Of Errantry Upon the Sands

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

[This poem is gradually made available within the Well.  A copy is specifically placed in the custody of the Balladeers.]


In Errantry Upon the Sands

Sister Amélie of the Sisterhood of the Sibylline Vine

In the Style of the Kulamet

Second Edition
Hziran 7, IY 7788


Of the Beginning:

Upon the youth of Ashen Age;
The welling Foe would soon engage;
To spread the evils that in lore;
Were borne by Enemy of yore;
A fool, unknowing, sought the Foe;
Lamenting them their worldly woe;
That bitter oaths shall now portend;
The danger that shall wreak an end;

If she will not swift go anon.

   ---

First, a Trial of Solitude, as it was said to her:

Unto desert's great expanse;
That Bel-Ishun in style grand;
Shall meet your every weary glance;
And shelter thee amid the sand;
But mark your work in Well is done;
And heed now every weary breath;
For though these lands are not undone;
Alone you ply them, unto death.

To this, an Answer in Endurance, as she resolved:

Attend you now, O weeping wretch, who raves;
Of weary eyes to see the Foe that craves;
To damn you for the goodly act you did;
And from your home, forever to forbid;
But what then is become of ye, that marked ten years in wastes complete;
The wellspring is not gone from thee, so hunt the Foe, O fleet of feet!

O weary Wanderer, seek thereby;
To answer yet Fierce Kula's cry.

   ---

Second, a Trial of Fear, as she witnessed:

The Foe is mighty, soon you learned;
Your salient blows to touch its form;
From ashen sands its Flesh upturned;
And bounded, meat in horrid swarm;
Its seething boils came upon;
Thy coterie of conjur'd might;
You dashed them then, to woe forgone;
But knew in heart It won the fight.

To this, an Answer in Errantry, as she proclaimed:

You run through groves on secret ways unknown;
An easy thing--just let him die, alone;
But what then is become of ye that spoke of lofty derring-do;
Shall you abandon graven oath, give in to all the fear in you?
No! Heed the sounding trumpet, then, and take up vigil set for thee;
And up the spear of wood and steel, that Cinquefoil errant shall you be.

O would-be Errant, seek thereout;
And clear of purpose, call blaze out.

   ---

Third, a Trial in Cunning, as she sought advantage over the Foe:

You called them, myriad souls to write;
And bid them cast their fears aside;
No force or guile bound their fight;
Shall see the Foeman's aim denied;
But tenuous your plan to set;
A trap for vicious Djinni bold;
Disaster knocks, a lurking threat;
Upon the island there foretold.

To this, an Answer in Duty, as they marched upon It:

They've answered you, O Errant soul, from walks of Life and Wellspring, all;
That put their trust and faith in you to see them through without a Fall;
And where are you now, O cynic firm, who kept from them for ten long years;
Thy countenance is lifted up and now you face down all your fears;
For Cinquefoil purpose shall not end while souls shall bear aloft the quest;
So take the field against the Foe, to Pilgrim's path and Chalice's test.

Then off to far-flung island grim;
And summit's crest in flaming hymn.

   ---

Fourth, a Trial in Truth, as they bore witness:

By conjur'd work and sword and steel;
The Enemy you there in engaged;
And Wyld answered Djinn with zeal;
Upon caldera's edge encaged;
That ruined Foe was trapped in urn;
But raged the Djinn with grasping mirth;
And dragged you down to nightmare's churn;
To be alone in blood and earth.


And from this, an End, in remembrance:

What bitter sting imprisoned Foe;
Shall seek to keep you there below;
The place cannot be here described;
That but your death, not there proscribed;
Thy company of heroes true;
Afeared would not abandon you;
And answered all that peril great;
They wrote for It a bitter fate;

And courage saw the Thing undone.

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

For the dead: Pirouette Manners.

By Balladeers Lynneth and Alejandro Benjazar

    Enchantress Nonpareil
    Runaway Noble
    Guardian of the Pilgrim's Plaza

Possessed of an endless kindness. Your allure and charm undeniable by all who knew you. Your heart brave and pure and bold.

Behold besides the pilgrim's gaze;
On humble stone and bench reclined;
A friend therein endured her days;
In both her word and deed too kind.

Beneath her blatant beauty laid;
The love to set a heart at rest;
And guile which never feared to wade;
Against the darkest kind of test.

My life was shared with friend so dear;
Alas, to end here such delight:
Herself she risked to Jinni sear;
Below a thousand years of blight.

Alone I hold her hidden smile;
And late the hour into dawn;
When whispered secrets we'd compile;
For knowledge shared is never gone.

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

For the dead: Lojir Trajaros.

By Acolyte Amelie Terrois

    Mirror-walker
    Mastercraft
    And seeker of that shrouded Lore

Let none forget that you stood to your convictions.

The scholar's work is never done;
For Izdu bids us all to strive;
And Sabotage the dangers spun;
By Enemy he would deprive.

For They were known to him by choice;
Command of their accursed names;
And through this he would raise his voice;
To ward all from their bitter games.

Now here the challenge set to him:
Undying prison that would be;
The answer, those who life and limb;
Take to imprision Foe with ye.

And with this masterpiece of craft;
Writ by his sorcery's command:
That enemy's disdainful laugh;
He ended by his choice to stand.

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

For the dead: Velan Volandis.

By Acolyte Amelie Terrois

    A shining star
    Debonair
    And worthy Cinquefoil heart

All the Rose misses your wit and mirth.

Afraid of naught the hero elf;
Did take the blow of foe in stride;
Discarding thought to guard himself;
He strode into the battle wide.

For 'round him raged the creature dark;
That cast with wailing, gnashing teeth;
To bear a bitter, fouling mark;
Upon those who defied beneath.

O bright his ringing sword and shield;
Shone fierce and clear amid the gloom;
And rallied all who sought It sealed;
He strove to save all from that doom.

And to his noble mem'ry now;
the Cinquefoil Rose shall raise its wine;
A toast to one who took his bow;
Example set of courage fine.

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

[A second edition, after a long period, supersedes the first edition originally published on Tabbah 21, IY 7787.]