Save One

 

Save One

Dark the night and grim the day

When rose the standards for the fray.

On winds of death the threads did sway

When a dragon led their Heart astray.

With gleaming eye and gloating tongue, 

The vile dragon breathed, “Save none.”

And so the dreadful deed was done

And all the cities fell, 

Save one.

Soldiers marched to beating drum,

A battle they had all but won,

To a city once called Heart’s Desire.

A city now engulfed in fire.

This city was the final stand.

The final bastion in the land.

The last seat of nation’s power.

To Heart’s Desire, Kingdom’s Flower,

Marched they ever on and on.

Now city sieged upon a hill.

Ash and smoke the air did fill.

With shattered hearts and broken will,

The people watched with blinded eyes

And on deaf ears poured out their cries.

All brought low and led astray.

In chains they went, now torn away

From hope and light upon that day.

Prince of darkness smiled on.

Day of shadow, night of wrong.

Virtue wailed in mournful song.

None escaped that day,

Save one. 

A single soul escaped the snare.

The fate of bondage did not share.

With all the flock they did not stay.

A single soul that slipped away.

Sole survivor justice swore.

The start and end of this great war.

To free all those still trapped inside

The dragon’s talons ‘fore they died.

One hundred more the one acquired.

With gold and glory they were hired.

“Let no one sleep,” the leader said.

“Until the evil here is dead.

All that answered this my call,

You fight with me, you fight for all.

From plague that rots unto the core,

Let us be free forevermore.

May each be paid with golden throne,

But serpent’s head is mine alone.”

With one great shout and sword held high,

On wings of hope they all did fly.

Went they back to Heart’s Desire.

Back to the city of flame and fire.

Same are both the end and start,

For every act flows from the Heart.

Brave the warriors, bitter the fight.

They fought with all their strength and might.

Even with no end in sight,

They fought on and on throughout the night.

The dragon laughed in scornful jest.

“How worthless is this foolish quest

To go against so great a foe!”

Defeat the creature did not know. 

The hero and the villain clashed.

The sky was filled with blinding flash.

When eyes could see the ending clear,

Joy replaced all doubt and fear.

Dead the dragon’s body lay.

Serpent’s head free and decayed.

Cheering filled the dawning day

When greatest evil was waylaid. 

Chains once bound now broke away.

Souls were counted, lives were saved.

The people free to live and thrive.

The plague was dead and all alive.

Save one. 

One hundred rallied to the call.

An evil dragon made to fall.

A kingdom saved upon the hill,

But a single soul was missing still.

One single soul was the price

Heads were counted once and twice

Their leader bold they could not save

The one under the dragon’s grave

Years have passed and none now read

Of this once monumental deed.

The name was lost and none now know 

Who brought down that mighty foe. 

Save one. 

Fear Not This Night - Jeremy Soule

This summer is off to an adventurous start. Kicked off May with a wedding, the Renaissance Festival, volunteer work, AND meeting another co-author! 

As usual, I have way more hobbies than I have time for so life is always a little bit of everything. 

Earlier this year, I did a 70-mile walking challenge and earned a medal for it. I signed up for another one to keep the momentum going. 

(Leaning into the old hag in the woods look)

I'm trying to get back into reading more. I have so many books on my to-be-read pile, it's inexcusable. Having recently gotten back into GuildWars2, I picked up some of the lore books and am currently working my way through those. 

Writing - is it possible to count all the notes I've made instead of actual writing? Cause I did way more of that trying to sort through and organize ISC than I did actual writing. 

Piano is... in a lull. Meaning I haven't been practicing like I should. :p

My plants are growing, I think. Only a couple have died so that's progress. Some are even starting to bud! 

It's been a month of making new friends. New guild members. New coworkers. New family members. People I should have been friends with a long time ago, but let fear keep me from reaching out until more recently. 

(Look at that! I finally met DJ and the world didn't even explode!)

It's been a month of reconnecting with and supporting old friends. The friends whose families were in rough situations. The friends who had surgery and/or scary medical emergencies. The friends who went through significant loss. The friends going through major life changes. The friends sharing news of incredible joy or success. 

Life gets busy. It's always busy. You don't get many moments to stop and catch your breath. And when you do, something always seems to come in to take it a way. Take a breath. In. Out. Slow down if you can, but don't stop. Life can be beautiful and wonderful and magical and meaningful, but you have to be looking for the light in the darkness. You can do it. I believe in you. And if you need help, I'm here. Never alone. 

"Courage, dear heart." - C.S. Lewis

"Dawn is just a heartbeat away

Hope's just a sunrise away." 

- Jeremy Soule

 ~ Always Hope ~

Queen's Gardens - Christopher Larkin (Hollow Knight)

Get Up - All Good Things

 

I see you. I know you're tired. I know you're weary. 

It's been a long day. A long week. A long year. A long three years. A long eleven years. You see it. I see it. It never ends. It never stops. Oh, how you wish it would stop. How your tired heart aches. 

It will end, eventually. You know that. I know that. We know the war has already been won. But not here. Not now. Not yet. Until then, you're not done. We're not done. 

Rest. 

Then get up. 

“It’s going to be okay. Things will get better. Anything’s possible, as long as you don’t give up. You’re doing a good job.”

“We’re not sparring here, bud. Get up.”

"It doesn’t end here.” He stood up. “If you’re ready to keep going.”

"We're going to change things, you just wait and see. Just trust me. Things will get better. That's a promise."

"I can't believe that you of all people would be ready to give up! No."

"There's no such thing as hopeless."

"Good doesn’t battle evil because it is easy. Part of being the good guys means doing the hard things, even if no one else will. Even if we fail. Because there’s always the chance we won’t."

"As long as you try, that's all I ask."

"Giving up when everything in you is screaming to quit is not strength. Continuing to live and hope and trust and fight for what's right is not weakness. So what if it looks hopeless? I will keep fighting."

“Grief has its place, but you can’t let it consume you. Get up.” He stepped up and offered a hand. “Get up,” he repeated.

"Oh, I’m not finished yet. We’ve got a war coming, remember?"

“We watch out for each other, remember? You’re gonna be okay. Things will get better. That’s a promise.”

“I won’t give up! Not here. Not this place. I have to keep going."

"How many times are you going to stand up?”

“At least once more."

"Always hope. Always."

Eyes up, guardian. You're not alone. 

When you're ready... 

Let's go. 

"These trials make us who we are, who we are, we are

We're motivated by the scars that we're made of

These trials make us who we are, who we are, we are

We take our places in the dark

And turn our hearts to the stars"

Trials ~ Starset