Sword And Shield

Tomorrow we go to battle on the fields,
Listen up men - sharpen your swords, prepare your shields,
The enemy is coming, bringing along its dark deeds,
Killing the innocent, taking the young on their steeds,
Answer your kings call,
Or we all shall fall!

Hearing the message a soldier stands,
Watching the battle scars left on his hands,
His toughened gaze then looks high up the sky,
"I bet tomorrow will be a great day to die!"
With his shield he has guarded these lands,
Thanks to it - the soldier is not laying in these wretched sands,
It has guarded him from many deadly blows,
Only with time the shields true loyalty shows,

His sword tainted in blood that it shed,
How many men from it have bled,
Even more from the sword have fled,
With the soldiers strong will - many souls to it have been fed,
It is a pity that the sword is unable to speak,
the legends it could shout and whisper, would be a challenge to determine or seek,
Soon the day draws complete,
And the soldier lies down, and waits for sleep,

The battle day came, men went to battle,
Marching in force - from mile you could hear their armor rattle,
And then in a blink of an eye the battle started,
Men ran and fell, like butcher shop cattle,
Swinging sparking swords and battering shields,
Blood and lost souls soon littered the fields,
For hours they slay, wound and kill,
Until the moon rolls over the hills...

It ended ever so suddenly,
The cowards ran, the brave died stubbornly,
Our friend - the soldier now lies on the ground,
Wounded badly and bleeding fast, he lies with no sound,
Loosing grasp on his life, he hears the death prowling around,
His final thoughts start to shake,
The sword fought bravely - killed many men in it's wake,
But the shield betrayed him for heavens sake,
And our hero dies, he ends his story,
His tormented soul now enter the halls - of eternal glory!

Arnold "Wanderer" Grava
Irīna "Valante" Subotjalo
Tomass "Thomsons" Millers

"Second Wind"

The Forgotten Book, Chapter VI