[Intro — low, urgent, something has shifted in the air]
[Verse 1 — The Veteran, quiet and fast] She moved while we were here She moved while you were not where she expected The chain you were supposed to pull her through Has snapped
In the old road She would have taken them Used them to bring you in You would have gone — because you always go And that delay was everything
But you are here And they are free And she has nothing left to wait for now
[Pre-Chorus — the weight landing] The Mist comes faster Without a hunt to slow her down The last bastion has no warning No one to hold the southern ground
[Chorus — urgent, not panicked — a war council not a cry] South Scourge Moving through the dark before we’re ready South Scourge The poison doesn’t wait for you to be steady You changed the chain And now the chain is gone South Scourge And we are all that stands between her and the dawn
[Verse 2 — the plan, the sacrifice named] He said: go east Past the ridge, below the second valley There is a castle no one has entered In longer than this age
Go down Below the stone Below the cold There is a room that remembers What the planes forgot
There is a man there He calls himself Anu Ask him what he knows about the space Between one world and the next He has been waiting For someone to ask the right question
[Pre-Chorus 2] I said: and the last bastion? He looked at me steady He said: we will go
[Chorus] South Scourge Moving through the dark before we’re ready South Scourge The poison doesn’t wait for you to be steady You changed the chain And now the chain is gone South Scourge And we are all that stands between her and the dawn
[Bridge — Elara’s resistance, then surrender] I said: you are not soldiers I said: she will —
He said: we know
I said: if she releases the Mist —
He said: we know
I said: you cannot ask me to walk away While the last —
He said: I am not asking (pause) I am telling you where the answer is And it is not south
Every part of me said south Every part of me said turn around Every part of me that was ever trained Said you do not leave your people
(long silence)
He said: which people The ones behind you Or the one you have not reached yet
[Final Chorus — she’s moving, they’re staying] South Scourge Moving through the dark without her watching South Scourge The Lighted walk toward what she’s not stopping She changed the chain Now she must trust the cost South Scourge And she turns east And prays they are not lost
[Outro — footsteps diverging. East and south. Fading in both directions.]
Go. We will hold.