BLACK GULL THE MERCIFUL

From the deep they rise,

with a cry so foul it blackened the sky.

Lost souls of the abyss, from Earth and beyond,

marinating in anguish for eons prolonged.

Summoned by eerie masters they are,

whirling in a tempest as jet as tar,

for around an island of gloom they corral,

presided by the dark Grenzgänger who shall,

tempt any man with a penchant for blood & hate,

for such was the pirate Black Gull's fate.

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An abused and scorned cabin boy he left

and returned a dark figure, all light bereft,

for on that island of despair,

he buried his charity and care.

In return for the the light in his soul,

he was gifted a black gull to balance the toll.

The avian spawn made his shoulder his home,

and it squawked and crooned a deathly tone.

Red eyes ablaze it could pierce the mind,

with imagery forebode that dims the shine.

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Upon his return he slew all who dare,

and usurped his captain with disemboweling flare.

For years he sailed the ocean blue,

bringing malice, terror, death, and rue.

To be caught by Black Gull alive, not dead,

was a fate so horrid the thought filled with dread.

In an act of fealty one must pluck out an eye,

or be beaten, tortured, and skinned alive,

then dangled in the sea of salt,

while it burns your innards without halt.

Cyclopes they became with fervent glee, you see,

for that was the toll of Black Gull's mercy.

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Countless treasures he robbed, horded and conned,

and from the law he always did abscond.

Yet for all the wealth and reverence he did earn,

he longed for his goodness & light returned.

Years he searched for his lost treasure,

and traversed the seas and took no small measure,

to find that which he gave up freely for power,

bestowed upon him by the dark Grenzgänger.

The black tempest & island did elude,

his ceaseless searching that he would not conclude.

More bitter, angry, & distraught he became,

and he slew his men for the slightest blame.

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Soon all that was left was he and his gull,

who crooned and chided within his skull.

It is said the pirate Black Gull still glides,

upon the seas in search of his most coveted prize.

One can hear his gull in the tempest that rise,

calling you to stand at Black Gull's side.

But beware that call, it does not bode well for thee,

to be at the end of Black Gull's mercy.