The Knight and Necromancer

Now the tale that I shall tell you is a tale both strange and true
Of dragons, knights and daring deeds that shaped our world anew
Of brave Sir Lestor, and Sir Simeon, and how their friendship waned
And how the blood of man and beast upon the grasslands rained.

Sir Lestor and Sir Simeon, they were the best of friends
They trained as knights together, and they both achieved their ends
And then afterwards they wondered how to help good folk the best
So they gathered soldiers to them and attacked a dragon's nest.

Sir Lestor was a mighty knight, a knight both bold and brave
Yet his fearlessness in combat sent so many to their grave
And his hatred both of dragons and of necromancers vile
Was as widely known as he was, and their deaths would make him smile.

Sir Simeon was a calmer knight, with brains as well as brawn
And he left Sir Lestor's band of men before the crack of dawn
For he had no wish to hunt a beast that never did him harm
And the bloodlust in Sir Lestor's eyes had filled him with alarm.

So Sir Simeon travelled far abroad, and wandered far and wide
But he never forgot Sir Lestor, however hard he tried
And after seven years had passed, he thought perhaps he may
Go and see how well his friend had fared so very far away.

Sir Simeon's luck ran out while he was on the voyage home
A storm blew up and sank his ship and left him quite alone
He reached an empty island with no rocks or trees to climb
And no means of getting off, so we must leave him for a time.

Across the world Sir Lestor was already much renowned
As a mighty slayer of dragons, and any death mage that he found
But he often thought about his friend who left so long ago
And he wished that he could see him as he trampled through the snow

He had heard of other dragons, and this time a mighty pack
He'd been paid gold to destroy them, and there was no turning back
Sir Lestor led his company – by now some thousand strong –
To the grasslands 'neath the cave the pack had lived in for so long

The battle it was fearsome and it looked like none would win
Then Sir Lestor had a notion both unchivalrous and grim
He led his toughest soldiers through a fight most fierce and wild
And when this fight was over he had chained a dragon child

That child was ne'er recovered, though every dragon tried
Until their blood had soaked the grasslands and the bulk of them had died
And a smile came to Sir Lestor's lips with every dragon scream
For the less there were the better, which was why he'd formed his team.

Now Sir Simeon had been busy, even ere this all began
He'd explored the island back to front and thought he had a plan
Though he could remain forever, since he had both drink and food
But a knight is only happy when he's out there doing good.

So he gathered logs aplenty and began to build a boat
And he sealed the logs with tree sap to ensure the thing would float
But before he got to try it, he thought he heard a sound
And explored until he found a woman kneeling on the ground.

He saw her jet black tresses, and her lovely heart-shaped face
He saw her eyes that caught him, and then froze him there in place
Then he saw the pale white skin, and the staff carved out of bone
And he saw she was a necromancer, kneeling all alone.

She said her name was Kezia and she'd journeyed from her land
In search of seashells black and whole among the Silver Sand
But she'd been attacked by pirates and although she'd got away
She'd been hurt upon escaping, yet had flown for half a day.

A gentle growl from o'er his shoulder caused Sir Simeon to turn
And he looked upon a dragon as he felt its hot breath burn
But Kezia stayed his hand before it scrabbled for his sword
And said the dragon's name was Isacor, just as the dragon roared.

She explained how she had found him when he was in the nest alone
Though they never found his parents, the nest was full of bones
She'd left him among his own kind, and he'd tracked her down one day
Some five or six years later, and he was with her now to stay.

Then she said that they could take him off this gods-forsaken isle
And Sir Simeon accepted, so they flew for quite a while
Hours passed on hours 'til they finally saw land
But they found when they arrived that they were in a soldier's band.

It was late the following morning when Sir Simeon heard the yell
Of his good old friend Sir Lestor, and he begged the man to tell
Just what he had been doing since Sir Simeon departed
And Sir Lestor told about the human-dragon war he'd started.

His eyes shone bright with bloodlust as he boasted of his kills
How he'd fought and slain and battled all the vile beasts until
There were none left from here to there, not in this lonely land
This settlement would be the last to fall to his valiant band.

Then Sir Lestor took Sir Simeon to see the dragon child
And they watched it cry in loneliness which made Sir Lestor smile
He said how bards and minstrels sang in all their songs most fair
Of Sir Lestor and the dragons, then he saw Kezia standing there.

He did not see her jet black tresses, nor her lovely heart-shaped face
He did not see the eyes that stared him down like he was in disgrace
He only saw the pale white skin, and the staff carved out of bone
And his hatred sent him crazy, and he drove them from his home.

Late at night they went exploring and they met the dragon lord
And were very nearly slain as the fearsome creature roared
But Isacor then stepped between them and he managed to explain
That the knight and necromancer would not thwart the dragons' reign.

So the humans stayed within the cave, and out of the dragons' way
Until a juvenile flew in upon a broken wing one day
He said that he'd been playing, and had barely learned to fly
But had gone outside to practise and was shot out of the sky.

Then the knight and necromancer looked each other in the eye
For they knew (but ne'er would say it) that the dragons could not die
And so late that very evening when the sky was black as black
They snuck into Sir Lestor's home and stole the dragon back.

The fight was raw and savage 'twixt the dragons and the men
And it still seemed more than likely man would win the day again
But when Sir Lestor burst into the room where dragon child had laid
He found it bare and empty, and then knew he'd been betrayed.

As he charged out to the battle, he found Sir Simeon there
And he felt a kind of lowly dread as he met his best friend's stare
"Forgive me," said Sir Simeon as a tear hung from his eye
"But if the dragon lord should catch you, he would never let you die."

Sir Simeon thrust his blade home, his aim both sure and true
And Sir Lestor was so stunned that there was nothing he could do
But Sir Simeon knew that what he did was something true and good
For a human may kill swiftly, but a dragon never would.

Sir Simeon went to Kezia, inside the dragons' cave
And their thoughts were both fixated on the men they couldn't save
While Isacor lay curled around, so no one should forget
That the humans he was guarding had destroyed the others' threat

Sir Simeon stood there looking on, with tears that burned his eyes
As he wished with all his heart the soldiers didn't have to die
Then he looked across at Kezia, and remembered all he'd learned
And the knight and necromancer watched while all the valley burned.

But Sir Lestor lay there dying, and he knew right to the end
That the knight who had destroyed him was his once most trusted friend.
So now tell me who was greater, when all is said and done
The knight who killed for mercy, or the knight who killed for fun?