Have you ever been to Treblinka?
It's a beautiful place- a small, rundown train station lead to by what was once train tracks, but after all this time resembles a giant's game of skip-stones. From the station you enter a small clearing, filled with silence and the memorial of its namesake: hundreds, maybe thousands of stones, each one representing a community that was exterminated- the larger the community was, the bigger the stone.
The largest ones had the names of the community they represent engraved on them, but others are far too small to write anything on. Those communities won't be remembered even by name, much less by the individual
Far, far beyond the mountains
In the land of dark and twilight
Where the fairy tales reside
What doesn't live can never die.
In that broken kingdom rules
An ancient man so harsh and cruel,
There he sits upon his throne
A haggard pile of skin and bones.
He never sleeps, he never rests
Always waiting for his guests:
A maiden fair, a prince so brave
Them he'll give a lovely grave.
Gold he hordes with Dragon's greed
He doesn't cry, he does not bleed.
From fear his death he sealed away
And yet he fears it every day.
The whispering quiet. The Mottled Giant. The Red Bird.
One of my earliest memories from London is waking up and seeing the Boatman.
I was mudlurking before that- not a glamorous job, but I was penniless, without friends, influence or a home, and beggars can't be choosers. So as I was looking for treasures discarded into the river, I heard the beginning of a scuffle. Thinking that the losers may leave something of value behind I decided to get closer. Boy, was that a bad choice! Turned out it was a full on riot by the constantly underpaid, overworked and generally annoyed Dock Workers and the Neddy Men, the militia of the Masters of the Baz
If you haven't visited London since the fall, due to a range of reasons as wide as the Underzee, you may think that some of the stories about it are false: lies, boasts and misinterpreted rumors. While you are correct in thinking so of some of them, most of those will be false for the polar opposite reason to the one you might expect: It is hard to put into words the terror of seeing a calm man( or woman, or other...) suddenly go completely berserk and murder anything that moves around them. It is harder still to explain that this happens due to the possession of the knife by a semi immortal spirit called Jack of Smiles. Or by being hunted by
What the Autumn means to me is crying
Tear-like raindrops falling from the heavens.
Autumn is the memory of sun and heat and summer
Autumn means the search for little havens.
What the Autumn means to me is burning
Trees and leaves like swaying flames and blazes.
Autumn's ever changing, always new and always shifting
Autumn once again has left me restless.
What the Autumn means to me is ending
A soft-played note across the weeping skies
Autumn is when stories end, there's truly no pretending
Autumn really is a time for dying
Due to my fear of losing my memory as a result of continued exposure to the Irrigo light in the cave of the Nadir , and due to my prominence in several events of some importance, I have been advised to compile a memoir of sorts, detailing my most interesting adventures in the Neath.
Well, first thing first: an introduction is in order- I am Lord Zxcxdr of the Fallen city of London. Do not worry about my name, it is a mispronounced version of two symbols... Never mind, really. I'm not the most interesting character in this story(though it pains me to admit it).
As there is likelihood that this is being read long after London has been comp
I am Cain, the son of Eve
I am a sinner like my mother.
Eden she forced us to leave
and with my hands I killed my brother.
I am Cain, the son of Adam
and like my father, I have sinned.
His deepest sin you cannot fathom
and I my brothers blood have spilled.
I am Cain. I'm Abel's brother
and unlike me, his soul was pure.
He gained rewards while I worked harder
how much more could I endure?
I was Cain, the lonesome killer
Damned by sky and cursed by stone.
Spare some gold or throw some silver
for I didn't die alone.