[Instrumental Intro — Low descending guitar riff, exposed bass, rolling toms] [Morrow — Controlled female radio voice] Titans Maw Radio. Splitstone Ford, after sundown. Same banks. Same unfinished argument. [Verse 1 — Rampart, low rough-edged female lead] Mud has dried between my armour, River grit beneath my jaw. Tail club resting in the gravel, Still turned toward the eastern draw. Every rustle gets an answer, Every shadow gets my eyes. Bastion asks me, “Can you hold it?” I nearly give the usual lie. [Drums drop out] [Rampart — Close, clear female voice] I need you on this track. I need to step back. [Verse 2 — Bastion, deep male lead] I had my horns against the crossing, Had my word against the night. Thought as long as you were standing, Everything behind was right. Then I saw that club held lower, Heard the words you finally said. I came up from the water’s edge And took the narrow track instead. [Bastion — Spoken] One watch. I’ve got this side. [Rampart] Then let me rest. [Chorus — Rampart leads; Morrow adds soaring female harmony] There’s a weight behind the armour, There’s a breath beneath the roar. I can stand against a charge— I can’t be your always-more. Take a turn beneath the pressure, Keep your promise where I stood. If you want me here tomorrow, Stay tonight and see it through. [Post-Chorus — Low group voices, heavy riff] CHANGE THE WATCH. HOLD THE GROUND. LET THE ONE WHO HELD IT LAY THAT BURDEN DOWN. [Instrumental — Bass takes Morrow’s rolling motif; guitars answer] [Verse 3 — Rexor, gritty male baritone] From the western ridge I watch Those horns turn toward the track. The wound across my left shoulder Burns beneath the drying black. I hear my followers moving; They’re waiting for the word. I could send them at the shallows Just to prove I haven’t learned. My jaws part for the order— Then I look upstream instead. There’s more to taking any river Than the bank that bit you back. [Rexor — Low spoken command] Two of you. Take the upstream ridge. Look for another crossing. Look. Don’t cross. [Instrumental — Jagged guitar riff, double-kick burst, abrupt stop] [Morrow — Female radio voice] Deep channel holding. Nobody crossing here. That is a report. Not a promise. [Chorus — Rampart and Morrow, full female duet] There’s a weight behind the armour, There’s a breath beneath the roar. I can stand against a charge— I can’t be your always-more. Take a turn beneath the pressure, Keep your promise where I stood. If you want me here tomorrow, Stay tonight and see it through. [Extended Instrumental — Twin-guitar solo over changing drum accents] [Bass Break — Rolling figure beneath sustained feedback] [Transition — Slow doom-metal groove] [Bridge — Rampart, exposed female alto] I can’t hang these plates beside me, Can’t leave this heavy tail outside. But I can stop pretending There’s no tired thing beneath the hide. [Bastion — Quiet male response] You don’t owe me being endless. [Rampart] Then don’t wait till I fall. [Bastion] Next time, I’ll ask what you need— Not just whether you can hold. [Final Verse — Morrow, controlled melodic female lead] Two shapes climb the western ridgeline, Heading where the river bends. I keep my sail above the channel; I do not call them friends. On the east, an armoured body Settles down behind the horns. One takes rest; one keeps the watching. Neither bank has won this war. [Final Chorus — Rampart leads; Bastion and Morrow answer] There’s a weight behind the armour— Now somebody else can feel What it takes to keep a promise When the night won’t loosen its teeth. Take a turn beneath the pressure, Let the tired breathe a while. If you want us here tomorrow, Stand beside us here tonight. [All — Heavy rhythmic refrain] CHANGE THE WATCH. HOLD THE GROUND. STRENGTH IS MORE THAN NEVER GOING DOWN. [Outro Riff — All four instrumental motifs interlock, then fall apart] [Morrow — Radio voice over low bass] Eastern track: Bastion. Rampart resting behind the line. Western ridge: Rexor, still wounded. Two moving upstream. Their destination is unconfirmed. The ford remains contested. [Rampart — Quiet female voice] Bastion? [Bastion] Still here. [Rampart] Good. [One sustained low chord]
