The City by the Sea: Mystery of Magisterium’s Constable
Original Gothic Poem. A Dark Romantic Tale of Justice, Faith, & Divine Vengeance.
CANTO I The City by the Sea Once thwas a city by the sea, Forged of gold, christened in sheen, Citizens spirited, with eerie glee. The Eld' Magistrate dispatched me to spy, "Constable: Resolve the mystery of this child who died." Across hilltops and crests, valleys and fords, I obeyed this duty unto an ominous gorge. Bluffs fell sharp to the water, Blockading wars of oceans betrothed, Atop it, a stone serpent winding, A lone path travelers called, Herode. The musky morning bade me missteps, For I fared a dense dusky mist, When a lilt perked my aural sense, And pricked my spine with afoul bliss. SOUND faded to FORCE, As of some aetherly wind, WOOSH! She burst the blinding! Anointing dank stench with sweet scent. Alas! I saw, halating glows of the city, Outshining dawn vapors, which foiled my eyes, And there she stood, a pure white mystery, Beaming radiance, abroad the skies. Daunting walls, baroque delights, high and unkind, Cherubim towers, brooding might, grave and sublime. CANTO II Citizens of Epicurus Passersby led me in through her gates, Their smiles unyoked from their narrow eyes, Suspicions brewed deep within me, Had I disturbed Dante's hive? I came upon whispering bards, I felt the siege of seductive moods, I heard malice in murmuring secrets, I fell prey to ladies' woos. Prescribed guides wheedled, Oft to degrade me perverse, But I would not betray God, Nor partake in Rome's curse. Some madame tempted, "But, women and wine...", I refused such reduction, And cited her crime. She hushed and left silent, Disappeared behind walls, For she feared what could come, The Good Vengeance of law. The rest eschewed with smooth banter, To dissuade justice through song, And blunder my chase, 'til I ordered them, STOP. (Laughter) Righteous rage, they belittled. Enlightened reason, they ignored. Fair inquisition, they mocked. Heaven forbid what they lived for... Solomon's apostasy in yore: Night by night, they flooded markets and taverns, Hedonists living, with unconscionable pattern. So I summoned them all, by order of court, Epicureans stopped, and lent ears to my storm. They gathered round, shouting, "Speak thy peace! Bring us truth!" But I questioned forthwith, "How did the boy die among you?" Swift tongues fell silent, The boy's death they denied, But mad eyes unveiled, What wry lips beguiled. With stranger acts they spurned me, Crowds erupting by what I inquired, Flailing, wailing, and screaming, "He means to burn us in the fires of Lord Pyre!" Others warned me, "Shoo, quickly! Do not speak of such death, You gamble life claiming, A boy drowned in our depths." I said, "Not once did I, Accuse such aloud, Your folly, not mine, Confesses your shroud." Then evening turned to evil, And rebuke to torched flame, They all demanded my end, “Burn the Lord's man at the stake!” CANTO III Evasion and Escape The city now rife, with a mob of vile fools, I fled to the edge, evading their view. I condemned the city, enraged, Even afraid of its blight, Kneeling, I prayed, As Starlight anchored the night: Lord of all creation, I am deeply perturbed. The Pit besets me, I am lost without good. Do I leave and escape? Or face this evil scythe? To bring solace to souls, Suff'ring hells of men's minds? Or have I met my fate, On the edge of these slopes, Where I surrender the end, In faith of your hope? Fear has found me a man, Weakened and tried, Oh, the wrongs I have tread! Oh, the times I have lied! Forgive me all my failings, And save me, but not from this test, But of the fires in which, That dark city heads. Your will be done, Amen. The heavens above me, Struck awe as I vexed, "God, is conscience dead? Or the city a hex?" How could all flog justice? Flouting the law, Are there any good left? Any at all? Then, slumber subdued me, And sneaking spirits aroused, Wicked visions and nightmares! Murderous hounds! Thwkh! Shthkh! Me torn from their teeth. Bloodied and gashed, Godspeed quickening! Then, being caught up, The beasts faded out, Faint whimpers of death, Blurred with night ocean howls. CANTO IV The Visitation Then, I awoke, Upon slopes by the sea, Shaken by horror, Just seen in my dreams. I wandered a ledge, Perched in crepuscular fog, Its murk unsettled my spirit, Careening 'tween eerie and odd. Then, souls whispered, I know where he died, I jumped up affright, SHOW YOURSELF, I cried. I whirled round with my dagger, When a gust cleared a descent, Phantoms piqued my feet forward, Down t'ward hidden lowlands. CANTO V The Hidden Cove A path laid fore to the gorge floor, And into the open of a lone, quaint cove, Em'rald waters caressed the shore, stoking, And smoke arose from her form, boding. As she haunted with peace, A warning rasped from my rear, “Do not enter the water, Doom watches therein.” I turned ‘bout to see, An old seafaring man, He beckoned me near, I obliged his command. “Te'enter is sin,” he shunned, “An' judgement draws near, Accursed in reeds 'neath us, Sords for the Queen of Fear.” He lifted his eyes, burned smoky white, I saw no soul, nor glint of light. He warned, “B'ware the city, And'er children’s deceit, For they wish te'hide, What lies beneath." "And what is that," I asked. "Bring thy ear hither to me." I leaned in for his whisper, Hades of the Sea... He regaled of "otherly beauties, 'bominable seeds of Man’s sins, Lady-serpents of water, Soulyss-feeders of men." CANTO VI Villainy and Vagabonds "...was a time no one b'lieved, 'cept an odd few," He spat, "gypsy scoundrels, I hated that crew. I scorned whores in passing, 'specially Romas by port, 'til I angered'er greatly, and she 'cused me of force. Wanted, I fled, Nightfallin', I returned. B'deviled in beatin'er red, Settled on leavin'er dead. I learned she ran, Out the city and south, I tracked'er steps here, Te'cut the tongue from'er mouth." CANTO VII An Angel of Light "t'was a dark eve, Much like this scene, A new moon night, When the light is sheathed. An' out in the blackness, Ashimm'ring color o'rose, An' of green and silver, That drifted t'ward shore. The shining mesmerized me, Heart hollowed light as leaves, A god-woman cleaved the surface, An'er bare body gleamed." He said lust drew him, as she bathed in cove waters, Entranced by the Sea, and her seductive daughter. "She slithered ever closer, Beauty no other held fairer, I fell into'er arms, Swooned from all o'my cares." Her light held an image, Sinners painted in dreams: A good woman to wed, A blessed mother to-be. Even dastards as he, Wished of such fantasies... But FATE bereaved, and KILLED his dream. CANTO VIII Sundering Veils Them being alone, She stole him below, Deeper, she swam, Agrinning aglow. The man's irises glazed, Not even heaving for air, Her wiles had worked, He freely drowned in her snare. Her beauty morphed grim, She mauled him in blows, His blood flowed up, He sank down low. Succubi of the sea, Dragged him deep into hell, Yet the light from the stars, Dawned will at his helm. He waded up, Up so affright, The Sea said, ARISE, Or suffer our night! Swiftly, they chased him, Separations closed, The sirens darkened dim, Their fair veils deposed. CANTO IX Torment and Torture Frantic, he hurried, Bloodied, he fled, The city beaming its beacons, As if taunting his dread. He sundered sea’s blanket, Racing t’ward silver shores, Salvation rested there waiting, The Sea swallowed all hope. Pain pierced the man's feet, Demons screeching shrill caws, The Sisters rallied in aid, Ransacking his guard. They snatched him deep, to blackness afar, To the Witchic Lair, of the Abyss' Mars. They fastened him bound, By sinew of the sea, And tortured his skin, Sating pleasures unclean. The beauteous devils, savored their scourge, But he lorded his pain, wielding silence as sword. Their witchlust waned cold, For he cried no recants, Wounds invoked him no writhe, He'd made peace with his death. Restraining violence, they pondered, "Is his suffering vain? Torture births us great thrill, If only victims pain." "Should we just give him mercy?" "No! He might stir men to fight!" They devised sure word, He’d be theirs all his life. The Queen of their ring, Decreed, “He shan't die. But punish severe, So fear be kept ripe.” The Queen beckoned her firstling, And changed her back to lustform, And shook a staff in her hand, Chanting words men scorned: “Your Mind is Hers, Her Beauty is Yourn, But All You See, Will Be Unborn.” They made ready the fire, And conjured powers to smite, And sent him floating ashore, Bereft of eyes, devoid of sight. CANTO X The Peace of Sea's Feast The sea farer arose, And broke free from his tale, I doubted his words, But I feared them as well. He continued his ode: “So, the Merwitch let me go, I returned to a city, Stricken silent as stones. All glee had subsided, My story caused them offense, Me living: their horror, Their cure: me dead. But I preached them warnings, And the first fearing believed, As every good man vanished, Within the wicked sea. The Fearing brokered a tribute, They called, Peace of the Beast: Gift one bastard disowned, New moons of sea’s feast.” I revolted such words, “But if these devils be true, The Magistrate must know, For the King to send troops.” His brows furrowed, His sorrow feigned deep, He tearfully stuttered, “Do not be like the boy. Heed and leave." I sprung up, "The boy was here? Did he go in the sea? Do you know what happened? What did you see?" The old man said, "Do not tarry with questions, For the hour draws near, Where the waters will change, If you linger here.” The old man stared, As if he had sight, The night bells ringed, He then warned me these lines: “You wander amiss, Minding justice for all, Your power is weak, Our oath is our law. You speak to the deaf, You listen to the mute, What is it, That you think you can do? Go now, Or regret this eve, When you witness the fiend, Come make dark peace." I left him there, to a near village to sleep, But conscience withstood me in dream: You will not leave. CANTO XI Future and Fate In the midst of that night, I returned to the gorge, And glimpsed the old man, Drowning off shore. I descended to save him, Submerging waters accursed, He recoiled upright, But refused to turn. He waited waist deep, As the waters took rest, I rang out, Old man! But he froze there as dead. Then, the ocean whistled, Yet the sea made no sound, A shadow moved underneath me, SNATCHED! Deep, deep down. I bludgeoned the devil, With the might of my fist, She rebounded the blow, With a teeth-gritting hiss. I stormed up for air, But FORCE held my head in, Two hands made me squirm, The culprit? The seafarer man! Nighthounds engulfed me, Light abated mine eyes, Mortal vision eroding, Oh, the shadowy frights! BLACK CHASMS and VOIDS, and SHUDDERS UNBRIGHT, DEATH extinguished to LIGHT, and then...LIFE. The old man fixed his eyes eager, 'til the Constable's flailing ceased, His luring worked as agreed, His gift for Her feast. She ascended the surface, Out of darkness, serene, "My love of the sea, My longing heart clings." She came to his lips, And met him a kiss, His weakness: her beauty, Her blinding: his bliss. CANTO XII Damnation and Restoration I beheld the witch and her lover, As I translated through air, Ferried o'er hell's death, To white shores in the Lord's heav'n. Appearing there, a boy stood, Among the saints of the slain, Was this the child I failed? He said, "I am he who you claim. But fear not, nor worry, For your honor is known, Among all of the children, Standing fore of God's throne." Then I heard faint echos, They sounded of praise, A chorus of heathens, Murmuring psalms of my fate. A cacophony of men, Adorned in angels' light, Gloried the err of their sin, Mocking God's sanctified. And yet their bells rang, And harps played in jubilee, Ghouls gnashing of peace, In the Sea Witch liturgy. Above the horizon of time, From afore to alyond, The Constable’s repudiation echoed, THE WRATH OF GOD’S THRONE: Ye, inglorious cowards! Ye, accursed for End Days! Thy sea shall meet its maker, Thy city shall burn in its ways. And the oracles of heaven, Let the Lord's man see, The FORCE of judgement, From Eternity: And the blood Sun arose, on that foul city of Saul, And the morrow groaned, with an evil call, And the Deep struck, as the Constable watched, Witches devouring all, as men ravished their vomit like dogs. And when the Deep could avenge no more, Upon cleansing the city of men, God summoned His furious scourge, A fervent heat melting the city and witches in villainous sin. written by Mike The Marine
Author’s Note
I hope you gathered something from this mini epic that made it worthwhile reading. There’s quite a few things which could be discussed, so leave a thought in the comments. My process for writing this began traditional—on paper. It was a very bare bones form compared to the final version you read now. My intent was to create a mystery in which a detective investigates, but his efforts are futile as nothing is as what it seems. As I developed the plot and its sequence of events, I realized, with each and every reading, there were details missing. So, I expanded, expounded, elaborated, eviscerated…wait, one of those doesn’t belong…moving on…Not only that, I was trying to maintain a non-rigid rhythmic structure of meter and verse without losing the full breadth of themes within the story. All those goals stirred together in the soup of my brain and rendered The City by the Sea.
Below is one of the original pages I found from my first draft (messy, I know). I think I discarded the others. Unfortunately. Save your work! It goes to show that writing is like a potter forming clay. The beginning is messy and seemingly impossible for something good to come out of it, but the Potter knows its end will be a work of art.
Lexical Footnotes
There may be a couple of coined terms in the narrative that appear unfamiliar. Hopefully, the essence of their meaning is captured in context, but in case you are curious, I have added the words, their meanings, and how I derived them below:
Soulyss - a fusion of soul and abyss. I sought to elicit the idea of the Merwitches as predatory chasms of emptiness. No conscience, no empathy, no love. A complete untethering from God and humanity.
Alyond - a fusion of archaic roots, al, and, yond. Al is seen in words like altogether or alway, which is just an older prefix indicating all of (something). Yond denotes a few different meanings as can be exemplified in the words beyond or yonder. In this application, it means all of yond or beyond in the sense of both time and space. Altogether, it means an inclusion of all things beyond temporal perception unto the farthest reaches of eternity. It covers all future, even surpassing it.
Herode - a protologism that came from the simple phrase, her road (referring to the main road into the city). I combined her and road for a more interesting name, but it ended up evoking deeper meaning as the name resembles the evil King, Herod The Great, who ruled Judea under the governance of Rome.
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