The engine was at the station
When a likely lad stepped up
His orders and gold citation
in one hand were clutched
When he came before the driver
A wizened man was he,
who gazed at his new arriver
and declared that he was green
"Green as grass after rain-"
He gave a dismissive snort
It's your first hand in our game-
so I guess you'd best be taught.
"You must know, me young buck
That we four are a team,
There's me, Shovel jack and ol' chuck
And the Blackfire Queen."
And with his wizened hand,
The engine he did stroke,
while jack and chuck loosed the pan
And the fires began to stoke.
"Now watch and be impressed,
breathe the smokey perfume
and feel her steamy caress
and below hear the pistons boom"
"Old man, I'm not entirely sure
Why you said your crew is four?
Who's the blackfire queen
This is just an engine
of steel, coal and steam-"
The driver scornful glance
"In your soul young man,
there is not a speck of romance
but listen and try to understand"
"I'll tell you a tale
Of how she came to be
The first princess of the rails
My beloved blackfire Queen."
"Roland and his first lady
Together they had a child
this was no ordinary baby
but undoubtably of royal style
Her cradle was of steel
Her black dresses gleamed
As a princess her appeal
roused every noble's greed
No Lord or Lady would refuse,
were she to offer a ride.
Wherever she went she was given her dues-
As the symbol of neverwinter's pride.
But every princess needs attendants,
to appease her every need
So we became her servants
and kept her fed and cleaned.
As her good father laid down
rails to every corner of his land
So too did our princess recieve her crown,
and her reign of the tracks began.
Years she's run amok,
and still we stoke her fire
And the desk-jockies say our time is up
And they urge us to retire
But for us it's till death to we part
and we ain't dead yet
We'll ride with our queen into the dark
and she won't ever forget.
On the day we're finally gone
Her whistle will sing and mourn
But even then after we're naught but ash
Up and down this rail we'll ride and never, ever look back."
And so the old man fixed the boy with a steely eye
and wore a look the young man would remember till he died
"You see the world as black and white, divinding thought and feel
but past the steam I see love and life are eched in this engines steel
So if you want to join our crew and become part of our team
Well, like me, Jack and Chuck, you'll serve the Blackfire Queen."
-Unknown
Published first in the Neverwinter Gazette, the Blackfire Queen is an excellent example of how the works of King Roland captured the hearts and minds of his subject during the first decades of his rule.
Today, it is not unreasonable to say, that the eternal king, may he live forever, is without argument the most important person in the history of mankind. I do not plan to try to separate the man from the myth, but, I do wish to record for posterity, the history and context behind some of the most poignant pieces of poetry and art that emerged from the early period of his reign.
When I read the Blackfire Queen, I was but a boy- but even then, I knew it was something special, for my father had once taken me to see the railways. I was of course, enraptured. Though today, they may seem mundane, then, it was yet more evidence of the seemingly infinite capacity of our king. Perhaps even without Roland, we might've had the age of steam- possibilities that I often discussed with field Marshall Va'aner. Though he was not an educated man, it was his inspiration that resulted in the eventual penning of the ideal rocket equation on which E.S.A's launches were first based on. However I digress. The Marshall and I concluded that while mankind may have gone through an 'age of steam', for Roland it was ultimately a stepping stone in his grander plans.
I like to call it his 'Train period'.
For my readers who sit comfortably by the light of their electric bulbs, it must be difficult to imagine, but although Roland set about to conquering via an unstoppable show of arms, he was not happy.
He knew of the impending calamities that would later rock the very foundation of our race and did not wish act as a nursemaid to the undeveloped kingdoms of Evernight, Wolfheart and so on.
However, he couldn't simply leave them to seethe, so, he chose to stamp ownership on the land by way of the rail.
Today the thirty two temporary foundries that were erected for the rapid creation of the first arterial rail system are either in disrepair or enshrined as monuments.
When they were first created however, the smelters glowed day and night to produce the rails for the most ambitious civil work the continent had ever seen.
As the remaining old nobility sulked and plotted from the bloody nose that was delivered via merciful conquest, Roland acted with his characteristic swiftness and decisiveness.
Over thirty thousand labourers worked on the grand line but it was only with the help of those great pillars of the kingdom, the witches Leaf and Lotus, that such a grand and far reaching project could be accomplished in a mere four months and twelve days.
The moment the first train rolled through the kingdoms, all who saw it were silenced.
No matter who they were, merchant, noble or commoner, they knew that this great iron construction was the apostle of a new era. More imposing that an army of a thousand, the king demonstrated it's immense potential by serving fresh fish caught in the reconstructed clear-water portage to nobles in each kingdom. It was then, he famously said those words immortalised by the playwright Rose,
"It takes years to nurture a horse, but in a week I can build an engine with the power of a thousand."
It is then said, that he was asked of what his demands were.
"I have no demands, because as you are now, you're incapable of living up to my standards. You are free to do what you wish, for I have no moments to spare- but that is the story of today. For when I have but a minute to spare, all who fall behind the times, will be crushed under the weight of history."
Undoubtedly an over-embellished delivery by the playwright, but, it rings true with the attitude the eternal monarch took towards the loose confederations of traditional landholders he crushed underfoot.
Though the first task of the rails was to secretly construct fortified positions throughout his growing empire, the treasuries of every noble and kingdom were wrenched open to invest in the Neverwinter Railway and Freight company- as it so happens, the first time a firm was ever made public and stock traded in such a manner. While it was for the many investors, an incredibly attractive and lucrative offer, it was also the final blow against resistance to his rule. Before, it was unattractive to sabotage the railway system, after the wave of public investment it became unthinkable.
The true genius of Roland can be seen in his complete understanding of human desires. While he was touring the kingdoms, he declared that the first hundred most major investors who committed to support the expansion of the rails system within the month would receive special benefits in the form of a 'Golden Ticket' that would forever guarantee them and their freight free passage on the rail network. Of course, at the time there was no microwave relay, trunk line or automobile- and the only rail engine travelled with the king. Hence, all the nobility who wished to capitalise on the unique offer had to send messengers with their swiftest horses without hesitation, and when the horses could go no further, and the staging posts had no more to to spare, those messengers carried on their journey to Neverwinter however they could- boat, foot, newly acquired bicycles and even it's said, a giant bird. It goes without saying that many of the more enterprising messengers took the opportunity to sabotage their fellows wherever they could.
This was coincidentally the inspiration for a certain Iconic annual event- but once more I digress.
The rails cemented Roland's absolute authority over the kingdoms, delivering the trappings of Neverwinter to the world in exchange for raw iron, coal and gold.
And here dear readers I must ask you to trust me for this fact you will find in no history book. As a boy, I climbed aboard that first train and had the privilege of visiting the locomotive.
What I will never forget though is not the heat or machinery, but, a detail my young eyes caught on the side of the boiler. A heart was etched in the metal and within, the letters R and A.
It is to that sight to which I declare this book, for within our belov'd and bless'd king there beats a warm and loving heart.