Prologue:

in a poet's tale

every thrust, every blow, every act of heroism

is catalogued and recorded for posterity

Chapter 1:

That night
The moon rose
Full, silver, bright
It seemed far too lovely
To be a harbinger of war

Chapter 2:

Things have come around full circle
Perhaps it wasn't a circle after all
Rather a spiral, loop upon loop
repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeat-

ENDING
…at the farthest point from where it had begun

Chapter 3:

Valor turned to poisoned folly
Heroes turned to destroyers
Traitors turned to allies

Chapter 4:

To the place where the sun rises
Somewhere far from here
Opposing forces clash
Destined for battle
We shall meet

Chapter 5:

"Whose side are you on?"

Chapter 6:

This was no poet's tale
It was war - just war
I fight well
Because it was what I'd been taught to do
It didn't matter that it wasn't suited for the battlefield
Not in the midst of this chaos

Chapter 7:

Beyond fear
We can only march forward
Beyond weariness
Even though we cannot see the end
Beyond thought

Chapter 8:

"It's not about whose right or wrong or whose side I'm on. This is about what's important to me."

Chapter 9:

The approaching dusk dyes everything
Those who still remain standing
What are their thoughts?

Chapter 10:

"What was did you think you were doing, anyway? Did you image they'd listen?"

"I did, I honestly did - I think the gods answer prayers sideways."

Chapter 11:

Gore churned into mire
What an ungodly mess it was
It stank
It stank of death and desperation

Chapter 12:

I felt sick and hollow inside

I daresay all of us did

Epilogue:

Yesterday we gained a nation
And lost the flower of a generation