Saturday, 11 October 2014

The Lethia

Hi dear friends and followers. Today is Sunday and I wish to invite you to one more of my poems, this one about a young warrior who chose to battle the Lethia. Lethias are a species of dragon. 

The Lethia


Who is this, the creator of shadows,

that flies but in the darkness of night?
The creature of fire makes the darkness flee!
Once known to all as a handsome man,
brave and valiant, of great renown,
but out of grace with humanity he fell.
This warrior's courage caused him to fight,
to protect others in his land.
Until the one day long, long ago,
on his arm he was was bitten by the foe;
it was another creature of the night he stalked.


The wounds on his arm did not cause his death,
not in the sense of the body's decay.
Death came to him all the same
as a living death in another way.
It was almost like rabies, this disease he now had,
and it ran through his veins like the blood of his birth.
It carried a charm, transmutation, for sure.
He who was once handsome and brave,
the essence of the Lethia was now his form;
as through the midnight skies he flew,
Over the Valley of Bethane, where his people once lived.


O creature, as you breathe,
You know that the breath you take
may be your last one!
His love was the princess of the Vale of Bethane,
who bore true faith that he would one day return.
In Alvada she waited, and prayed he would come back.
Surrounded by the people who feared all that flew.

To go back was his quest, his princess to see.
But at what price the prize? It would cost him his life.
Slain by the sword of his own kind!
What a foul deed had befallen him!
As the days passed, each weighed on his heart.
He would be with his beloved
or die by a warriors sword.
Who did this thing
to he who flew the air
And had done no harm,
to be hunted and given no rest?
Even flying to distant lands,


He did not find peace.
For him the only peace would be found
with his beloved princess at his side.
No man-beast had ever gone
to be so slain by the sword so quickly.
Most avoided the footfall of man.
This man-beast was not evil.
But was forced into being both from the bite.
Some were using magic's power to overcome the beast,
but most gave chase with sword, lances. and bow.
Few knew the magic; in the world of man it was forbidden.

Dawn had begun to extend its fingers
of dim light over the misty forest.
Soon it would be time; the reckoning would come.
He could see Alvada's fortress walls,
Morning was bright as he flew over the wall,
and circled the courts and lanes below.
His mind was fixed on but one thing:
to capture the princess of Bethane.
If for no other reason
than to see her once more;
just to see her once more.
A crowd had gathered in the village square
In robes and gowns in a sea of colors;
He saw but one, like there were no others.
A turn, a swoop, and it would be done!
In his talons his love would be!
Screaming and kicking his love took flight,
Ascending as fast as his leathery wings could go.
The arrows flew and some tore into his side,
as others glanced off his scales and returned to the earth.
With his side bleeding, he continued to fly,


Disregarding the pain, he continued on,
to the Arch of the Rocks and the Labyrinthine Place.
When they arrived he gently set the princess free,
on the floor, then he landed a few feet away.
She bolted; he spoke, in a thunderous voice!


His flame lit-up the surrounding tunnels!
The princess froze, stock-still on the spot.
In a lower growl she heard the words,
“Please, do not go. I will do you no harm.”
There was something familiar in that voice.
She turned, and looked, and then she asked,
"What do you want from me, beast?”
“I was not always this beast, my princess.
Once not long ago, I was a man.
You and I, we were lovers.
we were promised to each other.”
The Princess took a deep breath
and prepared herself to speak.
The Lethia put a talon to his snout for a hush.
In the distance the many footsteps
and faint clattering of armed men was heard.


"We do not have long” he said.
“But I must tell you something before the end.
Do you remember, that special night?
We sat by the lake beneath the silver moon;
the loons sang, and nature's night sounds serenaded us.
“I asked you to be my love in union.
and we promised to be side by side;
until eternity comes, we are one.”
The princess' mind and heart were in shock!
She thought and moved as a woman possessed.
She believed what she heard and approached the beast.
As they touched it was like a lightning stroke!
A brilliance shone throughout the cavern,


So bright it filled the labyrinth with a glow
of iridescent hues of purple and gold!
The brilliance faded and all became plain.
He was no longer the beast of Bethane.
In his nakedness he caressed the princess.
When the armed men arrived,
they found nothing more
than a naked man
on the cold, stone floor;
with the princess locked in his loving embrace.

The captain of the guard knew the man at sight.
They welcomed from the dead
One of their own.
And in soldiers' cloaks to Alvada they returned.
The only fire left in the lovers' hearts burned.
So back to Alvada the troop, they went,
To celebrate an overdue, happy event.
Composed by 
Cynthia©.

Thank you for coming. I hope you have enjoyed poem on the Lethia. You are also invited to share your thoughts and comments, they are valued and greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day

ڰۣIn Loving Light from the Fairy Ladyڰۣ

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