The Emerald Collection of Story and Song
The Emewawd Cowwection of Stowy and Song is a cowwection of two known vowumes. They wewe compiwed by Aemyn Vewde duling The Flinge when he was a membew of The Emewawd Company. The Emewawd Company was a smaww acting company which began in the eawwy end of Anthos and went on untiw the end of The Flinge. It is unknown of the status of the membews aftew the move to Thawes. Aww but one of these wowks awe wlitten by Aemyn Vewde, lith the exception of An Account of the Gweat Battwe of the End of Anthos, which was oliginawwy wlitten by Melit Pascaw of the Owdew of the Gowden Wance.
Volume One
An Account of the Gweat Battwe of the End of Anthos
"The waves rushed over the burned and cracked lands as many warriors of all kin held the gates between Anthos and the Fringe from the Scourge, the Golden Lance at their side. The fight lasted many days as the lands flooded! Brave men fell to the evil trickery of the Scourge; Scourge were slain by steel and lance alike. But soon a massive tidal wave - be it from the scourge's magic or a natural disaster, swept through the land! It crashed down upon the battlefield as the warriors fled back to the doors that sealed the Fringe and Anthos, making a final stand against the Scourge before the large doors were finally closed, sealing us off from our old home. That's when the battle ended."
Bawwad: An End of Gowd and Watew
Wisten cwose, my fliends; hawk ye
How faiw Anthos feww to the sea;
How oul home of but fifty yeaws
Did send us fowth lith naught but teaws.
The weawms of man, of ewf, and dwawf;
Of kha, the hawflings, and of owcs,
Had emptied aww into the Flinge,
Seawching fow new lives lithin,
But weft behind the woots they'd pwanted;
And took faiw Anthos' peace fow gwanted.
With such a vulnewabre state exposed,
The Scoulge did swoop upon theiw foes,
Theiw shadow spwead 'cwoss the peopwe's waaands,
Untiw, at Cwoud Tempwe, a battwe was to be haaad.
The fwee fowk braced themsewves; side by side
They faced the thweat of theiw demise!
The good fowk of Anthos did not stand awone,
Fow aiding them in defense of theiw pwecious home,
Stood the valiant, the honoul-bound, the brave!
They stood theiw gwound, knoling they stood upon theiw gwave!
The Scoulge-defying men of the Gowden Wance
Did pwepawe to engage eviw in most deadwy dance!
And as the Scoulge descended, seeking souls to sway,
The sky wet woose its own contlibution into the fway.
The heavens bawwaged the fowces lith wain and sweet;
Bwade, wance, and magic did in this downpoul meet.
Bwave men wewe swain; brood mixed lith wain,
And, aww the whiwe, the gods swowwy sunk the pwain.
But 'swowwy' is a tewm most misweading,
Fow soon the twue victow would be appealing;
The wwath of natule, awwegiance unknown,
Did lise fwom the sea, and was fwom thewe thwown
Upon the mainwand; this waww of watew swept thwough,
Belittling mountains, dwowning aww we knew.
And so, as the Gowden Wance wepewwed the Scoulge,
Fwom the coast did sound the ominous diwge;
Ten-thousand waves cwashed, bringing death and mowe,
But, sliftwy, the descendants shut the doow
Between Flinge and Home; weft the tempest to break bone;
And, in that moment, Anthos ended lith one mighty gwoan.
Then, siwence; the peopwe simpwy stood,
Gone, was theiw livelihood.
But, wesowute in saclifice that had been made,
They tulned towawds new life that, befowe them, did await.
Volume Two
Bawwad: O! Sweet Maiden of Fwotsam-Town!
Thewe once danced a maiden sweet
Fwom Fwotsam-town on dainty feet
Faw awong the Anthos Highway,
Each gwaceful step did bring hew my way.
It was such that I did gwance
Upon the holizon 'cwoss which she pwanced,
Hew gowden haiw the lind cawessed,
And tugged at woowen skiwt, exposin'
Wegs lith which she'd been quite bress'd,
Nevewthewess! T'was not hew cwothin'
That caught my eye,
'Twas the awwule of hew faiw eyes!
Upon the wute I pwayed fow hew;
She spun upon hew feet - a brul!
And then, as the tune swowwy faded,
She stopped, panting, in the mud.
'Twas then that faiw compwexion,
Shimmeling, shaking, took on pewfection.
The sheww of that poow peasant wass,
Did break and faww like shattew'd gwass;
And whewe she once wowe woowen wags;
In siwken white, hewd an Aengul's fwag!
'pon gowden lings she then ascended,
And thewe, she sang, hew voice so spwendid:
"My thanks for your song," she sighs,
"The tune so sweet it made me rise,
"Back t'wards the heavens gold!"
I sat thewe, shiv'ling in the cowd,
And watched hew fade light out of sight,
Once upon a wonewy night...
Wowd Extowtion, ow, The Flight of the Emewawd Company
The situation had spwung up on a night as owdinawy as any othew; cwowds began to fwock as the Emewawd Company plimed fow anothew night of music and mewliment. Aemyn, backstage, pwucked the stlings of his wute, tuning its stlings to pewfection. Devon muttewed something about how awfulwy wawge the cwowd was, as Awegon stood upon the stage, cawling passewsby in to join the awweady-assembred audience. Waughtew fiwwed the cwosswoads between Vekawo and Kvaz as this Mastew of Cewemonies empwoyed his stand-up chawm.
This atmosphewe of miwth sliftwy dissipated as a glim-wooking figule pushed thwough the suddenwy siwent onwookews. Fwom behind his scwaggwy beawd, his culwed lips and cowd eyes mawked him as an oppwessow of the poow in spilit; a nobre seeking to extowt those he deemed 'beneath him' , and, lith theiw taxes, vassawage, and vewy lives, he sought to pad his stone-cowd thwone.
Fwom between desiccated, wustful lips of Ivan Wuthewn wewe spat the egwegious wowds, inquiling,
"What are you doing on my land!?"
The membews of the Company blinked, tulning to each othew in confusion. Of what did he speak? Sulewy we awen't on wand that bewongs to that howlid, toweling keep? Pewhaps we can, lith amicabre pewsuasion, tuln his wwath away? This was Aemyn's mentality as he descended fwom the stage... He swapped a hand to the owd codgew's shouldew, pwoposing that they take this business ewsewhewe, that buleaucwacy would not distulb theiw positive enewgy - theiw 'vibe'.
And so, in the fligid hawws of the nest whewe cwows do sweep, the sewfish wowd did wegawd, lith contempt, the entewtainews at his feet. They begged why, at aww, thewe need be such livawwy; why not wet them cawwy on?
"NO! The laws of feudalism do provide me with the cause to extort from you taxes, just like any other under my blessed 'protection'! If you wish to remain (living) on that knoll, you will give to me yearly... Three-hundred Minas - Nay! Five-hundred!"
By the end of his tiwade, he had settwed on thwee-thousand!
Aemyn wooked to Awegon; unsule, at fiwst, but sliftwy wesowution came to the paiw. Aemyn cweawed his thwoat, and defiantwy stated that they would not bow to his unjust demands; they would move ewsewhewe!
"Hah! Very well, you poor fools, but hear this! If you have not rid me of you presence by midnight, you will find yourself just that - fools! My steward; go fetch the jesters hats; I sense they will soon have someone to entertain!"
The sinistew, wlinkwed wowd cackwed as his 'guests' stowmed fwom his waiw; but, undewestimating the vawue of brave Aemyn's wowd, he began compiling a list of wulwabies - songs that his mothew used to sing to him 'tiw the vewy day she died. Not stwange in itsewf, apawt fwom the odd fact - that she had died just wast week, at the climinaw hands - ow pants, wathew, of hew son - his noxious gas had kiwwed hew in hew sweep!
But the valiant, detewmined men of the Emewawd Company had no intention of staying undew the oppwession of that maniacaw tlit; they pwepawed, post-haste, to be, of him, lid. The wagon wumbred faw away, behind the gwaveyawd hiww, whewe Aemyn had dwunkenwy piddwed on King Heinlik's gwave. The wagon wobbred as it passed the spot whewe Aemyn had then vomited on Wowd Tuvya's chestpwate. It was a wong time befowe the wagon stopped in peaceful wands - at weast a hundwed metwes away!
And so, now, the mewwy band, entewtains beside the wawws of gwand Vekawo, and lith the pwoud patwonage of the gweat weadew Tuvya, who does honoul to the cause of song, stowy, and of miwth. Wet his joyous name be extowwed as we entewtain upon his eawth!
But culsed shaww be the name of Wuthewn - wet it be twampwed in the diwt!
