Dragon's Gold

It was a dark and stormy night
The moon hidden in the sky
Cold winds had froze and the lightning chose
The fates of heads held high
The thunder roared in clouds above
It rumbled on below
The ground disturbed by the marching heard:
The army that would not slow

So the storm and swarm rolled on
There was lightning in their eyes
Rain still hailed, flags still sailed
Towards what they despised
The earth was littered with broken skulls
Charred bones and blackened shields
The dragon’s fire engulfed men’s desire
None have survived these fields

Legends of this lands been told
By people young and old
Inspired greed from the words they heed
The tale of the dragon’s gold:
It all began with a hooded man
That bore a sacred treasure
Or so this story goes, this prize
Its worth was beyond measure

No one knew the demons name
But remembered well his look
Thin and tall, and above all
The mystery of this book
Face at bay, long and grey
With a cloak of fabric crow
Pockets ridden with dark unknown
And eyes that seemed to glow

His face was hidden his glee was not
In his cloak of deepest black
His one obsession, his only possession
Lay in a leather sack
Word of his treasure and his travels
Throughout the land it flew
Until it reached Phrin’s Castle’s keep
Where its Kings interest grew

The Kings orders were of simple kind
And carried out with haste
“Find the man in deepest black
We have no time to waste!”
He was a King of Human kind
Known most as the King of Phrin
Golden crown escorts a frown
For the power he longed within

As of yet he hadn’t strayed
From his people or his land
But the coming of the hooded one
Would prove he’s just a man
Few days had past till people gasped
As the man strode past thier doors
When enquired of what the king desired
He strode on without pause

“So you’re the man in deepest black
With a prize of priceless worth
Tell me sir what is this prize
That can be found upon this earth?”
The Kings voice echoed through the hall
Excitement in his eyes
The hooded man’s shone brighter still
And foretold the Kings demise

“I bear an egg from a land afar
A dragon sleeps within
It has powers stronger than you know
Oh wizened King of Phrin
You’ll find Lord that it hatches soon
Only when cracks run deeper
And only the pairs of eyes it meets
Can be its destined keeper,”

His voice had not rasped or boomed
Was as clear as a famous song
With breath a few, without a due
The voice still carried on

“Once the dragons left its shell
Provide it food and care
All it needs is a special feed
A kind that none would spare,
Seek out all the fiery beans
Among the Dragon egg
Feed him one of these once a day
This of you I beg”

The King would urge that he go on
His cloak would hide a smile
The king wrapped round a finger
Of a man so dark and vile

“The dragon can’t be killed or slain
By any mortal blade,
I would not dare to try and spare
A thought for such crusade!
If this beast within the egg
Becomes your greatest foe…
Use its fire against itself
With blade of fiery glow”

With this he revealed a leather sack
And beckoned the king a peek
With his heart ablaze he had a gaze
He’d sought what he longed to seek
“So give me all your gold and jewels
All that glitters be mine!
The dragon will give you thrice as much
It’s powers beyond this time”

Blinded by such a power lust
The king had clapped his hands
Servants hurried off to carry out
The hooded mans demands
Three moons had passed, since that day
When the egg began to crack
The sacred sight was the king’s delight
Foretold by the man in black

The leather sack seemed too heavy
And the dragon grew so slow
The king’s will surpassed the dragons
To will the beast to grow
This ruler didn’t heed his warnings
Greed would rule his head
He did not care for the baby dragon
And locked it away instead

The King had lost his compassion
He’d lost his sense to find
That the dragon lost his only love
The King had lost his mind

In a day he fed him every bean
Till the dragon nearly burst
Even when it howled in pain
Nothing quenched greed’s thirst
A week had past until at last
The beast had now become
The fear of all Phrin’s enemies
What had the Phrinians done?