The Kurilusa

Here are the first verses of The Kurilusa, an epic that tells the story of the elves’ arrival in Tenehu and the eventual apotheosis of the Cursing King.

I’ve decided to write it in verse form, as I thought it would add some fun and immersive depth to the setting.

At the moment, I have no idea how long it will end up being—but time will tell.

My plan is to create some illustrations for it and perhaps even publish it in short video format. Eventually, I hope to compile everything into both a complete video and a book, if I deem it worthy.

The first verses follow below.

Hope you enjoy!

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Tablets of the Coming: The Kurilusa and the Naming of Tenehu

I. Of the Kurilusa, He Who Cursed All

He who has cursed all — I shall make him known to the lands.

I shall teach of him whose severed head knows all things.

Buried, yet it sees. Mute, yet it speaks.

Mutterer of curses. Utterer of blessings.

Bringer of flood. Bane of false gods.

Though land fell under sea, yet stelae stand — carved in his name.

Though temples cracked and time devoured, still they rise to honor him.

Take now these copper tablets.

Read aloud the truth of the King of Kings,

Who first set foot upon these shores.

Who bore the crown of foresight.

Whose bloodline made gods of elves.

For he shall be known evermore as:

Kurilusa — the Lord Who Spoke the Doom.

II. Of the Days Before Flame and Bronze

It was still the time of youth for the tribes of man,

When Elf-kin first came from beyond the horizon.

Like children on the cusp of manhood, they thought themselves wise —

Yet knew nothing of kiln fired brick nor shine of bronze.

They lived by sharpened wood, by dull stone,

Draped in hides, singing to thunder.

Among ancient ruins did they dwell,

Half-buried temples and nameless idols —

Remnants of the Precursors,

Whose memory clings to broken songs and shattered stone.

III. Of the Elf-Kin and the Arks

Then came the Great Arks of the Elf-kin,

Silver-sailed and storm-born,

Bearing a host beyond counting.

They came unto a land green and wide,

Like unto a garden made by forgotten hands.

Glaciers still lingered in the heights,

But they too withdrew before the godlike race.

With them came beasts of war — mammoths, thunder-footed,

On whose backs the elven nobles rode in gold and bronze.

All who fled not before them were bound,

For the elves had come not only to see — but to rule.

IV. Of the Naming of Tenehu

And when the King of Kings first set foot upon the shore,

He saw that it was good.

And he named it Tenehu —

“The Land of Promise.”

And the elves did claim it for themselves.

For at that time, man was but another beast —

Wild, unguided, trembling at sky-fire.

Only by burial and blood-offering did they speak to the divine.

To the Elves, this was but the first spark of reason.

A flicker, not yet fire.

V. Of the Kings and the One Above All

Each Ark bore a king, proud in lineage and banner.

But above them all stood the Kurilusa,

Lord of Lords, whose vision pierced the veil of fate.

He who saw the land before the land knew itself.

He who would curse the earth even as he blessed it.

His was the word that wove destiny.

His was the wrath that would one day fracture the realm.

And when the hour came, his head was taken —

Yet it did not die.

For in death, he became more than king.

He became the Curse Eternal,

The Prophet Buried,

The Head that Sees All.

A god to Man.