The army travelled through the empire like a tidal wave

　　every knight among them feeling confident and brave

　　their numbers were impossible for most to comprehend

　　the emperor had drafted every soldier he could send

　　Countless kingdoms` populations taken overnight

　　he summoned every able bodied hunter, slave, and knight

　　it took at least a day for orders made from the front lines

　　to reach the rearmost units using messengers and signs

　　The towns they passed were drained of their resources in a day

　　every subject brought into the ranks along the way

　　their mission was to colonize the north within the year

　　the empire`s size would double and their foes would run in fear

　　In little time they reached the empire`s border in the north

　　the hero reassured his army as he led them forth

　　the hunters who inhabited the forest were surprised

　　but celebrated that their fight would be revitalized

　　The prince requested information from the hunters` chief

　　and what the hunter told him was a tale beyond belief

　　"in all my years I`ve never seen the monsters act this way

　　They organize attacks and grow in number every day

　　If you were one week later, you`d have found no hunters here

　　half of us already died or ran away in fear

　　thank the gods your empire`s army finally arrived

　　any longer and the empire might not have survived"

　　The hero didn`t listen, but the prince had grown concerned

　　monsters didn`t fight in armies, or so he had learned

　　could the monsters be considered mere coincidence

　　was the hero`s intervention simply providence

　　Either way, the obligations given him were clear

　　the prince would serve his empire should a single foe appear

　　whether his great hero told him everything or not

　　his duty bound him to whatever battle might be fought

　　The army followed bravely as their hero took the lead

　　and every monster hunted down filled every man with greed

　　the creatures were in chaos and the monsters moved as one

　　but still the army`s numbers made the monster hunting fun

　　Every soldier revelled in their constant victory

　　claiming for the empire every mountain, pond, and tree

　　soon they`d find a land of riches they had never known

　　only at the cost of many monsters` flesh and bone

　　Several weeks had passed and still the army hadn`t tired

　　pushing farther north to lands the emperor desiredUnauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author`s consent. Report any sightings.

　　the hero at the lead was often fighting in a trance

　　the way he moved his sword and magic seemed more like a dance

　　Effortlessly walking through an endless monster hoard

　　nothing posed a threat to him and nothing slowed his sword

　　he may as well have been alone, just dancing in the trees

　　many wondered if he even saw his enemies

　　Every day the hero`s flames were violent and bright

　　it wasn`t rare for them to keep on burning through the night

　　he ran toward his foes as though he feared he might be late

　　even though they`d come to him, the hero couldn`t wait

　　Sometimes even after he`d burned all of them away

　　he`d stand there in the fires he made without a word to say

　　his strength became a legend to the army that he led

　　who sang the songs of everything the hero did and said

　　They passed through icy mountains and the endless forest green

　　until they started seeing monsters they had never seen

　　they dreamt of what might lay beyond this long forbidden land

　　getting lost in all the great adventures they had planned

　　After several months upon his long and bloody quest

　　the hero finally sat down one night to get some rest

　　the monsters had been thinning in the woods in recent days

　　and he`d grown bored of killing them a thousand different ways

　　He found a place away from all the camps to settle down

　　the camps were often noisier than any busy town

　　beneath a tree he sat beside a campfire for a while

　　thinking of the girl he married and her pretty smile

　　A somber air descended on him as he fell asleep

　　dwelling on the promises that he had yet to keep

　　but just before he closed his eyes, he noticed something there

　　something magical was watching him, hidden somewhere

　　He shouted out in fear as cold sweat formed upon his brow

　　"I`ll burn down this whole forest if you don`t show yourself now"

　　he summoned fire to light the woods and slowly looked around

　　and in the distance he could see a shadow on the ground

　　The warmth he felt beside the fire was traded for a chill

　　recalling such a shadow that he couldn`t name or kill

　　haunting him in battle and inhabiting his dreams

　　its laughter echoing in battle cries and dying screams

　　The shadow slowly moved toward him as he raised his sword

　　with a blade in hand, his concentration was restored

　　but once the hero calmed, he noticed something wasn`t right

　　not unlike himself the shadow seemed to shake in fright

　　He lowered his intimidating sword of magic fire

　　trying to discern the quivering shadow`s desire

　　"are you here to torment me or do you have a name

　　you`ll get the fight you want if that`s the reason why you came"

　　He knew that this was not a shadow worthy to be feared

　　and after just a moment, in its place a boy appeared

　　his teary eyes were red and he looked somewhat like an elf

　　soon the timid lad began to introduce himself

　　"I am just a messenger who serves the northern lord

　　if you`ll heed my words, there`ll be no cause to draw a sword"

　　the hero hesitated but agreed to hear him speak

　　he hadn`t seen a monster in his life who looked so weak

　　"I bring a message from my lord who speaks for one and all

　　listen to my warning so that neither side should fall

　　the ancient mountain guardian is nowhere to be found

　　we fear that fate has brought it to depart its sacred ground

　　Without the dragon guarding both our kingdoms from a war

　　we won`t be able to fulfill our duties anymore

　　we beg of you to go in peace and leave us to our ways

　　death and pain will only hasten forth the end of days"

　　The hero was alarmed to hear the demon`s solemn speech

　　to know that many demons waited slightly out of reach

　　but how could he agree to leave his mission incomplete

　　a hero didn`t run away, or calmly face defeat

　　"Demons are the enemy of man and all things good

　　if we showed our backs to you, you`d stab them if you could

　　here`s a message you can bring back to your demon lord

　　if he means to stop us, death will be your just reward"

　　The little demon stumbled backward, just about to cry

　　he tried to raise his voice but he was too afraid to die

　　his figure started fading as he slowly backed away

　　but just before he vanished he risked his own life to say

　　"I`m sorry that I failed to reinforce the will of fate

　　but if you do attack us, then we will retaliate"

　　he sank into the shadows and the hero softly smiled

　　luck had blessed him with the news delivered by the child

　　When morning came he gathered up his comrades and declared

　　"soon we`ll face the epic battle for which I`ve prepared

　　a final fight to cleanse the world of demons and their kind

　　a moment in our history that fate itself designed"

　　~