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Last of the Line

by Forefather

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Man your walls or flee, for this time we pay no fee Hear our last reply; may you answer with no retreat Bow your heads down low for the rule of the marshland king Stir the land awake for a tale the bards will sing See the storm rise across the sea Raven curse come to harry our shores They will not see the English flee Rally with your king from the isle of sanctuary Sons of Wessex fly! To secure our history Send the heralds forth for our loyalties to bind Righteous laws I vow for the sake of all our kind See the storm rise across the sea Raven curse come to harry our shores They will not see the English flee Rise the great you are duty bound Grand defender, the bane of the Danes Turn the tidings at Ethandune Foolish is he who shuns understanding, forsaking his task in this world Longing to reach the true honourable life, leave my memory in noble works See the storm rise across the sea Raven curse come to harry our shores They will not see the English flee Rise the great you are duty bound Grand defender, the bane of the Danes Spread the tidings of Ethandune
3.
Behold the swarming horde below Strengthen your resolve Grip your steel with growing faith Foresee the fray unfold Banners fly defiantly The totems of the tribe Stubborn pride swells inside The calm before the storm An awe-inspiring sight A bold display of might The zeal we wield will drive the enemy from the field A seething wall of rage A host of souls ablaze The power that flows will smash the spirit of the hated foe The downpour of arrows and chorus of steel The pounding clamour of board on shield Shoulder to shoulder on sacred soil Smouldering passions ready to boil Thriving on fury, driven to kill Aggression sustained by unshakeable will Pillars of prowess, forever to stand Till the steel should fall from our cold, dead hands Morning light defines the lines The thirst for combat builds Dreams of fame and lofty deeds And oaths to be fulfilled Weapons drum their doomful beat The sound of iron on lind A final boast and fervent cry And then the strife begins Sworn to duty till the whirlwind wanes To toil and sweat until the sun descends We'll leave their dead beneath a blackened sky And hail the gods that we endure and abide
4.
By Thy Deeds 04:51
Embers in dormancy - the greatest of sins Damming the blood that flows, closing the veins Drowning in lethargy, deadly decay Losing vitality, fading away Deep-seated malady holds you in chains Taking its root from the seed that you gave Sucking the life from you, rusting your blade Arresting your will on the orders you bade By thy deeds Kindling flames Sowing seeds By thy deeds Sounding the strings Avowing your sovereignty, making your waves Marking you out from the mass of the slaves Claiming your land, truth to proclaim Repay the gift with the exploits of fame
5.
Up High 05:08
Up high, so high I climb To grand open worlds beyond, my mind foresees His call resounds The darkened wings of the raven beat, he follows me Sun is burning bright The radiance shines upon my humble feet This slender path excites With every twist adrift along my way Far below, the lake is shimmering Crystal water seems to gleam Too far above to hear the trickling over stone through vale to stream Alone atop the peak The air is still, the purest yet to breathe From here afar I see And still the blackened wings are haunting me
6.
Over the sea, the Black and the Fair On heathen soil to moor Heaven's breath rife in the sails Bound for Saxon shore Clutching close the lore of their god Emissaries of the light Sworn to inspire the primitive lords And sway their steadfast tribes Ward the groves and shrines Thwart their foul designs Seeds of destruction are blighting the land We must face them united, extinguish the flames Till the rivers are stained with their treacherous blood And the menace is withered and waned Shackled tight, with dogma entwined, loyalty misplaced Fellow men damned to hell, inborn ideas debased Liturgies made with relics ordained, fostering distrust That word may reach the halls of power and allied minds be lost Wolves of prayer with zealous schemes Are stalking our domains Pledged to bend our masters' ears And claim them for their faith Guardians of the native rites Suspicious minds decree With haste to seize these furtive fiends Lest the winds of change proceed
7.
Ongietan sceal gléaw hæle hú gǽstlic bið þonne ealre þisse worulde wela wéste stondeð Wóriað þá wínsalo waldend licgað dréame bidrorene duguþ eal gecrong Eall is earfoðlic eorþan ríce, onwendeð wyrda gesceaft hér bið mon lǽne hér bið mǽg lǽne ídel weorþeð þis eorþ!
8.
Doom is awaiting with fire and pain Plague is upon us, and here to remain Gods or grave rite bring no cure to this blight Forfeit is land and the sea Sanctuaries are plundered, the just are despised Turning our faces from wisdom and pride Ashamed of the good, but exult in misdeeds Victory-less indignity And we are not ashamed Denouncing allegiance, our bonds are betrayed Contriving our laws from our lust Forsaking our care by the word and the deed Thus we have earned our deserts Awaiting the fall So alas for the misery And alas for the great disgrace Now we’re facing the arrows of truth Let us ride out, heading for death Winter will summon us all False-hearted tricksters and high-ranking thieves Treason and lawlessness spread like disease The noble stand silent while evil succeeds Burdened with death’s final toll And thus my friends I beg of you to hear this sombre plea To stand your ground through hopelessness and cold adversity To bow to justice, make amends with harsh reality Or chose to take the mountain road, forever doomed to flee Lest we perish forever So alas for the misery And alas for the great disgrace Now we’re facing the arrows of truth Let us ride out, heading for death Winter will summon us all This is the end
9.
The heart hangs heavy of a warrior overcome Twigs break beneath my feet as I make the long way home When the time for duty came the fear was clear in their eyes Their painful howls will ring when they see just I survive My kinsmen lay behind me, prostrate in open graves Cold and still, bereft of life, the field-of-slaughter's prey As daylight wanes and birdsong fades I ponder what befell Laid back on my bed of leaves I curse that I still dwell Shadows of the dead bathe the field at sunset Echoes of the slain haunt the dawn at daybreak As dawn's embrace approaches and breaks my somber dreams I call to mind our falling flag, my brethren's final screams The harrowing sounds of conquest still pierce my troubled soul As bent beneath the weight of grief I grimly wander on Some are born to thrive, others doomed to die As fate decrees, the threads proclaim The path an arrow flies, a spear-thrust parried or true A kingdom saved, or a tribe enslaved The web that wyrd will weave, the outcome fortune deems Joys unbound, or a burial mound Courage that lasts or fails, the wind on hostile sails Sorrow's tears or blissful cheers
10.
Ye who seek my downfall, fingers locked in prayer, know my raging steel Though your hands be empty, god's will is your blade I will slay you swiftly Wails on the wind, striking at my soul Swaying the threads of my fate Their cowardly cries inspire my vengeance Hope sundered, icons smashed With your incantations you hurl spears of faith, slyly plot against me In your pious raiment, virtue is your mail But there's no salvation Those who dare to hinder the lord of Degsa's stone My ruthlessness will mute their whispered pleas Hopelessly beseeching behind a feckless shield Heaven's grace shall offer no reprieve
11.
Out of the sea, the isle of kings For those followers just and true Sturdy captains of the spray Beneath the great pillar's view But wayward words can bewitch and bend Forge an ignoble fate Warp and deceive the purest of wills Send a land to a watery grave Cold wind and pouring rain Smashes the beams as we fight the raging sea Cold wind and pouring rain Harries the sails as we flee the sacred isle Fallen lords ever clinging to life In chambers rich enshrined Allegiance lent to malignant power Black prayers and sacrifice Lured to assail the undying lands A voyage of ruinous doom With sorry hearts the faithful fly And a seed of the white tree's bloom Fram ðǽm gréatan sǽ tó middangearde ic eom cumen Hér ic wunie, and mín eaforan, oð worulde ende
12.

credits

released December 19, 2011

Wrought by Athelstan and Wulfstan in the Hallowed Hall, Westseaxna rice, England, February - August 2011

Wulfstan: Guitar, Bass, Drums
Athelstan: Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboards, FX

All vocals by Wulfstan except "Up High" by Athelstan

Cover art by Peter Takacs (asturgraphics@hotmail.com)

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