Minions’ War
Mark A D Hay
2025
*
In shadow’s age, when warlocks reigned,
And blood was coin in lands profaned,
A Kobold rose from ash and chain
Kederigan, of fire and bane.
*
He fought beneath the Dark Lord’s hand,
A minion bound by cursed command,
Through fields of ruin, skies of flame,
He bore the mark; he bore the shame.
*
The war was lost. The light prevailed.
The warlock fell, his fortress veiled.
Kederigan fled with kin to stone,
To starve in caves, to die unknown.
*
But silence broke, a new voice called
Another warlock, black and bald,
With dragons bound in iron rings,
And goblins crowned as lesser kings.
*
Again, the minions marched to fight,
Through orcish rage and mage-born light,
Through centaur charge and satyr song,
They fought, they bled, alas victory gone.
*
This time, Kederigan did not flee.
He turned from fate, from prophecy.
He barred the gates of mountain keep,
And swore no war would make him weep.
*
The fortress stood, a jagged scar,
Between the realms of light and dark.
The armies came, the siege began,
But found no warlock, found no plan.
*
The mages of the light withdrew,
Their cause dissolved, their purpose through.
The dragons wheeled, the ravens cried,
And Kederigan watched them glide
*
Then rose the third, the final shade,
A warlock born of bone and blade.
He called the minions, called the horde,
But Kederigan broke the chord.
*
He rallied dwarfs with hammer’s song,
And elves with bows both swift and long.
He called the humans, brave and worn,
And forged a pact in battle sworn.
*
The goblins turned, the orcs betrayed,
The centaurs charged with hooves arrayed.
The satyrs danced to darker drums,
But Kederigan would not succumb.
*
He led his kin through fire and storm,
Through shattered spells and twisted forms.
He faced the warlock, eye to eye,
And struck him down beneath the sky.
*
The mountain roared. The silence broke.
The chains of fate began to smoke.
The minions cheered, the light stood still,
And Kederigan bent fate to will.
*
No longer slave, no longer pawn,
He claimed the land; he claimed the dawn.
The Kobolds crowned him mountain king,
And peace became a living thing.
*
So, sing, O bards, of minion’s war,
Of Kederigan, who asked for more.
Not death, not flight, not cursed command
But honour, fire, and rightful land.