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Where by the marshes boometh the bittern,
Nickar the Soulless sits with his ghittern,
Sits inconsolable, friendless and foeless,
Wailing his destiny,
Nickar the Soulless.
Footing the treacherous marshes untrodden,
Glides by a Wanderer, hooded in hodden,
Grey is his gaberdine, grey are his hosen;
Track that he travels by no man has chosen.
"Wherefore thus sorrowful sit'st thou and sighest?
Oft when it furthest seems, succor is nighest!"
"Friend!" quoth the Soulless one, "friend to the friendless!"
"Vain are all comforters! Sorrow is endless!"
Full text here
High IQ required due to "olde English" and 3-page length. A nickar or necker is a water monster (if you played Witcher, you've fought them); in fairytales though neckers are mostly chill and depressed, LDARing on the riverbanks and in the swamp playing ghittern (guitar) and singing sad songs. They are seen as harbingers of drowning, though they don't usually drown people themselves, and will even bargain and teach you how to play their songs if you bring them the right gifts.
TLDR - the necker in this particular story sees a beautiful girl bathing naked and acquires a severe case of oneitis. A demon ("wanderer in gray") shows up and offers to get the girl for the necker in exchange for the necker's soul (which the necker doesn't have). The demon gets the girl to marry the necker, but she dies in childbirth; the demon then shows up to collect the necker's soul. The necker mocks him for being stupid and not realizing who he struck a bargain with, and drowns himself, leaving the demon "doomed" because he cannot fulfill a bargain signed in blood.
TBH it was the "friendless and foeless" line in the first stanza that caught my eye; TFW you are so unwanted that nobody even wants to be your enemy.
Nickar the Soulless sits with his ghittern,
Sits inconsolable, friendless and foeless,
Wailing his destiny,
Nickar the Soulless.
Footing the treacherous marshes untrodden,
Glides by a Wanderer, hooded in hodden,
Grey is his gaberdine, grey are his hosen;
Track that he travels by no man has chosen.
"Wherefore thus sorrowful sit'st thou and sighest?
Oft when it furthest seems, succor is nighest!"
"Friend!" quoth the Soulless one, "friend to the friendless!"
"Vain are all comforters! Sorrow is endless!"
Full text here
High IQ required due to "olde English" and 3-page length. A nickar or necker is a water monster (if you played Witcher, you've fought them); in fairytales though neckers are mostly chill and depressed, LDARing on the riverbanks and in the swamp playing ghittern (guitar) and singing sad songs. They are seen as harbingers of drowning, though they don't usually drown people themselves, and will even bargain and teach you how to play their songs if you bring them the right gifts.
TLDR - the necker in this particular story sees a beautiful girl bathing naked and acquires a severe case of oneitis. A demon ("wanderer in gray") shows up and offers to get the girl for the necker in exchange for the necker's soul (which the necker doesn't have). The demon gets the girl to marry the necker, but she dies in childbirth; the demon then shows up to collect the necker's soul. The necker mocks him for being stupid and not realizing who he struck a bargain with, and drowns himself, leaving the demon "doomed" because he cannot fulfill a bargain signed in blood.
TBH it was the "friendless and foeless" line in the first stanza that caught my eye; TFW you are so unwanted that nobody even wants to be your enemy.
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