[Pre-Intro – Spoken Curse, Elder Voice Over Wind & Bone Rattle] “Let the crows remember what men forget. Let bone bind where vows break. This is not love… this is eternal.” [One crack of thunder. Drum begins. Whispered caws.] [Intro – Whispered chant, wind and fire FX] Bone for blade / Crow for thread Speak her name / And wake the dead Thorns for crowns / And ash for veil This is no love that churches hail [Flute screech mimics crow. Frame drum slow and low.] [Verse 1 – Female] He came with black ash on his breath With forest cold and oaths of death No priest, no page, no bell, no ring Just bone and crow and binding string [Verse 2 – Male] She wore the roots like braided thread A crown of moss, a hand half-dead She took the vow with blood not voice And gave the flame her final choice [Pre-Chorus – Both] Thorns for rings, and teeth for grace Love was carved in feral place [Chorus – Both, harmonic] Crowbone wedding, bride of storm Bound in death instead of form One heart split, one feather fell We wed in wild, we cursed the spell [Instrumental – hurdy-gurdy wail, bone clack, crow cry, tambourine] * [Verse 3 – Female] I fed him roots and bitter bread He kissed me once, then left me dead The fire heard but did not warn And so I woke with crow and thorn [Verse 4 – Male] She carved her name into my wrist The spell was sealed with claw and kiss The crows took flight, the sky went black And I could never take it back [Verse 5 – Symbolic Object Verse, Female] I left my name in bark and stone A braid of hair, a finger bone Not gold, not vow, not woven band Just death that waited in my hand [Pre-Chorus – Both] Twigs for veils, and bone for bands We loved with teeth, not holding hands [Chorus – Both, overlapping chant] Crowbone wedding, oath in flame Call the forest, curse my name Smoke the vow, and break the blade Love was wild, and love was made [Bridge – Pagan Handfasting + Celtic God Prayer] [Spoken rhythmically over shruti drone and heartbeat drum] [Officiant] Do you bind her breath to storm and sky? [Partner] I bind her soul — and swear, not lie. [Officiant] Do you take his name to thorn and flame? [Partner] I take no name — but share the same. [Prayer to the Gods – All voices, chant] Epona, ride with us through night and vow Danu, mother river, bless us now Brighid, flame and forge, our oath make bright Lugh, of skill and sun, bear witness right Cernunnos, horned one, bind us wild And Macha, fierce, protect this child [Final Seal – Shouted] No king, no book, no chain, no throne — We wed by wind. We bind in bone. [Percussion Ritual Interlude – No melody] [All instruments drop. Frame drums, ankle bells, foot stomps, rattles. Voices in background chant:] > Bind in bone... Break the flame... Bind in bone... Break the flame... [Crow Prophecy Chant – Spoken, rhythmic, fast, breathy] Feather, claw, beak, cry Eye for vow and tooth for lie Bride walks back, groom walks blind Leave your name. Leave your kind. [Final Chorus – Echoed harmony, half tempo] Crowbone wedding, wind-blown shame No altar, crown, or legal name We kissed in root, and broke in sky I wed her soul. I let her die. [Outro – Whispered chant, wind rises] Bone for blade / Crow for thread Speak her name / And wake the dead We wed in wild / We broke in flame And no one now recalls her name... [Crows rise in the distance. Final flute trill. Splash. Fade.] [Post-Silence – Ghost Whisper, Female Voice] “You said no god could claim me… but I was claimed. Just not by you.”
