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SLECHTVALK LYRICS
"The War That Plagues The Lands" (2002)
1. Of Slumber and Death
2. A Plea for The King
3. From Behind fhe Trees
4. My Last Call
5. The Falcon's Flight
6. A Call in the Night
7. And Thus it Burns
8. Burying the Dead
9. War of the Ancients
10. The Dragon's Children
11. In Paradisum
1. Of Slumber and Death
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 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 judgement that awaits me.
2. A Plea for The King
My king, hear my plea as I kneel before thee.
In the task that was given me, I have failed 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 for 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,
and the wrongs you have done already have been forgiven although it saddens me to see you like this"
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.
3. From Behind fhe Trees
Now I wander in the forest to find my peace.
Fighting the haunting memories of the past.
Trying to realise the greatness of 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 is found its way though 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.
4. My Last Call
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 Ifall 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 his 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 extinguished slowly,
my life is at and 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.
5. The Falcon's Flight
6. A Call in the Night
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 for their lord.
For I 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 te raging storm.
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 towars 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 the 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 cannot 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?
7. And Thus it Burns
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 deservers.
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 a blazing fire.
8. Burying the Dead
When the fire finally extinguished in the morning sun.
I gathered the remnants from 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.
9. War of the Ancients
The winter sun shines upon the path that lies before me.
It leads into the forests of the royal domains.
The smouldering ruins of the church, that has been burned down.
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 let myself be led by my curiosity
into the forest woundering 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 forests.
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 enteres 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 is 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.
10. The Dragon's Children
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 one 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.
11. In Paradisum
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 Translation]
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.
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