Myriad:: A Collection Of Poetry And Fiction
Written by Devin Robbins-Linford December 2012
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War War is as lonesome, As though the spirit leaving the flesh. With Icy Tendrils of fear, Tasting of blood and fear.
With Gunshots as loud As the booming thunder of Zeus, Bodies fall to the Desolate field that soldiers tread.
The smell repulsive, As the road kill upon your Waking moment. Unwelcome and strange.
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The cold metal of rifles, Feeling to bolster the courage of Soldiers, As the hail bolsters The oncoming Storm.
Images invading the mind, As though from a bad action flick, But real enough, To make the strong, Wonder exactly as to why it was this, They had been forced to pick.
War is Useless, War is wrong. Yet as familiar to man, As a stoner to his bong. 3
The Writer
Letters and symbols Fill the page, y {lznk sheet now z writer’s stzge. Punctuation and Syntax The author will pack. His page now half-full, He continues on. Desperate. The hand flows now, as though A reporter for a Consolate. And as the arrow from the bow The last period hits home. And now, overwhelming
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My Place of Calm It is within a Library that I find my solace, and clarity of mind. Pages, old and new, crisp and crumpled. The words invading my mind with wisdom, As the teachers might with their lessons to their students. Words seem to float from the pages, to my mouth, ears and head. Each letter begging to be devoured into my knowledge banks.
To read is to sing, but a song of the mind. The knowledge melting into the cerebellum, joining its cohorts, and mingling for my pleasure. Music, that is what the books are for me. My own personal Walt, orchestrated by Bach himself.
The rows of literature, they make me smile. Some of the knowledge hidden, while other banks of remain lain out for the pleasure of many. Standing ten to fifteen tall, the oaken shelves never bending to the weight, just as the absolute knowledge of a myriad of subjects never tarry in their astuteness.
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Starry Night over Home It is Night time,
And the sky overhead
As the people of
Clear.
The street go into their Homes, Looking for bed.
Moon and Stars Put me to Sleep.
I too retreat into mine The Shades green,
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Intoxicated Way back in the day, I started to smoke and drink My brain cells away. Just so I could Get that feeling of intoxication.
Today, I find myself not wanting to smoke, Not wanting to drink. No.
I can get that Euphoric Feeling once more. And Every day I want. Just {y doing one thing‌. Thinking of you.
You are my drug, You are my drink. You are my THC And my alcohol.
You are my personal
Intoxication
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Pleasure
In the days of Old I went from girl To girl To girl. Seeking one form of Pleasure, or another.
Since I met you, I came to find something out. The entire time I was looking for the right one. The one to stand beside me Through thick and Thin. I was blind to the fact That YOU were right there.
You came into my life, In the first real instance as a picture. And my student. I was teaching You to Write, Teaching you to Role Play better. 8
Taking up the keyboard, we started to talk, And we came to love one another.
Now, I look at all the girls, and the women That I have passed along. The ones that faded into the dust. And I came to realize one thing.
My thoughts of you They are the only things I need to feel That Pleasure
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An Excerpt from: Exiled Written by: Devin Robbins-Linford
Prologue
It was a cold depressing morning, as the Arkadian Prince wakes, stepping to the Window beside his bed. Outside, it was pouring rain, a gloomy and foreboding fog skirting the ground, and lifting into the sky, blanketing the dark clouds above. The weather had the potential to have a less than savory atmosphere for the dzy’s progressions. It wzs zfter zll, the Prin|e’s Dzy of Birth, znd his yscension into the High Court. Casting his eyes to the Courtyard below, there were already caravans entering the Palace grounds, their wooden wheels clanking loudly against the rough terrain of the cobble stone roadway. A strange sight gleamed through the fog, as the Royal carriage of the Black Caste seems to almost glide upon the stone road, entering the Courtyard, coming to a stop in front of the Main gate to the Great Hall. Figures of the Family start to exit the elegant ebony wood frame, heading in through the already open doors, servants offering to take their coats. Kais started wondering why they were here, as both Families warred between themselves. It was an ancient rivalry, though by their appearance, there was a chance that the history between both were about to be forgotten. Kais did not put all his eggs in that basket, as he was always wary, and prepared to defend himself. Observing the entire family through the fog, he caught a small glimpse of a female form, petite, but strong in her movements. Casting his eyes, one of a striking Lilac, and the other of a deep black, as bi-colored eyes were common amongst the Arkadian race. It was same colored eyes that were revered as abnormal, and often looked down upon. Kais stepped to his over large Wardrobe, and began to sift through his vestments. For the dzy’s events, he |hose out his Blz|k Velvet outfit trimmed in Lilz| filigree. Riding boots of tanned and cured Doe skin rested within the curled body of his Hunting Hound, Sentim. Snzt|hing them from his hound’s sleeping grzsp, he took them to the wzsh {zsin, and cleaned them of the slobber the hound left upon the smooth leather of the boots. Donning these, he walks to his bed, and reaches above the headboard, taking his twin Katanas from the wall pegs that held them. Stretching behind his back, he straps them to his back. The ebony sheathes gleam in the ambient light, each movement making the sheaths seem to come alive, and jump around. As the blades rest upon his back, a knock comes to sound at the door, his 10
friend coming to door to receive him. “My Lord?" yre you de|ent? We hzve guests thzt wish to meet you. Strznge ones zt thzt.” Sebastien said, a tone of wonder and a tinge of fear detectable in his tenor of a voice. Opening the door to his friend, there was a sigh, as the feeling of Velvet is brushed upon his leg from the breeze blowing from the opened window. Nodding to Sebastien, Kais steps into the hall, allowing the servants to enter his room by leaving his chamber door open. Both men casually made their way to the Great Hall, where voices were heard. A disembodied voice starts the audible portion that Kais hears, the echoes lifting the some two hundred feet to his ezrs. “I hezr thzt todzy is quite the zuspi|ious dzy. yn zs|ension of your youngest, Lz’Kzis I {elieve I wzs told. Where is his zs|ension lezding to exz|tly?”
Kais heard this question, and scoffed at the audacity of the purely male voice, and starts to dash across the stone, the riding boots thumping loudly. The King below rolls his eyes, and begins to chuckle. Nothing seemed to get by his son. Kais reached the railing in which there rested a sixty foot drop, and vaulted over the smooth marble. Wings of shimmering black Gossamer extend out, snapping to reality in just a few seconds. The new appendages flick out, carrying Kais to the mzsonry {elow, znd to his fzther’s side. “I zm to enter into the High Court, zs Senior Wzr ydvisor. I zm Kzis, though I know not who you zre, szve thzt you represent the Blz|k Czste. Your |zrrizge is rzther hzrd to miss.” “yh, well, definitely the theztri|zl. You do hzve z {ezutiful set of wings.” y young humzn femzle states, the same that he had seen from his window. Her form seemed to glow with beauty, as her flowing, liquid like auburn locks cascade to her shoulders. Her strands of hair frame a face that rivzled the Humzn’s Goddess, ythenz. Though slim znd seemingly frzil, her form |zrried with it the strength of her gender, and a lethality that spoke volumes, without voice. “I thznk you, Mzdzme. I do so hzte to |lim{ stzirs.” Kzis responds, zs z mzn with downtrodden looks, and despair in every step comes to stand by her protectively. This Kais found interesting, zs he stzred into those hzunting green glo{es thzt szt, snug in the mzle’s eyes. Another male stepped forward, dressed in a suit, with a blue tie of silk. His eyes, though beautiful, read as ice, cold and calculating. His mouth was a thin line before he spoke, his voice the one that he had heard before vaulting the railing. His form was muscular, and fit his vestments well. As he stepped forward, there was a pause before he spoke, letting the moment hang for a second longer than needed. “I zm Un{e|k Blz|k, znd this is my fzmily. The lzdy you zddress is {etrothed to the lznky mzle, 11
their names, Aurelia and Syren. The haunted young man beside them is Mason, second youngest to the Family. Darkn here is Second Eldest. We are here to celebrate, not dispute. It seems only fitting thzt we forge z trezty with the yrkzdizns, znd on su|h zn zuspi|ious dzy.” The mzle said, pointing to each of his own family, those glacial eyes seeming to pierce into the soul of Kais. Kais looked upon each of the Caste, and frowned, a shiver going through his spine, as all of their haunted eyes stare at, and through him. Regaining his composure, the Prince stares into the eyes of Aurelia once more, her eyes not looking to intimidate, but welcome him. Casting a look to his father, he nods, and heads out to the Courtyard. “Fzther, I need to go stret|h. I shzll {e in zttendzn|e shortly. Se{zstien, follow. I {id you zll z plezsznt stzy.” Kzis lezves with them, offering z {ow {efore lezving, his eyes never lezving zny given pzrt of yureliz’s {ody. One outside, the carriages still coming in, Kais strips the Velvet top, and lets his wings stretch out to their full length, before smiling into the wind. An easterly wind spreads it serene existence to Kais, offering a strong tail wind. The feathers upon his back gleam from the torches that burn at the entrance gate, small refractions of light spilling to the cobblestones beneath his feet. Sebastien had gathered the velvet top from the dusty ground, and smiles, as he knew what was to happen.
Kais began to lift himself into the air by jumping straight up, and forward. This allowed the plumage to catch the wind, and carry his weight as a massive down stroke of the massive appendages barely touches the ground. Back muscles ripple even beneath the muscle tee, and can {e seen from Se{zstien’s point of view, {efore his Chzrge tzkes into the sky, lezving the Czstle behind. Higher and higher he climbed, reaching into the heavens, before just a speck to the mortal eyes that Sebastien held within in his head. Kais exclaims loudly, the feel of the wind lifting his spirits, and his feathers. The feeling near orgasmic, each down stroke carries him higher and faster through the dense fog. Finally he reaches the top of the fog bank, and feels the warm sun penetrate his every cell. Warmth spreads through his every orifice, and the gleaming of the wings lighten the heart of the sun itself. However, it was not to be, this feeling. As Kais gathers his thoughts, he stares into the distance, crows and ravens both circling above the forests. This was never a good sign, the Messengers of Death and the Eaters of Flesh both circling only meant war. Battle tactics would include being able to send scouts, but he was too far away to contact someone at any great speed, 12
so instead, against all other paths of logic, Kais leans to the North, and begins pumping his wings at a ferocious rate. Wings carrying him faster and faster, the birds notice not that there is another form amongst them, one that is not purely avian. They had been used to Kais in the three hundred years that Kais had lived so far, his presence as recognizable as the chicks they all had waiting for them at the nest. Staring down into the interlocking branches, Kais is amazed at the audacity before him. Soldiers camped below him, his Lilac and black raptor like eyes taking in every minute detail. Each Officer held plumes upon their helms, and the mark of the Black Caste upon their shoulders. Stranger yet was the unmistakable sound of maintenance upon war machines. This began to grate his nerves, witnessing the betrayal that Unbeck was planning. But suddenly, as though a |old wind hzd gone down his spine, fezr pznged into Kzis’ mind znd {ody. The sour|e soon mzde itself apparent. A figure below emerged from the wilderness, and spoke to the Generals. This figure was dressed in a Cloak that seemed to shimmer with each step. A cloak that Kais had seen one similar to many years ago though draped upon the shoulders of his elder brother Altreicht. Though, it could not have been his brother, as a skeletal hand protrudes from the robed man with a scroll with the Caste insignia upon it. Deft hands unroll the vellum, and a ghostly visage of Unbeck, with a single gesture. The floating head nodded, and the Army below cheered, guffawing in their bloodlust. Blades unsheathed, and voices echo within the dense woods. The skeletal man was known as Dungat Githuk. Known for his business with the Caste, and his wild, but calculative Necromancy. Turning his body back towards the castle with wings pushing harder than ever before, Kais sped to his fzther’s side. He only hoped thzt he would mzke it in time. The Grezt Hzll doors stood ajar still, allowing the Prince a gateway to continue his approach. Sebastien looked bemused at his Prin|e’s swezty fz|e, znd pzsses the vest to his |hzrge wordlessly. Dezd set eyes zsk the question, and a finger points to the Library.
The oaken door of the Library explodes inwards, splinters flying everywhere, piercing the clothing of the Czste znd Kzis’ fzther. Loose plznks fly outwzrd zlso, z single sound hezrd zs Unbeck unsheathes his sword cane, and dispatches of the oak with a glowing blue blade. “Get zwzy from my fzther Un{e|k. I hzve seen your soldiers, znd the fz|t thzt they zre mzr|hing here, whzt did you think wzs going to hzppen?” Kzis zsks in|redulously. Unbeck glanced to the side, at the king, before spreading his lips apart in a feral grin. Those icy 13
eyes permeated the very core of Kais, as he read the lethality of his counterpart. “Simple. We zre here to overthrow zll of you. It is time thzt this lznd |zme under one rule.” Szying this, Unbeck took his sword cane, and swept it through the air. A bright aura of cerulean blue covered his blade, and extended forth. The aura sliced through the air, and swathed to Kais. Kais instinctively threw up his arms, and an orb of his Arkadian aura erupted about him. The aura collided into one another, and blew Kais to the wall, knocking him to unconsciousness. The King acted swiftly, and unsheathed his own blade, striking up a fiery stance of opposition. But even zs he did this, ez|h of the Blz|k’s took out z glowing {lue {ezd from their over|ozts. Smashing them to the ground, light filled the room, and one by one their bodies faded into the air. The room was an uproar of commotion, but Kais, knocked out as he was, did not hear whatever happened next.
End– for now
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