" GRAVANTHA " the gray warrior...

Decaying, brittle, dead brush and trees, once lovely teardrops laying flat
The river wash had shrunk decades ago, footprints alerting her to attack
Gravantha thought to herself, the wraiths would soon be upon her, she laughed
As darkness soaked into the air as if it were oozing out of the ground, she laughed again
Her plan to work her grayness was moving perfectly as spectral shapes moved in
She resigned herself to camping there, the fire would lure the wraiths
She fashioned an imitation of herself from grayness, and silently slipped away
The river made a slithering noise like an ambush in its course, she waited in the shadows
She could sense her prey, slowly unsheathed her sword, she felt them in her toes
The shadowy imitation of herself sat before the fire and appeared as wraiths filed in
They had a hungry aspect, their jaws were rife with teeth an acrid, putrid, grin
Assuming she was asleep the first of them lifted a rotting blade, when suddenly a whir
Blazed gray thunder as she pounced on the six of them three arms fell into her blur
Blood covered the imitation of herself as her sword feverishly hacking heads and arms
Five wraiths lay quivering on the ground and twisted pieces of rancid flesh spat blood
And left the last wraith standing frozen red eyes drowned, no one could see Gravantha
She was simply shadow, the gray warrior was the last soldier of her race
A bloody sword floating in front of the frozen wraith her magic controlling it's heart
She laughed out loud, one swift movement and it's head lay on the ground
The neck, a bloody fountain frozen, Gravantha revealed herself
And split him straight in two, she collected teeth and bone and washed them in desire
She collected her other self, squatted, and pissed out the fire
Calmly, she collected herself, the teeth, and bones
She strode into the shadows
The Gray warrior was gone
But she was not forgotten
She had left a symbol
On the ground
A single word
That read
GRAYNESS.........

Tony Taylor   (Chicago)