End of Volume: Ode to a Bard’s Awakening

In the sleepy square where dust would lay,
A bard once sang one fateful day.
With cloak of green and harp of gold,
He wove the air with tales untold.

The child stood still, his chores forgot,
As melodies spun a wondrous plot.
“Lo, brave heroes on distant seas!
Their legends call on winds and breeze!”

The bard’s hands danced upon the strings,
As villagers gasped at knights and kings.
The child’s heart swelled, a drumbeat loud,
He dreamed of worlds beyond this crowd.

“Tell me, sir,” said the bright-eyed boy,
“How can I learn this splendid joy?”
The bard knelt low, his gaze profound,
“Chase not just songs, but truth unbound.

Each lute’s first tune, each word profound,
Is born of struggle, sought and found.
The world awaits, its tale begun,
Forge your journey, wandering son.”

The days then passed in a dreamy haze,
The boy would mimic, he’d sing, he’d praise.
In evenings soft, by the fire's glow,
His family heard the songs he'd sow.

“Oh, mother dear,” the boy once cried,
“I yearn to see what lies outside.
The mountains tall, the rivers wide,
The stories hidden where myths abide.”

His mother wept, yet brushed his brow,
“You’re bound to go, I see it now.
But keep your heart as pure as light,
And let it guide you through the night.”

His father grumbled, his hands like stone,
“The roads are rough, you’ll walk alone.
But if you sing with courage strong,
Perhaps the world will learn your song.”

At dawn he left, the morn agleam,
His village a speck in a distant dream.
A pack of bread, a lute, and pride,
He wandered out, the world his guide.

From rolling hills to valleys deep,
He drank of wonders, lost in sleep.
The stars became his nightly scroll,
Their scattered paths a map to soul.

And as he walked with youthful stride,
The bard within began to chide:
“You’ll write of lands, of hearts undone,
Your journey's ink will craft the sun.”

Thus he set forth, with dreams so grand,
To learn the secrets of every land.
Oh, bard of youth, your story grows,
A seed of verse in winds that blow.