Part One

Our story starts in Shanthmark-town,
Where deep inside a humble home,
The loving husband’s desperate frown
Is matched by his despairing moan.

The sheets were stain’d like crimson waves,
A folded, crumpled, filthy mess
The midwife’s tears’ a young boy bathes,
Who lies amidst the bloody mess.

His fur was matted by the scene,
Abhorrent smells lie in the airl;
His eyes were ever piercing green,
And with his father shar’d a stare.

The father, taken by fury
Beat the babe with all his might,
While dead upon the bed lay she
That suffer’d so to birth this sprite

The boy was silent, unblinking
Save when his father cut his tail;
A fledgling piece of flesh and bone
Fresh blood mingling with the stale

A trophy from the ‘demon spawn’
That father dear kept close to heart
As he swept ‘cross the evening lawn
And from this tale ended his part.

Part Two

The boy grew up, the trees grew tall
The bloodstains linger’d for a while
Urchin, orphan, scorn’d by all
He learnt the ways of stealth and guile

No student of the word was he,
Unletter’d and coarse of word
Yet knack he had for getting free
When adults sought to cage the bird

By eighteen, a master thief
Stealing food and jewellery
Until the order of the chief
‘To end this tomfoolery’!

But lo! the hunters could not hope
To catch a boy of such cunning
‘Cross moor and desert did he lope
Past dwarf and dracnari sunning

And so he came to the Razines
Those tow’ring spires to the west
That stand like soldiers in straight lines
Cradling the Basin ‘midst their breast

From there, northward our hero went
Braving storms and beasts alike
The task to which he had been sent
Began with that exhausting hike

For miles and more his long legs strode
Trav’ller’s few upon the road
Save a warted, slimy toad
That he stepp’d on to make explode

Driven by hunger and need
Our hero descends from the hills
To Delport fair did his path lead
To save from unexpected ills

Part 3

Upon arrival his heart soar’d
At the beauty of the town
And captivat’d by a chord
He turned and fell unto the ground.

A slender hand approached his own,
Smooth and white as soaring cloud;
The way back to his feet was shown
By an angel, sapphire-shroud;

A veil of purest silken lace
Did not obscure the golden hair
That spill’d like sunlight ‘cross her face
Framing a piercing light-blue stare

Her lips were of the softest pink
A dust of brown lay on white skin
Long lashes closed in a wink
And silence came to world of din.

Starved and filthy, coarse and rude
The boy could scarce believe his eyes
Such a beauty, he so crude!
He cast his face up to the skies

At that moment, a deaf’ning boom
Shook the very earth itself
Over the village, shadows loom
And all thought focus’d on the elf

He grabb’d her arm, but to his shock!
She fell to water in his hand
While greatly did the Chateau rock
From the Magnagoran band

Five of them took to the streets
Taint spread with their every stride
Killing with their mighty feats
Devastation, broad and wide

Part 4

The shadows tightend o’er town
Father Sun’s white face conceal’d
Sickly taint, a crimson brown
Spread ‘cross road into the field

The boy saw men and women die
Their bodies wrack’d with abject pain:
And deep within his own mind’s eye
He saw a single dried bloodstain.

A rage within him burst alight
And leaping to the nearest foe;
An orclach ur’Guard’s final fight
Ended with a single blow

With strength from some fantastic place
The boy leapt high into the air
Hand swept down and clove the face,
Splitting head, the brain was bare.

As the Guard slump’d to the ground
A Ninjakari caught the corpse
Eyes shone red, and in a bound
The jakari did run its course.

The boy was slashed across the chest
His ribs were crush’d pitifully
Yet he withstood the painful test;
The eyes shone back quite angrily.

He grabb’d the faeling by the throat
A fluid move of strength and speed
An iron fist, the skull was smote
And profusely began to bleed

Again the fist, another punch
The monk was kicking as he gasp’d
The boy grimac’d when with a crunch
Iron-shod boot met trouser clasp

A final blow, the monk was slain
His brains were running with his blood
Yet of the five now three remain
The leader glar’d beneath his hood.

Without a word, the cronies came
Cacophonist, Geomancer
Twin viscanti look’d the same
Though former mov’d like a dancer

The twisted lyre cough’d out a laugh
Of evil, death and torturous pain;
Holding aloft the tainted staff
The mage offer’d a prayer to Fain

He ran at tilt towards the mage
Who mutter’d, traced a pentagram
Which brought about a cobalt cage
Defending against the slam

The shield held once against the tide,
But, focusing his mental will
The boy struck true, opening wide
A jagged hole through which to kill.

He reach’d in low and grabb’d a leg,
Driving hard against the bone
The mage began to squirm and beg
‘fore wailing like an aged crone.

Snapping the leg off at the knee
The boy ripp’d through the tendons thick
And stripping off the meat with glee
Had fashion’d off a pointy stick

Using his weapon’s edge jagged
He stabb’d the mage deep in the gut
The skin and flesh was slash’d ragged
Blood, organs spill’d from the cut

The mage slipp’d on his own insides
And mix’d up vials in his head
Mistake made, he rubb’d bromides
And before long he was quite dead

But the boy’s attention was now set
Upon the last two enemies
Who stood together, faces wet
From the damp mist of the seas

Suddenly, a demon sprang
From some shadow in the air
He grabbed the boy who’s body rang
With painful shrieks of timbre rare

All the while the bard did play
A ghastly song of agony
Which wrack’d the boy in such a way
To make him unable to see

Blinded, a heavy weight then struck
The boy and knock’d him to the floor
For a great stallion ran amok
And trampl’d the boy amidst the war

His limbs did snap, his bowels did break
The boy was crushed beyond repair
And despite all that was at stake
All he thought of was beauty fair

A mighty crucifix arose;
Heavy nails sprang through his arms
The boy went limp at dark bard’s prose,
Dangling from the endless harm

The leader shouted suddenly
And brought his hand to claim the prize:
An inch from the boy’s chest, in glee
He fail’d to see the ocean rise.

A mighty wave of purest might
Came crashing down upon Delport
The raw red Taint wash’d out of sight
Along with all the evil sort

Part 5

They lay upon the village square
Crushed body would sing no more
The leader with his deathly stare
Would never hear the raven caw

But of the boy there was no sign
As elfen beauty stay’d the tide
And finally the Sun could shine
As shadows whisk’d away and sigh’d.

For days on end went on the hunt
To find our hero’s dead body
None knew the aslari runt
Who saved the village, set them free

But days went on and months arriv’d
And still no sign of that brave soul
So on they went, to live and thrive
And soon forgot his epic role

There was but one who never lost
That all important memory:
Golden hair now fleck’d with frost
Though still holding her true beauty

And now, my friend, we must abate
For now you know the full story
Born to pain and lost in hate
Our hero lost: or could that be?