The Opaeied

[Nathan]

The Opaeied

As translated by Nathan Shepard

Book I – The Fall of Jasonia

Wet was the day the islands fell to sea,
And all lands shuddered uncontrollably,
Forever to rest by Tapfer so fair.
These events have been passed down with such care,
From ancient Nett Opaegh comes our story
Of noble quests before our country.
For Nett Opaegh, our most ancient father,
Lived his life upon the land-locked Tapfer.
In Jasonia, floating in the sky,
Those of the ground envied those of up high.
In the grand palaces and institutes
And the concerts with thousands of flutes,
Those on the islands lived as the masters
Unaware of the coming disasters.
With the collapse of all authority
Life was crueler in Nett’s ancient city.
“Why should I remain here,” wise Nett implores,
Where brigands and beggars roam streets and stores?
The world is young, I will go into it,
Found a city where the evil submit.”
But brave Nett Opaegh of such lowly trade
Had to his name only a single blade.
“With this sword I shall forge my sovereignty,
Let me be held safe by my piety.”
And so Nett, of whom we praise, left that place
So full of sin, depravity, and vice,
Set out into the wilds of Tapfer,
So full of tribulations and treasure.

Book II – The Encounter With Pinax

Nett Opaegh was camping near a mountain
When came a sound causing in the ear such pain.
A great boulder came crashing down near Nett
Prompting him for danger soon to be met.
A great voice, from everywhere and nowhere,
“You who are of the people of the air,
This is not your land, nor have you a claim!
Leave Pinax’s home lest I strike you lame!”
At that Nett saw the very mountain move
And the image of a man left a groove.
The great Pinax, nearly twenty feet high,
Stood so that his sword seemed to touch the sky.
Nett spake, “Pinax, I am my own nation.
I seek land to mold my own creation.”
“NO!” the rocks bellowed back as one let loose.
Nimble Nett ducked away as vines formed a noose,
Thinking, he said, “O Pinax, hear me out,
I don’t want your land, show another route.”
The rocks grew silent, in contemplation,
“Very well, tiny man, for your nation,
There is a great island, east of this place.
It is not mine, go there and dwell in peace.”
“Thank you, O great Pinax, you are most kind – ”
“Do not thank me when you are in a bind!
Great waters form the border between lands,
In which lives a beast that attacks the sands.”
Nett stood silent. Firstly, he had no boat.
And the thought of a sea beast closed his throat.

Book III – The Journey to Bora Derra’s Waters

Nett Opaegh crossed the mountain without pain
And vast lands opened to him, full of grain.
He noted with much glee the mild clime,
Green plants and free of Jasonia’s grime.
One night while on a hill he saw some light
That was campfire brightening the night.
The next day he approached the camp of Klaas,
A people, proud, noble and of the seas.
They lived along the Waters between lands
And tended their grain fields with their hands.
“Klaasiyans, I seek to cross the Waters,”
They nodded wisely and gave him flowers.
For Nett they feasted on bagels and juice,
Offered glowing gems and asked Nett to choose.
The gems and Nett’s blade, combined by jeweler;
Jasonian steel grew with Klaas power.
Now Nett’s sword could combat Bora Derra,
The monster that Pinax warned Opaegh of.
The Klaas were hospitable but not fools,
They gave Nett a boat and required tools.
Standing on cliffs, the Klaas waved Nett to sea,
The battle ahead was only for he.
Days pass, a great disturbance rocks the boat.
It is the horrible Bora Derra,
Guarding his deep dark home from intrude’a.
The sea rends itself open; sight untold
Since days long ago of maritime old.
Man and beast, tentacle and arm, this fight
Raged bloody and wet all through the tenth night.
Finally, Nett’s enchanted blade struck true
And the fearsome beast fell into the blue.
The sea calmed and his boat hit yellow sand
He had arrived on what would be our land.
The noble, proud and strong Mehl took him in
In this new land, so fresh and with out sin.