The Legend of Lionheart.

Version 2 of The Legend of Lionheart.
Perhaps a long read. Carry on if you’ve a feel for adventure and the mystic.
— — — 
‘Tis sad, very sad;
The young Warrior lay dead.
His head slashed and bleeding,
Pierced by the thorn-bed;
He remains lifeless and still.

I shall tell you what happened,
I’m sure you won’t snooze!
Wait, wait, be patient!
Let me have a draught of my Red Juice.
Yes, let me begin.

“The youth was Lionheart, Warrior Extraordinaire.
Summoned to complete 4 tasks
To save the land of Nior.
So he left, wearing a mask,
He goes to accomplish his first task.

Across the marshes and ravenous canyons,
Lionheart trekked to the Wicked West.
‘Tis the lair of evil, the realm of adventure,
Onwards he marched, towards his first adversary.
Onwards, into the depths of Nior’s Underground.

In the Scarlet Caves of Ire,
Lay the savage Dragon Bloodbath,
Sprawled over his gleaming treasure
Of mangled bones and sparkling gold
Spewing fierce flames of fury.
The Warrior approaches to make contact,
He braces himself for the first combat!
Hot fiery flames, Bloodbath spew,
His sword, Affronta, Lionheart drew.
A prayer, he charges with a roar,
Jumping high, striking Bloodbath’s spiked tail.
A metallic clamour, not a wound found.
A snort and a flick; the Dragon sent him flying.
Lionheart landed hard on high ground and fires now,
A volley of poison arrows at his long neck,
For it was naked; his only weakness.
Bloodbath hurt, hurtles towards and grabs him,
Squeezing every ounce of breath with his claws.
Warrior, ready-dead; peers into the open mouth.
Red flames cast an eerie glow over long fangs.
And just as the jaws snapped, in a sparkle,
The mighty Affronta tore open its throat!

Fell tumbling towards the ground;
Fire and blood spurting all around.
Lionheart wiped Affronta and took a Fang.
Thus the Warrior completes the First with a bang.

Onwards to the Desert Barch,
To complete the Lexon Maze.
As he leaves the Underground,
Bruised; winds making evil sounds,
He walks to the West, never losing Pace,
He reaches the grand City of Teramace.

The lights and colours, he saw.
His mind went back to his Nior;
Before it fell into ominous war.
Lionheart yearned for the merrymaking,
For the Warrior was a true Adonis;
Muscle-bound, eyes deeper than the summer sky.
Every girl’s dream, their father’s nightmare.
Never was one he couldn’t ensnare.

Agitated was his sleep that night,
Woken up by a fine young maiden;
Aerilyn, she said her name was.
Minutes, seemed to simply pause.
“Love this is”, he instinctively knew.
Rest assured, she thought so too.
‘Twas spring, trees and romance bloomed,
Mindlessly, all time was consumed.”

But this is no story of Love;
Although none exist sans amour.
Yes, back to the Quest.
Just one more sip of Juice.

“After 16 months of relaxation.
Continues the quest for Nior’s salvation,
Promising to return safe and soon,
Leaving behind Aerilyn and little EagleEye.
He goes. He knew he had to lie.

Through the plateaus he ran.
To complete the Lexon Maze.
The heat making an uneasy gaze.
He enters the infamous dungeon,
Where but a few have survived.
Left or Right; here or there?
Myriad dark tunnels forking out into darker ones,
A dark fluid drips from pointed stalactites.
Brown jagged rocks lined the ancient wall.
Dead martyrs carpeted the red floor.
Something creeps from behind.

The exit, he couldn’t find.
The wind blows, the sand renders him almost blind.
Where to go; how to go?
Numerous solutions, none easy to find.
Trodden paths crumbling within seconds,
No escape, darkness beckons.
Only the Fang guiding his cause,
Through the Old Magician’s lair.

Something is following, he does know.
He sees the exit…the Great Exit!
A colossal solid white marble door,
Engraved carefully by numerous inscriptions.
Tired and dreary, he runs for it.
But, try as he might, escape was impossible.
An enormous tarantula, black and hairy,
He did see. It followed him,
With jaws dripping orange acid,
Wielding Affronta, he looked around.
Saw he did, a Green Stone,
Engraved with the Magician’s Bone,
A circular hole in its centre.
He was to use it to escape.
Threw it, slashed it, smashed it…
Tried all he could but couldn’t trash it!
The spider was closing in…Still drooling.
He wondered how to use the Stone.
Lionheart, to the Lord was appealing,
He glanced at the door and saw a slot.
Ran and placed the Stone into the opening.
A fizzle. The Spider spat out his venom; Lionheart missed by inches.
A soft glow around the opening in the Stone.
Illuminating something Lionheart had missed.
The silhouette of a fang, a Dragon’s fang.
Emboldened, he shoved the Fang into the hole.
Bright Light and Fresh Air welcomed his tired visage!
Ran he did, away from the still drooling spider and the cave,
And so, Task 2 was completed by Lionheart the Brave.

On to Task 3,
The Warrior, on escaping the Maze,
Was praised by the Priests of Lexon.
So great was his feat, they concurred
To provide him the Boon of Aquadeed.
Thus preventing him from dying underwater;
Giving him command over the mermen.

With the Boon of Aquadeed,
To Cape Kappa, the lane did lead.
Plunging into the slimy, chilly sea,
He goes to the Temple of Anatosee. (Ancient sea-god)
Through dancing seaweed and by huge galleons,
Lionheart swam with brave lips.
Across wide trenches and past dark canyons,
He cuts through the currents, all determined and brave.
He goes to obtain the Neosand Pearls,
(Magical pearls that give immense power to user)
Through the labyrinth of Anatosee,
He reached, full of glee.

On a stone pillar, t’was written:
‘In order to obtain the Shiny White,
You must encounter the White Knight,
And conquer the Guardian Girls,
In the Chamber of Prayer,
Only then, art thou worthy, to get the Whites!!’

His need was the Pearls, he went straight.
Towards the Infinite Corridor,
The one with the flimsy floor.
Cautiously, not casually,
He took every step.
The lights were dim,
Alas!! A bit of floor fell beneath him!

Down he fell, on and on,
Till he reached the Room of Sacrifice.
There he saw the White Knight,
And his Great Army of Might.

Lionheart summoned his mermen.
And they engaged in battle.
A huge battle it was indeed,
Two huge oceans of Men clashed.
Blood diffused like perfume,
Lionheart with fury did fume.
Affronta slashed, bashed and gnashed.
He attacked with terror;
Both profusely did bleed.

And just when the Knight was about to strike,
Lionheart ducked and dodged it,
And then gave him The Paramount Jab,
With which, the Knight was exterminated;
And the battle had terminated.

Exhausted, he cleaned Affronta,
And went on, in search of the pearls.
Unexpectedly, he encountered the Guardian Girls.
Those 3 mystic spirits, transparent black,
With blood-shot eyes and skinny hands.
On which were worn red and black bands.

Undefeatable by sword stroke,
Soon, in chorus, they spoke:
“Brave youth, Affronta can’t kill us!
All you must do is answer our riddle:-

‘It’s the work of heaven, effective on land,
‘Tis cold; ’tis warm; ’tis the delight of the green.
Long and short; bland and grand;
‘Tis seen both as Good and Mean…’
Tell us, Warrior…What do we mean???”
Lionheart, he rattled his brain,
The warrior, he took some strain;
Thought some more and replied,
“Umm…Rain??”

“Ah! Correct! You may pass,
For your credit has been proven.
Go on to the Chamber of Wealth,
To the Treasure Heap.
There, you shall discover,
The Neosand Pearls, as a gift for your endeavor.”
After which, the Girls disappeared.

He goes and takes the Pearls.
Resurfaces and stays afloat.
Holds them, and felt the power surge.
He then, his body purged,
Of all impurities and a weed.
Even the choking effect of Aquadeed.”

Wait a bit, narrating a story is tough!
Let me have a small drink of the Juice.
Ah yes, now let me continue.

“And now, to the last Task,
He reaches House no: 666,
The House of Hantéeur.
On the lawn with black blades of grass.
He absorbs fully, the Pearl’s power, supernatural.
And then, the warrior, he entered the mansion.

True, this was the most dangerous one of all.
He had to now conquer Char.
The famed Phantom of Acratar [haunted city]
Lionheart should conquer him in combat.

He opens the corridor door, it wasn’t intact;
It broke off, and he kept walking.
The pictures on the wall were shocking,
Gore and vulgarity; t’was filled;
He kept walking, feeling chilled.
He paced along the long corridor.
Suddenly, he heard a screech from behind.
More and more pictures of Gore.
Abruptly; dead-end, the window opened up,
The curtains shivered, but no wind.

He saw, moving in the air, a silver cup;
Filled with a thick scarlet liquid.
Char revealed himself, petrifying and wicked.
Black and red and grey he was, sipping the liquid,
With long teeth and even longer claws.
He roared, “Warrior! Prepare for thine death!!”
“Nay, ’tis yours!”, Lionheart replied.

And so, the battle began;
The rats moved away, scared.
The Thunder-Gods cried out,
As their swords cut into each other.
Neither was too strong for each other,
Nor was any weak.
Blow after blow, blow after blow,
They hit their foe, high and low.
The unmatched ferocity of Char,
Pitted against the mammoth energy of the Pearl!
The resilience of the lad, commendable under the test,
Both soon, desired rest.

T’was the Phantom Char, who first spoke,
“I love to see thee sputter and choke;
You may be a big hero,
But to me, a bigger zero!”
Thus he said, and vanished,
Leaving Lionheart bewildered.
Hither, thither, the lad did run,
Sensing Char; circling around; attempting conquest.
With a puff of smog, and
A deafening scream;
The mystic Char struck,
With 69 times the force of a loaded truck.
Right where one’s knowledge lay,
On Lionheart’s majestic crown!

Having a few seconds left,
Dropped Affronta and thought emotionally of Nior.
He had failed, and tamely so.
Tears for beloved Aerilyn and young EagleEye.
Then collapsed and began his long-eminent trip to Heaven.
Char thrilled, shrieked, “Behold me! Char the Phantom!!”
Took his body and threw him,
On a large thorn bed, grim;
Viscous blood, oozed from his pores.”

And so; enjoying the gore, I filled my cup,
With his blood; rich, brave, Red blood.
He thought he could kill me, the dud!
As you see, friends,
Fortune for once has faltered,
And has failed to favour the brave!!
I hope you enjoyed the story.

By the way…feeling hungry?
I’m willing to have you for dinner!

~Sreedeep Sreekanth

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All comments are welcome. Do share if you felt it’s worth it. 🙂

‘Nuff Said.
@sreesquared
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