[Verse 1]
She said: we leave at first light
Lara said: may I formally request to join this crew
She said: yes
Lara said: I will need to get my notes
She said: bring everything you have
Lara left
Lara came back the next morning
With three hundred bags
Three hundred
She said: I said everything
[Pre-Chorus]
Aldric was already at the door
He had seventeen maps unrolled on the floor
He said: I have been ready since the council meeting
He said: I knew what she was going to say
The crew was assembling
The way crews assemble
With a lot of noise
And someone already eating
[Chorus]
Crew’s control
We are the lowest ranked in every room we have ever entered
Crew’s control
We have no business going where we are going
But the stars are calling
And the captain answered
And nobody told us we couldn’t
Crew’s control
Lowest in the ranking
Highest in the going
We leave at first light
We leave at first light
[Verse 2]
Then the door opened
Nobody had knocked
Nobody had invited
He was already packed
He was very large
And very old
And had four legs
And a very large pot
He said: I am Crotus
He said: I will be joining
He said: the journey will be long
He said: and you will need sustenance
Everyone looked at him
He looked back
Persy said: did anyone ask him
Rion said: no
Persy said: okay
Rion said: okay
Crotus set his pot down
The floor made a sound
[Pre-Chorus 2]
SOLARA looked at the crew
Persy — confidence without evidence, already standing like he had won something
Rion — already holding something, nobody knew what
Cygnus — one small step toward the door
Herc — lion hide on, ready since before the meeting
Cassie — not explaining herself, never needed to
Castor — first knight, hands at his sides
Aldric — undead, seventeen maps, been ready since the council
Lara — youngest seraphim, three hundred bags, still writing
Crotus — centaur, old and wise, uninvited and already packed
She said: alright
[Bridge]
This was not an army
This was not a fleet
This was not a force that anyone would look at
And feel afraid
This was a crew that went to negative forty-five
And came back
A crew that fought a hollow
And sealed it
A crew that lost a captain
And found her again
At a bar
Near a south star
With a raven on her hand asking the right questions
This was the crew that decided
That level one hundred was not a ceiling
It was a destination
Lowest in the ranking
Highest in the going
[Final Chorus]
Crew’s control
The universe did not pick the most powerful
The universe did not pick the most decorated
The universe picked this crew
Crew’s control
A captain who carries two of the greatest to ever live
A knight who is his twin’s promise kept
A queen who never explains herself
A hunter who never missed
A hero with confidence and no evidence
A dead man with better maps than anyone living
A swan who always comes back
A laborer who remembered before he could think
A seraphim with three hundred bags and no regrets
A centaur nobody asked who came anyway
Lowest in the ranking
Highest in the going
We leave at first light
[Outro]
And they did
First light
Eleven of them
Plus seventeen maps
Plus three hundred bags
Plus one very large pot
Plus one raven
Who nobody asked either
But here she was
Walking toward Level one hundred
Walking toward whatever burned the stars
Walking toward whatever the old pact was afraid of
Crotus said: breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes
Persy said: I love this crew
Nobody disagreed
Opens warm and intimate. Builds to genuinely epic. Bridge spoken like a legend. Final chorus biggest moment on album — full ensemble, triumphant. Outro drops to crew walking, Persy’s last line in near-silence. BPM 110, major key, fades into horizon. 5:20.