Held Schanger

 
Hwaet!    for ye shall hear
The herald impart the tale  of the honorable Held Schanger
Son of the noble Helmslack of Gaudtem
Protector of peace;    slayer of the sin-stained serpents.
Now the dreaded Teufel Gafallen    of the dreary Toté Tal,
Where demons wander    and witches prowl,
In his God-forsaken greed,    thrust onslaught
Upon the good king Schilf    of the north
These harsh Hashens, these terrible barbarians–raging reavers of the rived
Wielded malevolent weapons    forged by the dark lords of the south.
They rode upon the unruly raging beasts of the dark
Faster than any horse    more horrible than any boar.
These alien beasts    caused the bravest of men to tremble.
 
Now the good King Schlif    foresaw what was to come,
He sent word to his honorable brother of late—Helmslack the Great.
A swift wing-footed warrior    set forth out of the gloom.
The good king was no fool,    he stayed behind to stall the fiend
What a noble sacrifice to behold!
The Heshen blitz–the swift-forged might of the south
Overwhelmed the people of Bentem.    It was a barbaric sight
The dark shafts went     through and through
And so as the city of Bentem fell,    homes in ashes
The walls in ruins,    the dead strewn throughout.
Gefallen the Vile    approached the aged king
He unsheathed a blade forged from the fiery pits of Hell.
 
Legion says the blade was used by the Evil One 
Lead in the revolt of all unruly things.
He in his pride let fall     the shaft of Hell
Forfeiting the gifts    that he'd been granted.
Michael seeing the disgrace of he,
Set forth and struck   this demon with the power of All. 
The Wicked One stumbled—blade snapped in two
He was no match,    the Evil One.
With light-hand Heavens protector     sent him to the pit of Hell.
After that fall of man    the serpent withdrew his blade
And buried it in the sand.
This was the blade Gefallen the Wicked wielded
The wise king knowing its origin    prayed to the God of All.
For only with His help     could the king hold off the accursed blade,
For Satan had invested his wicked powers within.
Teufel the Terrible swung with might    striking the teutonic kings blade
The Wise One held back    with force unseen.
He pushed the fool down    knocking him to the floor. 
Gefallen came back in renewed rage     repeatedly striking the kings steel
But again was forced back     The Almighty was on His faithful's side.
Now the Hashens approached,     drawing nearer to their wicked king.
They let out a fierce cry    encircling the Old Man.
The Wise One lost faith at sight     of those soaked in red.
Teufel seeing the man's weakness    struck the kings hand. 
Dropping the blade     the king fell bleeding.
Schilf looked to the sky    saying a final farewell
Gefallen's cold-steel flew straight and met its mark.
Swallows stared,  larks lamented, mocking birds went mute.
For Heaven respected this hero of old.
 
At two days time the swift-footed warrior galloped into Gaudtem.
Dusty and dirty,    the warrior entered the dark hall
Helmslack the honorable     welcomed the young hero.
Though breathless and tireless was he
He narrated the nations hardships
The Great King was too old to partake       in a attack, his age too great
But he sent his own son Held Schanger 
Prince of Peace, Defender of the Defenseless
Held Schanger      ,our great hero, 
Hearing the account announced his immediate departure
 His forces not present yet he prepared to leave 
Grabbing only the great Gutten Lux      crafted in a gleam of light.
this blade was made not of man      nor forged on Middan-geard.
Only to be wielded by defenders  of witches and wizards of wicked works
Bestowed only on the best of men.
Held the Honorable swiftly approached the fastest steed.
He wore no armor, bearing no protection he rode.
On and on, through forests thick and fens low
Through the morbid moors and mean mires,
reaching Bentem by the morn.
 
Held stayed his steed approached the shallow town on foot.
The felled-sun lay wasted beyond sight.
Held approached, hiding in the gloom-filled night  
Avoiding the Hashens he passed un-harassed.
He neared the Hall of Bentem, war-angered and blood-weary.
Upon entering the Hall he slew two Hashens with ease.
The Dark Lord arose from his dreary seat.
He spat at the sight of the young lord
'Ah! Held of Gaudtem, son of Helmslack the Great,
Noble prince of the north! Have you come to avenge your uncle of late!
Ah! What a fool was he! He fell like a whimpering weakling!,'
 tormented the fiend.
 The angered Held     assailed the horrible monster–
Blaze-sparked the shafts clashed, 
The dim hall gleamed,    glowing from the crash.
neither could gain the upper hand     nor beat the other back.
 Shaft upon shaft,    clash after clash,
Wielding the malevolent weapons they fought
Like the fierce sea striking a sturdy ship in a storm,
Wave after wave, the wind and the sea beats the boat back. 
As did our warriors to one another.
Held gained the higher-peak
striking the sly serpent to the ground.
 
Teufel in his barbaric rage     set the Blusches of the black upon him.
these unwholy hellish beasts bred from Satan himself
set forth upon our brave hero!
These scaly beasts slashed and sliced
barely missing this brave soul!
They slithered again snapping with knife-sharp teeth.
Held swung Gutten Lux striking one through its skull.
His blade was stuck; the serpent-like beasts seeing this
set forth in a renewed fervor!
separating him from his blade; they blocked his path.
The remaining two rushed the hero with incredible speed.
Snatching a torch he swung at the beasts     blinding them for a fleeting moment.
Throwing down the torch he set the great hall aflame.
The foul demons shrieked at the crackled-dance  
Fleeing out of the hall they flew, faster than any mortal beast.
Teufel following close in their midst. 
Held approached the stone-cold hellish snake
And reclaimed his blazed-shaft from the deep oozed gash.
Out of the dancing-licks he strode, from the burned hall he roved
Toward the God-forsaken beasts.
Dawn broke, Held's strong stroke together devastated the demons.
Slashing the beasts asunder, they were cleaved to ash.
They let out a final shriek but to no avail.
Their father in Hell's laugh turn to mutter.
Teufel watched in horror for his end was near.
around the ruined town stood two thousand of Gaudtem's finest.
Heshans fell left and right. Held approached the awestruck king.
Before he could scream;  his head was un-hēmmed
His head had fallen as did his troops.
Left and right Heshans fell from Middan-geard to Hell.
Breathless the young Held stood, tired and worn he strode down the hill.
There he met a sterned-face gaudtian general.
Gloomy he handed the young man a paper.
 
Held's heart dropped, his father lay dead.
Ah! The Great Helmslack lay in waste.
The whole of Gaudtem shall lament the passing of their king of late.
The people of the Gleaming City begged Held to come in haste.
They needed a king that wasnt plain and weak, lacking in strength or wisdom. 
Else death and torment should fall upon them.
Held wept, the wind rose, the sky grew hairy.
A gloom befell the land, not a good sound was heard.
Everything silent but the steps of rain
 as heaven morned so great a man.
Held spoke strong but weak, "We lost many great men!
Sadness. Sadness. we morn.
Ah! Two great kings have fallen!
Gloom. Gloom. Inevitable doom.
Make sure these men receive their due rights.
Out of the Gloom then returned. Fight we must!
Else we lose all good... Life is like the sea,
One moment the weather fair—the next we are in despair.
I take this office heavy-hearted, ever-sad, 
I shall live to the honor of my father."
Thus spoke the king then departed.
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Poetry Terms Demonstrated: 

Comments

Additional Resources

Get AI Feedback on your poem

Interested in feedback on your poem? Try our AI Feedback tool.
 

 

If You Need Support

If you ever need help or support, we trust CrisisTextline.org for people dealing with depression. Text HOME to 741741