The War That Plagues the Lands

We are called upon to go to war Our banners raised high, we march on Our steel glinting in the setting sun Death can't stop us from achieving victory When we finished to set up our encampment, I was appointed to be the first to guard As my men closed their eyes to sleep, I warmed myself at a small fire Then a deep sleep overwhelmed me "He tried to fight it, but he failed" And then our enemies approached But no one noticed them, for all were asleep Silently they slit their throats, leaving one alive Their captain was spared for another day Suddenly I awaken from my sleep I call for my men for the morning has come But when I look around me, I see them All slaughtered, but I am still alive I wander between the corpses of my men Abhorred by this carnage, I ask myself What has happened to my men? Slowly I return to where the castle is of the king, whom I must tell of my failure, the death of his men I fear the judgment that awaits me

Submitted by Dahmers Fridge — Apr 25, 2025

My king, hear my plea as I kneel before thee In the last hour of my watch I have fallen asleep When darkness came, I did not protect them When they were struck with panic, I did not admonish them And when death came, I was too late to save them Do not hold me accountable for their deaths Do not forsake me in my darkest hour For darkness comes to me, rebellion strides with me And I feel death following me “Open your eyes and then you will see that their deaths were merely an illusion” You must know of what I speak…” Death is only an illusion! “…and the wrongs you have done already have been forgiven, although it saddens me to see you like this…” I already have been forgiven! Although my King has shown me mercy, how come I can't forgive myself? For the crime I have committed, I should have been punished by death

Submitted by Lake of Tears — Apr 25, 2025

Now I wander in the forest to find my peace Fighting the haunting memories of the past Trying to realize the greatness of the forgiveness bestowed on my heart which is darkened with sorrow At last its meaning seems to grasp me With newfound strength I carry on, unaware of the danger that lurks from behind the trees and the certain death that seems to await me From behind the trees, two arrows were sent on an intercept course to weaken the noble warrior for the battle that lies ahead Dark souls left the shadows to surround me With eyes full of hate they called to me Feeling reluctant to leave me without a fight As if the arrows were not deadly enough The slow poison of the arrows is taking me into death's embrace I feel a shiver through my stomach as an axe found its way through the flesh As I drop on my knees, I see my attackers run away, no doubt on another mission of chaos and mayhem The dragon will only lead them into the black abyss But I fear they do not know their own destiny Soon I will die alone, left behind in this cold forest Yet I am not afraid of death, for I know what lies beyond

Submitted by johnmansley — Apr 25, 2025

Silence! The screams that haunted me have returned Crawling! I feel their claws scratching my brain Destiny! Final Death awaits Coming! I see Grim Reaper's face A freezing wind cuts through my wounds like sharp razors The pain it inflicts is making me go insane Even now moments before my death, evil tries to lead me astray Making me false promises in the hope I fall for his ways I feel an infection coming in through my wounds - The end has begun for me There is little hope for me to survive my great demise Again I hear the voice which calls me His son But then the screams that haunted me returned again “It is time to accept what you are: nothing more than a sinful creature who is afraid of the night Salvation of death, it's just a lie you believe in to make it easier to face the unknown” Now in the cold-blooded snow, I lie trembling with fear of my death Death approaches me with a scythe in hand, waiting for the moment to harvest his crop I sent my falcon away to get some help, but I already knew it would come too late Things are seldom what they seem The end is in fact just a beginning For my spirit has become immortal through the blood of He who was slain before me The fire in my eyes is extinguishing slowly My life is at an end, my death is at hand I have lost all feeling, my wounds stopped bleeding My flesh is frozen by the wind Memories from times long ago are passing by My father, my liege I think I must cry For my heart is faltering, my spirit is leaving With my dying breath, I make my last call

Submitted by NecroGod — Apr 25, 2025

This track is instrumental.

Is this song not instrumental?

Cold sharp hail is blown into my face by a storming wind I take shelter in a small wooden church near the black woods A choir sings some songs of praise and worship for their Lord For a while it makes me forget the sorrow I am in “In distress we call to Thee We await Thy return, for the forces of evil are closing in upon us But with Thy help we can live beyond our lives' end O Lord, accept our gratitude for Thy sacrifice” I hear a call in the distance It startles me, for it seems like the call of a dying man I ascend my horse as we leave our shelter to challenge the raging storms I hear the shrieks of a falcon from within the fog ahead of us Amazed to hear a falcon's shriek in this time of year, I ride towards the branch on which the falcon sits I feel a cold shiver as I enter the forest in search of this man with the falcon as my guide and a bastard sword at my side A strange feeling that makes me a bit sick tells me I am near the source of that horrible scream which I heard a short while ago The slain body of a warrior is what I find here It looks a bit familiar, but I can’t seem to grasp it Death takes even the best of us away from the world of the living I wonder what the cause was for the death of this man “Dost thou not see the war that plagues the land? Our enemies gather before our beloved city” His face carries a strange expression He seems to have been content I wonder if there's more to it Is there a truth in the books of old?

Submitted by johnmansley — Apr 25, 2025

This man, once a warrior of great stature I cannot leave him behind, so I carefully lay him on the back of my horse And then I notice the royal emblem With this knowledge I return to the small wooden church, so he might be given the proper burial he deserves Then my senses pick up the stench of burning flesh I see a yellow glare ahead, screams that slowly fade away A nightmare has unfolded itself This horror can't be a coincidence And thus it burns, the church where I sheltered for the hail The doors seem locked The saints, whose songs soothed me, were killed by the blazing fire

Submitted by Celtic Frost — Apr 25, 2025

When the fire finally extinguished in the morning sun, I gathered the remnants of the choir who were slain This cowardly slaughter I fail to grasp it all They could not even defend themselves! What beasts were they who did this to these saints? The need for them to die, I wonder why "Dost thou not see the war that plagues the land, the dragon's campaign to conquer this world?" Seven bodies, seven graves I digged for them "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" Under the setting sun I buried the last one "My children, now come to Me" In these times of darkness, where the dragon attempts to overthrow the kingdom of light, in secret the final defeat of the dragon is being prepared

The winter sun shines upon the path that lies before me It leads into the forests of the royal domains The smoldering ruins of the church, I leave behind as I continue on my journey Screams that cut through my bones, I hear coming from the woods nearby Fear makes my strength disappear My feet are frozen to the ground Hear the forest fall silent once the screams faded away I wonder what has happened over there Slowly I overcome my fear and once again, I let myself be led by my curiosity into the forest, wondering what I'll find this time 'The dark shadows, the sons of the dragon who had killed the saints, were brutally slaughtered by the wild beasts that inhabit the forest. Their corpses torn by claws and fangs, a death so horrid as the one they brought to the king's men two nights before." A strange feeling of justice enters my mind as I see the remnants of the dragon's children The war of the ancients is at its peak It rages on in all lands, there’s no escape from it A choice must be made for the ones that wander about Time passes quickly: soon the war will come to its end The window of opportunity is getting slim and soon it might be too late

Submitted by Morgoth — Apr 25, 2025

What have we done, us children of the ancient dragon whose lives ended by the scythe of death? Where are our earned virtue, the endless feast and women? We now only meet Darkness in these mists Why have we fallen for the lies of the dragon and condemned our souls into his void? Endless torture of our souls Eternal despair has commenced Our destiny, the flames around us lit it all In the distance we once heard faint songs of praise coming from the King's court, where they knew no sorrow But no one could deny the eternal screams of horror What have we done, us children of the ancient dragon, misled by the many lies of the beast? Now we dwell where we did not want to be Insanity, despair, horror ever ongoing

Submitted by Warbringer — Apr 25, 2025

[Latin] “In paradisum deducant te Angeli. In tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyers, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere, aeternam habeas requiem.” [English:] May the angels lead you into paradise. May the martyrs receive you in your coming, and may they guide you into the holy city, Jerusalem. May the chorus of angels receive you, and with Lazarus once poor, may you have eternal rest.

Submitted by MetalElf — Apr 25, 2025