The Tyrant’s ShadowA Tragedy in Five Acts


Dramatis Personae
- Lord Dominus: A Machiavellian nobleman, ambitious and ruthless, consumed by his desire for power. 
- Lady Justicia: A noblewoman of unwavering integrity, champion of the oppressed, yet burdened by doubt. 
- Lord Veritas: A wise and eloquent counselor, a voice of reason who pays the ultimate price for his honesty. 
- Sir Equitas: A valiant knight, loyal to Justicia and the kingdom, embodying courage and honor. 
- Chorus: The voice of the people, observing and commenting on the unfolding drama. 
- The Flame: A symbolic torch carried by Lady Justicia, representing liberty and hope. 

---

Act I: Exposition
Setting: A court hall, adorned with faded tapestries. Enter LORD DOMINUS, addressing a restless crowd. A crown rests on a pedestal before him.

DOMINUS:
Hark! Hearken well, ye souls of discontent! 
This realm, a ship adrift on seas of strife, 
Is tossed by tempests, threatened by the night! 
But I, your beacon, with a steady hand, 
Shall guide her through the storm and bring her peace. 

He lifts the crown from the pedestal and places it on his head as the crowd murmurs approval. LADY JUSTICIA and LORD VERITAS exchange a wary glance.

JUSTICIA: (aside)
His words are honeyed, yet his gaze is cold— 
A serpent's gleam beneath a placid brow. 

VERITAS: (to Justicia)
Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing, my lady; 
For tyranny, disguised in robes of grace, 
Doth sow the seeds of discord and despair. 

Dominus turns to them with a sly smile.

DOMINUS:
My lords and ladies—why such solemn looks? 
Do ye not trust my hand to steer this realm? 

JUSTICIA: (with measured tone)
Trust is a fragile thing, my lord; it grows 
Not from decree but from deeds just and true. 

Dominus’s smile falters as he fixes Justicia with a piercing gaze.

DOMINUS: (aside)
She sees too much; her fire must be quenched. 

---

Act II: Rising Action
Setting: Dominus's opulent chambers. He sits enthroned while LORD VERITAS stands before him. 

VERITAS: 
My liege, thy path, though paved with noble aims, 
Doth tread upon the rights of honest men. 
The whispers grow—a venomous refrain— 
Of justice trampled and of liberties slain. 

DOMINUS: (scoffs)
Whispers? Cowards' fears, born of the night! 
A ruler's will must be the kingdom's law. 
Obedience—not freedom—is the key 
To order’s strength and everlasting sway. 

Veritas steps closer.

VERITAS:
But what is order if its cost be chains? 
What strength endures when built on broken backs? 

Dominus rises from his throne in anger. 

DOMINUS:
Enough! Thy tongue hath sealed thy fate this day! 

Veritas is dragged away by guards as Dominus looks into the distance. 

DOMINUS: (to himself)
The crown is mine—yet still it weighs me down. 
Each foe I fell doth rise within my mind; 
Their shadows haunt me even in their graves. 

---

Act III: Climax
Setting: A desolate battlefield at dawn. LADY JUSTICIA stands before her troops holding a flaming torch.

JUSTICIA: (raising the flame)
Behold this fire—a light that shall not fade! 
For liberty, for justice, and for truth, 
We raise the sword against this tyrant's reign! 

SIR EQUITAS steps forward. 

EQUITAS: 
Your cause is just; your blade shall strike for all—  
For those who cannot speak nor lift their arms!  

The troops cheer as they charge into battle. Elsewhere on the field, DOMINUS rallies his dwindling forces. 

DOMINUS:  
Cowards! Stand fast! This crown was won through blood;  
It shall not fall to traitors nor to thieves!  

The armies clash in a cacophony of steel and cries. Dominus fights valiantly but watches as his allies desert him one by one.

---

Act IV: Falling Action
Setting: Dominus’s shattered fortress at twilight. He sits alone beside his crown, haunted by visions.

DOMINUS: (to himself)
Betrayed! Forsaken! By my own hand I built  
This edifice of power—now it crumbles!  
The echoes of their laughter fill the air—  
A symphony of scorn; a requiem for my pride.  

He picks up the crown but hesitates to place it on his head again. 

Enter LADY JUSTICIA and SIR EQUITAS. 

JUSTICIA: 
Lay down thy arms; thy reign hath reached its end.  
Mercy awaits thee if thou yield this day.  

DOMINUS: (spits)
Mercy? From you? You who would steal my crown?  
This crown is mine—it binds me to my fate!  

SIR EQUITAS steps forward with sword drawn. 

EQUITAS: 
Then face thy fate with honor—or with none!  

---

Act V: Denouement
Setting: A public square at dusk. DOMINUS stands bound before an executioner as citizens gather around.

DOMINUS: (to the crowd) 
Mark well my fall, ye fickle fleeting souls!  
A king may stumble; yet his shadow lingers—  
A warning writ in blood for all to see:  
Beware ambition cloaked in destiny!  

The executioner raises his blade as Dominus meets his end. The crowd murmurs uneasily as LADY JUSTICIA steps forward holding the flame. 

JUSTICIA: (to herself)  
The tyrant falls—but can this flame endure?   
For even now I see their hungry eyes—   
Ambition waits to claim what he hath lost.   

She extinguishes the flame solemnly as darkness falls over the stage. 

The CHORUS steps forward to deliver the final lines.   

CHORUS:  
Thus ends the tyrant’s reign—his ambition’s blight;   
But shadows linger; whispers haunt the air.   
For tyranny—though vanquished—may return   
Unless we guard the flame of liberty with care.

---

© 2025 Steve Raines 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

chemo

Image
  The chemo cocktail churns, a metallic serpent coiling in my gut, its venom rising, a bitter tide. The sterile air, a canvas for the symphony of beeps, a haunting counterpoint to the hollowness inside. My reflection mocks from the steel embrace of the chair, a gaunt caricature, eyes hollowed, skin the hue of despair. Each breath a labored rasp, a dry leaf skittering on stone, as the serpent writhes, promising oblivion's unknown. Sleep, a fragile escape, crumbles into a twisted dream. A figure cloaked in midnight strides across the barren plains, his scythe a crescent moon, casting an inky sheen on the cracked and thirsty earth, mirroring my ravaged veins. The Grim Reaper, eyes smoldering embers in the gloom, a silent judge, his gaze a pronouncement of impending doom. His skeletal hand reaches, cold and sure, to claim my soul, but a spark of defiance flares, a flicker to regain control. I lunge, a frail wisp against the night's cold embrace, but the figure fades, leaving on...
Read more

Magic Carpet Ride

Image
 Let me take you on a magic carpet ride No silken carpet, stitched by hands unknown, But woven moonlight on a phoenix's down. With whispers of magic, we'll ascend the sky, Where stars like diamonds dance and planets sigh. Through emerald valleys, where dragons sleep, And crystal rivers secrets keep. On winds of laughter, past castles untold, With stories blooming, braver than gold. We'll chase shooting stars across the night, Their fiery whispers our guiding light. Past hidden waterfalls, where sirens sing, And wishes take flight on gossamer wing. No jeweled palace, but a moonlit bower, Where fireflies light each fragrant flower. With hearts entwined, beneath the Milky Way, We'll write our own love story, come what may. This magic we create, unseen, unheard, A tapestry woven with every shared word. So let us dance on stardust, wild and free, For the truest magic lies in you and me. With brushes dipped in dreams, we'll paint the sky, Our souls entwined, as colors dan...
Read more

My wife was only 32 when she died of metastatic breast cancer

Image
It was only 5 years after we found a lump in her breast.  She was a laboratory technologist in the hospital lab at the time and our medical insurance was good.  To give her the best chance, they gave her both chemotherapy and radiation to the area where the tumor had been found after surgery.  Our son was 1 1/2 years old at the time of the diagnosis and spent a lot of time at his grandmother's house during her treatments.  I went with her each time she received chemo and went through her nausea and vomiting with her after each course. In time they tattooed a tiny dot on her breast in order to guide the radiation to the right area and completed the radiation treatments.  She began recovering and within months had returned to her job at the lab. We both raised our son and went about our lives, hopeful. They did tests for tumor markers monthly without apparent return of the cancer.  One day, 5 years from the beginning she felt bad and was hospitalized. The tum...
Read more