A Child's Song

The Lords of Thassilon

Verse 1

The lord of one

One of the lords

A fearsome woman was she

Ranseur in hand

The hand of wrath

She slays his enemy

The two heroes scaled the mountainous peaks: one oracle by the name of Galafray Lordian and a wizard by the name of Zirul Moongrave. They were driven here by tales, rumors mostly, of an artifact said to hold powerful magical qualities which was once possessed by one of the seven Runelords. Zirul had been yearning to learn more about magic his whole life and the promise of an item with such a powerful mythos surrounding it was too tempting to pass up. Galafray agreed to accompany Zirul as he had done on so many journeys before. Their only other companion was Cael, Galafray's beloved Griffon.

The snow crunched beneath their feet and the wind whipped around them as they scaled the mountain known as White Dragon's Peak. Galafray was regaling Zirul with one of his famous battle stories as they journeyed on. "You should've been there Zirul!" Galafray said, laughing to himself. "The look on Kershal's face as I charged out of that cloud of mist at him on ole Cael's back here was priceless!" Zirul grinned, "I'm sure we all would've loved to see Kershal panic a bit. He was always so stern and composed." Galafray continued to ramble on as they pushed forward and Zirul listened as he always had. Galafray was not only the most adept warrior in battle that Zirul had ever seen, but also one of the best storytellers he had ever met. His flair for the dramatic always made even the most mundane events interesting.

"Ah! It seems the cave does exist." Zirul stated satisfactorily. They had almost reached the top of the mountain when they nearly fell into a deep cavern which seemed to burrow its way to the very heart of the snowy peak. "Hello!" Galafray boomed, his voice echoing bravely through the vacant cavern. Zirul sighed, "As if there would actually be anything liv…" Zirul was cut off by a shrill metallic screech. Galafray started laughing as he turned to view the source of the noise. "I suppose they don't call it White Dragon's Peak for nothing!" he said, still laughing heartily. The two heroes now beheld an ancient white dragon barreling impressively towards them at an alarming speed. "At this rate he'll crash right into us!" Zirul said, trying to drag Galafray by his cape away from the path of the dragon. Galafray refused to budge; he was still bent over with laughter, unable to ignore the irony of the situation. Zirul cringed as the dragon rushed within spitting distance and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the imminent impact when suddenly he was thrown back by a huge gust of wind. Galafray quickly pierced the mountain side with his most trusted long sword and held fast as the dragon stopped on a dime in midair with a huge forward thrust of his immense wings. The dragon angrily roared again only feet away from Galafray's face. Galafray smiled. He reclaimed his sword from the ground, pointed it at the dragon and, with a flourish of his blade, exclaimed as he did before every battle he ever fought: "I AM GALAFRAY FROM THE GREAT LAND OF WESNOTH! MY FATHER WAS A HAMSTER AND MY MOTHER SMELT OF ELDERBERRIES. SINCE I FEAR YOU WILL NOT AID US IN OUR MIGHTY QUEST PREPARE TO DIE!"

A Child's Song

The Lords of Thassilon

Verse 2

The lord of two

Two of the lords

A heavy woman was she

Halberd in hand

The hand of envy

She indulges her enemy

Galafray's familiar battle cry shook Zirul out of his temporary state of panic. Feeling emboldened by his friend's call to arms Zirul immediately vanished under his cloak of invisibility and began preparations for his next spell. Cael instinctively took flight high above the dragon, out of reach and, hopefully, out of the dragon's attention. Galafray called upon the divine power within him and felt the familiar surge of power well up inside. The two heroes suddenly became very aware of the cold around them. They had been traveling through cold but now that seemed warm compared to the air emanating from the dragon. Galafray shivered as he prepared for the beast's next move.

The huge creature began to take a deep breath, bitter cold air rushed from behind Galafray towards the dragon's mouth and Galafray knew what was coming next. He pulled his shield from behind his back and braced himself. A brief moment of deafening silence filled the air when suddenly an enormous blast of freezing air swirled around Galafray as the dragon roared furiously. He felt himself slipping on the icy rock beneath his feet but quickly stabilized himself with his shield. After the initial blast Galafray looked around to behold a huge swirling cloud of snow surrounding the dragon and himself. The snow was so dense in the raging blizzard around him he felt it cutting through the skin on his face. Zirul forced the pain of the cold on his bones away and exclaimed to Galafray: "We better end this quick or we'll have some serious frost bite to deal with!" Taking Zirul's cue, Galafray swiftly sheathed his sword and put away his shield. The dragon was out of reach for melee combat and this blizzard it created was beating down on him. He closed his eyes for a moment and began to focus on the weather around him. He followed the path of every stream of air that gushed past him as it traveled upwards. In his mind he began to feel the calm air surrounding the mountain. As his senses broadened he even felt the warmth of the sun's rays far above them, past the clouds. Galafray allowed the warmth to flow freely into his body and back into the air around him. As he opened his eyes the air was calming, the clouds above began to open and the chilling blizzard from the dragon was disrupted by the warm rays of the sun.

Zirul watched as, in an instant, the blizzard subsided. Taking advantage of the moment of clarity that Galafray provided his fingertips began to flare. As the spell components he had taken from his pouch disintegrated into a ball of flames in his hands, Zirul hastily finished reciting the incantation to his spell. He thrust his hands forward towards the dragon as 3 pillars of flame shot towards the dragon. The dragon twisted itself quickly to avoid the beams of fire flying toward it. It was able to barely dodge the first one as it grazed past its head, singeing its scales. This was all it could manage however. The other two beams struck it hard in the chest. A burst of steam spewed from the dragon's ice covered body as it screeched in pain. Seeing only Galafray, the dragon angrily thrust its way towards him. As Galafray once again unsheathed his sword and took out his shield Zirul grinned. He's known Galafray long enough to know: the closer that dragon gets, the more deadly Galafray becomes.

A Child's Song

The Lords of Thassilon

Verse 3

The lord of three

Three of the lords

A lazy man was he

Spear in hand

The hand of sloth

He enslaves his enemy

Galafray's hair stood up on the back of his neck with excitement. He's fought a dragon before, but never one of this size. Zirul only watched. He knew Galafray could handle himself. The dragon was flying straight towards the oracle, but he just stood there like a rock. The first threat was the dragon's jaws, big enough to swallow either of them whole. The creature stretched to catch Galafray in its mouth and, with almost no movement at all, Galafray took a step out of reach of the dragon as it snapped its mouth shut. Swiftly, the dragon pulled up and began to reach towards Galafray with its claws. He swung his shield in front of him and stood fast preparing for the impact of the dragon. It slammed into him at almost full speed. Its weight was almost too much for him to bear and Galafray felt a shot of pain in his shoulder as he tried to resist the force of the animal.

Zirul watched as the beast tried to squash Galafray beneath its feet, but in the blink of an eye, Galafray rolled out from underneath and the dragon's claw smashed into the mountain, sending rocks streaming down the cliff side. Galafray quickly recovered and rushed straight towards the dragon's underbelly. With an upward thrust, Galafray pierced the dragon's chest. It screeched in pain and batted Galafray away like a bug.

Zirul began to worry; Galafray hit the ground hard after being knocked back by the dragon. He began to prepare his next spell when he heard Galafray laughing. "You're one tough old Lizard!" Galafray yelled to the dragon as he returned to his feet. Zirul realized that Galafray, like always, had completely forgotten about the wizard's presence. The dragon gave Galafray little time to recover. It stretched its wings out behind its back, preparing to buffet Galafray back into the ground. Galafray quickly reached into a pouch on his belt, pulled out some dust and clapped his hands together as if he was praying. The dragon's wings quickly began to close around him as his shoulders started gleaming with a divine light. Just as Galafray was obscured from Zirul's vision by the dragon's wings, a blast of light burst from around Galafray and smacked into the force of the dragon's attack. The dragon stumbled. Galafray ran to recover his sword from its chest.

Zirul smiled as he formulated a plan. He watched as Galafray reached for his sword; the very moment his hands wrapped around the hilt, Zirul activated his spell. Galafray and the dragon began to fall up, away from the mountain, as if the sky was now the ground. As the dragon's feet lifted off the ground, Galafray turned to stand on the dragon's chest which he was now able to walk upon. He pulled his sword out and ran towards the dragon's head. Zirul waited for the moment that Galafray reached the top of the dragon's neck and canceled his spell. Galafray jumped to pierce the dragon's head but gravity shifted on them once again and they were now falling towards the mountain. Galafray was in mid-air above the dragon's head, dropping towards the ground. He saw what Zirul had set up for him and began to laugh once again. He held his sword in both hands, pointed towards the ground, right between the dragon's eyes. The dragon squirmed to gain control of itself in the air, but it hit the ground and before it could compose itself, Galafray pierced its skull with one strong downward thrust of his sword as he fell on the dragon's head. The dragon was defeated.

A Child's Song

The Lords of Thassilon

Verse 4

The lord of four

Four of the lords

An indulgent woman was she

Guisarme in hand

The hand of lust

She shuns her enemy

Galafray stood and pressed his left shoulder with his hand, which was glowing from healing energy. Zirul released himself from invisibility and peered inside the cave. It was enormous; large enough for the dragon to comfortably crawl through. Galafray walked up to his friend's side, looked into the pitch black tunnel for but a moment, and then proceeded to move forward. Zirul had never seen Galafray show true fear except once, but so would anyone fighting a group of bandits with a dagger to their pregnant wife's throat. Galafray was quiet for a while; he typically was after a battle. Zirul guessed that he was probably revisiting the event and thinking of ways he could've handled the battle better. As they wandered forward through the cave, Zirul let his own thoughts wander too.

He never normally let himself dwell in the past. Surrounding himself with his books allowed him to avoid such wasteful activity. Today, however, he couldn't shake the thoughts of his son, whose body he possessed in order to preserve his own life. He told himself he would go back and save his family from slavery and, for a while, that comforted him. But as life went on, he found himself more engrossed in his work. Eventually he admitted to himself that he was living a lie. He never planned on returning to his family. Zirul knew he had participated in good deeds and had even saved the world alongside his companions. "Maybe that's enough," he whispered to himself. He wanted to believe that the darkness growing inside of him was in everyone and that his good acts could be his salvation.

After what seemed like a long time, the heroes came to a huge hall. The ceilings were held up by six tall pillars piercing the dark above them. At the end of the hall were two doors each roughly the size of a dragon's head. The heroes approached the doorway casually. Almost as if they were returning to a familiar place. They'd seen too many caves, dungeons, and creepy entrances to be perturbed by yet another. Once they reached the door, Galafray extended his arm towards the handles. "Careful, Galafray," Zirul warned, "it's probably a trap." Galafray's voice boomed through the hall as he laughed. "And when have you known me to fear a silly little trap?" He said as he again reached for the door. Zirul took a few steps back.

As Galafray's hand touched the door, a spark went off right by Galafray's ear, and suddenly a huge fireball was enveloping the Oracle. Zirul winced and shielded himself from the heat with his cloak, but even he wasn't far enough away. His sleeve caught on fire and as quickly as he was able to smother his sleeve in his stomach the ball of flames was gone. Zirul looked at Galafray. He was charred from head to foot but he just stood there, unmoving. Zirul rushed to his side. "Are you alright Galafr…?" Galafray cut him off with a thrust of his arm. Zirul watched as his entire body started to glow with a holy light. Zirul smiled, "You'd think you would have learned by now, my friend. I imagine that hurt quite a bit." With a gruff voice, Galafray responded, "Why can it never be a knife shot out of the wall or a pitfall? It's always something I don't have a chance to dodge." "I think that's the point." Zirul said as he chuckled.

As the two heroes walked through the doors, their faces lit up. The room was covered in gold, platinum, and adamantine and glittered from floor to ceiling in jewels of all shapes and sizes. And in the center, a lonely spear suspended in mid-air.

A Child's Song

The Lords of Thassilon

Verse 5

The lord of five

Five of the lords

An industrious man was he

Hammer in hand

The hand of pride

He ignores his enemy

A few hundred years before the events at White Dragon's Peak, another story, one nobody has ever heard, was unfolding. An island city was under attack. In the midst of the chaos, a sage speaks to his student: "Kinec! Now is your time. You have studied and mastered all the schools of magic. Our city is devastated and more die every day. You are the only one that can stop them now. I urge you, please, stop this madness before it consumes the world!"

Kinec was born to a single mother. He never knew his father. From a very young age, he was told he was a child of prophecy, born to deliver his people and the world from the TalaetKronac Krota, the creatures of time and void. Even the gods feared their existence. These monstrous phantasms took the shape of whatever they pleased and could wield seemingly limitless power. Whenever one would be defeated, two took its place. The city was once a gleaming metropolis and the center of magical study, but now was the epicenter for a battle that threatened to consume not only their city or even the world, but all of existence. Kinec, despite being one of the greatest wizards of his time, knew of only one, desperate way to defeat the TalaetKronac Krota; he would lock away the island in its own dimension, separate from all others, where nothing could ever escape. Doing so, he fled everything and everyone he had ever loved, knowing they would be doomed forever at the hands of the TalaetKronac Krota and also knowing he could never return, and so the creatures were defeated…for a time.

Zirul rushed towards the spear in the middle of the room. He knew it was what he had been searching for all this time. It was one of the fabled weapons of the mighty rune lords, said to wield immeasurable power. Galafray quickly scanned the room for any presence of threats and then joined Zirul's side. "Is that what we came here for, Zirul? A stick?!" he chuckled, "I could break that thing in half like a twig!"

Zirul's heart was pounding; his sight turned to tunnel vision; suddenly all sound around him was drowned out by inarticulate whispers resounding loudly through his head. Without even thinking he reached out for the spear and read aloud the inscription on the side: TalaetKronac Krota. He felt a surge of power fill his body. He began to speak, chest heaving in gleeful breaths as the words dripped out like liquid fire, "This is what I've been working towards my entire life, what I was meant to become." He stroked the staff lovingly, fingertips tracing the delicate wood. When he looked at Galafray again, the fire in his eyes had cooled to smoldering embers. "Ever since my family died, since I stole my son's body, this has been the unalterable destination of the path I was walking. Don't you see it, Galafray?" Zirul suddenly slammed the butt of the staff to the ground and all at once, the blue pigment of the Drow settled over his features like it had always been there. His voice went on with a newly stoked heat. "I'm reborn, I'm saved; this is everything I should be! I am the most powerful wizard, and there is no one who can stop me."

Galafray instantly recognized what was happening to his friend. All elves who turned to evil were changed into drow. Cursed forevermore by their slate blue skin. "Why are you doing this?" Galafray said, trying to blink away the Drow features on his most trusted friend. They persisted. "I know this isn't you. You saved the world, we've overcome everything together. You're a hero!" But Galafray's words fell on deaf ears, lost beneath a malicious laughter that emanated from a purple cloud that had appeared before Zirul. It wisped and contorted until it settled into the form of a man, and that man stepped forward, sword in hand and said, "Galafray Lordian, this is your end."

A Child's Song

The Lords of Thassilon

Verse 6

The lord of six

Six of the lords

A hungry man was he

Scythe in hand

The hand of Gluttony

He devours his enemy

"Zirul, I don't want to do this. I've always wanted to fight you; but as friends, never as enemies. Please, let's just talk about this?" The phantom in front of Zirul bellowed back at Galafray: "There is no chance for you, Galafray Lordian. Today you will die and your story will come to an end." The phantom rushed towards Galafray, sword in hand, and Galafray braced himself. Zirul watched as the figure in front of him charged towards his old friend. He knew if Galafray got anywhere close to him he would be in trouble. But before he could fully formulate a plan, Galafray swiftly walked through the phantom's guard and started moving straight towards Zirul, sword in hand. Zirul pulled the most powerful spell he had out of his arsenal and, as he finished incanting the spell, the room froze. The phantom and Galafray stopped moving completely and Zirul finally had a moment to think.

He immediately cast a spell that would allow him to fly; Galafray was in heavy armor and wouldn't be able to get very far off the ground. He also took this time to prepare a few other spells that might become useful once time resumed its normal flow. As he looked at Galafray, he could see the determination in his face. He knew Galafray was going to try his hardest to stop him, even if it meant killing him. Galafray was a fierce friend and would rather see someone he loved die if it was the only way to save them from evil. Just as time began to speed back up, Zirul also caught a glimpse of pain in Galafray's face. His old friend really did care about him. Galafray saw Zirul's body temporarily disappear and reappear again. He saw this happen only a few times before and knew that a flurry of spells would be coming his way shortly after. He couldn't hesitate though. Zirul must be stopped no matter the cost. As he closed in on Zirul, the wizard began to float off the ground. Galafray lunged towards him, swinging his sword for a direct hit. Zirul flinched, but Galafray knew he'd hit him better than that; clearly Zirul deflected the attack with magic of some kind.

Suddenly the phantom disappeared and reappeared in an instant next to Galafray's side and was swinging his sword straight into Galafray's path. He was still off guard from his attack on Zirul and had very little time to react. He was only able to get his shield up in time to save his arm from being completely severed. He still suffered what felt like a deep cut to his shoulder. Galafray quickly struck back but only hit a whiff of purple smoke as the phantom blinked out of existence again. Galafray was getting frustrated and knew he needed to escape. Winning this battle seemed impossible. He called upon his Gods to grant him temporary magic power. Hoping to teleport himself and Cael out to safety, he braced himself for the teleportation. A sudden throbbing pain stuck Galafray's whole body; he knew the feeling well, the teleportation had failed. He guessed the room was warded to block such travel.

The wizard was now out of reach. Galafray saw Cael and knew he had to get him to safety. Hopefully Cael could warn their friends of Zirul's treachery as well. He went over to his gryphon and whispered in its ear. Cael swiftly flew towards the doors, but just as it was about to escape, another phantom materialized in the air and pierced Cael's back. With an agonizing screech, Galafray's most beloved companion fell to the ground…dead.

A Child's Song

The Lords of Thassilon

Verse 7

The lord of seven

Seven of the lords

A selfish man was he

Glaive in hand

The hand of greed

He covets his enemy

Zirul watched as a tear welled in Galafray's eye. He cared deeply for Cael. But the mighty warrior didn't falter. Whatever grief Galafray was feeling on the inside didn't hamper his instincts for battle. Galafray was fierce to behold. He charged at the phantom that had just attacked him and swung at it. It dodged the blade by inches. Galafray wasn't close to done yet though. In one continuous movement from his first strike, he recovered and took another swing at the phantom, this one it couldn't dodge and it took a direct hit in the side. Galafray continued his dance, recovered his sword from the body of the phantom and thrust his sword toward its chest. The phantom blinked out of existence once again. Galafray anticipated its trickery this time and before the creature had a moment to fully reappear; Galafray's sword struck it hard again on the other side of its body. How Galafray knew where the phantom would reappear was beyond Zirul's powers of observation. Galafray was the most amazing combatant he had ever seen.

Zirul knew now was the time to strike. He fired a beam of deadly energy straight at Galafray, which the warrior blocked deftly with his shield. Unfortunately for Galafray, his trusty shield couldn't bare the strength of the spell. The shield disintegrated in his hands and struck him square in his arm. Galafray immediately cast the most powerful healing spell he knew and was able to rescue his left side. Thankfully, most of the physical damage he received so far disappeared. He took a moment to survey his surroundings. Cael was certainly dead. The shadowy figure he had been fighting didn't seem to be wounded at all, even though Galafray knew he landed two powerful blows against it. Zirul was in mid-air and Galafray knew defeating him would be near impossible even without the interference from the phantom; and now the one that killed Cael was making its way towards Galafray as well.

It was hopeless, there was no escape, and fighting any further seemed futile. Galafray had made his decision. He pierced the ground with his sword, bowed on one knee facing Zirul and holding the hilt of his sword spoke: "If destiny requires that I truly am to die here, then I can think of no better way for my life to end than at the hands of my best friend. Be swift and sure, Zirul, and might you find peace someday and take solace in the paths that you have chosen."

Zirul was paralyzed. One more ray of energy would end Galafray's life for good, but he couldn't do it. Galafray truly trusted Zirul even now, even despite the evil inside him. The rest of the world would have surely cursed Zirul for what he had become, but Galafray never stopped seeing his best friend, not even for one moment. The phantom noticed Zirul's hesitation and took advantage of Galafray's position to attack him unarmed. "No!" Zirul bellowed, "You will not betray my friend!" Zirul struck the phantom with another disintegration beam, sending it back to the dimension from which it came. The wizard then descended to his friend and placed his hand upon Galafray's head. He felt the oracle shiver at his touch. "I have chosen my path and it can no longer be by your side." Galafray kneeled motionless, saying nothing. "I'm sorry this must be the end but I cannot have anyone stand in my way. Goodbye, Galafray, from the land of Wesnoth, the bravest person I have ever known." With that Zirul filled Galafray's body with negative energy, killing his best friend instantly. Galafray's body slumped to the ground. Zirul didn't realize until now but Galafray's body always had a glow to it. Now it was just dull and listless. Other any other circumstances he would've shed a tear for his friend but grief was behind him now. He then opened a chasm beneath them and buried Galafray's body deep beneath the surface, ensuring the oracle would never again return to the world of the living. The evil and great rune lords were reborn.