Yirin O'Yule
On the back of his mule
Rode to the cliff-side city
But naught did he know
That where he did go
Had long since slid to the sea
With the family he'd not again see

A simple bright flower
Just now budding
On a breezy green hill
Overlooking a valley

The wind carried a soft voice
And a pleasant aroma
That mingled with each other
Dancing over a meadow

Then my attention turned
To a lone oak tree
Standing strong and tall
Yet ever gently shifting

I was at peace
So you can understand my dismay
When I opened my eyes
To an empty piano
And a bow on a stage

Tattered veil
And near transparent
Fluttering cloth
A lonely white dress
Inhabited by a frail figure

Perhaps once it cried
Though now all its tears
Have long been spent
Mourning something lost
That cannot be returned

And Ever shall it wander
The great forest wastes
Silent and somber
As it paces over ancient graves
Long covered by vegetation

Moonlight reflected
Off her long black hair

Pale skin illuminated
In lush sweet grass

Something sinisterly seductive
Hid behind her innocent smile

The closer she came
The darker the sky grew

Until the moon was covered
And I could see nothing

Her hand touched mine
In that inky darkness

I felt as if the sun
Would never rise again

And that thought
Filled me with pleasure

Love alone cannot save
Save alone for the love of God

I'm sure I knew you
In ages past
When the sun was brighter
And love did last
Beyond the surface
Of empty sweet words
To something deeper
Not felt or heard
And though to those days
I have always been drawn
None now remember
To where they have gone
Yet I am content
Simply to know
Such an age existed
So long ago

They say there is no God
Yet they bow to two gods
Not a city is without a shrine
Nor a home without their handiwork


Their gods are gifts not to be taken lightly
but they are not to be worshiped either
Their gods are appealing
Because you can change them


If you follow the laws of their gods
you would realize they stumble
Saying things contrary
To what they also call truth


They take pride in their facts
Yet often they crumble
And have to be rebuilt
From the ground back up


The worship of these gods will only grow
As they ever shift in the winds
Till the end of his days
May man bow down


To the gods of Science and Reason

A calm dusk
Rolls over the hills
Bringing the world
Into a quiet night

A distant owl calls
From deep with the woods
Signaling the animals
To return to its borders

The trees whistle gently
Swaying back and forth
As a curtain of black
Descends over the sky

And then there is silence
Or at least a different form of sound
As the hum of small creatures
Fills the now still night

The world is at rest
And in its sleep it dreams
Of things that were
And things that will be

The dawn will come
Though far off it be
For now the world sleeps
Below the shimmering stars

I heard the wind in the trees
As I walked along that old wall
Weathered by time and storm

I ran my hand along it
And soon came to a groove
Between two damaged stones
Curious I put my eye to it

I peered through the crack
In that ancient crumbled stone
And what I saw
I could scarce comprehend

Uncategorized geometric shapes
Rotated in place
Encompassing a single point
Of pure darkness

The point gave off
An almost visible aura
That filled my head
With an unknown emotion
Which I could only label
As a type of fear

It pulsated
Gently at first then grew
Until it rocked the very air
With its movement

As its stength waxed
The shapes began to twist
Contorting, falling apart
And then reforming themselves

It came to the point
Where I had to cover my ears
But it did no good
As the very fluid in them
Vibrated with the strange energy

Yet in an instant it was over
The darkness aswell as the shapes
Folded in on themselves
And took a new form

The form of a man
Moulded in eternal darkness

The entity seemingly looked
Directly at me through the stone
With midnight eyes
As dark and irredeemable
As the void itself

As quickly as it arrived
The being disappeared
In a wisp of smoke

And I heard the wind in the trees

As I stood upon the hill
Mist grew over the rocks

Jagged they stretched
Out of the ground

And sitting upon one of them
I noticed a peculiar figure

Drapped in a tattered cloak
It sat solemnly in the fog

I drew closer and introduced myself
But I recieved no reply

Then after a time the being moved
Bringing it's legs to the ground

As it did I jumped back
For it stood several heads above me

Though its presence encompassed me
It so moved forward to where I stood

As the figure stood before
I noticed time begin to slow

The being's cloak shifted in the wind
Revealed strange bones underneath

Time drew still and as it did
The cloaked figure spoke

"Raalm Nerakka Sitar.
What stands before you
Is insurmountable, and what lies behind You is unattainable. Yet as with your fathers before you, and those who would seek the gates, I will see you to the end."

With these words, the strange being
Bent down to my level

Staring into me
With his hollow eyes

And then he vanished
Along with the fog

There was once a young man
Wise beyond his years
Who talked of death
And how he had traveled it.

He said that death
Was not to be feared, but embraced
As something we have earned.
Our badge of honor as mortals.

A source of pride
In those far distant planes,
Where light and dark
Stretch unending.

After all he would say,
"We were the only ones brave enough
To plunge into mortality willingly."

Her fate was far worse than death
Fused to that ancient tree
An inseparable mass of delicate skin
And fragile bones

Like a macabre piece of art
Was she displayed in those dark woods
Her exposed ribcage showing
A bright red heart

Eternally pumping blood
Into a pool beneath the tree
Her skin pale white
And a sly smile on her face

Her deep green eyes
Enjoying every moment of her torture

I've sat at its edge and pondered it
This great gaping chasm
Unexplored and impossibly deep
Surely it must be unnatural
I thought to myself
That such a place
Should not exist on its own
I heard tales
That if one peered down
Into the abyss long enough
They would see what used to be
But I've been staring at it for days
Curious, wondering and expectant
But all I see is...


******* what the hell is that thing?

A discordance echoes among the stars.
Pleiades cries out
And Orion hangs his head,
For they know
What that pale red star brings.
A great and unseen calamity,
Whose course is set.
Predicted but forgotten.
The great judgment,
That they call Wormwood.

Man is alone in the universe
Because he is the first in the universe.
The great pioneer of mortality.


- Hadrian Veska

Far echoes
Resound from distant worlds
Reverberating melodies
Float through time

Ancient chords
Soaked in grandeur
A proclamation
Of what might be

Illuminated golden eaves
Incandescent swaying leaves
Rippling water steady, slow
Carry on to fall below

Weathered rock and twisting root
Cool ground beneath the foot
Cloudy sky and hidden light
Quiet, calm and peaceful night

In a far off land
Unknown to most
Lies a tilted City
On a dull grey coast

High on the rocks
Before the sea foam
Sat the ancient town
That none called home

No one inhabited
Its stone brick walls
Its little hovels
or dinning halls

I decided to explore
In the settlements wake
But as the night drew near
The ground began to quake

I slowly approached
Its time worn gate
And opened the city
As the hour drew late

Far off down the street
I noticed a light
That gently pierced the dark
Of this distant lands night

Making my way
Through the cobbled streets
I found an old sign
Written cursive and neat

As I read through its words
All I could understand
Was the town's name of Sur
The only in the land

Through the streets I walked
Past the houses and stores
Whose doors were all locked
And whose lights shone no more

But as I came to the square
Where the three roads meet
I was met by a strange
Yet pleasant heat

For a fire roared
In the center pit
But no one was there
By whom it was lit

As I stood in the square
I heard many a sound
Uttered from above
Beneath and around

It sounded as though
The town was alive
As it softly hummed
Rose and dived

I sat in this place
Til' the end of my years
Yet when I was gone
Still my voice you could hear

I had a dream that I was no more
I was free from my body
Free from the world
And all sense of physicality

I wandered the moon
Took in the ocean of storms
I peered into the void
And perhaps it peered back

For a moment I was still
Taking in the vast unknown
I watched the stars themselves
Fade in and out of existence

As I observed these things
I came upon a curious thought
That perhaps the universe
Was not inherently cruel

Things were born and died
Then were born again
Thus was the cycle
And ever would it be

When I awoke I was at peace
I now finally understood
What that feeling was
That had followed me all my life

That strange shiver
That comes upon us all
As if being watched
By an unknown observer

This was no ill omen
Just the simple presence
Of one of those far off souls
Exploring the universe as I had

A simple wanderer
Watching the eons pass by
From the ancient place
That we call sleep

Three of one and one of three
Silent humming set me free
Across the horizon beyond the skies
Twisting words that watch with eyes

Humble moon hanging low
Illuminate and cast its glow
Sunken earth and tangling root
Choking out a tender shoot

Broken rock and cursed refrain
Far off voice calling my name
Gravel road leading to shore
Devil cry and hunt no more

Far over the sea
With city sunken below
Do the waves fall away
Mythic islands to show

No men have voyaged there
Since the days of yore
When the moon was bright
And the sun shown more

For what was found there
Can not be explained
Nor would a return voyage
Have anything gained

On those islands
Where great salt mounds
That reached to the trees
And covered the grounds

But stranger still
Haunting to sight
Were the birds that nested
In the faint evening light

Great monstrous things
With deep purple eyes
And blacker than night
Their wings in the skies

Little is know
Of the strange avians or the crew
That sailed such islands
For only one man knew

Having survived the voyage
He lived in dread fear
Of those strange dark birds
As if they were near

And though everyday
He was coaxed to regale
He could never bring himself
To again tell the tale

Then one day he was gone
With grains of salt in his bed
Grand wings in the night
To carry the dead

Be still for a moment
Listen for an hour
Calm yourself
Commune with your heart
Release your fear and doubt
Your anxiety and pain
Spend time seeking
Spend time waiting
Wait upon the Lord
Be still and know
That He is God
Receive His peace
The joy of his Spirit
And His love everlasting

The boulder stood there
In the waning dusk
Towering before
The slopes of the mountain

Every evening I stopped
And watched the boulder
As the shadows grew
And the moon began to rise

It horrified me
Though I could not say why
Save for that it vaugely
Resembled a hunched giant

Not far from the rock
Was a smooth spot
I'm the side of the mountain
That look as though it was cut

I never dared go any closer
Walking past quickly
Something was not right
The night there seemed sinister

Carrying on with my life
I did not pass the boulder
For many days and nights
Occupied with my work

When I finally took that way again
Down past the mountain
The boulder was no where to be seen
And the smooth cut stone

Had turned a faint purple
Almost phosphorescent
Against the cool colors
Of that mountain night

On the sloping banks
Of Sinmar-Lein
The sun sinks low
And the moon does beam
Down to still waters
Clouded and deep
Hiding strange things
Their secrets to keep
Until time is 'ore
The world passed away
When the skies have gone dark
And the oceans turned grey
When all have forgotten
What lies there below
From legend to myth
And from myth to unknown

Don't set out to prove others wrong,
Set out to prove yourself right.

-Hadrian Veska

I tell myself once I find love,
I will never let go.
But I know how foolish that is.
I am weak.
I will stumble and fall.
I will take love for granted,
Even when I need it most.
I can only pray,

Someone is there too help me back up.

If I were to tell you
That things are about
To get much worse
You would not believe me

The fact that we are even made
To live in the first place is cruel
Everyone alive knows that
To a sickening degree

I have something
I want to show you some day
It alone remains
Always within my heart

As I lose track
I see your eyes
Fixed on that far horizon
Beyond the clouds

We pick up our pace
If only for a while
So that yesterday
Is not just a regret

For now I will follow
I want to believe
That we can reach
That distant paradise in your eyes

The last drops of moonlight
Fall into the sea
A silvery gold
Faint yet eternal

Sunken below deep waters
Never to rise again
Entombed in distant memory
And shrouded by indifferent waves

The wandering stars
Mourn her passing
That sweet watcher of night
Who guided us till the end

O Great Guardian Moon

Leaves fall
Flutter in the air
Sun shines bright
Causing a glare

Mountains stretch
Above the clouds
Birds chip
And call aloud

Just take it in
For what it's all worth
The scent of the forest
The Hum of the earth

The soft warm breeze
dancing about
The lush green trees
The tender sprout

The world is alive
And always will be
When I feel alone
This comforts me

The heavens now gone
The worlds ashen and barren
The great foe defeated
But at the cost of the earth

Longingly do I stare
Into the empty night sky
Contemplating my mistakes
And the shadows of the past

I must carry on
For all those myriads lost
Set the very moon back
Into its perfect orbit

Though my children are gone
I will wait patiently
Eons if I must
For them to return to me

Blow west wind for you I know
From you, I come and with you, I go
Carry seeds in the east to sow
And bring them home to you

In the dreamless dark
I saw the great stars
Far off, distant and bright

Though their light was pure
I could see them fading
Into the oblivion of the long night

I know not why
But it saddened me so
Though a dream I knew it to be

Shedding a tear
I awoke in my bed
The milkyway hung over me

I dreamed once more
And dreamed my last
Before the end
Before the past

Where in my mind
I glimpsed strange sights
Of far off shores
And soft warm lights

I knew not why
Yet I felt at home
As I watched the waters
Swirl and foam

A voice called out
From beyond the sea
And I knew in an instant
That it was for me

I tried to reach out
Grasp the words on the air
But they soon disappeared
To a long lost prayer

So I sat in the sand
As the sun sank low
And the world about
Ebbed and flowed

With the day turned to night
I opened my eyes
And awoke in my bed
To fire in the skies

Over colorless skies
Birds fly through the ground
As the rivers dry
And no one can be found

I walk the path
Under the black sun
As the planets bleed
And their colors run

I can feel watching eyes
Leaving their mark
As they bid me travel
Beyond the dark

So I continue on my road
That's clear without light
As I march ever on
Far into the Night

I sit against
The rising sun
It's been 5 days
Since I've seen anyone

I lie in dust
In the remnants of man
In his shattered cities
Never to rise again

I wander the black roads
Cracked and bare
Searching for life
If it could be found anywhere

I gaze out
On a field of graves
Pondering the world
How it took and gave

I sit against
The setting sun
It's been five years
Since I've seen anyone

No thought given
No message received
The great forests we know
Once oceans and seas
The deserts and wastes
Once tropical green
A cycle unending
Or so it would seem
But indeed it will end
And ends as we speak
For the thin veil is lifted
The sign we did seek
A potent sign hidden
Not without but within
The morning star rising
The end of all sin
A light now forming
And when it is done
We will be how we were
As when it had begun

Shadow wax
And shadow wane
Cast by the one
Who's left unnamed

He wanders about
In the dead of night
Feeding on fears,
And dreams of light

Perhaps you've seen him
that tall cloaked man
Who wanders the world
With scythe in hand

The stars are bound
Trapped inside hideous malformities
That now claim our sky
And all its light therein

They glide and twirl
With a sickening elegance
Carrying off our prisoner stars
Beyond where eyes can see

Pale white lanky beings
Noctural creatures
From where they came
None sure knew

But far off in the dark
Those odd beings cry
As if whining for their mother
Amid and chilled night air

None that have ever
seen the creatures remain
All we have are their horrid cries
Distant in the night

And perhaps that is for the better

The gentle mountain hums
A strange unknown song

Its low undertone
Reverberates through the forest below

Why the mountain sings is unknown
Though many say

The song is simply the dying meoldy
Of a thing buried long ago

Beneath that gentle mountain

The places there are that go forgotten
Through alleys at night down and to the left
Dim neon, wires, cracked pavement and smoke
Something always more obscure
Hidden further back and under
Than the most secret thing you know
The city turns in on itself at a point
Where places once known become strange and distant
As if despite their nearness
They've grown so very far
Ever churning and rearranging
As if with a mind of it's own
The city is restless
Stretching out that it might breathe
A cool breath of the still night air
Beneath the waiting stars

Down past those dark stairs
Twisting and swirling
Seemingly endlessly
Lies a shadowy empire

An empire not of the world
But of the mind
Kept in check only
By distant thoughts

Dreamed beneath idle moons

They ask you when you're growing up
"What do you want to be?"
Don't answer them.
It doesn't matter who or what you are,
It matters what you do.

A blank white screen
In a empty dark room

Far howling wind
And the rattling of bones

Thick closed curtains
Ever under watch

From sunken orbits
Devoid of occupants

There is no "balance"
Between good and evil

To be good
Is to be in harmony,
To be in harmony,
Is to be balanced

Evil has no place
In the universe


- Hadrian Veska

Mankind's greatest strength, is mortality.
If you don't believe me, ask the gods.

That is,
if any yet remain.


- Hadrian Veska

A silver blue light
Dimly illuminates the forest path

The moon hangs hidden
Behind the thick black trees

What season it was here
I could not be certain

But the air was chilled
And the muted colors surreal

The very trees seemed to breath
Exhaling long forgotten secrets

I continued on the forest path
That seemed to twist before my eyes

Losing all sense of direction
I sat at the root of a Gilrod tree

I closed my eyes and listened
Hearing a strange yet familiar tune

It was the humming of the Earth
That sweet and ancient song

The sound one can only hear
In the deep places of the world

That long ago
Have been forgotten

God loved us and made us
Yet left us alone
Giving us the choice
To make on our own

And that path before us
Is difficult at best
Where loved ones die
And are laid to rest

The world is cruel
And yet we all laugh and smile
If we can do that here
Imagine heaven for a while

No pain or heartache
For all are one
There's always light
For God is the sun

Everyone is family
And no one's left out
No schedules or deadlines
To worry about

Upon these thoughts
Can one not say
It was worth the wait
Of our earthly stay?

I think these things
On calm cool nights
When the west winds blow
From beyond the heights

When the world is quiet
And the stars my light
I close my eyes
And fade into the night

The key circles round to the lock
A lock which is known needs no key
A door that only faces inward  
On the outside has nothing to see

To open the way is to find yourself
Staring at the firmly locked door
To find the key is to notice
You've not needed a key here before

The way to ascend is much lower
Not up or through but behind  
So that door and its lock will remain
Until we let them leave our mind

Fate is never heavy handed
Only upon looking back
Can its gentle nudges be seen

- Hadrian Veska