Jovial Peak

Jovial Peak... A boy whose life is as entailed below

So starts the tale of a young boy a part of a nomadic band of musicians. A tribe whose way of life was to live off their music alone. They traveled the lands, aimlessly and freely, searching abound for the next adventure, the next joy.

I. Cascading Range Tribe
In the mist of the forest's dawn
A traveling group now long gone
Moving onward to their next destination
Nomadic and carefree, a mobile nation
This tribe of mine brings only jovialty
We run along happy and free
Bringing with us our music
Once heard, many fall to bliss
There's only one mission
To spread music until our submission

To a small town, in the middle of an icebound valley
With our Jubilant Artifacts, we play
One more night, they plead us to stay
Though we cannot, we shall sing vibrantly
Until the call of the birds announce the dawn
Only then, will we be long gone.

Silently, we embark on our eternal journey
Content with existence, content to be
The world may exist violently
But within the tribe, we are happy
Within the tribe, there is peace...
We settle in a forest north of Crumbottoms' Hold
Settling into our fate, as I now forebode.

II. The Slaughter
The night treats us with bitter cold
This forest, creepy tales have been told
We ventured in, unaware of our destiny
Unbeknownst to what will be
Drums not belonging to us resound
Horses clatter all around
Men shout, yelling to loot
The tribe trembles in terror, the raiders hoot
The first sword is drawn
And a tribesman final breath, gone
Iron drenches the air
I can do nothing but stare
Circling around us, slaughtering any abled man
Then any of those, who could stand

The violence progressed through the night
Though we prayed, no one would end this blight
With the call of the day, with the birds out
The raiders are gone with a shout
I stumble out of ash and dirt
Only to see I am alone, in a death desert
Only to see, I am the only one alive

I run along, aimlessly
Darting away until I feel free
I am alone for the first time
I run past a clearing, up a cliff I climb
Where do I go, what do I do?
Only the oath of the tribe rings true
I must do what I can, to live
So that I can continue the music to give

Hungry, cold, and tired; I am only given a drive to continue because of the oath of my tribe, the desire to spread music, even with all of my tribesmen dead. I venture to an unfamiliar place, the sea salt in the wind, bristling by me... Three large, sprawling cities stand out on this plain before me....

III. Ameliorate Rift
I continued on North, far from the slaughter
I scrounged what I could, money food and water
I embarked on a solo adventure
With only the oath to endure
I come across a vast plain that meets the sea
Distant tales, are recalled from memory
A region met with constant strife
Cities never united, their way of life
They call it the Ameliorate Rift
A place where everything always shift

I venture to the closest city
Its name long since bereft of me
I meet people as I play my music
Many come, ask if I have a trick
"I only play with my heart"
Many consider it art
But it is only what I do
The only thing that rings true

Then I meet this one person
She listens with a sort of discipline
No matter what, she visits me every day
She listens carefully, no matter what I play
Eventually I ask why she listens so intently
"You play so articulately, yet so carefree"
I nod, saying that's how I've always done it
She smiles, she seems to have some wit
We spend time together
I begin to feel for her
Her laughter fills the roads with joy
I smile, despite her being coy
This void of being alone
The seeds of love were sown
And I could only embrace this new oath
Why wouldn't I be able to fulfill both?

We shared many experiences together. The days were beautiful, the sun shining brilliantly on the docks of the city, the night illuminated her gentle curves... But nothing was right. It took me many years to finally understand why.

IV. Departure

The years sailed by, the Rift changed again
New powers came to be; how this worked, I'll never understand
I cared only for the music I played
For her alone, I had stayed
The life I made here, will stay with me forever
But I knew there was more to uncover
The Jubilant Artifacts were stolen
I didn't have the strength back then
But I will sail onward to find them now
Even if I must break this vow

She begged me to be with her
Though my heart ached, my soul did spur
My tribe would never rest
Without the raiders put to justice
I left under the guise of the night
To seek those who caused that blight

V. Jubilant Artifacts
Within the world, there were five
Some more existed, but only these survive
All of them my tribe had collected
For generations, they were protected
Our oath to journey was not unfounded
The Artifacts could not be bounded
To play forever, to sing vibrantly
They were why we were so carefree

To listen to a single note
Could cure anything, the ultimate antidote
The vibrant hum of the lute
The ethereal voice of the flute
The strum of the lyre
Gave many simple desires
The resonance or the shawm
Was matched only by the toms

Far and wide they were renowned
One by one, they were found
But the raiders were long since gone
I could only helplessly move along
My bones ached at the end of this journey
My oath is what remains, no more of the worries
I had collected the Artifacts
Decades had passed, I can finally relax
I return home to the Rift once more
For my twilight, let's see what's in store...

VI. Effigy
I rest peacefully with no regrets
There's more, but I will rest
The Artifacts are passed along
To continue their jubilant song
As the last of my tribe
I have nothing but pride
Though our chapter is at an end
What the next one is, depend
Entirely on where they go
Life is short, take it slow
There's many things to do
Find what rings true
For me, it's the effigy of music
Until my final breath, that final tick
Let me show you the beauty to see
That not even the Artifacts could ever be