CALYPSO

It was said she lied in the Mount of Souls,

That whichever man could fetch her there,

Braving monsters, witches, demons and ghouls,

Digging his way out of the dragon’s lair,

Oh, Calypso!

That such a man would become the king of kings

In the slumbering Land of Lurid Lore,

Ruling over hills and vales and things

Unknown that none had ever seen before,

None – but she!

Horon, seventh son of swordsmith Boron,

Had heard about the story as a child

And since had sworn to many a noble baron

He’d save that queen who seemed to some so wild,

But not to him!

Once he’d finally reached the age of twenty,

Horon left his father’s forge and house,

With a horse and sword and coins aplenty,

Ready to quest – or queue – for his future... spouse,

“Oh, Calypso!

Ever waiting in your Crystal Castle,

Upon the most remote of morbid mounts,

Living your life a recluse and claiming a vassal

Strong and brave – that is, by all accounts,

None – but me!”

Little did he know what dangers lay

Ahead, what battles he’d have to fight, what foes

He’d have to face, what creatures he’d have to slay,

The very stuff of classic horror prose –

But not to us!

Horon was a warrior, a conqueror whose strength

And skill surpassed a soldier’s solid training –

And soldiers he was forced to face at length

When he feline Elina met complaining,

Oh, Calypso!

In an Eropolis tavern, having stopped

To drink some ale and eat some roasted meat,

He heard that woman, so completely slopped

No one understood what she would bleat…

None – but him!

Herself a fighter, she said she needed aid

For King Polemos the Usurper planned to ruin

And rule Eropolis, enslave its people, raid

Its temples and rape its women before next moon,

“But not with me!”

He boasted, falling in love already, “Give me

Three hundred men and I’ll make them an army

Worth any war and we shall crush with thee

The mightiest tyrants and put an end to this infamy!”

Oh Calypso!

For a while that lasted twenty years,

Horon forgot about your frozen coffin,

Ire and fire made her the best of peers –

Who else could thus his savage soul soften?

None – but her!

After many a hard-fought battle, rows

Upon rows of archers, horsemen, knights

And swordsmen brutally defeated, our heroes

Had had to face the harshest winter nights –

But not to them! –

Before the fall of King Polemos the Cruel,

Beheaded by Horon himself and his trusty sword,

Whose steel remained unstained despite the duel –

That was the end of King Polemos’ horde.

Oh, Calypso!

When Elina passed away and Coron,

Son of Horon, left to live his own

Adventure, it is you, my haughty heron,

He thought and dreamt of first, with crepe and crown,

None – but you!

His hope renewed, he hopped on his faithful horse

And rode across the Mourning Moors a ghost

Among the dead and dying whose remorse

And regrets to many was a torture almost –

But not to him!

When he finally reached the Mount of Souls,

Exhausted, wounded, panting for lack of air,

Braving monsters, witches, demons and ghouls,

Digging his way out of the dragon’s lair,

Oh, Calypso!

He beheld at last the twisted tower

Where the legend said he’d find you sleeping:

Its wooden door, unsealed by magic power,

To his surprise was open wide, and weeping –

For none but him

Had ever penetrated the Crystal Castle –

He marveled at the marble walls and stairs –

But what was it that lay there like a tassel

On the floor and seemed to be flowing downstairs

(But not to him

In particular)? Glowing in the dark,

It led all the way to what he knew

But knew not how would be your room and mark

The end of Horon’s journey. What a view,

Oh, Calypso!

You offered him when up he went and saw

You, still as stone, a statue stuck in time,

Your icy look and stiffened lips, his awe

At what you frozen gave him in your prime,

None but you

Could have provoked. So that was it, then, there

You’d waited, neither dead nor living, beautiful,

Eternal and half-real, feeding with incredibly fair

Eyes and skin and hair the dreams of a fool –

But not to you!

For he the lesson understood and left

A wiser man, deciding not to tell

His son, who said he was so smart and deft

He’d find you sooner than his dad, your spell,

Oh, Calypso,

An everlasting one!

c================o::::o

WHY

In 2012, my literary self wrote a short fantasy story entitled "Calypso". At the time, the younger me drove through the most beautiful plains and hills two hours every day on board a licence-free car to teach English and karate to a bunch of enthusiastic (to say the least) French teenagers in the middle of nowhere. During those two hours, he would mainly listen to Ulver's "Kveldssanger", dream of great adventures and look for the Truth while admiring the awe-inspiring landscapes he was lucky enough to pass by and through.

The writing took place when he retreated to his cave for a few days, enjoying the solitude he had long been craving for. After starting to type the first words on his computer, he found it impossible to stop and the whole tale flowed effortlessly out of his overly imaginative mind, thus giving birth to the epic journey of swordsmith Horon, son of Boron, and his quest for Calypso. He later sent it to a publisher, who loved it and decided to include it in a collection of short stories he was to publish soon.

Unfortunately, the publisher's poor health caused him to put an end to his publications, and though many other texts did find their way to print, "Calypso" didn't.

Yet I somehow knew that tale deserved better. I was so obsessed with it that I even rewrote it as a more or less humorous epic poem. But what was I to do about the short story? Should I publish it myself, the way I did it with my cartoons? It is only when reflecting upon the composition of a new old-school dungeon synth album that my musical self understood it was time for "Calypso" to shine bright - and loud.

So I started composing and thought it would be nice to include both versions of the tale - the short story and the poem - in this project, along with new black and white illustrations. And I did just that.

Why not?

c================o::::o

HOW

All songs were composed using Logic Pro, an AKAI Timbre Wolf and a ROLAND Juno G synthesizers as midi keyboards, a Nightswan Kramer electric guitar and a Focusrite audio interface from November 2021 to March 2023.

All illustrations were made with China ink on Canson paper and I simply modified one of them to make the artwork on a computer.

As for the text, all it took was a dream.

c================o::::o

WHO

Werna Wolf: keyboards, electric guitars, electronic drums, vocals, texts & illustrations.

Based upon Erwan Bracchi's 2012 short story entitled "Calypso".

Special hails; Basil Poledouris, John Carpenter, Giorgio Moroder, Riz Ortolani, Goblin, Fabio Frizzi, Vangelis, Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Nobuo Uematsu,Summoning, Erang, Arsule, Verdo, Sven Mor (HUARD PRODUCTIONS), Julien Lacroix (UNGAIKYO PROD), the French and international Dungeon Synth communities, my bandmates from Alloy (my black / death / thrash metal project), Usquam and especially YOU.more

released April 18, 2023

All songs composed and recorded by Werna Wolf.