Taste of Flowers

This has the same story content as Misty Mountains, but I like to imagine it as the "court" version for when he has to display his art (because he can, even if most his repertoire is dick jokes)

The night was warm, oh, and the stars were bright

Don't call me a liar when I say she was the fairest I'd seen

I was on stage, but she was in the spotlight

Her curly hair set my heart on fire

Her eyes were forests to get lost in

She took my hand

She beckoned "come with me" but I would've followed her anywhere

To the ends of the earth, and more if she asked

If she'd just kiss the taste of summer flowers onto my lips

And she did back then

She took my hand, through the crowds and their eddied delights

The Tea House* shone with the gleam of diamonds

My mind sang and soared to a whole new height

I found my new religion that day

In my universe there now existed new horizons

She smiled at me

She said "take a trip with me" but I was already peaking

She lifted the teacup to my lips like honey dripping

I was rosy-gazed with my head in the clouds

As she led me to the taste of flowers on my tongue

And we did it so well

I let it take me without a taste of fight

No blood welled upon these lips petal-touched

Just as others, who as with birds' flight

Brushed against mine for a taste of their own

Then without my notice my sentence was judged

She left me

She said nothing until I was already alone

A heart once soaring fell like a stone

She left Misty eyed and high and proud

And left me with the acrid taste of flowers in my mouth

And I wished I hadn't noticed

Yet candied ichor still did ignite

The songs in my soul like a raging fire

And so I let it consume every other appetite

To forget sins steeped in petals divine

I willed to live instead for my fevered desire

They loved me

They said "sing us one more" but my head was spinning

I reached for an empty teacup that once was brimming

Once king of the crowds, now of empty sounds

Desperate, with the taste of flowers on my mind

And I felt so lost

However roads from home may seem infinite

And with bitter orphic tune the paths do blur

The journey is long to truths erudite

And sweet melody is found in dark directions

Whether raconteur or simple flaneur

So come with me

Let me enchant you with the tune of my longing

It's not all that hard to drown in a sip-song and

The pleasure is worth the heartache, as you will find

With the taste of flowers on your mind

And you'll hear my music

Author's Note

In the campaign Dorian first comes alive within, "Tea Houses" were entertainment houses found throughout the world, and were an eclectic combination of brothel, drug den, playhouse, and geisha house (in that they were a place to experience culture and tradition in a relaxed atmosphere).