Update

 We are officially moving over to Wordpress, and will be changing identity! More information will follow as this week goes on. 

The new blog will be named, The Crimson Wild! <3

Soulless

 With your kiss

On my skin

And our bridge up in flames

I see your face,

I fall in slow motion

With your eyes on the prize

I must reach but

My arms are lead

And my face is frozen

And numb, so numb.

With your grin

On your face

And our bridge up in flames

I see the floor,

And it doesn't hurt

With my blood on your hands

I must crawl but

My blood is gold

And my heart is frozen

And still, so still. 

With your kiss

On my skin

And our bridge up in flames

I don't feel you,

I reach out for your soul

With my hand in your chest

Snow: Number Ten

A peaceful, calm Snow

In a forest grove

Full of deer and calming breeze

Falls from the sky,

Soft as a feather

And silent as breath.

Can you feel the cold wind,

The sharp, bone-chilling air

As it cuts deep to 

The muscles, the core?

My love will keep you

Strong, wild, and beautiful

As all women are, 

And are meant to be;

But my bad side

Cold and still as ice.

So tread carefully down this

Path of chaos,

This timeline of Rebirth.

The forest may seem peaceful

Under the colder Sun,

Blanketed by my icy weather,

But the nighttime chill

Can kill even the strongest man.

Betrayal

Are my glowering eyes

To hard for you to bear

As the weight of your sins

Pushes you to the ground?

My fangs white as snow

And specks of your blood

Upon my face

From your most delicious veins

My anger mounted on your worst nightmare;

A lack of attention

And lack of inclusion

In your favorite groups of "friends"

Just to spy on me,

Who you've decided to slight,

To dishonor, to betray

In the name of what? Attention?

Your vain influence and lies

With their hands around your neck

Drowning and choking you

From the inside out

Tell me, 

At what point does it end;

And do you feel remorse

For anyone you have touched?

Euros/Eurea/Uros: Number Seven

Worldly balance is the key to greatness

For this earth you all live upon

And the best way to reach it:

To see, to hear, to feel

Recognize the magic all around you

And finally acknowledge,

The questions of the unknown

The veil will blind

All of you from

All of us, in debt to the Fates.

The fire and the water that 

Consumes us all in the end - 

Feel the rivers

Coursing through your veins

And wonder, was it

There this whole time?

And think of me,

My brother, Euphrates,

As you slowly delve into

The great Beyond this plane.

Number Four: Celestia

Blinded by the darkness
How could I ever see the light again
In any of your faces,
Your bright smiles now erased

And the flowers, the trees
That once bound me are fled
From my crooked, petrifying,
Horrific gaze

My fangs dig deep into the souls
Of the damned and the forgotten
The wretched, the wicked
As I am become now

The pull of the darkness
Tendrils tying me down
Until I give in to this
Madness, this spiral of anger

It pulls me deeper and deeper
Into this black abyss and whispers
Into me, the future, past, and present
Until my sanity drips from my veins

Cut me open, and let it bleed
More and more until there's
Not enough evil to fill my body;
My heart, my soul -

Or perhaps the worst punishment
Is the mercy of it all;
To let me live with this insanity
Every. Single. Full moon.

Number Three: Iselta(i)n(e)

My sisters' words run deep
In my patient grace
And as the corruption leaves me,
Only the good is left behind.

Do not let my appearance fool you,
For I am danger. I am a predator.
And if you're on my bad side,
I can hunt you down with a wave of my hand.

My well-manicured nails and my
Perfectly placed flower crown
Can not define who or what I am
To myself or to the world.

I might be good, I may
Have the patience that saints dream of,
And my poise and collected attitude
Might lead you astray,

But don't let it seduce you,
Your charming human ways -
So gullible, so naive.
Let me be the wisdom that saves you.

I can be your light,
Your golden rays of hope
On the worst day of your mortal lives.
Or perhaps my sisters are more your type?

Ziegwelder: Number One

Unbreakable, my shoulders carry on
And the battlefield plays out
Exactly as I'd hoped
Playing my strengths
Against your weaknesses

My sword always larger
And always swifter
Than the biggest blade of them all

I wonder if my liege, my sole friend
Carries on my wisdom still;
And when I've faded once and for all
Will I still be the strongest?

His gold still plays my fingertips
As our brotherhood lives on inside my head
But the purpose I long for eludes me;

Why am I still here?
I ask The Fates but they won't tell.
The amnesia made me wander for days,
And here I am now, before the lost others,
Wondering why we were born so soon?

The T-Shirt

I found it
The shirt that you left at my house
Many weeks ago
Before you left.

I know it's there, in my drawer
And I wonder -
No, I must not do it -
And my heart sinks a little lower

As I remember that when I see you next
You may want it back -
Or maybe if I don't say anything,
Anything at all, I can keep it for now?

Days go by where I haven't left
My velvet draped, barred bedroom
This tomb I have built for myself
To die within

And I hear your voice in my headphones
And I suddenly remember:
The shirt is here,
Within my reach.

And I force myself out of my bed
With such vigor as an undead
Can while being so
Hungry in this agonizing state of mind

I slip it on, feeling your protection
Wash over my once crawling skin,
Calming the waves
In this ravaged, torrential sea.

The chaos is over, until I smell it:
I smell you
Even after washing this shirt with
My own guilt stained laundry

And suddenly I'm in heaven again,
And smelling the collar is just
Not enough; It would
Never be enough to satiate this

Want, this need,
This disability to function without
Every inch of your mind,
Your soul, your soft yet firm demeanor

Stifling, drowning me until I
Can't feel myself anymore...
And I lift up the shirt from the
Bottom, to my face

Smothering you all over me
Until all I can breathe is you
And I can feel you wanting me too,
Just like we were before.

And maybe, just maybe, it's crazy
That a scent could do such
Terrible, selfish things to me.
But I know that next time I see you

I won't be able to stop the salivation
From your laugh, your smile, your wit,
Your silvery eyes that I could
Lose myself in for days.

Our marks still burn and I could
Smell you from hundreds of feet away,
The saliva filling my mouth and my
Teeth growing with desire.

And while I fill myself with all of you,
Your scent from this shirt you so
Carelessly left in my hands,
I haven't hurt you yet --

We are still more than just friends,
And the goodness of your heart is
Possessing me just as I possessed you
As you worshiped my body.

But in the end, when I finally finish
And there is no more scent left
And the moon is black
And the darkness fills my room,

I am once again alone
In this tomb I have built for myself to die in,
And I am so sure that you
Haven't missed me for a moment.

My hunger, my need for you
Isn't satiated at all
And I know it may never be again,
But we'll see, won't we?

The next time I see you
And I can't stop staring
Will you notice me struggling
To stay away from you, even for a second?

Will you remember the way I could
Barely resist the smell of your
Sweatshirt, your chest, your neck
Before we were even together?

Or will you simply ask me for
That shirt back,
Leaving me with nothing,
Not even hope, to hold onto?

------------------------------------------

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The Anxious Wait

Tiptoeing around the fires,
A cold winter's night chills me through
And when I think of you all alone
The glass in my gut moves further.

I gag and I moan but there is no end
To the anguish until I hear your voice again
Gracefully dancing, I feel the hot stones
Burning my feet beneath my slippers

But my bones just won't warm up -
I shiver as melodic music plays
Up and down my vertebrae
As keys upon the piano in my bedroom

I must be losing my mind
Because time just doesn't make sense,
And the music won't stop,
The voices told me I cannot.

And I keep dancing,
Tiptoeing around the fires:
My bones freezing and my feet
Just an inch from the flames,

But they won't let me stop,
And the music won't stop,
And the glass in my gut keeps
Cutting and tearing me up...

If I can't hear your voice tonight,
Then I'll never be alright again.
Time swims across the melody,
And the night just will not end.

Torn Away

"Never sacrifice or compromise yourself
For someone else's happiness."
He said upon his hoard made of
Sweets, skulls, and smoke.

And never have such words resonated
So deeply as to play with the strings
And shapes of my undead soul.
"You don't need him."

And just like that, the ties we had shared
Were torn to shreds before my third eye,
The pain stinging tightly in my chest
And my heart, and my mind.

Am I better off with you, my mentor,
My muse, my everything
Up to a few weeks ago?
Are you worth losing?

Suspicious lines run deep in my love,
But he saw before me the look
You have been influenced to give,
Or is it your own? I could never tell.

And never have such words resonated
So deeply as to play with the stars
And space of my scarred mind.
"All you need is yourself."

Narcissist

Read me like a book
Your eyes pierced my soul
As a spider faintly crawls
Under a wooden door frame

But the more words spoken
The more you grew,
Your soft skin crawling
Into human upstanding

Shifting, reading, waiting
Your never ending thoughts
But no guilt, no conscience
To brush your hunt aside

Your viscous, umber venom
Dripping on the carpet
I had laid out to marry on
With no mind to stop.

Remind me that I let you in
Remind me this was my doing
Innocence you feigned upon
Your shifting, smug smile

Tell me that I'm wrong
The way you dance,
You flirt, you charm
Is not for your amusement

Roll the dice, poke the bear
Forget that I am something more
So I may come to conscious
Once you are faced away

The Seven

Long forgotten in age we see monsters taller than the trees,
Seeking souls and blood and meat of those humans who had just arrived.
Be it hunger or be greed, the unwritten rite to hunt with such fangs and teeth,
Or be it forethought to start such a feast, lest they grow too numerous.
Primal fear soaked in most deep into our ancestors marrow,
Keeping close and constant watch for the monsters that would harrow.
Those who had the time on the days, where the sun rose high and bright,
Prayed to the creature who born them here for salvation most true and clear.

And on one feverish afternoon they finally received an answer.
A portal opened before the sun, like a moving slab of stone,
And they looked in such reverent horror as the sun become a back lit hole.
From this yawning portal came a pillar white hot with flame.
It came to rest quite soundlessly before the gathered crowd.
"To those whose burn as bright as I rest your hands upon me,
I shall awaken your hidden crystal eyes, and bestow the gift of Magic."
Seven brave stepped to the task, hands untouched by its fire.

And as they felt the unsung song they each knew of its power.
The Pillar vanished shortly after, as the sun returned to its true light,
And the Seven fought seven beasts in turn to prove this magic would bring delight.
So, the humans gained fangs of their own, of so many shapes and severity,
Driving their foes to deeper dark while they all the while caused calamity.
And so A new age was born from this, humanity bathed in hope.
But as such things go could it truly last?
ALL humans could do, was hope.

Dangerous Game I

Watch me carve myself open,
Guts and ribs in open air,
Baring my soul and all
For you to play upon.

I look sick upon your familiar face
Stomach pouring onto the floor
Dark and fearless, smiling
How you were taught.

Is reality an illusion, or a game?
From your words I could not
Tell if you were laughing,
Or crying, for help.

Your hands reached for my heart,
Sliding easily through flesh
With desire and charm
And determination.

Blood from lack of breathing fell
Upon your soft, wanting skin
My eyes full of realize, but
Yours on the treasure.

Emptied of light, of conscience,
Your thickly drooling gape
Insisting this would help,
This hunt of me.

A world of crimson blurred around
Your pitch black shallow eyes
Upon my very love you'll
Never understand.

I can finally spot the light in hand,
Taken as an edge to myself
Now turned and used to
Free your blood.

The viscous venom upon my carpet
I had once laid out to marry on,
Seeping, poisoning me
Away from him.

I stick it in once more, your sickened
Nerves cut like hairs unfolded,
Yet within, there is naught
But a single spark.

I turn, the fresh breath of what I've done
Seeping into my drowning lungs,
Tingling my endings
Into feeling again.

Isaiah Solace

Your darkened gaze upon your enemies,
Your victims, your nemesis;
Eyes of night with olive flesh,
The craving hit me first-

Second, the whispering moon
Screaming at me to move;
To say anything to your
Strength, your speed, your heart,

Your determination;
So quick was your charm in third,
Ensnaring, wrapping me
In your dangerous smile-

Your gift unto no one else,
For myself alone to love,
To yearn, to question still,
If any of us was truly real?

Your succor, sweet kiss
'Neath the moonlight timed just right
For your soon departure
Left me without question.

Itching Underneath

Ivory tusks trapped under skin
Aching and swelling within the rush
Bursting with yearn to feel the wind
Which envelopes the sundered, dead brush

Swaying my desire to be freed
As the skeletons of old bones spread
Gently under the depressed, old tree
Witness to my claw-marks seeking tread

My blood boiling, writhing, tingling nerves
Wishing for freedom from this cage
From these monstrous, clinging flesh curves
I once believed were beautiful

Without the pain and the hollowed heart
My soul, empty isolation
Happy becomes a moment of art
Of love, of divine emotion

Moves the ivory, the teeth and bone
To rest within the muscle walls
Scratching the innards no more alone
No more at all, the loved one calls

The swelling to calm and settle slow
Upon a midnight, eyes of sleep
His voice is heard once again, below
The depressed, old tree's kept from weep

One more time before the cold night ends
His light rays shine upon me some;
Thawing every touch the love would send
Beating fast, flesh has overcome

Dread of nightmare steals the sleep time
His voice rings clear to stall the fears
Wings keep safe as a blanket of lyme,
Stone to keep away streams of tears.

Part 6.2: The Writer Stalls due to Holiday Shenanigans

     The great doors loomed massive before any who dared approached. Great basins of violet flame flanked these doors, casting the reliefs of horrible monsters and screaming humans in grizzly shadows. Such a door could only really be moved by the monstrously strong or the magic opening mechanism the two mini bosses protected.
    Said bosses required Garn and the others to take a well needed break.
    "We have two healing potions, a roll of bandages, and those greater healing potions if we really need them." Lym said as he packed said items away.
    Most of the inventory had gone to the front line fighters, the lion share of which held Garn together as the potions accelerated the process. The dragonborn was laying on his back, closely looking at the door. Next to him was the storm mage sharpening his blade, wincing as arks of energy twisted free briefly when metal hit whetstone. They knew it was the precipice, the calm before the storm that could very well take their lives with a single misstep against the beast past those horriffic gates.
    And like a pair of teenagers, both were too awkward or self conscious to ask the other about plans after the fight. Norra was glad such things had not come up during the mission, it would only cause stalling and poor tactical decisions. Lym on the other hand was a minuscule beacon of unfulfilled voyeuristic romantic fantasia. The bard had seen the writing on the glowing orange neon wall and by the gods, he was invested.
    And not just because the song writ from this experience would be racy and no doubt a instant hit, but for his dear friend Vort's sake, Lym was obsessed. Vort had a smile and an attitude like a sunny day but past that false cheer was a storm of calamitous emotional backstory. Even if they were only acquainted the handful of weeks they spent traveling, he could tell Garn was becoming a part in that aforementioned storm, as someone who had fallen for the boy enough to allow himself to be a scaly meat shield.
    Before Lym's pedantic inner monologue could be turned into an actual plan, the pair stood up together, the smaller ensuring the larger was alright.
    "Let's get this show on the road!" The mage said cheerily, "The sooner we get this done, the faster we can get a drink."
    "I can agree to that!" Replied Garn, "Maybe I'll challenge you to a drinking competition, something I can actually win."
    "Most likely not, Vort has a strangely high constitution." Norra butted in, the group forming up before the gate.
    "Don't kill his hopes just yet Norra." Vort said merrily.
    Garn huffed in response to the jabs, before pulling the orbs from his back and pushing them into the vacant  holes in each door. The strange color coded keys clicked into place, and the doors began to rumble as hidden mechanisms began to turn with arduous groans of gears. The shadows played across the slowly opening portal, almost giving life to the grotesque carvings before a sound like metal beams being crushed by a dragon filled the room.
    The door had opened just enough to let the adventures through before the gears seized up.
    " How very anticlimactic." Said Norra.

Love and Cold Winds, Part 6.1 - A Fun Adventure

    They were not prepared. In the broad spectrum of knowledge and forethought the collective batch of brains and the stratagems that were created before the stairs leading to the next dungeon floor were eviscerated when they entered the maze.

    Every corner held some kind of trap, and that statement was often times literal. Monsters attacked in droves which led the scent of blood attracting the mid-boss (a minotaur, of course). This led to many spent arrows, sore vocal chords, a chunk of ether crystal spent, and quite a lot of cuts and scrapes and stab wounds with very little spoils of victory to show for it all.

    Before any could pull out their own return stone and drown their failure in cheap booze, a blissfully safe looking room opened before them with a chest sitting in the center. The entire party stared at it while stabbing it several times. When it didn't start screaming, Garn tossed the top of the chest open.

    "Well what do ya know." Lym said, pulling one of the four large bottles filled with a thick red liquid. "Health potions."

    "Decent grade?" Vort asked.

    "At a glance they look pretty high tier."

    With that dazzling review Garn scooped up a bottle, flicked the top off and slugged back a hearty mouthful. It tingled on its way down to his gullet before blooming into a full body warmth. the missing chunks of scale and slashes hewn themselves back into unmarred scales, and the ever present fatigue lessened its grip.

    The open potion was quickly passed around to the others as they silently agreed to set up camp in the relative safety of the room, sitting around a small cook fire bravely attempting to warm a murky stew in a dinged up pot.

    "So, what's the plan?" Garn finally broke the silence.

    "With the monster parts and these potions, we can get a decent amount of gold." Norra suggested, her eye twitching at the taste of the muddy soup.

    "Or, we could head to the boss to get some real treasure." the halfling bard said, trying to turn the taste of the soup into something truly edible and failing at every attempt.

    "Lets go deeper." Both Vort and Garn said in unison, the pair glancing each other.

    "We can handle this, we got ourselves a full party now!" the mage said cheerily.

    "Plus we have to pop Garn's cherry!" Lym butted in, getting one shocked look from the dragonborn. "You know, this is going to be your first floor boss kill."

    "Oh! Yes of course, I can't wait." Garn said with a weak smile, by now he was getting suspicious if the bard knew his feelings for Vort and was messing with him.

    Lym was of course absolutely fucking with him, and in part the hopeless romantic was hopelessly frustrated with how little romantic gestures the pair had performed. The most romantic thing happening to them was sitting next to each other. Norra was absolutely no help either, though hunter skills were top notch, her social skills were as abrasive as a river rock.

    The nosy Bard knew one thing though, they were both warriors. Warriors tempered and strengthened in different forges and of different schools of combat, and any bard can tell you warriors who flirt with death on the battlefield pull double duty flirting with each other in their own special way.

     And there would be plenty of flirting once the party pushed open the black iron gates that lay within the center of the maze.

October

The wind as chilly as it blows
Cuts deep to the bone
Sharp and steely against my cheeks
Hair in every direction

Shadows follow right behind
Without the sun's light to cast
Grass and leaves crunching round
In time with my footsteps

No costume to show
Soft, fleece sweatshirt and blues
Boots as high as my friends
Tied hastily to be alone

The aura calls the soul
As if it belongs there
The dead whisper my name
Calling to the wandering heart

Tombstones hidden behind trees
Knocked over by disregard
Barely visible to the human eye
Gray and shining before me

Hard and cold, yet welcoming
My body rests on nature's dead
Eyes closed, ready to go
But somehow wanting to stay

Mist awakens the others
Eyes fly open, waiting for rain
Faces, transparent, white
Watching me watching them, smiling

Earthy, dying smells in the air
Beauty overtakes tears in my eyes
Forms of night alone before me
I am afraid, but only of the end

Damp and cold, never more warm
Darkness looming, warming me
Rain dripping through the trees
Reminding me of walking

I remember the sun, the sky
But the stars are so much prettier
And the moon so much wiser
Why would I ever leave?

Love and Cold Winds, Part 5: Sympathy for the Midboss

    There was nothing but a heap of discarded weaponry, cast aside armor, and magic items sucked dry to purpose their ether. And of course the vast array of smears across the floor and walls like a impressionistic painting were all that was left of this floor's monsters.
    "Well, this is equal parts impressive and morbid." Garn said after shifting though the remains of a smashed treasure chest.
    "Yeah, that's hard core Grinders for you." Vort said, scooping a few gold trinkets into a bag.
    During the silent trek though the maze-like hallways of the dungeon proper, passing mauled traps, cleared out treasure rooms, and the slowly dissolving remains of minor spawning pits, the party knew there had to have been a particular group of Grinders. These were adventurers who neurotically enter dungeons and ruthlessly clear them out, often times leaving to allow the dungeon to reset and re-spawn its denizens to do the aforementioned sweep all over again.
    Done to attain better loot, better experience, or hoard rare resources, those dubbed Grinders often left a trail of cast aside gear and trinkets as they collected new and better ones. Some believed they did this so the dungeon could remake what they left behind into something even better, others thought it was they didn't want to haul what they deemed junk around. 
    "Should we be concerned?" the dragonborn asked as the group as they headed for the stairs downward.
    "As long as we stay out of their way there wont be issues." Norra checked the stairs before allowing the others downward. "More than likely they'll clear the floors their level allows them and then leave."
    Garn nodded, lagging behind with the storm mage as the expert hunter and tracker made her way downward. The next few floors were more of the same, monster-less and loot-less with only the occasional straggler for Garn to bisect with his blade. The large rough stones that made up most of the dungeon soon changed into solid smooth dark marble that arched into wooden beam and arch accents with everything lit with large amber sconces.
    Another (less talkative) set of carved doors stood at the end of the hall, a group of people standing by it and bickering. The party quickly ducked behind the pillars, dragging the dragonborn with them, making space a bit difficult for everyone. Voices were certainly raised among the other group before a whoosh was heard. Peaking out, Vort quietly informed everyone their party mage had opened a Gate back to the outside, and they had made their way through.
    "Odd," Vort said once the party came out of its hiding place, "They usually take on this floor's boss."
    "Well, We can actually get loot then!" Lym said cheerily as he approached the door.
    The party gathered around the halfing and began to push, but they all found that the door usually meant to be easily swung open on its hinges to have a grand reveal, were completely locked. They continued to push, and then push even harder, eventually going into a full on assault to get the firmly locked doors to budge.
    "Go away!" A deep bellow from behind the other side of the door pushed the adventures away from it. " I will not suffer further humiliation form you all!"
    "What..." Lym said looking between the group, finding equally perplexed looks.
    "I think that's the boss." Vort said.
    "Can they just do that? Bar entry into their rooms?"
    "Yes I can! The Dungeon Master put me in charge of this floor so I can bar you horrible monsters from killing me over and over again!" The fearsome beast wailed, akin to a small child being bullied.
    "Wow." Norra said flatly.
    "Never thought I'd feel bad for a floor boss," Mumbled Lym.
    "Hey," Vort knocked on the door. " We aren't the other party, we can have some tea!"
    Garn blinked looking down at the little mage standing at the door, he wouldn't be surprised if the beast behind actually complied to the request. And almost exactly after he had this thought the door cracked open a peek.
    "What kind of tea?"
    In a short amount of time the party found themselves sitting in the center of a circular arena around a short table, a well maintained tea set placed before all parties. One cup was daintily being held by a marble gargoyle big enough to eat a plow horse in one go. They had all heard the tragically hilarious story of the Midboss' 5 weeks of solid pummeling from the Grinders before finally reaching a threshold in the rules of this strange place that allowed him to lock his doors and regain his composure.
    "That's terrible." Vort said after the gargoyle concluded his tale.
    "It is horrible, sometimes I didn't even have time to fix the traps and get my minions spawning." The beast took a sip from the tea cup carefully held in his claws. "So, this question may be redundant but what brings you down here?"
    "Oh we were planning to head through the dungeon as normal." Lym said, "Your typical affair."
    "Oh of course, its a shame I'm not up for the usual affair." The Gargoyle said, setting his cup down. "As a consolation I will allow you to pass through my gate to the next floor."
    "Wait, really?" Garn asked, "Just like that?"
    "I am absolutely not up for a fight I'm afraid." The Gargoyle stood up, moved to the other end of the cathedral arena and pushed open a well hidden door with a grand staircase leading downward.
    With very little fanfare, the tea and table were packed up and the group bid their goodbyes to the monster and made their way deeper.
    "Did you plan for any of that?" Garn finally asked Vort.
    "Nope! I had no clue any of this would happen." The mage cheerily stated, patting Garns arm.
    "I doubt the next boss will be as talkative." Norra said, "So let's prepare ourselves."