Segurant and the Pit of Lyonesse
- Tales of Lyonesse II
"From tower high in Lyonesse, he kept his watch alone, Where forests deep in darkness lie, and winds like trumpets moan. One night beneath a pale moon’s light, a cry broke through the air, Half a roar and half a wail, of grief and of despair.
Sing, O sing of Segurant, Knight of the dragon dread, He rides where none dare follow, Where only saints have tread.
Again it came on another eve, with smoke that trailed the skies, A dragon’s breath, or spirit’s curse, in dreadful, mournful cries. He rode to where the black smoke curled, and found the gaping pit, And from its depths came voices strange, a weeping infinite.
Sing, O sing of Segurant, Knight of the dragon dread, He hunts through smoke and shadow, Where grieving voices led.
He told the hall of Arthur’s court, he spoke of what he’d found, Of smoke and moan, of shadowed depth, and cries beneath the ground. Then Merlin rose and warned him straight: “This is no beast of bone, But shadow vast, that if unbound, may swallow flesh and stone.”
Sing, O sing of Segurant, Knight of the dragon dread, He swore to chase it downward, Though all the court turned head.
So forth he rode with company, into the forest’s gloom, And there he found the yawning pit, wide as a giant’s tomb. Alone he dared descend its depths, alone he sought the sound, And thrice his horn rang through the dark, before the earth fell down.
Sing, O sing of Segurant, Knight of the dragon dread, He blows his horn in darkness, And stones fall on his head.
The cliffs gave way, the stones poured in, the echoes rolled like thunder, The path was sealed, the knight was lost, to shadow’s endless hunger. Some say he hunts the dragon still, where endless caverns wind, Some say the pit devoured him whole, with nothing left behind.
Sing, O sing of Segurant, Knight of the dragon dread, He hunts the beast forever, Though some declare him dead."