Maybe this was destiny, to start again from scratch

he was still alive and well, although he’d met his match

he barely had his powers now but they would soon return

he would fight as long as there was honour left to earn

While he walked he tried to summon magic in his hands

but still it seemed his magic was ignoring his demands

and heavy though his heart was he was still a proper knight

and so he’d meet the emperor after his brief respite

He went into the castle where the guards were weak and tired

and walked toward the emperor whose reign he had inspired

the castle was in tatters, and the guards lay here and there

some who saw him shouted but all most could do was stare

He walked right through with confidence and purpose in his stride

and soon he stood before the emperor and bowed with pride

but when he knelt before the throne and waited for his quest

all the emperor demanded then was his arrest

The hero watched in silence as his dusty hands were bound

and listened to emperor while while lying on the ground

“you dare come and kneel before the monarch you betrayed

all your lies and evil deeds will now be justly weighed.

We know the demons only fought because you killed their lord

when offered peace you foolishly responded with your sword

worst of all, your lies have cursed the whole of my empire

the dragon that you claimed was dead just set my lands on fire”

Word had spread throughout the land of how the war was lost

of what the hero’s endless lust for fame and gold had cost

he led the empire to its ruin just to suit his pride

everything thing the empire lost because the hero lied

“Traitor, I’ll think long and hard of how to punish you

for now, confinement to the dungeons, that will have to do

so terrible a criminal as you has never been

now laws account for any sort of traitor so obscene”

The hero wasn’t sure that he completely understood

he thought he might just run away if only he still could

the emperor sighed deeply at the hero on the ground

whose only form of protest was a weak, pathetic sound

“To think I planned to execute you in the city square

but now the sight of you might give the people here a scare

count your lucky stars that you still have one last friend here

thanks to him, for now you’ll quietly just disappear”

The hero wondered who the emperor was speaking of

his question was cut short though by a spell cast from above

bound by chains and magic, he was dragged away in shame

pushed by guards who didn’t even know the hero’s name

All at once, his world became a silent, living hell

left alone with thoughts on which he’d rather never dwell

but much to his surprise, a visitor did soon arrive

somebody he couldn’t help but smile to see alive

The man before him now had all his pride but just one hand

the pity in his face was hard for him to understand

the prince’s voice then filled the dungeon with a sombre tone

“I’m sorry my old friend, that so much pain is yours alone”

The hero frowned, confused at why he’d earn his sympathy

but it was hard to speak, so he just listened silently

“the heroes who we sent up north have yet to make it back

I can only guess that they were lost since the attack

The demons have retreated, but it’s hard to say we won

the empire’s age of unchallenged prosperity is done

more than anybody, you should know the cost of war

just like you, we never could have guessed what was in store”

The prince’s face was harsh but then he took a breath and sighed

“it seems like yesterday when we were fighting side by side

we asked for too much of you, and now we’ve paid the price

though i must forgive you, it’s too late to give advice

I told my father everything I saw that day in hell

about the dragon and about your actions there as well

some survived who saw you lose your mind and take my hand

but I know you’ve suffered more than they could understand”

The prince saw in the hero’s eyes, he wanted to explain

but couldn’t justify his actions while in so much pain

“I know that in the fire, you saved my life at a great cost

I saw it then and see it now, your life was nearly lost

You must have used up all the magic you had left inside

your life was flowing out of you the harder that you tried

what you did was nothing like the magic you taught me

the sacrifice you made to save me then is plain to see”

The hero quickly understood how wrong he’d been before

it wasn’t that the magic he had lost returned once more

it was his own life force which he used to raise a shield

magic that requires you to sacrifice yourself to wield

“It’s time for me to leave, and though I wish you could be free

it’s all that I could do to let you rest here peacefully

take comfort that your family has long since disappeared

maybe they’ll resurface should your name ever be cleared”

The prince then turned to leave, a look of conflict on his face

“you won’t be thanked for what you’ve done to help the human race

maybe time will help me understand the things you’ve done

and why you lie so often to yourself and everyone”

The prince and guards left through the dungeon’s only lonely door

the hero left alone to chase his thoughts there on the floor

not a single word of what the prince had said made sense

he offered no apologies or any recompense

Once a boy and then a slave, became a royal knight

now a helpless prisoner in pain and out of sight

days and nights in darkness bound in heavy iron chains

the hero’s tale of treachery his only known remains

All the hero heard about the world beyond his cell

came from guards who fed him, though there wasn’t much to tell

the empire now without it’s army fell to disarray

broken into pieces, growing smaller every day

Like the hero cippled by is weakness and despair

the continent was dying as far as he was aware

his will to start things over was replaced by will to live

and effort just to move his arms was all that he could give

The chains began to feel like part of him after a year

growing only heavier with every bitter tear

guards appeared less often as their armour turned to rust

only coming to deliver his food when they must

but as he sat there in the corner, hiding from the light

he rested better in the dark of every passing night

and one day after many years chained upon the floor

the boy no longer dreamed of being hero anymore

Staring at the ceiling of his cold and dirty cell

memories began to flow with every tear that fell

everything he hadn’t seen while blinded by his dream

carried by the current of an unrelenting stream

~