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

- Hadrian Veska

First to rise
Second to see
All creation
On bended knee

Third of heaven
And fourth of night
One that was
Before the light

Fifth to watch
And last to stand
Above the ashes
That once were man

Skilled with his hands
In forming the clay
But not with his words
As many did say
He spoke with water
And his spinning wheel
A man of no words
Yet one could feel
The struggles he had
In the vessels he made
Without signal or voice
A message conveyed
That indeed we all toil
Beneath a ceaseless sun
Striving to reach again some day
The Garden in which we begun

I stood there in that strange room
Which occupied neither time or space
In the center sat a massive machine
Operated by an imposing figure

I could not make out the entity
For it wore as its helmet and mask
The skull of some long extinct species
That was beyond my imagination

At first it took no notice of me
But when it reached a lull in its work
The being turned its head towards me
As it did the entire room vibrated

Standing up it dwarfed me in size
Several heads above me
The being's limb were long and lanky
And its demeanor frightening

But my journey had led me here
I couldn't turn away empty
So I stood before the extra physical being
And awaited its judgement

After a time it hissed and vibrated at me
Yet in this realm I understood it
It spoke to me in simple terms
Saying that all I knew had been destroyed

What I had known as the universe
No longer existed
I was currently in a place outside it
A place beyond the gates of night

My goal was simple
To save all of creation
Though it had already perished
At the hands of those vacuous beings

Creatures that hailed from a place
Immemorial and inconsistent
Where darkness reigns
And all light is extinguished

The entity before me
Was my only chance at salvation
The room vibrated once more as he spoke
And then a swirling portal opened

The silent being bid me pass through it
He told me I would find someone there
Who could assist in my grand quest
Though even I knew where the portal led

It led to an ever deepening void
An ancient prison
Meant to house gods
Or things far worse

Frozen moon in deep antiquity,
Locus of the great facility;

Where myriad souls silent wait,
For the long since coming fate.

Stars go out and fall in space,
The tugging of a loosened lace.

They come, they will, and in their hand,
Time lies broken leaking sand.

A lone dimming light
Was all that remained

A white dwarf star
On the verge of death

The star recalled its youth
In ages long past

Where once many species
Lived beneath its nurishing light

Now there were none
And had not been for untold millenia

Only one of the thousands
Had survived the star's long life

And they had left its heliosphere
Many eons ago

But the fading star took solace
That its ancient light

Might yet reach them
For untold cycles to come

As a single point of hope
A reminder of home

There was a magnificent burst of light
Followed by a stellar silence

Vibrant colors and gases
Suspended where the sun once was

A brilliant newborn nebula
To mark that ancient stars grave

And perhaps its children
might return one day

And pay their respects
To the long dead sun

Two in the nest
And twelve in a box
Cold winter morning
Thick wool socks

A sunrise song
Red against white
From snow covered trees
Their maiden flight

Out the window
It may seem cold
Yet the world is full
Of stories to be told

Moonless and still
Will the raven stars rise
The heavens to swell
In the far eastern skies

The moon imbues it
With sterile gravity
A hefty weight
That has grown with the ages
Drink from the cup
That the moon doth fill
Drink from it swiftly
That your blood may boil
Intoxicated and muted
Glimpse ever so briefly
What lies beyond the thin veil
Then parish
For fear that what you saw
Might turn and see you

They tore them all down
Raised our cities and ports
Until only one yet stood
The tower city of Babel

From there we were scattered
But not before some of us escaped
Launched beyond the stars
Our desperate and final hope

If any survived
Or if through the millennia
Our children rise again
We left a hidden guide

When the time is right
The Black Knight will appear
Bearing that forgotten message
That will unite us once again

In the light
Of strange and distant suns

A solitary wanderer
Known only to a few
He walked the path
Under the ancient yew


Across vast forests
And places of the deep
Through frozen lands
And forgotten keeps


Not a seeker of wealth
Or for that matter fame
Whenever he was asked
He'd not tell his name


Ever forging on
Beyond the edge of earth
To one day find
His own life's worth


He became a hero
To those lost in the dark
A beacon of hope
Wherever his mark


And though he was lost
Disappeared long ago
His tale carried on
So that all may know


Of the forgotten story
Great myth passed by
The legend of a man
Known only as I

Ill words drip like molasses,
And then hang in the air.
Swirling slowly,
Never wholly,
Said with any care.

Eyes we are none
And none do we see
Down in the vaults
Of antiquity

Ever to guard
Vigil without sight
The tomb of one lost
Beyond the still night

A stumbling shape
Of undetermined form
Not flowing,
But twisting and contorting

Bent beyond breaking
Like a young green branch
It calls out in pain
With a silent voice it beckons

Hoping to be heard
Against the drowning dark
But there is no answer
Nor will there ever be

I watch them pass
Perhaps far away
Perhaps close by
I can no longer tell

Their movements are strange
Loose and half ethereal
As thought they walk the earth
On legs not trained by it

The sky I once knew
Is not where it used to be
And neither is my heart
In this strange world

The heavens drip
And the stars look fragile
Laying at the bottom
Of an ever blackening sea

I'm foolish.
I know its true,
But they tell me I am foolish
For all the wrong reasons.

They tell me I'm foolish
For believing in something more;
For not buying in
To the nihilism of the day.

They tell me I'm foolish
For not accepting their truth,
When they themselves
Call truth relative.

I know I'm a fool
And I know I'm not wise,
But I'm not dumb enough
To believe this is all chance.

That you and I,
The plants and trees,
This beautiful world,
And the stars above,

Where all a grand accident.
Systems upon systems
Arising from nothing
For no purpose at all.

Even a fool can see
That there is something more,
Something more to this life
Than random chance and time.

There is a brilliance in everything,
From an atom to a galaxy.
Everything is connected
Because that is the way they were made.

Not a slow mindless progression
Of positive accidents
That somehow across millennia
Produced irreducibly complex systems,

But a guided process,
By a steady hand.
Giving everything its purpose,
Including you and I.

It is no wonder the meaning of life
Is asked so often,
By people who deny
That life has any meaning.

The meaning was there all along,
Whether it is denied or not.
There it yet remains
Patiently waiting.

For the simple eyes of a fool,
Who sees things as how they are
And not how someone else
Wants them to be.

The sky was dark and overcast
A solemn warm rain fell down
On a field of dead bodies
Rays of dim grey light
Pierced through thick clouds

They walked among the battlefield
That was now all but silent
The only sound to be heard
Were broken banners blowing in the wind
And hollow footsteps pressing into the mud

They always appeared after battle
Surveying the death and destruction
Kneeling and sharing their sorrow
Those ancient souls of war
That fought when the sun was still young

Great warriors long forgotten
To the places they once called home
Courageous heroes of old
Cursed to walk for all eternity
Those Knights of the Fallen Earth

He came from the seas
With fire at his back
His homeland shrouded in smoke

For days he walked
Below the old stars
Sleeping beneath the tall oaks


Until he came to a church
Abandoned and near ruined
A place of the gods that he knew

Removing his armor
He kneeled down and prayed
While behind him long shadows grew

In the midst of his orison
Did he fall into sleep
Brought not by his own weary mind

Then down he was dragged
In dream and in space
Never once looking behind

Fallen victim he had
To the Queen of these lands
Who none would ever suspect

A sly young pythoness
Herself ensnared
Chosen as the Hollow One's elect

Did you see the great white pyramids
Before the oceans swallowed them whole?
Did you see the great colossus
Before his head rested on a shoal?

Did you hear of far off empires
Plated in gold and amber sweet?
Did you watch the distant storms
Bringing rain over endless fleets?

And did you see that great star
That fell headlong into the sea
And froze the world over
Ages before you or me?

Did you witness the human spirit
That refused to fall or die
Though his monuments had crumbled
And his children began to cry?

Are you proud to call those forebears
Your fathers from of old
And will you carry their mantle
and build a better world?

Unto the sun
Walk and burn
Our feathers singe
When will we learn
That distant mirage
Shifting and sweet
Serves nothing more
Than aching feet
Yet walk we do
In vain march on
Not breaking rank
Until we are gone

She's out there waiting for me they said
Those tales I heard and stories I'd read
So through the world I did tread
With a hope in my heart

But after too long I realized
No perfect woman would materialize
So that passionate fire left my eyes
As I searched for something more

I wandered the great green woods
Beneath towering fir and hood
Hoping to bring about some good
And better myself too

Then I settled down and lived well
Found a place where I could dwell
The place where I met Renrael
The only woman for me

The one I set out to see

Little one lost
On the edge of the sea
Little one lost
Hoping to be free

Deep green waters
With an overcast sky
Oh how he wished
That he could fly

Up beyond the clouds
And the world below
Where the sun shines bright
And the stars all glow

With his eyes closed
He dreamed such things
As the rain fell down
On growing wings

We are afriad.
Now, more than ever.
Turn off your tv,
Your phone,
Your computer.
Just listen,
Watch.

And you will understand why.

A dozen no more
And one yet in store
To wipe the slate clean
And end the long war

So few yet remain
If anything's to gain
It will be so those young
Might not know our pain

I smile and wave
Day by day
As the seasons come
And pass away

I couldn't take care of you
Though I tried my best
So they took you away
At my own request

I wanted to give you
Your own path to choose
But if you stayed with me
You could only lose

It was the hardest thing
I've ever had to do
But I know it was right
To give it to you

That chance I never had
To be happy and grow
Safe and secure
Though you'll never know

Who I am
Or what I've done for you
But that's ok
All you need to do

Is smile and wave back
As the seasons roll by
That's all it'll take
To make this old man cry

To love, one must first learn
To know and love themselves.
Without this understanding,
There can be no such thing as love.
Only simple infatuation.

A desire to fill the empty space,
Where self should reside.


- Hadrian Veska

Where is the world that might yet be
Beautiful, tranquil, calm and free

It is here still and may yet be found
Careless buried below shallow ground

Should we ever stand to then pursue
The world it is that once we knew

We shall find it was waiting before us

Patiently all along

Hazy and grey
With a blueish tinge
As if somewhere behind it
The sky I knew still existed

The rain slanted down
For hours without letting up
There was no wind
And it seemed unnaturally quiet

Every so often a car would pass
And I myself would pass
In and out of consciousness
On the uncomfortable love seat

I had left the window open a bit
But the few times
I found myself awake
I could not will myself to close it

Something about that dull light
Muted, distant and deep
Lulled me to sleep
And put my dreams at ease

For I did not wake again

The sky is overcast today
I feel as though it’s an omen
Of what I am not certain
But it will remain
In the back of my mind
Until I self fulfill
The prophecy I set for myself

The waters stirred before creation itself
A dark void of ancient things
Filled with unknown terrors
And deathless monstrosities

All these primordial creatures
Were slaughtered in due time
With the rise of man
And his endless ambitions

Yet some say they were not all destroyed
And that one of them yet lives
Sleeping in solitude
Below the thick black waves

And with the departure of the stars
He will dream once more
Waking from his slumber
To fill our world with eyes

In the forests Menumel
The dark forests deep
Lies a creature alone
Never to sleep

From long days of yore
Has she struggled alone
The last of her kind
In a world not her own

No children to love
Over the growing years
Only hunters and warriors
Without thoughts or fears

Until such a time
In far flung days
A child appeared
In that forest maze

He stood before her
Broken in tears
Scorned by his own
Through out all his years

He wept before her
Expecting the worst
But in that childless creature
Was a heart that had burst

She embraced him close
And softly said
You are not alone
And never will be again

From then on they lived
A strange family
Never leaving each other
Both happy and free

I watched him walk backwards
With each step he aged a decade
Until he was nothing
But weathered bones and dust

I knew not who he was
Or what he accomplished in life
I knew only his fate
And the time he had before it

"Don't strive to know everything,
because everything has a habit of changing more often than you would think."

-Hadrian Veska

Alabaster dyed
A trembling voice sighed
Sheets of amber gold
Someone close to hold

For when the world
Washes away

Longingly, wistfully
In the garden at night
Does she bathe in the moon
With its dull silver light

Its craters rippled
Below the deep sky
In a crescent pool
Where the stars now lie

And there in the stars
Or what now remain
Does she sing her last song
With brontidal refrain

A singular symphony
Of all that could be
In a future unshackled
From darkness set free

Though now the light fades
And tall shadows grow
Her song reaches out
That all might know

Hope yet remains
In this long coming night
As the moon still stands
Reflecting dead light

Come we must away
Down a path never walked
Through towering forests
And the depths of the earth

Ever wanderers shall we be
No matter how long our journey
Or to what secret places we go
There is no place we call home

Yes wanderers are we
Both cursed and blessed
Beyond all measure
With the night as our blanket

And the moon our only friend

There is such a thing as morality.
Its proof is evident in guilt.


-  Hadrian Veska

Every night at the alter
Would she pray in the dark
To honor the martyrs below

Though lonely she was
She never complained
Forsaken in far northern snow

As the long years past
She fell weak and ill
Though old age she did not know

Alone there she died
With cold lips of ice
And in her stead darkness did grow

The thick grass gently blew in the dusk air
Every evening I would make my way
Through the dense and deep green
To that lone tree sitting on a hill


From there I would simply watch
The stars above in their distant glory
Marking the constellations
And the occasional shooting star


This night was no different
I made my climb up the grassy knoll
And laid beneath the old oak tree
Turning my eyes towards the heavens


The night sky was vast and full
Of far off light that just now
May be reaching our planet
For the first time


I wondered what the point
Of such far off suns may be
But my thoughts were interrupted
By an even brighter light in the sky


All too quickly did I realize
That it was something falling
Into the Earth's orbit
And it would land very near me


I quickly slide down the hill
Hoping to get out of the object's path
Looking back I realized however,
It was much smaller than I initially thought


In an instant it landed
With a great flash of light
And a loud impact
Into the very tree I had laid under


When the smoke cleared I slowly walked
Towards the smoldering tree trunk
And peered at that object
That had fallen from space


It was some sort of crystal
Or luminescent rock
Cautiously I reached for it
To see if it had cooled


I noticed the closer my hand got
To the strange space rock
The brighter it became
Until it almost pulsated with a deep red glow


With this glow could I see
That there was something inside the crystal
A black shape
Of unknown form or mass


Curiosity getting the better of me
I continued to reach towards the rock
Whose strange luminescence
Only seemed to increase


Then I touched the fallen meteroite
Nothing more than a brush of the fingers
Across its smooth crystalline surface
And something strange happened


I heard a voice
Distant and deep
In a language I could not understand
Yet somehow its meaning was clear


The message was not long
A deep desperation in the speaker's voice
Urged him to make it quick
And soon it was over


All I could think
Once my head returned to silence
Was that it was coming
That primordial darkness

From beyond the Gates of Night


And with its coming
Would the heavens be torn asunder

A dream of eyes
Ever watching
From distant nebula
Perceiving all

A steady gaze
Piercing through
The stars themselves
Intently waiting

For the signs
To appear in the heavens
The dimming of the stars
And the waning of the light

Oh how fragile,
Delicate and tender
One day broad,
The next day slender

From what direction
Might the wind blow
Ought not question,
For we do not know

We know but little
Only that we are
But that is enough
I don't have to go far

To see the great splendor
Of a starry night sky
And if the stars aren't out
I'll just look in your eyes

The human condition
Is a term loosely thrown around
But few truely know
What it means

The human condition
Is entitlement
Man believes he is the master
Of all that lays before him

If this belief were not so
He would never have left
His primodial forests and caves
Content in his own ignorance

Man takes what he wants
Until there is none left
And then he build for himself
What is not provided

He have bent this world
To conform to his will
And the very stars themselves
Are now within his grasp

Soon, there will be
A great reckoning among the heavens
For once man reaches out to the stars

He will not let go

I've grown lonely
And tired of faking
Composed on the outside
But inside I'm shaking

The world is deafening
But my head is silent
My thoughts swirl
Tempting and violent

What I wouldn't give
For a passing smile
A kind gesture
To make it worthwhile

But I'm alone in this world
And painfully so
No one understands
And no one will known

That behind the smile
Hidden deep down
Is a broken person
Hoping to be found

The flame eludes us
Passed to the west long ago
Gone into hiding
It does not wish to be found
The dread hunt it
As they have for generations
Across seas of water and sand
Now more than ever
Does our fate lie in finding it
To rekindle what we’ve found
Buried so deep below
To be our salvation
From the ever looming moon

Hush now restless child
Listen to the world
Let it speak to you
For it has much to say
But none left who will listen

Hear the gentle breeze
And watch the calm waters flow
Lay your weary head down
Close your heavy eyes
And hear our mother's heart

Walk among the great trees
Sit and gaze at the dusk torn sky
Watch the rain fall
Soaking into the earth
And see life return

When you have seen all these things
And when you are ready
Stand up from the dirt
And rise once more
To follow your fate

And chase your destiny
Across our fallen stars

In passing,
Someone said they knew me.
I was astonished,
For they knew what I did not.


- Hadrian Veska

Darkly, darkly ever do they sing
The trees of old filled with dark wings
The song of death, the end and decay
Ever resounding, eternally grey

Beaks and bones, sinews and flesh
Spoiled things, a moss ridden mesh
Ash in the sky and clouds on the earth
Nothing now left of any real worth

The fields and houses smolder in the rain
The war has raged for so long
All reason for it has passed out of memory
Now ashes and charred bones
Are all that remain

The sound of thunder rumbles in the distance
But I know better
It is the sound of those ancient machines
That walked before the war began
And ever since have continued their march

Occasionally you could catch a glimpse of them
Through the smoke and haze
Great hulking constructs of a bygone age
Ever churning and grinding
Shaking the earth with every step

Perhaps these wars might end
If the masters of these machines
Were still around to stop them
For now their endless march will continue
On to the destruction of all mankind

The graves we pass are nameless
Weather worn and old
The mausoleums slumber
Dreamlessly to hold
The bones of those before us
Whomever they may be
Beneath the wonderous moon
And weeping willow tree

We have our problems
Yeah I know
There are some places
We need to grow
But all I want
Wherever I go

Is you right there
Beside me