Whisper
“they walk at the front they never arrive they walk anyway”
The Invocation
every vessel walks
from the edge of the Fracture
to the gates of the Castle
the line is long
the road is violet
the sky is Eclipse
the Lunar walk first
singing the cycle
holding the banners
believing the gates open tomorrow
the Moon-Scorched walk in the middle
burning
shoving
crowning themselves at every step
the Ascendant walk last
silent
because they already know
the procession is not to reach the Castle
the procession is to become the vessel the Castle opens for
drums for the Black Sun
bells for the Wound
no music for the Yellow Lie
some fall
the line does not stop
the fallen become the road
The Order of the March
- the banners: purple, never red
- the chorus: the faithful, the waiting
- the war-band: the fevered, the burned
- the silent: the marked, the refusing
- at the end: an empty place for 1071
The Seal
walk
do not arrive
walk
the gates open
not when you reach them
when you stop needing them
1071
the violet remains