Hello folks,

I thought this will help you better understand the poem and the story it tells. I'll begin with why I'm writing it:

I've always wanted to tell a story, to chart the history of an entire world, to play God and decide the fates of entire cultures and civilizations. I've made a number of attempts at writing a novel, and what I've learned after all those fruitless years it that I am no novelist.

I can do short stories though, and of those, I have a number. The shorter form allows me to develop my storytelling skill; which right now is really poor.

But I am a poet, and after reading about the long epics, I decided that I will try one someday. Along came Wesley and his workshop, and here we are :)

On Enedentia

Enedentia is land in which most of the poem occurs. In the myths that I'm making, it occupies a place similar to Midgard in Norse mythology. It is a carnal, mundane world, the world of men, that is surrounded by fantastic lands. To the north are the mountains on the border of Tumbala, beyond which is the beautiful Elhandros. To the south, the rolling hills flatten to a plain which ends up in the lands of the wee folk. To the south west is the Endless Sea (which also is the realm of a certain king), and in the west, lies a gulf beyond which are the vast realms of the mighty western kings. In the east is a great white desert.

The poem describes the history of the land, so it doesn't delve into the personal lives of a lot of characters. I've had a hard time writing about people's lives; I always tend to wear out. This might be a problem in the poem for some, but my main concern here is the entire history. So instead of detailing personal struggles, I look at it from above, and visit the key events that have shaped the land.

Of course, the focus is on the towering figures of the legends, so we have Hancel son of Vindumane, Anelion the fairy king and Lord Esteletine amongst the cast.

On The Poetry

The poem is written in octosyllabic verse. I have divided it into cantos, each canto containing (approximately) seven stanzas, each with fourteen lines. This makes it easy to write, and easy to read (I hope). The structure thus prevents me from adding extra lines after a canto is finished. Adding the extra verse will warrant another stanza, which may be way too much.

Because of the nature of the narrative (broad sweeps, as opposed to gritty details), the pace is quite fast. I might not run out of story, however, because there is still a lot more history that must unfold.

On The Story

The following should provide enough background to make getting lost harder.
Enedentia is a land that is dominated by the angels of death, Nina and Avina. In the land live the graceless men. They descended from the foreparents of the ilkori, Anis and Arandis, but were lost on the long journey into the secret garden. All we need to know for now is, they do not live under the special grace granted by God through Ingidore, his conquering angel.

Because of this, they are dominated by the angels of death, and they live short, bitter lives under the cruel reign. However, there are a few enlightened ones amongst the men. These are the ones who rise up to lead the fruitless struggle against death.

At the beginning of the poem, we are about to witness an assault on the Kingdom of the Three Crowns, founded by Hancel. In the same canto, we flash back through time to witness the similar event that made Hancel a hero.

The second canto returns to the present, where the attack now takes place. Canto three rushes to a time before the creation of the world. We take a brief look at the origin of the fairies, and how they came into the world (not Enedentia). We also first learn of the Ubeline in this canto. Number four gives us more on them, and how they came to be. In this is told one of the most important events in the history of the world.

Canto five finally returns to Enedentia, long after where we left off. We see a different world from the one we left, and get introduced to one of the chief villains in those early years.

I will add more details when I upload more of the poem.