Crown, sword, lily, lamp,
All have heroes in their camp,
All held horrors at the door or
Turned them ’round on their own furor
To help the hunted rise as champ.

Dymphna carried these four all
To help the helpless in her halls
Till they could stand on their own,
Still their minds and steel their bones
And climb back up from any fall.

Also read about Birds, Snails, Owls, Bees, Foxes, Vultures, Ponies, Berries and Bearcats.

This is a genus of newts only seen during the crescent moon. Do they only exist OR can they only be observed during the slenderest phase of our moon? The debate remains unresolved. Where are these newts the rest of the time?

Cinder Newt
At one time it was believed that there were certain newts or salamanders that lived in and were even birthed from fire. This was, of course, absurd. These are amphibious creatures, meaning water and land, not fire. This belief likely came from logs that were once home to newts/salamanders being thrown into a fire and the small, terrorized amphibian running out of the inferno, giving the appearance that it was there all along.
The cinder newt (also called the infernewt) has organized against those careless enough to not check logs before throwing them into flame.
If you toss one of them into the fire they’re coming for you and coming for you hot. They’ll burn your house down if you try to do them dirty. If you’re going to start something, finish it. Or get some good fire extinguishers. When’s the last time you checked your fire extinguisher? Make sure it’s ready to go.

Rattlenewt
Instead of having just the tip of the tail as a rattle such as rattlesnakes have, the whole newt rattles! It’s a musical instrument that just wants to be left alone. Of course it bites! It doesn’t have teeth, nor venom, but it will bite you with all it’s got! Which isn’t much, but we still ask that you kindly leave it be.

Starmouth Newt
Their mouth is a gateway to the stars. You can see all our solar system in there, planets, stars, twirling comets. Of course, that means we’re in there too. It’s very cozy. I’m starting to feel cramped, to be honest. Give me a little space, won’t you?

Knock Nibbed Newt
External gills to better breathe in the water. External heart to better feel out the world. Internal eyes to better keep an eye on themselves. They exude a toxin that causes an existential crisis. Do not touch! I thought I was ready to question everything. I was not. No, I was not…

Newt of Nose
These are minuscule newts living in the unforgiving environment of one’s nose. Each colony in every individual is its own distinct subspecies and named for the person with whom they coexist. They are all unique because they are influenced by your peculiar brain pattern. Very peculiar brain pattern… You should really join our ongoing study. We’ll be in contact soon.

High Witch’s Newt
There’s something that needs clarification. Certain witchy brews famously require “eye of newt” as an ingredient. It’s not “‘eye’ of newt,” it’s “‘I’ of newt.” We are all animals and it’s the part of newt within oneself. One’s “newtiness.” The brewer must pull this from themselves. People marvel at magical knowledge and sometimes it’s as simple as being able to parse language. Effective communication is bafflingly difficult at times. Misunderstandings derail us so easily.

Welkin’s Bell Newt
Certain newts produce a toxin that exudes from their skin and can be harmful to any who touch it. The welkin’s bell newt is one of those that does so. However, if you steep this newt (that is to say, give it a nice, warm bath) in water for 3-5 minutes the subsequent tea will reveal certain truths to you that you could not have arrived at on your own. Do not soak for longer than five minutes! There is a point at which you’ll see entirely too much truth and turn into a newt yourself. Us humans can only handle so much truth. Too much of it and we must become a different creature.

Walleyed Newt
While grouped with other newts of the crescent moon this newt is only found on the new moon, when there is no moon in the sky. Their eyes are completely white. Cratered. It’s almost as if they hold the moon in their eyes when it’s not in the sky. But that can’t be a thing. It can’t be.

The oldest are told
They are old
And are so
If they hear out the scold
Who would hold them below
The waters of soul
That pull at the hole
Of age in the eye of the dullest of gold.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Hokusai.

Part I

The last cloud fox was the first,
The best, the only, the worst.
Two winds of change
Met a cloud shaped strange
And out of the storm he burst.

The last cloud fox was a flash
Of tooth and tail with a dash
Of whispered luck
And whiskered pluck
Quick chased by thunder’s crash.

The last cloud fox was alone
For a beat before being blown
To a mountain top
Where the whole world stopped
To meet one of heaven’s own.

Part II

The last cloud fox had a view
Of all below, even you,
And still stepped down
To foreign ground
To make his grand debut.

He sniffed the wormy dirt,
Alive for all it’s worth,
And though it loved
Rain from above
Fox put them on alert.

The worms and woods sniffed back,
They breathed his wispy track,
“Why has a cloud
Come to us now
And how shall we attack?”

Part III

“The last cloud fox need a name,”
Purred the mountainous domain
To break the spell
Of fight that swelled
When something different came.

Out stepped a stony lion
From somewhere dark, defiant,
And touched her nose
To fox as foes
Turned friends for simply trying.

The sky and earth both boomed
As each the other bloomed,
Realm crossed realm
With more at the helm
Than looming gloom and doom.

Part IV

The last cloud fox was not born
In a place where names were worn,
So they called him Sky
Even as he tried
To join the earthly sworn.

Rain puddled at Sky’s paws,
Mountain lion licked his claws,
And then she called
Worms, woods and all
To bring seeds and pleased applause.

They soaked their seedling toes
Before running off to grow,
The sweetest love
Came from above
For seeds rain had never known.

Part V

The last cloud fox saw the need
In their long dried out seeds
For a loving flood
So he turned to mud
And saw their flowers freed.

The last mud fox was a clue
That the last cloud fox pursued
As he tumbled down
Until the ground
Gave way to gathered dew.

The last creek fox crashed on
Till the mountains were long gone,
Then past the docks
The last sea fox
Swam with the fish and prawns.

Part VI

The last cloud fox left the floor
Of the sea like he’d been before,
Sky clouded up
And spilled his cup
Out on the mountain’s shore.

He rained again and again,
Bringing water on the wind,
Running fast and free
From sky to sea
While seeing all his friends.

That stony lion always stood
In wait with the thirsty woods
For the earthly walks
Of the last cloud fox
To return that loving flood.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Hokusai.

The last cloud fox left the floor
Of the sea like he’d been before,
Sky clouded up
And spilled his cup
Out on the mountain’s shore.

He rained again and again,
Bringing water on the wind,
Running fast and free
From sky to sea
While seeing all his friends.

That stony lion always stood
In wait with the thirsty woods
For the earthly walks
Of the last cloud fox
To return that loving flood.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Hokusai.

The last cloud fox saw the need
In their long dried out seeds
For a loving flood
So he turned to mud
And saw their flowers freed.

The last mud fox was a clue
That the last cloud fox pursued
As he tumbled down
Until the ground
Gave way to gathered dew.

The last creek fox crashed on
Till the mountains were long gone,
Then past the docks
The last sea fox
Swam with the fish and prawns.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Hokusai.

The last cloud fox was not born
In a place where names were worn,
So they called him Sky
Even as he tried
To join the earthly sworn.

Rain puddled at Sky’s paws,
Mountain lion licked his claws,
And then she called
Worms, woods and all
To bring seeds and pleased applause.

They soaked their seedling toes
Before running off to grow,
The sweetest love
Came from above
For seeds rain had never known.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Hokusai.

“The last cloud fox need a name,”
Purred the mountainous domain
To break the spell
Of fight that swelled
When something different came.

Out stepped a stony lion
From somewhere dark, defiant,
And touched her nose
To fox as foes
Turned friends for simply trying.

The sky and earth both boomed
As each the other bloomed,
Realm crossed realm
With more at the helm
Than looming gloom and doom.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Hokusai.

The last cloud fox had a view
Of all below, even you,
And still stepped down
To foreign ground
To make his grand debut.

He sniffed the wormy dirt,
Alive for all it’s worth,
And though it loved
Rain from above
Fox put them on alert.

The worms and woods sniffed back,
They breathed his wispy track,
“Why has a cloud
Come to us now
And how shall we attack?”

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Hokusai.

The last cloud fox was the first,
The best, the only, the worst.
Two winds of change
Met a cloud shaped strange
And out of the storm he burst.

The last cloud fox was a flash
Of tooth and tail with a dash
Of whispered luck
And whiskered pluck
Quick chased by thunder’s crash.

The last cloud fox was alone
For a beat before being blown
To a mountain top
Where the whole world stopped
To meet one of heaven’s own.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Hokusai.