~~~After the Battle~~~ They rode out at dawn, the troop of fair knights To defend and to battle, protect what was right Clarion trumpets echoed over the plains Resounding, rebounding, singing darkness's bane As dawn slowly broke,and crept over the sky, courage ran rampant in the birth of the day Feeding their spirits for the battle nigh, fueling the fight against forces fey Brazen banners held high for the morning's caress Threads silver'd and golden shone radiantly blessed Tabards emblazoned sparkled with light Reflected, directed to dazzle the night On prancing white horses they slowly advanced Terpsichor'n steps 'fore death's macabre dance Stallions cried to the enemy steeds Neighing and braying, sweet songs of their deeds A hail went up, a distant salute The Paladin honor no man could refute Dark legions sardonically answered the call Mocking, while rocking with laughter that palled The enemies calls were pitched to dismay, loyalty swelled then, in the face of the dour Together their troops would keep evil at bay, as one they would fight in this final hour Then battle was joined and chaos ensued In the roiling melee, who know who slew whom? The sun hung crimson as the dust slowly set Burning and spurning any mortal regret The darkness lay splintered, broken and hemmed The march of invasion forever was stemmed But victory came at a cost absolute Violently silenced, their trumpets were mute Below came a movement, one knight had survived Broken, he rued that Fate left him alive Was this his glory, his battle blessed? Shattered and battered, he wept at the jest Better to die, he thought in disgrace To slip eternal in Morpheus' embrace What a victory they made, that troop of dead knights Reduction, destruction, their triumph a blight Then a whisper wound slowly over the plain Wending and weeping, a murmur of pain To a whimper it slowly faded and wisped Fragile, febrile, graced with fear's kiss The Paladin staggered slowly to stand 'Neath breached armour red rivulets ran Noble in suffering, he forced himself on Impelled and compelled, he followed the song. Urgency drove him, need him devoured. Honor pushed him to wrongs amend This last victory lay in his power, even if the task spelled out his own end. A child lay dying, crumpled, alone Enervated, his eyes yearned blankly for home To see father fight, he had crept off to spy His err him ensnared - and now he would die. Savage grief tore tracks 'cross the Paladins face Harpies clawed at his heart, while he slumped in disgrace He gathered the boy to his bloodied breast Yearning and burning for hope to be wrest Shallow breath came slower in the child's weak frame The angel of death's hand extended in claim "No!" screamed the knight, "This battle is done!" Denying, defying, "Darkness has not won!" His soul cried to the heavens, for immortal aide As his life poured out in an aching trade Ressurecting the boy, to live and to fight Fluttering, guttering, his body's last light The boy walked alone through fields fertile with death Sown in sorrow, but where the boy stepped Hope took root, from grief's gentle hands War seeding a ceding of peace to the lands. In safety the land would begin to mend, led by the innocent spared from his fate By the paladin's sacrifice, death he transcends, compassion his legacy, the most vital trait.