1. SEASONAL WARFARE (RE-IMAGINED)

Many a cold night round the warming hearth
Stories have been told of how seasons shift
Of two fighting kings, which saddened the heart
Of a boy who would seek their curse to lift

He’ll fight to turn wrong into right
Too young yet to understand that…

The great wheel turns, seasons wax and wane
Kings' tears will fall, like snow and rain
In the spring of his life, a young boy still unshaped
The hard way he'll learn, some things can't be escaped

Under the harsh sun fumes the king of cold
Plotting to enforce his coming return
The Fey King who lets the sun shine so bold
He shall feel his wrath, in deep frost he'll burn

He’ll fight to turn wrong into right
'Cause he does not understand that…

The great wheel turns, seasons wax and wane
Heavy tears will fall, like snow and rain
Both will fight till the end, for sins that they both see
The hard way they'll learn, what will be will be

The great wheel turns, seasons wax and wane
Heavy tears will fall, make snow from rain
They'll all fight 'till the end, 'cause none of them can see
What all souls must learn, what will be will be


2. A SUMMER BREEZE (RE-IMAGINED)

Sun, soften the soil aid seedlings to grow
Stream, break loose from your frozen state, flow free!

Over forests and meadows I run

Wind, rouse those tired leaves, carry their grain
Beast, find a mate let the seed meet the egg

In forests and meadows I sing

I'm in the pain I'm in the joy of all new life
The very essence of all things alive and rife
I swirl around with the dance of the gentle breeze
And playfully hide behind all the shrubs and all the trees

A young man so majestic crowned by all things he sets abloom
His kingdom is his playground, all set upon winter's tomb

And those who listen might hear me out there in the wild
(and those who listen might hear him out there in the wild)

I'm in the pain I'm in the joy of all new life
The very essence of all things alive and rife
I swirl around with the dance of the gentle breeze
And playfully hide behind all the shrubs and all the trees

On the horizon's brink there's a threat to his throne
A hatred intense, to him yet unknown
Powers that seek for his beloved flower's wilt
To cover the world in an icy quilt
Sorrow of the sun, all its warming light's bane
It seeks and come fall that it will regain

I'm in the pain I'm in the joy of all new life
The very essence of all things alive and rife
I swirl around with the dance of the gentle breeze
And playfully hide behind all the shrubs and all the trees


3. THAT FATEFUL NIGHT

Far from the kings’ world of warfare there’s a haven
A warm fire, from which stories had moved a tiny heart

Long past his bedtime, a small boy lay awake
In a warm bed, one which he would soon trade
For the woodlands and the moon's cold ray
He'd taken upon himself to run to the king’s aid

From the window he peered out
Shadows lurking out in the night
It filled his young mind with doubt
To go out would take all his might

But the moon shone up the path
As if telling him to "Hasten, young one!
'Tis a quest that can't be deterred
Be not frightened!
Peace will come with your warning words
No time to waste!
One is hurting, one will be hurt and you know it’s wrong
Go now, brave one!"

On determined feet he entered the woods
Still a wee bit scared
The moon’s words, along with the friendly croaking of frogs,
Chased worries away

The king was nowhere in sight
Just a child’s voice that intertwined
With chirping and croaks in the night
His eyes for the kingdom's sights blind

Unaware he kept on calling
"King come hither!
Yours a fight that no one can win
Fey King, hear me!
It’s a cycle you're both trapped in
Fey King please come!
You both suffer for no reason, it’s so very wrong
Come, ruling one!"

Fast he ran through the woods
Without thought of where his feet fell
And thus, he tripped there on the forest floor
His head landed on a moss-covered stone and off he drifted

Chirps and croaks started to turn
They turned into words which he began to discern
As he rose from unconsciousness
He found that the veils had lifted, worlds had shifted
There before him stood the Fey King tall and splendid
Much bewildered by this little human,
Who could suddenly see and hear into his realm
(Into my realm)


4. LORD OF THE BLIZZARDS (RE-IMAGINED)

In the woods and fields of grain
That once were my domain
The summer burns in vain
I who seek the warm light’s bane

Sleepless nights shall be long gone
Heat will wane when fate is spun
The rays from higher burn my skin
Steals my slumber and my kin

In incandescence we’re defiled
The beasts of spring are roaming wild
Malefic

But I’m the smith of winter, the sorrow of the sun
To get my retribution I know what should be done
I will hunt the Fey King, a touch of snow I shall bring
With it I shall forge me, a weapon that has seen no equal in these lands
(In thunder song, the steel he smites, the forging heard throughout the night)

The rays of seasons past
Are destined not to last
When dark clouds carve the skies
The scorching subside

Boreal gales shall reign.
My ice and snow will rule the plains.
Before the gaze of my bleak eyes,
Flames shall wane and die.

I am the chilling veins, the cure for the blight
The lord of the blizzards in my forest of white
The Fey King fears the steel blessed by the gods of old
Strike his realm with steady hand, a wind of searing cold
(The frigid gales upon this land, strike his realm with steady hand)

I will send the snowflakes dancing in the skies
The frost of eons gathers with conviction in my mind.
The bells of fate are ringing, cursed be the Fey King.
Wrath shall be my guidance
And the old gods shall recognize my claim to vengeance


5. THE FIRST LEAF FALLS

Wary but for a moment the king saw
The boy was pure of soul and heart
Into the morn the two roamed the woods
As they spoke of why he’d come to their world

Time now to rise
Bring on the demise
From the tyrant who waltzes on my people’s graves
The scalding hot chains
That cause my people pain
I will overthrow him, the tyrant who enslaves

"Someone is nearing us, king"
Some worried critters warned
"No time left to waste"
The boy repeated

"King listen, believe me please
It is what I’ve been told
Your tale is centuries old
A cycle of winter and spring
Won’t stop if you to hate cling
For everyone’s sake stop
Stop, drop that sword"

"Brook, beast, and bine
All nurslings of mine
Do you wish me to risk them being put to death?
To confer, to speak
With someone who seeks
For my people’s enslavement and my final breath?"

Words burned the boy's heart like ice
How could the king not see?
That fighting would not lead anywhere

Then all covered behind their king
As winter’s army barged forth
No time for cautious thought
Again, the paths of the kings crossed
It seemed that all hope was lost

As moments passed, oh, so haltingly
The world seemed to creep, achingly
A heavy calm before an oncoming storm

The boy, his heart reached out for the lords
For hands to meet, and not swords
But his voice drowned in the cries
As the fuming Frost King charged

The boy’s sweet cry stopped the king in his stride
His fury, flown in awe of what had met his eye
He was struck a blow so great
In shock he fled, undignified

"Oh, kings won’t you see," he called
"The pain you both bring about
Your hearts, oh so devout
And it’s all in your hands to end
Turn enemy into friend
For everyone’s sake stop"


6. FALL’S FIRST STORM

Fall’s first storm was a failed reform
And summer’s king, his blood still runs warm
Yet that relief, was not to stay long
His peaceful realm whimpered its swan song

Scattered all around his court lie those wounded and dead
Their frozen eyes pleading with their king to save their fading lives
(and leaves, they fall still…)

Seconds pass, slow is their motion
Now it’s gone, that precious notion
That he could, protect all his own
Though alive, he’s mentally overthrown

Scattered all around his court lie those who he gave life
First day of spring,rising once more from wind, water, soil and sun
He nurtured them, they joined him in his dance, but what remains?
Just falling tears melting cold bodies, of beings once alive
And leaves, they fall still!

See what you’ve done to this world
This world I came to liberate
To liberate us from this “Wheel”?
The holder of all blame!
You still claim there are other ways?
Your ways of old have always failed
I failed but must not fail again...
Then hear the words I’ve said

How lonely, the throne stands
alone the king in times of peril
Show mercy or seek vengeance,
Such heavy weights to be scaled on two shoulders

Scattered all around his court lies those who he gave life
First day of spring,rising once more from wind, water, soil and sun
They danced, but now, it’s time to act again, a change must come
The wheel has turned, but of this knows not, the king of summer tide
And leaves, they fall still!


7. THE OLD GODS

Gods of old, overseers of two kings’ hearts
Gods who they both call to
They observe, and send whispers away,
A call, a call to arms and that it’s the only way

Keeping at bay the turmoil that would follow with peace Tirelessly they carry on, cause…

…the kings must keep fighting for seasons to come and go
Subsistence is the reason, fragile are its terms
And so, the wheel must keep turning
Heartless as it may all seem
It’s a balance which must not be disturbed

A change of rules is not in their hands to do
They, too, are bound by laws
They play their part, like the kings in this universe, bringing war
And comforts when one hurts

After one has fallen, they hearten his wounded soul
Telling him he must rise again

For the kings must keep fighting for seasons to come and go
Subsistence is the reason, fragile are its terms
And so, the wheel must keep turning
Heartless as it may all seem
It’s a balance which must not be disturbed


8. PROCESSION OF THE KINGS (RE-IMAGINED)

Nightfall as the king led his great army ahead
So small was the hope to make it without bloodshed

But stars fought off the dark of the rising night like the little boy fought off any fear
He felt as he ran to try to once more make the kings join hands

The cool breeze of summer dancing ‘round them
Like weeping flowing in the woods so dim
Holding memories of fallens ones at the Frost King’s hand

Words of from where their conflict did stem
Ringing like a wee human seraph's hymn
Echoed in the Fey King’s mind as he gazed out on his land
For once he did not know what to believe

Coming near the place where they would meet with their foe
The humming of the woods died down with much worried woe

Doubts faded away within that lush grove when he gazed upon the fear in the eyes of his people that he thought he had failed to protect

The soft chill of autumn lurking 'round them
Like wailing surrounding the woods so dim
Holding memories of fallen ones at the Fey King’s hand

Knowing that this would bring war's mayhem
Tears fell to the wee human seraph’s hymn
Holding on to dreams that the kings would both share the woodland Swore to be brave and wiped them on his sleeve

The cool breeze of summer dancing ‘round them
Like weeping flowing in the woods so dim
Holding memories of fallen ones at the Frost King’s hand

The soft chill of autumn lurking 'round them
Like wailing surrounding the woods so dim Holding memories of fallen ones at the Fey King’s hand
Surrounding the procession of the kings

The soft chill of autumn lurking 'round them
Like wailing surrounding the woods so dim
Holding memories of fallen ones at the Fey King’s hand
Surrounding the procession of the kings


9. HIS FINAL ENDEAVOUR

a/ An Oncoming Storm

Here it comes, the moment that is one of both fear and hope lurking behind every setting of the sun
When the Frost King gathered his strength to fight while struggling to cope

With the suffering of himself and his people
To fight for their cause, like the Fey King before
And in the midst of this stands a human child
Can he open their eyes?

'Tis a story of some childhood flaws
Keeps one from grasping nature's laws
Yet like new snow they shone so bright
That fateful night
Off he went (off he went)
A young child (a young child)
Into the (into the)
Unknown wild bravely

He went on a quest to make seasons’ kings
Let their swords fall forever
To never be lifted again
And how could he have failed it?

Every other tale he’d been told
Seated round a soothing hearth
Had a happy end
Painted a worldview so innocent
It was the whole of his world
But kings they rise, and they fall
At every equinox
It has no ending
Every war they have fought forgotten
Following each victory or death It is the whole of their world
As the great wheel of time turns

b/ Shifting Seasons

They shall meet, in wood, in glen
Thunder and blizzard will clash again
Their sorrow, in snow and rain
Tears falling for victims of their reign

Weapons raised, impassioned eyes
The air will fill with their battle cries
And the boy just as headstrong
Still thinks that he can right a wrong

c/ And Leaves They Fall Still

You Fey King, burned my skin
Stole my slumber and my kin
For your crimes I curse thee now
They will not last, this I avow

You Frost King, chilled my folk
Confined us under an icy yoke
For your crimes I curse thee now
They will not last, this I avow

The Fey king has danced so proudly
But time has come for summer to end
As the leaves begin to fall down
He's already so much weaker

And as one is slowly dying
The other is then at his strongest
It’s the force of shifting seasons
One that keeps the balance of the wheel

Now they charge with intention to kill
The boy cries, pleads with them to quit
Boldly standing there in their way
Frost King strikes a powerful blow

Autumn leaves now cover the hills
As the throat of summer is slit
Beside him, one who came in the way
A small shape fallen in the snow

d/ The Wheel Turns

He could not grasp nature’s laws
Or that one can’t always change a mind by just being kind
Off he went (off he went)
A young child (a young child)
Into the (into the)
Unknown wild
So naive…

He went on a quest to make season's kings
Let their sword fall forever
But his tries were all in vain
And his spring turned to winter

Every other tale he’d been told
Seated round a soothing hearth
Had a happy end
Painted a worldview so innocent
It was the whole of his world
But kings they rise, and they fall
At every equinox
It has no ending
Every war they have fought forgotten
Following each victory or death
It is the whole of their world
As the great wheel of time turns

But kings they rise, and they fall
At every equinox
It has no ending (no ending)
Every war they have fought forgotten
Following each victory or death
It is the whole of their world
As the great wheel of time turns