It came in the form of ink Words scratched into parchment You are saved from darkness You are finally free
The tyrant was defeated, his subjects all released A cause for celebration, for songs and lively dances From sunrise til sunset we all rejoiced Our long-lived enemy at last defeated
Still dread filled the pit of my stomach And fear clutched at my sodden heart A feeling that something was still wrong I felt it so clearly, yet I was the only one
Crazy, I told myself Worried, I insisted Scared, I must be Nothing is wrong
But as time slipped by the feeling grew stronger It clanged loudly around in my head It deeply scratched my insides as it moved There had to be something I could do to stop it
A quick visit to the castle To prove everything is okay Then I can move on with life And leave behind this feeling
The stones were cold and the passages dark It sent shivers right down my bones Despite this; things seemed normal And no problem did arise
The feeling still scratched and screamed So further into that huge castle I crept Winding stairways flickered with candles And further I went, until I reached an open door
The ruler sat at a desk with a quill held in hand It wobbled quickly as he wrote on pristine parchment The same scratched ink that told us of our freedom Around him sat glinting gold and sparkling silver
I followed when he walked deeper into the castle Just outside the candle light is where I hid For once the shadows were my friends My steps silent and we moved in sync
He looked to be a normal one No horns or ghoulish features But I caught a glimpse at his eyes In them I saw an unhinged storm
Yet maybe I was wrong As I had been before As I thought I was now I should just leave and go home
A new door creaked open and I froze Through it flooded screams of pain and terror That feeling gripped me once again It pushed me until I clutched that open door
Cages, fire, knifes, blood, things I don’t know what to call The space stretched further into darkness then I could see While terror and torment seemed to cover every inch I told you so, the feeling whispered triumphantly in my ear It was all those who stood to be different Those who could stand against the ruler Those who did what he didn’t like Those who didn’t follow orders
This was not the freedom promised This was just the same tyranny again But this time more deadly It came as a silent, hidden threat
I stumbled away and out of that ghastly place Outside I heaved and threw up then lay down exhausted The feeling was now gone, it had been replaced With the weight of knowledge that I’d found
Staring at the stars I didn’t know what to do The people would never believe me That their blissful world was ugly That their saviour was their fear
They would remind me of the freedom Declared on that very first day The one they say is written in ink But behind that is written in blood So, I wrote my own parchment A warning to you who reads it There is horror in that stone castle And a secret tyrant lies within
Get away, leave now Before it is too late You can still recover But keep a careful eye
They watch for things like this For people who know the truth Don’t yell it loud, just whisper To those you trust to not tell a soul
Now it’s up to you if you believe these written words I cannot help anymore, I’ve left to escape to foreign lands Leaving only this written parchment for you in my wake Maybe ink can save you, the same way that it once fooled you
First published by Dragon Soul Press in Organic Ink Volume 2