Day of the Dragon Rider
A Poem by
Nancy Lee Shrader
Day of the Dragon Riders
Destiny of the Dragon Rider Will soon bring back the day Filling the skies with her fiery breath Rider and dragon, their destiny found All that is evil will find their death Princess Malondra meanders Through the winding halls Of Castle Dark Listening to the echoes Haunting her in the dark Once it was a peaceful palace Known as Castle Blair She alone is all that’s left alive Of the long lineage of Blair No one else could survive Her father King Armaiss Died at the hands Of the Dark Prince’s sword Queen Helena’s hand he craved And he would be her lord Her refusal sent him into a rage And he stoked the fire blazing hot Her mother burned at the stake In the court yard below Her grandmother’s heart did brake Grandmother’s heart failed As she watched her daughter burn Leaving six year old Malondra … and Brother Zander, her twin Zander sold as slave far across the sand Her older brother Braden Was beheaded before her eyes His blood splattered on her dress And then seeped into the ground Her screams she could not suppress Dark Prince glared, his eyes burning into hers She had her mother’s smile … and Lust burned in his eyes His spinney fingers held her face As he noted her sparkling blue eyes You will grow my dear, he said Soon you'll be in full bloom of womanhood And you will be my captive and sit here by my side His evil laugh made her cry All she could do was run and hide her world had gone awry Dark Prince had claimed her As his princess bride He’d turn her pure heart black On the day she comes of age Or his whip he’d crack Days turned into months … and Months turned into years One more month and she’d be his wife To ravage and destroy And take what was left of her haunted life Malondra walks alone Out on the tower ledge Praying that her foot might slip Freeing her from his evil touch So many times she had prayed to trip Still, she knows it’s wrong She is the last of the Blair’s bloodline Malondra will silently endure Longing for brother Zandar In this nightmare so obscure She knew that he must be dead When Dark Prince told her of his fate The evil Prince relished in her tears Word had been delivered Zander died in his early years Malondra will live out her days Writhing in her pain of loss Shadows filled her soul Deliverance will only come With a Rider from days of ole Malondra’s fate is set In the evil arms of the Dark Prince Held prisoner in her beloved home Her only solace in her existence Was the bird she called Jerome Jerome perched on her finger And listened when she cried Never told her she was wrong He always flew by her side ... And Lifted his gilded voice singing loud and long Until the day Dark Prince heard his song And sent out Demon his evil cat To devour her precious Jerome Demon pounced upon the singing bird Feathers is all that was left of songbird Jerome Sweet Malondra's tears fell like rain Nothing left to sooth her aching heart She knew she should have sent Jerome far away Singing to another princess somewhere Instead of the demon cat's dinner this day Once she sat at evening tide In the twilight’s afterglow Sitting on her grandmother’s knee As Grandmother whispered stories of old While she watched the barges on the sea She barely remembers the light of Castle Blair And her carefree childhood days Or the happiness she felt inside When her mother tucked her into bed No dreams since then of being a happy bride Try as she may to remember Only heartache in this place Once a glorious palace But now it is dark and dank And all eyes look on with malice Darkness fills her lonely heart As sinister shadows fall No love surrounding her, only grief Fills her aching heart All love stolen by the sinister evil thief Malondra the beautiful Crown Princess of the realm All she has is dark dreams In the midnight hour Of the Dark Prince and his evil schemes Oh the days of the Dragon Riders When dragons filled the sky above Only a fading memory of days gone by I long for them to come again She whispers with a sigh Dragon Riders once roamed the skies Flying sleek and fast on dragons bold They filled the sky’s night air Their stories prophets still tell And singing Minstrels sang with flair It was two evil dragons Hatched from their tainted eggs They swooped through the countryside Breathing fire on their kin When their flight ended all Riders had died As each Rider burned another dragon fell All hope then was vanquished And now they are no more Their blood cries out from the ground Now ends the Dragon Riders lore Once the sun ruled the sky But now dark clouds fill the air Armies of Light fought hard to no avail Darkness blotted out the blazing sun Marring her beauty pale Malondra dreams of a Rider by night Her unceasing prayers heard each day Grandmother Darlama told her the wondrous tale Of how Riders and their dragons flew guard Through mountains, valleys and in the vale They perched by day on the cliffs Surrounding Castle Blair She listened to the tale upon her grandmother's knee As each mystical story filled her brain She now asked the gods to grant a final decree Malondra saw it unfold within her mind All the mysteries of the vast unknown And she put it to memory there Locked safely away for all time … And Nightly her prayers drift up from Castle Blair She dared not utter her prayers aloud For fear of the Dark Prince’s rage So silently, so silently she used her inner voice She prayed for the return of the Dragon Riders And for that day she would rejoice They would be for her protection And for all those she loved Flying over the sea into her mystic realm In her dreams she sees Great Poseidon standing at the helm She calls out to the gods With one final heartfelt prayer To bring back the Riders’ day To save her from the Dark Prince Then hung her head in dismay There wasn’t enough time Her wedding approached on the month's marrow Malondra fled to her balcony in tears Her upcoming nuptials And all she feared throughout the years She felt the constant pain that Loomed heavy on her heart For she knew so well The dark heart of the Prince Would burn her heart in his evil spell Yes it would burn … and then Enter her soul and turn her as evil As all the wickedness she abhor She would no longer be Herself anymore The princess of light consumed in the ash With a dark heart beating coldly in her chest Her memories all gone, completely wiped away No whispered prayers coming from her lips All her people she would betray Malondra’s heart cried out in pain She uttered one final prayer And it floated high on the wind Far into the sky past all the dark clouds Back to the gods where all things transcend Her prayer was heard on Mount Olympus Lord Zeus raised his thunderbolt to the sky Malondra heard a loud voice as thunder roared Dragon awaken call your Rider to your side Obey my voice I am Zeus your lord Time of the Dragon Rider has come full circle round Bless this land with your Rider’s heart Complete yourself with your dragon strong And forever end the Dark Prince’s reign Free my people and right all that’s wrong In the stillness of night An egg of golden embers glow Its fiery cinders sent down to the earth below By the god of fire, days of the dragon will rule Rider, feel your dragon’s heart aglow Your dragon has waited a thousand years for this day For you its rider to finally come of age You’ll find her buried in the darkest cave Safe from the Shape Shifter’s sword Deep in her chest beats a bold heart that’s brave She’s now small and vulnerable But that will soon change Her strength will be the force That will carry you on this quest You’ll defeat evil if you always stay the course She’ll hatch and grow in the space of a month She’ll learn to fly sleek and fast … And She’ll destroy evil with her fiery breath With her help you will succeed And the evil Dark Prince will find his death She’ll fly through the air burning her mark Wherever she goes you her rider will hold her reigns Guiding her on this quest to free princess fair From Castle Dark and bring back her youthful smile This I decree because of Malondra’s prayer Christian the bold hunts by night in darkest wood Straight arrows flashing through the air Finding the heart of his prey Not fearing the Dark Prince’s rage The bravest of lads to his mother’s dismay His mother Alaina kept him safe through the years Guarding his identity keeping secret his father’s name She had suffered starvation from the day of his birth But his Riders heart has finally emerged And now he takes good aim without girth By the light of the moon Christian takes home his prize Starvation, no longer a word is his vocabulary His hunting skills are finely attuned In sync with darkest night His eyes blaze under the yellow moon Like fiery embers burning in the night Christian’s heart beats as one with the glowing egg Time has come for the Rider and dragon to unite Taking their place as defenders of the realm And dragon’s hot breath will soon ignite Christian is drawn through the darkest wood To the cave’s in the Forest Black He feels the pull of his dragon’s heart at his flank And stumbling on he finds his way To the cave so dark and dank Although he knows not why He follows the glowing beacon … As His Rider’s heart urges him onward He crouches low in the shadows Like on a hunt following the herd Finally he’s standing in front of the cave Christian’s Rider’s heart beats in his chest With jagged breath he ventures inside Following the golden glow of the egg With swift feet he walks with pride Christian observes the glowing egg It throbs beneath his touch Young dragon hatches and hearts beat as one Christian’s young and still unsure His father’s ghost whispers, It’s time my son Christian knows the dragon tales From the stories in his youth He now remembers his mother’s declaration That he was his father’s son and heir And one day he would cleave to his life’s station You are destined for great things my son His father’s voice spoke from the grave Christian now understood, he’s a Dragon Rider of the dawn Brave and true his father’s ghost spoke to his mind “My son, with your brave Rider’s heart you’ll now carry on” Spirit of the Dragon Rider whispered to his soul Young Christian, young dragon together in the cave In the space of month you’ll both remain While your infant dragon grows sleek and strong Feed and care for her and don’t let my death be in vain Young dragon soon ventures out of the safety of the cave A new world to explore and taste along the way Together they romp through meadows green Smelling the wild flowers and playing in the spring rain Young Christian feasts on berries and venison a fine cuisine Young dragon eats his fill of rodents in the cave Then dines on squirrels, rabbits and anything that moves She swallows them whole in the blink of an eye Storing up food that will make her grow strong And be the dragon brave and bold, on her his Rider will rely In one swift moment her wings take flight Now her metamorphosis begins in midair She streaks through the sky, a beautiful sight With lightning speed her dragon heart beats fast Christian holds his Rider’s breath, as he gazes with delight Christian views her transformation No longer the infant from the egg She’ll be a giant of the sky swift and renowned She swoops down to the earth with wings outspread Landing at Christian’s feet with earthquake sound Shaking the ground under his feet Her silent voice speaks from her mind to his My name is Andromeda and I’ve waited so long Deep in the cave a thousand years I’ve waited for you Our destiny is to right all that is wrong Now I’m your dragon and you my Rider bold Climb upon my back and together we’ll soar Throughout the endless sky in defense of the realm We'll destroy the ship of the Dark Prince As his dark heart stands at the helm We’ll avenge all the Dragon Riders who came before Lucifer fear my fiery breath, we take back Castle Blair Christian’s young eyes saw the skies open wide As flashes of lightning streaked across the sky A miracle occurred and it couldn’t be denied Zeus called down thunder, lightning exploded in the air Thunderbolt in his right hand and fire from his fingertips Lightning and thunder’s deafening cracks Rips open the night sky in the blink of an eye Torrents of rain pelt the ground below as Zeus rears back Great Zeus let loose with a single mighty thrust Sending a searing fire to earth to make his mark On this Dragon Rider’s heart and the blinding light Fills young Christian’s eyes and in a single moment of pain Scales fell from his childlike eyes revealing a Rider’s sight Christian felt the burn as lightning flashed From Zeus’s right hand burning the Rider’s mark Deep into his chest over his righteous heart within A blazing heart above his now beats with truth and right He hears it thumping hard against his skin With the mark of the Rider Christian’s destiny is known He and his dragon now will make things right They will free the kingdom and all that is therein And win back the throne for the Princess of the realm Christian on Andromeda will rid the world of Evil’s sin Christian the Rider is one with his dragon Andromeda will forever be one with her Rider Now the Dark Prince’s plot is no longer unknown Christian takes his place upon Andromeda’s back She spread her wings, now they take back the throne Into the night sky dragon and her Rider flew Christian looked down and beheld Castle Dark below Malondra’s beauty glowed within his eyes so bold Christian beheld her beautiful face from high in the sky Malondra the fair princess was a sight to behold High on the balcony Malondra stood gazing at the stars She gasps as she saw the dragon’s form take shape Its silhouette outlined against the full yellow moon Her pure heart filled with joy as she stood so very still Her prayers had been answered on this clear night in June Andromeda swooped low as Christian’s hand brushed her cheek She is my destiny my everything and my reason for being Andromeda heard his silent voice speak to her mind’s ear He told of a love that was ordained from the beginning of time My Rider, the princess holds your heart now she’s nothing to fear Out of the darkness the Dark Prince appeared And covered her with his cloak pulling her near He would never release her and would fight to the death To retain his dark realm and his princess fair … But Andromeda will consume his wickedness with her fiery breath He lowered the drawbridge rode his evil steed into the night Now clothed in battle armor and prepared for war Christian’s inner voice spoke and Andromeda swooped low With one blast of her fiery breath the drawbridge was in flames Another fiery blast and she torched the earth below Battle lines now drawn Dark Prince called out his worst Then out of the darkness the Shape Shifters rode in on black steeds One moment they were men and in the next lions held the reins Gnashing teeth could be seen and their tails a serpents head In one hand they held fiery swords and in the other were binding chains Soon the armies of light joined the fight to the death Marching in rank they came from the north and the south Word of the Dragon Rider had spread throughout the land Riding fast, more came from the east and from the west Mountains high and valleys low and far across the sand From forest hideaways and farms they marched without fear Carrying pitchforks and axes shovels and spears Face to face with the beasts calling out the Dark Prince’s name Lucifer, the day of the Dragon Rider has returned Your days are numbered, now comes the end of your evil game Swords now drawn flashing in the noon day sun A blast from the breath of Zeus dark clouds separated The gleaming sun shined through, blinding their evil foe The battle raged on, but soon the Victor the spoil Evil’s army doomed to defeat as Andromeda swooped low A fight to the death Christian’s inner voice spoke once more Andromeda’s flame destroyed the army of lions in a single blast Gomez the Shape Shifter lord invoked his shifting power Changing his form growing taller than mountains … And Dagger like spines emerged from his back in the last hour His head transformed with the evilest of looks … And His spear like teeth glistened in the afternoon sun The furnace within him came out with his breath Young Christian’s eyes beheld this horrible sight … And He and Andromeda knew it would be a fight to the death Christian drew his sword Andromeda roared Her furnace burned, fueled by the purest of hearts Fire filled her nostrils as she and her Rider took flight Gomez suddenly grew wings, an evil dragon he became Exposed now the blackest of hearts, a real fearsome sight Nothing more evil had ever drawn breath in the Lucifer’s hordes Gomez the dark dragon flapped his evil wings and took flight Dark Prince glared into the sky from the ground More Shape Shifters arrived from the north in full serpent form And from their forked tongues screeched the most horrible sound They were the scourge of the Dark Realm Marching to do battle with the armies of Light Their evil hearts burned with the hatred for all of mankind The sinister Dark Prince had trained them well in all things evil Within their evil eyes they had the power to strike a man blind These serpents held off the armies of Light, giving Gomez time In a single brief moment, Gomez flew high in the sky Evil, ready to bring an untimely end to the first Dragon Rider Invisible to the naked eye Gomez blew his fiery breath Four barbs on his chest contained venom like a Spider Andromeda had a few tricks of her own and she sucked in the air And she too did grow larger much larger than Gomez Andromeda’s fiery breath blew hot sealing Evil’s fate A fatal error, Gomez didn’t note Christian’s all seeing eye Christian’s Rider’s eyes saw through Gomez’s invisible state By Christian’s guidance Andromeda swooped in fast Christian drew his virtuous sword and grazed Gomez's black heart Andromeda sucked in air and she blew her fiery breath Her breath burned hot nearly melting his evil heart Rendering Gomez on the verge of death One final burst of strength, Evil dragon retaliates He’s pushed back again and again By Christian’s righteous swift sword Sword finds its mark plunged deep into his black heart And he explodes in the air, gone now the dark lord Falling in pieces to the ground Andromeda roars as she swoops low Last of the evil army burned in her flame Christian and Andromeda victors of the day Dark Prince only has himself to blame With her dragon claws Andromeda grasps him up out of the land She flies to darkest sea looks down beneath a wave Christian’s inner voice speaks Drop him to his watery grave Good Poseidon, god of the sea imprisons the Dark Prince And stands ready to lock the gate Beneath the swelling waves for one thousand years He’ll pace inside his cage awaiting another day From his dark prison he hears all the applauding cheers Lucifer bellows from his watery grave He curses the Rider and his dragon bold He swore to return with all his rage Hissing and spitting calling Christian's name My day will come it's foretold by the Sage When Dragon Riders are no more And darkness again reigns supreme I’ll come back to Castle Blair And take back the realm and all I survey Again I’ll claim my bride your daughter fair With a swift thrust of his sword Christian bolts Lucifer's prison door You'll never be released from this cage You aren't the only one Who has heard the words of the Sage Christian speaks to Andromeda's mind Carry me to Malondra and Castle Blair This day your Rider will ask for her hand A happy bride she'll be on her wedding day And together we'll reign in this war torn land Princess Malondra whispers his name Christian you are now my king Together we’ll walk down the aisle Joining our hearts as one Andromeda couldn’t help but smile Christian laid his lovely bride Upon their marriage bed To consummate their love at last Fireworks explode in the night sky as Andromeda’s fiery breath erupts flying strong and fast One short year later in the realm King Christian sits on his throne He calls Andromeda to his side From the mountain where she’s standing guard He calls for more fireworks as the constellations collide Andromeda stands before the throne With his silent voice Christian speaks From his mind to hers the first dragon in the land Another egg awaits to hatch another Rider has just been born Your numbers will soon be complete, now go at my command The great god Zeus has declared this hatchling is a male So soon Andromeda you’ll have a mate And many more dragons will fill the night skies The day of the Dragon Rider has only just begun And the realm had found its prize Dragons will live forever in this war torn land Fighting for right and justice and their fellowman Because within the heart of each dragon beats a Rider true I draw my righteous sword and declare this very day You’re the Queen of the dragons, this title I now bestow on you Fly high my Dragon Queen Royalty now graces your name Queen Andromeda, take your place in the stars You'll live in the heavens for centuries to come Stand proud Dragon Queen and display your battle scars Day of the Dragon Rider lives longer than a day Throughout the millenniums, generations will know your name You're Queen Andromeda the greatest dragon in the realm Minstrels everywhere will sing their songs about you You're this Captain's ship I'm proud to stand at your helm Andromeda! Andromeda! Andromeda Dragon Queen of the realm Our destinies collide I’m your rider ... And Soon another dragon will fight by your side
By Nancy Lee Shrader © 2009 Nancy Lee Shrader (All rights reserved)
© 2009 Nancy Lee Shrader
Reviews
Dear Nancy Lee,
Wonderful poem and epic story. Congratulations for taking first prize for best poem in Albert's "DESTINY" contest. A well deserved award.
Best regards,
Rick
Posted 14 Years Ago
Lovely! interesting story!
Posted 14 Years Ago
Lovely! interesting story!
A very enchanting and exciting tale!
Posted 14 Years Ago
A very enchanting and exciting tale!
All I can say about this piece is WOW WOW WOW FANTASTIC!!!
Posted 14 Years Ago
All I can say about this piece is WOW WOW WOW FANTASTIC!!!
all i can say is one word... WOW! this poem is great!
Posted 14 Years Ago
all i can say is one word... WOW! this poem is great!
This is an amazing illistration of the fight between good and evil. One of my favorites.
Posted 14 Years Ago
This is an amazing illistration of the fight between good and evil. One of my favorites.
Greatly enjoyed. You do an amazing job of writing.
Posted 15 Years Ago
Greatly enjoyed. You do an amazing job of writing.
1 of 1 people found this review constructive.
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1639 Views
7 Reviews
Shelved in 3 Libraries
Added on March 5, 2009
Last Updated on December 17, 2009
Author
Nancy Lee Shrader Beckley, WV
About
Nancy Lee Shrader resides in Beckley, West Virginia. She is author of three books IS IT NOW? The End of Days! IS HE MESSIAH? Messianic Prophecies Revealed! And The Curse of Mayweather House Nancy Lee ..
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Writing