Prompt: Elucubration
Ancient Tomes are such a pain
They can really hurt your brain
You’ll buy a massive stack of books
But over half are aimed at cooks
Of the other half, most just suck
And have pages covered in muck
But some give you what you need
Dark secrets and a spell to read
Alas, most are rotten and smeared
All the pages are utterly dog-eared
But with a few weeks of grind
The book is ready for your mind
So you read and study all night long
Trying to avoid getting it wrong
When morning comes, you gather the things
The newt blood and worn worm strings
You do the ritual as best you can
But things don’t go to plan
Rather than a beast from the firey pit
From the smoke falls a cake and oven mitt
Turns out your Coptic isn’t as good as you thought
And the study is all for naught
Turns out that when dark magic is your goal
Translator is the most important role
Jonathon Greenall is a freelance writer, artist, and tabletop roleplaying game designer who has written for CBR, Polygon, Nintendo Life, Gayley Dreadful, Enbylife, and many other publications. They have also published several popular and highly-praised tabletop roleplaying games including “You Have One Ability….The Ability To Fuck This Up,” “Macarons, Milkshakes, And Magic,” and “Wander Wizards.”
Jonathon has always been fascinated by media, from the big hitters to the small, obscure, and often overlooked titles that linger on the sidelines, capturing both the on and off-camera stories that make these shows so fascinating.
Jonathon is also a major anime fan, having been exposed to the medium through shows like Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Since then, Jonathon has maintained a passion for anime, watching most new shows each season and hunting down overlooked gems from previous ones.