By the feeble glow of the candle he works,
His hands gnarled with age and remorse;
And despite the lines he chalked with ease,
His hands shake as the magics course.
Through his veins blue it wanders,
Wild, remiss, and bright.
Tracing chalk lines vibrant in color,
The magic grasps hold and alights.
From his mouth pours forth a story,
Laced with wonderful lore;
The magic it dances before him,
Yearning and reaching for more.
The color flashes from blue to rose,
Magenta, coral, and then green.
The enchanter's eyes--they open,
And instead of dark, light is seen!
The blind enchanter staggers,
The beauty burns his eyes,
And as his magic loses grasp,
His sight fades--the magic resides.
He is left alone with sulfur smoke,
And ash as gray as his gaze.
In a shaking hand he takes his chalk;
Magic still flows in his veins.
The patterns come with ease to him;
Precise he draws them again,
But the ache in his bones besieges him
And the cold of night creeps in.
His thoughts are dark and desolate,
The magic is black and dry.
And the story he speaks is of sorrow;
The magic pours over his lines.
The blind enchanter alone in the woods,
Wanted nothing more but to see;
But the magic he conducted was corrupted,
And it fell him with strong breeze.
The candle's glow turned to smoke;
The darkness clouded in.
The enchanter's breath caught in his throat.
He thought this was his end.
Weakened now, the magic gone,
The enchanter curled and slept;
And as the sun crested him,
He woke to a promise kept.
No magic flowed in his wiry veins;
No lore could he bring forth.
But the sun laid for him colors bright,
And the warmth he was thankful for.
His knowledge of the archaic was gone;
His incantations had left him.
But the promise was kept and for it he wept;
His sight had at last returned to him.
YOU ARE READING
Tales from the Dark Caves
FantasyCome 'round, night's edge draws ever near Gray twilight gathers dark and drear. The air grows brittle, howling, and cold, So heed these tales arcane and old. From beneath the mountains, where magic thrives; From burrows dark, heartless, and dry; Fro...
