First Book of the Orchids

This is the Prima Liber Florae, or First Book of the Orchids. Long ago your Baron commissioned me to write a great work detailing the History of the World and the Victory of Treesia in the recent War. After much study of the ancient lore, I have finished the first Book, which deals with the Creation of the World. Without further ado, I give you the Tale of the Creation and the Fall:

The First Book Of The Orchids Prima Liber Florae

First Verse

First came the sea on the shore of the world
Then came the Mother of All
Then Mandorallen, with standard unfurled
Then Ilass, who fell in the Fall
Last came the Orchids that sealed the world's fate
Long 'ere the first isle e'er rose
That seal the Great Book when they touch and they mate
And bring all of our tales to a close

Second Verse

These words are carved upon the empty Cave
That marks the tomb of Utas. When he died
'Twas said that these (in every letter true)
Were the prophetic words the vanquished cried
Sent by some higher fate (I dare not guess
What voice can speak to gods in their last hour
In pain's despite, and force from bloody mouths
A verse, suffused with an oracular power.)
Whate'er it was, it guessed aright, and we
Children of gods, and keepers of the lore
Still gather 'round the words upon the Rock
To hear of wondrous deeds that came before
Our times, and of the battles of the gods
The loves and longings of the souls celestial
The iron fates that bind them in their grasps

Third Verse

And also bear upon our sphere terrestrial.
For, at the hour of that approaching doom
The world, the sun, the moon, and every star
In all the heav'ns as black as tigers' eyes
Not only shall not be, but never were.
The gems of Lukt, the ivory gates of D'nar
Yea, e'en the towers of Ennabruk sublime
Shall be swept up from off the muddy banks
And join the course of that swift current, Time.

Fourth Verse

But why do I precede myself, and speak
Of gloomy things still covered by a mist
The sun is rising o'er the Llachean moor?
And with its upper disc, at last has kissed
The rosy cheeks of dawn above the sea
And on the shore stand sea-birds, you, and me.

Fifth Verse

It signals to begin my tale, and chides
Lest evening should arrive before I'm done
The things I have to tell concern us all
Even Rianna, driver of the sun.
And would it not be rude to start a yarn
Holding a goddess as an honored guest
And drag it on until she must be gone
Denying her the knowledge of the rest?
So let me start my tale at her ascent
Like her, my story rises from the sea
A sea was the beginning of the world
Seekst thou the knowledge? Listen then to me!

Sixth Verse

In the beginning, void and without form
Lay a great sea as black as death or night
It stretched unto infinity and past
No island, spit, or sandbar lay in sight
Sight, did I say? There were no men to see
Nor was there light for vision, if there were
Nor even sound, save only sounds of waves
Which high upon the surface break and stir
No waves of water, these, which out of Time
Arose, performing some primordial dance
But waves of possibility, or hope
The crests and troughs of liquid, formless chance.

Seventh Verse

Greater than space itself, with mighty force
Holding them up, and when at last they break
Bubbles of Magic, Life, Spirit form
And whole worlds are created in their wake
Souls and lives coalesce, and break, and fall
And finally, return into the All.

Eighth Verse

I now will speak of the unbounded souls
Bound up in one such bubble; they were two
The Universe, a seed from which the world
The stars, and all their many peoples grew
And Paragon, the mother of the soul
Progenitor of noble thoughts, and queen
Of the cloaked shadow realm, where man's ideas
Lurk 'til illumed with astral light, and seen
The two stared into one another's eyes
In ways that none but they have ever known
Strange things passed 'twixt the two, and ere they rose
The Paragon remained, and she alone
Yet vitalized with that material seed
Which gives a form to the imagination
Thus, after pangs of labor, she gave birth
To four Great Gods, the Tetrarchs of Creation.

Nineth Verse

I sing of Tineon first, Forger of the Flames
His mind aflame, his soul consumed with light
Even the Sun he made to nurse the world
Is scarcely a reflection of his might
His eyes gaze from its disc, and he beholds
The golden lavas burn the crust above
The lightning of the dark and thunderous storms
The ardor of the comets as they move.

Tenth Verse

I sing of Gaother, Walker on Winds
Whose footsteps cause the thunder, and whose eyes'
Reflections form the bright and wondrous arch
Which after rainstorms often fills the skies
She welcomes in the spring with her soft breath
And at its end is overcome with grief
Her teardrops trickle down and feed the flowers
And, in their softness, heal the parched leaf.

Eleventh Verse

I sing of Salio, Carver of the Caves
Who, all alone, and at the world's dark heart
Sits at a massive workshop carving gems
And never halts or falters at his art
Huge piles of diamonds stand on either side
And from his mighty forge, volcanoes plume
Coughing out rubies sculpted in the depths
Of his cthonic, unforgiving gloom.

Twelfth Verse

I sing of Uisceor, Stirrer of the Seas
With hair of seaweed, and a beard of reefs
Easily angered; when his mood is dark
Great waves assault the beaches with his griefs
But when he sleeps, the waves are low and calm
And gently break against the sandy shore
As they have done for ages in his care
And (but for fate) would do for ages more

Thirteenth Verse

These four were firstly formed, and 'ere they lost
The aura of Creation's radiant glow
They peered into the void, and turned their eyes
Unto the gray and shapeless lands below
And o'er the barren plains of rock they peered
And talked among themselves for ages long
Beneath the starless sky until, at last
Their souls composed the bright Creation-Song:

Fourteenth Verse

Barren lands, burst into bloom!
Streams, arise and flow!
Let plains the forms of mounts assume
That tower o'er vales below!
Let the dark and shining seas
Take on their basins deep!
And let the pleasant western breeze
Awake the soil from sleep!
Come! O scorching deserts dry!
Come! O swampy fen!
Hearken to our melody
In every way you can!

Fifteenth Verse

And even as they sung it, it was so
The undistinguished and yet formless land
Paused as transfixèd by the Irdian lays
And matter lifeless heeded their command
First Tineon, eldest of the Irdian gods
Placed lakes of liquid fire as a bed
For Salio's sheet of rock, Uisceor next
Placed o'er the pits an ocean overhead
And lastly, like a blanket, Gaother
Covered it with an atmosphere of air

Sixteenth Verse

These Irdia, the Beauty-Spirits forged
The land into its shapes, and, when complete
They once again returned into the Void
To view their works, and mighty mother meet
There Paragon her children's shapes beheld
And smiled upon primaeval Earth and Heaven
And on what was to come, and after thought
That lasted eons, this response was given:

Seventeenth Verse

"Irdia, I commend thy pains
The solid rock, the liquid rains
The raging fire, the whirling air
Created by your thorough care
The tasks that were assigned to you
You faultlessly have carried through
But other tasks remain ahead
To give a soul to matter dead
To add a spirit that surpasses
Mere lumps of empty space, and masses
Behold! I soon will bring to be
The Faldia, Sprites of Destiny
To turn the world that you've begot
Into the setting for a plot
Which so transcends all other plays
Its memory will endure always"

Eighteenth Verse

Thus Paragon, and Tineon replied
Trying (although in vain) his grief to hide

Nineteenth Verse

"What? Would you say that all I've done
The boiling lava, shining sun
Was all in vain? Our wondrous lands
Will all be stolen from our hands?
We gods, who forge the art eter
Who make winds blow, and comets burn
Will not so readily surrender
Our perfect works to babes still tender
These Faldia, whate'er they be
Will have to prove their worth to me
Else, by the world's unfathomed heart
I'll never give away my art."

Twentieth Verse

Thus Tineon spoke, the Forger of the Fire
And Paragon spoke thus, to soothe his ire:

Twenty-First Verse

"'Beauty is truth', and yet it's true
Some beauties are unknown to you
Just as a song can never be
Complete without its harmony
So Earth, however fair, cannot
Remain a scene without a plot
Lest vale and mount, and sea and shore
Remain unchanged forever more
The truth in beauty's rise and fall
New beauty is, transcending all
And yet, to speak these words, I find
Is painting pictures for the blind
And thus this vow I give to thee
Wait, but doubt not, for you will see."

Twenty-Second Verse

With such a promise, Tineon was appeased
And all his siblings followed in his lead
But Paragon was not yet done, and these
New orders to her children she decreed:

Twenty-Third Verse

"The rule of sea, fire, land, and air
Requires vigilance and care
But in the days that fast draw near
New tasks and burdens will appear
Therefore, I give to you the spell
To summon demons out of Hell
To bind them to your cause and free
Yourselves, to serve those yet to be"

Twenty-Fourth Verse

She spoke, and mighty lore she did impart
To summon creatures from another plane
Monsters, with twisted shapes and burning eyes
And gibbering cries, to drive a man insane
But these the Irdia were, the Souls Divine
Who quiet an ancient evil like a child
So, fearlessly, they split the Wall of Earth
And jointly, they restrained the fearsome wild
Beasts, that inhabited the other side
And tamed and shaped chaotic astral flow
Until they formed from energetic flux
Their servants nine, which I shall name below:

Twenty-Fifth Verse

Bladhm, who wields the burning fiery sword
Eradicating all that is abhorred
By Tineon, her bright and wondrous Lord

Twenty-Sixth Verse

Craindoigh, whose fire subdues and reshapes stone
Who spins the Potter's Wheel, and who, alone
Calls metalwork and granaries his own

Twenty-Seventh Verse

Leaigh, who fixes stars within their spheres
Who sets what hour the shimm'ring moon appears
And constant, turns the millstone of the years

Twenty-Eighth Verse

Dobharcufile, who ties the various strings
In harps, that they may tell of wondrous things
And lend a spell divine to him who sings

Twenty-Nineth Verse

Folcador, who abjures the grain to rise
When Sirius rises in the summer skies
And weeps when apple falls or orchard dies

Thirtieth Verse

Lochrin, who guides the little barks that sail
O'er seas so wide and bleak that all words fail
And keep them safe from serpent and from whale

Thirty-First Verse

Caranna, ancient tender of the oak
(Many a man on moonless night awoke
To see her dancing in her silver cloak)
Aincoim, whose shelter is invoked by all
The birds that fly and little bugs that crawl
In murky swamp, wide plain, or forest tall

Thirty-Second Verse

Runda, who takes the iron from the earth
And bronze, and steel; and, having brought it forth
Forges it into armaments of worth

Thirty-Third Verse

Ulcharam, who the fiery sun restrains
And makes the quiet night involve the plains
For he who hope of mischief entertains

Thirty-Fourth Verse

Seicha, the Formless, who commands the chaos
The random gusts of motion that dismay us
And ceilings of the clouds, that overlay us

Thirty-Fifth Verse

And last, Rianna, driver of the sun
Who sets the course th' eternal chariots run
And holds the heart of mighty Tineon

Thirty-Sixth Verse

These were the Irbegdia, called from afar
To execute the heavenly design
To clarify all things that yet were vague
And all things still unfinished to refine
Creation was complete; the whole of Earth
The summit of perfection seemed to climb
But ah! 'Twas only so to gather height
For the first Cataract on the river Time

Thirty-Seventh Verse

For lo! The heavens shook! What had been built
So flawlessly now seemed to threat a fall
Contractions for the birth of some new god
Or gods, fantastic, to outdo it all
First on the world there fell a rain of blood
(Or rather ichor, for the primal All
Preparing for a birth was shedding gore
And like a meteor fell the godly caul)
The refuse took on forms: the primal beasts
Which stalked the Earth until by heroes slain
The fiends collapsed to primal power and
Fled downward, freeing Tirlar from their stain

Thirty-Eighth Verse

Demoreth, with a human shape
An onyx sword, a hooded cape
Debeleth, with uncertain wings
Together patched from sundry things
Demeboran, the wise but cruel
Wearing the form of a headless ghoul
Demeb, the stirrer of the main
Whose howling drives a man insane
Deder, who haunts the unmarked tomb
And tells a man his day of doom
And many others, just as rotten
Were on that fateful day begotten

Thirty-Nineth Verse

But when the final horror from the sky
Descended wroth, the heaving heaven stilled
The sun stopped in its course; the aether whole
With chords of songs empyrean were filled
And from the sky, before the Irdias' sight
A train of gods appeared, enchased in light!

Fortieth Verse

First Aeon, the Timelord and Father appeared
And then came the Mother of All
And then there came Utas, foredoomed to be speared
By Ilass, who fell in the Fall
Poor Ilass and Utas, their destinies bound
By the as yet unborn orchid flower
Yea, the two would come first, but as Fortune unwound
All the world would be thrall to their power!

Forty-First Verse

But such things did not occupy the gods
Who viewed their newfound siblings with delight
Nor all the monsters, born from dark abodes
Who saw, and balked, and fled into the night
At last, the Irdia all the message knew
Of Paragon: the Faldia were real
They were the world; the Irdia knew Thought
But they, the infant Faldia, could feel
Aeon, the first among them, made his home
In Calaspir, that dark and rocky plane
That lacked of light; yet, he pronounced it good
There did he settle; there did he remain
Laguna entered Ennabruk in joy
And there, with the Irdia, made her abode
And every day, to view the rising Sun
On Tineon's chariot through the sky she rode.
Utas and Ilass made their homes on Earth
The former, at the River Elwynn's source
The latter, in the moors of Rulak, where
The Desern River ran its swampy course

Forty-Second Verse

Then passed a Silver Age, 'neath Faldian sway
The lazy years went by; so went the sun
The various gods in their abodes lent light
Celestial to the world they had begun
Order endured, as strong and high as oak
Beneath Laguna, Mother of us all
The Faldia lived; the ancient Irdia 'neath
The one who makes the Sun-Disc rise and fall
The races multiplied - the King begat
Unto Rianna fair a shining race
He called the children Stars, and threw them high
Into the heavenly dome, and fixed them into place
Mother Laguna, from a seed unknown
Had children five, beneath that ancient sky
Celen, Anira, Onton, Annor, Osik
Would form the race of mortals, doomed to die.

Forty-Third Verse

Onton and Osik begat mortal Men
The first of the races to come
Annor, the hunter, and Anira then
Made Animals, brutish and dumb
Annor and Osik the Cynian race
Who at present rule Llacheu begot
And Onton and Celen (or so the myth says)
Made Microns, who time has forgot
Onton with Anira, lover of horses
Engendered the Centaurs of Breigh
And thus are the races, 'til Time, in its courses
As prophecied, sweeps them away.

Forty-Fourth Verse

In those bright times, when life and gods were new
The fivefold race in godly Ennabruk dwelled
But now, (Alas!) I must relate the fall
When they (as well as hope) will be expelled.
I now must speak of how it all began
The Fall, the war divine, the End foretold
And how the Orchids burst into the scene
And broke the peaceful Silver Age of Old

Forty-Fifth Verse

Now Paragon, the Mother of the Gods
Calls them together, as she had before
Irdia, Faldia, Micron, Man and Beast
Are summoned to the Crystal Throne once more
To hear her speak, and thus reveal her plan
In voice that shook the spheres, she thus began:

Forty-Sixth Verse

"O children, hear what Fate, which rules us all
Has in its awful majesty decreed
A set of twins within my womb now grows
Engendered by the Universe's seed
One will be Elwynn named; as white as snow
Will be her skin; as white as cloud her hair
And from her birth, she shall embody all
That's right and just, and wonderful, and fair.
Her brother by the name of Lest shall go
And be her opposite in every way
Around his flag will hosts of darkness march
And all the Beasts that in the Void hold sway.
The two shall fight, yet (wondrous are the fates
And many and strange the paths on which they move)
While their hosts war, their hearts will be at peace
While their hosts hate, their hearts will be in love
The Paradox, at the very heart of Time!
The Fatal Flaw within the plans of Fate!
The Darkness, in the very Light of Life!
The Knot that joins together Love and Hate!
And in the middle of the Final War
When everything by Chaos is undone
The Book will Close; another Book will Rise
With stranger Plot, when Two at last make One

Forty-Seventh Verse

O, children! Let these twins forever dwell
On diametric corners of the Earth
Lest ANDAN, the Destroyer of the World
Their strange, forbidden Union give birth"

Forty-Eighth Verse

Thus Paragon, upon her Crystal Throne
The future told - then, from the world retreating
She vanished from the sight to lands unknown
And left the gods together at the meeting
First Tineon, the eldest of the lot
Lord of the Lands of Fire, began to plot:

Forty-Nineth Verse

"The Goddess on the Crystal Throne
Foretold a power above our own
The seas and lands we made may soon
Be toppled to eternal ruin
And end the Art which we began
We must refine our Mother's plan
I call for two to volunteer
To take these twins, and keep them clear"

Fiftieth Verse

Ilass and Utas, by their stars compelled
Then make the fatal choice, and volunteer
The others all agree, and end debate
And think the heavens from their danger clear
O Utas! Ilass! O alas the day!
That you desired such dreadful things to bear!
For fate shall see one dead; the other damned
'Ere the book ends, and closes the affair

Fifty-First Verse

All passes just as it was doomed to pass
And when the fated day arrives at last
Two twins, one white, the other black as coal
Are from the Empress of the Eons cast
One to her tower the dreadful Ilass takes
The boy, called Lest; his skin is black like pitch
The other, Elwynn, is by Utas brought
Unto his river fortress from afar

Fifty-Second Verse

Our story now will split. Here I relate
The tale of Elwynn, and of Utas' fate

Fifty-Third Verse

When Utas first was born, he walked the world
From Tapfer to Alteria and back
In a wide circle. Every vale he knew
Through every mount and glade he traced a track
Numerous wonders did the god behold
To dwarf even godly Ennabruk's high towers
The heights of Mount Augustus, bright with snows
And Tapfer's rolling hills, with golden flowers
But the two springs that in the Shirian hills
Birth streams of crystal from their secret source
Beneath the living rock, which later join
And form a lazy river's rolling course
Utas above all other lands adored
And built his castle there, among the woods
High on a hill between the brooks it stands
Commands the valleys, and avoids the floods
Araxion it was called; it towered high
Carved from a mighty monolith of granite
With but a single mighty open door
Fringed by a marble arch that overran it
There he brought Elwynn; there his sister grew
To love the river, and the woods it raised
And every day she frolicked in the streams
Or viewed the towering redwood trees, amazed
Or reveled in the sun's restoring heat
Or gazed upon the stars and lunar sliver
At one with all of Nature's ways and haunts
'Til Utas after Elwynn named his river
When Elwynn walked the land, the darkest storm
Would dissipate into a welcome breeze
When in Araxion she dwelt or slept
All spite would fly, and every fear release
When Demoreth, or Demoran drew near
Their faces paled; their legs would turn and flee
All vengeance, hatred, and debate would turn
To friendship, love, and unanimity
Utas beheld his sister's gifts with pride
And when at last her seventh birthday came
He promised trips to Ennabruk sublime
To meet her parents, and exalt her name

Fifty-Fourth Verse

Thus Elwynn, fair as gems and white as snow
And now, to Lest, the other twin, we go

Fifty-Fifth Verse

Ilass, the Fallen Witch, was fairer once
And had indeed a seat among the High
Her hair was black as moonless, starless nights
Her nails were blood-red, though unstained with dye
Her skin was white and pale; her voice was soft
Her legs were tall; but wondrous were her eyes
Above all else; two never-closing doors
Into the Void beyond the upper skies
She made her home within the swampy woods
That marked the Desern's course - the Land of Grass
The realm was called, and it was filled with plants
To e'en the woods of Goldshire surpass
Great flowers, larger than a human hand
Blossomed on bushes green with leaves like fans
Huge oaks, to dwarf e'en Ennabruk's high towers
Huge beeches, far past any work of man's
The trees together wove a branching roof
That tinged the light of Tineon with green
Giving an eerie ambience to the realm
And forms of shadows many and strange were seen
Hewn from an ancient oak that grew no more
Was Galavalas, Ilass's mighty hold
Right in the middle of a wood it stood
A grayish-brown amidst the green and gold
And here the young boy Lest his childhood spends
Among the oaks, the chestnuts, and the beeches
And wanders by Ilass's forests in the nights
While during the day, she spells and legends teaches
Once, during his nightly walks, unknown to him
Ilass awoke, and followed through the door
And watched her brother; there, she stood aghast
While a young sapling from its roots he tore
Cracked it in two - his smile showed his joy
At desecration - then he took an axe
And to the stream-bed marched the little boy
He came upon a nest, and knocked it down
Laughed, as the little chicks fell in the stream
A fawn he found, and smote it on the head
His eyes still shining with a horrid gleam
Then Ilass called him, and her mind was wroth
To see such vile sins against the Right
Her brother came, but did not drop his axe
And there, he tried his sister, too, to smite
But Ilass spoke a Word of Power; he froze
And still in her command, was marched down low
Into Galavalas's very roots
The dungeons, where the brave may fear to go
And there he sat, and ever cursed the gods
And all they made, and Ilass was forlorn
But better attempt the Whirling Flame to stop
The fiery geyser, from Mount Yaanek born
In polar climes, than there, with love or threats
Attempt to reason with the raging Lest
For there he cursed the Gods and all their works
And with revenge alone, his mind obsessed
And Ilass wept to see her ward and care
In this condition, so she turned, distraught
To Aeon, who knew cures for every woe
Thus Lest, in chains, to Ennabruk was brought

Fifty-Sixth Verse

They set out for that many-towered heaven
On the same day Lest reached the age of seven

Fifty-Seventh Verse

Their ship of solid ebony was carved
The towering sails were laced with threaded gold
Early one winter morning they embarked
With Lest, in chains, imprisoned in the hold
Ilass sat by his side during nights and storms
'Til late one night, his threats and curses ceased
His sister then rejoiced, and vainly thought
His awful madness (and her fears) released
Lest feigned a sickness; Ilass by his side
Tended him, and forgot his evil ways
Through all the journey through the Gaeos Strait
She never left his side, for seven days
Then Lest began to speak of many things
Of Natural Science, and of Love and Hate
Philosophy, and Ethics, Truth, and Lies
The two for days engaged in their debate
For days they talked, and ever Lest increased
The evil and the boldness of his lies
But Ilass found she could not turn away
Her brother held her, with his yellow eyes
There, in the Strait that feeds the Central Sea
Through will and weakness Lest possessed the mind
Of his poor sister - with his glowing eyes
He showed and brought to pass what Fate designed
He spoke seducing maxims, seeming-fair
That cloaked and covered up a villainous core
To turn from light the minds of all who hear
Erasing all the love they knew before:

Fifty-Eighth Verse

When times are tough, to keep your word
Refusing gain, is quite absurd
A Friend is one who you can use
The Friendship of the Weak refuse
Those souls that peace and comfort seek
Renounce war but since they are weak
Life's Beauty, an idea abstruse
Is foolish - we the wise love Use
Love is a Sin, and only Lust
The Gods and Men are naught but Dust
Look not into the sterile past
No creed or hope or realm can last
To love thyself is foolish pride
For you are Dust, and naught beside
Seek not for Knowledge, lest it be
A Fact with which you don't agree
Evil is Earth, and all things in it
Our paltry lives last but a minute
From Truth and Beauty turn aside
Eschew as evil Self and Pride

Fifty-Nineth Verse

All this Lest said, 'til hypnotized at last
Ilass released him from the heavy chains
And thus they spoke of plans, and schemes, and plots
To overthrow the Faldian powers' reigns

Sixtieth Verse

In Ennabruk, the towered town on high
The gods were waiting for the chance to see
Fair Elwynn, who had promised to arrive
And meet with her extended family
Laguna, Aeon, and the Irdian gods
Received her in a many-pillared hall
And in the midst was Paragon's crystal throne
Where sat the Empress, looking over all
Each pillar of the clearest quartz was hewn
And clearest glass were every wall and door
The sky, with stars by night and clouds by day
Reflected in the mirror upon the floor
Lofty above the Earth the chamber stood
So those who dwelt their might their works behold
Their backs unto this vista were the thrones
Of all the gods; inlaid with pearl and gold

Sixty-First Verse

Now Utas entered, through the Western door
And little Elwynn hung upon his hand
Her dress of silver filament was sewn
Her hair was knotted with a silver band
And even Leaigh, molder of the moon
Bowed in admittance of superior art
And all the Irdia wondered and amazed
Yea, e'en Ulcharam, with his icy heart
But from the Eastern door, old Ilass came
And by her hand the awful Lest she led
Into the mighty Chamber of the Gods
He barely looked, and sneering, turned and said:

Sixty-Second Verse

I am the Chosen, the Child of Fate
I am here your dominion to end
With Fire, with Darkness, with Anger and Hate
Your Thrones and your Chamber to rend
I am the Nightfall, and I will prevail
As surely as Dusk follows Day
Surrender! Your might is predestined to fail
If you use it to force me away!

Sixty-Third Verse

Then Ilass shot a line of Whirling Fire
Into the center, at the Crystal Throne
Like Meteors from Perseus it struck
The rock began to vibrate and to moan
The gods their danger then at last beheld
And mighty fireballs from their fingers blazed
But though they melted Roof and Thrones and Floor
There Lest and Ilass stood, unharmed, unfazed
Utas a silver javelin threw
And right around the world it flew
And from the back, at lightning speed
It struck Lest's leg - he paid no heed.
Aeon, though far advanced in years
In his two hands picked up two spears
And threw them at his rivals two
They picked up speed, their path was true
Transformed to comets in the air
They missed Lest's head (but singed his hair)
Then Ilass summoned from the deep
Where many ancient creatures sleep
A serpent - when its head it reared
Its crest the cloudy covering cleared
And unto Ennabruk reached in rage
But with a strength belying age
Aeon a mighty axe updrew
And there the awful dragon slew
Now, from all corners of the sky
A cloud of bats was seen to fly
And turned to black its azure blue
To Ennabruk with rage they flew
But Utas, with his strength restored
A mighty drove of hawks conjured
I need not tell of every ploy
Tried by the gods, and little boy
Suffice to say that sea and air
And earth and fire all were there
And all in awful war employed
Until the world was near destroyed
The world all scorched, and neither side
Had conquered all, or turned the tide
When through a cloud of fire and dust and light
Both Good and Evil caught each other's sight

Sixty-Fourth Verse

And there, by their doom and their future compelled
Through the light and the dust and the fire
Both Elwynn and Lest one another beheld
And their hearts were consumed with desire
And forsaking the battle, they turned and they ran
To the center to meet find another
Thus the world would have ended before it began
Had the two not been stopped by their brother

Sixty-Fifth Verse

For Utas, through the fire and light and dust
The frantic meeting of the two espied
Remembering the prophecy at last
He flames and monsters and his death defied
Into the midst of all the war he ran
Snatched Elwynn, just ere Lest could do the same
He tried to flee, but tripped upon the Throne
And fell upon the crystal, hurt and lame
Elwynn escaped, but Aeon, just in time
Grabbed her, and spirited to far away
The land of Calaspir, his ancient home
Another plane, which this one underlay
Then Lest was struck with rage; his eyes of fire
Turned unto where the fallen Utas lay
But good Laguna, Mother of Us All
Ran in between, and blocked the child's way
But Lest was burning with an inner flame
He raised his hand, and thrusting at the sky
He lightning called; the Whirling Fire came
And struck the Mother Goddess in the eye
Her eye burst into flame. Then, driven mad
By grief and shock, but most of all by pain
She blindly ran at Lest-the little god
Just stepped aside, and viewed her with disdain
"Seek Calaspir!" cried Utas. "Mother, fly!
You cannot fight! Get to another plane!
My death will buy you time! Escape! Go! Fly!
My death must come! Let it not be in vain!"
And through the haze of shock and grief and pain
Some remnant of Laguna's mind took heed
And in a flash, she left our Time and Space
And fled to Aeon in her dire need
Now only Lest and Utas there remained
The others having died, or flown, or fled
Lest viewed his fallen rival with a smile
Raised high his sword, but paused a while, and said:

Sixty-Sixth Verse

O Utas! My brother! You fight very well
But all of your fighting is vain
No courage, no valor, no power, no spell
No flight to an alternate plane
Can ever turn back the ineffable tide
Toward Entropy, Chaos, and Hate
You fight well, but you'll lose, for you're on the wrong side
Thus I say, and I quote out of Fate

Sixty-Seventh Verse

But Utas, staring in the face of Death
Responded ere he gave his final breath

Sixty-Eighth Verse

"O Child! O Dark One! O Ennabruk's Bane!
All this that you tell me is true
But the stars still revolve, and the sun comes again
And the morning arrives with the dew
And while one drop of beauty is left on the Earth
And ere Fate's final chapter is done
I will fight ever on, and, whatever its worth
In the fighting, my battle is won"

Sixty-Nineth Verse

And a light, like to fire, within his eyes gleamed
And he spoke - no- he sang - to his foe
"In the things of the World there are Powers Undreamed"
And his eyes, and his crown, seemed to glow
"The World is a Story, and Stories have Ends"
He continued to say and to sing
"But as art, it endures, and its beauty, transcends
Chaos, Hate, Evil, Time......Everything"

Seventieth Verse

"First came the sea on the shore of the world
Then came the Mother of All
Then Mandorallen, with standard unfurled
Then Ilass, who fell in the Fall
Last came the Orchids that sealed the world's fate
Long ere the first isle e'er rose
That seal the Great Book when they touch and they mate
And bring all of our tales to a close"

Seventy-First Verse

Then, like a falling meteor strikes the plain
Lest threw his sword into his fallen foe
But lo! As the blade touched, he disappeared
And where he lies or dwelleth, none can tell.

Seventy-Second Verse

Well, that's the tale - I haven't reached its end
But, you could say, the end of the beginning
The sun is high above the sand and waves
The mists and fogs that cloud the moors are thinning
Behold the marsh, the forest, and the sky!
Enlightened by the sun! Bask in each ray!
'Till fate, like me, grows weary and decides
Like me, to rest, until another day.

FINIS