The Ascension of Lord Neraeos
By: Oceana Posted on: September 25, 2012
The old fisherman chewed on his pipe some more,
As roaring waves crashed onto the Eastern shore.
His tired eyes followed the stove’s dancing flames,
Hardly noticing his grandsons, playing loud games.
A smaller girl sat next to him, her hand on his arm,
Wincing at each thunderclap, eyes filled with alarm.
The old man glanced at her and started to speak,
His gentle voice at first quivering, and a little weak.
"Storms and hurricanes, the winds were howling,
Dark, heavy clouds above the sea were prowling.
Dead fish and dolphins upon the shore were born,
Sharks and even whales, from the ocean were torn.
My grandfather's father knew something was wrong,
And bravely searched the shore for many days long.
A withered man he found, upon a disc touching the beach,
His glassy gaze held bound to a trident just out of reach.
"Lord Caspian!", he called, but the Sea’s Lord never stirred,
My grandfather's father about his find quickly spread word.
Other people hurried to the scene, worried and scared,
Wanting to help, to heal, but Lord Caspian merely stared.
As nothing seemed to work, the landwalkers simply stayed,
Some still called out to Lord Caspian, some quietly prayed.
Divine came and went, laughing and mocking the Oceanlord,
They told the crowd to leave, but Their words were left ignored.
Suddenly from the oceans, His guardian children came forth.
Fickle Notia from the South, rough Borak from the North,
Silent Sefyr from the West, and gentle Eusia from the East.
Two of the Caspeids were distraught; two, not in the least.
Notia kept Eusia from their Father, openly grinning with glee,
As Borak hurled his brother away, and no more seen was he.
Notia told the landwalkers, "Find the Heart of the Sea,
And from His divine binds, my old Father will be free.”
The landwalkers found that giant pearl in the Riparium nearby,
But not worthy of trust, Notia's words were naught but a lie.
The Oceanlord awakened not, at His own trident he stared,
And a young triton discovered how much the landwalkers cared.
Aeolos left and soon after with Prince Neraeos returned,
Who of His Father's fate from the merfolk had learned.
The once great God, so diminished, was horrible to behold,
His glassy gaze unseeing, His hand to the touch so cold.
The Prince wanted to put the trident into His Father’s hand,
And approached it with calm reverence. As I understand,
Landwalkers had touched it before, but not without harm,
When Neraeos grasped it, lightning crackled over His arm!
The powerful light tore Lord Caspian brutally from His trance,
His eyes shifted and on His Son He cast His final glance.
Caspian crumbled, and dispersed as dust on the wind was He,
Leaving His son, Prince Neraeos, the new Lord of the Sea.
As the snow-white owl of the Logos over the newly risen God flew,
The glorious Heavens rang out, the mermen their conches blew.
My grandfather’s father saw how Neraeos to the Garden ascended,
The storms slept at last, and a quiet awe over the seas descended."
The old fisherman coughed softly and called out for some rum,
His poor legs were so old, his knees felt rather stiff and numb.
Unanswered, he looked down, his wonder turned to a smile,
At his feet, the three children had been asleep for quite awhile.