The Swarm

A mighty battle in a strange land

Gaping Maw
To The North
From Whence Hell
Is Spewing Forth

Jutting Out
From The ground
A Giant head
A Ghastly Crown

There In The Eye
The Raging Storm
Poured From Its Mouth
A Deadly Swarm

Unhindered By
Blinding Sand
Marching Forth
Across The Land

Horrific Screams
Ring About
As The Sun is
Blotted out

Slew The Defenders
Tooth And Claw
Few That remain
Left In Awe

Fevered Marching
Chilling Drone
Bred For Rending
Flesh From bone

Tore them down
As They fled
In Their wake
Trails of dead

Hunting Killing
Wanting More
Feasting On Their
Blood And Gore


Eager To Die
On Command
Bring About
The Fall Of Man

Fighting Feeding
Claws Well Honed
Bred To See
The King Dethroned

Took To Hiding
In His Tower
Brave Men Dying
As He Cowered

Fearing his
Looming Fate
He Sent The Knights
Man the gate

Kill them all
The King's men cried
Don't let a single
One inside

Entering a
frenzied state
Loosed their fury
On the gate

Wave after wave
Of brutal strikes
Fell upon the
Defenders pikes

Filled with a sense
Of deep guile
The king watched
As the dead piled

Bolstering their
Suffered losses
More marched in from
The colossus

The battle raged
Until dusk
Courtyard littered
With their husks

Even with numbers
Truly great
They'd never make it
Past the gate

Quickly killed
Or badly maimed
Doused in oil
And set aflame

Soon they'd be
Forced to retreat
Fighting on
Would spell defeat

The defenders
Growing weak
Spurred on by
Dying shrieks

They began
Falling back
Finally halting
The attack

The King Thought
The victor crowned
Felt a rumbling
Within the ground

Something stirred
Beneath the surface
Reaching up
And finding purchase

Breaking roots
And shifting sand
He brought forth
A giant hand

Letting out
A booming hymn
Quickly brought
The swarm to him

In A Flash
He made a fist
They descended
On his wrist

Tooth and claw
They dug right in
Quickly tearing
Through his skin

Back and forth
They did thresh
Made short work
Of his flesh

Uttering not
A single groan
Using his teeth
He broke the bones

Hit the ground with
A meaty thump
Leaving behind
A bloody stump

Eerily still
For just a moment
As the defenders
Prayed for atonement

Confirmed their fears
Very alive
Making it clear
Starting to writhe

Shaking like
A mongrel pup
Stretching out
Stood itself up

Lowering itself
Into the mist
The swarm converged
Onto it's wrist

As told in elden
Tales of the nether
Amassing as one
Fusing together

Watching in horror
Defenders grew pale
Melted into one
Forming it a tail

A horrid sight
Tall as the pines
Keenly edged blades
Long jagged spines

Lowered the finger
In the middle
A simple task
They did not fiddle

Husks turning
A bloody Red
Quickly growing
As they fed

A wriggling mass
Pushed forth from within
A bird-like head
With Leathery skin

Rearing up
Let out a shriek
Razor sharp fangs
Lined it's beak

Soulless eyes
Brimming with hate
Going full tilt
Charged the gate

Striking fear
In the hearts of man
Blindingly fast it
Crossed the span

Menacing glare
Awkward gait
Bridge buckling
Under its weight

With its fiercest cry
Its tail swung round
Hit the gate with
A Deafening sound

Defenders paled
Spirits broken
Losing hope as
The breach opened

Their resolve
Wearing thin
They fell back as
The swarm poured in

Hewing through
Blades well forged
On the dead
They did gorge

Maddened by
A blood fueled rage
Their fortress
Turned to a cage

King's very own
Private hell
His men screaming
As they fell

The piling dead
Growing deep
As they filed
Into the keep

Woman and child
Swords in hand
Fighting at the
King's command

It's here they'd make
Their final stand
Or be purged
From the land

The swarm marched on
Coming in scores
Hid behind the Keep's
Heavy iron doors

Holding all
The kingdom's treasures
Fighting here
Meant desperate measures

Thought the doors
Were their salvation
They forgot the
Amalgamation

A shriek heard from
The Distant lands
Torn open by
The monstrous hand

Right for the men
The creature rushed
Past the wizard
His chanting hushed

Seldom did they
Turn to magic
Rarely was a
Day so tragic

Saving the lives
It would claim
Hit the beast with
Gouts of flame

With renewed hope
A phalanx formed
Their shields and pikes
Held back the swarm

The flames too much
The hand did thrash
Pinned to the ground
And burned to ash

The king cried
No more than pests
Hunt them down
And burn the nest

Those that remained
Dealt with in short
The last few
Killed for sport

Rally to me
The king cried out
Amidst the men
He had to shout

It's not yet done
Although they've fled
To kill a beast
You take its head

All of his men
Feeling mirth
When a massive quake
Shook the earth

Fear not Knights
Growing hoarse
We've come far
Stay the course

On the horizon
To the north
Loomed the colossus
Stepping forth