1. Downfall

In filth ridden rags, sore and in chains
No longer a servant of crosses and tales
He saw for the first time through
All of his fears and pains

As all the ships sailed into the fjord
Walls of stone that reach for the moon
In prayers he begged
"Father and Lord"

Soon they arrived and no prayer was heard
Whips lashed at his back as he fell into the sand
In his prayers he screamed
"Father and lord, bless me with your ward"

In tears he rejected the Father and Son
He was now made a slave and his freedom
Was gone
Ridden with hunger and threatened by sword
Brought to a chamber to meet his newfound lord
Wise man made of stone
Recited the words that the slave swore that day

Hardship and pain
A priest made slave
And lost his faith

"To you I surrender my life and skill
My hopes and dreams shall be under your will
Your word is my law and to break it means to
Bestow myself tenfolds the shame I caused you"

So it took place so long ago
A priest made slave, now knee-deep in snow
Twisted and fixated in the frozen mud
He swore a last curse while coughing up blood

"I curse you in hatred from my broken bones
Downfall, fire, curse you, I curse you"

2. Distant Peaks

By the foot of the mountain
There lived a wise man of noble household
Merry was life with his kinsmen
And soon the wise man would be old
But change would come
A rider form the shores
His name was
The bringer of ill news and tidings

He pressed the cause, it was clear
The Jarl had sent for him
To fight for him in war
And lead his banners to the shore
So the wise man mustered all
The forces in his lands
And left his kin and home
Like so many times before

As they sailed out for the sea
In ships loaded for war
The wise man turned to see the peaks
That he loved and called home
At last, new land was sighted
And soon they would rid it of very last man
Woman and child who could bear arms in hand
Or ever challenge their clan
As the first man to set foot on this newfound land
The wise man thought it clear

He saw his fate approaching through the air
But could not move out of fear

Death in form of an arrow
Brought the man to the ground
Deep in his belly the arrow has struck
His blood mixing with water and sand

Laying on his side he bore witness to the fray
His friends and countrymen
Pillaged and burned before they went on their way
And left the wise man to die as they sailed away

3. Firstborn Son

Aligned at the shore
Gazing through the wind and waves
Under the morrow sky
Autumn clouds and pouring gray
Watchful and waiting
They all look forward to this day

Horizon holds promise
Of welcomed sight
Sails returning

His pallid eyes searched every place
But could not find the old man's face

The firstborn son of winter's twelve
A weakling built on fragile stem
Arrival came upon the shore
Brought in on land by wind and oars
At last

"Our fates lie in your hands"

First in line to greet his father
Wise and old with seasoned men

"He fell and died
On the sands and left you
The rule of house and lands
As he stood, now you must stand"

The stormy winds shall rip and tear
The crashing waves will grind and break
Foundations crumble under burden's weight
Until the weakling longs for the fire

"The boy won't live through winter"

A youngling without strength fell
His pyre roared fiery and bright
As it ignited
Smoke rose from his corpse
When he burned and scorched
Until the last shred was gone

"Father I have let you down
And with you house and land will fail
In death I know,
I cannot lift the curse upon our lands
Until the sun has withered, unless they die
Under that sky
Will be a miserable place
A grim and desolate sight
A torment that cannot be escaped"

4. Matriarch's Lament

How long could it have been?
Since last time she saw the horizon and sun
Except through ashes?
While from afar, a neighbour is set to advance

Woe! Her struggle in life
Ache! A widowed old wife

"Echoes, remnants of a son
Still they calm me"

Across the land and over the fjord
Came a host of men to conquer
With flames and anger
Through night they walked
Silent and bent on their cause

"Wake up! Wake up now!
They've set aflame the roof above our heads!"
As they carved, killed and raped
The whole ground seeped with red

In her final moments she was torn apart
The air was filled with flames and woe
When they lost all faith the widow saw
Her son was nowhere to be found

Mother is gone
Every loved one slaughtered
Embrace the chaos
Endure

Buried in a pit, under the weight of many
A small one lies still, waits and draws breath

5. The Sight

Then a bright night descended
Over mountains and fjords
In the moonlight a large and stunning bay
On the hillside one orphan sat by a fire
And whispered in the night

He reminisced the devastating night
When the farms were burned to the ground
One by one were they defiled
A carnage he forever would despise

But to him were nothing to happen again
The orphan set patiently ready to kill
As darkness flew in like an unwelcome bid
His fire died out, the fire died out

Barely to be seen a motion stirred the water
Silence heavy in the air like a threat
With it a fear of what was to come
Something was afoot
Someone on their way
Someone on their way

The fjords went red this starry night
Their ships lit the skies with roaring fire
On the white peaks one man appeared
Beheld the sight

As night fell the enemy approached
The fjords shuddered
Never again were houses to burn

As night fell the enemy approached
The fjords shuddered
Never again were houses to burn
Sharpened swords were soon to make sure
Never to rest with sword in hand

6. Tears Of Remembrance

"Ancestors, I was cornered then
They had searched me out and sprung the trap
As the heavens soon grew darker
They would chastise me for the misdeeds done

So I was torn
Crippled, slashed and scorned
By the wrothful master and his henchmen
That cursed day
When they drew
The red-blood eagle on my back

As the birds stop to sing
The sight of a white, old man
Loomingly starts to appear
He smiled from my pains
And watched me to the end"