THE DARK LORD

The dark lord inspired
Nothing but fear
And fear for reason none
He was a kind of a recluse
And nothing of his past was known

He was called dark because
He arrived on a black moonless night
And bought the manor house
But none of those who did see him
Had ever seen his face

But those close to him knew
That he was a kind man
Though given to strange habits
That none could understand

He never had to fight a war
Even though he went in alone
The sight of his black armour and horse
Froze the hearts of his foes
With each inch of his advance
The enemy troops receded
When he'd had a word with the attacking lord
He and his troops retreated

Rumours there were of his being evil
But his subjects swore by him
For they knew in hard times as before
He'd lend a helping hand

One day as he was riding through
A forest in his domain
He'd heard the sound of merry laughter
Whose source he went to ascertain
He spied a lady of about one and twenty
About the same age as him
Sharing a light moment with some of his subjects
Though she was not one of them

When they saw the dark lord
They ran as though in fear
But she turned her steed to face him
And smiled at the hooded intruder

"Leave my land, outsider"
He wished to say to her
But the malice that he could summon at will
Wasn't anywhere near
Such was the effect she had on him
As he there defenceless stood
The only thing he could do voluntarily
Was to remove his hood

It was her turn to be surprised
As she did recognize his face
From a portrait in a book about
A mysterious long lost race
A race of lords which was long thought dead
When twelve years ago a king was betrayed
By his own general
It was said that the king was killed
Along with his whole family
And their remains burned
And ashes thrown into the sea

This was a race of kings and lords
Of which the dark lord was sole survivor

She turned and galloped as fast as she could
Back to her own domain

The dark lord went the next day
To the exact same spot
Hoping to see her again
As if by magic her heart beat faster
For she was already there

They alighted and moved toward each other
Nothing was said for over an hour
"I know your face." she said at last
Said he, "I wear a hood to hide just that."
"I ran" said he in answer to her
"I ran for days on end
I ran as long and as fast as I could
When I was a lad of nine
I dared not stop for more than a breath
For I knew I was being hunted
When I was in the dark forest
I ran out of energy and fainted
And awoke to find myself in a hut
Surrounded by worried looking people

They knew who I was but they
Had no affinity for wealth
So they decided not to hand me over
To the traitor

There I lived for eleven years
Learning all the dark arts
Of controlling peoples minds without
Their knowing of it
And putting mortal fear into peoples hearts

I came here to recalaim my rightful throne
I wear a hood so that I am not known
For who I am
Till the last moment"

They met in the woods everyday
For over a month
During which he'd added to his palace's defences
But once he brought her to his abode
And her presence
Banished all the gloom once and for all
Now this is a palace fit for a lord
But you my lady are a goddess

But one day she failed to come
He began to worry about her absence
As he was leaving his palace one morn
To go to her domain and see her
Three lords, his neighbours
Came for his help
They had lost in battle against the traitor

The dark lord's domain was small
Controlling just one town
But he was all that stood
Between the traitor
And his lady's land

The dark lord rode into battle
With his neighbours and their troops

The two armies were within sight of each other
The dark lord's forces were outnumbered
By a factor of ten
The battle began
But the dark lord rode out alone
Suddenly storm clouds gathered
Lightning bolts fell on the enemy troops
And the survivors were sucked into the soil
No one survived

Then he learned of his lady
She was the traitor's prisoner
He crushed the golden goblet in his hand
And his rage melted the gold
His breath came out as steam
He set off on foot
His lady to redeem
Np creature on earth
Moved as fast as he

As he approached the fort
The defences and ramparts
Were blown apart
By huge torandoes
And all the guards were struck by lightning

He walked in
There was his lady
And there was the traitor
With sword drawn and ready

The dark lord advanced
Looked the traitor
In the eye
And froze him
In fear
The traitor fell
To the ground
And stopped breathing.

He took his lady to his palace
They were married
And he to all
His identity revealed

He ruled for long
As a righteous king
His darkness wasn't gone
But merely hidden