By the fire's glow, beneath the stars,
A warrior speaks of wounds and scars.
Not bitter tales of pain and loss,
But lessons learned, and lines once crossed.

He lifts his blade, its edge now worn,
And tells of battles fought and gone.
Of foes so fierce, so vast, so strong,
He swore he'd never last for long.

The Mountain King, with iron hands,
Ruled his land with cruel demands.
I was but a reckless youth,
A blade untempered, wild, uncouth.

I charged in blind, my anger bright,
But fell beneath his crushing might.
Three ribs shattered, pride destroyed,
He left me broken, unemployed.

Yet through that pain, my mind grew keen,
Strength alone was far too lean.
I learned to move, to watch, to wait,
And faced him next with sharpened fate.

This time, I did not held out to his tune,
I danced beneath the blood-red moon.
And when he fell, he bared his teeth,
"Brat," he laughed, "you bested me."

The Blade Mistress, draped in black,
Her sword so fast, I saw no track.
I faced her once with stubborn pride,
And left with cuts both deep and wide.

Her steel sang songs I could not hear,
Her steps were swift, her strikes severe.
I bled, I burned, I cursed her name,
Yet sharpened through our deadly game.

When next we met, she smiled and swayed,
I saw the feints, the traps she laid.
We fought till dawn, till breath grew thin,
For she too dropped, and called it my win.

The Final War, the darkest test,
Where death itself had tried its best.
No human foe, no steel nor flesh,
But fear and doubt that wrapped me fresh.

The night was long, the fires dim,
My comrades lost, my fate was grim.
I stood alone with blade in hand,
Against despair's encroaching land.

And in that moment, battle past,
I saw the truth, so clear at last.
The hardest fights, the deepest pain,
Was where my greatest lessons came.

So now I sit, my wars long done,
A warrior's tale, a setting sun.
Not every foe I fought was vile,
Some shaped my path with grit and style.

The strongest enemy I did find,
Taught me more than those most kind.
Through blade and blood, through loss and strain,
They forged my strength, only towards gain.