The Trial of the Hard Man (part II - Hard Man Saga)

Verse 1 When dawn first broke, he rose from ash, The angel’s light still near. The stone that wrapped his mortal flesh Could feel no pain or fear. Yet deep within, his heart still cried, For mercy, hope, or rest And in his hand the banner burned, Its glow upon his chest. Verse 2 He wandered through the shadowed vale, Where nothing mortal grew, The winds of fate sang whispered songs That only lost men knew. Each voice a promise, each one false, Each oath a trick of breath For Loki’s thread runs through the world, And life still bargains death. Chorus Hard Man, bearer of the flame, Tested in the gods’ own game. Steel and sorrow bind thy hand, Walk the road you’ll never plan. The banner glows, it will not fade, A torch, a curse, a debt repaid. Verse 3 He came upon a silver lake, Where time itself stood still, Reflections showed his human face, Then cracked against his will. A voice beneath the surface spoke, “Cast down the flag, be free.” He raised it high and struck the waves The lake turned into sea. Bridge (soft, ethereal) Odin’s ravens marked the trial, Sköll and Hati circled wide, The Norns rewove a thread of guile, And whispered, “He has yet to die.” Verse 4 Through storms and flame, through love betrayed, He bore the mark of grace delayed. Each foe that fell, each friend that lied, He saw through stone and never cried. The gods grew bored, but Loki smiled “This mortal walks as I have styled.” Chorus (final, stronger) Hard Man, bearer of the flame, The worlds will never know your name. But when your flesh turns dust again, Your banner waits for mortal men. Outro (spoken or sung) For every age must test its own, Each heart must prove its stand And somewhere in the dusk of time, The banner waits… for another hand.