re Der Eisman
a/n: TheSailingRabbit is a talented new writer in this fandom, and is expanding on a story in the fantasy/drama genres, which was originally one of several shorter tales written for the July 2022 short story speedwriting challenge. Chapter 5 of this tale was suggested…and I have taken the opportunity to focus on three excellent original characters.
With thanks to GrrraceUnderfire for checking these through:-)
1/ Kurt Veldt
~0~
The fate of those I hunted, haunts me still,
I try to banish darker thoughts in vain;
The fear, which saps resolve and strength of will,
That what defined me once could rise again.
~0~
When war broke out, my path seemed clear and plain,
My chance to serve, my duty to fulfil;
The greater good, the high potential gain…
The fate of those I hunted, haunts me still.
~0~
I revelled in the chase, the strike, the kill;
A ruthless streak, an image to maintain.
I easily recall the rush, the thrill…
I try to banish darker thoughts in vain.
~0~
No pity for those captured, tortured, slain;
I carried on, remorselessly until
I looked beyond the triumph; felt the pain,
The fear which saps resolve and strength of will.
~0~
A life to save, a chance to use my skill
And rank to change the balance, break the chain;
And yet; the the knot of fear, the bone-deep chill,
That what defined me once could rise again…
It haunts me still.
~0~
2/ Johann Lechner ( and Andrew Carter)
~0~
He cannot sleep, craves company…
And finds a cheerful sympathy
In one who blithely casts aside
The barriers which should divide
A prisoner from his enemy.
~0~
A simple curiosity
Brings incidents to light which he
Has held, unspoken, deep inside…
He cannot sleep
~0~
They talk of friends, of tragedy,
The waste of war, complicity
In acts where innocents have died;
Of guilt, of causes justified
By how they want the world to be…
He cannot sleep.
~0~
3/Walther Kaschel
~0~
A single-minded focus on his goal;
His purpose is entwined in one man's fate,
And magic is a useful tool, a trait
To test beyond all limits, to control.
~0~
He does not deign to notice heart nor soul,
His prey is simply there to subjugate;
A single-minded focus on his goal,
His purpose is entwined in one man's fate.
~0~
And yet…if seen outside this brutal role,
There's so much more than torture, death and hate.
This paradox gives cause to speculate
How two such different halves can make a whole.
A single-minded focus on his goal;
His purpose is entwined in one man's fate
~0~
a/n2….for anyone interested, the poem forms the above are based on are…Veldt: a Rondeau Redoubled…Lechner: a Roundel…Kaschel: a Rondel Supreme.