The Bard’s Tale
“Here ye, hear ye, may the Muse speak through me,”
Quoth the Bard, laying out his tarot cards,
“Hath any so terrible a creature as the Dragon seen?
Listen well, for thee I shall tell
Of a knight both honored and keen.
To the crowd gathering for his rhyme,
He supplied the visage wheel of fate,
Thusly beginning, ”Once upon a time,
A gold-locked princess was offered as bait,
By her father, weakened though grand both in power and size,
For his kingdom had seen calamity of late.
So suitors came, slithering to claim this prize.
The weeping virgin was matched
To some gold-toothed hippo of a man,
Then away to his lands her veil was snatched.
The king then lived again in opulence for a short span–
But alas, a predator’s jaws soon ate all the crown’s grain.
Now there was a knight of some great fame,
Lineage to many of great renown,
Whom the king now hastened to accolade.
“A Dragon now weakens this crown,
Mighty Knight, save us from his dreadful raid!
For he our people be starved,
For he our maidens and damsels be taken,
For he our coffers hath caved!”
At this command, the knight’s resolve was shaken,
But with a soul both filled with iron and fire,
The knight replied, “Your wish is my command!”
Where he stood, he slayed the Dragon, his sire,
With the people’s piercing wrath in hand.”
The Invocation of the Muse is written into many epic poems, a prayer for inspiration for the poet but also the bard, who is tasked with recalling the entirety of a story or improvising wordplay on the spot if he cannot. Tarot cards originate from Italian city-states and have been used by generals, kings, and common citizens to provide predictions and guided insight into the present, past, and future. The Rota Fortunae, or "Wheel of Fortune" represents the change of fate as a cycle; kings at the top will tumble, and ordinary people may rise up.
Accolade- n to bestow knighthood by placing a sword on the shoulders. Used in the modern day to symbolize a merit-based award.
