The Warrior
In the dark days . . .
In the land we now call Germany
A prophecy was heard.
In this kingdom reigned King Ironstone,
Kind-hearted despite his name,
And his Queen, the lovely Ardora,
Whose beauty was her fame.
The sage burned incense; cast his dice,
And muttered his incantation.
He studied the stars, then spoke to the king,
"There will come in this generation
A child of wisdom, courage and strength;
A champion to us all
Who will stand and fight relentlessly
Till the last of our enemies fall."
The King and the Queen were Pleased by this
For her Majesty was with child.
The prophecy was to be fulfilled
In only a short while.
But came the day the babe was born
The king was sorely vexed.
For his Queen had borne him not a son,
But a child of the fairer sex.
"What means this?" the King inquired,
"You said we would have a son!"
"Nay, my King," the Sage replied,
"I said a champion.
This little daughter that you hold
Will one day rise to power,
To deliver us from our enemies
In our Kingdom's darkest hour."
And oh, what a beautiful child she was,
With hair of shining gold,
And eyes as green as the endless sea,
That could penetrate your soul.
Her strong little fingers grabbed a hold
Of the King's and held on tight;
Foretelling the strength that would one day be hers
When the time would come to fight.
He named the Princess Kree-Lah,
For in the ancient tongue,
"Kree" was the word for "warrior"
And "Lah" meant "Battle-won".
"such a masculine name," the Queen remarked,
But the King's decision would stand.
"She'll earn the name, the prophecy says,
Even though it's the name of a man."
As the child grew, she learned the ways
Of politics and war,
For the King and Queen would not forget
What the prophecy held in store.
So while her mother taught her how
To play the lute and dance,
Her father taught her how to fight
With bow, and sword, and lance.
Then one day the Sage grew grim,
For the dice and stars foretold
That warriors from the North would come
In search of slaves and gold.
And the swords of the King and all his men
Would be of no avail.
For the enemy wore plate armor,
The King's men wore chain mail.
Kree-Lah, upon hearing this,
Saddled her fine horse,
And taking few belongings
Set off on an unknown course.
The kingdom could but wonder
Where their Princess planned to go
Or when, if ever, she would return.
She hadn't let them know.
She journeyed toward a distant land,
Down by the windswept sea
To a town the sage had told her of
Where she would find what she would need.
She wore her leather armor,
And carried her bow and sword.
She traveled by the high road
To a village by the shore.
As she entered town, she was beset
By two ruffians who had planned
To take her body for their pleasure.
But before they could raise a hand
Her sword flashed brightly in the sun
In gleaming arcs about her head.
She left the hoodlums in the street
One handless . . .
The other dead.
An old man, having seen her feat
Called "hallo," and bid her "come,"
Saying "I have heard the prophecy,
And you must be the One."
She said, "You look just like my Sage,
Enough to be his brother."
He smiled at that, and said to her
"Indeed, I am no other."
"Know you then why it is I come?"
She asked, and he said "Indeed.
Look you here within my shop
And you will find just what you need."
The old man crafted weapons
As fine as were ever made
And hanging there from every the wall
Were examples of his trade.
She saw a sword unlike to any
She had ever seen.
The steely point was needle-sharp;
Its blade was razor-keen.
"Against such a blade," the old man spoke,
"No armor can prevail.
This needle point will fit through chinks
In the finest plate or mail."
"But use it not to block a stroke,
Lest you break its slender blade.
Take this shield, for it is among
The finest ever made."
She took the shield and held it up.
She judged its balance and weight.
She held the sword with confidence
And left to seek her fate.
And when at last, she neared her home
And topped the final hill,
She gazed o'er the valley from which she had roamed
And felt a sudden chill.
For camped about her city
Was the army from the north,
Laying siege; allowing none
To enter or go forth.
She'd made her mind up long ago.
She knew what she must do.
She checked her weapons one more time
And rode into full view.
When the camp had seen her,
The word spread quickly 'round
That a woman dressed in fighting gear
Was riding toward the town.
The king of the northern warriors
Said, "Fetch that wench to me!"
He sent two warriors riding out
To bring her hastily.
The northern warriors watched with mirth
As their comrades neared the girl.
The army gasped its breath as one
When her flashing blade did whirl.
Twice the silvery needle flicked
And the two men fell as one.
The valley echoed with the army's shouts
When they'd seen what she had done.
Then silence fell . . .
And called out to the northern king
To face her one to one.
A roar of laughter issued from
The men of the northern troop,
To think of a woman daring to face
The leader of their group.
But the northern king saw little humor
At the gall of this young thing
Who would dare to challenge in single combat
Such a mighty warrior king.
"I'll teach her a lesson!" he roared in rage
As he grabbed his sword and shield.
He mounted his horse and galloped away
Onto the battlefield.
He halted his horse with a jerk of the reins
When he reached Kree-Lah's position.
She spoke, "Warrior king, if you be a man,
I'll make you a proposition.
"I'll stand as champion of my kingdom
If you will champion yours.
If I should win, Your army leaves.
If you win . . .
The northern king smiled, and repeated this
In a voice that all could hear,
And from the ranks of his army
There arose a thunderous cheer.
For the men all knew their king would make
Short work of this young maid,
And they would win the city
Without even raising a blade.
But from the top of the city wall
Rang out a loud "hurrah!"
For Kree-Lah's people were watching, too,
And they cheered, "Kree-Lah! Kree-Lah!"
Now king and princess both dismounted,
And faced each other, ready.
The warrior king felt calm . . .
Kree-Lah stood brave and steady.
Like lightning without warning
The battle was begun.
The two swords looked like silver blurs
In the radiance of the sun.
The northern king was soon amazed
By the skill of his fair opponent.
Try as he would, he could find no hole
In her guard at any moment.
Her shield would dart, too fast to see,
Blocking every move he made.
The speed of her shield rivaled only by
Her flashing silvery blade.
The king had always been confident
In the armor that he wore,
But now . . .
Looked down
Somehow that cursed woman's blade
Had searched and found a chink.
And again!
He felt the needle-like blade
In his arm where two plates linked.
And now the silvery needle cut
The skin above his eye.
He was blinded by the flow of blood,
And tried to wipe it dry.
And in that awful moment
He saw the fatal needle dart
Underneath his upraised arm
Through his armpit to his heart.
Kree-Lah saw his face go blank.
The sword fell from his grasp.
He toppled slowly forward
And lay face down in the grass.
Then from the northern army's camp
The battle-cry was heard.
For they had no intention
To honor their dead King's word.
Then the city walls flew open!
King Ironstone's men charged!
Shouting the battle-cry "Kree-Lah!"
Their numbers seemed enlarged.
The northern army stood leaderless.
Their warrior king lay dead.
So at the sight of Ironstone's charge
They turned on their heels and fled.
There was feasting in the halls that night
And dancing in the streets.
The troubadours sang joyfully
Of Kree-Lah's mighty feats.
And Ironstone stood on the balcony
Overlooking the town below,
And asked his wife to forgive him
For wanting a son so long ago . . .
Copyright 1989 Randolph J. Sadewater
Watch this site for the further adventures of Kree-Lah
Lost to History . . .
Before the Written word . . .
And she sat her horse . . .
In the brilliant noon-day sun
I am yours . . . "
Assured . . .
he felt
a trickle of blood,
at his legs . . .
And swore!
On to the Second Adventure! Kree-Lah's Stand
The Third Adventure! Kree-Lah's Quest
The Highwayman
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