Author: Cyhirae

Notes: To reflect the game as well this time around: a far more complex template was used, and I shifted to free-verse to allow for a better telling.
Despite the name, I do intend to write further poems into this ballad- 'Final Chapter" was merely the name of the game and intended as the end of Adol's Ys wanderings.

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The Ballad of Adol

Final Chapter

The fallen priest lay at his feet,
And Adol looked high above-
For out of sight lay the hidden land-
Ancient Ys, lost in time...

Up through the skies he was flung,
Brought to face the heart of it all;
Fulfilling an ancient prophecy...
Of the one who would save them all.

For it spoke of a hero to rise up;
To save them again-
One who could battle the ageless darkness.
He who would banish the taint upon the land of Ys,
Restoring peace once more,
Guided by the words of ancient priests.

From the quiet village of Rance he made his way,
To the Sanctuary of Toal and far beyond...
The ancient secret of magic upon him was bestowed
To further prepare him for the trials on his path.
Yet every step by demons he was harried,
Turning the land against him-
Even the people turned away,
Looking only to their own.

For ancient prophecies were ones long forgotten,
And the promises they held-
The people looked only to their plights.
Yet never did Adol let his step weaken and waver,
As the words of the Goddess statue led him on;
Setting the course for his journey's end.

There was no guidance that could have ever prepared him,
No kind words to soften the blow,
When his intentions brought a curse to those he wished to save,
Leaving a kindly girl and her people as naught but stone,
In the canals cold far beneath the earth.

On he charged to face the demoness Zava,
And beyond her lay the weaver of the curse;
Yet against Dalles he failed and could only watch;
Helpless was he as the final knell sounded acrossed Ys,
And seemed to all but steal the life of the one he could not save.

Left alone to his despair,
Adol returned far below;
To find the way to lift the curse,
Restoring stone again to flesh.

Yet no glad tidings came about,
Only a silent mourning for the lost-
And wearily Adol continued on;
To the battles that awaited.

Girded for the trials by those he had aided,
He joined in battle once again;
Striking down the wizard Dalles-
Deep in the darkened heart of Solomon Shrine,
Where the goddesses lay bound,
Trapped in Dharm's cruel hold.

Then to his aid old friends came,
And the goddesses were set free once more.
The poet Reah of Minea and the lost girl Feena;
These were the forms to him revealed.
The women he had once protected and aided,
Stood before him to unveil the way;
For his part in this tale had still not yet ended.

Beyond lay the corrupted power of the Black Pearl,
The treasure of ancient Ys warped and ruined;
Bearing now the form known as Dharm;
It sought only the ruin of Ys and all the world below;
For its own unknown goals.
There was only Adol to stand against it.

The battle shook all the realm of Ys,
And all thought Adol sure to be lost;
Against such a foe even the goddesses had failed...
Yet the demon to him did at last fall;
The Pearl shattered and cast aside by the young hero.

What remained was only the goddesses,
Who chose then to return to their sleep;
Taking with them the gift of magic and leaving their thanks,
To a redheaded boy from beyond the seas and mountains,
Whom fate had guided their way.

Now with Ys returned to earth,
And magic fading from the land-
Adol bid his own goodbyes;
Turning his eyes to the sea once more.

There was much yet to be seen,
Lands both ancient and new...
No one place would ever keep him long,
This boy from beyond the seas.