Balladeer Aeronwy Caddick's Body of Work

[Loops]

[A rare few works of Aeronwy Caddick, Balladeer of the Grandmaster Elizabetha d'Auvergne, that perhaps may be glimpsed amidst the storied arcades of the College of the Lost Hearth.]

Mourning Dove

Amidst the drifts of ash, where shadows claim the remnants of a world that once did bloom...
My heart finds sanctuary in a name I dare not utter,
My Mourning Dove, aflutter--
Amidst despair and gloom.

Thou perchest high upon the Krak des Roses,
A spectre of the dawn, so fair and fleet.
Thine eyes, like orbs of day, mine soul encloses.
In every furtive glance, our spirits meet.

O' Mourning Dove, thy tears for knights that fell,
Thy Lyrist hero, lost to war's cruel tides.
Within thy grief, a love thou dared not tell,
Beneath thy holy veils, where sorrow hides.

Let us speak not of the love that dare not sing--
In silent vows, what hearts doth bring.
With every sunrise, thou art with me still,
In whispered winds that cross that barren hill.

Though bound by sacred oath to tread apart,
Thine image weaves itself within my heart.
For thou art the dove, and I, the shadowed knight.
Together yet apart, in fading light.

This love, unspoken-- through the ages unknown,
In cloistered halls and sandy wastes, alone--
I write these lines to skies both dark and dove.
A paean to the silent flight of love.

[Loops]

In Mem'ry

In realms beyond, a city cast,
By shadow's tide, her fate is past.
A million bodies silent there,
Lost to dark, without a care.

The remaining souls on winding ways,
Their flick'ring hope begins to sway.
And under that demon sun's cruel light,
What doth fate bring to endless night?

In mem'ry of a youth, a maid so rare,
A dream of Paradise beyond despair.
Each bitter step, the struggle won,
A brighter dawn for children to come.

Through doom I march, undone by strife,
Dashed upon the rocks of life.
Alone, I fall on shattered stone,
My hands in ash, lost and alone.

And wicked weeds consume my heart,
'Till piece by piece I'm torn apart.
These twisted vines my heart confine,
As petals break and fates align.

Yet from this fall a bloom shall rise,
A rose to meet the morning skies.
For man and maid, and child unborn,
A brighter world where hope is sworn.

That mem'ry still-- a youth, a maid so rare,
To dream of Paradise beyond despair.
Each damned step, a journey done,
To brighter days for those to come.

[Loops]

Dream On

I behold the ruins of Ephia's Well,
There Pra'raj's harsh grip dost dwell;
Tales of Knights Cinquefoil 'ere told,
Whose valour shone as brightly gold.

Without their strength, thou would have known,
The sands' cruel thirst, thine life o'erthrown.
Those gallant bannerets, in armour clad,
Strived against that darkly spawned dyad.

With sword and shield, they cleaved the way,
Through godless lands, where shadows sway.
They rallied souls of fire and fate--
To arms, to stand afore that gate.

That old, rosy gate held fast and true,
Whence blood and ash in promise grew--
A promise for all, of worth unbound,
Sanctuary and grace to be found.

A place of green, of shelter fair,
Verdant boughs for all to share.
What of it now? What of it, then?
I gaze around and recall again--

Their pledge of a realm free and bright,
All kin and creed may dwell wi'out blight.
O' Knights Cinquefoil, in slumber deep,
Dream on in peace; your vow we keep.

For we, the heirs of your valour true,
Shall bear your banner, as you well knew.
With pride, we'll fight and hold this land,
As once ye stood, thine sword in hand.