Edge Of Sanity - Crimson II

[I - The forbidden words]
[II - Incantation]
[III - Passage of time]
[IV - The silent threat]
[V - Archilles heel]
[VI - Covenant of souls]
[VII - Face to face]
[VIII - Disintegration]
[IX - Aftermath]

Let no man breach the gate to this most blasphemous of halls
Lest bitterness and chaos be the harvest they wouldst reap
He must n'er become a slave to this Child's beck and call
For she must never waken from her Crimson Sleep..
The monastery stood towering above the ruined city
It shadowed all the new emerging settlements and homes
To look down on the ruins was to sympathize and pity
All the suffering and heartache, all the graves and broken bones
For buried there a testament to the evil of a queen
A misery that spread across a weak and stricken land
The crimson birth that swamped the earth in dark and deadly dreams
And all mankind did bow beneath the power of her hand

And in the monastery garden sat a woman with a book
A manuscript that lay within her frail and trembling arms
She looked around her nervously as guilt rose in her heart
But the sway of curiosity had drawn her out too far

She wavered on the threshold of a dangerous decision
For this dark tome was no for human eyes to ever read
The pages dripped with legions of persuasive words and visions
So the volume had been hidden well, but now it had been freed

For no apparent reason had the woman been drawn in
Perhaps it was a twist of fate, an absence of real thought
She wandered to a room that before she'd never been
And all at once the interest of her senses had been caught
For no apparent reason had the women been drawn in
Where rows of dusty books lay in an ominous display

But one ancient leather binding had the grain of human skin
And seized with curiosity she stole this book away

And now she sat alone in the concealment of the night
She was hungry now to liberate the writings from their cage
The glimmer of a feeble moon provided her with light
As she opened up the cover and began to read the page
Fly, soul, the body's guest,
Upon your impish arrant
Let none be guiled by false confession
Truth shall be your warrant
Fly soul for your body must die

But for those who seek eternity
For those who yearn prosperity
From this single act of sanity
Will raise you far above humanity

Oh willing host who doth not know
The full desire of this prisoner
You walk where angels fear to go
Thou shalt soon embrace the reckoner
Thy halo of glory, hope's true gage
May prove to be an evil pilgrimage

Something had happened beyond her control
A moment of madness unfettered a soul
That would relish a freedom denied once before
By a desperate nation with it's back to the wall
Within a split second of reading this text
The spirit was free and had fled from its nest
It was eager to grow from this sudden reprieve
And thus in the woman a life was conceived
From the beginning the world was misled
As a baby was born in a monastery bed
The miracle happening here on this Earth
Was perceived as a glorious new Virgin Birth

From the moment in time that baby was born
The sun did now rise on a new Crimson dawn
And the creature just bided its time undiscovered
So safe in the cradling arms of the mother

But for those who seek eternity
For those who yearn prosperity
From this single act of sanity
Will raise you far above humanity

Secure from the world, the child remained hidden
A serpent disguised in the Garden of Eden
And all who looked down on this newly born babe
Were ignorant now of the path this would take
The people were blind to the subtle control
That was exercised daily upon every soul
With no room to question this delicate life
All fears would be drowned and all doubts would be stifled

But one single mind did stand out from the crowd
Though quiet at first - with hardly a sound
The Mother Superior harbored suspicion
Brought to her heart by three simple visions

[The Visions:]

The first was a planet engulfed by the sea
No dry land in sight, not a mountain or tree
No rock jutted out from the endless horizon
Or flowers to mark out the changing of seasons

No animals dwelt in the forests or fields
All life was extinct; its fate had been sealed

By the curse of a violent unstoppable flood
Mankind had been drowned in an ocean of blood

The next revelation was vivid and cruel
It depicted two swordsmen engrossed in a duel
The one held a sword that was silver and pure
The other a sword that was red to the core

They fought as the sun rose high in the sky
Their fight would not end until one of them died
No room did they have for an error to make
For the future of life was the trophy at stake

But one of the warriors flouted the rules
And with cunning and guile had the other one fooled
As he held up his hands in a gesture of peace
The silver opponent allowed this retreat

Then the man with the red sword attacked from behind
Left the silver sword fighter defeated and blind
Then carnage ensued that no man could condone
As the bloody red blade sliced through sinew and bone

All day did the swordsman attack without halt
Though the other lay dead from the frenzied assault
Until by the twilight and all that remained
Were the echoes of death and a fresh crimson stain

And so came the third of these unyielding visions
A picture of war and ferocious divisions
An army of saviors marching as one
Aware that the end had already begun

They arrived in a field, which was wide and expansive
They waited in silence both ready and pensive
The grassland was strewn with small crimson petals
Their fragrance was sweet with the stench of the devil

And slowly but surely they fell into sleep
Their consciousness gone as they slumped in defeat
And there they still lie bereft of their willpower
Brought to their knees by the strength of a flower

The three visions, the Mother Superior bore
A bitter forewarning of what was in store
This infant so frail must not grow to be strong
The world was at risk if she waited too long
So veiled by the blackness of night she did creep
And enter where mother and child were both asleep
And onwards she moved to where the crib lay
She leant over the baby and started to pray
She prayed for forgiveness for what she would do
She prayed that the knife in her hand would aim true
But all of a sudden she was now paralyzed
The baby daughter had opened her eyes

And into those eyes, the woman gazed
The look in her face was both haunted and crazed
She was smothered and swamped in confusion and sadness
The first to be gripped by this foul crimson madness
This brutal psychosis could not be explained
No one single cause was suggested or blamed
But no one could think that a child was involved
And the mystery illness remained unresolved

So all seemed as normal for seven short years
A veil of deception dissolved any fears
But there was one lapse in the child's disguise
And that could be seen in the depths of her eyes

The message could clearly be discovered there
In the glimpse of the universe found in her stare
Her gaze hypnotic, unbearably strong
Suspicions were growing, it wouldn't be long
Oh willing host who doth not know
The full desire of this prisoner
You walk where angels fear to go
Thou shalt soon embrace the reckoner

Now and then a question would be raised
Strong misgivings threatened to be voiced
But these were judgments wiser not to say
To doubt the child could prove to be a rash and deadly choice
By now the Crimson reign had proved too much
The monastery was shadowed under dread
But fear decreed that hostile thoughts be crushed
For the creature had the power to crawl inside your head
The mother in her darkest moment knew
The time had come for action to be taken

A journey must be made to hidden truths
She must return and read again the book she had forsaken

This tome presented many further views
Essential rules of power were revealed
And thus the pages offered up one clue
The child bore one significant Archilles Heel
Should the Crimson Queen be blinded, then powerless she'll be
Bereft of piercing vision, her victims will be free

Salvation lies in banishing this creature to the dark
Let not your hand be hesitant or death will be your mark
Lest regained sight should speed her flight away from burning hell
A steady heart must seal her back within her crimson cell

And thou who didst release this most vindictive enemy
Must serve to be her warder there for all eternity

One quiet night the lady traveled out beyond the monastery
Her quest was one of urgency and human preservation
She traveled with companions to reach the ruined city
Where lay the means to save her kind, a path to their salvation
When there they searched for evidence of where the Queen once slept
And came upon a gateway, which was tightly closed and barred
A stark inscription warned them of the risk of their next step
But choices were no more; they had already come too far

Let no man breach the gate to this most blasphemous of halls
Lest bitterness and chaos be the harvest they wouldst reap
He must n'er become a slave to this Child's beck and call
For she must never waken from her Crimson Sleep:

With fresh resolve the women carried on towards their goal
And found themselves a cell where crimson shade were scattered
A sight so dreadful it chilled their very souls
The cell had long been drained and all around the glass lay shattered

A movement in the shadows
A flash of blazing light
The child stood before them
With murder in her eyes
The women ran towards her
To try to stem the tide
Of purse and crimson anger
There was nowhere left to hide
Too slow was their reaction
They were thrown back off their feet
Their throats were filled with panic
As they stared as harsh defeat
Too weak was their protection
They couldn't staunch the trail
Of vitriol and vengeance
Meted out for this betrayal
So the mother's brave compatriots
Consumed with damning pain
Died writhing in the dirt
They were bleeding and insane
They'd looked into the child's eyes
And crumbled in despair
From images too hideous
For human minds to bear
Salvation lies in banishing
This creature to the dark
Let not your hand be hesitant
Or death will be your mark"
But there was still one single hope
No room for fear or doubt
The mother knew there was no choice
She had to end this now

She crawled across the bloodstained ground
Her eyes averted from the steely glare
But secretly she knew she'd found
A way beyond this nightmare

A few more seconds spanned the path
Between success or damnation
Mankind would face the aftermath speed
Of this deadly confrontation
Got to strike for the eyes
Leave the monster running blind
Go to cross the line
Got to strike for those unforgiving eyes

She veiled herself with trivial thought
A mask of insignificance
Her daughter failed to see beyond
The fabric of irrelevance

For a moment they were face to face
No sign of what was soon to be
But still her mind refused to break
Those thoughts must not be seen
Got to strike for the eyes
Leave the monster running blind
Go to cross the line
Got to strike for those unforgiving eyes

Striking hard, striking fast in desperation
The world around is filled with shades of red
Forced to stand in weak anticipation
As rivulets of blood run down the Child's head
The chamber fills with screams of violent rage
Of petulance and impotent frustration
Consumed with frenzied tidal waves of hate
The princess falls to earth in dark sedation

Her blindness stunts the growth of nascent power
That grows within her like some poisonous flower
The blade of darkness strikes her to the hilt
And so the flower inside begins to wilt
But time is short for action to be taken
No chance to dwell on pity or mistakes
No chance for dark excuses to be found
The moment of Salvation must be now!

Cast me to the crimson flames
Thou hast the power should I be blind
To overthrow my wicked reign
And throw me to the pit of time
Cast me to the crimson flames
Thou shalt bar the doors of hell
Incant these words of sacred rule
Seal me in my crimson cell

And thus was read the incantation
Voices echoed round and round
The woman smiled in weak elation
Mesmerized inside the sounds

And with these chants of higher lore
So mortal flesh began to fade
Soon child and mother were no more
Their earthly bodies now decayed

Cast me to the crimson flames
Thou shalt bar the doors of hell
Incant these words of sacred rule
Seal me in my crimson cell

And still inside the chamber stands
A single cell with crimson hue
Resealed by spoken word of Man
Imbued with power from spiritual Truth
Two souls imprisoned for eternity
Light and dark forever bound
Two souls that never can be freed
A pathway back will not be found
For trapped beyond some foolish reach
And far away from prying eyes

No channel now to lead or preach
No chance to influence or guide
The final sacrifice she took
Ensured the hope of the human race
And thus she holds the sacred book
A captive in her crimson space

Lest bitterness and chaos be the harvest they wouldst reap
For she must never waken from this Crimson Sleep