View source for The Ballad of Icavor and Yanna'Reh

The Ballad of Icavor and Yanna'Reh was first sung in the courts of [[Great Kings|Great King]] [[Turos XIII]] in the year {{D|4444}} by the minstrel [[Jefrog]] and his unnamed wife. Later it was sung at King [[Belgrave Palafox|Belgrave's]] coronation by [[Eken]] and his wife [[Ora'Yam]].

This ballad is just one of the many bits of poetry written to commemorate the love between [[Icavor]] and [[Yanna'Reh]]. What makes this ballad so unique is that the verses are alternatingly sung by a man and a woman.

== <center>The Ballad of Icavor and Yanna'Reh</center> ==
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<p align="left">'''Man'''<br />
They told him a tale about her,<br />
And sent him to search far and wide,<br />
So he journeyed further and further,<br />
And came to where she did abide.</p>

<p align="right">'''Woman'''<br />
With grey eyes that never could harden,<br />
Her smile shone bright in the light,<br />
She sat by herself in the garden,<br />
But then a man walked into sight.</p>

<p align="left">'''Man'''<br />
His eyes opened wide when he saw her.<br />
He knew that the tales had lied.<br />
Her beauty was so bright about her,<br />
It darkened the wide countryside.</p>

<p align="right">'''Woman'''<br />
Her father then stepped out beside her,<br />
And turned the young man with his chide.<br />
The young man must prove he was worth her.<br />
He must bring a fresh dragon's hide.</p>

<p align="left">'''Man'''<br />
He set down a flower before her,<br />
A flower of crimson and white,<br />
Then gave a quick nod to her father,<br />
A dragon he’d go find and fight.</p>

<p align="right">'''Woman'''<br />
The flower she put in the sunroom;<br />
She watered it well every day.<br />
And five times the flower did blossom;<br />
It grew in the bright sunny rays.</p>

<p align="left">'''Man'''<br />
He knew that one day he would have her,<br />
And struggled to get dragon’s hide,<br />
But each night as he thought about her,<br />
His heart wept and silently cried.</p>

<p align="right">'''Woman'''<br />
The long nights she spent thinking of him,<br />
She wanted to be by his side,<br />
But first he must favor her father,<br />
Or she would be kept from his side.</p>

<p align="left">'''Man'''<br />
He finished and hastened to see her.<br />
He brought with him three dragon’s hides.<br />
He gave the three hides to her father,<br />
But still couldn’t stand at her side.</p>

<p align="right">'''Woman'''<br />
One last quest her father would give him,<br />
A dress is the one thing she'd want.<br />
One more time her flower did blossom,<br />
It grew in the bright sunny rays.</p>

<p align="left">'''Man'''<br />
He searched for the dress he would give her,<br />
And found one of purple and blue.<br />
Her father then smiled down on them,<br />
The young man now stood by her side.</p>

<p align="right">'''Woman'''<br />
The two of them danced in the field,<br />
And spent the night under a tree,<br />
Yet love, fortune never will shield;<br />
Such beauty will end tragically.</p>

<p align="left">'''Man'''<br />
A fiend in the night killed her father;<br />
Her mother fell right at his side.<br />
Her man raised a sword to defend her,<br />
And shortly thereafter he died.</p>

<p align="right">'''Woman'''<br />
She reached for the sword of her lover;<br />
The fiend succumbed to her revenge.<br />
She cried by the corpse of her lover,<br />
His death avenged by her revenge.</p>

<p align="left">'''Man'''<br />
He never had a chance to tell her,<br />
The bounds of his love, far and wide,<br />
But actions of his loudly whispered,<br />
How his love stayed true as he died.</p>

<p align="right">'''Woman'''<br />
Farewell to the cruel life without love,<br />
The flower is all that survived.<br />
She fell down in grief to her lover;<br />
She joined the young man in the grave.</p>

<p align="center">'''Man + Woman'''<br />
Forever the world will wonder,<br />
Forever the world will know,<br />
That our love is to strong to sunder,<br />
And such love no other will know.</p>



<p align="right">This section &copy; 2009 Ben Hinks</p></div>
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{{Stories}}
[[Category:Literature]]