The Tale of the Great Battle

A poem written for the Epic Battle Contest detailing the fall of two great armies.

It began as a wonderful day

The two generals were just wandering as they may

Under a color stained sky

That hung above the beautiful mountains, a natural lie

The comforting glow of the morning sun

Gave no hint of the damage waiting to be done

 

One general of the South and the other from the North

Both hoping they could return home with tales of victory to bring forth

But alas, it was not to be

As the  scouts were about to see

Expecting plain sandy mountain land

They were stunned to find heavily trodden sand

Both reported to their general the astonishing truth

Who thought it was simply a trick caused by their youth

 

But they still prepared their swords and shields

Not wanting to have to yield

The archers readied their fine-crafted bows

That they had fashioned during the winter snows

The arrows that would soon lay in the enemy’s troops

Were decorated with unique notches and loops

Daggers were placed on every soldier’s belt

Made of a series of pelts

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At the front of the North line stood the prince

Who had left his royalty to serve his kingdom

And had been admired since

For his courage that they interpreted as wisdom

On the front of the South line stood the famous knight

Who had worked himself up into fame

And was known for his infamous might

With a sword and his amazing bow-and-arrow aim

When the two great armies converged trying to travel through a mountain pass

They stared at each other for a brief moment

Until at last

They snapped out of their astonishment

The prince raced on his armored horse

Hoping he would survive

As he was beginning to feel remorse

He would have to fight to stay alive

The knight was battle-hardened and ready

Feeling excited by the oncoming battle

As he had won battles such as this one already

Anxious for the clash of metals

But the arrows flew first

Devastating the rushing armies

Especially the middle lines which received the worst

But still they rushed on to meet their adversaries

The clash between the two armies was monumental

With gleaming knights hacking simple peasants

Only to be claimed by pike men, which soon made the battle more than accidental

That would carve the generals into the history of the ancients

The prince brought his bodyguard of knights through the enemy's center

While the knight brought his bodyguard around the battle to the back

Both fighting with valor knowing they were their army's mentor

And influenced every swipe and hack

Men from all walks of life fell dead all over the ground

As arrows silenced knights that hadn't even touched the enemy's swords

Causing men to constantly fall down

Though the living kept on fighting, hoping for an honorable reward

Long sword fights broke out

Where knights constantly thrust and hacked and blocked

Some from extreme exhaustion actually had blackouts

Even the sane fighters were slaughtered as they walked

The prince drove his knights through the enemy's heart

Killing whoever was in his way

Ending the fight before it could start

Trampling his previous victims where they lay

The knight however, was not having as much luck

And was forced to retreat after most of his body guards were killed

After galloping into pikes or tripping in the battlefield muck

Although it was against what he willed

Both forces were quickly losing men

And hastened their attack

Though their losses were not something they could mend

But still they pushed on, because for courage, they had a nack

As the South was about to lead a powerful charge

They were shocked as their leader fell off his horse with an arrow in the back of his body

And they noticed the archer had hidden in a bush as he was not very large

And immediately they thought of the knight's strategy as a folly

But a Southern archer had taken advantage and shot at the North prince

And the same thing happened to the prince except in the front

The North soldiers couldn't help but wince

As they noticed this was going to be much more that a leisurely saunt

Both sides charged at each other

Clashing once again, renewed with vengeful feelings

As they pitted sword against armor or leather

Every troop reeling

The fighting wore on for the rest of the day

Until it was about to be ended by a small group of Northern swordsmen

Who rushed the enemy's side, paving the rest of the army's way

When they ran into an elite unit of pike men

But still they fought on into the evening sky

Going down almost at every second

Not even pausing to moan or sigh

Even though their demise was reckoned

Until finally there stood only one soldier left; a pike man

Who fell shortly after his comrades

Falling into the battlefield sands

And died after becoming extremely mad

Then there it lay

The battlefield ground

Not showing any motion from earlier in the day

Not even emitting a sound

But evidence was strewn all over it

That valiant men had died there

So the darkness could be lit

And that their country could be safe and aware