» Fri Feb 08, 2013 3:39 pm [A song passed down in the Nordic oral tradition by their bards and skalds. This version dates back to the First Era, when the verse was finally recorded on paper for posterity]
O’er misty peaks like dragons’ fangs
Past frozen seas of ghosts and time
Lies a land now dead, save memories
In ancient verse and rhyme
Breath of Kyne down Hrothgar’s throat
Brought Nords unto the Mundus
But Starry-Heart we soon did leave
To seek what lay before us
We boarded ships and said farewell
And to the north we sailed
To find our fortunes and a home
Beyond that misty veil
A voyage wrought with pain and woe
Brought we few to distant shores,
We disembarked, set out on foot
At last we’d found Atmora’s door
“Elder Wood” we called it then
For ancient trees in fertile loam
They sheltered and protected us
As we settled in our chosen home
A life not tame but wild and free
Sovngarde made new on Nirn
We made our fortunes and a home
Not dreaming that our doom might turn
From north they came one dreary day
Snow demons from a snowy hell
Our lands they did desire, you see
And our lives as well
The land, it changed beneath their feet
Ancient trees soon froze and fell
They did destroy our chosen home
Those demons from that snowy hell
Now a waste of ice and snow
No life for us there remained
We prayed to hawk, bear, and the rest
In hope the monsters might be tamed.
But ‘twas not bear or wolf that came
Nor serpent, hawk, or whale
A roar we heard from northern lands
‘Twas dragons from beyond the pale
The demons fell before their voice
Like twigs before a blaze
Emboldened, we did join the fight
Their forts and lairs all were razed
But though the monsters we destroyed
Our land could not be saved
Trees gave way to snow and ice
Our home became a grave.
We looked up to our saviors then
And begged them what to do
For ‘twas all too clear to us
That with the gods they flew
The dragons, ‘course, were homeless too
By serpents driven from Akavir
And a wicked chance they saw
To make their fortunes here
“Gods, we are!” they boomed and roared
“Now tremble and despair!”
“Else tribute you must pay to us,
If your lives we are to spare!”
To Skyrim’s shores we did return
A Dragon Cult was born
And to aid them in their rule
A priesthood soon was sworn
Though stern masters they proved to be
Their rule was just and fair
And our lives we soon rebuilt
Under the dragons’ watchful glare
But all was still not right, alas
For we were not alone
While we had been away
Others called our Skyrim home
For the second time, you see
Demons we did find
With icy hide and icy blood
And to our destruction so inclined
This time, though, we knew the way
Parlay we would not offer
We slaughtered every demon there
Each man, son, wife and daughter
Time flows on, as is its way
And the Cult’s now overthrown
An Empire to the south we’ve joined
Al-Esh perched on ruby throne
However, one thing do we know
Though we wish it wasn’t so
Though Tamriel is our chosen land
‘Twil never be our home.
[Author's note: This is my first attempt in nearly a decade at poetry, so don't judge it too harshly]
