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The Princess and the Pearl
- The Princess and the Pearl -
The rise and fall of Ys, as I witnessed it in a past life!
Prologue: The Pearl Angel
Once there were two sisters, both goddesses on high,
Who lived in a white city that drifted, through the sky!
One discovered a fallen angel in a pearl locked away,
And she was cast down into mortal flesh for curiosity.
Reborn as the daughter of a king that did hold sway…
Over Cornouaille: and one day Ys by virtuous dignity;
She did not remember any life before that incarnation.
Nor that her fall took place two thousand years prior!
Between then, and the hour of her birth in that nation,
The pearl was granted to the Ancients, of their desire.
Part I: The Building of Ys
Of old, I walked in a land steeped in glorious magic…
A small nation that sat upon the coasts of old Brittany,
Whose history was as long as it was sometimes tragic!
I sing of Ys, whose capital did lie close unto the sea…
In Douarnenez Bay, where the Ancients raised marble,
To build temple and palaces fit for gods to there abide.
For two thousand years the city grew for all to marvel,
Whilst it slowly sank before the ocean’s mighty stride!
Once those years came to pass it was thus in the reign,
Of Gradlon, former king of Cornouaille and then Ys…
When the people feared the end was closing with pain,
That the mighty dam was raised, which brought peace.
So grand was that blockade, that it did hold the ocean!
And though the land of Ys was as low as the sea floor,
All was safe from the waves and their crashing motion.
Thus the people who knew such fear did fear no more!
A single gate was set in the dam, and when tides sank,
Lowest as can be, the gate would open as ships sailed.
Old canals and subterranean channels the water drank,
Keeping things in balance, as the wise king was hailed.
Part II: The Northern Queen
When Gradlon was still a young king in the northlands,
He wandered the length of the desolate high steppes…
Until he espied, a woman with long red hair and bangs,
White as moonlight, with the eeriness that ever creeps.
Resplendent in armor of gold it was Malgven, a queen!
Ruler of the north’s cold arborean realms of old winter.
Together they slew her husband, as had been foreseen,
By an ancient prophet, who was occasionally a vintner.
On the eve of their victory, over all the northern rebels,
A violent storm raged, foreshadowing a storm unborn…
Years later, a similar wind would lash coastal pebbles,
As the queen died, giving birth, her peoples did mourn.
So the king had a daughter, a goddess given new flesh!
She grew in unearthly beauty, with long blond tresses…
As curious as ever, her mind seeking lofty ideas afresh.
She had sapphire eyes, and donned sea-green dresses,
And wherever she walked, people bowed in such awe!
For her, the city of Ys was given a celestial grandeur…
Until the fairness of that place, no architect could draw.
It seemed no human mind could have been its’ planner!
Part III: The King’s Daughter
Dahut was the daughter of the king, a princess so fair…
Yet whose heart was fated to hide, a diabolic madness!
He gave unto her the land of Ys; its’ rule they did share.
From a tower in the city, Dahut’s spirits knew gladness,
For so fervently did she love the sea, the city’s cradle…
That just being in the tower made her of a desire to sing.
Within that spire, she discovered a shrine out of fable…
Upon its’ altar sat a man-sized pearl enfolded by wings.
The pearl was black as night, and pulsed with inner fire,
For inside it lay a demon, long imprisoned for centuries.
It whispered unto Dahut and fed her with a mad desire,
And through her the land of Ys indulged in all iniquities!
Orgies and bacchanalias in honor of powers forbidden,
Became commonplace, whilst many lovers Dahut took.
Each one was sacrificed to the demon until, guilt-ridden,
The princess could no longer, to the high heavens look.
Saint Winwaloeus raised his voice against the darkness,
But not one ear would hear his warnings of God’s fury.
For by then, the evils of Ys had become too numerous,
As all the peoples were intoxicated by Dahut’s sorcery.
Part IV: The Mask of Death
Each evening Dahut would take a new love to her bed,
Men and women alike, both adult and child as it suited.
They were commoner and noble as low and high bred,
And as diverse as the desires that were now so rooted.
So held firm by the princess, that she could not master,
Either reason or excuse for the deeds she had indulged.
Dahut knew all that was coming, foresaw the disaster…
Perhaps she helped it grow, until its’ evil greatly bulged.
Each lover was given to wear: a raven-black facemask,
And when the sun rose and all heard the morning lark…
Its’ fabric would then constrict, leaving a victim to gasp.
The bodies would be taken over the walls of the park…
Which lay around the base of the tower, green and lush.
They would fall into the Bay of Souls like some abyss…
Never to be seen again, sad voices lost in the final hush.
Such was the price for a night with Dahut, and her kiss!
Their valuables would pay the wicked Korrigan goblins,
That same race who fashioned the gates of Ys, in silver.
Beasts of the deep would look for any bodies bobbing,
Whilst vile pacts were honored to make souls to shiver!
Part V: The Crimson Knight
I came to Ys by ship, dressed in red armor and finery…
Hearing tales of the wonders of that kingdom from afar.
Seeing instead only corruption and a decadent villainy…
I swore an oath to cleanse the stain upon the city’s star.
Each day, the high priest of Dahut would ring five bells,
And five maidens would be offered up, in bloody ritual.
There was false pride in the heart of Ys such as swells,
Until it could no longer be called a thing that is spiritual.
My sword tasted the blood of the high priest in disgust,
Prompting the guards to bring me to the tower unholy…
Where the princess reclined, her mind indulging in lusts.
Seeing her beauty, I too knew notions wicked, unruly…
And so caught in her spell, I was taken to her chamber.
There, I was her lover long and the first to live, to tell…
Of the things she showed me of her magic, so stranger,
Than even the infernal arts practiced by devils in Hell…
Which I had seen in my time abroad but not so closely!
Gaining her confidence I requested to see the source…
For every power has a focus, one that taps into infinity.
So came I unto the black pearl, and its’ warping force!
Part VI: The Demon Princess
Six pillars rose up around the altar and the dark shrine,
Where six wings enfolded the ebon gemstone’s form…
Each column’s runes telling histories, mortal and divine.
As I reached out to touch the black pearl it was warm!
Suddenly a storm brewed outside, and waves crashed.
I asked Dahut if the city could be safe from the torrent,
And she said: Let the storm rage, till rock be smashed!
The gates of Ys will hold, and should nature be violent,
Even so, the king alone holds the key to that hard lock.
Dahut then fell silent as a lightning bolt struck so swiftly,
Shattering a window, and hitting the altar’s silver block.
Arcs of electricity broke the pearl apart very suddenly!
Something emerged that was as like to velvet, fiery mist,
Which seemed to enter Dahut’s body, and find a home.
In her guise, the demon screeched and shook its’ fist…
As Dahut ran out into the city to, with a purpose, roam.
I followed after her and tracked her to her father’s hall,
Where she stole the key from Gradlon as he lay asleep.
I then pursued her, off to the great dam’s fortified wall,
Where the demon princess, to the gate, did then creep.
The storm raged dire; the ocean tide was highest of all!
Part VII: The Drowning of Ys
In a single instant, she unlocked the great dam’s gate…
Unleashing on the old city, waves the size of mountains.
Saint Winwaloeus had warned the king before too late,
And together they set sail, as houses became fountains!
Dahut leaped down to the boat as it passed below her,
But it was too small to bear her too; the saint thus said:
Push the demon into the sea and let the maid be a mer!
Thus did the king discard his own, leaving her for dead.
Another tiny vessel had saved me from the cataclysm…
And as we fled the city, we spied Dahut treading water.
We brought her aboard; she had a sudden paroxysm…
Yet she lived, giving up the pride of Gradlon’s daughter.
The sea covered all the land of Ys; the city sank below!
Upon clear days, you can still hear the five bells ringing,
Especially when storms are nigh, as winds start to blow.
As we journeyed elsewhere, Dahut’s voice was singing!
Gradlon took refuge in Quimper, where his statue rises,
And so, the memory of Ys was passed down to history.
Now you know my part in its’ doom, with no surprises,
But regarding Dahut, there should always be a mystery.
Part VIII: The Risen Goddesses
On our way back to the mainland, we saw this vision…
Dahut’s tower sticking out of the sea as yet not sunken.
At her request, we entered the spire without derision…
Crossing half-submerged floors that sway as if drunken.
We ran up the grand staircase circling on into the ether,
Cold waters filled up beneath us, blocking any descent.
Dahut bounded up each step as I hurried to meet her…
Until at last we arrived in the pearl shrine weary, spent.
The six pillars were broken, but still the roof yet held…
And where the pearl had been there was now an angel,
A true goddess who was Dahut’s twin; so we all felt…
The glory, as her six wings of light shimmered ever still.
Dahut approached the angel and they entwined fingers,
Clasping hands, as Dahut’s own six wings appeared…
The twin goddesses seemed frozen thus as time lingers,
For all save them; and when the spell no longer reared:
They gathered the black pearl’s shards, and took flight.
As they departed for Heaven, the tower was broken…
I leaped out a window into the sea as a sphere of light,
Destroyed the structure entirely, leaving not any token.
Epilogue: The Memory of Ys
As my tiny boat pulled into port I was lost in memory,
Unable to forget what I witnessed just hours previous.
Seraphic siblings ascending with a powerful majesty…
Their passing, marking the end of a wrath so ingenious!
I do not recall the name of the port where I did arrive,
Only that I was happy to put Ys behind me; to forget.
Gradlon’s glory faded, no matter how he might strive,
His guilt over Dahut’s fate drove him deep into regret.
And though I no longer wear armor of a bloody hue…
Ys returns to my mind when I behold the sea so blue!
The rise and fall of Ys, as I witnessed it in a past life!
Prologue: The Pearl Angel
Once there were two sisters, both goddesses on high,
Who lived in a white city that drifted, through the sky!
One discovered a fallen angel in a pearl locked away,
And she was cast down into mortal flesh for curiosity.
Reborn as the daughter of a king that did hold sway…
Over Cornouaille: and one day Ys by virtuous dignity;
She did not remember any life before that incarnation.
Nor that her fall took place two thousand years prior!
Between then, and the hour of her birth in that nation,
The pearl was granted to the Ancients, of their desire.
Part I: The Building of Ys
Of old, I walked in a land steeped in glorious magic…
A small nation that sat upon the coasts of old Brittany,
Whose history was as long as it was sometimes tragic!
I sing of Ys, whose capital did lie close unto the sea…
In Douarnenez Bay, where the Ancients raised marble,
To build temple and palaces fit for gods to there abide.
For two thousand years the city grew for all to marvel,
Whilst it slowly sank before the ocean’s mighty stride!
Once those years came to pass it was thus in the reign,
Of Gradlon, former king of Cornouaille and then Ys…
When the people feared the end was closing with pain,
That the mighty dam was raised, which brought peace.
So grand was that blockade, that it did hold the ocean!
And though the land of Ys was as low as the sea floor,
All was safe from the waves and their crashing motion.
Thus the people who knew such fear did fear no more!
A single gate was set in the dam, and when tides sank,
Lowest as can be, the gate would open as ships sailed.
Old canals and subterranean channels the water drank,
Keeping things in balance, as the wise king was hailed.
Part II: The Northern Queen
When Gradlon was still a young king in the northlands,
He wandered the length of the desolate high steppes…
Until he espied, a woman with long red hair and bangs,
White as moonlight, with the eeriness that ever creeps.
Resplendent in armor of gold it was Malgven, a queen!
Ruler of the north’s cold arborean realms of old winter.
Together they slew her husband, as had been foreseen,
By an ancient prophet, who was occasionally a vintner.
On the eve of their victory, over all the northern rebels,
A violent storm raged, foreshadowing a storm unborn…
Years later, a similar wind would lash coastal pebbles,
As the queen died, giving birth, her peoples did mourn.
So the king had a daughter, a goddess given new flesh!
She grew in unearthly beauty, with long blond tresses…
As curious as ever, her mind seeking lofty ideas afresh.
She had sapphire eyes, and donned sea-green dresses,
And wherever she walked, people bowed in such awe!
For her, the city of Ys was given a celestial grandeur…
Until the fairness of that place, no architect could draw.
It seemed no human mind could have been its’ planner!
Part III: The King’s Daughter
Dahut was the daughter of the king, a princess so fair…
Yet whose heart was fated to hide, a diabolic madness!
He gave unto her the land of Ys; its’ rule they did share.
From a tower in the city, Dahut’s spirits knew gladness,
For so fervently did she love the sea, the city’s cradle…
That just being in the tower made her of a desire to sing.
Within that spire, she discovered a shrine out of fable…
Upon its’ altar sat a man-sized pearl enfolded by wings.
The pearl was black as night, and pulsed with inner fire,
For inside it lay a demon, long imprisoned for centuries.
It whispered unto Dahut and fed her with a mad desire,
And through her the land of Ys indulged in all iniquities!
Orgies and bacchanalias in honor of powers forbidden,
Became commonplace, whilst many lovers Dahut took.
Each one was sacrificed to the demon until, guilt-ridden,
The princess could no longer, to the high heavens look.
Saint Winwaloeus raised his voice against the darkness,
But not one ear would hear his warnings of God’s fury.
For by then, the evils of Ys had become too numerous,
As all the peoples were intoxicated by Dahut’s sorcery.
Part IV: The Mask of Death
Each evening Dahut would take a new love to her bed,
Men and women alike, both adult and child as it suited.
They were commoner and noble as low and high bred,
And as diverse as the desires that were now so rooted.
So held firm by the princess, that she could not master,
Either reason or excuse for the deeds she had indulged.
Dahut knew all that was coming, foresaw the disaster…
Perhaps she helped it grow, until its’ evil greatly bulged.
Each lover was given to wear: a raven-black facemask,
And when the sun rose and all heard the morning lark…
Its’ fabric would then constrict, leaving a victim to gasp.
The bodies would be taken over the walls of the park…
Which lay around the base of the tower, green and lush.
They would fall into the Bay of Souls like some abyss…
Never to be seen again, sad voices lost in the final hush.
Such was the price for a night with Dahut, and her kiss!
Their valuables would pay the wicked Korrigan goblins,
That same race who fashioned the gates of Ys, in silver.
Beasts of the deep would look for any bodies bobbing,
Whilst vile pacts were honored to make souls to shiver!
Part V: The Crimson Knight
I came to Ys by ship, dressed in red armor and finery…
Hearing tales of the wonders of that kingdom from afar.
Seeing instead only corruption and a decadent villainy…
I swore an oath to cleanse the stain upon the city’s star.
Each day, the high priest of Dahut would ring five bells,
And five maidens would be offered up, in bloody ritual.
There was false pride in the heart of Ys such as swells,
Until it could no longer be called a thing that is spiritual.
My sword tasted the blood of the high priest in disgust,
Prompting the guards to bring me to the tower unholy…
Where the princess reclined, her mind indulging in lusts.
Seeing her beauty, I too knew notions wicked, unruly…
And so caught in her spell, I was taken to her chamber.
There, I was her lover long and the first to live, to tell…
Of the things she showed me of her magic, so stranger,
Than even the infernal arts practiced by devils in Hell…
Which I had seen in my time abroad but not so closely!
Gaining her confidence I requested to see the source…
For every power has a focus, one that taps into infinity.
So came I unto the black pearl, and its’ warping force!
Part VI: The Demon Princess
Six pillars rose up around the altar and the dark shrine,
Where six wings enfolded the ebon gemstone’s form…
Each column’s runes telling histories, mortal and divine.
As I reached out to touch the black pearl it was warm!
Suddenly a storm brewed outside, and waves crashed.
I asked Dahut if the city could be safe from the torrent,
And she said: Let the storm rage, till rock be smashed!
The gates of Ys will hold, and should nature be violent,
Even so, the king alone holds the key to that hard lock.
Dahut then fell silent as a lightning bolt struck so swiftly,
Shattering a window, and hitting the altar’s silver block.
Arcs of electricity broke the pearl apart very suddenly!
Something emerged that was as like to velvet, fiery mist,
Which seemed to enter Dahut’s body, and find a home.
In her guise, the demon screeched and shook its’ fist…
As Dahut ran out into the city to, with a purpose, roam.
I followed after her and tracked her to her father’s hall,
Where she stole the key from Gradlon as he lay asleep.
I then pursued her, off to the great dam’s fortified wall,
Where the demon princess, to the gate, did then creep.
The storm raged dire; the ocean tide was highest of all!
Part VII: The Drowning of Ys
In a single instant, she unlocked the great dam’s gate…
Unleashing on the old city, waves the size of mountains.
Saint Winwaloeus had warned the king before too late,
And together they set sail, as houses became fountains!
Dahut leaped down to the boat as it passed below her,
But it was too small to bear her too; the saint thus said:
Push the demon into the sea and let the maid be a mer!
Thus did the king discard his own, leaving her for dead.
Another tiny vessel had saved me from the cataclysm…
And as we fled the city, we spied Dahut treading water.
We brought her aboard; she had a sudden paroxysm…
Yet she lived, giving up the pride of Gradlon’s daughter.
The sea covered all the land of Ys; the city sank below!
Upon clear days, you can still hear the five bells ringing,
Especially when storms are nigh, as winds start to blow.
As we journeyed elsewhere, Dahut’s voice was singing!
Gradlon took refuge in Quimper, where his statue rises,
And so, the memory of Ys was passed down to history.
Now you know my part in its’ doom, with no surprises,
But regarding Dahut, there should always be a mystery.
Part VIII: The Risen Goddesses
On our way back to the mainland, we saw this vision…
Dahut’s tower sticking out of the sea as yet not sunken.
At her request, we entered the spire without derision…
Crossing half-submerged floors that sway as if drunken.
We ran up the grand staircase circling on into the ether,
Cold waters filled up beneath us, blocking any descent.
Dahut bounded up each step as I hurried to meet her…
Until at last we arrived in the pearl shrine weary, spent.
The six pillars were broken, but still the roof yet held…
And where the pearl had been there was now an angel,
A true goddess who was Dahut’s twin; so we all felt…
The glory, as her six wings of light shimmered ever still.
Dahut approached the angel and they entwined fingers,
Clasping hands, as Dahut’s own six wings appeared…
The twin goddesses seemed frozen thus as time lingers,
For all save them; and when the spell no longer reared:
They gathered the black pearl’s shards, and took flight.
As they departed for Heaven, the tower was broken…
I leaped out a window into the sea as a sphere of light,
Destroyed the structure entirely, leaving not any token.
Epilogue: The Memory of Ys
As my tiny boat pulled into port I was lost in memory,
Unable to forget what I witnessed just hours previous.
Seraphic siblings ascending with a powerful majesty…
Their passing, marking the end of a wrath so ingenious!
I do not recall the name of the port where I did arrive,
Only that I was happy to put Ys behind me; to forget.
Gradlon’s glory faded, no matter how he might strive,
His guilt over Dahut’s fate drove him deep into regret.
And though I no longer wear armor of a bloody hue…
Ys returns to my mind when I behold the sea so blue!
Published 14th Jan 2012
| Edited 21st Dec 2012
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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18th Sep 2012 8:55pm
My thanks, Jaynie! When I was very little, I had these strange and haunting memories of Ys. Of the great tower, and of this one magnificent mermaid statue that was carved in the likeness of the princess... amongst countless other details that only grew stronger the more I tried to recall them. At first I had thought it to have been a mere fancy of my mind... but I came to realize, after a while, that the place I recalled in these particular memories had been all too real. I could remember people, events, and my own part in those events. It was like having the history of an entire kingdom within me! I realized it was not my mind that was remembering all of this, but my soul. When I got a little older, and learned what Reincarnation is, I realized then that I had lived one of my past lives in that lost kingdom. In time, I did some research into the legend and history of Ys... and I realized at last that it really had existed, and that my memories of it were true after all. As time went by, I decided to record everything that I remembered about my life in the lost land of Ys, and that is how this poem came to be. As you can see, the story behind this poem's creation is just as fascinating as the story the poem relates! ;)
