Mistur In Memoriam 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"