[INTRO] [Cold wind... distant funeral bell... whispered voices rising from the dark...] Do not fear... My name... Fear... The life you lived. --- [VERSE 1] I am Hel, hall-keeper, death's daughter, silence never sleeping, Bone-cold sovereign, grave-road guardian, every ending safely keeping. Half my blood bears night's own shadow, half remembers living breath, So I've walked between both kingdoms since the dawning first of death. Do not tremble when you hear me, I am not your final curse, Death reveals what life has written, nothing more and nothing worse. Every farmer, every mother, every child and aging king, Every craftsman, every healer... all will hear my ravens sing. Not all worthy fall in battle, not all heroes die by spear, Many earned an honored welcome through the lives they built down here. Hands made calloused serving others, promises they chose to keep, These I greet with open welcome, granting them their rightful sleep. No loud boast can fool my judgment, no fine title hides the soul, I have seen the truth beneath you long before you reached my hall. --- [CHORUS] I am Hel! Every life arrives at last! I am Hel! Every mask is finally cast! I am Hel! Honor walks where fear has fled! Live with truth before you meet me... Then you'll never fear the dead! --- [VERSE 2] Yet the oath-breaker comes shaking, wrapped in crowns that bought him lies, Every stolen breath grows heavier underneath my watchful eyes. Cowards who abandoned kindred, tyrants feeding on the weak, Find no comfort in my kingdom, find no glory that they seek. You who sold your word for silver, traded honor just for gain, Every choice becomes your burden, every lie returns again. Do not blame the queen before you for the road your feet have crossed, I did not write your destination... only measured what was lost. Honor isn't found in dying, honor's found in how you lived, Whether you stood fast through hardship, whether you forgave and gave. Many warriors fell in terror, many old folk faced death calm, Steel alone earns no salvation, neither does an empty psalm. Stand before me just as mortals, stripped of every borrowed name, Only character remains when every title dies in flame. --- [CHORUS] I am Hel! Every life arrives at last! I am Hel! Every mask is finally cast! I am Hel! Honor walks where fear has fled! Live with truth before you meet me... Then you'll never fear the dead! --- [VERSE 3] When your final breath has faded and the world has spoken through, I will know the weight of kindness hidden deep inside of you. Did you lift the fallen stranger, keep your promises through pain, Stand beside your friends in darkness though there was no earthly gain? Did you face your fears with courage, did you own your every wrong, Did you leave this world more hopeful, did you help the weak grow strong? If you did, then walk beside me, lay your burdens down at last, Peace awaits the faithful spirit when the storms of life have passed. But if greed became your master, if your heart betrayed your kin, Do not look for fate to save you from the life you chose within. Every soul becomes its story, every deed becomes its breath, I am not the one who judges... I reveal the truth in death. --- [FINAL CHORUS] I am Hel! Queen where every journey ends! I am Hel! Home for strangers, kin, and friends! I am Hel! Fear no grave if honor led! For the worthy find my welcome... Only cowards fear the dead.
