Circle of Dust
Daraq
Fire fell from the clear sky without warning, raining down on the cities of light
Destroying them in clouds of smoke that blotted out the sun, consuming even the stones
No one survived. Young and old alike perished in that terrible day
It was over in a moment, but the black smoke rolled up to heaven for many days to become a shroud to cover the sky
On that day, our bright homeland became the blighted lands, a desert where no living thing could ever survive
A dark epoch followed. Sickness became our constant companion: our men grew old too quickly and died suddenly:
Those of our women who were not barren gave birth to dead babies or produced monsters from their diseased wombs:
Our flesh withered while still young; little children lost teeth and hair, they vomited blood
Our proud ancestors became a nation afflicted with sores and running wounds
All that we knew passed away; all that we loved died. The treasures of our great civilization fell into dust
We lost the knowledge we had worked so hard to discover - we lost everything to the dark time...