The Corsair's Tale
By Ashanar Sekor (Ash)
This is the Tale of the Cursed Corsair
With its telling your thoughts may be spurred
For in hearing it there is something to be learned
Maybe you will see: Life is yours to earn
Sailing south out of Tyedu, a land of frozen ice
The Corsair watches his faithful crew playing dice
Then storm brews on the horizon black as can be
Moving toward them in a crazy breakneck speed
Up they jump grabbing for the sails
Soon the cold hard wind begins to wail
Ice, sleet, and snow cover his frantic calls
As the ship is taken into the cruel wind's squalls
Out to sea they are blown through the night
His faithful crew soon gives into fright
The sails all torn and the mast nearly split
As the morning air by the rising sun is lit
Drifting for days, making repairs at his call
The Corsair barks commands to his crew through it all
Day turns to night and night into day
In an endless rotation that leads emotions astray
Food and water run short as the repairs are done
While all of the crew works baking in the hot sun
A single sail is rigged and they start to cheer
Yet the Corsair knows nothing but fear
For even with a sail one does need the wind
And there is not a breeze for their sail to tend
Prayers to Ingoren are said every night
But after two days they still share this blight
On the seventh day a bird song is sung
And a bird lands where the limp sail is hung
No food for three days and no water for two
The Corsair orders his crew:
"Shoot that bird down and bring it to me!
And we can split it even to a tee!"
Arrows fly and pin the white bird to the mast
To late they realized their fate was sealed at last
For an albatross lays dead at his feet
All their faces turn white as a sheet
For they killed the bird of good omen
Which spells the death to all seamen
The crew revolts and a mutiny ensues
The Corsair is surrounded and him they all choose
Around his neck the dead bird is hung
And praises to Ingoren are sung
The Corsair is tied to what was left of the mast
So Ingoren would guide them through that sea so vast
There is hope...Yet day after day upon that deep blue ocean
Not a breath of wind would set the ship in motion
Deep blue water everywhere with not a drop to drink
As the crew dies one by one their bodies are allowed to sink
'Till the there is only one left tied up with ropes
His head hung down with little or no hope
As night falls he opens his eyes as the ship moves
It glides through the water ever so smooth
No wind in its sail - how it seems to gather speed?
Through the nights he thinks of his deeds
As the sun rises the ship still moves on
Will he survive this ordeal that his actions spawned?
Two more days of travel and a port is seen
He can't believe his salt sore eyes, what can it mean?
The ship slowly bumps into the wooden dock
Its sails all torn and holes in it that mock
Like a floating cracked skull it comes to a stop
We walked to the ship and onto it with a hop
We could not believe what we saw, this ragged man
So thin and so frail then his voice croaked as his story began
He told us it all through his tears and pain
He knew that his action caused his soul to be stained
He offered a last pray to Ingoren then fell to his knees
He wept and cried while calling out his pleas
or us to take the oceans blessings and curses
And put his story to a song and verses
He died there on the deck of his ship
Like a man broke from the whip
We gave his body back to the sea
With prayers to Ingoren and a soft plea
So now you have heard the Corsair's Tale
And you will take heed next time you take sail
For always respect Ingoren's wishes, and make no demands
And don't harm the birds sent to guide you to land
