[Intro: solo gusle, fire, female folk calls] (Ой-е-е... ой-е-е...) (Ай-лай... ой, ай-лай...) [Verse 1: low female contralto, slow drums] He stalked the frozen timber, a phantom in the snow, He sought the Lady of Blood where the bitter winds blow. He marched beneath the demon flags, his faith concealed from sight, And prayed unto the Lord of Fear beneath the veil of night. He crept into the thicket to claim his fated prize, And stood before the maiden with the crimson in her eyes. [Gusle transition: 4 bars, drums build] [Verse 2: driving gusle and drums] She never fled the clearing, though the frost began to bite, She faced the prowling hunter like a predator of night. He never reached for either dagger, though he'd come to see her dead, As something old and nameless stirred a warning in his head. [Verse 3: ominous gusle, sparse drums, mounting dread] Blood rose from the frozen earth and coiled around her feet, Black wings spread wide behind her, and the silence felt complete. The path lay clear behind him; he could turn and take to flight, But every instinct told him he would not survive the night. He'd entered as the hunter, convinced that she'd be his prey— But he'd stepped inside a predator's cage and dared not turn away. [Pre-Chorus: whispered female lead, sudden silence] The roots beneath him trembled, as if warning of his fate: "Hound of the dark, beware before it's too late!" [Chorus: heavy folk metal, female call-and-response] (Ой, суналкан! Ой, ой!) Hunter of the shadows, to whom did you bow? (Ай-лай, ай-лай! Ой, ай-лай!) To the Lord of Fear! To him I made my vow! (Ей, ей! Ой, суналкан!) Hunter of the shadows, what prey drew you there? (Ой, хела! Ой, хела!) The Lady of Blood, whose gaze became a snare! (Ой-е-е-е! Ай-лай-е-е!) [Breakdown: half-time guitars, tribal drums, bowed gusle] (Ой, суналкан... ой, суналкан...) (Ай-лай! Ай-лай!) [Gusle transition: fast rising melody] [Verse 4: fierce female lead, chugging guitars] The winds carried her father's name, a name he'd praised in prayer, The Lord of Fear—his daughter stood before him, waiting there. He thought of all his orders, of the life he'd come to claim, And felt his hidden worship burn against his rising shame. His hands fell from his daggers; at last he bent his knee, Before the daughter of the god he'd yearned so long to see. The soul he'd come to sever, the blood he'd come to take, Became the very sovereign he'd follow in her wake. [Chorus: full female choir, soaring gusle] (Ой, суналкан! Ой, суналкан!) Hunter of the shadows, to whom did you bow? (Ай-лай, ай-лай! Ала Калван!) To the Lord of Fear! To him I made my vow! (Ой, ой! Ей, суналкан!) Hunter of the shadows, what prey drew you there? (Ой, хела! Ой, хела!) The daughter of my god, with crimson in her stare! (Ой-е-е-е! Ой, ай-лай-е-е!) [Instrumental: 8 bars, gusle and guitars in unison] [Gusle Solo: 16 bars, virtuosic folk bowing, rising drums] [Stop: silence, crackling fire] [Bridge: whispered female lead, solo gusle to doom metal] He pledged his restless spirit to the daughter of Fear, And swore to guard her passage whenever death drew near. (Ой, хелаву... ой, хелаву...) He hunts her no longer; her blood is not his prize, He walks a step behind her, her guardian in disguise. (Ой, ай-лай... ой, суналкан...) From hunter into guardian, a different oath begun, The hound who guards the daughter of the shadowed one. (Ой, хелаву! Ой, хела!) (Ай-лай-е-е! Ой-е-е-е!) [Final Refrain: a cappella female choir, lone gusle] He chose to stay because she stood. (Ой, хелаву... ай-лай...) Because she stood... [Outro: fading gusle, distant women's folk calls] (Ой, суналкан...) (Ой-е-е... ай-лай-е-е...) (Ой, хелаву...) [End]
