Bad things happen to good people.
Terrible things happen to children,
especially children who don’t know what they’re doing,
who think they know what they’re doing.
It can leave them with ghastly scars.

People who have had bad things happen
can still be good after.
They can try to fix their mistakes,
and it still counts, even if bad things
cling to their shoes and burden their gait.

A soldier is not necessarily good or bad.
He can do things when he’d young,
things he will regret and try to atone for.
He can create monsters without knowing.
The soldier can’t be held responsible for his king.

Then there are the monsters that were no one’s fault.
The ones that begged and seduced their way to birth.
Maybe they are the source of all evil.
Maybe we are just human and evil is a part of that.
The line between human and monster is not where you think it is.

Children grow into soldiers.
Soldiers either grow to redemption and regret
or they die cold and early.
Some of them keep seeking after the war
fighting for a light to keep the shadows at bay.

If they are lucky,
they win back something that was taken.
But even the lucky must lose to regain it.