Chapter 2

Righteous Fury Unleashed

Some years did pass
And the boy-child, Eiren, grew
In peace and love,
Much treasured by his parents.

Then war did brew
'Tween the barbarous Scandinavians
And the mighty duchy of the Ukraine
O'er the lands upon which this fateful child lived.

On a fateful day
Some half dozens years past his birth
This child's humble village
Saw fog as thick as night.

Bent on a drunken carouse
A Viking long boat did ghost
Through the misty waters of the Gulf
To the crude village of mariners.

Not knowing riches from dross
In their inebriation,
These barbarous corsairs
Ravished this poor village.

Eiren's father, a man of noble blood,
Did rush to the defense of his home.
Much to the delight of the savages,
He proved an excellent warrior.

In the presence of wife and child,
Did he fell many a foe
'Til the thane did approach,
Intoxicated with bloodlust.

Long was their battle,
Axe clashing with sword,
But the outcome was ordained
By the meddling of the Fates.

The thane of the northlands
Sunk his blade deep,
Deep into the torso of this warrior
To the accompaniment of a fierce wail.

The thane roared with triumph
And turned to the weeping spouse,
Rapine blazing in his eyes
Ignoring the fury building in the Child of Fate.

Rage burned in the mind of Eiren,
His eyes only seeing the crumple form
Of a father foremost in his life
And a great surge swept through his small frame.

Across the continent
Seers and visionaries,
Wizards and magi,
Collapse in pain as the Sight ignites.

The vision of a release of power
Unlike any Seen in a thousand years
Comes to the unwary sensitive
And the exultant and fearful Gods.

In the bustling capital of Kiev
The Archmage of the Ukraine
Sends his magi to collect the possessor
Of such unbridled strength of will.

But for the hapless raiders
Focused on the pleasures of plunder,
The magi would come too late
To save them from Death's embrace.

The Child of Kismet has gathered his power
Drawing from the Earth
That which She willingly gives
To those attuned to Her.

In a flash of righteous Vengeance
The boy-child Eiren rages,
Releasing the sorcerous might at his command
Incinerating those who have invaded his home.

As the bodies of his foes did sizzle and steam in the fog
He collapsed with fatigue
Unaware of his mother's horror
Or the fear and awe of his neighbors.

Looking 'round for his mother
Aching for her solace,
He gazes upon her fearful face
As yet more assailants seem to appear.

Drawing yet again from Gaea's domain,
The boy swells with sorcerous might
And bears down upon those
Who would take his family from him.

Unseen and unfelt,
Another arrives, tardy
To spirit the child away
For the protective walls of Kiev.

The wizard Konstantine flinches
As the boy let loose with a roar
The powerful fury of magic
In protection of his kin.

Collapsing once again
Eiren does swoon
To the grateful prayers of the wizard
Come to bear him away.

Approached by this new face
Handsome, charming, and considerate,
The mother agrees to depart,
In a Time of Heroes and Magik!