Brothers In Arms

It is a warrior society, my Brother-in-Arms
You trust no one until they bleed with you
Or prove the value of their souls by sacrifice
And as men, fight for that which is right And protect from that which is wrong

Since our days of wooden swords we fought together
Braw lads in the steps of Arthur and Lancelot
Chafing until the day we were old enough
To be presented our newly forged great swords
The ancient Dal Riada torques put upon us

The hours of sparring, sweating, straining,
Steel on steel, I see your every move in your eyes
At the very moment you conceive the action
And you know my consistent imperfections
Pressing your advantage to keep me honed

I know what events will make you spiteful
I know when you let anger rule your sword
Over time I have learned how to engage you
To bleed from your heart the dangerous emotion
Leaving you spent but your conscience clean

Our knowledge of each has no measure
We know the whisky the other can take
At times fall together in drunken abandon
We laugh at each other’s attempts at love
And grieve with the other for the heartbreak

We execute together the good Chief’s will
In the dark cover of the night we steal away
For preparation of the next day’s incursion
By artful diversion drawing from each other
The near discovery of patrolling armed sentries

At battle’s dawning I know when you fear
A passing terror I never let you back down from
A time of whispered words of encouragement
That my self and sword will always be your safety
No matter how pitched or horrible the fight

As mercenaries we stride forward together
Weapons at the ready, sure in our skills
For the frenzied battle that now ensues
You the trusted presence making me braver
Than perhaps good sense would dictate

We can hear his voice echoing from the past. Merlin chants
And he guides us to revive the Red Dragon and his people
In our mind’s eye we see Arthur bold in battle, our inspiration
Against the White Dragon’s desolation of our home
Our proud heritage regained in every thrust and swing of our blades.

On the Judgment Day I hope we fall together
For if I suddenly turn and find you fallen
My chance to avenge will be my only goal
Then I will set my sword by the standing stones
With you rent from me, I will never fight again

Story ideas and characters based on the work of Richard Brown