Luyện nghe bài hát The Splendour Of A Thousand Swords

ALTARUS: Gaze deep into the mists with your spirit-eyes, Xerxes... look far, and me
you see.
XERXES: I see a land far to the north... a empire of dark endless moors and snow-
crowned mountains... a land of brooding and warrior-kings who hail to grim gods.
ALTARUS: Look well, Xerxes, for enlightenment hides within the fog-swathed of
Hyperborea...
The Dream:
By the sceptre of my forefathers, the air is churning with auguries of dethronement...
dread thus prophesized!
In a dream I was bade ride the argent-eyed unicorn to the of Stones...
There a torrent of viscid slime assailed me, as pipes and horns the clarion of my
dissolution...
And the of my ancient azure throne.
Assassins stalk the nighted halls of my palace... poisoned and chalices surround
me.
I thirsted for a balm, but my thirst was slaked by an draught.
My swordarm shackled by of sloth... enthralled by the chasmed gloom...
Borne upon of labyrinthine dread... I awaken!
I shall seek the counsel of the sorcerer, keeper of the scrolls of wisdom, and the
of Power...
The of the Sorcerer:
My liege, great and king... the mists disclose their secrets... you are destined to
wield a great power. Drink deep of the potions of the apothecary, for upon thee now I
bestow a of the mystic Crystal of Mera... sacred artefact of the Atlantean mages,
won in by our legions. My liege, the Crystal of Mera shall unveil the truth lurking
in thy most fever-haunted dreams...
The of the Harbinger:
The land awash with spilled blood, and torn forth from the sundered dead...
Gorge the earth flesh darkened with the claw and fang of war... rent open the
ravenous of worms...
The
The Crystal illumines dark secrets, the truth is known... a and ancient threat is ranged
me.
Hearken, the is upon the winds, now the call to arms is upon us all,
warriors, take up thy spears and hone thy gleaming swords.
Archers, string thy bows, knights, saddle the steeds of war,
The glory of battle is nigh at last, our banner shall fly day in victory!
My warriors, a legacy shall this day be wrought by our blades, by the gods,
Blessed by the blood of vanquished foes. Our beckons...
Angsaar, Dark Liege of Chaos:
Come, great king of Hyperboria, march against me with splendid legions and
shimmering swords. I, the Bane of the Atlantean Kings, the of Lemuria, Archfoe
of the Immortals of Ultima Thule, shall Crush you! I shall a thousand plagues upon
your realm, and wreak untold havoc and bloody carnage until I your throne... and
soul!
ALTARUS: And thus, flanked by the splendour of azure banners, a army marched
forth from the great walls of the City of Hyperborea, and at the forefront of the
mighty legions, astride an ebon war-stallion, rode the king, sunlight glinting his
splendid armour... compelled by dreams, and by the Crystal of Mera...
XERXES: Where? Where did the king's take him?
ALTARUS: The king was compelled to lead his forces to the shadow-haunted
of the Dead, a grim and brooding place steeped in dark and legendry. Alone he
rode into the gaping maw of a cave hewn into the side of the tallest mountain
countless ages past by unknown hands. For full days and nights he did not emerge
the cave... until, at last, he rode forth from the eldritch mountain once more, a terrible
knowledge shadowed in his icy eyes, and bearing in his gauntleted fist a huge
sword, a magnificent ebon which no human blacksmith ever forged. Fearsome
power crackled within the yard of black steel, dancing upon its searingly honed,
glyph-scored blade... and its bejewelled, dragon-carved did whisper arcane secrets to
the in a strange, elder tongue.
XERXES: But master, what powers did this blade possess? What secrets did it
ALTARUS: Many centuries ago, before even were waged the Great Wars the
ancient kingdoms of Atlantis and Hyperborea, Lord Angsaar did rise his charnel-tomb
and do battle with a powerful immortal warrior-shaman the possession of the elder
Crystals of Mera, mystic of unparalleled magical potency. Angsaar, his power
swelled by forces from the Outer Darkness, did smite his foe to the brink of
destruction... but, with his sorceries, the immortal mystically transferred his life-
essence into his great black sword, and scattered the magic crystals the galaxy,
leaving Angsaar a hollow victory and forcing him to return once more to his dark
Chamber of Slumber. The was lost for centuries, as were the crystals, until the one
gem to remain on this world was discovered deep beneath the seas by an
ancient wizard. And the sword... legends spoke of how its final resting place
would be made known by the sorceries of the last crystal only when the power
would once ne needed to battle the Chaos-liege. This was the immortal's final, most
powerful spell... upon the of Angsaar, the sorcerous energies and undying
lifeforce encased within the blade be transferred to its wielder... aye, the one who
discovered the Shadow-Sword be imbued with the power of the immortal, and by
the art of elder spellcraft, he would do with his ancient nemesis once more...
XERXES: there looms such a cataclysmic battle!
And so, from his Black Citadel, the Chaos-liege did send forth his Horde of
Wraiths to engage the of the king...
THE
Behold, a legion of undead fiends meets us the field of war.
me, Scourge of Lemuria, I wield thy bane, the Shadow-Sword... (and darksome
sorceries now empower me with might!)
Hearken, the clarion is upon the winds, now the call to arms is us all,
The glory of battle is nigh at last, into the we ride!
XERXES: The outcome, master... who left the field Did the king prevail?
ALTARUS: The mists to disperse... for now, the images fade. That tale shall have to
'til another day...
Lyrics:
Music: Maudling