Pointed whispers filled the temple

Of an unholy bond upon sovereign sheet.

The secret affairs of dynastic figures

Known through markets and in the street.

Pleadings from vizier to end it all;

Words these lovers would never heed.

Barricaded within the royal vault

Amid fortunes to pay for dirty deeds.

Footsteps approach, though not of man.

Obsidian eyes consuming the light.

Whispers cease throughout the land

While Kahnuroth stalks his prey this night.

Shadows dance upon each wall,

Casting figures of anguish and ruin.

And though no sounds were made at all,

All had heard the end of their union. 

Silence was broken in the hours after

Upon discovery of the gruesome site.

Ending this line will have consequences

Reverberating outward from this night.

News was carried to the foot of the queen

By the dreadful wail of a grieving mother.

Now the last straw has borne its burden

And this covenant has been torn asunder.

What terror the gods have laid upon us!

Their sovereign will now brought to question.

An unbalanced dynamic becoming unstable

Forces an ultimatum beyond suggestion.

The decree goes out to all eyes and ears;

Some believing that it has crossed a line.

A decision like this will have dire effects.

Have we truly forsaken the eternal divine? 

The sands erode from the peaks of dunes,

And then gently settle beneath our toes.

Looking back shows no signs of passage;

No indication we're on the path we chose.

This storm has risen to meet the occasion.

A pall of clouds gathers in the distance.

To brave these winds confirms our convictions;

An unwavering sign of enduring allegiance.

They had always known better for us,

And that there's a plan for everyone.

These events will not shake our faith,

While every morning they raise the Sun.

Nothing is left but to meet their light;

A dazzling beam shining bright as day.

I fear for ourselves and those left behind

But our shepherds would not lead us astray. 

Dust billowing, crawling down the path;

The knock and rap of rubble rains down.

Cheers echoing through the lane.

An unsettling air descends on the crowd.

The queen’s decree was read aloud,

As jeers replaced the jubilant tone.

None of this will stand today.

It is not a course we can condone.

Divine devotion is stronger now

In some of these clans upon the streets,

But this sentiment is not shared around

With allegiance to the royal elite.

This becomes evident in the coming bit,

As eyes turn towards the rhythmic beat.

Breathes are held in anticipation

When hearing the sound of marching feet. 

Scuffling, shuffling in the stone corridor.

Hurried whispers echo off the walls.

Snores from the guards muffle their approach,

Silencing their steps along the hall.

It was all over in the flash of flint,

Glinting brilliant in the moon's pale light.

Color drained from a once vibrant face,

Discovered when morning snuffed out the night.

The waters here were calm today.

A fact that troubled suspicious minds.

This peace was only but a delay,

As drums of war began beating in time.

She makes for shore at her final home;

A shrine for all those who came before.

Mourners tense with anguish and fury,

Cannot stand by in silence anymore. 

The guards posted outside her quarters

Will likely never be heard from again.

An egregious mistake was made that night

That saw our beloved summarily slain.

Once cheerful eyes were now concealed;

Packed tight in the jars beside her bed.

Linen sheets replaced sumptuous silk

With a golden veil obscuring her head.

The bereaved filed past her still remains

As tears and flowers dropped by her side.

A loss like this will be felt for ages

While further extending the social divide.

Most felt sorrow with this untimely passing

But others saw fury burn in their eyes.

Whispers became calls to take up action

As they gathered around to strategize. 

The seams of her dress are still being sewn

As the fittings carry on throughout the day.

The flurry becomes but a blur in her eyes,

While they hurry along without any delay.

The comb runs through her jet black hair

For maybe a thousand times or more.

Ornate jewelry hangs around her neck;

A match for the new crown that she wore.

The pall over head had cleared for a moment,

So this new light could pierce through the gloom.

Winds of change came more swift than expected

With a fresh reign that begins in this room.

She finally stands for the first time that day,

Though the weight of it all is pulling her down.

She worries about how her subjects will see

The new face that lies beneath this old crown. 

It was not our intention to get this far

In removing this dynasty from power.

For years we have suffered under their feet,

But our revolution begins at this hour

How can they justify this tyrannical rule

Where our voice is invariably suppressed?

They all must have known it would come to this.

Now they lay their dear leader to rest.

We had never imagined this outcome:

A war for the fate of this land,

But desperation birthed this violent affair

With blood found on all of our hands.

The grip on our arms becomes tighter now

As our adversary comes into view.

Clouds overhead convey the gloom in our eyes,

While all our past debts become due.

It’s a pity that they can’t see what we do

In the eyes of the divine immortal.

The answers have been delivered to us

Through those inky black, unblinking portals.

They bicker and fight for seemingly nothing

When compared to the grand scheme of things.

This little war that they brought on themselves

On behalf of their queens and their kings.

These gods that came from high up above

To grant us their strength and their wisdom,

Presented only the most righteous designs

To cure us of our mortal symptoms.

We now must gather into the fold

Each one of our unredeemed neighbors,

And show them the light that can shine on us all

If only they would yield with their sabers. 

The legacy that she had left with us

Will forever remain in our memory.

A gentle, kind, but powerful leader

Left an everlasting mark on history.

Women and men wailing in the streets

Through an extended period of mourning,

As if no one could have seen this coming;

An invocation of death without warning.

Now we release our tumultuous grief

In battle cries that cut through the storm.

The winds are kicking up dust and debris

To briefly obscure the approaching swarm.

Our spears are sharp and our crusade is just

As we push across the shifting sands.

Glory awaits us on the other side

If everything today goes according to plan. 

The valley has filled with howls and hollers

From the armies that gathered within.

A peace that has lasted for hundreds of years

Has all now been thrown to the wind.

The birds that fly through the clouds overhead

Care nothing for problems below.

If only these humans that gathered today

Could see this ridiculous show.

What could have led to all of this strife?

An outsider might think in their mind.

Is it a necessary pursuit in this life

To leave all of their humanity behind?

All of the eyes soaring up in the air

Will know the real truth in the end.

If these animals continue on further like this

There will be nothing left to lament.

Requests arrived with an urgent sense

For this mysterious rendezvous in the night.

Details were sparse and perplexingly cryptic,

But refusal would be a significant slight.

The conflict has been persisting for days,

With mounting casualties too numerous to count.

Intervention coming from the divine themselves;

An obstacle of which no side could surmount.

Now shrouded figures emerge in the moonlight

To bring an end to this senseless fighting,

But ego and pride delay prudent discussion

And sparks cast fears of tensions reigniting.

The night capped off with respectful bows,

As each party turned to leave their peers.

Heads hung low with a sober awareness

That all they've been given would soon disappear. 

It took too long to understand what was happening

With the rumbling underfoot in a rising crescendo.

Lights coated the sky over crests of the clouds,

And flashed along with the ground’s lively tempo.

A handful had known what had caused the tremors,

But had not yet shared that bit of bad news.

Now all the witnesses would soon understand

What had been done for this war to be defused.

Shocking sights had replaced subsiding trembles

As monuments to the divine had begun to rise.

Hidden machinery reverberated the air around

With a voltaic crackle pulsing through the skies.

The silence accompanying the departing vessels

Was reflected by our faces in realization

That the lives we would live from that point on

Would be solely governed of our own volition.