(December '16) Prompt #1- "Legend"

[Kris]

December's 1st prompt is "Legend"



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[ArtisticVicu]

The gravel crunched underneath as he sat down heavily. Groaning at the movement, he grabbed at the wound on his side, hissing at the pain it caused. He didn’t let up the pressure but he did relax, leaning his head back against the stone wall behind him.

He chuckled weakly. “It’s funny,” he commented, eyes half lidded. “I always thought we would make it farther than this.”

He closed his eyes as a breeze washed over him, pulling at his hair, at his face, as gently as it did the trees above him. He opened his eyes, taking in the glimpses of blue sky beyond. “Guess I was wrong.”

His expression turned sad, mournful even, as he settled more into the wall. “But, hey, least we made it this far, right, brother?”

He glanced over at the prone shape beside him in a worse condition than he was. There wasn’t much sign of life but he could tell that his brother was still there, still alive, if just barely.

He turned his gaze skyward again.

The wind rustled through the leaves again and he closed his eyes. The sound of the nature around them was soothing after such a hard trek, after such a hard moment in their life that he relished the peace.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was setting and the sky had gone from a vibrant blue to a darkening orange. He couldn’t bring himself to care.

“I remember mom telling us about a legend,” he commented offhandedly, gaze still skyward. “The one about the phoenix and how it could be reborn after it burst into ashes. How life was just like the cycle of the phoenix. From the moment your born, it’s nothing but movement and information. Smoldering determination and white hot emotions. Life just throws everything it has at you to see if you’ll rise from the ashes or go down in a burning ball of misery.”

A bird passed overhead, chirping happily. “I remember thinking I understood that legend when we had followed dad’s footsteps. Life was suddenly alight with passion. Every day was high paced, ending like a candle does when the sun went down. Then mom died and I believed I had come to understand the legend that much more. Suddenly the emotions were too much to bear. I couldn’t take it. I was so over stimulated by them all that I became numb. Numb until, suddenly, determination was lighting my way again. And suddenly the emotions I felt were burning hot and fueled my motivation. Our motivation.”

The sun reached a point in its descent that rays of light cut through the trees, illuminating all the particles in the air and illustrating just where the leaves fell in the beams of light. He watched as the beams, one by one, faded as the sun continued to set.

“I thought that the legend we were chasing had no similarities to the phoenix,” he confessed. “I saw no need to try and compare the two. A phoenix is a myth. There was no bird that could die in flames only to be reborn from the ashes. But then we saw things.” Memories flashed through his mind’s eye, things he wished he had never seen, never heard. But with those memories, those choices, had come people they cared about and who cared about them and his expression softened. He couldn’t bring himself to regret any of it. “We saw things that no human should have ever witnessed. We saw things that would have broken others, would have destroyed others. But they didn’t destroy us. Somehow, through all of this, we never turned to ash and stayed ash. We were reborn. Over and over again. We got back up, dusted ourselves off, and kept moving. We kept chasing a legend.”

The sun’s last rays dissipated as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. The first stars were already making their appearances through the leaves. “We kept moving, kept going. Kept trying. But no matter how far we got, how hard we ran, that legend remained out of reach, out of touch.”

The pressure on his wound dissipated as his arm gave out. He paid it no mind as he closed his eyes, face still pointed skyward. “We discovered horrible truths about that legend and yet we still kept running after it, trying rid ourselves of the information with believing that, once we had captured it, we’d be fine.”

He opened his eyes and a tear raced down his cheek, another going with it shortly thereafter. “I don’t think mom told us the full legend about the phoenix, brother. I think she was trying to protect us from the truth.”

He closed his eyes again, another tear falling. “Of how the phoenix’s cycle eventually comes to an end, how it doesn’t last forever. That, once the phoenix has used up all of its energy to reform, it will turn to ashes and never rise again.”

He found it much harder to open his eyes this time. The wind pulled at his wet cheeks, the air colder than it had been with the sun up. “I think she didn’t want us to go on living with the belief that, at some point, we would wear ourselves out and lose the ability to get back up again, to keep moving. That life loses its spark after living it for too long.”

He chuckled weakly. “Funny how chasing one legend can lead to the understanding of another.”

He closed his eyes with the intent of keeping them closed this time. He was so tired. “I’m sorry, Alphonse. I tried. I tried so hard to keep my promise to you and I’ve broken it.” The tears came faster but there were no sobs. Just breathless words. “I want to keep it but I don’t think I can get up after this one, brother. I don’t think we can bounce back after this.”

“It’s alright, brother,” came the soft, weak voice from the form beside him. “I’m tired too.”

He forced his eyes open one last time. He smiled, but it felt off. “Think we’ll see mom again?”

“Yeah,” came the breathy reply. “Yeah, I do.”

[m139]

Legend

The Ballad of the Amore

Within the dusty cove there lies, a ship wrecked long ago
Surrounded by the crashing waves, and frothy white sea foam
They say it's been a hundred years, a hundred years or more
Since that fateful solemn day when crashed the ship Amore

Its first trip upon the glassy seas, ill fated though the run
to carry the king across the world to greet his long lost son
The word had come from distant land, "I'm alive" cried he
And so the king prepared a trip across the large wide sea

A ship was made, and fine it was, all gallant dressed in gold
Despite the warnings that had come of prophesies foretold
of doomed destruct ruction that would come, ill-fated was the ship
and that king's death would be the end of this, the sorr'wful trip

Indeed when the main sail was raised, two birds flew right ahead
And then one dropped upon the deck, fallen cold and dead
Its black plumes upon the deck were tattered and destroyed
and none could guess how once it flew with wings like this employed

The other bird, though in the air, gave out a shrilling CAW!
And one could see the torn fabric that it held in its claw
Was it from grave, or city ruined, or shipwrecked man long dead
They knew not where, but as it passed, they felt a bit of dread

The king, although he saw these signs, did falter not one bit
But "Use the sails, full speed ahead." came forth from out his lip
The day looked good, with wispy clouds, the ship was doing fine
Who knew that in the hours soon, the ship would rest with brine?

While the sun shone within the sky, and filled it with its yellow light
the ship, it moved on ocean smooth, with winds for rapid flight
As the sun set it cast around its rays of dusky red
upon the crew alive as yet, but soon to join the dead

That night the moon did rise full bright, its disk upon the milky sky
And as it rose, the waves did then begin to jump and rise
Asleep below, in cabin fine, the king did take his troubled rest
and darkened dreams did fill his head and cause uneasiness

He dreamed of his own son, of drawing near though far
For as he reached out to embrace, his arms turned to water
And then the image faded away, among cries and wails
And his son's laments did join the ones of his wife- cries without avail

For soon he was but a small wisp, which faded soon away
Blown aside by some strong wind, thrown without a say
Through blurry lens he thought he saw a hand posed ov'r the flame
the light went out, and darkness came, no light to come again

Then THUD! He woke up with a start, he'd fallen to the floor
His lantern swung quite wildly, and now opened his door
The captain stood, and, with heavy breath, he told his dreadful news:
"Oh, King!" he said, "Come up, come quick! Our life we may soon lose!"

They made there way on to the deck, along the planks so shaky
and though they had to watch their steps, their pace was yet quite hasty
Soon indeed, they could now look upon the open sky
if one could see through the dark that surrounded all their eyes

The moon had hidden under clouds, tucked in its thick dark veil
And the once bright and shining stars were concealed, of no avail
Few lanterns hung that were still lit, and gave forth tepid light
And streaks of lightning flashing forth gave glimpses of the night

Here the captain shouted out orders against the rain and wind
Here the one did try to bail all the water coming it
Here the sailor climbed the mast, to cut the large sails down
And here the sailor prayed to God in hopes he would not drown

Here the water rose in fury, high above the mast
Here the water fell again, slapping the desk with blast
And now the ship, it stood on high, on top of foaming peak
And now it fell on down again, and fell upon its beak

Although it stood 'gainst thousand waves, it was the thousandth and one
When cracked the hull of that great ship: its journey now was run
The scattered planks were tossed about, as was the crew and king
among the waves and battered parts of other broken things

The king latched on to part of mast and looked out towards the sky
Somewhere, he thought, somewhere out there, a child and wife have I
And though I cannot see them now, and never more shall see
I pray that they will know my fate and not to long be grieved.

Across the sea, in kingdom far, a lost son waits upon the lonely shore
But while he waits for father dear, his father is no more
And then a seagull passing by, drops something from its grip
A piece of golden tasseled cloth from that once shining ship

And at King's palace where once he lived, a wife waits for return
She dreams of a coming embrace- haw was she to know to morn?
But that next week, there came a sign, and that sign brought the wail:
A piece of tattered cloth washed up that once had been the sail

And so cries rose out from all the land in morning from their king
And from across the ocean wide the son joined in its ring
For the body of their king did lie upon a watery bed
Never more would he arise, or lift his stately head

And so it was that once was lost that fated ship Amore
And so it was that the king came to be at once no more
So if you see two blackish birds cross your intended path
remember well this sorrowful tale: turn around! Do not look back.

[Omac]

It crashes and all compiles together when I try to copy and paste it to here, so I just put it on Wattpad. So I put it there and here it is. (https://www.wattpad.com/354209689-crystal-cavern-2017-legend)