THE PROPHECY
from The Dragon Isles

Readers of The Dragon Isles have seen snippets of the long verse known as "The Prophecy" which leads our heroes on in their quest to find the mythical isles and discover the lost treasure hidden there.

During the editing of the book, it was decided not to present the entire poem in the book.

I'm not completely sure why.  Perhaps the editor felt it slowed the pace down.  Perhaps he felt the thing was just too darn long.  Perhaps he felt it was kindof doggerel -- which it kindof is.  (Intentionally.)

In any case, it got cut up into pieces and interspersed as needed throughout the book.  Which actually worked pretty well.  So no complaint there.  The readers got the pieces they needed as they needed them.

By the time I suggested the whole could be inserted into a few blank pages at the end of the book as a coda (in place of ads), it was just too late in the process to get the poem back in.

So, the entire text of The Prophecy has gone unpublished -- until now!

Now, for the enjoyment of Dragon Isles fans, or for further edification, or just for fun, here's the complete text.

Brilliant undying poetry, a valuable guide to the story, or a mere trifle?  You decide.

*

THE PROPHECY
 

The heart beats at the source
Of bastions unveiled
Portends the final course
And stands alone unfailed
 

Who seeks to find the isles,
Amid the turbid seas
Sail north beyond known lands
To dragon gods appease
 

‘Neath gaze of Palatine
On late midsummer eve
Then trace the chart divine
The pathway to receive
 

Beyond the palace walls
Where heavens meet the deep
Lie gleaming dragon halls
Your destiny to keep
 

To seven cities’ light
By silver water course
Before the second night
Discover then the source
 

The Dragon Isles prevail
Untouched by mortal strife
Beyond the world’s travail
Great bastion of life
 

Blessed azure sea
Cloudcapped mountainsides
Verdant forests free
Forestalled from evil tides
 

Four keys beyond the gate
Veiled battlements deep lie
Bold wards to islands’ fate
Span earth and sea and sky
 

The greatest treasure known
Lies sunk and seldom seen
Worth more than mortal throne
Or all the lands between
 

The lords of brazen keep
A black key in their home
With eyes that never sleep
And souls that never roam
 

Eschew the winged shoals
Forsake the pirates’ lair
Avoid the heart’s vain goals
Traverse the ocean fair
 

To now the second find
Seek wisdom’s highest throne
And meet the golden mind
To test your will alone
 

‘Neath traversed azure wine
Converse with hoary fates
With tangled bones of vine
To root Green key awaits
 

Fast quit the isle of thieves
Past furthest spits of sand
As soul, not mind, believes
Forsake at last the land
 

Where light anew is born
To battle divine hound
Before the second morn
Know the last torch is found
 

The final hallowed key
Illumes the deepest night
At lord of fire and sea
Seek pillars’ sacred might
 

From fire, wind, sea and earth
At land beyond the end
Of passage keys give birth
To treasure now ascend
 

The heart beats at the source
Of bastions unveiled
Portends the final course
And stands alone unfailed

*

That's it.  A bit long-winded, I'll admit.  But I slaved hard over it, and it seemed a shame to let it go unpublished.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think.