Amongst The Ruins Epic Poetry by Alex Ness
Published by Diminuendo Press Imprint of Cyberwizard Productions 1205 N. Saginaw Boulevard #D PMB 224 Saginaw, Texas 76179 Amongst the Ruins Copyright Š 2009 Cyberwizard Productions Individual poems copyright Š 2009 Alex Ness ISBN: 978-1-936021-06-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2009926525 First Edition All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher and the individual authors, excepting brief quotes used in connection with reviews.
Preface Thank you, Lord Dunsany. “A man is a very small thing, and the night is very large and full of wonders.” Lord Dunsany This is the part of the book where I give an explanation for what I am trying to do here. The easiest way to explain what I am doing is telling tales, some real, some imagined, all meant to entertain without any sort of underlying guile. While allegory is fine, it isn’t my goal. In fact, when I write in this style/fashion I come closest to channeling information, not from my soul but from a different place in my being. This is not meant to suggest I am relaying real events, coded real events, or symbolic real events. Simply that getting rid of the world outlook that interferes with telling a story can only happen by just writing and letting the words and stories happen upon their own. "How much do you know?" she said. "Do you know that dreams are illusion?" "Of course I do," I said. "Every one knows that." "Oh no, they don't," she said. "The mad don't know it." "That is true," I said. "And do you know," she said, "that Life is illusion?" Lord Dunsany To explain a few things about me, too, might help. I am a Christian. I practice it. I am not perfect, but rather flawed and striving. I explore my ideas about spiritual truth and hope that exist in my work, as well as the horror of war, and the vagaries of human kindness and anger. But unlike the greater writers CS Lewis and JRR Tolkein, I am not trying to tell of a great eternal struggle through my work. I am just telling fantastical stories. In this way, I am reflecting more of my
appreciation for Lord Dunsany, and his work, than any other. Sometimes a story is just that. “I know of the boons that machinery has conferred on men, all tyrants have boons to confer, but service to the dynasty of steam and steel is a hard service and gives little leisure to fancy to flit from field to field.” Lord Dunsany In my fantasy world poems, I use the term Vulgar kin and Man kin in a way that might confuse some people. So I should maybe explain... Vulgar kin include Trolls, evil Giants, Orcs, Goblins, and generally speaking anything that is “born” evil, and follows a certain, deterministic path.” I do not include in that any sort of metaphor. I think people in general are capable of choosing between moral extremes and choices, and races and ethnic groups and believers of various religions are not deterministically evil or good. They simply are. Man kin is meant to reflect the world of humans, and near humans. The Wee folk, the Elves, Dwarves, and all similar, are a part of that category. “Logic, like whiskey, loses its beneficial effect when taken in too large quantities.” Lord Dunsany
Table of Contents ROMAN AND CALEDONII _______________________________1 EQUALS _______________________________________________2 LOST _________________________________________________3 RIDERS! _______________________________________________4 ENDLESS IS OUR WARRING _____________________________5 THE COURSING SEA ____________________________________6 EBONY ELVES _________________________________________7 SCOUT LAMENT _______________________________________8 PUNISHING ____________________________________________9 CHASED _____________________________________________10 CORNERED DWARVES ________________________________11 CREATION ___________________________________________12 15 LEFT ______________________________________________13 GIANT SLAYERS ______________________________________14 DEAD FLESH _________________________________________15 BADGER CLAN _______________________________________16 UNHOLY _____________________________________________17 MARCH 10000 DWARVES! ______________________________18 PURE ________________________________________________19 100 ORCS _____________________________________________20 THE DEAD HUNGER ___________________________________21 BROKEN FROZEN BONES ______________________________22 STORM THE WALLS ___________________________________23 THE EMPIRE OF ICE ___________________________________24 FROZEN SOULS LINGER _______________________________27 SPIRES REACH UP _____________________________________28 UNTAMED PAINTED MEN _____________________________29 FAR AWAY ___________________________________________30 CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAINSIDE ____________________31 GERMANIA ___________________________________________32 HER REPAST __________________________________________34 EARTH GIANTS _______________________________________35 MADE OF CLAY _______________________________________36 ANCIENT OF DAYS ____________________________________37
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THE DAY OF THE JHANI _______________________________38 ON THE HORIZON THERE ARE RIDERS __________________39 ORC RAID ____________________________________________40 IN A GLEN, THERE ARE THE WEE FOLK _________________41 STEM THE TIDE _______________________________________42 UPON THIS DAY ______________________________________42 ORC BLOOD BAPTISM _________________________________43 FOR THE KING THEY FLEW ____________________________44 RED AXE HILL ________________________________________45 RIDING AGAINST THE HORDE _________________________46 AND REMEMBERING THE WYRM _______________________46 THE THOUGHTS OF A KING ____________________________48 MIDNIGHT CLASH ____________________________________49 RITUAL KILLING ______________________________________50 DWARVEN PRAYER ___________________________________52 WAITING _____________________________________________53 EARLY SPRING _______________________________________54 THE MISSING _________________________________________55 FIGHTING OUR OWN __________________________________56 SEVEN SUNS _________________________________________57 WATERS DEEP HIDE HER ______________________________58 ABANDONED TOWERS ________________________________59 NONE LEFT ___________________________________________60 EMPIRE OF IRON AND STONE __________________________61 STORMS OF SNOW AND ICE APPROACH, IN WINTER DAYS WE WALK. ___________________________________________62 CHILDREN OF THE MIDNIGHT FOREST _________________63 TEN WILD MEN RUN __________________________________64 LANCES HIGH ________________________________________64 THUNDER GOD AWAKENS _____________________________64 UPON A GIANT'S SHOULDERS __________________________65 THE KING'S MEN ______________________________________66 SHE SLEPT WHILE THE KINGDOM BURNED _____________67 ENDLESS MARCH _____________________________________68 THE WYRM OF THE EARTH ____________________________69 A NORSEMAN's LAMENT ______________________________70 U
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UPON KNEES WE CRAWL ______________________________71 TRUE HOMELAND ____________________________________72 VIKING SLAVE _______________________________________73 SNOW SPRITES _______________________________________74 THE WHITE WYRM ____________________________________75 THE HORDE __________________________________________76 UPON THE FRINGES ___________________________________77 GIANTS OF THE NORTHERN STEPPE ____________________78 ONE LAST BATTLE ____________________________________79 LEFT FOR DEAD ______________________________________80 THE GLADIATOR WEPT _______________________________81 ALL THAT IS LEFT IS THE MEMORIES OF BATTLE _______82 RAINS OVER AN ANCIENT TEMPLE RUIN _______________83 ELVISH QUEEN _______________________________________84 WE RODE FOR THE KING, BUT LOST OUR COUNTRY _____85 AGAINST THE GOLDEN HORDE ________________________86 SOUTH OF DUBLIN IN MUNSTER _______________________87 BADONICUS __________________________________________88 THERMOPYALE _______________________________________89 THERMOPYLAE II _____________________________________90 HUMANS HUNTED HER ________________________________92 THE LOWLAND KEEP _________________________________92 THE ONE EYED GOD SUFFERED UPON YGGDRASIL ______94 OF THOUGHT AND MEMORY __________________________95 COME RAGNAROK ____________________________________96
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Dedication Every book comes from somewhere, and this one came from five specific sources of influence. I did not write this DUE to them, but due to my experiences that came in part from them. Lord Dunsany who is unmatched in the world for his ability to write about fantastic things. Robert E. Howard, writer of Conan and other great tales and characters taught me to enjoy the moment of writing and telling fantasy tales. He was far far more talented than I will ever become, and he should have stayed around for the whole show instead of leaving so early. But his work amazes me, and it influenced me. E. Gary Gygax co-created a game, Dungeons & Dragons, that taught me to tell stories, and expand the way I look at creativity. It has been nearly a decade since I played the game last, and almost two decades since I played it at all regularly, but without the years I played I would never have developed the writer’s voice that has come out of me. My son Jonathan asks me, upon a daily basis to tell him stories from my life. Having that devoted audience allowed me to grow, in how I think about my work, and how I view my audience for the work. My son allowed me to share without the typical fear of rejection any writer deals with. Russell R. Stewart is my best friend. He shares my love of fantasy books and stories, and shares my quest for truth in this world.
Alex Ness ROMAN AND CALEDONII While legions of the dead lay still, those nearly so walk aimlessly across broken fields, broken bodies, left behind after a major skirmish, upon the Northernmost frontier between Pict and Roman, ravens and others pick at the flesh, making a meal after the horrors of mankind. Dead flesh, lost lives, missing dreams, no more viewing the world through a child's eyes, this place will now be haunted by the memories of the lost, the brutality of the event, the dread of the cost, and the missing and displaced. The pyres begin to cast a pallor of smoke across the fields, the winds carrying the ashes of the dead to new places, the purpled bodies divested of armor are intermingled, as if is cast into a pit, without order, and unmourned, just burned beyond recognition, by the fires that cleanse. Most of the warriors fought unto the end, some ran and saved the life they possessed, but will forever wonder the result should they have stayed, and will live, take a wife, and consider no more the world asunder. Few will remember, but the families left awry, and they will pass beneath notice, for the skirmish was not a battle, but a clash of arms without declarations or warnings, the dead will not be thanked, nor remembered, and now the remnant few clear the mess, even stealing a look across the way, towards the remaining enemy warriors upon the far bank, and wonder what they will now do, without their brothers.
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Amongst the Ruins EQUALS United in their hatred of the vulgar, but divided in their plans for war One a conquering empire, ready to grow, The other a people aggrieved with no desire for lands of others Two human armies moved to challenge the warriors of black banners Who'd ravaged the clans of man Riders from the steppe crashed upon the wall of shields and spears from the right A cascade of angry humans from the Jhani poured through the breach on the left The horde fought with endless courage and desperate strength For their defeat would be total, should they pass, When the man clans did not tire, did not fear The vulgar kin began to pale at the thought of running from the two angry clans, In defeat, In utter shambles the horde began to dissipate, to be hunted down and scythed like wheat Dozens fell beneath the waves, and were washed away with the violent ways Lives were lost, lives were saved, but when the two victorious armies met They stopped, turned, and parted, neither enemies nor friends, but equals.
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Alex Ness LOST Lost in the horizon are the ravens aloft Above the earth they look down upon Lost in the carnage a child wanders freely The smoke from the flames pours across Riders riding, distant shouting, crows calling Axes broken, Shields strewn split, helms tossed The battlefield awaits the eulogy for the defenders of the town No longer live, and now are bloating in the sun The vulgar clans struck at dawn and won, Lines of walkers with chains in tow A new generation of slaves For the emperor's mines, he will be pleased A child crying, his feet bleeding No one remains to take care For the ever lasting wars, all of these Between the vulgar and man kin Have stolen the hope and peace.
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Amongst the Ruins RIDERS! It has become our time, our moment to start, it is their moment to die, And as if we have choice, we are moved to act, from the source in our heart They have nowhere to run, we can hear their inner voice it throbs in our head, We are moved to fight, we fear nothing, but failure, the horror of loss, The world we fight for may not know our names, but we pay their cost. Riders mount up, our day is here, and their time is done Riders form up, our chance is now, a battle to be won!
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Alex Ness ENDLESS IS OUR WARRING We march unto oblivion, we never tire nor stop Our orders are quite clear, march until you arrive To reach our station before the tribal fires start We beat the drums of war, we are the children who obey Our Gods and masters tell us so we march into the night Weary warriors, endless journeys, we never get to rest Tribal leaders, call into the nethers, let our warfare begin, Let us begin to fight, call us into the test Prophets Augur but tell us nothing, because we know some will die In war some fail, and so many will never reach the final destination Our march is interrupted endlessly, by ambush, famine and hostile tribes Especially from the barbarian nations, Who never give quarter nor ask it, and freely offer to die. Our lines hold firm throughout our trials, we never take a step back But soon enough the vulgar kin, enter the fray to score gains Nothing remains of our first lines, and all we see ahead is ruthless attacks.
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Amongst the Ruins THE COURSING SEA Few who road the winds could escape that rush When the wood lifted above the waves and flew Across the waters the many sailed masts cut through The mists and fog of the ocean, as if a knife through foam Replying to a threat the King allowed his ships to leave shore The great ships of the fleet were swiftly moving to war An Empire across the waves had challenged The fleet would engage and meet it The Kingdoms and Empires of men fought in the beautiful sea Tainting its hue red, as sharks circled to feed The waves would wash, the bodies float to land But the race of men did bleed.
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Alex Ness EBONY ELVES Dressed in the shades of night To compliment their sheen The Black Elves of the tree realms Are dangerous and serene They fall from the trees Upon their prey, without a sound And with sharp sword dispatch Death from the trees, falls Leaving only Heaps of bones upon mounds
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Amongst the Ruins SCOUT LAMENT I've too many years spent in the wilds of the King's Mark Borders between allies and friends seem pointless to guard Nonetheless are patrolled, for someday an incursion will start Abandoned lands too rocky to grow, nonetheless have worth To the King all lands are equal, for to allow passage freely Is to allow others to control, so we watch, so we march, The boredom of service is not the worst thing to face But considering the pay, the danger, and loneliness Boredom is a fine place to start.
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Alex Ness PUNISHING Silverbelly, the Bear clan chieftain, with a mass of white hair Across his chest and belly, he used two massive arm claws for his weapons And wore little armor, he led the raid, and nobody missed the significance of that, While his ways were not harsh, nor his decisions rash, This action was against the another clan and this was heartbreaking, But what caused it was unforgivable, the Badger clan had acted in betrayal, When the vulgar had invaded once again, punishment had to be delivered, There could be no untrustable brethren in clan lands, as an example to the nation, Without malice, Silverbelly and his brethren led the march And the Badger clan was shattered for a generation.
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Amongst the Ruins CHASED Wolves and Wolfclan hunters chasing prey Running down a narrow valley, in snow, Under cloudless skies, in daylight, they vie for the kill The sounds of footpads and commands echo loudly And a winter sun so bright the snow burns the eyes The snow trail shows they've bled their quarry But the snow, so deep in areas, allows only slow movement, And careful passage to prevent mishap, and damage They walked single file to avoid falling to the side And down tumble down to the valley floor So they moved slowly, forward after their prey, Who continued to elude them, despite their intent And now they reach a wider field for them to walk And they see their prey is running, full out, The distance between them is growing, The prey is aware of the chase But cannot slip from their grasp, nor stop Her heart pounds so hard in her throat Her mind is wild with fear, her thoughts are panicked And at some point, if she does not get caught Should take an unfortunate misstep, or trip She would tumble down a dangerous incline She might still, simply die.
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Alex Ness CORNERED DWARVES Hafts of two hand axe in hand, With many hundreds of vulgar before him In the tunnels beneath the mounds At a dead end, and many wounded The dwarf known as Red Axe, Began a low, guttural chant Calling his warriors in chorus Unto their blood legacies, To fight and, if need, die in battle Against the kin of the Vulgar gods His hands began to churn, And deftly his body turned, Avoiding the vulgar blades Soon a tide of red wet horror was moving A web of violence and fear was spun Red Axe and his warriors were alive And the vulgar were disoriented and running The warriors of Red Axe moved And began pursuing.
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Amongst the Ruins CREATION I was tasked to be the watcher of the stones My blood made me the sole heir of the world My bones came from the seed of the White giant Who had created the world we call home There are so many legends from his life, With most being recorded in the tomes His ways were paved by the Gods And his walk was performed in solitude, Achieved completely alone. His will was enormous, His love was powerful He poured out his creative might And built this planet from his bones And his lonely tears poured out a flood His spirit left and became divine My being is from his walk My eyes are from his sight My life is from his blood I am the watcher of the stones And this world is mine.
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Alex Ness 15 LEFT Of our 2000 riders, there are but 15 left We rode upon the marches, and wall, But our numbers were thinned by ambush And when we rode the mountain trails We were bereft from unexpected rock slides And distant bowmen, who reduced our number Who ran or hid when we approached To contest their attacks And when we reached our destination The Jhani were waiting, had been prepared And the toll they took upon us, was immense.
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Amongst the Ruins GIANT SLAYERS The rangers ran across the snow covered broken ground The huge giant footsteps made tracking easy The blood spots in snow helped too, But giants rarely are nimble, Once they found the earth behemoth They'd have to put it down, For the crown and general good The rangers would risk their lives For the rampage it had run was violent And they could not afford to let it escape alive to the wood Every early Spring the giants would rage And the man kin would suffer, Villages would become rubble The giants would have to be put down, And each ranger would have to find a way To defeat beasts so large as to be able to devour towns.
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Alex Ness DEAD FLESH No release for the spirit so intertwined with the flesh Although the clan did burn it, the body remained intact Murdered in anger by an allied tribe, betraying the age long pact The corpse was filled with ire, his death must be avenged But to view the unflinching pyre, the fire did awesomely burn The limbs were crisped, the body did blacken, the hair was singed The corpse would stand up straight, never bothering to die His clan went running, in every direction, fearing misplaced vengeance The burnt and remnant body, with angry spirit churning Would walk upon the ground, now so vacant, so silent The legends of the dead precede him, but is his walk his last What course will you follow, will you be the clan's savior Or will your anger force you, to walk the path of wrath.
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Amongst the Ruins BADGER CLAN The warriors of the Badger clan so hearty and ready for battle Although distract by the threats, they never lost sight of the goal before them They had to defeat the invaders, send them back to their homes Lead the clans, fight to the end, deliver the vulgar clans to a fate condemned But in order to do so, they'd have to fight their own weaknesses, Their desire to go berserk, their desire for endless battle, The vulgar clans were never a match for human barbarian clans Should they have been united, but that was rare, and worse Often the barbarian clans fought for love of combat Their rage unbalanced them, and they fought endless, And it took little to sway towards the vulgar clan favor one or two tribes. But upon this day, the short squat hairy men, painted in red and black, Forced retreat upon the vulgar kin, never stopping their attacks And seeing the honor in destroying, all the hoary vulgar, The cat clan, and more stepped forward, and the day was ended Before long the dividing of spoil was over, and the day turned to night With orc heads upon a stake, troll armor being stripped, scimitars piled high.
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Alex Ness UNHOLY Her home was the boneyard She hid her shame well She sold her very life She even desired to visit hell Her visions were of madness Her breath was labored and weak Her home was the boneyard She longed to have sown Yet only did she reap Her punishments were cruel She echoed the screams of the innocent But her days were long and violent She dwelled where life was hard Where kindness was rarely spent She ruled her little boneyard Filled with bodies of the fair Who no longer breathe any breath And she poured out her wrath To keep the lost souls in her lair Her world was very small and cruel She never let it be known How she hurt, how she dreamed How she longed to be held Embraced by the demons And kissed by the angel of Death.
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Amongst the Ruins MARCH 10000 DWARVES! March 10000 Dwarves In unison and sturdy gait Never out of line Always testing fate Never feeling fear Drums pounding Voices chanting Even when death is near Hearts beating Orcs bleeding Axes raised above There is no defeating The 10000 ever march And yet, they ever march The ghosts of past battles With the echoes of the warriors Blood flows in hoary channels While their bones turn dust and scatter In the passing of a generation hope returns as memories fade And the Orc wars go on.
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Alex Ness PURE She stared at him, knowing he was but a beast his soul was pure as the white of his coat but she had to try to speak to his heart, without which she'd die, and her body would rest her spirit was still young despite her many years, her body while broken still had life the Elf girl reached up to her friend, and gave him her last hope he looked at her, quizzically as Unicorns are wont to do then carried her hopes in one gallop into the green to protect her last breath, while the Vulgar clans began their search. When they lost her trail, for his hooves left no trace She embraced him, stroked his mane thanked with a quiet gentle whisper, and began an abiding sleep in the hidden glen.
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Amongst the Ruins 100 ORCS 100 Orcs so far from their tribal lands swept into the invasion with the vulgar kin kept in line with whips, following shouted demands punished for every wince, holding their anger within running until lungs burst, exhausted but going forward scimitars cull mankin race children no matter the cause, vulgar kin obey their lords even when facing the mankin, united as one the 100 Orcs will fight, and die upon elvish swords.
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Alex Ness THE DEAD HUNGER The mankin in armor The Elf kind with bow Chase down the vulgar kin Massacre their bloody rows We go to battle with all of them For all they do, is wish to fight When their armies clash we are above And come out in the night We feed upon their flesh The dying and the dead We wait until they are spent And feast until our nails and teeth are red. We've lived in the shadows Safe from other kin and war For our food is their refuse And their battles are our rewards We are the ghouls of ancient memory We are the ghasts of the Charnel house floor We feast upon the dead And we linger until the kin make more.
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Amongst the Ruins BROKEN FROZEN BONES Broken bones, frozen screams, bloody bodies on the field Ground broken and rough, broken spears and armor rusted A harvest in red and white, covered in snow and bitter yields Ten months of laying, vitals spilled, entrails eaten, viscera encrusted Rats and eaters of Carrion long ago abandoned the place, And two armies experienced war for the first and last time When a bitter storm caught the event, their lives now ice encased All that remains are the lost souls who haunt the field For the youngest of men never experienced the true taste Of life, love, glory and joy.
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Alex Ness STORM THE WALLS Storm the walls of the enemy's fortress Tear them down and dismember the place Destroy their symbols of demonic authority And raise our own banners to replace We cannot sit and watch them in silence We cannot linger in our own fears They will act without mercy, relentlessly They will destroy what we love without remorse We cannot stand and do nothing We must never give up.
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Amongst the Ruins THE EMPIRE OF ICE At the bottom of the world is a great continent of ice covered for miles deep and wide freezing forever the remains of the ancient past A people, an ancient people engineers of stone and magic mastered their environment and created an enormous empire of stone, hex and snow They lived for centuries dominant in the world they controlled with vast systems of power walls of steel stone ice and snow and with an unique view of the world from below and deep within its volcanic bowels No one could threaten it for it was truly secure impregnable, safe and ultimately frozen in time and ice cold and time, endless and unchanging the people learned that their world was not endless for their powers waned and the ice overwhelmed the walls and the people knowing their empire was lost quickly and energetically built a chamber to hold and keep their children forever until the power of magic would return and the ice recedes
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