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The Lay of King Gethunderbore

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The Lay of King Gethunderbore

Postby Cleander » Jan 09, 2020 8:13 pm

Well, last week, laying in bed with a temperature of 104, I thought of this poem. Feel free to blame any flaws on the fever. :D

I imagine this being a "modern" scholar among the Giants north of Ettinsmoor writing the story of the ancient giants who built the then-ruined city. Being written by a giant, the style is less refined in some places.

The Lay of King Gethunderbore

In days of old, these lands were wrack'd with war;
And then came mighty King Gethunderbore.
He sallied forth with armies strong and bold,
And did great things, which in this tale are told.
To venture thus indeed was very brave,
For his foes were quite a fearful pack of knaves.
For not all giants then were flesh and bone;
Some were made of earth or ice or stone.
Into the North Gethunderbore did go;
And slew the ice-king, in his realm of snow.
And with a blaze that shone to Old Mount Pyre,
He burned the Earthen-King alive with fire.
His sword did drive the Stone Clans to the South,
Where they still dwell, west of the Shribble's Mouth.
And when the land was purged from east to west,
The King did not from royal labors rest.
He built a city, o'erlooking all his lands,
The very place where Harfang-hold now stands.
He raised a mighty temple to the gods,
And paved the roads where all his people trod.
Now mighty bridges covered every gorge,
And fires blazed in every giant's forge.
The land did prosper underneath his reign;
Such lofty days would never come again.
But in the waning of the old King's time,
There came a Woman, from the southern climes.
She'd fled up North, of danger to be rid,
And in a cave for countless years she'd hid.
And yet her clothes were stately, long and white;
Her face would strike with wonder at the sight.
For though her cheeks were graced with beauty's glow,
Her face was deadly white, as white as snow.
She told the King that she had powers strong,
Which could all might restore, and life prolong,
But 'ere she would reveal this dark device,
She asked to learn the powers of snow and ice.
For all his royal mages had received,
The spells their icy, fallen foes did leave.
To this exchange Gethunderbore agreed,
And in return he got an apple seed.
"This magic seed" she said," Is from the south."
"Its powers come when laid within your mouth."
The king did eat the seed with cautious eye,
But lo! At once he knew he could not die.
The vigor to his aged limbs returned,
And from his hair the withered white was burned.
With joy the King did firmly then ordain,
That not a royal mage was to refrain,
From teaching all the things which he did know,
Of how to fill a land with ice and snow.
These things they taught her, also making known,
The spells and wands which turned a thing to stone.
Then in her power the woman now rejoiced;
Yet King Gethunderbore did rue his choice.
For fast from strength to sickness did he go;
He cried out for her head, who'd worked his woe.
His guards did quickly search, but she had fled;
She knew her poisoned seed would lay him dead.
This thing she did, lest any foe should hear,
The way in which she harnessed Winter's Fear.
Then southward bound, she fled on demon's wing,
With vengeance to destroy the Narnian Spring.
The seed had one more mighty woe in store;
It plagued the kingdom of Gethunderbore,
'Till with disease it many folk did slay,
So that the living Giants fled away.
And to that place they never would return,
But left it to the Giants of Rasvern.
These lesser Giants did with hammer's clang,
Erect a fortress which they called Harfang.
Below this place the ancient city lies,
And in the ruins an epitaph you'll spy.
'Twas cut there by Gethunderbore's command,
Before the Elder Giants left this land.
Above his tomb, engraved in stony words,
This ancient boast can still be read and heard:
"Though under earth and throneless now I be,
Yet while I lived, all Earth was UNDER ME."
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Re: The Lay of King Gethunderbore

Postby wild rose » Jan 24, 2020 1:01 pm

Hi Cleander,

That's a great poem there. I like the way you wrote it and the sort of roughness of being written by a giant. Sorry about your fever but it sure gave you some great creativity.
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Re: The Lay of King Gethunderbore

Postby Cleander » Jan 25, 2020 7:38 am

Thanks Rose! My fever is better now but I'll have to admit it was more productive than most! :D
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