Tag Archives: story

Welcome to life.

Posted on by under News, Shorts, Thoughts and other ideas

I feel crazy. I’m excited, elated, unable to rest, focus nor calm down. Ideas, so many ideas. Or, more seriously, flashes, bribes, pieces of ideas, coming, going, dancing all around me, toying with me, my emotions and my memory. I have beginnings, ends and a thousand romances in between my fingers but none of them can I write down because of this unstable state of mind. Jumping from Ore to Alexandre then to the one with the magic ink writer back to the Halfling and so on and so forth. every moment of every second! I want to make something out of this, out of these ideas. Something good, something great, I want to write, to tell my stories, but I can’t… not until I settle down and make a choice, decide, choose, set the course and follow a single path. So many possibilities. Exhilerating, annoying, awesome feeling but frustrating. With ifs I could rebuild the world from scratch. But that’s not what I wanna do, I want to build my world from scratch. I want to, I need to, I have to, I will. But how? When? Soon. Perhaps. I hope. I can’t decide. I can’t write if I can’t decide. I have to write. Damn it!

 

So this is something that I wrote an evening, a few days ago, as I was trying to write something but couldn’t manage for my life to write down anything I had in mind. I just went with the feeling and let the pen do what it had to, I let my hand guide itself and came up with this rant. I don’t know why but tonight a song reminded me of this rant and the feeling I had in my heart while I was writing it. I have such amazing stories to write, such great ideas I don’t manage to make the most of… It’s extremely frustrating! You can’t even imagine! Or perhaps you can, I don’t know… But I the worst is that I realized that this doesn’t only apply to my writing, it also happens in the rest of my life too!I’m not someone who can manage to get motivated without any reason or to be serious and dedicated in doing things.

‘I have beginnings, ends and a thousand romances in between my fingers but none of them can I write…’

Especially my studies and finding a job.I try but not enough and, as soon as it gets hard or complicated I avoid it as best I can. Unconsciously or consciously I don’t know but it does happen. And in writing it happens too, I try but when I struggle I move on to something else and don’t try hard enough… It’s a big problem. I realize that but getting over it is extremely hard. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it, at least not easily or very quickly, but I am working on it. I will be trying harder, even my hardest, to work on my writings because it’s one of the only things I really feel motivated for! Also I will try to apply some of that motivation to my studies, I like what I’m doing this year, I can’t screw things up, I have to suck it up and just do it.

If I try hard enough then, one day, perhaps…

Anyway, I’m not here to rant, just to try to explain what motivated me to write this and what I feel. I don’t know why, I just had to do it… I think that this song is not for nothing in this feeling : “J’essaye, j’essaye” from the Casseurs Flowters, a french singer (or band I don’t really know), which I just discovered and fell in love with. I’m not usually a fan of the genre of music they make but this time I seem to really be growing fond of it. Both the melody and the lyrics stir something inside me in a way that I don’t really understand but that I can feel deeply. Especially during the parts where the old woman sings. I can’t explain it, I can just feel it. It’s a bit like when I read poems that, without knowing, I end up loving for reasons unknown to me. And I wanted to share it a bit with you, somehow hoping you could get what I feel or at least what I mean or try to mean…

Anyways, that’s all for tonight, thank you all and enjoy. :)

♪ J’essaye, j’essaye de faire de mon mieux et je m’ennuie quand tout devient sérieux. ♫

(I don’t know if you’ll be able to understand the lyrics but both the meaning and the melody are worth listening to, at least they really get to me.)

Oh, and just before I go : no Echoes of Power tonight, I have literally no idea about how I’m going to write the next part which is very important and is going to (hopefully) start the really interesting part of the story (I also have very little motivation, which really doesn’t help). So yeah, no update on that side today, hopefully tomorrow I’ll have figured out how I want to write this and with great luck you might even get two parts instead of one. Who knows… In the mean time, have a great evening and see you later.

Anything hallow, anything mellow.

Posted on by under Poetry

*

This story took place, be told my deary,

By a night like this, cold and dreary.

Came a strange fellow, old and weary,

On a steed of stone, mold mystery,

He offered riches, golden jewelry,

To those who would dare, bold and fiery,

Bear an ancient curse, ten fold eery,

Then, vanishing in the wold, leery.

A bit of poetry.

Posted on by under Poetry

You

 

You. So bright and breathtaking, so beautiful and shimmering.

The sun of my nights, the moon of my days.

The one which I seek, the one I want to please.

Oh so happy am I with you, nothing else I desire.

 

Your bright warm smile and shining eyes,

Your soft hair of flowers, a musk to remember,

Frames the face of an angel from heaven come

And pushes away the nightmares that, from hell, rose.

 

Whatever I do, whatever I say, wherever I go

No matter what may come towards my way

Nothing can drive away the honey in my heart

My body, my mind, my soul are forever yours.

 

You are perfect, you are flawed, you are strong and yet fragile

You are near, you are far, you are here, you are not

You make may heart beat away all the seconds of my life

You make me love you always more, passion burning to my core.

 

And you make me want to drop it all, to love and fly away,

And… you… And you… I…

Courir, mourir.

Posted on by under Poetry

Morte.

*

Running and living,

Stopping and dying,

There is no fighting.

.

No one trenscends

We can only flee,

Run far away,

As far as possible.

.

No one ascends

No matter how fast,

Run far away,

He* always catches up.

.

An iron grip,

Never letting go,

Fingers so cold

It rips even your soul.

.

Faster, farther,

It’s the only way

Longer, harder,

To live. Running always.

.

Running and living,

Stopping and dying,

There is no fighting.

Yup. A jolly story is it not?

*Of course. Who doesn’t know Death is a he?

So I saw the new Star Wars. And it sucks…

Posted on by under Thoughts and other ideas

It sucks that people think it sucks! Ha! It was awesome! I don’t understand how people can hate on it… I loved it! (Though I did like The Phantom Menace so my  opinion might not just be the greatest out there…)

So yeah, I watched Star Wars episode VII : The Force Awakens. I didn’t just watch it though, I saw it a few weeks ago, a few days after it had come out. I went a cinema about an hour and a half away from where I usually go to be able to enjoy it in English, because it was only in French everywhere else. Yeah, it sucks a little. But I did manage to see it in its original version and it really was awesome.

I didn’t plan to write anything about it, or at least not a review, perhaps I’d just have said that I liked it and that you had to go see it, especially if you like Star wars, but nothing more. That was before I saw some of the reviews that people posted around the interwebs. Now, I know that everyone is entailed to free speech and that no one can stop people from saying what they want, I respect that, I like that right a lot myself. But I can’t just sit by when I see such stupid (yup, I said it, stupid) things out there said about that movie.

First of all, there are a few things I should say before beginning. One, this phenomenon of mass dislike is an aftereffects of the freedom that internet gives people, being able to express oneself as easily as when one speaks and having millions of people being able to read or listen (all in all have access) to what you say is as bad as it is good and it often goes completely haywire. Perhaps I’ll talk about that later on if I ever get the motivation to tackle this thought thoroughly one day, in the meantime just know that the internet can be completely crazy because of that freedom of speech sometimes and that’s to be taken with caution.

Secondly, I am indeed, as you probably guessed, a big fan of Star Wars so my point of view is a bit biased. I entered the amazing universe of Jedis and space battles thanks to my father who introduced me to the Phantom Menace in my early years, which I loved at the time and which I still love now, and then The Clone Wars, before buying the original trilogy, which I watched many times and loved each and every one of them. Then I Revenge of the Siths and despite enjoying it I was disappointed. Yup, I don’t really know why or how it played out like that but I saw it in that order and, even if, perhaps, the whole meaning of the saga and the mystery of Dark Vador’s identity didn’t echo as much as it might have if the order had been different, I learned to love Star Wars very much. The Phantom Menace will always have a special spot in my heart (especially because of Qui-Gon Jinn and young Obi-Wan, which I find soooooo cooool!!!) even if I now realize how the original trilogy is so much better than the prequels. I don’t regret them but still, despite their much more realistic touch they lack something that made IV, V and VI so awesome… Anyway, I’m not going to tell you about why I love Star Wars in detail right now, but just understand that I do. It was a huge part of my childhood and still is a big part of my life.

Thirdly, I am not planning any of this, I’m just writing as I go (as you may already have noticed by my messy style) so I apologize for anything that seems (or is) a bit strange or annoying in my way of writing. Sorry but I go with the feelings… I trust in the force.

So yeah, Star Wars The Force Awakens.

When they first announced they were making a new Star Wars movie my reaction must have been akin to many a fan : running around yelling of excitement, sitting down a little to take it in, run around and yelling again, realizing Disney was going to make it, thinking about the consequences and shivering, realizing once more A NEW STAR WARS WAS COMMING OUT and running around again. Yup, I must admit I was both excited and scared at first, a new Star Wars but made by Disney. Was it going to be good. I laughed at them and the bashing they received because, well, it was Star Wars being remade by Disney…

I laughed and had my bit of fun mocking them, I have to admit. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Then, as time went on I started to think that perhaps there was a chance they could make something good out of this, perhaps even something great! At least better than the last three (or last two) movies… After all, Disney has made great movies, all those classics that rocked my childhood, the Marvel movies, the Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. Those were good. Not always great but always good [well, almost always, even Disney has it’s own black swans… *ahem* sequels * ahem* Planes *ahem* The Haunted Mansion *ahem* Yeah, you get it.]

So I sorta went with it. Disney remade Star wars? Well okay, let’s see what they do with it. Time went on, things died down a little, or at least I payed a little less attention to news about episode VII, just hearing from it here and there. Then it was announced that J. J. Abrams was going to direct it. It didn’t shock me much but it got my hopes up a bit, I had loved Star Treck and Super 8 looked awesome (well, the trailer, I still haven’t seen the movie but will do one day) so it was good news. The only thing I feared were lense flares… Everyone makes fun of Abrams for this, myself included (I like to laugh about it), so I feared his way of doing things might not really play well with Star Wars and its universe but, once again, I was going with it. Not particularly excited, not depressed either, just waiting impatiently to see what was going to happen.

Then time passed again, production began, shooting and all that technical blahblah, which I don’t pay attention to very much, the cast was, well, cast, they showed early images and talked about ideas and things but I chose not to dig in too deep so as not to get spoiled too much of the surprised, just listening here and there about the thoughts of other people. They all were looking forward to it, no one (at least in my circle of informants) was completely against the idea. The project kept moving forward and the tension building. I saw a few images and got a bit excited and then, the trailer came out…

That was one of the best days of my life! I remember a few years back I was excited about 2014 because of the many big movies that were scheduled to come out at that time and even more about 2015 and its even bigger pile of huge movies coming out, like Guardians of the Galaxy that I wasn’t really expecting but which looked good, Interstellar, which I wanted to see so badly, Man of Steel was also coming out very soon at that time I believe (that was way back), and Avengers 2 and Fantastic 4 were scheduled too. I was waiting for so many movies to come out so badly that I couldn’t wait! I think that I was excited a bit by the Hobbit too, though not as much as for Avengers 2. So yeah, then I saw the Star Wars Trailer.

The Millenium Falcon flew, Rey looked beautiful, Finn was funny, BB8 seemed funny but a (paling) copy of R2-D2, the bad guy looked… weird with his strange sword (people hated on him so bad for that, I think I was part of them. I didn’t really like his sabre because it seemed uselessly weird) but still quite badass (he seemed like a bit of a madman to me at the time, which turned out to be half-true) and Han and Chewie were home… Man! That was awesome! I couldn’t wait for the movie to come out! All my worries had been blown away! Then the other trailers came out and I hesitated to watch them, not wanting to know too much, but I ended up surrendering to the passion and loved every second of it. It seemed like it was going to be so great! I was so excited.

Then the time the movie was going to come out soon arrived, I ordered my seats early to be sure and started preparing to dive deep while ont he internet to evade any eventual spoiler that would come my way before I saw it. I almost managed it, only learning Han Solo’s fate the day before (though it could have been far worse, I almost saw the name of his killer and his real identity…), but that did not stop me from going to see it and enjoying it! Now, sorry for this long explanation, but as I said earlier, I following my thoughts as I go… Onto the heart of this post!

I saw the movie and loved each and every second of it! Each one! The characters were great, their interactions with each others were emotional and fun, the sceneries were beautiful, the fan service was there and, while the plot was a bit simple (and reminisced of the original trilogy quite a bit) it still was very good! Only two things managed to annoy me just a little during the movie : the fact that the StarKiller base was just another Death Star which seemed a little redundant, and the fact that the final battle didn’t include more spaceships and space fighting. But other than that, that which was almost unnoticeable, I had nothing to say, I was simply blown away…

Now, after I had seen the movie and enjoyed it so much I allowed myself to finally roam the internet freely and go take a look at reviews with eventual potential possibilities of spoilers. And I saw that a lot of people had disliked the movie and were bashing it for  a single reason : it felt too much like an old Star Wars. The plot was, in their opinion, far too similar to the old trilogy that it was almost shameful to have made a new movie just to do that. Basically, yeah, it’s roughly the same thing : super powerful bad guys vs struggling good guys, a sith with a dark mask and a big red sword, a huge space station and a robot, in possession of very important secrets, having for mission to get to the rebels. It does seem familiar doesn’t it? Well I say f*ck that.

Of course it sounds familiar, it’s Star Wars people! What were you expecting? Pirates trying to save the world by using the magic bracelet of love? No. It’s about intergalactic drama, space fights, jedis and siths and all the stuff that made the universe so great! If it sounds familiar it is precisely the goal, this movie was made to introduce us back in the universe, slowly, by giving us back all the familiar marks we had and adding new characters on top of that! Of course it would seem familiar, this was what Abrams (and his whole team, because let’s not forget he isn’t the only one that worked on this movie) was aiming for: re-awakening (got it? #awesomejoke) old feelings and making us love Star Wars and its universe again.

So yeah. It is the same thing as the old things but it’s still awesome, feels fresh and gives us great new ideas to expand on! Yes people, the fact that you don’t know much about the new stormtroopers or how they were trained, about Rey’s or Finn’s identities, about what happened during those twenty years, about the mastermind behind all of it, and all those other questions that were left unanswered, why do you think it is? To make us want to know more! This movie is not full of holes, plotwise or anything else, it is just a piece of a three-part puzzle (just like the map of Luke’s location) that will become clearer as the next two movies come out. Just be patient and enjoy what has been given to you instead of criticizing everything!

So what if the Jedi is Rey? It doesn’t make this movie an ode to feminism. So what if she learns the usage of the force so fast? It doesn’t make her a Mary Sue, either it was made like that to be able to cram everything in a single movie (so be thankful for it) or it means she is even more powerful than Luke (or at least she has a far greater learning potential, potential isn’t everything you know, exploiting it is the key.) So what is we don’t know who Rey or Finn’s parents are or how we get there? Do you want to know everything immediately?! Take some time to think up theories first and scratch your head for a while before asking for the easy way out. So what if Starkiller base is just a giant Death Star (and if it isn’t logical)? It’s still wickedly awesome and, admit it, there wouldn’t be a Star Wars movie (or a, sorta, reboot) without one. So what if we don’t see enough of the space ships and space battle? No, wait, actually that was one of the things that did piss me off a little. (moar X-Wings and huge space battles!!!)

So what if Kylo Ren seems like a grumpy teen. It’s really well done (much better than Anakin’s character was treated in the prequels at least) and it’s so funny. Plus he’s not very strong yet (and he’s torn between the light and the dark side, which is cool) so it’s indeed a bit frustrating, especially when… So what if he’s defeated by Rey that easily? He’s not a Sith Lord yet, he still has to learn things, he’s only an apprentice, so basically, if she learns way faster than him (at least int he beginning), or has part of the jedi powers innate to herself, she IS technically able to do that. At east now, when he finishes his training though, that’s another story… So what if Maz Kanata is a convenient character (like, she helps Han but no one knows why exactly, she has Luke’s sabre and she seems very powerful or reliable in a business overlord kind of way)? She’s Chewie’s girlfriend for f*ck’s sake! And so what if the New Order is basically the Empire and the resistance are just the Rebels a few years later? We don’t know how everything got to that point yet and, yeah, it doesn’t bug me because it’s logical when you think about it. The Empire crumbled, but it’s power still partly remains and is now controlled by another Sith (I think?), but the don’t have the political grip they had before and they work in the shadows. And the Resistance is what is left of the Rebels after most people thought war was over and peace was there for good.

Besides, do you really think the writer of the scenario, who worked on the original trilogy, didn’t notice it was almost the same as A New Hope’s? If they did it that way it’s because they have something bigger in mind, something that spans the whole new trilogy. They wanted to make us want to watch Star Wars again and be excited for what was to come next so they had to give us what we all wanted: the feel of the old Star Wars with the awesomeness of the prequels in terms of special effects (and I mean the good part of those special effects) with a touch of something else, something more.

So stop hating and star enjoying. They made us like and want Star Wars again. They made something slightly new with a lot of old stuff. Perhaps a bit too much old stuff but don’t tell me it doesn’t work well… They had to do it that way, now the path is solidly paved for awesome new intergalactic adventures. I, for one, can’t wait for

PS: plus, for anyone who watched the movie, admit that the recurring plot, the new characters and the unanswered questions didn’t bother you that much while watching it, it felt good seeing Star Wars again, like seeing an old friend after many years, didn’t it?

PPS: I would love to see a few things in the next movies though. 1 – Rey with a double light sabre (à la Darth Maul) because she learned to fight with a long staff/stick/pole so it would seem better to see her fight with a weapon she is potent with. 2 – Finn could become a Jedi too. Or Poe. But at least give us another one. Even if it’s a long lost ‘new’ apprentice of Luke’s new Jedi order. 3 – The Jedi ghosts come back, Darth Vader for example (I think that’s in project so…), or Obi Wan or Yoda, or even Mace Windu or Qui Gon Jinn (yeah I love Qui Gon Jinn) 4 – Why not try a movie without any ‘giant death ray killing space station’ next time? 5 – Why not more lightsabre colors? 6 – Just a tad of politics? 7 – Jango Fett is alive? 8 – More Jedi powers are explored? (The mind thing was awesome though!) 9 – Leia trains a bit in the ways of the force? 10 – Darth Jar Jar anyone?

PPPS: (last one I promise) so, yeah, I hope this wasn’t too long or boring but here is my take on the new Star Wars and the reviews I saw… Or at least most of it, I wasn’t really structuring this to begin with (I think I said all I wantd to say though) so it is maybe not very clear… Sorry for that if it’s the case.

Anyways, thank you for reading and see you later folks!

It’s been a great ride for me. I truly hope it was for you too. Goodbye.

Posted on by under Poetry

A police officer, a spaceman singer

And a dark professor all walk through a door.

Each with a smiling face, in their hearts no fear,

Each prepared for the ride that stops nevermore.

.

This sounds like the start of quite a dirty joke,

Written some years ago by a funny bloke,

Sadly though, as I wake, it is all too true,

To me, to them, all those left behind by you.

.

I will not cry for you, not cry my heart out…

I might cry. I might swear; damn, this is no fair.

But what is done, is done; ha, breathe in some air.

.

You’re gone, forever gone; I think I might shout.

No. Be strong, be happy; safe journey, you’re home.

A star, a snake, a cop ; do say hi for me.

Thank you and au revoir.

The unforgivable

Posted on by under Shorts

“Damian stop. Don’t do this…”

“Or what? What will happen if I do? What will you do?”

The blond man looked at the one who had been his friend for so long. He wasn’t expecting a reply, he knew it would not come, and when silence engulfed the room for a whole minute he smiled. It seemed as if the world had momentarily stopped, holding its breath as it waited for an answer.

“That’s what I thought.” He finally said. “You can’t do anything to stop me, you have never been able to.”

He turned around, his coat floating airily behind him, and walked to the huge screen under which stood a control panel before placing both his hands on it and leaning forward.

“This is it. This is my victory, your defeat. And even your lord can’t do anything about it Michael. I will finally repay what I owe them.” He said in a low voice as he looked at the screen.

Michael couldn’t see his face, only the large shape of his back, but he could feel the fire burning in his eyes, he could feel the hate consuming his soul. He had been fighting to prevent this from happening for so long, he had tried to help, done his best to save him, but nothing had worked. Damian had gone down the dark and lonely path he had locked himself into and now it was too late. Still, he found the strength to hope, to continue trying.

“Damian.” He called, trying to free his hand to get his long dark hair out of his face, but the guards didn’t let him move, he was completely restrained in their iron grip.

The blond half-turned his head as he heard his name.

“You can’t do this… For the love of god, please stop this madness. They can still forgive you…”

They had been friends for so long, he refused to simply abandon him like this. He refused to give up, no matter how many times he was told it was useless, that it was a lost cause. There was still a way to save him he knew it, if only he could find out how… As soon as he said that the blond turned back to the screen and started laughing.

“They will forgive me… They will forgive me?!” He shouted, turning back quickly to face his old friend. “No Michael, I will not stop this. I don’t want their forgiveness. I want them to suffer, I want them to writhe in agony just as I have. I want to destroy every single one of them! I want them all to die!”

His eyes had completely lost their usual cool blue color and now seemed as red as blood, as the inferno that was consuming his soul burned through them.

“Please…” Said Michael, his voice strained by the pain he felt, not being able to do anything to save him. Dont make me do this…

“No. I will not have pity. I will not let remorse rob me of my rightful vengeance. This is what I have been working towards all this time and I will have what is mine!” He turned towards the monitor and pressed a single button before speaking into a microphone. “Activate phase three.”

“Damian…” Michael started, but as he was about to try one last time his old friend gave the order.

“Now.”

At the same time as he spoke, the dark-haired man heard a deep sound that resonated in his mind for what seemed like an eternity. Then, he knew. It was over. Damian had done what could never be undone, nor forgiven. He had doomed himself. He saw the dark shape, standing before the huge monitor, become smaller and smaller as the guards dragged him ever farther away from the gigantic room. The man he had once known as a brother was now a stranger, a dark and twisted existence who had been consumed by his desire for revenge.

As the archway leading in and out of the huge space grew ever smaller he felt something break inside him, the minuscule silhouette was still standing, so far away, unmoving. He desperately wanted to free himself of the strong grasp they had on him, to run back there and try once more. Surely this time he could convince him, surely he could put a stop to all this. But he knew this fantasy would never come true. Damian had made his choice and he had lost himself by doing so. A lone tear ran down his face as he felt the searing wave start to spread through his body.

It was over. Whatever he had felt towards that existence, whatever bonds they had shared, none of this mattered anymore. Michael closed his eyes. It was his burden, his mission. It was what defined him, the sole reason to his existence. And it was the only thing he couldn’t fight. I’m sorry… I haven’t been strong enough. I wish I could’ve saved you… I wish I could’ve saved all of you. That was what destroyed him a little more each time, knowing he was powerless, the knowledge that whatever his thoughts were he could never go against his nature.

You who have been touched by his light,

Have committed the unforgivable,

The hand of justice shall punish you.

Come walk into the night of end.

As he opened his eyes again the two guards were nowhere to be seen, as if they had vanished into oblivion. He noticed the white flames that had engulfed his body and the bright light that gently caressed the stone walls around him as the power surged inside him. He stood up straight and looked at the faraway arch that glowed in a faint blue light. He took a single tentative step before slowly starting to walk towards it. I’m sorry.

Enough music is never enough!

Posted on by under Thoughts and other ideas

I couldn’t live my life without music, this is an absolute truth. I don’t simply like music or enjoy it, no, it’s something much deeper than that. Music is a bit like the weather to me, as strange as it may seem it influences my emotions and my attitude much more than most other aspects of my life. When the sun is up and the sky is clear I feel extremely happy and motivated to do whatever I want to do, whereas when it’s raining or cloudy I almost automatically feel depressed or unmotivated/lazy.

The difference between night and day also impacts my writing, I’m a lot more inspired to write during the early mornings or the late evenings, when the sun is either rising, setting or completely down, like during the night. I don’t know why but it seems to stimulate my mind and my imagination. That can be a problem from time to time as I finally get inspired to write when I am completely exhausted… (Yep, that’s annoying when it happens.)

Well music also plays an equally important role in my life. With music I feel happy, emotional, inspired, I feel alive and free somehow. I don’t know why or how but some songs just have this deep effect on me, they touch something deep inside my mind and they give me strength, imagination and love. I just realized that I had already made a post about this subject a few weeks back, you can find it here : Music is love, music is life, so I wont expand too much on this subject since I believe I’ve already said a lot back then.

I will simply say this : today the song that makes me feel alive and free is Louder, Harder, Better by Galantis, that I just found yesterday on SuicideSheep’s Youtube channel, it’s really an awesome piece of sounds. I don’t know why but it resonates within me and it make me smile. In these sort of situations the only thing I can hope for is to one day be able to make people feel and smile with my writing, just as this song makes me feel and smile!

Enjoy! ;)

The demon

Posted on by under Prologue, Shorts, The Lord of the Red Moon

night sky

Credits to Elias Stern / LordDoomhammer for this amazing piece called Graceful Moonlight.

It the olden days there was another,

A sphere of light high up in the sky,

That lit up the world just like a mother

During the dark nights, high up it would fly.

 *

The night was dark but the sky was clear. One could see the stars and the soft light of the moon. The night was dark and the air was cold. He could see the creature’s breath shimmer slightly before disappearing mysteriously. He should’ve been cold but the fight had lit a fire in his heart, each breath spread the warmth all over his body. He could feel his blood pumping in his arms, in his head and in chest. He was alive. No, he was still alive. How could he still be alive? How could he have survived so long against such a monster? He saw its red eyes shine in the dark, looking intently at him as if they were piercing his mind, as if it could see directly into his soul. His breath was heavy as he tried to recover from the exhaustion. His muscles were burning, his mind was getting fuzzy by moments and, even if he was still standing, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he crumbled under the immensely powerful attacks of the beast in front of him.

The only thing that kept him alive and standing was that he couldn’t fail. It wasn’t a question of honor or pride, no, he simply couldn’t fail. He had to protect them. He had to protect everyone. If he died here it didn’t matter as long as he took the creature with him, but he couldn’t be defeated, he couldn’t lose. For if he was… He shivered as images of the burning village flashed in his mind, his wife and child, his friends and his neighbors, so many innocent slain by one single being. No! He definitely couldn’t let it happen. He was the only one that could stop it, the only one that had a chance. He couldn’t lose but he didn’t see how he could win either. They had been at it for so long and he hadn’t managed to injure it even once yet. How do I defeat that thing? How? The question echoed endlessly through his mind as he parried and counter attacked over and over again. How do I kill it?

He had felt its aura long before it had reached the village, the deathly smell that characterized its kind. He had known it was coming long before he had seen its bloody eyes glow menacingly at him. He hadn’t been able to believe it at first; they hadn’t been seen for centuries. Why had it appeared now? And why here? How could it be possible? He had no answer to the many questions that had flooded his mind, answers were not important though, action was. He had known what he had to do almost immediately: he had to go face it. He had to kill it before it killed them. Night had already begun to fall when he had jumped on his horse and had left them, not even looking back once as he disappeared in the horizon. He had ridden for hours before reaching the place where it had appeared and a few more before he had encountered it. The night was dark but the light of the moon offered just enough vision to survive its attacks, at least until now.

It was tall, much taller than him, with long limbs and skin darker than night, red eyes and claws so long and so sharp they could tear a man apart without difficulty. The only reason he had managed to survive until was because he had been a royal knight in another life, he had become the protector of the village after years of faithful services and the armor he had donned all these years was reinforced with magic. His lion shield had been enchanted to resist to the strongest blows as well as the passing of time and his sword was a cursed blade, it was the only way to injure a magical creature. And boy, what a creature he had in front of him. Easily over two meters tall with sharp with teeth and deadly magical power, it was easily a mediare daemonis, a middle class demon. A very powerful creature that was said to come from the burning fires of hell. One must have been crazy or foolish to go up against such a monster but he hadn’t lost his mind, he had no other choice if he wanted to keep them safe.

Claws clashed against shield and sword against scale, over and over, relentlessly. Each time he could see the hellish fire burning in its eyes and felt as if the demonic glare was tearing his mind and soul to shreds. He parried and counterattacked, throwing mad sword thrusts at the dark limbs but never succeeding in wounding them. The demon would smile from time to time, as if it enjoyed toying with him, displaying blood-red teeth as sharp as knives. Suddenly he jumped and rolled to the side to evade another blow, the large arm passed right by him and hit the ground with so much strength it crumbled the rocks beneath it. He used this single instant to get back to his feet and thrust his sword at the creature’s exposed chest but the demon was faster and caught the sword between its claws, turning towards him with a wicked smile.

“Foolish human… You cannot defeat me, not even with your sacred weapons…” Its voice was deep and it seemed to echo in darkness.

No, he thought, not in darkness. It was as if its voice was the darkness and as if it took form as it left its mouth. I’m never going to be able to kill that thing… he thought, his mind slowly going numb. He felt as if his body had suddenly been tossed into water, his movements were sluggish, his breathing was ragged and he had difficulty moving his chest to take in a new wave of oxygen. The world had suddenly solidified around him and he could literally feel the weight of it on his shoulders, forcing him to the ground, dragging him to the depths of the underworld. He fell to his knee, only managing to stop himself from falling to the ground by burying the tip of his sword in the dry dirt under his feet. Images flashed before his eyes, the village in ruins, every house burning up in flames as dark as the night, his family lying on the ground, in each other’s arms, dead. No… No! This can’t be happening, no! His head was about to explode, he couldn’t go on anymore, it had to stop.

“Do you see now, it will only end in death and suffering… And that will all be my doing. You cannot stop me, it is already too late!” The demon spoke again, boring its eyes into his, breaking every wall and piercing every barrier to touch his soul.

As soon as it happened he felt a searing pain, this time his head had exploded, it couldn’t be otherwise. He had died and gone to hell where the demon was tormenting him. Hahaha. You are a mine and so are all the others, I will crush you like the insects you are… This time the voice was in his head, it echoed endlessly, sending flashes of unbearable pain and images of his family. His wife, bloody and crying over their son’s body, all torn up and burnt. A sword pierced her heart and a single cry echoed in the night before she fell to the ground next to the young boy. Now die! The voice added and he felt a searing pain in his mind as the demon’s consciousness retreated from it.

He felt it was an eternity before he finally opened his eyes again, he was still on his knees, his body completely paralyzed by intense pain. The demon was towering over him, its dark form expanding in two large wings on each side and its eyes glowing a deep dark shade of red. The creature was holding a large silver blade in its hand, its edge seemed like it was made of a different material than the center and glowed with an eerie purple light. The sword was much longer than what he had ever seen and the edges seemed to be made like teeth of a saw, as if it had been forged to tear apart instead of cutting. The creature lifted it in the air and displayed a wicked smile.

“Now die.” Its voice sounded mocking and amused as it brought down its large and dark arm.

As the deadly weapon was about to hit him an image flashed in his mind, the last look of his wife as he had left and the fear in his son’s eyes. He felt a sudden warmth in his chest as his blood started to boil again, anger coursed through his veins. He couldn’t let it win, it was simply not a possibility!

“No.” He managed to reply, planting his foot on the ground and raising his shield once more to protect himself.

He parried the blow and quickly took a step back, readying his sword once more. He would not fall now, he would not let his loved ones get slaughtered by this monster. He saw surprise flash in the demon’s eyes as he got back up and could have sworn he had seen a hint of fear.

“Impressive…” The demon’s voice was still as calm and deadly as before, there was no hint that he was worried by his opponent just getting back up. “You have a noteworthy resolve for a human.” The creature added before thrusting his sword forward.

He parried with difficulty, feeling his arm go numb as the sword hit his shield. The lion head resounded for a few seconds as the shield shook powerfully under the assault. He could only try to parry as best as he could as the creature attacked relentlessly, over and over again with a blood lust and rage he had never felt before. Its aura was overwhelming and had he not known that they would all die if he didn’t kill it he would have succumbed to it and been utterly destroyed. Dust flew around them as the danced furiously under the moonlight. One might almost have viewed this scene as poetic if they hadn’t known it was a fight.

He tried to fought back, parrying and counterattacking as fiercely as he could, but he was still getting overwhelmed and he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be defeated. Even with the sacred weapons that had been given to him by the royal smith himself he couldn’t match the creature’s natural raw power and strength. It was from another realm and very few men had fought one and lived to tell the tale, all of which were far stronger than he had ever been. Still he hung on, still he fought back. He couldn’t let them be killed, he was the only one who could protect them.

Another unbearably strong hit on his shield, then a clash of swords that sent him a few feet backwards, his arms were starting to give out. His armor was dented and bent everywhere, his shield was close to breaking, he could feel it, and his sword never got close enough to lend a hit. Blow after blow he was pushed back and toyed with, as if the demon was taking pleasure n chipping away his spirit and soul, piece by piece. Another block with his shield, it effectively cutting of the trajectory of the ethereal sword but this time his legs gave out and he was sent flying backwards, landing painfully on his back.

As he tried to get back up he felt something wet on his side. A large gash was open in his top and blood was flowing from the wound, tainting his armor with a deep red color. The demon had finally managed to wound him seriously. He felt the cold spread in his left side, the arm with which he was holding his shield was starting to grow weak. Damn it! He thought, it can’t end like this. I can’t die now! Ugh! A wave of pain coursed through his body and he winced as he tried to get back up. The demon was looking at him, slowly walking to him, as if it enjoyed this moment.

“Sadly you are still nothing but a human…” It said as it stopped before him, preparing to strike.

Finally, with great effort and a wave of pain he managed to raise his shield to try to protect himself. The demon was about to strike when suddenly the light of the moon changed, it went from the usual bluish shade to a deep red one, the reflection of the light on his shield seemed to take the creature aback. Its eyes widened with surprise and fear and it took a step back. He used this moment of distraction to get back up and, stumbling to keep his balance as his wound hurt, he got back in a fighting stance, readying his sword to strike once more. The demon got its balance back, suddenly looking at the moon and letting out a furious roar.

“How?! How could you…!” It turned back towards him, the fire in its eyes burning with much more intensity as it let out its rage.

The demon raised its sword once more and launched a furious series of attacks. However he was ready for this and he managed to block the first two before the creature’s unmatchable strength blew his shield away. He was wounded once more on his right arm this time and almost dropped his sword as his hellish opponent caught him by the throat and lifted him up from the ground. Then, before he could even have a moment to notice he couldn’t breathe, the creature readied its sword again and struck. He felt a deathly cold pierce his chest as the silver and violet blade plunged in him before a hot searing pain took over.

This time he couldn’t suppress the cry of pain as he felt his mind explode in a myriad of pieces. His vision went blank for a second before he saw the fire once again. Its eyes that had been burning with an intense and hellish fire up until now were dark, the fire had turned black and seemed to suck out any light around as if it was consuming it.

“You are just a puny human, you are not even worthy of my efforts…” The demon said as he looked directly into his eyes.

It was all over. He had lost. He was going to die here and so were all the other, massacred by a ruthless creature that took pleasure in inflicting pain in others… Damn it… How could I let this happen…? He thought with dejection as he felt his consciousness slip away. He felt the weight of his sword in his hand and as he felt like his soul was slowly getting sucked in by the darkness in the creature’s eyes another image flashed in his head and realization dawned on him. This was his chance! He just needed to get close enough to land a blow, this was it… He felt the pommel of his blade start to slip away and swore inwardly. Come on! You can do this! He grunted, trying to make his hand move.

Everything was happening in slow motion now, he felt his fingers move, gripping the blade as he caught it before it fell. He then looked into the demon’s eyes and tried his best to display his determination. He readied his arm, tensing at the pain he felt and he was about to feel. The creature’s eyes narrowed a split second before he struck. Its mouth opened and slowly his opponent looked down at its chest, following his arm, the pommel of his sword and finally the blade which had sunk all the way in its chest. After what seemed an eternity it looked back up and stumbled on its feet.

“H- How…?” Asked the demon, its voice was soft, almost a whisper as incomprehension took the place of surprise.

He saw the creature look up at the sky and the reddish colored moon, its eyes now back to their normal hellish fire and filled of fear. He felt all the anger and the determination he had swell up inside him and forced himself to smile. His breathing was ragged but he still managed to get the words out, the first one since they had started the duel.

“Humans… are not weak…” He said and the creature looked back at him.

“No… no…” The demon’s voice was but a whisper now. “No, no, no… NO!!!” Its voice became louder each time it repeated the word, not believing what was happening.

He felt the grip on his throat loosen and fell to the ground. His vision was getting blurry but he still saw the creature fall to its knees as it pulled his now blood-red blade out of its chest and threw it on the ground. A dark liquid was gushing out of the large wound, forming a pool around the creature’s knees. Come on, die you bastard! He thought, almost praying to all the gods he knew for it to die. The demon looked at the moon for a moment, its breathing getting heavier, before raising a raging fist and letting out a deafening roar. It seemed like an eternity before the sound faded away and he saw the monster slowly fall to the ground, face first.

Its body jerked a few times before becoming completely still. At what seemed to him to be the same time as it drew its last breath a flash of light momentarily blinded him. As his sight came back he noticed that the silver and violet sword had disappeared and that a pool of blood was forming around him too. Breathing was getting more and more difficult, he didn’t have the strength to move anymore but still a small smile formed onto his face as he realized he had killed it. Finally… He let out a painful sigh. Thank you, thank you… He didn’t know who he was thanking but only the gods could have allowed such a miracle to happen. He had defeated the demon… Now they were safe. You are safe… The world around him went dark as the thought crossed his mind. He felt his consciousness slip away as a comfortable cold slowly took over his body.

He was dying and he knew it, but he didn’t care, they were safe and that was all that mattered. They were safe. As the man that his village would later know as a hero lay there, unmoving, the moon’s light slowly went back to its usual bluish color. A small breeze blew over the two corpses, slowly blowing away the demon’s body as if it was sand. That night would later be known as the first night of the red moon, when a demon had been defeated by a brave human who had managed to protect everyone by sacrificing his own life. None knew what happened to him after that though, his body was never found, only his shield with the mighty lion head engraved on the front side, planted in the ground where the fight had taken place.

The death of a king

Posted on by under Poetry

*

There once was an old king,

From a far away land he had come,

Chased away by his kin,

Many years before when the revolt happened.

.

They said he was a monster,

They said he had to pay with his life

For the sins of his father

And all those that had lived before

.

So his parents fled their land,

Taking the young child on a long journey

Across oceans and mountains,

Through forests and fields of barley.

.

They ran and ran and ran,

As fast as they could to escape their pursuers

But hey were caught up with

And only the boy managed to keep going.

.

He lived a long and full life,

Sometimes looking back towards the land

Where he had come from,

But never halting his march forward.

*

Every man has to die. It is fact, one day or another each and every one of us will pass on to whatever comes next. Whatever we do, whatever we try, death will always catch us. Wether we are a simple citizen or a king, whether we are rich or poor, whether we are a good man or a bad one. Death will always catch up with us. But that is not necessarily a bad thing, for what would life be if it wasn’t for death? Would we come to appreciate it as much if it never came to an end? No, I don’t believe so. Life is a gift and we have to make the most of it, however hard or painful it is, we have to keep marching forward, we have to keep going. Always.