They say we met at the roadside They say I cried, they lied False tears, false hopes Avenging the turncloaks What I love about beginnings Are that they all have endings I began as a friend
You can guess how it would end
I heard the horses, muffled hoof beats I’d been on the open road for weeks Chance encounters? Ha! No, just hope Anything is possible given enough rope Civil War, the country called it Allegiances won by blood and spit Kings fighting Kings, Knights with banners
Banners of a scattered empire, none of it matters
The War meant nothing to me Nor to my friends and family Our duty was to the village Not to rape and pillage! Our days were on the land farmers Blacksmiths, Inn keepers, tanners A peaceful existence, not any more The armies of the South, came to our door I was in the cellar when they arrived
The only reason why I survived
They took the men and the boys And raped the girls for their joys Butchered many after, some wished they had They took my brother, raped my mother and killed my dad I buried them with the sword found in his chest And swore vengeance, now and forever till I rest “What you doing lad? Waiting here alone?” “Sir Brave Knight, I have travelled far from home.. “I want to serve the Empire, fight for my King.. “I am good with a sword and have a deadly swing” ‘They'll soon feel that swing, before long’ I think
But for now I smile, and give a cheeky wink
The band of soldiers, laugh too and slap my back “Come on son, join us, join the Wolf Pack” Vengeance and revenge is all about time Patience is not usually a virtue of mine But to know your enemy, know their ways
Wolf pack, don't make me laugh, they're just strays I knew their names, more than that I knew their wives, their daughters even their cat I knew their hopes I knew their dreams
And soon I’d know their mercy as they scream
37 days, three hours and 46 minutes, not that I counted Was how long it took for penance to be granted A quiet, star filled sky, looked down on the pack Asleep in a clearing, no thought of attack I awoke at the dead of night, like a shadow I went The Guard on duty was asleep by the tent I found what I wanted a flint and a tub of oil I walked around the camp, pouring oil into the soil The thing with vengeance is that it’s over so quick One strike with the flint and the fires were lit Oh how I loved the snake curling fire I watched from a distance, with a darkness desire The smell of burning flesh and the sound of screams The realisation that this was real, not one of their dreams In the mist of chaos, I slashed with my sword
Vengeance was mine, their lives I abhorred
Blackened corpses, and limbless bodies I never once dreamed of vengeance as one of my hobbies For a time I was high on revenge, payback done But I wasn’t expecting what was to come The sheer hollowness, emptiness of it all I now had nothing to live for, no sound to call As silently as I came I went on my way
A Zombie of vengeance, mute, dead, nothing to say.
