The king condemned the hero to the front lines of a war

　　he quietly accepted, and he dared not ask for more

　　a battle which had brought two kingdoms many years of pain

　　to be his prison til the war was won or he was slain

　　When he joined the battle first to fight for his new king

　　tempted to imagine what rewards the fight would bring

　　finally to fight for justice, bravely without fear

　　he raised his sword to fight for every moral he held dear

　　No knowledge of his enemies or help from any friend

　　he fought in bloody battles in that war without an end

　　for all the game he`d hunted, every enemy he`d fought

　　he still believed his bloody efforts wouldn`t be for nought

　　With some rusty armour, and a rusty sword and shield

　　ordered by his captain to muddy battlefield

　　the flag he marched beneath displayed an angry lion`s head

　　the banner of the enemy, a dragon coloured red

　　He wondered why the kingdoms fought but never understood

　　if he could slay a dragon though, he thought his luck was good

　　the only dragon there, however, flew upon a flag

　　and so he`d risk his life to claim some dirty, coloured rag

　　The heroes he had read about fought monsters dark and grim

　　but now the foes he faced were men and boys as young as him

　　forced to fight or else be killed, he`d swung his rusty sword

　　soldiers just like pirates fought for death or some reward

　　The battlefields where he had planned to forge his hero`s heart

　　were built upon the ruins of a village torn apart

　　aside from soldiers all he met were starving refugees

　　mothers and their children struck with sorrow and disease

　　The first time that he saw a young girl starving in the street

　　all that he could do was stare in silence at his feet

　　he didn`t have the means to help a single person there

　　even when he stopped to say hello, they didn`t care

　　Once he`d gotten used to passing orphans on the road

　　he found a bit of purpose in the quest he`d been bestowed

　　he had no food or gold to give them, but he had a sword

　　maybe through his battles would his honour be restored

　　Such a chance arose one day when battle lines were drawn

　　the army with the dragon`s flag attacked the town at dawn

　　the slaves and conscripts, like the boy, were driven to the frontThis narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

　　meant to slow their foes` assault until their blades were blunt

　　The hero was the only one who revelled in this chance

　　he met the dragon army early on in their advance

　　so intent on showing off his skills to all who saw

　　that even some commanders looked upon the scene in awe

　　Leading such a charge against the enemy alone

　　even other slaves and conscripts quickly changed their tone

　　though they`d only known him as a pirate and a thief

　　his devotion to the war left some in disbelief

　　By the end of day the dragon army was repelled

　　though they suffered losses one boy`s pride had quickly swelled

　　feeling full of confidence he wandered through the town

　　waiting for the moment everything had settled down

　　Then he found the knight who was in charge of every slave

　　and asked for his report on the performance that he gave

　　"we were all surprised to see a pirate go to war

　　now rest, you filthy pirate, and tomorrow fight some more"

　　The boy was cold and speechless but he later understood

　　fighting like a pirate was the only way he could

　　anyone who saw him fight would instantly conclude

　　that how he swung his sword at war was cowardly and crude

　　Any chance at recognition also would be hurt

　　lost upon his status as a slave worth less than dirt

　　all that he could hope for was to see the end of war

　　then at least he wouldn`t be a pirate anymore

　　Now he fully understood the mercy of the king

　　death was still his sentence, but by sword instead of string

　　the army he was sentenced to was pushed back every day

　　no time to rest before he met another foe to slay

　　In between the battles, when he had some time alone

　　cold and putrid air would quickly chill him to the bone

　　where were all the monsters, why was man attacking man

　　where was honour found when half his enemies just ran

　　He wondered if a princess could forgive a hero`s crimes

　　but there was little time to spend lamenting bygone times

　　he soon lost count of all the battles that he made it through

　　fighting for survival was the best that he could do

　　Sleeping in his armour at the end of every day

　　eating scraps of food that older knights would throw away

　　he didn`t bother trying to fight like royal knights

　　he`d only made it this far fighting like a pirate fights

　　he never made a friend among the slaves he fought beside

　　most of them were criminals without a bit of pride

　　the battlefields where he was sent extracted quite a cost

　　and war demanded many armies fight until they lost

　　Though he`d given up on earning praise from those he served

　　often knights would give him the attention he deserved

　　"never have I seen pirate having so much fun

　　killing everything he can until the battle`s done"

　　Though they won their share of battles, it was clear to all

　　they were being pressured with their backs against the wall

　　every day the lion army lost a little ground

　　then one day the dragon army`s drums began to pound

　　With a fierce assault their reinforcements had arrived

　　the pirate`s army fought, but not a single knight survived

　　fighting while retreating over rocky hills and sand

　　The boy fought desperately until his sword fell from his hand

　　On that day the greatest battle of the war was lost

　　though the war continued, with survival came a cost

　　the kingdom who the boy had served would very nearly fall

　　though the boy, now far away, might never know at all

　　The hero had imagined war would be a tale to tell

　　now he had no luck or friends to keep him out of hell

　　Backing up toward a cliff, his allies mostly dead

　　the only flags left flying dawned a dragon coloured red

　　He wondered if a real dragon could be half as strong

　　but now he was as tired as the battle had been long

　　the boy could hear a rushing current roaring down below

　　only steps away from both the cliff`s edge and his foe

　　Without a sword he still believed that he was plenty strong

　　but if he fought so many knights, he wouldn`t live too long

　　the army right before his eyes were many fearsome knights

　　so then and there the hero proved he had no fear of heights

　　He said that he`d return then jumped into the deep ravine

　　noticing the river was much wider than foreseen

　　his comrades all were slaughtered as the current took him down

　　he wondered if he`d ever hold a sword again, or drown