The Ledger of Souls

[Intro – sparse piano and cold atmospheric pads, very quiet and heavy] Verse 1 [Ominous undead male voice, low and weary over sparse piano and dark pads] The battlefield is silent now, the golden banners torn I walk among the fallen where the living and the dead were born I count the names I knew by heart and those I never met Every soul that rose for me and every soul I couldn’t save yet The ledger lies before me written in both blood and ash The living who still breathe and the dead who chose to clash I feel them all inside the cold that never leaves my chest A kingdom saved at such a price it barely feels like rest Chorus [Ominous undead male voice, raw and heavy with subtle layered echoes] This is the ledger of souls I carry now Every name I wrote in blood and every broken vow I gave them back their honor but I took their final peace The ledger of souls reminds me victory has teeth Verse 2 [Ominous undead male voice, deeper and more reflective] Some of them were children when the Light first took their homes Some were fathers, mothers, lovers turned to ash and bone They rose because I asked them to and now they walk with me But in their eyes I see the price of setting Veynara free I feel the sunless thirst grow stronger with each name I read The warmth I lost forever for the power that I need I wonder if they see me still as king or something worse The monster that delivered them from one hell to another curse Chorus [Ominous undead male voice, raw and heavy with subtle layered echoes] This is the ledger of souls I carry now Every name I wrote in blood and every broken vow I gave them back their honor but I took their final peace The ledger of souls reminds me victory has teeth Bridge [Ominous undead male voice, quieter and more intimate] I do not regret the rising. I do not regret the war But every soul upon this page is one I have to answer for If this is what it costs to keep the Light from claiming all Then I will bear the ledger… Until the final name is scrawled Final Chorus [Ominous undead male voice, resolute and heavy with full atmospheric swell] This is the ledger of souls I carry now Every name I wrote in blood and every broken vow I gave them back their kingdom but I lost the man I knew The ledger of souls is written… And I will see it through [Outro – piano and cold pads fading with distant echoes of names and a single undead whisper] I will see it through…