Page 39 of Level Up for Love

Moros, nameless, not yet a kingdom,

By death alone was it defined.

Ev’ry year, the devil horde advanced,

Pushing their borders farther out.

The people fought, but the people fell,

And still the devils carved their route.

But one lone priestess saw them coming,

Abella Callaster was her name.

Her chapel stood next in their path, but

Her home she would not let them claim.

She knelt and prayed to her lord Garren,

With hope in her heart, she called for aid.

To his devoted he closely listened,

He answered her prayers, and to her he bade:

“The sun will rise and banish the dark,

Stoke the flame, be the spark.”

The last two lines are taken up by the others in the room, whispered in a fervent chant. Goosebumps raise the fine hairs along Sindra’s arms.

Quietly, she leans toward Antoni and asks, “Is the chapel we’re in the same chapel Abella was from?”

He shoots her a dark look for her interruption. “No, it was closer to the border, north of where you arrived. Now, hush.”

Sindra glances at the others. Mortimer listens politely even as his attention wanders elsewhere, while Vera seems to cling to the bard’s every word, mouthing the lyrics from memory. She sways with the music of the song, and when her shoulder bumps against Moss’s, the ranger doesn’t move away.

Sindra leans back in her chair, tail snapping, as the bard continues.

Abella was not a warrior,

But she took up sword and shield,

And donned a set of rusted armor,

Ill prepared, but refusing to yield.

The first rays of dawn broke through the clouds,

Bathing Abella in their light.

She felt Garren’s presence there on the field,

As he imbued her with holy might.

Suddenly her armor shone bright gold,