The Twilight Litany

The Dark Queen walks among

The many homes of men.

She spreads her vile seed with a touch

And brings nations to their knees.

the Shadow Queen rides the dragons’ wings

And all her shadow touches is dust.

She rides from west to east

And sends the sun back to embers.

man kinds tears flow like a massive river

And mingles with generations of spilt blood.

the world itself weeps for mercy

But the vile queen knows none.

her pale face is alight with pride

And her raven hair hides her amongst the stars.

her crimson lips speak only lies

And her gray eyes hold destruction.

the land shudders when she walks

The sea boils when she swims.

the air is poison when she flies

For nature is bent to her whims.

mountains crumble beneath her

Forests burn around her.

farms are turned to dust before her

And the angel of death walks behind her.

she continues her march from west to east

And rarely stops for anything.

humans cry for an ending

But the angel resolutely ignores them.

the humans follow behind her

Trying to redo What she has undone.

but all their efforts are for not

So they hide from the horrid black sun.

they dig into the mothers’ world

Searching for a way to escape.

but so deep goes the dark queen’s influence

That there is no true respite.

man kind has no choice

There is little it can do.

so they line up and wait

For the dark queens judgement.

a thousand of the last humans

Line up before her.

They are armed with many things

And the hope of destroying the destroyer.

the dark queen laughs

And the world trembles beneath her.

all the army is lost to its fear

When existence is nearly torn asunder.

mankind grabbed its weapons and ran

They fled for the menial lives.

they ran right into her trap

And were slaughtered by her second laugh.

now just one man stood before the queen

He wasn’t armed with tank or gun.

he had no weapon but his fists bound in leather

And a simple loin cloth.

His head was shaved as was his brow;

His eyes a deep magical blue.

his skin was a milky pale

Poor urbanis was the last living thing on earth.

the queen laughed again

And urbanis nearly fled.

but he stood his ground

And readied himself for combat.

the two stared at each other

For three agonizing years.

neither even flinched

Though the queen now knew fear.

angered at having sunk to a human low

She left her spot and charged the man.

urbanis was quick, but the queen quicker

And she punched him in the gut.

urbanis was knocked thirty feet

Before he hit the ground.

he then rose to one knee and laughed

And the dark queen’s pallor began to bleed.

she wiped the blood from her face

And flew at urbanis again.

she hit him so hard a rib turned to dust

And he landed on a nearby mountain.

and yet as far away as she was

She still heard urbanis mocking laughter.

her eyes began to boil and

Her ears began to bleed.

yet far from dead was the dark queen

so she raised her hand into the air,

and using the majority of her power

She pulled one of the moons from its moorings.

the planet cried horribly in its death throws

As the moon landed on its lone defender.

and yet from deep within the crater

Laughter still rang in the queen’s ears.

she fell to her knees her bones fragmenting

She screamed as her milky skin boiled.

her cries woke the hopeless planet

And realizing this foe was almost down sealed her away.

the world knew it couldn’t destroy

It could only create.

so as well as sealing her away

It did the same to urbanis corpse.

the queen was too weakened to fight back

And urbanis were dead.

the queen would recover eventually

So sealing them both now was the only option.

the planet would nurse urbanis

back to the land of the living

in the hopes he could destroy the queen

But only when the world was long dead.

the planet would only release them then

to fight it out on the dead world

the world pulled them deep into her

And went to sleep as life on the surface began anew.

and so the Age of Machina came to an end

With the silence that was before it.

from the ashes and embers of that Age

Came the Age of Rebirth.

few exist that remain that

Remember the significance.

I could count the people on two fingers

I and the mother world that birthed me.

Alas this Age was bereft of the hero

Urbanis that had destroyed the queen.

the only human to realize her weakness

That mimicry could defeat her.

further pitied is the nature of man

That rivals the power of the queen herself.

so instead of chronicling great celebrations

I am forced to copy greater follies.

it started when the Newman,

as they will be called

since they are not the original man,

Gained the concept of time.

Newman tried three times

And three times it made something.

Newman was a lot like old man

Neither bothered thinking before they acted.

past was created first from memories

Forged into a silouhete.

past never thought ahead

Nor stopped talking of things long gone.

present was easiest to make

And he was tied into the fabric of existence.

he was with Newman the most

But never stopped worrying about past or present.

future was the hardest to make

And was bound inside of sand.

future enjoyed slipping between fingers

And giving glances of what is to come.

for an eon the three siblings lived

In peace with the Newman.

Newman built them temples

For them to see to all the lands.

but that peace was short lived

As peace most often is.

for past was jealous of man

And their ability to live and forget her.

it took many a day and more

Before past came up with an idea.

she would make it so Newman couldn’t forget her

By giving Newman a gift and become the favorite.

she thought what Newman needed most

Was the ability to learn from mistakes.

and after many months of trying

Past gave ingenuity unto Newman.

Newman was over joyed at this gift

They used it to make many things.

They used what they made to harness the elements;

Present and future grew jealous past was the new favorite.

neither wanted to work together

So they ran to their temples.

present with his by the mothers’ worlds bed

And future with his in the distant deserts.

future finished his gift first

After twice as long as past had taken.

he gave Newman the ability to be curious

So that they might enjoy the world around them.

present with his ear to the mothers’ world lips

Knew these gifts were very horrid.

But it was already too late.

He’d already given Newman the ability to procreate.

when present brought the revelation

To the light of his siblings view.

past ran one way and future went the other

For both feared the planet anger when it awoke.

the revelation was quite simple

When viewed by the three Guardians of Time.

they wondered why they had not seen it before

They blamed it for being made by Newman.

with the ability to be curious

Newman would try and figure things out.

they would search for answers

And spread to all corners of the world.

with the gift of ingenuity

Newman would continue to become powerful.

they would do things never done before

And even strive to bend the mothers’ world to there will.

but the worst gift of all was procreation

With that gift Newman kind would spread.

they would cross the sea and conquer the land

They would spread like fire and use more then they needed.

armed with these gifts freely given

They marched westward and covered the land.

present stayed behind with the mothers’ world

And the two cried over the destruction brought by Newman.

thus ended the Age of Rebirth

With nearly as much death as the Age before.

Newman ushered in the third Age,

And it was called the Age of Machina.

and I must record this Age

Like the two that are dust behind it.

for this is the punishment for

The sins I committed against the mothers’ world.

the mothers’ world remained awake

Throughout the entire Machina Age.

the pain new man inflicted was too great for her to sleep

But she was far too weak to rage against them.

so the planet cried great tears of pain

And she cried nonstop.

she cried for the long lost man

To come and end her pain.

she tried to shake Newman loose

Like fleas from a dog.

but Newman further entrenched

And never gave the mother world rest.

the mothers’ world sent hurricanes

To destroy their horrid cities.

the cities that taunted her were the first to fall

Were among the first to fall.

when wind did not dislodge Newman

She sent water in its place.

the ice caps melted

And the rain did fall.

it rained for a year

And the waters continued to rise.

the mothers’ world drowned everything

But the Newman race still survived.

the Newman race in its arrogance

Sought to control the world.

but now that they had lived on

The mothers’ world would show no mercy.

where water had failed as well

She raised great pillars of fire.

the volcanoes burnt all asunder

Yet the mistake that was Newman continued on.

the mothers’ world grew tired again

But not from lack of rest.

she closed her eyes and said goodbye

Newman had killed the mothers’ world.

and thus ended the Age of Machina

With man the rulers of nothing.

I held my mother close

As the world died around us.

long did I lay there

The oldest creation of Newman in the world.

striving to bring back what was lost

Though I knew, none could.

still I left our sanctum

And went into the new Age.

I stepped upon the ashen world that had forgotten me

And ushered in the Age of twilight.

the Newman begged and cried

For the world that no longer lived.

They tried to grow crops; these turned to dust

And that dust spoiled all they’re riches.

I wondered why I would bother

To bring up the mothers’ world to live.

it didnt seem fair to me at least

To bring her back too only endure more strife.

I turned my heels to Newman

And made ready for my end as well.

when I heard a baby cry

From somewhere behind me.

when I looked at what I looked at what I saw

I truly was disgusted.

by the charred remains of its home

A baby was being tormented by crows.

I scared the fowl scavengers away

And lifted the babe into my arms.

I held it ever so gently like a mother would

Its crying eased and was replaced by a giggle.

I smiled warmly at the Newman babe

And couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

I was going to abandon Newman

When this babe had done nothing wrong.

this young babe had changed my mind

So I sought to save my creators.

I would make a new gift

And this babe would govern it.

it took me but a moment

To make Newman a new gift.

I made a set of brass scales

I gave existence a balance.

Newman would not die this day

I had saved the with balance.

they would be responsible for remaking the world

While that babe held the balance.

I watched the babe for many years

From the mothers’ worlds sacred hollow.

though long dead she was

The runes and magic she had woven held strongly.

in hindsight I know it was wrong

That I should’ve focused on closer matters.

such as things the mothers’ world had undone

Things like the seals on the dark queen and urbanis.

but neither showed during the Age of twilight

And I enjoyed my brief respite.

whilst Newman remade the world

I smiled upon them as they used the gifts as intended.

I watched over Newman

When they remade the world.

and they brought the world back into balance

And made me truly proud to be one of there first homunculi.

I watched over Newman in the Age of rising

When I gave them the gift of mothers magic.

and I watched happily as they put it to great use in caring for the world

And Newman became one with the world bearing all mothers power.

I watched and protected them

During the Age of falling.

the Age when the shadows of men

Came and nearly undid all Newman’s hard work.

I gave Newman the idea to be rid of them

And they did so with much haste.

They used their magicks to seal the shadows;

They had locked them with the dark queen.

again the retrospect is perfect as my siblings would say

had I know what would come

I wouldn’t have let Newman give up the gift of magic

Had I seen the shadows on the horizon.

I watched them through the Age of woe

As they returned to their ancient ways.

they thought I had tricked them

And so they will curse me till the end of days.

I watched them in the Age of enlightenment

as Newman called it

for that is when they began to shun the old ways

And begin to believe in false prophets.

at this point things were beginning to get desperate

As the world began to die slowly again.

I was beginning to think my siblings had been right

And that I to should flee the world never to return.

new man kind continued to grow

And turn their gifts for wrong.

I wondered why this was happening again

When a woman’s voice came singing to my ears.

"lo and behold the destruction Newman doth bring

Mere shadows of the ones that had come before them.

barely a virus upon the world

Not even worth the thought of them being alive."

I knew that feminine voice

And it chilled my blood to the core.

for the dark queen had returned

To watch Newman’s darkening.

I attempted to laugh; the weakness of the darkness,

But she returned my laugh, a mere echo of itself.

she hadn’t changed in all these long Ages

And she had gotten rid of her one flaw.

I sat upon the bed of the mothers’ world

And took her mummified hand into mine.

I knew I couldn’t stop the queen

As she raised her scythe to end my life.

I prayed silently to myself

As my blood flowed from the gash in my chest.

I prayed that urbanis would wake

Or balance keeper Balmung would come to fight the queen.

so I write this last log in my own blood

As it coats the fine silk sheets.

"please great heros long past

Come save a world that will not last."

A.N. amazing . . . a cliff hanger in a poem . . . actually this is to be made of five separate books . . . this is the end of the first . . . and yes it will all be poetry format and just as long as this . . . I hope you enjoyed it and please read and review it . . . it will most definitely be a long time before book two is published.