Caustic Effect

I am Incubus; I am eternal

Your depletion is my revival

A king with no idols

I am Incubus; I am eternal

I am Phoenix; I live to die this night

Through death I survive

A flame without fire

I am Phoenix; I die to live once more

For Dragon's Blood

…And so the days of spring have ended

With the right to mend suspended

Healing vows rescinded

As winter comes we all have been sentenced

To a life without…dragon’s blood

…And so the sovereign ruler of all that is

Paces frantically the ins and outs of all that’s his

Broken hymns of praise now echo each end of the prism

As the numbers of the kingdom dwindle down to this

Where the graveyards once hallowed have since obtained fullness

In a world without…dragon’s blood

To the runes the leader dwells

Offers the deity’s his soul to sell

Despite the voices heard in rumored tells

He’s not the vicious ruler their words would spell

Something he knew must be unshelled

To alleviate the hell of damnation’s tolling bells

In a frozen realm, without…dragon’s blood

…And so, in a singular procession

The healthy venture out upon this final proposition

Where it’s not the strongest or the bravest aggregation

Set to live out their ritual of obligation

Led by the king they fought both snow and icy contradictions

Where the early indication offered the bleakest premonition

Yet forth they battled in a ruthless pursuit of obsession

For…dragon’s blood

The blood of the dragon, an elixir for every ill

Under the roughest scales, beast flesh lies still

Beneath tough skin, it’s here where the holy river fills

And to pierce the exterior only the sacred blade can spill

Else the blood of a dragon is but the blood of a kill

Prayers must be spoken as blades held high with deepest skill

Paying tribute to this ancient elder as blade meets sigil

Then holding tight before the flow, as a final thanks is paid to Yggdrasil

For providing…dragon’s blood  

It's Tuesday, and that means a fresh edition of Open Link Night over at D'Verse.  Make sure you stop on by to check out some wonderful poetry and while you're there share one of your own.  Cheers.

Holders of the Sky (Outtake from Mythic Series)

Fear lives under collapsing skies

Where is Atlas?

                        Where is Tyr?

Nordri, Sudri, Vestri, Estri-

DO NOT allow Ymir

To crush us now

Haiku Outtake from Mythic Series

Elves of the Mountain,

Giants of the Frozen Realm,

Jaunt to Niflheim

Helten's Song (Mythical Series Song of Remorse and Joy)

There I lay in this boat,

Arms crossed pure I float,

Votives each round the frame,

Sails half-mast surrounding cay,

As mortals, which still myself do I claim,

Watch until sea touches flame,

For mankind I travel this journey’s end,

Times of never ending peace, I pray for thee,

That from my smoke truth does awake,

And from my life, what’s left to give,

I pray you all grow old and live,

Make generations of men,

Generations more of women,

Live long and peaceful,

Yet always living in each your hearts,

The richness within tradition,

All the while living with Viking conviction,

Helten, Son of Loki and a mortal maid,

A thousand and thousands more,

Breathed Viking air eternal,

With bravery and a tongue to wit,

A blessed soul with immortal lines,

Yet war he waged in Asgaard’s honor,

Less he knew of his own tie to it,

For glory, and honor,

For violence or for peaceful ends,

His service, his devotion,

His vigor and emotion,

He loved with passion,

And swung his axe towards ill reactions,

Yet peace was what he desired,

More so than the calling battle craves,

The scent of flesh unwrapped into the air,

The feel of dust colliding in the air,

The no time for sympathy in the field,

The memories over spirits shared,

Helten, was all and more of these,

Helten the brave was he,

Thanks to Loki for his loins,

Thanks be to those Gods in the sky,

Watching, waiting, protecting, rewarding,

He the gift from immortals love,

 
Let mankind take notice now,

Let Helten’s service teach us well,

Each shall take their own memento,

But none should forget his cry to battle,

Men, my limbs, my friends,

Fight beside you now I will,

Until victory or lack of breath,

Tonight, I look very much

Towards feast and lust,

But more should we take from him,

His civility towards all,

Viking, man, creature or barbarian,

Learn we all his rarest gift,

Remember close how he would say,

My clan, my brothers,

This is our land, this the Gods have agreed,

We should honor them in the sky,

In our memories and through our lives,

But the God’s would not stand for idle death,

One man down, ten thousand tears will fall,

In such I urge you all,

Do not fight for fighting’s sake,

Do not let ignorance your grave mistake,

Observe the field before you plunder,

Identify the who and what,

Prior to filling the sky with blood,

Only once your scope is honed,

And in your heart there can be no other tone,

Then we as one shall roar,

And war remember, is like life,

Brevity in duty leads to longevity of night,

So attack with might, May you allows,

Seek their spot so soft and meek,

And ram your sword down throats of these,

Helten shall burn this night,

Tonight he shall journey his final flight,

Tomorrow as you look up in the sky,

Over the nine our hero, I assure will be watching,

Hordes of Viking warriors,

Hordes of Viking men,

Raise you blades towards the sky,

And with your blades laud him high,

And allow one heroes legacy,

Live ages longer and many more,

Let his lessons teach and give,

And permeate the annals of Viking lore,

Viking men, old and young,

Remember dear the song Helten sung.

Apocalypse must Wait (Mythic Series Volume Eleven)

To the bridge we made our way,

Silent and calm would not stay,

Soon blood would fill the air beneath,

The sky filled with nasty beast,

And this mangled sum,

Must defeat, prevent the battle from loss,

Seize the motion, here at this gate,

For all mortals and God’s alike,

Ragnarok will come if fail we do,

Then, as I still was in contemplation,

Men came from the other side,

Swaying their might to and fro,

Bearing advice for us to go,

I instructed these sentries well,

Our presence was of Godly design,

I apologized for their lack of knowledge,

And bore no will or malice,

Instead would find it helpful to defend Asgaard

Alongside this spectacular crew,

These guardians proud and wise,

Detected my words as lies,

Convince them I could not,

Surely our mission was not these fine men,

I explained our purpose once again,

Stated as such we would not go,

And so they chimed once more,

Leave our face the wrath of lore,

A standoff for many years,

Between the giant guardians and our clan,

But then from the North avalanche was heard,

And from the South flames ensued,

From the west creatures still,

To the east the worst of ills,

Converging in one last event,

For this I explained was why we were sent,

The guardians spoke one last time,

Stated we would stand as one,

Until the darkness was no more,

But then upon that point,

We would then become the last to smote,

I had no choice but to agree,

Without their arms we would match poor,

And in unison the beasts emerged,

So many demons,

I knew only few would emerge,

Then I pulled my double axe,

And so the song began,

Spinning in the air, Guardians and man,

Fire in the sea, Man and Guardian,

On the earth for where we stood,

Man fought best as could be earned,

Besieged from each and every side,

Our victories to this point

Dwindled when compared to what was left,

Fought we had and each his wounds,

Many dead, many tombs to build,

But then it looked like the end was near,

Suddenly the Gods themselves emerged,

To which all men and Guardians lit their face,

Nothing could match this force now,

Orc to elf, Giant to serpent,

Each and every one did fall,

Victory itself revealed itself,

Joy came forth, pride filled us all,

As the men were celebrating with the Gods

Helten was called from the crowd,

A name I had forgot I knew,

A moniker that long since went,

As a child I was called this name,

My mother held and my father called,

Yet he was not there growing up,

But seeing the one to call,

All holes in my arc were filled,

Loki was my creator,

My father, my maker,

Then I knew, even as such he had left,

Too many miracles my life had happed,

Too many unknown bearers of gifts sent,

Perhaps this is why I had a side for war,

Like no mortal I’d met before,

I’d often dream myself a God,

But now I stand before one now,

I swelled in joy and terror,

It was not the God I had dreamed back long,

I had always felt a connect with Thor, Odin’s son,

Instead it was the Other, Loki the trickster,

And yet amongst regret, I felt complete,

Whole as any other point in my time,

I went to him as swiftly as these ragged legs would take,

But then I felt a blow to my head,

I paused, then stopped, then fell to my knees,

What creature did we not end,

Who could be the one to end me dead?

I turned and saw the face of the Guardians,

Together as they did warn they would,

Loki came to my side,

Son he swelled from deep inside,

And in such a moment Loki did cry,

That moment I did die.

Into the Dragon's Lair (Mythic Series Volume Ten)

When we reached the forge,

A dark and deadly suspicion

Overcame my sensibility,

For within the glowing cavern

Lives a dragon, of ungodliness

Yet we stand conspiring,

First a tracker would test a path,

When returned ahead we’d march,

And wage destruction upon scale and skin,

At the mouth, a foul stench raced upon our very flesh,

Awakened a glorious amber,

Monster from another world,

Draped upon uncountable treasure chest,

Overflowing with trinkets, both silver and in gold,

His eye peeled back to see an army,

Preparing the strike to come,

Archers flailed arrows through the sky

Brilliant war has sight a light,

Yet fail they did to pierce the armor

Of a dragon well worth the attack,

Flame burst from his snout and tongue,

Singing all and burning some,

Quickly his wings expand,

Removing himself from his mounds of coin,

Deeper and deeper still,

Into the innards of its cave,

The path the dragon weaved,

Many men looked in awe,

Never in their life had glory within their grasp,

A few dropped shield and sword,

Within the wealth they were absorbed,

Armor raced to temperatures peak,

Within mere instance, all that remained was the boots and feet,

Three were down and down the rest would persist,

To snare this behemoth in our midst,

Each step down the throat of this stony grave,

Light abandoned the path we tread,

And torches would be lit instead,

At the basin a river sounds,

Rippling notions like when pounced upon,

And then infernos sheared us in,

Behind a pillar, made of quartz and sand,

In the torching wall held candles became lit,

And draws would fall when eyes focused too,

One had turned to six,

Six dragons in our midst,

Five were small, as are many,

But too stood tall above them all,

One of the beasts, in the back,

Would be the one we last attacked,

Many heads upon one neck,

Flames igniting all around,

Men began to question this journey,

Were we purposely led into agony,

An ambush like this could not come from another man,

Nor did it I replied,

These are guardians of a demon great,

There below, a dismal gate,

Once we slay each and every,


Those of us still to live,

Would enter and retrieve

What glory the Gods will get,

Upon my knees I laid prayer,

For each and every God to hear,

When the battle plan came clear to me,

Do not fight each separately,

Damage all at once permanently,

And so we scattered to every side,

Axe to wall and flame to find

The weakness in the columns of stone,

And after much blood was spent

The exterior came down with it,

Buried deep beneath the rubbish

Breathing dragons did not disturb us,

Pushing aside boulder upon boulder

We unearthed a path to the gate to try

Reclaim the prize for the God’s grace,

Unlock the latch and light the flame,

To guide us along this spiral descent,

Until the wet stamping of moist clay we set our boots down to,

There a coffin miles wide,

Taking might from all inside,

Unleash the golden corpse of an age old find,

The snake like tomb of another time,

Golden wings and bronzed claw,

Diamonds were eyes once saw,

But there we knew the second in view,

The magnificent and glorious dragon sword and shield,

One left by our count,

Six have fell and one left to mount,

To the bridge we shall ride,

One last battle left to fight

Beneath Frozen Fields (Mythic Series Volume Nine)

The onward plow tested

Patience of a man,

Cold flames blister in the wind,

Shards of ice erupt, collapse

From the hole or words elapse,

Razor heralds a grim committal

Above the cluster, over hills

A plummet we must endure,

No control over life or flesh,

In this void another test for us to face,

A beast so venial

Its own kind has cast it this far north,

And so the descent commenced,

On shield some took to like sleds,

Others stumbled mightily,

With feet snared by gripping snow,

The hour approached

When dusk removes its cloak

From this air, brittle and persistent still

Blustering pieces traversed the wind and hail,

Upon solid foot once anew,

I felt the ground beneath our feet to move,

Wind it did, like a worm does through the sand and skin,

Wisdom dictates to vanquish a beast,

Without weakness, and never seen,

To strike quick, to amend our journey

Intrinsic and forcefully,

So with my bandaged arm,

Plunge it deep and within reach

Coarseness I had never met before,

Scales so thick and rough to hold

The landscape changes shape around,

Yet release I would not grant this beast,

We had it by shock,

It could not arise as it were,

I cast the men to each side

They looked to me to guide them through,

Breathing fierce and spitting blood

I was not sure how long I could withstand,

The thrashing beneath this frozen land,

Pierce, thrust deep my friends,

I screamed in bitter rage

Do not release until I feel it cease to beat,

And so it did, no mercy did we spare,

Ensured we did to end this well,

And we did, then began the excavation,

To which a golden tooth was found,

Another compliment for Odin’s chest,

The third would not be as tame,

We know its face,

We’ve seen tales from its name,

From ice to flame we move again,

To face a dragon with three heads,

Surely some would not meet the fourth test ahead

Tonight we feast, tomorrow we return to where we should

A Journey's Renewal (Mythic Series Volume Eight)

And then the day,

We had waited for,

Down arrival the glowing frame,

Bow we did when he came,

Instruct he did without the speech,

Yet still we knew what must be done,

We packed the horses,

And gathered men,

In the morn away we went,

Through the towns,

And in the fields,

We would know when it would be,

The first of seven darkened duels,

Then the first would show,

We were ready, well prepared,

The sky of blood foretold this tale,

Through the wretched voice of a witch

We came across, peddling answers on the way,

She said how it would start, when it would begin,

Each premonition was detailed exactly as we found them,

The sky would reek of misty fog,

Bloody skies covered by veils of grey,

Steeds would stammer across terrain,

Down one warrior would be,

From attacks we could not see,

Void of direction,

The shots ensued from each location,

The men were counting,

How many of them,

Would we contend against?

Then a shot grazed by me,

My horse rose,

The headdress distracted me,

And I saw the creature

Confronting us,

It was small like an elf,

But fast like a serpent,

And with the strength of a jinn,

The men were warriors, each of them,

But such a sight, they could not see,

From each direction, frightened them,

Men failed and men fell, and many more would fail once more,

The roots were stained because of them; the ground in spite of them,

I knew what must be done, no other option unveiled its head,

Else my soul would pay the consequence,

Archers I lined one by one,

Stretched the quiver,

I commanded light to fly from them,

And the night was bright once again,

Soon thereafter all the trees,

Each branch wept for its friends,

An inferno which was not meant,

Yet from such scandal,

Our assailant could be seen,

And it was not long,

Before it screamed in repent,

For what it had done,

He claimed he was but one of many,

Scouring village and mountainside,

Through the hills and rivers wide,

For a battle cry had signaled them,

He prayed I take his words,

And vowed his truth to follow our cause,

He vowed to serve us well,

Cowardice after fury,

Is a dignity I cannot defend,

Those were the last pleas provided

To such a thing,

From the ground,

On display,

A jeweled dagger was found,

In a crusted sack besides his arm,

I prayed to the Gods for their guidance,

For their protection and offered this weapon unto them,

For when they wished I would have it with,

Alive or dead, it would stay with me,

And the sky broke clouds and day revealed,

A path not encountered in that burning brush,

A path that would surely lead us,

Into the second of the seven we are bound to touch

The Bridge: An historical Overview from Past to Present (Mythical Series Volume Seven)

Generations gone before these same eyes,

 Much has changed since the temple’s flame,
 Of those men, the only to remain is me,

Months had since parched us dry,

Since last Freya left our side,

Men grew tired, men grew bored,

The withdrawal from blood to shed,

All imprisoned, could be worse I would tell,

Factions were forming before my eyes,

Sides were drawn,

Many would hold back biting tongues,

Their belief, their faith, remained with me,

Obey their guide, their religion, their creed,

Others boredom clawed beneath, created wounds towards their very chance at immortality,

These men were good at bludgeoning,

Excelled at piercing flesh and crushing skull,

Patiently awaiting the sign to come,

A daunting feat for each of them,

Word quickly spread through the units,

Asgaard would not call upon us,

The Gods have given up, have forgot about men like us,

With only the same fruit, same drink, same mead, same meat,

Without variety, tempting evil grows close and nigh,

The men began to question the memory even,

Of Freya standing before us that night, doing what she did,

Requesting what she would,

Sven, a bold soldier in himself, raised axe with violent abandon,

Broke his voice for each world to hear,

His patience and he claimed to speak, for each of us upon this hill,

Had become breached, and had long since been dry,

And if an enemy were to come,

So much a gift for beast or man,

To clash with souls smothered by contempt, of men standing still,

I rose to urge him not go with such lines any further,

But too much mead he had got,

Lost in misery he failed to see, that the mission was not complete,

We were but pawns in the grandest of schemes,

And wait we must to collect our rightful things,

My words were dampened by their ire,

Effigies of Gods they would place on the fire,

When a flash reached each world in its brightening,

Could rueful words have awakened?

Would the hammer soon claim our scalps?

Anger turned to somber fear,

Fore in all the men’s disparaging words,

Each was not foolish to believe a God they could fairly fight,

Surprised the men, myself as well,

From asgaard’s glow our rivers swelled,

Our livestock rampantly multiplied,

All variation of fruit to eat,

A golden ramp would close the gap,

A bridge for where the vegetation was at,

Men were at awe,

Open faced, ashamed and scarred,

Then wood it would appear,

Along with nails made of solid steel,

Hammers too aligned the shores,

A sign our waiting would last much more,

Enough wood there was for each of us,

A house to claim as their own,

Fattening upon nightly feasts,

Debauchery led to best night sleeps,

But again, time greatly swept us on each side,

And men grew tired once again,

The food, the drink, the libations to keep,

The nails, the boards, the homes we built,

And yet these men desired comfort still,

Long days went by and the greatest of each unit

Would cease not to cry,

Many vowed to cross the way,

To the closest towns,

The nearest villages they would meet,

Women were the drug they need,

I warned them all that soon would come,

The announcement from above,

And they did not believe a word I spoke,

Beards like this take time to coat,

They’ve lost track of us up on this village hill,

They’ve left us here to die,

To rot away so close to the core,

So near the sky,

No they pled enough play the God’s have had,

It was time we gathered all and deserted this rueful mission,

At which time the sky turned red,

Then nothing could be seen at all,

We’d all been exposed to a blinding might,

And each for much time saw darkened light,

 Stumbling most the men would do,

Until their bed they’d feel,

Retire each would for they each required replenishing,

When I arose the next day since,

I noticed each home was still the way they’d last since been,

All men accounted for,

Nothing changed at all,

Until I saw a sight that would spirit lift,

Awaken faith within them all,

In the rivers, the water clears,

Maidens, so many for eyes to hear,

Each bathing as the God’s intended them,

By this time now, the men had arose,

And vision had returned to them,

Upon seeing what I have,

Their quest for departure had been left for dead,

With a quickened pace,

We all met the maiden’s by the lakes,

The first one brown and gold,

Approached me, and such she told,

They were hear for our needs fulfilled,

There was one for each man in these mountain fields,

To take and choose,

Pick the ones they chose to own,

And so they did, all but I,

I chose to remain as I had,

Devoted to the God’s alone,

Myrta, the one for me,

Understood and judged not did she of me,

Together she spent many years,

As friend, as companion,

Never questioned did I her,

For women also have wanton wombs,

At which time I heard a voice in prayer that night,

Which told me my honor was beyond expectation,

I should lay with Myrta for the rest of days,

And pleased with this news Myrta laid with me,

A thousand years since has passed,

The scenery had spun into a village,

That now rests as the shoulders,

Of three towns strong with maidens as well as men,

Sprawling down the mountains, into fields and past grand valley ways,

Each warrior was taught the trade,

I oversaw each detail they were to learn,

My men, the maidens, my family too, all gone and burned,

Their children, and their children’s children too,

No one left from the day Freya came and sang her song,

But from those men, because of them,

Today we stand an army wide,

Awaiting the calling still from above,

Many generations now have not spilt blood,

Many more do not care of it,

Peace is as unsettling to me,

As hordes of demons from each side,

From below, and from above,

But ready they were,

Dedicated for that day,

Many more days had crossed,

Many fall from age,

Yet many more replace them here,

Children ask me all the days,

Why am I the only one, yet to pass away?

A question I had answers none,

They called me a God myself,

Quickly though I ended talk like such,

I live until I die, until that day,

I live to serve, and Serve to live, and live to survive, Survive for them, as well as you,

This is the path, this is the goal,

And if we die before they return, we will wait in silence, from our tombs