There,

there on the battlefield,

we fought and fought,

trench warfare,

mustard gas back and forth,

march onward,

take a few inches,

get sent back,

lost twenty,

shivering,

we were always shivering,

rats bit at our feet,

tore our boots,

mortars haunt my dreams,

back and forth,

we held the line,

we had to,

a division chased them from the forest,

we sent them retreating,

this wasteland never ended,

we would never take it all,

we lose more than we gain,

then came the daring quest,

a denouement out at sea,

a beast laid lurking,

The Serpent and The Voyager,

a battle to remember,

but they dug deep,

the land had to heal,

had to keep them out,

time was key,

we left our rifles in the dirt,

seeds to the beginning,

there they are,

nature growing around them,

I was there,

I was The Voyager,

now,

I am me,

The Freed.

The ship rocked as it carved its way through the storm.

“Captain! The storm will tear us apart! We need to pull out!” a weary sailor cried as the sea swallowed him. The crew wavered as lightning struck the deck. The Voyager knew it would hold. This storm threatened them before, and he would not be thwarted again. He had nothing left back there. One last challenge awaited the struggling king. His throne was stained and it became unbearable. A hundred times the devil sacked his city. A hundred times he let it happen. Even after he reclaimed it when he left The Distant Shore, the devil returned. Sitting did not stop the poison from the serpent. One last trick to keep the game going for the fourth or fifth year. It hid in this storm. He would be dammed if it remained. With his trusted crew he made his last voyage with no goodbye or promises of return.

His story may have been the focus of these tales, with comrades here and there, but his companions bore their quests too.

After the Battle of Lost Sight, the Horse Lord found her way. Through thick and thin she gathered courage to take her leave of her old home. Months passed since the two last spoke to one another, both knew their partnership had come to an end at last. The War took its toll as it did for the others that The Voyager encountered. She never gave up, but even that soured their brotherhood past. When The Voyager repaired his ship, he sent one last letter knowing it may fall on deaf ears. To his surprise, she had lived and cherished the better times but it was time to let go, yet the lessons stuck. Her new kingdom would prosper for ages to come.

Though The Voyager was heartbroken, he forgave The Red Lady knowing the truth. Despite attempts at communication, their signal ceased at the Frozen City. He could only hope she succeeded in easing others. His selfishness could not blind him in his duties. The truth marked his flesh for an eternity. One day he would forgive himself but she may never. That truth haunted him.

The Queen in Yellow and the Winged Advisor ceased in his quest. Whilst traversing the Ruined Land, the Queen became embroiled in its conflict and condemned him during a dispute. As the serpent’s disillusions broke, The Voyager departed early to avoid more cruel actions. Once he reclaimed the throne and readied to set sail, he was confused yet joyous to discover they held no ill-thoughts against him. Though one ally was lost, he moved on.

The Bloodless Family held strong when Ruina Fog covered the paradise. Yet the Ruined Land’s conflict reached them and secretly divided them. The Voyager prayed the serpent’s death would cure the land. He prayed.

But that was then.

Here was now.

Here he would slay the beast or he would become it.

The Voyager woke up. He was dangling from his rope and harness, upside down looking at the world. He looked up to see how close he was to the top. What happened? What went wrong? What did he repeat?

Then, he remembered:

He was scaling the mountain, when he came to the Cave of Reflection. That’s when he met the Last Challenge. That’s when he messed up. The only other person who knew about this quest he pushed the boundaries and cross the line. Why? That night he internally belittled himself for not stopping. He had moments where he did, but why didn’t he? He didn’t have the thoughts anymore. He burned the old mementos of that legacy. He did it. He finally did it. At what cost?

The line was crossed and he was thrown–or did he try to jump off? But the rope caught him. He had the strength to beat The Wolves, to forgive The Mementos, and to think twice about the View from Halfway Down. But did he deserve it after what he did? No and yes.

“Shut up!”

The Voyager looked around. On another mountain he saw The Last Guide, she was scaling her own mountain, but she looked the same as if–

“Stop overthinking this!” she interrupted this thoughts again. “You got this far! What happened then doesn’t matter. You have a dawn to see! Keep going!”

He could hear distant voice from below reach him.

“Keep going!”

“Don’t see the View from Halfway Down!”

“Push onward!”

“Climb!”

“Three years led to this!”

“Every failure only strengthened the resolve!”

“End the Long Winter that has plagued The Distant Shore! End this!”

The Voyager turned himself around and started climbing. Rocks and blistering cold stood in the way. He saw the end and pushed. The whispers that shattered him only encouraged him. Through hell and frost he would reach the top. You learn more from failure than success. There’s no way to properly describe the feeling of reaching the top.

The Voyager reached the top.

You can too.

But this, this was not the end.

The Voyager held onto his seat as the ferry pressed onward through the waves that crashed against it.

“No one comes this far!” The Ferryman shouted. “How many days?”

“Six days!” The Voyager cried.

They broke through the tidal wave and came to a standstill amidst the storm. Now they were silent. The moment was brief but the peace granted clarity to their thoughts. All around them in this flooded valley was the green water, the ruins of structures long abandoned to the ocean, and their ghosts roamed wailing.

“Where are you heading?” The Ferryman asked.

“To the tower. To the origin. You know this, Ferryman, but why do you ask?” The Voyager stood up and cast back his cloak. He wore aged and ragged armor of a knight, at his side was an old phone.

“Do they know? I know where you come from, Voyager. The Distant Shore and its inhabitants. Who knows why you left? The true why. You caused the Long Winter, remember?”

It began to rain.

“Do not threaten me,” The Voyager sat down across from him.

“Threaten? Look around you. This was your doing. All the ghosts are because of your actions. You did this.”

“It wasn’t me. It was the person I never wanted to be. This me is fixing things.” At this the Ferryman threw back his hood to reveal her scarred face. The Voyager recognize her. “You are the ghost of the old, move on.”

“Me? Move on? Voyager, look at yourself! You hid on that shore for years and even when you tried you gave up. Now this valley is vile, toxic, and remembers all your mistakes. I shared my secrets and bonded and guess what? YOU THREW IT ALL AWAY when you gave in. Nothing can fix this!” The Ferryman looked to the fallen valley.

“You’re nothing but a ghost, a shadow, and I know what I did was wrong. I can’t forget it. I promise you I won’t do any of this again.” But the Ferryman just laughed at him.

“Just wait until they know. Just wait until they know.”

They docked at the port and the old phone rang. He looked to see who it was.

W. Gte

He took a deep breath and answered. “You might want to sit down, I have a long story to tell you.”

The Voyager marched across the winter wasteland. The blizzard roared ferociously as he came upon the bridge leading to the Heart of Ice. But the storm kept him at bay with frost wraiths whispering to him.

“Take the option, go on, try,” they spoke in his ears. The snow all over was  covered in red pills called “Ignors” that made him hallucinate a paradise to get him to become part of the Long Winter. The temptation to feel that rush of peace, rush of clarity, that rush of tranquility the storm never had. Every fiber in his body fought against that old desire; that old habit nearly brought him to The Wolves.

The Voyager ignored the wraiths and pressed on to a nearby train car for shelter. He slid the doors open and when they slammed shut did he hear the noise behind him. He turned and saw another wanderer resting by a fire in the middle of eating canned beans. But he stared at what was sitting next to the wanderer.

The Wanderer followed his gaze to the red pill shining brightly by the campfire. “How long have you been off the pill?”

The Voyager held out his fingers for five. Five days he’s been off this drug of the mind. He’s craved it sever since the fourth day.

The Wanderer laughed at him and held it out to him. “Go on, take it.”

The Voyager found his hand slowly reaching for it but he pulled back. He was so close to the end. He couldn’t lose it all now. The Wolves were not far behind him, waiting outside the storm for him, and they would swallow him whole. The temporary solace will not do. He has to end this storm once and for all. He will brave all to get to the end. He has to. The Family was counting on him. Not just for their sake but his own.

“Good luck, sober.” The Wanderer took the pill, his face was measurably happy, and he left the shelter and lost himself to the storm. The Voyager did not blame the old man. He wanted a way out of the Long Winter too, but he couldn’t be what the red pill made him be.

When the sun came up, he made his way across the bridge and pressed onward.

The New Arrow 

It has struck again, 

The young arrow of Eros, 

The child of Aphrodite, 

Perhaps it was luck, 

Fate, 

Or maybe destiny, 

Is this the denouement, 

To my Hero’s Journey, 

That after the Endless War, 

I would find peace, 

That a new desire would catch my eye, 

Untainted by the past and history, 

That the lesson would hold true: 

Let go, begin again. 

And it all starts with the New Arrow.  

And He Could Breathe 

When the Voyager woke, 

He could breathe, 

He took one deep breath, 

A long gasp, 

He coughed up the salt inside, 

He washed out the dirt in his eyes, 

He found himself ashore at the place so distant, 

He never thought he would be here, 

He never thought he would be home, 

Out there he saw its remains, 

The Last Serpent out on the rocks, 

Impaled by his ship, 

That ragged old ship he called The Dawn’s Rose, 

The venom’s curse left his veins, 

He felt whole, 

Untainted, 

Unmaimed, 

The weight has vanished, and he was not Atlas, 

He let out a smile, 

And laughed away at his victory, 

And he saw the ghost of his past, 

Before the Endless War and The Last Voyage, 

And all he wrought came to a close, 

It was over, 

It was over, he would repeat, 

He could breathe.