Unsanctified Retribution

Upon the open road,

We crossed the villages where land meet sky,

And blood rose from the Sun in the east.

You stepped out daringly, sword in hand

I always lagged behind, afraid of your might

Scarred and Barren were your eyes,

Oh, the torments you had seen.

"Aye, a broken man he is. Lost his family to raiders,"

A shopkeep once spoke."Keep your distance, for death ain't long behind."

Many a time you lashed out against me,

Many a time I defended.

Once I was asked, "Why keep with such a spiteful creature?"

That man couldn't have been farther from the truth.

For I had seen you in your depths,

holding your Wife's head as it detached from body.

Watching your children slain as you were crucified upon walls.

Silently you whispered your revenge.

With horrified curiosity, I watched you rip his neck.

Your maddened eyes, turned upon me next.

Bloody knife in one hand, your wife's head in the other,

You bound towards me, screaming through your sobs,

"I shall love you in the morning, but on the nights breath I am stolen.

For two winds in Autumn cannot withstand the Gale of Winter.

This be our love forevermore."

And in the instant, I understood.

I bowed my head and waited for death to come.

For how could a man love this b*****d son?

Forged of Sin and Adultery, I stood against this man of God.

And yet, he spared me. For why I will never know.

"Boy, your eyes are lost to the Sun. Hurry along now."

The gruff voice startled me as I lost track of my recount.

This was to be the night I was made whole.

This was to be the night I had revenge.

We stalked the camp as we awaited nightfall,

Quietly he recounted the plan to me.

We stormed those halls, splattering them with blood as we moved.

The screams of the damned excited his axe,

It chilled my bones.

And as quick as we had come, we were upon our intended prey.

"The holy union between miner and seamstress meant nothing to your kin."

He howled as he held the man to the wall, eyes sparked with madness.

"For your son's treachery, your life shall be forfeit, my lord."

And as he raised his axe to swing, I stabbed his back.

With confusion and bewilderment, he turned upon me.

I watched the sadness in his eyes,

He was forsaken and lost.

With cold eyes, I took that knife and ended my Father.

I turned before the King and knelt.

"He would have been proud to see you do his work."

I stood to leave, and as I did, I felt the cold steel in my back.

I dropped to the ground as my gaze lost its life.

There upon that cold stone, my blood mixed with his.

The blood of traitors.

"You are but a dog in the street. You were borne of noble blood, but you are no heir of mine."

He walked away as our bodies removed.

Cast into the furnace as Martyr and Traitor,

Our false bond broken, forevermore.