye or screen, to those outside they looked gnarly and mean,

But they are a sign of the abilities I've gleaned.

So i don't bear their disgust, I enjoyed it.

by xertris

Pour, Ram, Aim, Shoot. Again and again the arquebusiers loosed.

First, Second, and Third rank fire. Hails of lead that rarely tire.

Shields crack, bones break, round after round flying through the gate.

Caltrops, fire pots, bullets, bombs, droves of men line by line fall.

Enemy inches towards the flag. their steps trampling their bodies to slag.

Cavalry passes  pike and crushes shields. Footmen falter and swordsmen yield.

Farther and farther  through arrows they slay. Archers morale ebbs and decays.

Lance's piercing body and heart, a single gap, and the route will start.

The riders eyes brighten as they see, the back-line and artillery.

A few

by xertris

Rudolf the emo reindeer,

Had a very ancient power,

and if you ever saw it,

Your spirit would surely sour.

All of the other reindeer,

tried their best to steer clear.

They never let poor Rudolph,

Talk or even get near.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,

A unicorn came to say,

"Rudolf out here on your own,

Could you point me back to home?".

Then all the reindeer shuddered,

As they shouted out with fear,

"Rudolf the demon Reindeer,

Will take your soul from you dear!".

Unicorn: Wait what?

*eldritch feeding noises*

by xertris

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builds and breaks the soul.