King of the Ashen Halls (Dowler)

[Intro, low, ominous, half-whispered] Hush now... Listen to the walls. They remember names. They remember fire. And I remember where the gold was buried. [Verse 1, steady, dark, deliberate] I walk where the black dust settles, Through broken stair and splintered beams, Past the bones of parlors, chapels, Past the graves of noble dreams. Six Towers coughs in ruined silence, Every brick still holds a lie, Every curtain burnt to shadow, Every house forgot to die. I ask the poor, the old, the nameless, I buy their whispers, trade their pain, A ring, a rumor, half a ledger, A family crest beneath the rain. [Pre-Chorus, rising, obsessive] The fire took walls, the fire took blood, But it did not take all. No... not all. There are doors below the ashes, There are ledgers in the stone, There are fortunes, there are answers, And I will claim my own. [Chorus, powerful, dramatic, anthemic] I am king of the ashen halls, I hear the lost when the darkness calls, Rats in the walls and dust in my lungs, Still I hunt with a blackened tongue. Riches, secrets, names long gone, I’ll drag them screaming back to dawn, And if devils wait with open hands, I’ll shake them all to reclaim these lands. [Verse 2, stronger rhythm, more menace] Little claws beneath the floorboards, Little eyes that know the cracks, I feed the rats my silver secrets, And they bring forgotten treasures back. They know the cellars, priest holes, chimneys, They know where frightened servants ran, They know the scent of hidden lockboxes, Better than any living man. So crawl for me, my velvet scavengers, Bring me the keys, the teeth, the gold, Bring me the letters wrapped in oilcloth, Bring me the sins the fire didn’t hold. [Pre-Chorus, sharper, darker] I do not search for trinkets only, Not just silver, not just wine, There is something older buried Under every broken line. A debt. A name. A claim. A gate. A truth they thought was dead. But the dead in Six Towers whisper still, And I hear all they said. [Chorus, bigger, more aggressive] I am king of the ashen halls, I hear the lost when the darkness calls, Rats in the walls and dust in my lungs, Still I hunt with a blackened tongue. Riches, secrets, names long gone, I’ll drag them screaming back to dawn, And if devils wait with open hands, I’ll shake them all to reclaim these lands. [Bridge, quieter at first, then erupting] You think me a collector. A mourner. A man grown small with grief. No. I am the last hand on the ledger. The last witness to the theft. The last heir to a house of embers. And I will take back what is left. Let scum-men bargain in the alleys, Let demons grin beneath the floor, Let butchers, thieves, and bluecoat jackals Circle round my secret war. I will smile and pour the brandy, I will bow and keep my plan, But when the final lock gives way, You’ll learn what kind of ghost I am. [Breakdown, half-spoken, cold, ritualistic] Bring me the ring. Bring me the book. Bring me the seal. Bring me the bones. Bring me the door beneath the ashes. Bring me the name that still belongs to me. [Final Chorus, full force, grand and sinister] I am king of the ashen halls, I hear the lost when the darkness calls, Rats in the walls and dust in my lungs, Still I hunt with a blackened tongue. Riches, secrets, blood and flame, Every ruin still remembers my name, And if devils wait with open hands, I’ll walk through hell to reclaim these lands. [Outro, low, haunted, fading] Let the poor men pray. Let the old walls groan. Let the rats run first. I am coming home.