User:Ysselt/ArchivedSongs

Wren and the Red Winter War - Kortny Horselord:

"A swirl of destiny does flow
Amid the rumours of war
In this torrid soil a plot does grow
And gives rise to the prophecies of lore."

"A Chalice, a Bard, and a Lute
All intertwined with blood and tears
In this mixture an evil plan bears fruit
As reality gives birth to our deepest fears"

"A battle springs across the lands
Warriors rally to the horns call
The enemy comes with bloodstained hands
And clash against the city's walls."

"The cities are separated and heroes fall
As the warriors battle for the gates
Each town sends out an urgent call
And through it all we wait our fates."

"A message from the enemy arrives
A demand of just one bard's life
To stop the wounded cries
And put an end to this dreaded strife"

"The answer is no and the bardess hides
The chalice and lute are guarded closely
To try to stop death's swift ride
As the attackers ranks swell hopelessly"

"Warrior, Priest, Bard, and Empath
All fall to evil's sword
The cities are lost to the enemies' wrath
And at the gates the enemy now wards"

"Gentle bard is taken at last
Guardians of the lute are taken one by one
All defenders fall to arrow, sword, and axe
Many claim that the Gorbesh have won"

"A standard rises and warriors rally
The wounded heal and an army forms
These stalwart warriors challenge the tally
This army girds themselves all weary and torn"

"The paladins lead and the warriors follow
The towns are reclaimed one at a time
But victory brings a harsh sorrow
As violence is repaid in kind."

"As the world does recover
And the foolish believe it has ended
The wise discover
That our last hope might have been left unattended."

"A memory of three notes
Bring the bards together
They share a faint hope
But they find just a wrens feather."

"A voice to guide gives the way
As one of each is gathered together
They all join to sing and pray
And three step forward with a wren's feather"

"Their faith brings its reward
And Wren is saved from death
But only her life will the god's ward
But they give no guarantee for our last breath."

Archived Story of Anlorahle (from 2000) as told by Kortny Horselord

_{interesting despite canon inaccuracies}

When the armies of the World Dragon Priests had retreated to the area of the Black Hand, the Elotheans and Elves of the shattered city of Shard banded together to rebuild Shard and the province of Ilithi. It was during this time that Alec built a symbol of that new peace with the Elves, that symbol being the gondola that served to connect the elves with their Leth kin. The Elves, honored by this act, swore to guard and ensure the operation of the gondola. It is at this point that our story begins.

But even as the Elves and Elotheans celebrated the rebuilding of their cultures, dark forces gathered to oppose them. And it was in a deep hole that an evil necromancer began to chant.

"Darkness, Darkness, come to me!"
"Gather round and follow my decree!"
"A heart of ice and anger of life!"
"Create me a creature full of spite!"
"Form claws that are so sharp and cruel,"
"That they can slice those Elven fools!"

And as he chanted this evil spell, a creature was given life. Seemingly nothing but claws and fangs, it's first step on this world sent a ripple through the magic of the land. An Elven mage whose age was beyond the memories of all but himself, felt the evil magic resonate in the lands. And as it faded away, fate took possession of him and he chanted these words with his dying breath:

"As light turns so does darkness"
"As darkness turns so does light"
"When the powers of death bring forth life"
"The powers of life must bring forth death"

"A mother's milk will quench the flame
"A noble's blood will talisman bring"
"To the center must it go"
"And wait there for it's appointed foe."

Now the Elves debated long and hard trying to discern the prophecy. After five years of study, it was decided that they would create a talisman so full of the magic of life that it's mere presence would dampen the evil in the realms.What exactly the Elven mages did to create the staff is unknown. But after five years they appeared with a staff burning with a blue flame. A hundred Elven mothers gave of their breasts milk to quench the magical flames that danced within the staff. And thus was a talisman for good born. The leader of the Mountain Elves recognized that this talisman would be needed in the future and the safest place for it would be in the great temple in Crossing.

She chose twenty of her finest warriors to escort the staff to the province of Zoluren. To lead this war party she chose her daughter Anlorahle. Now Anlorahle was the pride of the Mountain Elves. There were many songs sung of her praising her beauty and her kindness. Unfortunately unknown to the Elves their actions had not gone unnoticed. Spies for the necromancer watched as the war party readied itself for departure. The mage summoned up his creature and infused it with his power. He then sent it to intercept the Elves and destroy the talisman. The creature raced toward the Elven lands with great speed. The war band, having gotten ready, departed from the mountains and arrived at the gondola. Anlorahle sent one half of her guard across to secure the northern platform.

The gondola guided by an Elven mage returned to the south platform to pick up the rest of the party. The spirits of the party were high and laughter and song filled the air as the party took their seats.

No one noticed the small thump on the top of the gondola.

The beast attacked without warning. The Elven mage operating the gondola was the first to die. The guards leapt to fight but were flung back and overcome by the pure savagery of the beast. In the end only the princess Anlorahle and the beast were left. Well, the princess held the staff in front of her and the beast was kept at bay. But the princess had not been unscratched in the struggle, a red stain was now forming at her side. Suddenly the prophecy was made clear to her!

"A mother's milk will quench the flame"
"A noble's blood will talisman bring"
"To the center must it go"
"And wait there for it's appointed foe."

She knew the future would need this talisman and also what she had to do. She reached down and ran the staff along the blood of the wound at her side. And a bright light enveloped the gondola, and Anlorahle's body fell to the ground. The beast with a heart of ice was too strong to be overcome so easily but it was greatly weakened by the magic of life that shone forth. With a jerk of the ropes the gondola started to move again, with no hand to guide it. The warriors having heard the cries stood ready on the platform. But whatever they where expecting it was not the creature that sprang past them and fled down the ridge. The rest of the war band rushed into the gondola with cries of dismay. All inside where dead and the enchanted staff was not to be found.

Some say the Elves failed in their mission that day. Others are not so sure, because that gondola with no hand to guide it still travels back and forth. And a few have been said to hear a young lady weeping as if some duty had long kept her separated from those she loved.

But I guess only Anlorahle really knows the truth. For now...