The Trials of Men (part III - Hard Man Saga)

Verse 1 He walked again through mortal lands, The air was thick with dread. His shadow cracked the farmer’s glass, The children fled in red. They called him monster, saint, and ghost A myth that wouldn’t die. He bore their hate, their prayers, their stones, And never asked them why. Verse 2 He labored where the rivers ran, He fought the kings of dust. He built their walls, he broke their chains, But none would grant him trust. The banner’s light grew dim with years, Yet never left his hand It weighed like grief, it burned like guilt, It marked him out from man. Chorus Hard Man, heart of stone and flame, Cursed to serve and bear the blame. Through every age, through fire and flood, He bleeds, though never sheds his blood. Verse 3 He loved once, long ago and deep, A woman pure and kind. She saw the pain beneath his shell, The mercy left behind. But when her eyes beheld his truth, The stone began to crack, And Loki’s curse re-sealed the wound No love could reach him back. Bridge (soft, mournful) The banner whispered in his dreams, “Your strength will be your cage. No god will free the hand that serves, No man will know your age.” Verse 4 He knelt where fallen soldiers lie, And prayed to none but air. He begged for death, for peace, for rest, But found no answer there. The angel’s words returned in haze “You’ll walk till you have learned, That mercy’s not in heaven’s hands, But in the hearts you’ve earned.” Chorus (reprise) Hard Man, heart of stone and flame, Bearing guilt, but never shame. The gods may laugh, the years may burn, But stone remembers what men learn. Outro (fading) And so he walked .. through kingdom’s fall, Through plagues and iron reigns Until the world itself grew old, And gods recalled his name.