[Intro — Distant low brass, single pounding tom] [Dorn — Deep spoken male voice] Warhide Radio. Twelve entered the passage. Count them coming out. [War drums build] [Male choir — Wordless low chant] [Verse 1 — Dorn, gritty male baritone] Twelve hadrosaurs through the limestone cut, Small feet pressed where the elders trod. I took the mouth with my three horns low, Heard two Carnos on the stones below. Sable called from the upper bend, “Keep them moving! I can see the end!” Tarn held rear with his club-tail wide, Rock to his left, teeth on the other side. One came close and I drove it back, Horn through dust where its jaws had snapped. Both fell away to the scrub below— I raised my head for a victory roar. [Sable — Sharp female interruption] Eleven. [Silence — One heavy drum hit] [Dorn] Count again. [Sable] I did. Where’s Tarn? [Pre-Chorus — Female lead, low male choir underneath] You can hold a hundred paces, You can make the hunters turn, But a gap among the faces Is the first thing we should learn. [Chorus — Dorn and massive male choir] COUNT US BEFORE YOU CALL IT GLORY! Count every footstep through the dust! No roar can finish half a story, No crown is worth the ones we trust. HOLD! TURN! LOOK BEHIND! Leave no small voice lost in the line! In Titans Maw, let this be known— We do not win by coming back alone! [Instrumental — Heavy tom pattern, brass stabs, low guitar riff] [Verse 2 — Sable, fierce female lead] Found the young one on a shelf of stone, Tarn beneath it, not alone. Loose shale sliding where the path gave way, Little tail trembling, too scared to stray. My Allo claws found the wider seam, Called down low so I would not scream: “Dorn, keep watch. Don’t push them through. Give me room. I’ll show them what to do.” [Tarn — Deep male response] I can hold here. But not all day. [Sable] Then we take the long way. Step where I step. [Verse 3 — Female lead, restrained drums] No leap for the choir, no charge for the song, Just a sideways step where the ledge ran long. I moved ahead, then waited still, Till those small feet cleared the broken sill. Tarn came last with his head hung low, Said, “You can praise me when we stop.” Dorn kept his horns toward the scrub below, Then backed away when we called him off. [Bridge — Bass drone, sparse heartbeat toms] [Dorn — Quiet baritone] I heard them running. Thought that meant we’d won. [Sable] You heard the hunters. You hadn’t heard everyone. [Dorn] I called it early. That was mine. [Tarn] Next time— Count before the victory line. [Build — Male choir rising; female harmony above] [Dorn] Twelve at the mouth of the sheltered ground. [Sable] Twelve with the herd. I counted twice. [Tarn] Three escorts. And this one’s sitting down. [Final Chorus — Explosive full band, male choir and female counterline] COUNT US BEFORE YOU CALL IT GLORY! Count every footstep through the dust! No roar can finish half a story, No crown is worth the ones we trust. HOLD! TURN! LOOK BEHIND! Leave no small voice lost in the line! In Titans Maw, let this be known— Tonight, nobody came back alone! [Post-Chorus — Gang chants over massive toms] TWELVE THROUGH THE STONE! THREE BRINGING THEM HOME! TWELVE THROUGH THE STONE! NO ONE LEFT ALONE! [Outro — Drums stop; low brass fades] [Dorn — Spoken] Warhide Radio. Twelve travellers. Three escorts. All at the shelter. [Sable] And tomorrow’s route? [Dorn] We check it first. [Tarn] After I get up. [End]
