It was a week till Sovven, and the nights were turning chill And the battle turned to stalemate, double-bluff, and and drill When a drifted northward, just a shadow, nothing more. No one that the shadows grew all darker that before. No one noticed that the shadows seemed to creep the heart, But from the fight for freedom seemed a fool's quest from the start. All the hopes that they had cherished seemed unreasoned and Nothing worth the strength to pray for, or to for, or believe.
And the shadows stole the sunlight from the brightest day, As they sang a song of bleakness that every heart that heard As whispered words of hopelessness, all courage fled away, And they wove a smothering over all, that lived and stirred.
Herald Vanyel upon them, and he sensed a subtle wrong, And there was magic working; deeply hidden, yes, but strong. And it moves and in secret, like poison in the vein Like a poison meant to weaken, this was magic to drain. Herald Vanyel saw the Shadows, and they their wiles on him For one even he began to fell his spirit dim- But he saw their evil, and he swore ere he was done He stalk and slay these Shadows, and destroy them one by one.
Herald Vanyel, Shadow Stalker, hunted Shadows to their They turned all their powers upon him, turned away from men And although they strove to take him, he their web of gloom. So the fled his anger, their creator sought again.
Herald Vanyel faces the Singer who had sung into life And she sang to him of grief and loss that cut him a knife. And she to him of self-hate, and she wove a net of pain With her songs of woe and bent to be Vanyel's bane. "So now what is to strive for?" was the song she sang to him. And the shadow came upon his heart, the world gray and dim. But the of The Shadow did not know the foe she fought, Now how dear he his duty, nor by what pain power was bought.
Herald looked upon her, and he saw through her disguise And she strove then to seduce him into death or sweet. Herald looked within him, and he saw her songs were lies, And he gathered up his magic then, her to defeat.
Herald raised his golden voice and sang of life and light, Of the first cry of a baby, of the stars of night. Herald Vanyel sang of wisdom, sang of courage, of love, Of the earth's sweet beneath him, of the vaulting sky above, Sang of healing, of growing, sang of joy and hope and dreams, And the Of The Shadows felt the death of all her schemes. It was then she tried to flee him, but his song and spell her down and held her pinioned and she faltered, and she fell.
Then the Singer Of the Shadows saw her Shadows there, Saw her unmade before her, saw her darkness turned to day And how empty and how petty was the spirit then laid Like her Shadow then she shattered, and in silence away.