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  1. Journals

Calliope - Session 01

Song
Session 01 - The Boar
April 1, 2020
By Luck, or By More
(Tune: lively, a call to adventure.)

Half a dozen, all answering summons,1
whether by heart or by head. 
And together they drank and they listened2
Each driven by hope; love; ambition.

Brought together by a woman, a God perhaps
Told of a giant boar driven mad by the Storm,
It was a test to decide who to trust in.
And, for Thylea, she all but implored them:

Bring the beast down, 
By magic, by sword,
Bring the beast down,
By luck, or by more.

On the next morning, by its lair they met,
Joined by hunters, traps were prepped,
Until it reared out, eyes blazing and red.
A first battle, the group jumped in, and said

Bring the beast down, 
By magic, by sword,
Bring the beast down,
By luck, or by more.

Quick work, blows with javelin and fire,
Bringing it ever closer to demise
The madness in its mind, its eyes
Makes for a pitiful thing, for all its power.

But pity beware, for teeth bared,
The piteous no blows withheld.
One felled. One felled. One felled.4
Two stayed, one stirred.

To the sight of the beast brought down
By magic, by sword,
Brought down, brought down
By luck, or by more.

And as the beast fell, its mouth wide open,
A threat, not its own, dispensed
Of Sydon’s fury, his scorn, and contempt;
For those known as the Oracle’s Chosen, 

Who brought the beast down,
By magic, by sword,
Brought down, brought down
By luck, or by more.

Footnotes

1 I wasn’t actually sure they would answer my letters. I mean, would you? If someone just turned up and handed you a letter calling you to save the world... AH. I suppose I might. It actually sounds rather exciting! Versi probably wouldn’t let me though. And she is always right about these kinds of things.


2 I got to sing for so many people that night! It was so much fun, and I really think they liked it. Versi is always so complimentary, but it is kind of nice to know that she hasn’t just been praising my voice out of kindness all these years.


3 How do bards make dying in battle sound so poetic? There was nothing poetic about what happened to Taneias and Javon. Helikaon too. I… don’t really want to think about it. Let alone write it down.


4 They do really seem like they could be heroes you know. Not that I have ever met a hero to know what one is like. But they seem to know what they are doing. They are certainly good in a fight.

I think it helps that they are interesting - you can’t write a song about a boring hero.

I’m not very interesting. And I’m certainly no fighter. I mean, I do have a sword (Versi has assured me that I know how to use it or, at least, did know) but I’m not sure that counts.
February 17th, 2021