The Life of a Battle

by Mainn

This poem was written shortly after the release of Eldest, and upon reading the conclusion of Inheritance, I decided upon posting it minimally unedited due to the predictive nature it had.

Swords clash throughout the night,

Filling the battlefield with their bloody light,

A weary soldier fights on losing hope,

Sees shadowed against the moon a might so fearsome

The soldier is renewed with a new strength,

Filled with bravery and courage,

Fights on and on for the world to be righted,

For that is the purpose of the night.

The heroes fight till the end,

The battle is dwindling down,

See what is lost,

What is won,

There is no place left for them to go,

For there is no longer a purpose for them to remain,

The war was fought on their behalf,

And if they depart peace will rule,

So the silent fade away,

Into the depths of the night and the day.

The battle is waged,

The war is won,

Somber faces are silhouetted by the rising sun,

The few left standing outnumbered by dead ten to one,

Though much is lost,

The rest is saved,

For it is the end of the King's bloody reign,

As that is the life of a battle.

I felt inspired to post this after reading the conclusion of Inheritance, and thus the Inheritance Cycle. I wrote this many a year ago, right after the release of Eldest I believe, and am somberly intrigued at how accurate this proved to be. I changed nothing except some wording and grammar, it was long ago when I wrote this and could not deign to leave the mistakes… I hope it falls upon open ears, as though I feel this encompasses my mood of the conclusion of this Cycle. Posting this moments after I have finished the book, is evoking much emotion from me. So before I blither more, I bid you this reflection on the ending.