There stands an old witch known only by the sound she makes,
The locals call her Skrija,
For her yell is so shrill,
It is all they can stand to know about her,
But she wails for a reason,
Her cry is not un-justice,
For this witch was blinded,
By a knight known as Kristgwas.
They had clashed long ago,
When the knight had arrived from a foreign realm,
And brought with him a condemning mind,
And what was worse,
A sword clutching hand which served that mind.
Skrija had been tending to her town,
Caring for their needs,
When Kristgwas arrived,
Preaching of sin and evil and how all,
Every man and woman,
Was broken.
This scared the people,
For they did not want to be broken,
They pleaded with Kristgwas,
Called for him to help,
And he offered them a way out.
He beckoned them towards his way,
Of serving the one-god,
To live a life pure,
Like him,
One rid of sin,
And then they too would know salvation.
The townspeople met,
And decided to follow the way of the knight,
And so they tore down their old idols,
Cast away their freedoms,
And began to follow in the service of the one-god.
All but Skrija that was.
For she dismissed the ideals,
And did not think she was broken,
Did not think any of them were,
And refused to cast away her ways,
Simply to appease the lord of another land.
Time passed,
As it does,
And eventually,
The whole town had been leading lives,
As the knight had prescribed them to do,
Following in his example.
All seemed good,
Until Skrija stumbled upon a secret,
So dark it could eclipse the town.
As she wandered to the farmers barn,
To find him and barter for milk,
She came upon Kristgwas,
Who was fondling the farmer’s daughter.
She tried to resist,
But Kristgwas would not let her go,
She wrestled free,
And fled from the scene,
Which led the knight to spot the witch,
Watching him.
Anger fuelled his actions,
And he drew his blade,
Piercing it into the witch’s left eye,
And plucking it out.
She fell to her knees,
Cradling her wound,
Resting in a pool of her own blood.
In retaliation,
She grabbed his shield,
And began to bash him around the head with it.
Whacking him,
Pelting him,
Screaming out as she did so.
Kristgwas escaped her beating,
And swiftly,
Without hesitation,
Took her other eye.
He left her blind,
Screaming around the barn,
Whilst he ran away to the local townspeople.
He damned her,
Saying she was spinning lies,
And casting curses upon the cattle.
The townspeople,
Afraid,
Turned their backs on her.
Skrija dragged herself to the nearby cliffs,
Where she lay down to die.
Her spirit,
Enraged,
Haunted,
Screaming,
Reminding,
Endlessly.