[Intro — low drums, slow march tempo, building]
[Verse 1 — the old guards, clipped and efficient] No fanfare, no formation call We don’t do speeches, we don’t do halls Just three faces I’ve known since the dirt The kind that show up when everything hurts She reads the wind, she reads the room He moves through shadows like he owns the gloom And me — I carry what cannot be said A north star burning somewhere in my head
[Pre-Chorus] We don’t need reasons We don’t need a creed Just point us somewhere And we’ll bleed
[Chorus — full orchestral swell, march energy] Heroes of the West Walking into what we don’t know yet Heroes of the West No banners, no glory, no rest We go because someone has to We stay because that’s what we do Heroes of the West And I’ll lead every one of you
[Verse 2 — the Senior Knight and the Priest] The old man swore when I said his name “She trained you well — and died for this campaign” I saw it land, I let it land Then offered him my steady hand The priest arrived with ink-stained sleeves Theology and borrowed keys He smiled and said “what do you need from God?” I said “not God — I need what’s underneath the fraud”
[Pre-Chorus 2] No holy water No psalm, no ring Just everything They kept from me
[Chorus] Heroes of the West Walking into what we don’t know yet Heroes of the West No banners, no glory, no rest We go because someone has to We stay because that’s what we do Heroes of the West And I’ll lead every one of you
[Bridge — the planning table, tension building] I spread the map and asked my first question
I asked about the Seven (…the Seven what, my lady?) I asked about the Riders (that’s… that’s not in any text I’ve read) I asked about the Hidden Ones (he set his quill down) I asked about the Blighted (he looked at the door) I asked about the One
(long pause)
(…where did you hear that name?)
I said “I heard it from someone who knew” He said “no one alive knows that” I said “I know”
[Final Chorus — quieter but heavier, everyone’s heard enough to be scared] Heroes of the West Walking into what we can’t unsee yet Heroes of the West No banners, no glory, no rest We go because there’s no one else We stay because I asked and they said yes Heroes of the West May the west remember every one of us
[Outro — the march drums return, fading into the distance] Move out.