The Minstrel's Prelude

Let me spill forth a haunting tale of long forgotten past,
None such as which transpires today, nor did millenia last.
A story such as ne'er was told, and ne'er was nowhere heard,
And one as this was ne'er inscribed, nor was by no one read.

One of dark passion, one of woe, and one of great despair,
One of vile vengeance, wasteful wars, of duels foul and fair.
A tale of knights in plated steel, riding noble and brave,
Of traitors cold in blood and heart digging their master's grave.

A tale of castles, dragon lords, wonders that far surpass
The wildest, weirdest dreams of men, humble The Looking Glass.
A tale of worlds wide torn apart by unsheathed cruel steel
And tyrants' thirst for such power, with Satan would they deal;

Where witches cast their hideous spells, where mountains crawl with trolls,
And corpses feed on lives of men as each dreadful night falls;
Where werewolves wield their beastly ways as bright the moon's orb shines,
Which banshees with shrill cries do fill, mortals of Earth with whines.

Of priceless treasures shall I sing, of isles amidst the seas
That not once bore the foot of man in three score centuries,
Of thick, cold forests, forlorn shacks, deep, dark and dreary caves
Hiding hundreds of secrets lost, and loot of bloody knaves.

Of merry times then shall I tell, of springs, of meadows green,
About sweet sparrows singing songs of times when joy had been,
Of blossomed roses and sunshine, sweet lovers in earnest,
Preach of the best of golden dawns succeeding nights darkest.

So listen men and lasses all of wise or tender age
To one who wishes all you well, his dear patronage.
Listen well, for a tale as this nowhere else shall you find,
And wisdom that you thus shall gain, in flesh and soul do bind.