Beside her blueberry carriage,
Arranged to golden marriage,
Ran six purebred horses, carrying blue upon gloves,
Hands around both reins and spear,
Looked onward towards the waking fear,
No vassals opposed to our stay and goes,
Could bring the stench of defeat up to my nose,
Our family knows best, since it was us who brought them down,
Ripped free from dragon skulls, a hefty well-deserved crown.
Cruel emerald tendrils, rooted in betrayal,
Scrapped against her insides, cutting wounds to bleed,
Often her agony tempted cries to ring out, but fear clenched her choice,
I was born a snake, so I will live as such.

Andulan grew tired of the rocky road ahead,
It prevented her from resting her head,
Against her sorely missed entitlement.
Those **** vines, running alongside my natural veins,
Have they no respect for their own host?
Ever since green mixed with white,
Trusted, swallowed, filled with light,
Against a suddenly shaded backdrop, that slunk away,
That door creepily closed, as if by itself.
Discomfort would break engagement against ground,
Her present was often plucked down back to pain,
That angelic body of mine, assigned by father and given by mother,
I'll never have another...

Decimated and piled upon soaked wagons,
Carted in by droves, dead flesh once proud to stand ready,
Beside admirable men, women and a cause worth dying for,
Many voices, stilled by thoughts of we'll be without.
Implored them to check their doubt, but they wanted rain for drought,
Windows caressed by holy light, no vile sounds behind to blind or misguide,
From arms the forge would glow, returning status to unspecified use,
Abuses avenged and directed from future paths, would bring legitimate tears,
To all surviving souls,
I'm in need of men like you, wielding music as a tool to shatter crests of oppression,
Will you join our cause and bring pause to that symphony?

John supported their cause,
by raising voice above the noise,
Collected in Rick's mind.
Numberless melodies both new and old,
Offered him tales still left untold,
Prying wouldn't do, Sharin taught him modesty,
Politely ask them why, the notes above them tremble so.
Relevancy is the key to action she told him, never open a locked box,
Check to see if its lid is slightly freed, if not move on to the next melody,
Salvation is denied by those unreceptive to it, a sign its not needed,
Is the sound of life well lived.

These weren't hardened heroes,
Nor men with knees to bend.
He wouldn't offer them candy, or a cup of brandy.
Wine tasted awful, swill fit for fools,
Prienne's fearful tools.
Stillness gave them measure, much more than beyond,
Song was a weapon he had no means to produce,
Vocal cords of such quantity couldn't bring odds to bear,
Upon the likeliest of hoods that could wrap around his head,
Full of idealism, hopes of freedom and amnesty,
From an execution savored by the cleansed palate,
Of Toblin's passed on habit.
Lifted by a song leashed fellow,
Final crows and ravens would bellow,
As age revealed him a discheveled fellow.
Beneath a shroud of regret.
That blade could whistle his name but,
A crowd of ravenous onlookers,
Engorged on death and bloodied wine,
Wouldn't say his name in time.

Cornelius wanted loyal soldiers,
More creases added to the fold,
But bluntly he was told,
Such tactics were too old.
Lest we all burn in owned fires,
Song must replace silence, for it is venom,
Tainted song is the same, sinister and deadly,
Sharin sheltered sanctified shepherds,
Gladly guiding hands away from one's own demons,
Towards new purpose, reason away from destruction,
Bathed in loss we shook off the rain and dried ourselves.
In her teachings we found our broken bodies renewed by determination,
Hard fought joy amidst the urge to just lay down,
Counting our last syllables.

He said what he had said before,
A nose not stranger to bloodiest gore,
Turned a hand to beckon closed door,
Locked and barred bendwise and hammered,
By the eyes of many battles.
They simmered with experience, drew a handbook out,
Laid before them as such options were plentiful,
Should these street hooligans, singing and playing for free,
Prove to be sorest enemy, agents of Toblin's freshly minted son.
Still hot and brash from command's ascent.
Prienne's mind wasn't one to be weighed by age alone,
His talents lead chessmasters to weeping chambers,
He'd dine at dinner wearing a bib of success,
No challengers exist for my skills to test,
A fact he had to acquiesce.
Savoring the sounds of old crones and men alike,
Unaccustomed to losing control of the light,
A candle lit as sole companion, they'd given life to master,
An art he merely dabbled triumphantly.

Richard played his violin.
Softly granting music place,
It calmed his nerves, made anxiety hide.
Where war raged, song assuaged.
John's axe tinged an affirmation,
As did Kevin's righteous sword,
Albert strummed a longing chord,
Wishing to be a beloved singularity,
Betwixt Christopher and Richard playing mirthfully,
Admist a crowd of lightened hearts,
Those centermost melodies freed from fear,
Would dance around an apple tree,
Composed of just us three.

They were offered seats but chose to stand,
Each musician stopped playing, setting their instruments down,
Each singer cleared their throats and revealed their weapons for all to see,
Placing each up against a wall,
Rick made haste to the northern window overlooking the bailey,
Common folk scurried through musical rifts easily punctured,
Sharin taught him to watch life's song through gifted eyes,
Only he could see fate unfolding as past decisions morphed into consequences,
Though one could hedge themselves against wasteful inaction, unforseen frailties,
Could always manifest to dash well laid plans, he'd wanted to be a natural archer,
But his hands failed him in this request, sickness had run down to his four extremities,
Hopeful medicine did naught to save him, that is when song stepped in.
She said she refused to allow him to die so young, useless and dispirited,
So she inscribed dual songs of ability where there was none, taught him to carry a tune in his head.
Intense mental training allowed his mind to move deadened flesh,
Nerves that could no longer receive organic messages could now move themselves,
Legs and feet could travel across terrain while his hands could grasp once more,
The hands of a girl he fancied, her innocence and priorities pulled away from him,
Carol I'll break you free if I have to do so with my death...
Should Rick test desire against conscience, he could pinpoint their core melodies,
And bring about their silence.

A gentle knock at his door,
As two escorts followed doggedly,
John turned the **** and walked into,
Cornelius's study, a room he only frequented,
When injury had befallen him or he needed to,
Escape emotional stress or old ghosts.
More times than he cares to admit,
Has this man kneeled before dying allies,
People of all stages, slipping beneath the black.
Those he should've been there for, could've saved if,
His justice was only faster than song, swifter than Venom.
Sharin's adept stood silently wrapped in respect,
Cornelius turned to face them, taking off his reading glasses,
A brown bearskin coat reassured him as he rose, sinking both arms inside,
He faced his audience with a stern, confident soldier's facade, one that,
Demanded recognition from all around.

John shortened his name for the occasion,
Removed his axe's scowl, replacing it with glimmering smile.
Songforged steel given the humming heartbeat of Sharin,
Filled the staircase leading to Cornelius's study,
With the subtle suggestion of song to come.
Kevin kept his throat clear and ready,
On a Kiligrind he'd let loose a melody,
To push back the ill-intent of a would be assailant,
Freeing his person to gauge the best way forward,
Towards effective retaliation.
Paul placed his hands around his Pole-arm's direction,
Keeping it bend-wise between his path and place,
Gloves given by choices made to acquire,
Gripped granted wood, knowing its holy place was still safe,
An area where silent rhymes still soothed his mind,
He knew without knowing, felt without feeling that,
Sharin is sleeping well today...

Johnathan stepped first onto stairs,
Built to lift those below to status above,
Looming over a desperate campaign given form,
From hope shed a chance for more,
Stone sourced from many perils,
Donated in secret from those still leashed to slavery,
It was determined that Rick stand at last back.
To glimpse at tragedy's finale opportune moment.
It was a hastily constructed, mixed kingdom of ragged stone,
Colors arranged without taste or fashion, since neither is practical,
In times of war.

At the keep where he was kept,
Sleeping awake above books of little interest,
Cornelius had his guards welcome old friends,
To stand within his company.
Red was reinforced by blackened scales,
Of halting persuasion, no blade could cross,
Bend-wise, down, left or right,
Only forward against advance,
Would blows receive that which was kept,
Inside their insistence that,
Mankind's destiny not bow.
Before the command of Song or Venom.
A closed decision, offered no openings.
Slammed shut vapid covers, returned to shelves installed by father.
The scholar king, it was said he was the most well-read Farth of all time,
Far from me to judge a man whose charisma rallied freedom to blossom,
In fields of comfortable servitude, against his cruel edict, abuse was accepted,
Even loved before its passing from this world, the light stung, the darkness comforted,
Daytime's burning insults.

We fight for the people,
Sing for life's sake,
Keeping the will to live awake,
Never drop into despair,
We'll soon be there,
Bearing not blue upon gloves,
Nor Crests of encompassing gold.
We'll free the blue and send it back,
To replace the grey above.
Paul placed the end of his Pole-arm,
With a hurry to a block of cobblestone,
A rounded, choice rod of wood,
Taken with acceptance from Sharin's orchard,
He can give us apples no more,
His branches are barren, such as I.
We must grant him final purpose,
Chop him down to usefulness.

Rick thought it a fitting jape.
To send a letter to Cornelius's attention,
Astride an arrow enlightened by lyrics,
None save Sharin's own could ever hope,
To do justice.
Born from wood felled by effort against weakness,
Loosed by a man at peak performance,
Trespassed the scarlet black king's sanctuary above weapons,
Announcing their arrival.
A common knife, cracked open a waxy permission.
It hummed with a melody that sang only Cornelius,
May open my trust and read,
My heart.

Cornelius had holed himself up in his study,
Reading useless books, nursing an injured arm.
He'd obtained a spearhead to the bicep and now,
Turning a page took a dozen seconds,
Countless moments he'd see repaid,
Shaken loose from blue upon gloves,
Clutching gold cages keeping innocent blue,
From knowing the truth.
It was the most he could do to contribute,
His skills were taken from him presently,
Pain forced relent when pride refused to back down.
Past war rage kept his blood boiling,
From a mason's window he saw Sharin's legacy,
Conversing and lifting sodden spirits,
Bringing dry to the drowned,
Mirth to the melancholy.

Puddles of old raindrops,
Fog nipped at those wettened edges,
Dew collected on their uniforms,
Fitted just for them,
Many times had she resewn them,
Each time cutting fingers,
Opening old wounds that bled,
It wasn't her territory and yet,
She endured for them.
Johnathan remembered telling her no,
I'll do it myself, she smiled and handed his torn clothes,
To nothing more than ten.

It was Sharin's will that kept them,
From death's solitary company.
Only once satisfied and ready,
Would they return to her side.
Many Sharin's ago dragons learned respect,
As protective music saw their supremacy challenged,
It was despair that threatened them most,
Sharin held them close,
With invisible arms that enclosed,
Around mankind in darker times,
Composed of many efforts,
Leaving none ununited.

Johnathan detested abject poverty,
While bringing riches to the poor,
They'd drank deep of it before,
However by this time they'd grown emaciated,
Rick remarked how their sisters had been claimed by Toblin,
Trapped by crests of blue held in gold,
We'll free them when the time is right,
I promise you.

Each Sharin adept,
Walked at a considerate, gradual pace.
Instructed to never rush a performance,
They intended to let it dictate for them,
The proper time and place.
An audience scheduled days before,
They closed Sharin's door, bid her memory farewell,
Trotted out into the newness of it all,
Here in a spot nestled at the sea's edge,
Colored black by tides of mystery,
Desire would bring the seven humble brothers,
Before the king of Castle Sanguinair,
The kingdom's top archer,
Back before age dethroned and replaced him with,
Nobody.

Richard strummed his harp,
Filling the streets ahead with music incomplete,
Albert ran his bow across his violin's supple wooden frame,
Each string shook as if startled, bringing sound to music's playground.
While Christopher placed wet lips above his flute's tone hole.
Breathing in to bring balance to the foreground.
Together each element cultivated sound unmistakable,
Someone had opened her tomb, broke her free from silence,
Sharin walked the earth once more.
Faces turned to observe the seven humble performers,
Armed well with verse and musical talent.
Rick watched with an arrow ever ready.
He'd only need think and it would follow,
Passing through and through.

Paul was the fourth to appear,
Wielding a pole-arm he'd made from,
Fallen spears modified to remove,
Deceit from naked steel, given new clothes,
Of black and red.
Traveled four nights and sixteen hours,
To Sharin's trust, a place inhabited by craftsmen,
Blacksmiths of good report.
Fashioned him a weapon of last resort.

Kevin stood by Johnathan's right side,
Inches from an axe covered by lambskin,
Dried and made in their old home,
An orchard, orphanage and music school,
All wrapped up in a bow of optimism,
Protected by a single dagger imbued,
With all there is to live for.
He was shown how malicious melodies,
Corrupting sound deviled by malice,
Words stolen from Sharin's lips,
Could be silenced by the real thing,
Etched onto his runed blade,
Written into its steel frame,
Handwritten by Sharin herself.

Johnathan led the group,
Resting his protection upon his right shoulder,
Though his real defense lies behind his throat,
In a small chamber whose power can stop mountains,
From crashing down around them.
Rick held his bowstring taut, at the ready.
A hymn in his head kept it steady.
Loosed with a thought, it would sail rather than fly.
Towards a target of his choosing.
Since days spent practicing beside brothers and sisters,
Granted heavenly gifts and strength fought for,
With Sharin's support he made himself a threat,
To their next meal.

A castle seated around scarlet air,
Colored by evil wine.
The sweetest defilement of soul and heart.
Gates that held strong against blue upon gloves.
Would they part for song's grace?
Gladly times uncounted.
Sharin's glory need never ask for admittance,
Forever would she and her children,
Hold a ticket to the show.

Sharin taught us never to cry,
That we could continue living despite it all,
Our lives were ended by war but that only meant,
We'd have to make our own replacements.
She gave us all an education, filled our moments with life,
Tear drop apples were always close at hand,
They wept not for themselves but rather they,
Shed excess joy.

Sharin bore no children.
Yet mothered those not her own.
They flocked to her songs,
Seeking escape from Orphanhood,
Sleeping beneath a tree whose branches.
Hid them from nightmares and arms torn away,
Floating in a sea of Venom.

Her singers arrived,
Following dawn's return.
To bring Sharin's voice back to those,
Who'd fallen to despair.
She'd never cried one minute above us,
Though we'd been cheated by fate she,
Gave us nothing but fortune.

Once fog finished,
I felt the need to get up and walk a few paces before,
I realized I couldn't,
We haven't eaten for days that growl said,
Pressure entered my head, lightening it to less than a pound,
I retreated to a lower tier level with a trimmed bush,
It was a pampered thing, alien ecology nestled against grey stone.
A sliver of luminescent bronze, a ray of light slide down its handle,
Leaping off the tip and vanishing with a glare,
I wondered why it was there,
where had it come from?
Last choice I made was to clutch my sides and fall beside it,
Moving myself weakly from side to side,
I saw two chestnut combatants, grabbing each other by the head,
Skittering across the dull bronze arena they'd happened upon,
Grapplers born to hold competition between stubborn jaws,
I watched their final glorious moments, captivated by their determination,
To continue living and spread one more time,
Into the annals of history.
One last growl, a churning necessity made itself know,
As I cheered internally with the victor, holding its head up high,
I thought only of myself when I grabbed them both and,
Swallowed without tasting.

Sometimes lying is all you can do,
The only option on the table,
Because there are times that,
Truth is fatal,
If a person you care about is unwilling or unable,
To accept defeat or concede a game,
They want nothing more than to win,
Her anger killed me four times,
Reviving me each time,
I was powerless to stop those roses from being cut,
But If I can just keep her here long enough,
Destroy that homicidal tool of madness,
And keep song playing forever,
We can leave that old life behind us.

Fog came in next,
Falling over my face providing a mask,
I coughed and shivered against weakness,
I could feel this skin becoming colder overall,
It didn't matter, after what we'd been through,
What I'd, a little nothing new was what I wanted to know,
Until I could see the light again.

Dreariness tried to diminish happiness.
I wouldn't let it end my glorious lack of stamina,
Or desire to do nothing and lie helpless against comfort,
It was an enemy I happily conceded to,
My common brown forest spread its roots out,
To the four corners of the relevancy.

The curtains came back up,
Letting the sunlight invade our universe,
Our bubble beneath the world,
Fresh dew collected around my four corners,
From one side I could see a coat of arms,
Sitting pleasantly upon a clear white blanket,
Sprinkled with rainwater.
Returning to feet was too early a task,
To spend rare morning seconds,
On this back I'd stay,
As my cloak gathered as much color,
As hue could hold.

However much I tried to hold it,
That smile took over once we'd started to dance,
Winds caught our cloaks, holding them for us.
My smallnesses were treated as tender vessels of grace,
Collected inside his gentle instruments of playful security,
We were both safe and in danger, it was all possible and perfect,
No barriers or protections, only the terrible magnificence of constancy.
Twisting across our five senses until we couldn't think of other places,
Only the here and now because everything else wasn't real,
It was ecstasy, his eyes fixed on my every movement.
I was a performance he'd give four stars,
If he could pluck them out of the night sky.
Curves and angles, lion heads spreading into the air,
Tempting eyes to water and noses to itch,
Dizziness made it all soo real, slowing down reality.
Allowing us to be here as long as our hearts could hold out,
Our feet kept up somehow, these stolen shoes, his borrowed boots,
Glided over green grasses beaten sticky and wet,
By our twirling figures oblivious to fatigue,
I fell first, he stumbled back like a champion undaunted,
By a jousters spear to the chest but,
He to was sent spinning to the ground.
We fell asleep watching creation reveal itself.
As our bodies began to shutdown,
Defying our desire to remain awake,
Forever.

As the fires died away,
Matthew saw a chance to escape with Janet,
He'd get them far from fear,
And distanced from harm but,
She was entranced by that accursed artifact,
Eyes locked forward, held by a brain that couldn't process,
The lulling messages it was receiving,
I'll stay here and perish comfortably,
Rather than listen to the silence again...

After Seeing Sharin's tears dried up and gone,
I laid back in my entitlement as two stooges,
With unblemished necks, I hadn't the strength to bite.
Delivered me and my carriage to Cornelius's logic.
Hopefully he'd be open to reason and able to appreciate true beauty.
Otherwise I'd use my ivy to convince him to see the light.
I don't like to reveal myself a monster it,
Is always a ****** affair and I,
Have no change of clothes.
He's a wise man with charisma to spare,
A mind accustomed to nocking quicker than most,
His age or freshly endowed,
His arrows strike hearts both mortal and devious.
Tacticians fear his unflappable leadership,
Politicians never question mobs of support,
Moving as one coordinated wave of outrage,
Voice cannot pierce a united cause,
Nor can gifts win the favor,
Of spoiled children,
Grown old and bitter,
Thirsty for change.
Toblin learned respect at the tip of a sword,
Fell short of defeating Cornelius by countless miles,
He'd forgotten the lessons he'd taught the man.
Came back offering old challenges to minds,
Bolstered through loss and sacrifice.
Crawling back still fat and worthless,
Toblin was fittingly rewarded.

They had their heiress.
Conquest given beauteous form.
Primed and ready to serve,
Beside a puppet of her choosing,
Father promised me Prienne.
Had Jacob killed to set free,
That throne to a younger, stronger brother.
His mind sharpened to earn him a general's chair,
One I wouldn't subjugate for a change we'd,
Stand as equals.
Beside a cheering world of followers,
Eager to receive purpose through fangs,
Earned through constant trials that left me weakened,
Disheartened and cursing my father.
I'm a monster without purpose,
Why'd you do it?
I could've brought a king into this world to replace Prienne,
Once he'd outlived his purpose and I stood a wilted flower by his side,
As we faded away together. No instead,
I'll spend years surrounding my perfect kingdom with ivies,
Loyal at a whim's notice, with Dragon's might that,
Drank the world dry during that fiery age of,
Inner strife, disease and never-ending displacement.
Men and women alike sought shelter beneath our giving branches,
Back then they knew their place, were granted gorgeous subservient lives,
Observing grace given flesh with eyes unfit to touch upon,
Such rare elegance.

A girl dressed in lace,
Green buds sewn into sleeves of emerald,
Gave the child queen scales she didn't wear.
It was a funny little ruse,
Placed with kindness.
Unlike the vines coiled around her insides,
Tightening around her legacy,
Implanted by a caring person,
She trusted to protect and serve.
Her trust was betrayed by agony,
Nights spent clutching onto the world,
Trying to hold on while,
Those seeds replaced her own.

Within infinite darkness a light can be found
Those that bask in it are cleansed
Their minds cleared of all doubt and resistance
They drink from life's chalice and are sated
Others despise them and scoff at the miracle
Many will fade to retrieve it, the light will be lost
Seized by force its power is faint
Set free it opens a gate to eternity
Won't you walk there with me?

Normals cannot see hearts.
As we do outside form.
Taken apart to be remade.
Unknown is terrifying precisely because.
Required viewings will be forced upon us.
Always the same is never stressful,
Leave me by the lantern, please.

His profession.
Blacksmith and poor at it,
Received naught but ridicule,
A novice's pupil they said,
Still his jokes were a commodity,
It kept him paid.
Poverty was there for us but,
Not for me.
He'd take mother and I to read,
Beneath an old apple tree,
The family's fourth relative,
To read an old storybook,
That changed each time.

Above us clouds started to gather,
He didn't notice, his gaze was tilted away from me,
He wasn't enjoying this.
Whenever I moved I had broken a rule,
Mother's eyes wrinkled like that years ago,
Inside the few memories she left behind,
Father's greying black mane,
Always swallowed up his face,
obscuring it from view,
He was a giant when he came down to my world,
He was a grinning giant who couldn't swat a mosquito.
Mother did it for him.

Matthew loosened his grip with a sigh,
Those smallnesses regained strength
Freedom felt cool against released fingers,
Strangely wet and salty from his oiliness.
I didn't want to get up right away,
It felt good to just lay in his arms,
Breathing in spring air, secure in his warmth,
Listening to him breathe in discretly,
Like he didn't want to make any noise.
His black tunic was somewhat rough against my skin,
But it was better than staining my cloak with green,
Dandelions had conquered the entire field around us,
An old waterwheel slopped up water and dropped it back into a stream,
Gently easing away my cares, my senses were dulled,
Spring was here,
We were alone.

That was seven years ago,
Youth had smoothed me out long ago,
Refitted these bones with fresh skin,
No way this old scar would need treatment,
What is going on here?
Tell me why you bandaged my arm,
How did I get hurt this badly?
Matthew didn't flinch when he said,
I just wanted to cover it that's all,
You were inviting unwanted attention.
That was the truth, his words were spoken flawlessly,
His steady grin stood still,
He didn't turn away, as he often did when,
He was lying.

Apparently he'd bandaged my arm,
An old injury I suffered as a clumsy girl,
Barely more than four,
Running beneath a spreading maple tree,
He told me I was laughing when I fell,
That my crying lead him to me,
Since I'd gotten lost on our journey,
Trying to retrace our destiny.

Matthew's eyes were steady,
Malice wasn't there, only natural concern and well,
He feared something.
Why are you doing this?
I demanded less than enthused,
I can't let you know that Janet,
You'll just have to trust me.

Oddly I smelt blood,
Everywhere it pervaded us both,
I tried to move but I couldn't,
My hands especially felt weakened somehow,
Have I not eaten for days or his he,
Not letting me leave?
His shackles were there, oversized and unyielding,
Trying to escape felt like a cruel joke,
I gave up rather than suffer humiliation.
Let me go I want to get up,
I asked him gently,
I can't let you leave my sight,
My silver dagger was nowhere to be found,
Where'd you put it?
I asked a statue,
I don't know what you mean,
Are you feeling alright Janet?

Last I remember, a blade of silver was placed in my left hand,
A cold chill accompanied by a hundred or more voices,
All vying for an audience,
Came to speak with me as a mob of viewpoints,
All contradicting one another.
So she's the newest sacrifice,
She won't last a year.
I told them to shut up which they did.
That was when an inhuman, ghostly voice,
Spoke words that felt in tune with my pulse,
When I tried to rebel I felt like I was burning,
I couldn't escape it with Matthew and run away,
Though I almost held out long enough.
I told him I needed to rest, which I did,
Lying with my back supported by a wagon wheel I,
Tried to fall into rest, but each time I began to drift off it,
Stabbed my heart,
All that was, accelerated.
Spinning lights appeared above.
I was frozen by fright.
Yell out and I'll turn on you,
I'll make his death slow,
Cut out his eyes, leave him deaf,
He won't see it coming.
I was quick to surrender,
Since resistance only bought pain
I thought of Matthew when I said,
Ok, I'll do what you ask,
He was perplexed and asked me if I was alright,
I smiled and nodded politely
It said the roses needed cutting.

I woke up in his arms,
Cradled in his scent beneath open clouds,
Spring had spread everywhere,
I thought it winter as I slowly opened them,
But I was pleasantly surprised.
Matthew held my smallnesses, as both strained reaching for answers,
I didn't know I wanted.