Summary: Jadis of Charn wages war on her sister Jerza for control of their home.

Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia are the property of C.S. Lewis and his heirs, and are not utilized here for monetary gain. Jerza is an original character based on what little we know of Jadis' sister. Aslan belongs to Himself.

Purpose: To explore the motivations and morals behind the conflict.

Rating: PG, for nonviolent death.

Characters: "Jadis' Sister," Jadis, Aslan

Genre: Poetry/Spiritual

Old Sun cracked over horizon far away;

Jerza rose before the break of day.

'Round her soldiers stirred and roused themselves;

Prepared for battle in the Stonewood Dells.

Golden tresses one by one she twisted,

Beneath a helmet by her father gifted;

A breastplate bronze and silver-edged lay on her chest;

About her hips her swordbelt came to rest.

In ready stance, prepared for all, she rose,

And took her shield, blessed to defeat her foes,

Then lifting up her sword, the Storm, she cried,

"Good people of Charn who stand here justified

To fight and end yonder tyrannic rule -

Whose perpetrator, Jadis, pernicious fool,

Though my own flesh and blood, I shall oppose

'Till with my dying breath my eyes will close -

Fear not, our God fights on our side,

And we shall conquer, or thus attempting, die.

Now, soldiers, forth! Fight with courage, for we

Are in the right, and thus hold victory!"

That day they conquered the Stonewood Dells

And made their way through the Widow's Wells

And made their camp by the walls of Charn,

And the fighting halted 'till the morn.

On the second day, they took the gates,

But there was an incident, decreed by the Fates,

For Jerza was strong in the magical arts,

But there was a promise, made on both parts

Not to work in magic 'till the War was done,

But instinct is strong, and instinct won.

A man shot an arrow she could not evade

And the arrow fell at the magic she made.

Then the ground trembled: the promise was broken;

Jadis knew her words as they were spoken.

Jerza begged forgiveness: she felt the earth quake,

And she resolved not to repeat her mistake,

But Jadis had all she wanted and she

Began to lay plans, now wicked and free.

And they made camp in the city of Charn,

And the fighting halted 'till the morn.

The next day they finally took the city:

Jadis stood and watched in mock'ry of pity.

Jerza led her army up the palace stair,

And Jadis' eyes flashed at her fearless dare.

"Vict'ry!" cried Jerza, then "Vict'ry!" with force.

"Aye, victory," quoth Jadis, "but not yours."

And, with a laugh every living thing heard,

And a smile, she spoke the Deplorable Word.

Then with a gasp Jerza sank to her knees,

And she gasped again as she felt her blood freeze.

As darkness fell and she knew all life was done,

Jerza gasped once more, "Sister, still have I won."

Then she fell, but Jadis stood alone in shock.

"For you have destroyed yourself," the silence mocked.

There she stood, Queen of the World, yet Queen of naught;

Jadis the Usurper, the Queen that Time forgot.

Throughout her life full of death, murder, and sin,

She was haunted by the war she could not win.

That night, she slept in the palace of Charn,

And she did not awake in the morn.

Finally Jadis left her home world behind

After a great unmeasured span of time

Since Jerza, shining in the morning, cried,

"Fear not, our God is fighting on our side,

And we shall conquer, or thus attempting, die,"

And at its end Charn lies empty, cold and dry.

In this abandoned World, as the Sun set at its End,

A lone silhouette sat on a wall and gazed across the land.

The form of a mighty Lion, the only creature there,

Considered the World He'd created, once pure and bright and fair.

And as the Sun sank to its low, all Time ran through His head,

From the noble kings who first ruled there, whose mem'ry now was dead,

To Jerza; Princess, Warrior, Queen, who stood for what was right:

Though all the world was fallen, she did not give up the fight.

Then the Sun set, the End had come, the Lion turned away;

And darkness fin'lly fell on Charn's final day.

Two sisters look back to the same birthplace

And share a family within their once-noble race.

Jerza sees a home beloved, and one worth fighting for;

Jadis sees a land to stage her bloody power war.

Though Jadis was the one alive, when all was said and done,

Is this the way that men decide if a battle's won?

Now make your choice, adventurous stranger:

Be ruled by fear, doubt, hate, and anger,

Or let your Maker set you free,

And stand by Him in victory.

And in the Maker's Country, final dwelling place,

The glorious dawn of endless day lit faithful Jerza's face.