previous part: https://jordynsaelor.com/2026/05/14/brought-up-for-war/
all parts: https://jordynsaelor.com/cant-catch-me-now/
***
burn.
With lightning
from their tails,
they
set the plant food haze
aflame,
behind lightning
from spiked tails
the moon deity
hid moas eyes,
with lightning from their tails
they blinded the rising sun,
with lightning from their tails
they hid their faces
so we couldn’t even see
what creatures burned our homes,
just their tails,
wicked spiked clubs
flashing by silver light
and crackling cabin fire.
The crystals
fell
like bombs
from whatever formed them,
obliterating nests
and wings
and beaks
and I cried,
ran,
and the dracans that could
flew
from the dawn’s falling shroud
but after the bombs all landed
the tails
still threw lightning
like chameleon tongues
and the dracans’ scaly legs
drew it
and my mechanical hands didn’t
as much
otherwise I would’ve fried
or maybe I did and my healing runes kept me alive
and I didn’t mean to be selfish,
to let dracans take the blows for me,
but I wasn’t really thinking
it was just:
light fire noise life run
run
from fires
and tails
and thundering bolts
until silence
on padded shoes and rocks
left me gasping for air
yet still
I hardly
thought of fighting,
I curled up in a rock pile
and my invisibility wore off
and I shuddered out all my fear,
then I cursed myself
for not thinking to fight,
I blamed myself
for not teaching Runabon
fire runes
or cold runes
or
cutting spells
and
there in the stones
under the magenta sun
a song shook the ground
of mighty hunters
feasting well tonight
and I crawled deeper into the rocks to hide
but watched
and memorized
the shapes of creatures who left the town
dragging dead dracans by their feathers–
no
no
don’t think of their names
just the creatures
with spiked tails
four hooves
two arms
and sharp teeth
moving east
and in my imagination
I drew runes
on each backside
for snapping bones,
boiling blood,
turning skin to mush or coal–
made up runes,
since I knew how to do none of that
but I pretended I did
I pretended
I could rescue dracans from the dead
I pretended
I could call down a moon deity
to defend its worshipers
I pretended
Ola
the boy
was brought up for war
and he could
fight these creatures,
he could
expect their appearance at dawn
and warn them
to back off
or face destruction,
I pretended
dracans’ claws
cut more than fish
and their mouths
were useful for more things
than scooping water,
I pretended
I was mightier
that I could fight
I could do more
than run and hide
until in the rocks
I fell asleep.
***
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Jordyn Saelor 