"Song of Shey, the Wyvern Slayer" by Adrian H. Wood

Song of Shey, the Wyvern Slayer


Hark, the legend of Shey il Fyel
The noble and the brave
Who’s gallantry and steely nerve
Each ev’ry elf doth crave
The mighty knight, the purest heart
Our kingdom’s sacred queen
Lore’s greatest quest, she ventured forth
And slew the beast Rai’sheen

Of ages passed, in times elapsed
This epic story tells
When Ilén swayed the Lyvinel
From tree-top citadels
An era long before the Mark
When Ysis bore wild plains
Where forest’s toils and gatherings
Were tight on elvish reigns

T’was then that ev’ry animal
On land or sea or air
Clear places in life’s cycle held
And fated roles to bear
Mesillieth and beast alike
Lived peaceful hand in hand
For flora’s gift and fauna’s lure
Swept unspoiled through the land

Yet there was one who challenged all
Defying nature’s laws
A nasty wyvern, foul and cold
With sword-like teeth and claws
A serpent head atop its neck
Its eyes of onyx sheen
And down its back a boney ridge
In wretched stains of green

On four legs through the brush it tramped
With howl and eerie wail
At fullest stretch six horses long
From snout to scaly tail
Chaos, decay and death it brought
Rai’sheen they named the blight
For baleful was this creature’s heart
Murder, its trail, and fright

Rai’sheen on Ysis’ plains did roam
Unbound, hungry and free
And in despair Lyvinel’s elves
Did for a hero plea
Yet far and wide not many dared
To face the hellish beast
For on the foolish few that did
The wyvern fiend would feast

But there was one, an elf named Shey
Much different from the rest
The greatest swordsman in the realm
A bearer of the crest
An adept sorcerer indeed
Apprentice to the source
This elf did wield a blade and staff
With unrelenting force

Yet none would share the keen elf’s zeal
The masters least of all
For this young elf a lady was
Not muscular nor tall
Against the odds she set out though
To prove her bravery
To slice the wyvern’s rigid throat
And kill rank bigotry

Along the shady trees Shey swept
With purpose but no plan
With heavy packs and burly sacks
Through bush and scrub she ran
Though ev’ry corner of these woods
Were etched in this elf’s mind
The wyvern’s cave, Shey realized
She knew not where to find

With luck and glee Shey then recalled
Her former magic guide
A druid elf who North of Llev
Did all alone reside
Surely the wise man knew the way
She’d have to bid his aid
So of a lasting amity
The young elf gravely prayed

The woods grew dense forebodingly
As Shey battled through thorn
Yet willed she reached the old man’s home
Her clothing soiled and torn
The druid’s house was but a shack
Concealed ‘midst leaf and vine
And as she neared stepped out a man
As weathered as benign

The druid beamed from ear to ear
Pleased with such occasion
Though strife was all that Shey would bring
This hermit’s isolation
With grand allure she begged the man
To help her in her quest
And to the old man’s worried face
She spoke with charm and zest

After some time the druid caved
For Shey would not relent
He reached into his buckskin pouch
With all but clear content
He looked the young elf up and down
Eyes wide in reprimand
But once Shey swore her secrecy
Withdrew his shaky hand

A crow-black stone lay in his palm
That swirled with creamy haze
With each sunray it sparkled bright
And drew Shey’s awe-struck gaze
The druid’s fingers wrapped its shell
As sparks danced through the air
He closed his lids and asked the stone
Of Rai’sheen’s unseen lair

“A hidden cave,” came the reply,
“Where none have gone before
East-wards beyond the forest’s reach
Along the coastal shore”
The stone went dull, its power spent
Crumbling like ashen snow
Shey thanked the man with all her heart
And fast away did flow

For days and nights Shey journeyed on
Due East ‘cross copse and plain
Without a rest she spanned Ysis
Through wind and frost and rain
But on the 12th day then at last
The cavern came in reach
And Shey did smirk for the moral
The elves of Llev she’d teach

She sheathed her blade and ground the steel
Latching her armor plate
Shey meditated deep and clear
In bond with chance and fate
Dropping her bags unto the ground
She raised her shield and sword
A few last words climbed high above
In prayer to the Lord

The moon seemed as a silver coin
Framed in a silken sheet
For light vanished beyond the hills
In splendid mauve retreat
The ocean spray reached for the sky
As frothy waves hit rock
Tough gusts of wind tore at Shey’s cloak
And pierced the cloth with mock

Yet Shey bit all the sting away
Unwavering and strong
Her pace did speed with new resolve
To prove her masters wrong
With sturdy strides she neared the cave
The entrance slowly grew
As a mere step then from her fate
Her courage briefly flew

A mighty roar rung through the night
Rai’sheen’s rank feeding sound
It stirred and quaked the boiling earth
Taking Shey to the ground
Severely shook the young elf rose
Regrouping all her dare
And with a madly drumming heart
Entered the wyvern’s lair

Engulfed in black the elf did tread
Chasing a putrid smell
An orange glow cast dancing shades
As darkness slowly fell
Down twisting digs Shey stepped, alert
Across the stones with deft
Until the tunnel lastly led
Into a bright-lit cleft

A pair of flashing eyes did stare
Through Shey with wicked mock
The wyvern sat, nostrils aflare
Atop a massive rock
It fletched its teeth and billowed loud
As heat waves reached for Shey
The elf jumped wide and rolled aside
Out of the fire’s way

Magma did run where just before
The dashing elf had stood
As more flame roils licked at Shey’s shield
And charred the crafted wood
The wyvern pounced at Shey with speed
And snapped its awesome jaw
It whipped its emerald tail and struck
Shey with a single claw

Smitten with rage Shey’s blade did fly
Unchained of all remorse
While from her mouth flowed ancient words
Of potent arcane source
She leapt towards the wyvern beast
Circled by magic charm
A steely tip touched supple flesh
And stirred shrieking alarm

The wyvern rolled from side to side
In squirms of dire pain
Thick coils of crimson snaked its neck
Choking the sinful bane
Through ev’ry corner of the caves
A beastly loud wail rung
As Shey trailed up the wyvern’s flank
And cut the creature’s tongue

The deed was done, Rai’sheen no more
Brought down by elvish steel
And in respect by its stiff head
Shey il Fyel did kneel
She sighed and thanked the Gods above
For granting divine might
Shey sheathed her blade and left the caves
Out into the cool night

The woods did smile at the small elf
The animals did cheer
The skies looked down in harmony
Banished the ghost of fear
The lands were free and safe once more
And all things living thrived
Of death and dread the elves removed
For all times forth deprived

Shey did return through Lyvinel
With head and spirit high
The greatest elf that ever lived
Greeted by festive cry
All of Llev gathered in delight
To drink and laugh and sing
As all spoke joy and words of praise
To Llev’s first heroine


Notes:

Crest – Crest of roses, a mark of high elvish pure-blood
Ilén – Short for Ilén Messilieth, the race of high elves
Llev – (Pronounced yev) Glorious canopy fortress of the elves, burnt down during the Cloud Wars but later rebuilt in full glory on the forest ground
Lord – Boreanil, Lord of the Forest.
Lyvinel – Woodland realm of the elves
Mark – Beginning of Ysis’ new age, when Life banished Death into the Otherworld; see also Winter’s Fate, Summer’s Bane
Messilieth – Elves
Rai’sheen – Literally black heart, also known as the king of wyverns; a beast of myth that ravaged the world of Ysis
Source – Sometimes referred to by men as kametica, a powerful flow of magic power that is rumored to originate in the Otherworld and can be yielded by the pure and gifted on Earth
Shey il Fyel – (Pronounced shai il fell) Legendary queen of the elves
Ysis – World inhabited by the Elves along with a great many other species and races