(Legend) The Tale of the Darksoul

GnomeWorks · 9th September 2003, 04:12 AM

The Tale of the Darksoul
Beneath where the dark god sleeps
Darkness hides the thing he seeks
Scorching earth and blazing fire
There he finds stars on a pyre
Wielding the dark blade of death and hate
He hunts for the dark god, lying in wait
Soulless and empty, a shell of a man
He kills for the sake of that for which he stands

Fighting the rage within his breast
He battles his foes with all his best
Hope has fled him, the star is gone
Nothing save hate yet drives him on
Slashing and slicing, cleaving and felling
He spills his foes - the damned
Further into the darkness deep'ning
'flection of his soul, atrophying

Upon an altar in the heart of night
Waits the dark god, smiling in spite
Alone they stand, dark facing dark
God against man - true dark to true dark
Lifting the dark blade high in his hand
His challenge he voices, echoes 'cross the land
The dark god just nods, and sounds a knell
The soulless one charges, a bat out of hell

Darkness surrounds them, a sphere of evil purest
Blade clashes 'gainst blade, putting each to the test
Flames surround both, fuelled by hate
The dark god beckons, summons forth bait
The soulless one screams, slashes 'cross far
The dark god surprised, as is the true star
Thus he killed hate, and love in one stroke
And all was lost - his search, his hope

So goes what is possibly one of the rarest tales to be heard throughout the world.

Scribed by a wandering minstrel who encountered the knight in the tale, the story spread only very slowly, as it was thought to be unpopular - far too moody and melodramatic for the peasantry. Eventually, the tale became simply that, a story, and all notion of what it truly meant was lost. However, a scholar was fortunate enough to come across a bard retelling the tale, and he sought it back to its roots.

No one knows who the 'soulless one' was, nor who the 'dark god' or 'true star' were - all these details were lost to the ravages of time. However, despite the incomplete details, the tale is still told in some places, though it is somewhat difficult to find a bard who knows the poem, or even knows of its existence.

Rumors also speak of those who heard the tale, and went off in search of the resting place of the 'soulless one'... those who do invariably never return from wherever they believe he was buried. The first minstrel who recited the poem is said to have helped the 'soulless one' to his resting place, and laid the knight's sword upon his tomb... but this, too, is rumor, and the possibility of it being true is quite small, though there are some who claim that the minstrel also drew a map so that he could find his way back to the tomb and pay his respects when he passed through the area. Some even claim to have seen this map, but their credibility is rather limited.

Is there truth to the tale? Perhaps, as much as there could be truth in any bardic tale. But it is a rare piece, and those bards who know it and are capable of recognizing an occassion when it is appropriate to be recited are just as rare.

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Following in CS' footsteps for the legend of elemental towers he posted before, I decided I would try my hand at writing something up, as well. Some of you may recognize elements of the history and the poem, but if you don't, that's okay, too

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I'd like to know what people think, as always, and I'd also like to know from the judges? If what I've done is alright, that being posting just a random element of history or myth or what-have-you.