It seems that the bastards live forever;
It seems that the good guys never win.
I didn't feel a day over twenty
Until I heard that Talanque had died.
Gone is the sparkle from the sunlight,
Gone the magic from the twinkling stars.
The birds need bother sing no more
Now that they know that Talanque has died.
Like a father he was to me,
More than the sire of my blood.
Though wheelchair-bound, he gave me strength:
Where is my strength, when Talanque has died?
From Angels and the West alike
He shielded the Barony:
Foreign schemers who sought to use us
Must be happy to hear that Talanque has died.
And some of those who would've divided us
Lived right here (I'll name no names).
He reined them in, until they left,
Grew wiser, or even (like Talanque) died.
Northeners saw what they knew how to see:
They thought he sought power when he stood in their way.
But we his children, who basked in his love,
Must grow up at last, now Talanque has died.
Longer than Kevin, longer than Frederick,
Talanque was Baron more than twenty years!
I'm glad we honored him every year
With a tournament, before he died.
Now that he's beyond all suffering
From useless legs or long-lost lady,
His tears are ended — but ours begin.
Weep, Calafia, for Talanque has died!
—Calafia
a.d. 3 Kal. Feb. 2756