Poetry competition CLOSED 21st May 2012 11:07pm
WINNER
chezz
chezz
RUNNERS-UP:
Danii
and freddwzz
Write an adventure poem!
- Fall of a Titan -
“The drop-ship neared the planet’s surface. The five awaiting the landing looked out on the cloud cover. I was one of them, and as I beheld the parting clouds I made out a world of few settlements and many lands of grassy hills, rocky cliffs, and rugged mountains. Two moons and a planet with a large ring could be seen in the sky, for it was late afternoon, nearly nightfall. Michael was the leader of our expedition, with his amethyst armor and the perpetual scowl he wore as elegantly as his mane of black hair. His cruelty towards his enemies was legend. Gabriel was the kindest of the four beside myself, and her pleasant oval face shone with compassion. Her hair was the color of spun gold, and her ruby armor was delicate and beautiful to behold. Azrael was silent and aloof, her face unreadable. Her skin was as blue as the sea, and her long raven hair matched her black onyx armor perfectly. Lucifer, my sister, was the fourth member of our team. Her platinum blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and armor of gold were emblematic of her role as Divine Princess, although Gabriel and she were rivals for that title. She was passionate, ambitious, and could be filled with the greatest love or the maddest wrath. I adored her! What was I like in that life, in those days before the rise of man? My hair was gold, much like Gabriel’s, and my eyes were like sapphires. All blue, with no white in them. This was a trait of our race that our eyes were of one solid color. All five of us, on that ship, had such alien eyes. My armor was silver, inlaid with white pearls. I was beautiful. We all were, even Michael. Androgynous and perfect in every imaginable way! Some called us gods and goddesses, others called us angels… but on that day, we were death, coming to punish the wicked, on a planet I had never heard of before. It was a punitive mission. Gabriel held my hand, whilst Lucifer toyed with her sword. All of us had swords… long metal blades of varying materials, with hilts that hid a button which when pressed caused a current of electricity to shoot through the weapon and charge it like a modern day taser gun. The difference is that our blades were lethally charged. Gabriel smiled at me in a serene manner. Her job was to keep me calm and centered, ready for the battle to come. I was the chief of the Seven Archons, and though I had been in exile from the domain of my mother, the Divine Empress Sophia, I was still a god.
Even a god can know fear! I felt a knot in my stomach as the ship thumped on one of the grassy plains below. “We go on three!” Michael shouted. Though I was the eldest of the five, he was in command in his role as Divine Regent. A role he abused more often than not! “One… two… three!” and as the door slid open on the craft, we jumped out and prepared for combat. “This world is ruled by a renegade who seeks to break from the Divine Empire. One of the Titans… your people, Ariel.” That was all the briefing Michael gave me, and all he said to me on that day, when he called me by my angelic name rather than my true name. The Titans… the descendants of the Seven Archons! Part biological being and part machine, though outwardly humanoid in appearance. My subjects, who looked upon me as their god! The god who caused the war that broke our home world of Kobol. I was still trying to put the horrors of that war behind me, for it would not do with my current alliance with our ancient enemies, the Olympians… they whom the Seven Archangels ruled over with an iron fist. Michael was their supreme overlord. I cleared my head of all distractions and scanned the terrain before me. My body at the time was of Titan manufacture, a mere vessel for my spirit and soul. As such, it was partly mechanical and had certain… advantages. “I can see no sign of any foes here. Are you certain, Michael, that…” but before I could finish my words they appeared. Fanatical soldiers in white armor and white robes, carrying rifles they immediately fired upon seeing us! The renegades forced us to take cover behind some rocks, but Azrael had other ideas and ran as fast as lightning into the midst of the soldiers. Hacking, slicing, and slaying whilst the Angel of Death herself let out a shrill shriek: which was her typical battle cry. We made the most of this and charged. Our foes retreated up a path into the hills and mountains, as we gave chase.
We pushed them back to the walls of a great monastery built into the side of a granite cliff perched on a massive shelf of rock in the mountains. The path up to it was narrow and treacherous, bordered on both sides by rocky hills, the same sort which we had just traversed. Their armor was light, making them more mobile… so I shed my armor in favor of the silver jumpsuit I wore beneath it, with its’ puffy sleeves and bloomer-like pant legs. It was frilly, feminine, and beautiful. My race, though androgynous, favored a feminine beauty. Lucifer wore similar attire beneath her armor, hers golden in color. She made ready as I did, and together we ran ahead and sought a way into the fortress before us. The enemy had barricaded the main doors, but Lucifer spied a secondary servants’ entrance around the back. “Look, sister!” I declared as I noticed it was unguarded. “I think they want us to pay them a visit.” And without second thoughts, I stormed into the dark of the monastery, down the arched halls lit only by dim wall sconces. My vision adjusted itself to the gloom, and I could see the soldiers down a corridor that wound to the left. Their backs were turned, and when I fell upon them they were not expecting to meet the bite of my blade. Lucifer arrived to find me pursuing them into the very bowels of the ancient structure. Soon, I saw the leader of these men… the renegade Titan. In height, all Titans were no larger than any humanoid being, contrary to myth and legend. But this one was seven feet tall, wearing black hooded robes. “Xenus!” He shouted at me, calling me by a name more ancient than the one by which Michael knew me. I did not recognize him, however. “Join me, Xenus! Together we can avenge ourselves upon Michael and his Olympian lackeys.” But I replied: “Down that path, there is only war without end. Were you there, when Kobol was wiped nearly clean of life as the fires ravaged its’ surface? It was my jealousy and anger that birthed those flames! I shall not see them loosed again.” But the Titan was resolved. “Then die, my Archon!” And he signaled for his followers to fire upon me. Lucifer jumped forward and with uncanny speed she deflected their bullets with her sword. I saw only flashes of metal, and bullets hitting the floor. I heard only screams, as my sister slaughtered them almost to a man, the emerald fire of her eyes unleashing green flame that devoured flesh, blood, and souls.
I faced the Titan, who fought me with a long staff that held a metal ball on both ends. It too was charged with electricity, and when our weapons clashed together sparks shot out in all directions. “Submit to your Archon, or perish!” I demanded, but he only growled and continued to resist me. I struck at him, slashing his robe and his skin. He would have bled, had not the heat of my blade cauterized the wound as soon as it was inflicted. Lucifer saw our clash, and lent a portion of her emerald fire to me through our spiritual bond. My eyes now blazed with it, and I looked upon my foe with death in that gaze. He was consumed by the flames that shot out unto him, and his body bloated, burned, and cracked to the bone, exposing the wires, circuits, and other electronics that made up part of his being. Seeing his death, his men surrendered and soon Michael and the others arrived to round them up. Their fates would be cruel, but nothing they had not earned. The war was over, but still their kind sought to kindle old hatreds anew! I would encounter their like again.”
--- From the Chronicles of the Celestial Order
“The drop-ship neared the planet’s surface. The five awaiting the landing looked out on the cloud cover. I was one of them, and as I beheld the parting clouds I made out a world of few settlements and many lands of grassy hills, rocky cliffs, and rugged mountains. Two moons and a planet with a large ring could be seen in the sky, for it was late afternoon, nearly nightfall. Michael was the leader of our expedition, with his amethyst armor and the perpetual scowl he wore as elegantly as his mane of black hair. His cruelty towards his enemies was legend. Gabriel was the kindest of the four beside myself, and her pleasant oval face shone with compassion. Her hair was the color of spun gold, and her ruby armor was delicate and beautiful to behold. Azrael was silent and aloof, her face unreadable. Her skin was as blue as the sea, and her long raven hair matched her black onyx armor perfectly. Lucifer, my sister, was the fourth member of our team. Her platinum blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and armor of gold were emblematic of her role as Divine Princess, although Gabriel and she were rivals for that title. She was passionate, ambitious, and could be filled with the greatest love or the maddest wrath. I adored her! What was I like in that life, in those days before the rise of man? My hair was gold, much like Gabriel’s, and my eyes were like sapphires. All blue, with no white in them. This was a trait of our race that our eyes were of one solid color. All five of us, on that ship, had such alien eyes. My armor was silver, inlaid with white pearls. I was beautiful. We all were, even Michael. Androgynous and perfect in every imaginable way! Some called us gods and goddesses, others called us angels… but on that day, we were death, coming to punish the wicked, on a planet I had never heard of before. It was a punitive mission. Gabriel held my hand, whilst Lucifer toyed with her sword. All of us had swords… long metal blades of varying materials, with hilts that hid a button which when pressed caused a current of electricity to shoot through the weapon and charge it like a modern day taser gun. The difference is that our blades were lethally charged. Gabriel smiled at me in a serene manner. Her job was to keep me calm and centered, ready for the battle to come. I was the chief of the Seven Archons, and though I had been in exile from the domain of my mother, the Divine Empress Sophia, I was still a god.
Even a god can know fear! I felt a knot in my stomach as the ship thumped on one of the grassy plains below. “We go on three!” Michael shouted. Though I was the eldest of the five, he was in command in his role as Divine Regent. A role he abused more often than not! “One… two… three!” and as the door slid open on the craft, we jumped out and prepared for combat. “This world is ruled by a renegade who seeks to break from the Divine Empire. One of the Titans… your people, Ariel.” That was all the briefing Michael gave me, and all he said to me on that day, when he called me by my angelic name rather than my true name. The Titans… the descendants of the Seven Archons! Part biological being and part machine, though outwardly humanoid in appearance. My subjects, who looked upon me as their god! The god who caused the war that broke our home world of Kobol. I was still trying to put the horrors of that war behind me, for it would not do with my current alliance with our ancient enemies, the Olympians… they whom the Seven Archangels ruled over with an iron fist. Michael was their supreme overlord. I cleared my head of all distractions and scanned the terrain before me. My body at the time was of Titan manufacture, a mere vessel for my spirit and soul. As such, it was partly mechanical and had certain… advantages. “I can see no sign of any foes here. Are you certain, Michael, that…” but before I could finish my words they appeared. Fanatical soldiers in white armor and white robes, carrying rifles they immediately fired upon seeing us! The renegades forced us to take cover behind some rocks, but Azrael had other ideas and ran as fast as lightning into the midst of the soldiers. Hacking, slicing, and slaying whilst the Angel of Death herself let out a shrill shriek: which was her typical battle cry. We made the most of this and charged. Our foes retreated up a path into the hills and mountains, as we gave chase.
We pushed them back to the walls of a great monastery built into the side of a granite cliff perched on a massive shelf of rock in the mountains. The path up to it was narrow and treacherous, bordered on both sides by rocky hills, the same sort which we had just traversed. Their armor was light, making them more mobile… so I shed my armor in favor of the silver jumpsuit I wore beneath it, with its’ puffy sleeves and bloomer-like pant legs. It was frilly, feminine, and beautiful. My race, though androgynous, favored a feminine beauty. Lucifer wore similar attire beneath her armor, hers golden in color. She made ready as I did, and together we ran ahead and sought a way into the fortress before us. The enemy had barricaded the main doors, but Lucifer spied a secondary servants’ entrance around the back. “Look, sister!” I declared as I noticed it was unguarded. “I think they want us to pay them a visit.” And without second thoughts, I stormed into the dark of the monastery, down the arched halls lit only by dim wall sconces. My vision adjusted itself to the gloom, and I could see the soldiers down a corridor that wound to the left. Their backs were turned, and when I fell upon them they were not expecting to meet the bite of my blade. Lucifer arrived to find me pursuing them into the very bowels of the ancient structure. Soon, I saw the leader of these men… the renegade Titan. In height, all Titans were no larger than any humanoid being, contrary to myth and legend. But this one was seven feet tall, wearing black hooded robes. “Xenus!” He shouted at me, calling me by a name more ancient than the one by which Michael knew me. I did not recognize him, however. “Join me, Xenus! Together we can avenge ourselves upon Michael and his Olympian lackeys.” But I replied: “Down that path, there is only war without end. Were you there, when Kobol was wiped nearly clean of life as the fires ravaged its’ surface? It was my jealousy and anger that birthed those flames! I shall not see them loosed again.” But the Titan was resolved. “Then die, my Archon!” And he signaled for his followers to fire upon me. Lucifer jumped forward and with uncanny speed she deflected their bullets with her sword. I saw only flashes of metal, and bullets hitting the floor. I heard only screams, as my sister slaughtered them almost to a man, the emerald fire of her eyes unleashing green flame that devoured flesh, blood, and souls.
I faced the Titan, who fought me with a long staff that held a metal ball on both ends. It too was charged with electricity, and when our weapons clashed together sparks shot out in all directions. “Submit to your Archon, or perish!” I demanded, but he only growled and continued to resist me. I struck at him, slashing his robe and his skin. He would have bled, had not the heat of my blade cauterized the wound as soon as it was inflicted. Lucifer saw our clash, and lent a portion of her emerald fire to me through our spiritual bond. My eyes now blazed with it, and I looked upon my foe with death in that gaze. He was consumed by the flames that shot out unto him, and his body bloated, burned, and cracked to the bone, exposing the wires, circuits, and other electronics that made up part of his being. Seeing his death, his men surrendered and soon Michael and the others arrived to round them up. Their fates would be cruel, but nothing they had not earned. The war was over, but still their kind sought to kindle old hatreds anew! I would encounter their like again.”
--- From the Chronicles of the Celestial Order
- The Death of Cupid -
Aphrodite spied the god of love one day, that pesky Eros!
Cupid some called him, and made of him that fat little imp,
Which decorates cards one day a year, with his pudgy toes.
But the goddess was jealous, all because of that silly gimp,
Who stole the fame that was rightfully hers, and her alone!
So she went to the god of war one day, Ares the crimson,
And together they hatched a plan of bloody steel and stone.
By their design, the god of love would be entirely undone!
Ares waited by the pillars of Olympus, watching the clouds,
Whilst Eros visited fools below, giving heats to each couple.
The god of war waited long hearing the many joyous shouts,
Which sickened him, and made his muscles tighten supple.
He waited all of that Valentine’s Day for Eros to get done,
Plotting mad murder of that annoying god, one and for all!
Tightening his grip on his sword, anticipating a scarlet fun…
He smiled when at last foolish Eros flew by Olympus’ wall.
Close to the pillar where Ares hid, the winged god did fly,
Never suspected his end was near, and so he did shriek…
Whilst the god of war did slice him in two with a battle cry!
Valentine’s Day was finished, its’ mascot never to speak.
Ares tore the wings from out Eros’ back, a trophy so red,
And brought them before Aphrodite, to lie at her soft feet.
Even more delighted was she, to see Eros’ cloven head…
Now love was hers alone to grant, on her terms to meet.
Aphrodite spied the god of love one day, that pesky Eros!
Cupid some called him, and made of him that fat little imp,
Which decorates cards one day a year, with his pudgy toes.
But the goddess was jealous, all because of that silly gimp,
Who stole the fame that was rightfully hers, and her alone!
So she went to the god of war one day, Ares the crimson,
And together they hatched a plan of bloody steel and stone.
By their design, the god of love would be entirely undone!
Ares waited by the pillars of Olympus, watching the clouds,
Whilst Eros visited fools below, giving heats to each couple.
The god of war waited long hearing the many joyous shouts,
Which sickened him, and made his muscles tighten supple.
He waited all of that Valentine’s Day for Eros to get done,
Plotting mad murder of that annoying god, one and for all!
Tightening his grip on his sword, anticipating a scarlet fun…
He smiled when at last foolish Eros flew by Olympus’ wall.
Close to the pillar where Ares hid, the winged god did fly,
Never suspected his end was near, and so he did shriek…
Whilst the god of war did slice him in two with a battle cry!
Valentine’s Day was finished, its’ mascot never to speak.
Ares tore the wings from out Eros’ back, a trophy so red,
And brought them before Aphrodite, to lie at her soft feet.
Even more delighted was she, to see Eros’ cloven head…
Now love was hers alone to grant, on her terms to meet.
- The Great Deluge Unleashed -
Being a poem telling of the destruction of Atlantis as I witnessed it…
Of old, the peoples of Atlantis did mix with angels,
And gods: until the race of man had an alien blood.
The most forbidden crime, for which even the hells,
Were less terrible to endure than the threat of flood!
The seven archons came to rule in the imperial hall,
Each one of us: a powerful god, but in human form.
We came in answer to the king, when he did so call,
For he feared the wrath of the twelve, in the morn!
At my urging, so upon the holy mountain’s peak…
The king’s men raised up a temple of marble streak,
Mixed with obsidian, from the oldest coastal mines.
With columns, all decorated with serpentine spines,
And thusly: the house where the worship most holy,
Was raised up so that twelve gods might be pleased.
And the king himself did sacrifice devout and fully,
Until the egos of those gods were flattered, teased.
But one day, the king gathered up a mighty navy…
Determined: to conquer all the lands so completely.
And thus, he pressed the archons into his services,
All with threats of our deaths and terrible promises!
Only his children, a son and daughter most noble…
Kept him sane, though his plans had become global.
I was in love with his daughter and by that sad fact,
The king made me a high general, to lead his attack.
Machines long dormant were so awakened in full…
They were held, in the ships, by their magnetic pull.
Devices as unused since long lost Eden’s final days,
Robots armed with terrible red death-dealing rays…
And canons that launched hot fire from a huge maw,
Along with things so indescribable, that there I saw!
I told the princess of this and so she did not believe,
Thence I showed her and after her heart did grieve…
Knowing her fair father’s true bloodthirsty ambition,
She united rebel factions and so plotted her sedition.
The king was slain as his children did as cruelly vie,
For the throne of Atlantis, whose destiny was to die!
The two heirs fought each other until the last hour…
When my fellow archons rose up to seize the power.
Amidst all of that chaos, I was unable to just protest,
When I was ordered to lead the evil navy in conquest.
A great celestial voice cried out from way on high…
The day that Atlantis drew in a final drawn-out sigh.
“Look, ye sons and daughters of an inhuman birth…
Behold the price of thy pride, and its’ truest worth!”
And: there opened an abyss beneath the fair old isle,
In the midst of the seas, where the vast empire lay…
Thence, all about Atlantis the waves so bean to roil,
Whilst the waters rushed in wherever shadows play.
The vessels of the empire were all crushed thereon,
By tidal fury of the wrath that spared not even one!
And so the navy of the empire was drowned at last,
Whilst: the glories of Atlantis slipped into the past.
The angels of the Lord came down in their hurry…
To smite the Nephilim: in a crueler, genocidal fury.
I watched my kindred fall before angelic shadows,
By swords and flame as cold as the bitterest snow!
The holy mountain of the gods erupted with a hate,
As nature itself rebelled against Heaven far too late.
Black vapor came forth into those sinking hillsides,
And the flame of the earth rose up, to meet the tides.
So I would have died with my kindred but for this…
The angel Gabriel did chain me; she took me hither.
I was the last of seven, who sought any perfect bliss,
Only to weep as all my dreams were made to wither!
First and last of the archons, I felt darkest emotions.
In the flying city that roamed on above the oceans…
The great craft “Olympus” that so bore angels, gods,
I awaited a dire fate as we ascended in flying pods…
To the seat of glory therein: to be judged, once more.
Atlantis was drowned utterly and not even one shore,
Was so left to mark the passing of that fallen empire.
But I spotted survivors that did brave water and fire,
And I knew, that the legacies of Atlantis would live.
So into my captors’ embrace, all my will I did give…
And swiftly I stood before the speaker of the divine,
Near the council of deities, in twelve gilded thrones.
The speaker so passed their judgment for all of time,
And did speak of their sentence upon my tired bones.
My sentence, was to serve these one-time enemies…
And bring an end to a conflict that spanned galaxies.
Now those ruins of the lost empire beneath the deep,
Crumble with time until not a single stone did keep…
Until all fell as still as it had been in the bygone ages.
Lost, eternally silent, and unknown to modern sages!
No power of kings or of any sciences now forgotten…
Was enough to withstand the wrath as then begotten!
And with the deluge came the death of the Nephilim,
Half angel and half man: of which very few emerged.
Slaughtered to the last by the deity that did condemn,
And, in that condemnation, innocents were so purged.
Their utopia and refuge all undone by ambitions mad,
But also by vengeful gods, whose ideals went as bad!
When it was all over a rainbow shone through clouds,
That had beheld nobility and magnificence in decline.
Gone were the people, and never more were crowds…
Gathering in Atlantis, to behold a new day’s sunshine.
Even my fellow archons paid up with their own lives,
The price for those ambitions they sought to disguise.
But we live again, and so I who was first of our kind,
Am bound in a human body with a proud godly mind.
Being a poem telling of the destruction of Atlantis as I witnessed it…
Of old, the peoples of Atlantis did mix with angels,
And gods: until the race of man had an alien blood.
The most forbidden crime, for which even the hells,
Were less terrible to endure than the threat of flood!
The seven archons came to rule in the imperial hall,
Each one of us: a powerful god, but in human form.
We came in answer to the king, when he did so call,
For he feared the wrath of the twelve, in the morn!
At my urging, so upon the holy mountain’s peak…
The king’s men raised up a temple of marble streak,
Mixed with obsidian, from the oldest coastal mines.
With columns, all decorated with serpentine spines,
And thusly: the house where the worship most holy,
Was raised up so that twelve gods might be pleased.
And the king himself did sacrifice devout and fully,
Until the egos of those gods were flattered, teased.
But one day, the king gathered up a mighty navy…
Determined: to conquer all the lands so completely.
And thus, he pressed the archons into his services,
All with threats of our deaths and terrible promises!
Only his children, a son and daughter most noble…
Kept him sane, though his plans had become global.
I was in love with his daughter and by that sad fact,
The king made me a high general, to lead his attack.
Machines long dormant were so awakened in full…
They were held, in the ships, by their magnetic pull.
Devices as unused since long lost Eden’s final days,
Robots armed with terrible red death-dealing rays…
And canons that launched hot fire from a huge maw,
Along with things so indescribable, that there I saw!
I told the princess of this and so she did not believe,
Thence I showed her and after her heart did grieve…
Knowing her fair father’s true bloodthirsty ambition,
She united rebel factions and so plotted her sedition.
The king was slain as his children did as cruelly vie,
For the throne of Atlantis, whose destiny was to die!
The two heirs fought each other until the last hour…
When my fellow archons rose up to seize the power.
Amidst all of that chaos, I was unable to just protest,
When I was ordered to lead the evil navy in conquest.
A great celestial voice cried out from way on high…
The day that Atlantis drew in a final drawn-out sigh.
“Look, ye sons and daughters of an inhuman birth…
Behold the price of thy pride, and its’ truest worth!”
And: there opened an abyss beneath the fair old isle,
In the midst of the seas, where the vast empire lay…
Thence, all about Atlantis the waves so bean to roil,
Whilst the waters rushed in wherever shadows play.
The vessels of the empire were all crushed thereon,
By tidal fury of the wrath that spared not even one!
And so the navy of the empire was drowned at last,
Whilst: the glories of Atlantis slipped into the past.
The angels of the Lord came down in their hurry…
To smite the Nephilim: in a crueler, genocidal fury.
I watched my kindred fall before angelic shadows,
By swords and flame as cold as the bitterest snow!
The holy mountain of the gods erupted with a hate,
As nature itself rebelled against Heaven far too late.
Black vapor came forth into those sinking hillsides,
And the flame of the earth rose up, to meet the tides.
So I would have died with my kindred but for this…
The angel Gabriel did chain me; she took me hither.
I was the last of seven, who sought any perfect bliss,
Only to weep as all my dreams were made to wither!
First and last of the archons, I felt darkest emotions.
In the flying city that roamed on above the oceans…
The great craft “Olympus” that so bore angels, gods,
I awaited a dire fate as we ascended in flying pods…
To the seat of glory therein: to be judged, once more.
Atlantis was drowned utterly and not even one shore,
Was so left to mark the passing of that fallen empire.
But I spotted survivors that did brave water and fire,
And I knew, that the legacies of Atlantis would live.
So into my captors’ embrace, all my will I did give…
And swiftly I stood before the speaker of the divine,
Near the council of deities, in twelve gilded thrones.
The speaker so passed their judgment for all of time,
And did speak of their sentence upon my tired bones.
My sentence, was to serve these one-time enemies…
And bring an end to a conflict that spanned galaxies.
Now those ruins of the lost empire beneath the deep,
Crumble with time until not a single stone did keep…
Until all fell as still as it had been in the bygone ages.
Lost, eternally silent, and unknown to modern sages!
No power of kings or of any sciences now forgotten…
Was enough to withstand the wrath as then begotten!
And with the deluge came the death of the Nephilim,
Half angel and half man: of which very few emerged.
Slaughtered to the last by the deity that did condemn,
And, in that condemnation, innocents were so purged.
Their utopia and refuge all undone by ambitions mad,
But also by vengeful gods, whose ideals went as bad!
When it was all over a rainbow shone through clouds,
That had beheld nobility and magnificence in decline.
Gone were the people, and never more were crowds…
Gathering in Atlantis, to behold a new day’s sunshine.
Even my fellow archons paid up with their own lives,
The price for those ambitions they sought to disguise.
But we live again, and so I who was first of our kind,
Am bound in a human body with a proud godly mind.
