The Noise (Part 21)
THE LEGEND
That poem.
He could not get it out of his head. Duke stopped and remembered. He was being taken back. Far, far, back in time to when he was a human being and the son of a great King. The last great King of Old Earth. This memory was overpowering him and he could not oppose its siren call. Too vivid and real was the emerging perceptions, so he followed the memory all the way to the other side of the Universe.
And then he was back — there, listening to the recital of his favourite ancient poem by his own father. It was the day his father — the King — had left to fight the Horde. It was a great day of celebration as they all believed the final crushing victory was close.
The King left in full battle armour shining resplendent in the moonlight but he would never return and never again be able to tell his youngest son of the great deeds he had accomplished against the scourge of humanity. For all were slain and massacred.
For Duke, the poem remained the last memory he would have of him. Now forever the connection between him, his father and the Horde. An eternal trifecta of tribulation and trauma and testimony. To the greatness of the ancient tale, the slaughter of his father and a remembrance of the unrelenting onslaught from their evil, relentless, foe.
