#pre-void

Two circle each other

As men turned to monsters

The light of her crystal grows dim.

Refusing to slay them

Still calling them human

Her battle grows ever more grim.

Unable to seal them

And much less to heal them

Her options sink fewer than few.

Her gift fading, failing

And souls cursed and ailing

Her cause changed forever anew.

False night skewers the skies

The knight tells herself lies

Of justice and peace through dark force.

To a false god’s fell grip

Would mind of monsters slip

Knight’s charge could not change her dark course.

To atone for her sins

While her once-love now grins

She sacrifices all for her.

The new master is bound

In dark chains tightly wound

Which she hoped would last forever.

Yet as her cause was just

And she did what she must

Black masked one could only forgive.

Little dark bound to knight

Giving up all her light

Once there was a tinkerer. A genius. A scholar. She poured her heart into her craft, of strings, of joints, of wood, of steel. Until armour sang and danced with joy.

Yet it all felt so hollow.

She pushed. She strove. She learned. She made breakthroughs in arcane and smithing both. Until the people lauded her genius for forging life itself.

Yet something was still missing.

Where once there was passion, the hearth of her heart grew cold. Grew empty. Grew dry as sand. She still made strides of brilliance, and gained accolades aplenty.

Yet she had all but given up.

Once again, in ages long past,

Two scoured lands, ever more vast.

Through kingdoms of stone and of clockwork.

A city of silk where treachery lurked.

Their goal of a land of everlasting light

Brought three challengers, brimming with might.

A master of puppets, of clay and steel.

A shadow of a man leading idols of zeal.

Last, a vessel; whose host begot dark.

Though each was slain, they had played their part.

The duo found quickly, their efforts in vain.

Their foes had long finished their great work of pain.

Yet worse still, through deaths with no meaning

Once there was a girl, who clung to false hope, and a knight on the brink of death. Bereft of purpose, and soon to fall in battle, the girl gave the knight the first of two gifts.

A gift of might and crystal, that a fell beast could be slain.

But this gift was a curse, the girl knew and feared.

With no castle, no Lord nor Lady, and no order to speak of, the knight swears an oath of gratitude to the girl for her gift. Peering into her soul, the knight is given her second gift.

A gift of hope and paradise, a promise of eternity.

But this hope was a curse, the girl knew and feared.

Still, the knight persisted; clinging to this flame. A promise of deliverance to the girl.

Still the girl followed; she harboured fear of this dream.

Once upon a time, there was a man. He was not special. That much was certain.

For this reason, he pushed himself to be better.

He learned much to push away his ignorance.

He trained his body to push away his weakness.

He bewitched many to push away his loneliness.

One day, he was given a chance. A chance for greatness. That much he hoped.

For this goal, he pushed himself.

He applied his knowledge to this great work.

He fought and slew for this purpose.

He brought life to gods for a cause beyond his ken.

Yet, no matter how hard he toiled, it was useless. He was disposable. That much he feared.

He threw himself to this goal.

He worked wonders and horrors.

He pleaded to his masters.

Once upon a time, there was a knight. For scores of summers, she was raised to protect a shining jewel which breathed warmth and life into the land.

Time and time again, greedy souls coveted the jewel.

Time and time again, her sisters pushed them back.

One day, the knight asked her sister, “Why do we fight?”

“That crystal must not fall to greed.” She said. “Else the world as we know it shall cease to be.”

One day, a beast of flame came to devour the jewel. “Why must you fight?” It bellowed. “I am divine, as you shall see.”

One day the knight fought, yet it felt like ten thousand, until beast, servant, and sister were slain. “Why did it come to this?” She begged. “What is my reason to be?”

Once, there was a girl, who loved her world very much. She saw the forests and fields, and cherished the calming greens. But the green always gave way to brown, and even grey.

She saw the breathtaking skies, and thanked the gods for the vast blues and light of day, and the amber glow of morning and nightfall, and even the distant night stars. But it was not always clear.

She saw the distant seas, and greeted people from near and far. But the sea was not always kind.

She prayed upon a shooting star, for this beauty to outlive her lifetime. But she only glimpsed eternity in dreams.

Lamenting her dreams and the distance from reality, her cold despair was met with hope in the depths of winter. A sagacious woman, to whom shadow could not touch, gave her hope again.

“It will be ours again.” She said. “This world, free of sorrow.”