Sword in hand, I keep on riding through hundreds of rotting corpses;
this massacre must have an ending, I knew all these once happy faces.
A faithful companion waits for me at the top of a dark and gloomy tower,
its banners are visible from all the country side, shouting my name with power.

Portcullis down with my arrival, my stallion is exhausted, but to my alleviation
it still carries my weight with remarkable pride and dignity; I bow in admiration.
My once shinny, silvery and smooth armor is reduced to a worthless piece of metal;
blood redder then wine, gashes allover my whole body, mark a thousand battle.

'Hail to the king', words of honor and glory, or words of death and corruption,
I cannot tell the difference any more; I am too tired to give myself an explanation.
So, helmet and shielding removed, I start for the staircase, ignoring all the cheering.
Everything is moving so slowly, sounds seem so altered, and my body is trembling.

Finally, after falling a couple of times, I manage to reach my destination. I open my eyes,
and find out that I'm still holding my bloody sword, I can still hear all my victims' cries.
Sword dropped I look around me, but to my terror, in a pool of gore, a body barely twitches.
I shout in despair, 'this cannot be true, I will not allow it', but after moving a few inches,
the face I known for ages, slowly turns and looks at me; is that a smile that I see?
Tears escape my rough face and splash on the ground; they'll soon become a sea.

Several arrows had made it through, but wait, is this a voice that I hear?
'Friend…my time is up, I will never forget you, life is a wonderful gift, do not fear…'
and with that, the soul left the body.

I knew that some time or another we had to say goodbye, maybe not in this way,
but everyone has to pick his own path, this you taught me, so this must be the day.
Farewell to thee, you have become part of me, I thank you for this.

NC - 05/06/2000