Update, January 2019: I added a stanza because I realized I had forgotten one of the most beautiful, important, and well-known self-sacrificial figures in all of literature. He got the first line of the new Stanza 5, and I supplemented the rest of it with three more references; because with a poem like this, there's always more! Reference explanations in Chapter 2 have been updated as well.
In Blood and Sacrifice
by Sophia the Scribe
A thousand stories told, both true and make-believe,
Ten thousand to redeem, the heroes' lives to give,
A plethora unknown, to pay a ransom-price,
As images of One, in blood and sacrifice.
A captain's crashing plane or choice to end a fight,
A general's surrender, clinging to the Light,
A Chosen Boy who Lived who later chose to die,
Smashed wand and shattered sword and siblings saved thereby.
A colonel's stalwart stance despite a grievous wound,
A half-elf's risky quest where succor may be found,
A prince and high-school boy give up the ones they love,
A knight risks all, securing justice from above.
Three soldier bands who fight to buy their allies time,
And vigilante groups who battle endless crime,
A great detective falls and proves his burning heart,
An agent, cynical, still bravely plays his part.
A lawyer's final choice is of his deeds far best,
A captain-general fights, though arrows pierce his breast,
A wounded knight gives succor in true gallantry,
And watchmakers risk much on faith and secrecy.
A scientist dies well in noble suicide,
A runner falls protecting him who changed his side,
A father's love believed that he could save his son,
A Roguish band held on until the task was done.
A centaur brave expounds upon a noble death,
A wizard buys one willingly with his last breath,
A king, defeated, seeks the Enemy to slay,
A hobbit and his gardener choose the weary way.
A rich man blithely takes the world's mockery,
Another cedes his all to set his city free,
A third would give his life, despite his selfishness,
The last, in desperate bargain, risks unending death.
A daughter took her father's place in battle-strife,
A Vulcan deemed his crew worth more than his own life,
A king in exile tore his bonds to save his friend,
And duty's call and fire's burning to the end.
Upon the Table blood is spent in traitor's stead,
A Ransom's heel bleeds to crush the Un-Man's head,
Upon the Hill of Skulls One paid the utmost price,
The Type they all reflect, in blood and sacrifice.
Reference explanations are uploaded as Chapter 2. Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed!
VDMA,
Sophia the Scribe