the words I kept

𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊

Under the sky of frigid winter,
the calm before the sudden horn alerted the soldiers that the enemy was close by,
Till each would take out their weaponry and stand in their positions — behind the White Knight facing the grey marshlands aloft

Then at the harsh outcry of the sudden horn, they marched in holiest fellowship; hearts throbbing thunder, hands perspiring — the mere uneasiness before the prospect of the foe loosed upon the world; burning stakes into the earth — weakening hearts

With a roar, clouds of upward-rushing shriek, the White Knight, a power strange to touch the sun, blinded his sword toward the coming forth of the enemy —  as the archers readied their arrows — a jaw thrusting forward — and with one nod, the White Knight galloped away on his Destrier, hooves flying across the land clothed in dull

To the devil of the enemy — hunting after scraps of pounding, squirming thoughts

A plunging sea of infantry with steadfast breath — soon turn the oncoming blizzard red
— as one by one drop onto the battlefield;
cold and lifeless on sheets of blood-dimmed snow

As the day darkens, what was left of the living bond to the whims of murder, as each would clash the shield or target their common rival with a bow and arrow, wailing iron and flame

The White Knight weeps at his befallen as the thaw of anxiety cannot hold on; sharp pain enters his chest, bursting all four chambers of guilt

Like the Earth, he is uncertain,
partly because he is attracted to Death.
And also
because he cares
and cherishes life
in hands
fragile.

- Death and Knight

____________________________________________________________________
_____________

A/N:

The battle is set around the Middle Ages (between the mid-late medieval period) which intense warfare was heavily defined as fundamental and crucial for radical change and so forth. I would like to add that this scene is not historically accurate since I've selectively chosen pieces on their times (e.g., the Destrier) and was inspired by the scene from The Chronicles of Narnia (the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe) — and combined both to convey the feeling of fighting anxiety and what it's like to feel despair at the brink of death, including the moment before coming face-to-face with the enemy — i.e., ourselves.

The White Knight, a common, well-known representation as a heroic warrior fighting against the wicked and diabolic, is usually depicted as a man coming to rescue a damsel in distress; however, instead of rescuing, the White Knight is facing their villains and combatting freedom and sovereignty — and simultaneously guarding themselves against doom, which paradoxically conveys them being rescued as the White Knight is illustrated as ourselves fighting our demons.

People might find the scene too creepy and gruesome, but that's the point — anxiety, in reality, isn't pretty and whatnot; it's the awful written in complexities.