1. ARMADA

In battles of the east we have earned our names
Victorious, their towers wreathed in flame
And the walls of the world must bear the lion’s mark
Empires rise and fall to dust with the passing of our march
We are the golden horde,
The shield of iron The mask of the beast, riding far
Who led by him, stalk the plains,
Engulfed in the fire of the dark
“We go beyond my brothers, far beyond
But I promise you, soon we shall return.
From deep horizons and seas unknown
Our enemies of the dark
Set your scarlet sails aflight with hatred in your hearts
And loosed like the arrow from an emerald bow
We shall strike them from this world
And the tyrants will fear our names.”
And with brave words, the ships set sail
Carving through the silver bay
Beneath the wheeling gulls and cormorants that day
Following the northern star, where ice like dragon’s teeth
Had long guarded the ancient strongholds of their enemy
Lashed to the mast a sailor, a traitor, will guide
And with each shuddering night, the shadows returned as he closed his eyes
Their lives were only his to lose
His lantern was their comfort in the night
“We go beyond my brothers, far beyond
But I promise you, soon we shall return.
From deep horizons and seas unknown lie
Our enemies of the dark
Set your scarlet sails aflight with hatred in your hearts
And loosed like the arrow from an emerald bow
We shall strike them from this world
And the tyrants will fear our names.”


2. DOMINION

Riding quick upon grey fields
Hooves beat down upon scarred earth
Steam rising from rider and horse
As they thunder down the Watcher’s Road Gates open
Before him as he passes under the
Arch of the Victor Crowds part before his path,
on the mount the towers loom
In darkness he awakened to cracking whips and oaken oars
Gaunt faces stare through the gloom
As callous hands pulled him from the black
Worn and enslaved he was taken from the waves
From high above the northern wastes
The overseer gazes upon her dominion
The winds cry through the night as flames guide their blades
One thousand slaves from foreign
Lands clear forest with axe and chain
Backs bent and wheels turned, while machines roared
From the tower she gazed, enshrouded and malign
Behold the shadow of the Queen in the fading light
The messenger strides up marble stairs,
Footsteps echoing down the hall
Advisors and guards line the throne,
Weary and with somber voice, he spoke
“My Lord, from the towers of the northern channel
The mark of the lion was seen off our shore.”
The advisors warred, the crowd in uproar
One hand raised in silence,
The hall was suffocated, all eyes followed the King
Rising to the crowd
“One does not cross one’s enemies without declaration of war
If the East has risen beyond their barren confines
We will restore balance with rivers of blood.
Send out the riders of the throne,
They will seek the lion’s crest throughout our lands,
And I will await their word.”


3. EXILED

With swift winds at his back
Landing on the Kingdom shore
He drew shelter along the outer paths
Alone in the realms of the enemy
As night fell wandering far,
A light of the trail Fire and voices within,
welcoming in the dark Over him the white sun rose as he departed for the mountain pass
Many days he traveled into the windswept heights
But on the seventh day
As the sun passed the northernmost peak
He descended upon the forsaken city
Between rocks and rubble he strode,
When a black shape appeared above
Sword drawn, an assassin fell upon him,
Crushing him to the ground
Entangled in cloak and flashing blades,
Two men struggled in the shadow of the crags
The gravel below them shifting,
As he rolled towards the ledge
Sword ringing down the abyss
Suspended over the precipice, a dagger rose and fell
The defeated foe cast down, broken upon the rocks
Keeper of the Golden Crown, Warden of the Gate
Guardian of the Heaven Door, Enemy of Hate
Mountain Guard, O’ blackened loam,
Forests still and silent home,
Keep your knowledge long untold, guard it as the gold
Man is but a breathless runner,
A deer fleeing from the sound
Stay still and calm, O’ faithless wonder,
In your silence song resounds
With swift winds at his back
Landing on the Kingdom shore
He drew shelter along the outer paths
Alone in the realms of the enemy, exiled.