As the sun kissed the sky they began their raid
They needed not the cover of night for they had faith in the Strength and numbers of their blades
Both ares and hades were pleased at the savagery and bloodshed
And thanatos the reaper harvested the dead
Among them there was one distinguished
Radiating power and discipline as his weapons cut down men in their hundreds
Women looked to him but he avoided their gaze
children took hold of him but he was even more frail
He tries to remember their faces but they're caked in a mask of mud and blood
And his ears ring with the cries of the Maimed over the flames that lit up the dusk
He wakes up from that nightmare into a more hellish reality
He tries to wash away the sadness, torture, guilt and pain
But the hot water feels like the blood that trickled down his spine, his face and his blade
He gets out and puts on his velvet robes, his feet tread upon plush carpet and gold embroided drapery adorned the walls
"vanity" he said, a coccon of vanity to cover up for years of monstrosity
He takes off the jewels on his neck which threatened to choke away his sanity
And rips the robes which serve as the bandages wrapped around the rotten remains of what he once called a heart
He looked at his sword which held an eternity of misery and tears and plunged it into the flames burning in the fireplace
He places a dagger at his throat and at that moment hears knocking at his door
He closes his eyes
and as the cold steel stings his skin imagines the life he would have had if he had rejected power
The knocking increases and he flicks his wrists
And the door came down as he finally felt peace
"My king " they called in the dead of the night
But the man had plunged into darkness, the only place where he could find the light.
