The Conquest of Gypsy Hollow

An Epic Tale Scribed into History

The Chronicle of a Conflict amidst the Northern Lands

by Kubla Khan

Three men did travel upon the road to Inland Ocean.
The noble Lord Sir Christian Kendric,
With emblazoned spur of rosy cross,
Did ride. A Knight of the Crown from
The vanished Valley of Silver Rain,
And lauded as Grandmaster of Templars,
He did serve as Sheriff of Gypsy Hollow,
A booming port of call. Afore the road
Did travel too: a commoner, Atreyu,
Who did claim the honor as their Champion.
Also too, a footman followed—a fellowman
Called Toa. These three did travel southward,
Unto the barony ashore the Inland Ocean.
And once at the outer palisades,
They did find escort to the court,
With all afforded courtesy.
Baron Victis Morganti did rule at Inland Ocean—
A wealthy harbor colony on the frontier.
When the travelers did arrive,
The baron, unmov'd by pomp, did not attend;
Thus, in tenure did sit the noble Regent
Kubla Khan—a brother of the Templar Order—
Who did come down to greet the three.

So it did happen then, whence from the retinue,
That treacherous Atreyu did draw a metal dagger.
With the gall and guile of a trickster,
This man did strike and so did murder
The Regent of our barony so beloved.
The criminal did fight a few,
Then did flee, eluding capture.
Criers did shout reports about
The crime committed within the court;
Whilst in a splendid manor, the noble Lord Turtle—
Did kindly receive the corpse of the Khan.
Renowned among the public as both a savage
And adept healer, whilst too of the Templar's order,
Turtle with holy magic did bring down white light
And did give life back to the Regent.
Yet, talk about the trespass did assume vigor too,
Among the public and elsewhere unknown.
The Man-at-Arms, Turtle, did serve
At the will of a noble—Warlord Count
Sir Damian Coradren, knight of swords—
Who, though he did fight many wars,
Did but capture mostly infamy
By ridding lands of chastity.
And there at the manor where nobles did gather,
There did come the call for tribute due, and more;
The knight did make ready for conquest toward
The port shire, whence did come the villain.

As the sun did look upon the horizon,
Five did embark from Inland Ocean.
The courageous scout, Morgan, she'd lead
Through hidden trails and passes.
The noble Warlord Count Sir Damian—
The soldiery oft' did call him Dog-boy—
Did follow a li'l behind, hand on sword as always.
Along too, the noble Lord J. Mann—whose wealth,
Some say, did arrive by wager on his duels—
Through verse, did tell his exploits
To an ever-patient Man at Arms, Devry—
A gentleman of Greenwood Keep.
The noble Regent Kubla Khan did follow
Too, northward nearing Gypsy Hollow.
As rain and clouds did overtake the sun,
The group did meet an informant:
Tristan el Gitano—borne of Inland Ocean,
Yet a settler of the wilds—now a shire.
These six did then hurry to survey
The assembly gathered in defense.
Upon the marshy green did stand
Great numbers, most ready, without parley.
Center, Lord Kendric did inspire and exclaim
To battle fearless and with faith, he'd claim
To the journeymen and conscripts alike.
Near, the noble Baronet, TORig he be named,
Did equip some troops with sword and pike,
Fine arms for sure, but not given before
Taking a shilling for serving as their chancellor.
And when the southern raiders be revealed,
Then with a shout, the troop did charge the field.

From the rise upon the other side,
The Dog-boy did become berserk and insane
And rushed out, full of bloodlust,
Alone at the front, to the thick of the fray.
And at Gypsy Hollow, the fighting that followed
Be gruesome in unspeakable ways,
And so I fear my tongue will be stayed
From telling the worst, in decency.
But on that bloody day of cruelty,
Though the dead did bravely defend,
Fewer did live than those whose blood
Now nourish the worms in the ground.
By the words of the southern few who did remain,
The fallen troop be hoisted up for display,
Though the offender Atreyu be not found.
Beneath the oaken timbers, the dying be strung
Seeping scarlet, as did swing the shattered slain;
And, dyed too in a stain of crimson,
The Dog-boy from silence then did say,
"By right of conquest and chivalric law,
For Inland Ocean, now an empire made.
And from today until the world ends,
This place be known: the Hanging Gardens
of Inland Ocean."

-- The End --