It’s been so long since I have told
The story of strong Coltes
Alone I see only small bits
And pieces of his story

CALLING THE MUSE

Oh Cosmic Idol, oh muse of song,
Bless my old and weakened mind,
That I may be able to recall
The tale of this great hero.

It started many years ago, with an ancient book.
The Book of Songs, as it was named,
And within lied magic tunes
That Apollo’s children sang

With these songs they did great deeds
And overcame all dangers
These songs were potent, pretty things
Like a faerie as it slumbers

These children of the god of music
All lived within a teeny village
The village was called Normandy
And they were often pillaged

For several years, the people suffered
Before Apollo came
And blessed them with his great spell book
And kin working in his name

The villagers called these gifted babes
By a name that they saw fit
“The Singers!” they shouted
“The Singers are our protectors!”

And so the Singers came to be
And they fought zealously for their land
With songs powerful enough
To kill even a dragon

Until one day there came a man
Unnamed and unwelcome
But he had magic unlike any
That the Singers had ever seen

Battles raged, as dark and light
Clashed together in a fearsome fight
Until this evildoer had defeated
The town’s beloved Singer’s

A tyrant that man became
An evil gruesome tyrant!
He ruled with sword and mighty whip
And the villagers lost hope

Until this time, had no clue
What had happened to his children
But when he came to check on them
He found them gone and knew them dead

And then he gave a savage roar
That reeked of anger and craved revenge
He lashed out with his godly power and
The unnamed tyrant met his end

His trust with the villagers was then broken
For they had let his children die
He feared giving them more Singers
So Apollo did not provide

But still he loved the small town
And thus gave them some protection
He sent down to them a young man
No older than eleven

This boy just seemed like…
Well, a boy. Yet more than a boy
The way his muscles rippled all over
And his fair hair seemed of angels

“Train this boy with The Book of Songs,”
Apollo said as the people gawked
“He is not much will protect
In times of gravest danger.”

When Apollo left, the villagers
Could not believe their eyes
“But what’s your name?”
One man called out to the angel that stood before them

“My name?” asked he.
“You may call me Coltes.”

10 YEARS LATER


Now, at this point of time strong Coltes
Had done plenty of great things
For tiny Normandy
And the entire village loved him

Now trained with the Book of Songs,
He possessed magic nearly as strong
As the Singers’ magic was
And with it he could do anything

He could freeze lakes for the villagers to cross
Or kill a mighty deer.
Through these songs he could even heal
And life in the land was swell.

With wisdom, Coltes led the place
And everybody trusted him
And no matter how he rejected them
Ladies always fell for him

COMMUNITY IS AFFLICTED WITH HARDSHIP

One day in the heat of summer
A murmur rose about the land.
The tension in the air was nearly palpable
And Coltes came to see what was at hand

“Did you hear?” said one man to another
“The Nameless tyrant was never dead!”
“He is returning!” the second man said.
And the village began to panic

“Be calm!”cried Coltes into the frantic air
But it was then that the sky began to darken
And a godlike voice boomed out
“Beware for I, Beneus, have returned!”

The evildoer from their past
Truly had returned!
But now they knew his name
And the villagers were struck with fear

“Surrender to me the Book of Songs by twilight of the next
Or I will enslave Normandy’s people
And Coltes shall be dead!”

The sky returned
To its gray-blue sheen looking
As a lake overlaid with mist does in the heat of the day
But as soon as the color had returned, the sky was suddenly lit up

HERO IS CALLED UPON

Apollo’s voice was then heard
Above the panicked cries
“Coltes!” he cried
And the amazing man stepped forward

“Apollo! Dear god! Beneus has returned!”
Apollo looked upon Coltes and commanded him to travel to the tallest mountain
Where deep within lied Beneus.

He said to go and defeat him there before he came to kill him.
Coltes cried to Apollo for help, any he could muster
But all the god could do for him is make him a little tougher

HERO BEGINS JOURNEY

With sandals on and songs in mind
Our hero stepped to the road
He began to walk for a while then
Until he saw a hole

TRIAL

Not a hole but a crack in the earth!
At least 70 feet wide!
Coltes thought and thought and thought
But no song came to mind

He thought of jumping but how could he?
He had not the power
Some way from him
He saw a kid, and made a small sacrifice

“Oh Poseidon oh god of earth and sea! Please come to my aid and help me!
I offer you a kid as sacrifice!
Please close this crevice so I may cross!”

TRIAL RESOLVED

The mighty god heard his prayer
And his offering had pleased him
So the earth began to shake and shake
Until the crevice began to close

When the Earth was put together again
Coltes crossed the road
But Poseidon’s help was not enough, the crevice broke open again!
Our hero slid and slipped and feel down deep into the crack

ANOTHER TRIAL

He felt extreme heat on his back and saw a wall of fire
“WELCOME TO THE UNDERWORLD”
Said a sign hung on a near spire

Coltes tried to go closer to the fire, but the heat was just too much
It burned not only skin and flesh but his very soul
This time, though he did think
That he had a song

A song for putting out fires, yes! That’s what he would use!
He racked his brain for the right words, until he soon found them
And sang with all the had

TRIAL RESOLVED

The fire receded then but not all the way to the ground
Coltes judged it well enough, though