| Match 241 |
Kaosfere |
Drusilla
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The Fall of the Great Kings of Azure
or, The Olympian Gods Vanquish the Titans
Long ago and longer still,
Before the Endless Night,
All alone on Azure thrones
O'er the waters, cool and bright,
Titans' hands did rule the land
With wond'rous, steely might.
Giants both in size and scope -
Their kingdoms proud and vast -
Every one a full-grown son
Or daughter, down until the last,
Motherless, sprung from the sea,
And Godly shadows cast.
Brothers of the sapphire blue
Though they might have been,
Soon they spurned, quite unconcerned,
What, without their Azure den
Lurking in the inky murk,
Waited still for them,
Favoring between the kings
To fight incessantly,
Spilling gore upon the shore,
Dying red the peaceful quay,
While black spleen between the queens
Fueled the war decrees.
Fighting so, they did not know
The light'd begun to dim,
Turning grey the sunlit day
While the wild capricious whims
Within the Titans, black and cruel,
Grew by day more grim.
Still they looked not once outside!
Still they fought like dogs!
Little knowing ever-growing
Wheels were turning, just like cogs,
As hordes of smaller Gods and minions
Waited in the fog.
List'ning for a battle-crash
The Gods snuck in, ignored,
And overthrew, for old men tell
That when it came to strength of sword
Titans there were few, but strong;
Gods there were in hordes.
And so the Azure giants fell,
Crumbling from within,
Taking with them, left in ruins,
Flags grown threadbare, flags grown thin;
Loud and fell, the Midnight bells
Knew the Gods would win.
Some went screaming, some at peace.
The Titans, one-by-one,
Were chained, constrained, and so contained
Below the sea, beyond the sun,
Ridiculed and painted fools:
By Midnighters outdone.
Tiny, squabbling Midnight Gods
Ruled each on his throne,
None with quite the firey spite,
Struggling not to be unknown
In a sea of mediocrity,
Each somehow alone.
But sometimes still they get a chill
As angry Titans roar,
Growing restless in the night,
Yearning for just one last war,
Screaming challenges which now
There are no answers for.
None reply, and so they die,
The great Titans of old,
Braver, stronger than this throng
Of Gods not half so large or bold,
And fade like candle light at night
After the story's told.
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| Match 242 |
Kaet |
Crystal
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The Feast
A sky of blue, an ocean of like hue,
And between the two sailed a ship.
'Twas mostly creaking, but just barely leaking.
Well maintained, it moved at a brisk clip.
Though true to their duty, the crew was quite moody;
Attitudes forgivable, it had been a long trip.
The ship's name wasn't bad, it was the "Rare Shad,"
And was now nearing its home island of Flow.
The captain did reckon and then his cook beckon
To create a feast, journey's end apropros.
"We're farther along, my previous guess was wrong,
Not two weeks, we've only three days to go."
A dining decision based on the precision
Of estimation for time left at sea.
Much calculation for such celebration
Expected from crew members soon home to be.
A very large dinner, no one's getting thinner,
One last gargantuan culinary spree.
'Twas a full day from port when their luck took the sort
Of turn which would make grown men curse.
As day turned toward night, the lookout caught sight
Of a ship far too close (it gets worse).
Their captain sighed and then their hopes died.
"Tis pirates," he said, his voice terse.
Though bravely they fought, 'twas all for naught,
They were more merchant than bloodthirsty beast.
Cannons put holes through ship and through souls
Not a thing could be saved, not the least.
The ship's death blow was dealt, but most last thoughts dwelt
On the sadness of missing The Feast.
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The People Who Lived In Azure Before The Other People Who Lived In Azure
I tell the tale of early days
Upon the Azure Ocean;
The people's lives, the happy times,
They live with calm devotion;
Committed to their ocean blue
Infused with quiet emotion.
Their gentle ways and tranquil days,
Their graceful homes and shops,
Their careful craft, the way they laugh,
Their music and their songs,
Their efforts round the island found,
Their ships upon the docks.
Until one day, in little ways,
A change of mood appears;
No blatant sign, but in short time
The symptoms become clear;
The times are bad, the people sad
They face their world with fear.
Their cheerful ways begin to fade,
Their smiling faces fall.
They soon ignore their normal chores
And life begins to pall.
The people start all to depart
As if they hear a call.
They have to leave, they all believe,
For reasons undivined,
And boat by boat, away they float,
And leave their homes behind;
The isles bereft, the buildings left
Untouched for us to find.
As if they know, as one they go,
To Midsummer they race.
They stand quite still, the beaches fill,
Resolve upon each face.
Each in a daze, with absent gaze,
They gather in this place.
Then all awoken, word unspoken,
Quietly moving, hand in hand,
Without a smile, onto the isle,
Within the ring of stones they stand,
And as they enter, move to the centre,
And vanish to a distant land.
A month or two and people new
Take Azure for their own;
They think it's clear that folk lived here
But not why they had flown.
Why should it be, this mystery,
The reason still unknown.
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| Match 243 |
Bladen |
Kgarrett1969
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Captain Mcbeth and the Gunwhale of the Azure Ocean
A way back in the days of Azure,
A world of mystery and wonder,
Where legends rose, and legends fell,
The early days of poe and plunder
There lived a beast, of legend yore,
Could tear a frigate clean asunder
With skin to stop a cannon ball,
Ghastly stench and foul breath,
The size of nothing you've e'er seen
On it's approach, men prayed for death
The Gunwhale e'er inspired such fear
In all but my Captain Mcbeth
The Gunwhale roamed the waters blue,
Brought not but terror to the sea
Brigands or Pirates, it cared not
The Gunwhale turned them to debris
The beast could not be bargained with,
To spare yer life, ye had to flee
Mcbeth decided he would quest
To gather all the crew he could
He'd tell them not about his plan,
Or join him, not a pirate would
But after Gunwhale took his bride,
He swore he'd end this plague for good
Twas many moons before that time,
Mcbeth had married his true love
But on their maiden voyage home
He saw a shadow from above
The gunwhale jutted from the sea,
He'd seen them from the deeps thereof
Mcbeth, with panic paralyzed,
Shook himself to get his sense
He fired off a pair of shots
But found the Gunwhale's skin too dense
The Gunwhale turned and fired back
The tiny sloop had no defense
Twas on that day his love was lost,
And on that day it was, he swore
That he would spend his ev'ry breath
To kill this ancient beast of lore
And if he failed, he'd be content
To join his love, forever more
So off we sailed, our motley crew
Each one, a man of ill repute
(For how, without a question asked,
Could he have hired but a brute?)
We sailed off into destiny
As Captain laid the course and route
And on the third day out to sea,
We spotted Gunwhale off the bow
The men were nearly faint with fear,
The sweat came pouring from their brow
The Captain called to intercept
And then the crew obeyed, somehow
It seemed the battle lasted hours
But really it was rather short
Our hull was shredded from his guns
He seemed to play with us for sport
He came about, and bared his teeth
Displaying now, his true purport
The crew, they fled, abandoned ship
But I, my duties, would fulfill
On but a carcass, here, we float
We have no hope left to instill
Mcbeth and I now wait to die
But, lo, the Gunwhale hunts us still.
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Duncan and the Fiend of Flow
Upon dazzling sand of a distant land
Across a sea of shining azure blue
In a tiny hut of light butternut
Made from broken boughs of the roughest yew
Lived a pirate lad who was simply clad
Of whose name was that of Duncan McHugh
I mention prepense before I commence
So you know I'm not feeding you a line
That oft times fails even the best of tales
So trust fully these many words of mine
For all of them come most truthfully from
The trustiest swabs of our realm so fine
The Duncan of fate is the simplest mate
And quite an old ordinary deck hand.
Worked hard for his pay a tailor by day
And at night it was rawhide that he tanned
The problem you see on shore by the sea
Was all wore colors most sorrowfully bland
This great issue thus defined without fuss
Caused Duncan at once to pause and ponder
How he could address this state of distress
Thus his mind it did begin to wander
Upon vestments bright all his mates just might
Their riches to be inclined to squander
He made a decision with only his vision
So his spirit was quite happy and bright
With all of his things tied up with some strings
And with brightly colored thoughts of delight
He went at a walk down to the ship dock
And left swiftly at the mornings first light
Round did he whirl isles Coral and isles Pearl
Across to Emerald and Diamond and Jet
And so did admire Ruby and Sapphire
Though his jaunt held not a single regret
The color so bright he'd sought for all night
Thus far he'd been quite unable to get
He paused on his swing to think upon Spring
What vivid hues would cause swabs to all stare
And bait them to gape all over the cape
When fine sailors his grand fashions would wear
"It's black of renowned that'll cause them to round!"
Did Duncan assert with the greatest flare
But where in this night of the Azure sea might
Be found a dye of quite the darkest black?
It mustn't be easy to get nor simple to net
Or richest value greatly would it lack
It came upon him as quick as a whim
A kraken was what he would have to track
Leaving that calm vale at once did he sail
For the tiny far-flung island of Flow
With his heart hopeful through isles of Opal
Sailed he as he watched the sea from the crow
Hoping to see there within the great sea
For a small glimpse of his prey down below
From up on his perch after hours of search
He saw them there just below the waves
The greatest of sights he saw in the night
Like so many hundred deepest dark graves
Were all of those giant krakens of whose
Black as midnight blood he so craves
Most quickly he made to set to his trade
And thus to ensure his quest would not fail
But there to the stern one beast it did turn
And against his ship it began to flail
So Swiftly he ran to think up a plan
To fell the foul beast and fill his great pail
The ship he did snub to turn to a club
If only he could ram into its head
The creature did dodge and try to dislodge
Each time 'cross the bay it had calmly fled
Then finally a smack and a monstrous whack
The ship struck home and the beast surfaced dead
Collecting all the blood of that blackish flood
He made his way back to that distant shore
Where soon all that plaque turned to richest black
And gobs everywhere knew about the store
Where the finest spats, Shirts and pants and hats
Are to be found in colors now galore
This does now resign this meek tale of mine
Of plain old Duncan, a tailor to the end
Whose difficult hitch was simple to stitch
To which we all should rather him commend
For it was he upon the Azure sea
That we owe all our current color blend
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| Match 244 |
Talisker |
Jonsulman
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A Tale of Cleaver's Love
In foggy haze of ancient days
When large sloops plied the Azure Sea,
The Captain strong, he went along
Trying to find him a girly.
He searched all day and all ways,
For the Captain, he was lonely.
Then down on Xi, one caught his eye
At a dark inn, smelling of shad.
There he espied a future bride
Sitting on a handsome lad.
Sipping her rum, she struck him dumb,
And he knew that she must be had.
He brushed his butt, sucked in his gut
And walked over to retrieve her.
Resting her cup she just looked up,
And she made him a believer.
Starting the game, he gave his name,
And stammered, 'Hullo, I'm Cleaver.'
Now her fine lad was looking mad
And said, 'Good sir she is taken!
She is my girl, you foolish churl,
Go! Or your arms will be breakin'.'
Drawing his blade, a face was made,
Then Cleaver said, 'You're mistaken'
'She has my heart, we'll never part'
The lad snorted his derision.
'Let's step outside, I'll tan your hide,
We'll let blades make this decision!'
'Let's go on out!' Cleaver did shout,
And pushed him with great precision.
Out in the street the two did meet
With great shiny flashing swords.
All down the block, people did gawk
Out to the street the neighbours poured.
Off with his head, the lad was dead,
Deprived of his most precious gourd.
He had the dame, but to his shame
The poor lad had just lost his head
He should fix it, but with tricks it
Was hard not to leave him undead
Then an idea, 'It is so clear,
I have got just the thing,' he said.
But it is tough, fixing is rough,
It sure wouldn't be trivia.
But he felt sad for the dead lad
He wished he hadn't divied 'em.
But he'd loved her and had won her,
The many-armed Olivia.
A bag was opened, and he was hopin'
To find what was needed to fix.
'It's not a leg, but I've a peg'
He pulled forth a bundle of sticks.
He carved a face, put it in place
And left off the ears just for kicks.
The lad leapt up, and raised a cup,
'Sir Cleaver here chopped off my head,
And then replaced my missing face,
With one of wood when I was dead.
It may be strange, maybe deranged,
But I prefer the peg instead!'
Now they are friends, unto the end
Through all the mess and all the muss.
Though it is hard, believe this bard,
Yes, Cleaver made all of that fuss
About the head, and raised the dead,
For one pretty young octopus!
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The Ballad of Claymore and the Black Gold
Fresh was the breeze as out over the seas
Captain Claymore's brave crew did go forth.
They'd taken a boat on a mission to float
To the ice-ridden regions up north
In search of a land where their scurvy old band
Could find gold or treasure of fabulous worth.
Seven O'clock and away from the dock
Of old Alpha island they sailed.
Their spirits were high, there was nowhere a sigh,
As the captain drew breath and inhaled.
"Raise Sail, ye big louts!" he loudly did shout
For he wished to be off while the tide still prevailed
Noon a week later, far from the equator
To the end of their charts they did venture.
When the lookout cried "Arr, look there, not too far,"
And the captain ran up to stand next t'er.
For there in the ocean, black as hate's emotion
Floated the start of Claymore's great adventure.
"Like India ink, there it floats, doesn't sink,"
Said Claymore aloud to the crew.
Pr'aps he had a vision, for a lightning decision
He made to follow the goo.
"To Starboard" he cried, and the wind they did ride
And followed the trail with its sinister hue.
They sailed for a day till they spied far away
The end of the footprints so black.
The lookout cried "Hey!" as he looked in dismay
At sight at the end of the track.
For there lay a beast of a mile at least
In length, and it had come under attack!
The crew looked in wonder as sounds loud as thunder
Across the high waves did come streaming.
Two sperm whales, enraged, were in battle engaged
'Gainst the monster so huge they were teaming.
What they fought was a squid, one so monstrously big
When he saw it the captain felt sure he was dreaming.
Its tentacles huge the kraken did use
Like hammers against its two foes.
But the whales were so quick that the tentacles' kicks
Always missed, inches from each whale's nose.
And meanwhile their teeth they were sticking beneath
The squid's skin till black blood from its veins quickly flowed.
The sea monster battle the ocean did rattle
Toward the ship great high waves it did send.
Claymore cried out "Make haste, not a second's to waste!"
And they quick to the port side did bend.
Not a moment too soon, for high as the full moon
A wave toward them smashed and washed o'er the ship's end.
As they sped from the scene, Little Jim, just thirteen,
To the captain he quickly did run.
Though his heart it did hammer, he nervously stammered
"Oh Captain, look at what I've done."
He held up a bucket. Filled all up with muck, it
Did not reflect even one ray from the sun.
The captain he ripped from his sleeve a small strip,
And dipped it into the black pitch.
He pulled out the cloth from the midnighty broth
It had turned black as night, every stitch!
He grinned to the crowd as he hollered aloud,
"This black dye could easily make us all rich!"
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| Match 245 |
Sharrac |
Gotagota
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The Legend of William and Bailie
Bailie was a pirate lass,
spawned in Azure's blue.
And never was a pirate there
quite so loyal or true,
dedicated, and refined,
and loved by all her crew.
Bailie toiled through the ranks,
and moved up through each place
eventually to Captain, where
she showed her true face.
A cruel mistress she became:
Of the sweet lass no trace.
Bailie's crewmates soon succumbed
to her viciousness and greed,
and she set out to sieze new crews
with awe-inspiring speed.
She annexed flags and took control-
the ocean had to heed.
The Azure pirates grew uneasy
under Bailie's iron will,
but not one could dare oppose her
for some mates loved her still,
though for most her very name
espoused an icy chill.
Then one day came hope at last
in one great pirate lad
his name was William and he was
the best that Azure had.
Brave and true he had to be
and just slightly mad.
He issued forth a challenge,
to the evil queen's suprise.
She answered it with fire
in her frozen eyes
and she came out prepared to fight
to keep her Azure prize.
A battle raged between the two,
from dawn into the night.
So even-matched were the two foes
that no end was in sight.
As midnight's darkness fell on them
they both kept up the fight.
Suddenly a shot struck true;
the queen's proud ship was gone.
A broadside hit had pierced her hull
and took her ship at dawn.
Her sails dipped low beneath the waves
and under she was drawn
But brave and true to the last breath,
he would not let her go;
William grabbed forth from the waves
the body of his foe.
He rescued her and kept her safe
from the inky deep below.
Bailie woke on William's deck
wrapped up in his arms,
and found something she thought she'd lost
for once she could not harm.
She fell at once in love with William
with all his wit and charm.
When Bailie woke that morning clear
a change came through her heart:
no more did she wish to steal,
nor any violence start,
for now she knew she'd found at last
her soul's missing part.
Together thenceforth Bailie ruled,
with William by her side,
and Azure's pirates rejoiced to find
a new dawn on the tide.
Happiness and love and peace
spread both far and wide.
Never has there ever been,
since Azure ceased to be,
a true love like the one that's found
with William and Bailie.
The power to unfreeze a heart
and keep an ocean free.
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Indicative of An Old-Timer's Quest
from Overheard In the Adventurer's Society
an upcoming work, collected by its founders, Fronsac and Frederico.
The sun has gone setting on Azure the ocean
And times long forgotten get dredged up again
When the principal players, drinking and boasting,
Have on the agenda, "To take up the pen."
Telling the stories that made them all famous
And some not-so-famous from way back when...
There was monsters and treasure and islands unseen
In an ocean unsailed where the secrets uncovered
Revealed not doubloons, nor fantastical men
But a prize of inestim'ble worth we recovered
A tailor's delight, a fanciful gown
That centers this tale of colors discovered.
The dress that's in question was pretty and fair
(At least that's what the ad-treasure map said)
And we, being pirates of valor and taste
Had studied just what the treasure map read
And set our sights on acquirin' the thing
So we'd follow wherever the treasure map led.
An arduous journey! I won't say how far!
Suffice it to say 'twas intermin'bly long
That saw us make landfall at our destination
So spirits were high and we burst into song.
As we passed by each marker, our fears and unease
Gave way to raw doubt: We were unquestion'bly wrong.
"Back but two streets!" "Make a right, not a left!"
"Are you sure? We might not be on the right screen."
The men, now disheartened, panicked and fled
Away from this place, to a previous scene.
Our heroes, by contrast, followed the route
And soon were rewarded with satiny sheen
In the window, right there, shiny and new
Hung the dress that we had so eagerly sought
And as we approached the counter and clerk
She told us we'd not enough money! We fought
With her there, on Alpha, with swords
And emergin' victorious, the dress we bought!
It may have been at a steep discount indeed
And not quite the style for which we had come
But the intent was achieved: We'd purchased a dress
And it even looked good on a few of the chums.
And now that this story of Azure the old
Is finished, won't you buy me another rum?
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| Match 246 |
Daynarius |
Squidbeard
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The Monster of Azure Sea
'Twas many and many a year ago,
There lived by the sea a boy, a lad,
A wee pirate prince - not yet come of age.
And he cried by the water with tears so sad;
At dawn and at dusk, he cried to the sea,
But in vain; for none of compassion it had.
"Farewell!" bade the king, on that night full of grief,
While the queen and the prince bravely smiled through the rain.
The king marked their image, a portrait of love;
'Twas his last, for he never would see them again.
The sails unfurled, the anchor was weighed,
The ship ventured forth seeking dangerous game.
Day after day after night after night,
The king and his men searched the waves for their prey.
Through storm and through sun, through gale and through calm,
They sought out the creature who'd held them in sway,
The beast who's aggressions had cowed all the land,
Had haunted the kingdom, had killed men for play.
"I must vanquish the Kracken!" the king did exclaim,
With resolve in his voice and command in his air -
His men rallied their spirits, for long was the search,
And at last did the tentacled monster appear.
Their quarry was gruesome, with terrible strength,
And many a man felt his heart quake with fear.
The battle ensued like a clash of the gods!
Spear tip was broken, shield was cloven!
The beast gnashed his teeth, his scream rent the night!
The king felt the tunic his own queen had woven
Tear as the monster broke through to the flesh,
His blood flowed as 'round man and beast were both striven.
With one mighty lunge the king aimed at the heart
Of the bane of his rule and the goal of his quest.
The spear met its mark with a force, fast and true,
And the men watched the Kraken with awe in each chest;
Their king had extinguished the the source of all fears,
They praised him with cheers, they declared they'd been blessed.
As up on the deck celebration rang out,
A bloody black arm grabbed ahold of the prow
And the ship gave a heave, dark water rushed in,
A trickle of blood ran down the king's brow.
Without any fanfare the ship slipped beneath
The deep Azure blue, to a grave down below.
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The People Who Broke Their Island
In days of yore, ages before,
We pirates found these sands,
An ancient race lived in the place
Where Cameloot now stands,
And in those days, the story says,
No chasm marred these lands.
Until there came the awful reign
Of the island's nameless lord,
It was well-known he took the throne
At the point of his sword
But though his rule was often cruel
He was widely adored.
He ruled the isle in martial style,
Great armies did he raise,
He sent his ships far as Eclipse
And set their lands ablaze,
And to his pleasure, he gained much treasure
And every subject's praise.
But through his life, he took no wife,
And of concubines had none,
And as he aged, he felt enraged,
That he had no rightful son,
And with his death, his final breath,
His line would be undone.
He grew to hate this cruel fate,
And soon he had a plan,
To never die, he would deny
The fate of every man.
Howe'er misguided, he was decided,
And his mad scheme began.
He caused his people to build a steeple
To rise into the sky.
Up there to find the gods divine
And make them heed his cry,
To be among the ever-young,
That he might never die.
But when his temple reached the clouds,
And touched the heavenly Powers,
They were displeased, to say the least,
And so they shook the tower,
And sent it tumbling back to Earth,
A terrible, deadly shower.
The spire fell down, and hit the ground,
The ocean gave a roar,
With a mighty spasm, there appeared a chasm
Where the Tower stood before.
The Powers' wrath broke Jorvik in half
Splitting it shore to shore.
Old Jorvik's folk were harshly broke
By the gods they sought to claim.
And this land on which we stand.
Will never be the same.
The isle was cleft, her people bereft,
Of their home and their name.
Now listen well, this tale I tell
Is not just an empty speech,
I hope with time my simple rhyme
Will serve to help you each
Never let yourself regret
The limits of your reach.
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