Chorus
It comes, the wild storm.
It comes, it comes,
The wild storm, it comes.
Man
What, ho, is this
That churns the trees
And chills the air?
Chorus
The wild storm
It comes, it comes.
The wild storm, it comes.
Man
And what wonder is this,
The soft edging of the breeze?
Chorus
It comes, it comes.
The wild storm,
It comes.
Man
I must go to it, awe-of-all.
One foot I step
Forwards
Into what I have heard but not seen.
Chorus
Don’t go, don’t go;
The wild storm, it comes.
It reaches forth it find you.
Hide, and you will be saved,
Or else it will hold you
Until you are no longer man,
But beast
And the ocean and hills
Will mean no more to you
Than earth’s song
And earth’s pant,
For the wild storm, it comes.
Man
The winds have embraced me
Soft through with magic
No longer threads
Tiny arms, hands, fingers,
But a woven fabric
And the sinuous limbs
Of the liquid spell-stuff
That caress my skin.
Chorus
It comes, the wild storm.
The wild storm, it comes.
It comes with teeth and claws and sword:
Not a caress, but the whispered edge of a blade
Drawn from its sheath.
Man
But, O, how the wisdom of my forefathers
Has turned to ash.
There is nothing to fear
But the snapping and fall of branches in the gale.
Gladly, I go forward.
I find no danger here.
Chorus
Don’t go, don’t go,
The wild storm is here.
It rasps your skin and grows your claws
Sprouts fur and feather, twists your limbs
From square to round to inverse*
To a knot.
Can’t you see?
Man
Oh, God, I see!
Both
Eseteij!
About this poem
Why would the foremost expert on the most dangerous natural phenomenon in the world walk right onto the path of that phenomenon?
Magic storms with the ability to change humans into monsters plague the continent containing the country of Asebei. In the country's language, Abei, they're called eseteij in the singular, eseteijo in the plural. Defending settlements from these storms used to be little more than a hit-and-miss, with no one knowing why what they did work, or why it failed (as it invariably did, sometimes more than others).
Vjaited Roz changed all that when he invented a reliable defense against these storms that could keep entire cities safe. For this he is praised. Of course, he's also considered a madman, because the last thing he ever did was walk straight into a magical storm.
This Asebei poem, meant to be performed aloud, is about him.
*This line refers to the cursive form of the Abei writing system. Some characters have an overall round shape, others have an overall rectangular shape, while others cross themselves and are referred to as inverse. The line is saying that the man's form will be changed and, eventually, twisted beyond recognition
(This poem is in the same world as Aish of a Grey Lion.)
It comes, the wild storm.
It comes, it comes,
The wild storm, it comes.
Man
What, ho, is this
That churns the trees
And chills the air?
Chorus
The wild storm
It comes, it comes.
The wild storm, it comes.
Man
And what wonder is this,
The soft edging of the breeze?
Chorus
It comes, it comes.
The wild storm,
It comes.
Man
I must go to it, awe-of-all.
One foot I step
Forwards
Into what I have heard but not seen.
Chorus
Don’t go, don’t go;
The wild storm, it comes.
It reaches forth it find you.
Hide, and you will be saved,
Or else it will hold you
Until you are no longer man,
But beast
And the ocean and hills
Will mean no more to you
Than earth’s song
And earth’s pant,
For the wild storm, it comes.
Man
The winds have embraced me
Soft through with magic
No longer threads
Tiny arms, hands, fingers,
But a woven fabric
And the sinuous limbs
Of the liquid spell-stuff
That caress my skin.
Chorus
It comes, the wild storm.
The wild storm, it comes.
It comes with teeth and claws and sword:
Not a caress, but the whispered edge of a blade
Drawn from its sheath.
Man
But, O, how the wisdom of my forefathers
Has turned to ash.
There is nothing to fear
But the snapping and fall of branches in the gale.
Gladly, I go forward.
I find no danger here.
Chorus
Don’t go, don’t go,
The wild storm is here.
It rasps your skin and grows your claws
Sprouts fur and feather, twists your limbs
From square to round to inverse*
To a knot.
Can’t you see?
Man
Oh, God, I see!
Both
Eseteij!
About this poem
Why would the foremost expert on the most dangerous natural phenomenon in the world walk right onto the path of that phenomenon?
Magic storms with the ability to change humans into monsters plague the continent containing the country of Asebei. In the country's language, Abei, they're called eseteij in the singular, eseteijo in the plural. Defending settlements from these storms used to be little more than a hit-and-miss, with no one knowing why what they did work, or why it failed (as it invariably did, sometimes more than others).
Vjaited Roz changed all that when he invented a reliable defense against these storms that could keep entire cities safe. For this he is praised. Of course, he's also considered a madman, because the last thing he ever did was walk straight into a magical storm.
This Asebei poem, meant to be performed aloud, is about him.
*This line refers to the cursive form of the Abei writing system. Some characters have an overall round shape, others have an overall rectangular shape, while others cross themselves and are referred to as inverse. The line is saying that the man's form will be changed and, eventually, twisted beyond recognition
(This poem is in the same world as Aish of a Grey Lion.)
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