Gingarren – A Ley in two Parts |
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Take me now to Past-gone Norsca Where the lands are fair and verdant Where the Wolves are True and Valiant Strong of Limb and clean of spirit Let me tell of one such hero Born upon our Edic Realm… Let me tell of Fenn the
Fearsome Pure of Heart and Lithe of limb Tell how Fenn waged war
in danger Felled the foe and Cleansed the Realm… SIGURD – Now I name thee FENN Son of GRIMM and great of stature Born in Fire and Born in Blood Strong of Heart and True of Spirit Come with me and lead your Gather now to you the Valiant Call the Wolves who’re pure in spirit Tell them of the Wolves Great Story Gift from Odin unto Myst Tell how Myst was charged
to lead them Raise a band to fight for Aesir Loyal Guardians of Norscan
People “Where in Sorrow – there to cheer them “Where in pain – there to soothe them” Fighting battles non-else could stand
!! And for all true Stormwolves
– Charge them Guardians they of Ragnarok Praise ALL Gods with equal fervour “MORKENNSKINNER shall not Live !!
! See now Jürvick, First
Lieutenant Loyal holder of the Laws Swordsman Master – none can match him Brave in battle – none can best him Harken !! Hear – His word is Law !! GUNN – I name you Jürvick Take this trusty Sword of Law Wield it fairly – Speak oft and truly Your camp will follow every word… See now Idunn Warrior
Woman Hammer-holder – Proud of Stature Wise in woodcraft – the Pathfinder Eyes of Eagle – Freyja
chosen Third is she in this Command… KATLA – now I name thee IDUNN Hold this Hammer – Well t’will
serve you See with eyes to the souls of warriors Choose the Trusty – Pure of Spirit Come now see the weighty problems Command must meet – and we can hear… Hear the vision seen by Idunn Hear how Ragnarok will
fail!!! See them look across the landscape See the famine in the land Crops now fail for thralls and Norscan Pestilence throughout the realm.. Casting now to find the reason “MORKENNSKINNER in the land !!” Evil ways – a wretched blister An Enemy camp in which the rotten Fester with their evil lies… A small encampment by a forest In sight of shore from whence it came Here the true are being corrupted Here the children learn their lies Here we see the growing cancer Now’s no time for faint of heart.. Hear the words of Fenn
the Fearsome “Gather now all pure of spirit Now we battle – all shall fear us Rip this cancer from the Land.. The lies will stop when Lives are taken MORKENNSKINNER Shall not Survive!!” See the band of wolves move forward Shield Wall, Archers, Heavy Armour, Strong they are and lithe of Limb All in Prime and True of Heart.. See them march to meet the enemy Knowing that their task is worthy Without them Ragnarok
shall fail !! Hear them chant as on they flood.. Fire & Blood !! Fire and
Blood !! Fire & Blood !! Fire and
Blood !! |
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Take me now to
old Gingaren Where the grass
has hues of copper See behind you
hardy rafters Where the School
of Seven Wells is And before you
sturdy timbers Farmstead of
the headman Uthgra ------------ now I name you Uthgra Wise and weary, patient leader Many decades has your guidance helmed the course of old Gingaren Here the
thralls in silence harvest, Though the
crops this year are failing And the land is
marked by omens Still they toil
across the farmlands Stocking grain
up for the winter Here does
Ulrich, Ebn’s student, Train
berserkers for ----------- now I name you Ulrich Grey and mighty, Modi’s
chosen You behind him are his fighters Learning to embrace the anger Learning to become berserker Praise be to Modi! Sixteen years
ago, this picture Captured like a
fly in amber Casting back
along time’s river To the last
days of Gingaren ¯ |
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Here is
Ulrich’s youthful daughter pining for her
straying lover, Westag her
unfaithful lover Gone to do the Aesir’s bidding Gone to tread
the world-road over. See Selene, proud Ulrich’s eldest, Heavy now with
unborn daughter, Heavy too with doomful omens In her mind a
wrathful vision Proud Gingaren struck to ruins Now she comes
to headman Uthgra Speaking of
this apparition Shadow of the
mass destruction So he tells
her, “take the strongest Take the best
and take the brightest If this doom
comes to Gingaren Then at least
some little remnant Shall survive
the bloody reckoning.” |
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So she takes
them from Gingaren Hunting now the
shadowed woodlands Always
dreaming, there behind her Crimson wolves
are creeping closer To the pastures
of Gingaren To the people
she remembers ¯ |
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See now IDUNN take her rangers South of Camp near forest edge Here a farm stands – holds the passage Idunn
knows that none must pass here If some escape then all else fails Fanning out they take the building MORKENNSKINNER shall not live!! |
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On their way
they take the farmstead That holds Olaf’s wife and children With Selene has Olaf travelled Who now will
defend his people? Stealthily they
creep upon it What becomes of
Olaf’s kinsfolk All he worked
to build and foster Torched and
blackened is his farmhouse Dead and gutted
are his children And the wolves
slink from the burning Stalking on
with bloody muzzles ¯ |
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Now secured the southern passes Idunn
calls her rangers near Onward marching onto village Stealth not needed now they’re clear From the North in silent troop Onward to the village outskirts MORKENNSKINNER must not live !! |
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Hunched about
their hoes and sickles Busy thralls
have eyes for nothing But the earth
for which they labour. In the hall of
the berserkers All this while
the ancient foeman creeps upon
them in the daylight Are there yet
no eyes to see them? Will no tongue
at last cry warning? Here the
youngest of the children Learns from Shayah, revered teacher Speaking back
the Aesir’s lessons BORRI now I
name you Shayah Teacher of Gingaren’s
children You behind are all her students On your knees you little children Crouch you down, you small of stature Whilst upon his
weathered doorstep, Weary Sayern lays his bones down Aged Sayern, milky-eyed now, Who was once a
fearsome raider, Sits him down
and looks about him Clutches at his
stick of pinewood ------------- I name you Sayern One you were a mighty warrior Now Old Age whom Thor once wrestled Has you in a deadly grapple White your hair and weak your muscles Just this once
his failing eyesight Sees the wolves
that stalk Gingaren “CRIMSON!”
cries out aged Sayern “WARRIORS! THEY
ARE UPON US!” ¯ |
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“Charge” Cries Fenn and
shields go forward Led by Fenn with spear
aloft “Onwards” calls brave Jürvick
flanking Sword of Law as bright as stars Forward swarm the hosts of Grimm’s Son Hewing each with mighty blow Forward marching – clear and handsome Striking foes from out from out their path. But see the canker in the village Hosts of in-bred, drooling souls See corruption spoils the beauty Festering sores and open boils. ¯ |
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Uthgra starts
and takes his great-axe Charges forth
from out his long house Calls out to
his folk, his kinsmen, Calls them to
the bloody battle In his eyes, a
tide of crimson As the wolves
bear down upon him Twelve there
are, for every woman man and child
of old Gingaren |
See, a cripple flees his long-house Dragging forth a firewood chopper Screams in terror before the warriors Limping – flees from friend and foe |
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Here is Ulrich,
proud berserker With the rage
of Modi on him Charging with
his axe uplifted With his
students close behind him Smites the
crimson wolves like lightning Left and right
his axe is flashing, But their
numbers are too many And to either
side they channel Into the
defenceless village ¯ |
See the naked hairy fellows Gibbering with vacant eyes Lies have stolen sense and standards To Smite them is the kindest blow ¯ |
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Knives they
plant in back of Ulrich Knives and
craven arrows send they In the back of
the berserker Til it seems
a ruddy river Gushes from his
back and shoulders. Here the
thralls of Uthgra scatter And the Crimson
wolves go howling Quick to run
them down and slay them Gutting them
with axe and sword-blow. ¯ |
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Here the men of
Uthgra’s household Form a shieldwall ‘gainst the foemen Hold them off for
just a moment Then the
massing wolves of crimson Overreach them
to the left side Overreach them
to the right side Stab them in
the sides with spearheads Gash them in
the backs with axes Sending each
man to Now they look
unto the children And the women
of Gingaren ¯ |
“At Last” cries Jürvick
“here are Warriors” Sees the Shieldwall
standing proud But as they reach it – Two blows fells it !! Quick to cleanse the festering souls ¯ |
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Now they reach the village centre Fanning out and clearing all Here comes Idunn up to
meet them Circle closes on the foe.. ¯ |
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Ulrich and his
proud berserkers, Half of them
are dead already But all those
with life still in them Rage and scream
and call on Modi Still the
Crimson arrows find them Pierce them in
a hundred places Until only Uthgra stands there Howling out his
wrath and fury Comes a Crimson
champion for him Runs him
through right to the sword-hilt Ulrich smites
him down the middle Tears the
body’s halves asunder But the sword
remains within him Drinking deep
upon his heart blood Who can count
the swords and daggers That have
bitten Modi’s chosen? Now the life is
falling from him Now the dark
has come to claim him Ulrich passes
to ¯ |
Idunn
sees the fall of Volgar, Tricked by naked wretched man With axe-blade high as sword blade pierces Drops the weapon – clutching heart.. As Idunn’s archers fell
the others Forward rushes Idunn’s
men As the Axe falls Vorgan
stumbles Axe hits helm – its Vorgan’s
Bane ¯ |
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Sayern, on
whom far too many Winters hang
like leaden armour Strikes about
him in the twilight That his
failing eyes show to him Feels his swordblade cut the foeman Feels the foe
give way before him Thus it was
when he was younger So it is that
he remembers All the
victories of boyhood As he croaks
his ancient war-cry Six he slays
and never sees them, Til the
seventh man escapes him, Hacks him down
and ventures onward Leaving Sayern, old and blinded Lying in a pool
of memories. ¯ |
See the old man – senile, swinging At his shadow on his own Swings at bushes – till exhausted Fenn’s
son smites him passing by.. ¯ |
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Here is Shayah, honoured teacher Never once has
she the sword swung Now she stands
before her children Bleak her face with
tears upon it Now she holds
an ancient war-spear And she calls
unto the foemen “None of you
shall touch my children!” As her voice
rings out defiant Crimson Wolves
fall back before her Blazing high
the fire within her None of them will
dare the challenge. So a bowman of
the Crimson Puts a
firebrand to his arrow Sends it high
to light the roof beams So do Shayah and her children Perish in the
blazing schoolroom Desperate cries
amongst the burning ¯ |
See the teacher flee to schoolroom Tramples children in her way Rushes to escape the slaughter Knocks a brazier on the way… ¯ |
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Uthgra, old
and weary headman Standing now
within his long house Whirls his axe
about his shoulders Lops a head and
hacks an arm off Tired he is,
with murder heavy All his people
slain about him All his life
has been blood-eagled Opened up and
strewn about him At his feet a
score of bodies Littered
corpses of the foemen Still they come
to meet his axe-blade Still he is
untouched, unwounded Though the pile
of bodies thickens That his hands
have given death to Then at last
with five and twenty Crimson Wolves
bowed down before him Comes a Captain
of the Crimson, Comes a mighty
warrior to him. Beats aside his
weighty axeblade Cuts him deep
across the body Once and twice
and thrice he cuts him Uthgra
staggers, not yet fallen, Dares the
Crimson Wolf to take him Feels the
strength is going from him Sits him down
upon his throne there Where he used to
rule Gingaren As the Crimon Wolf comes closer Suddenly the
axe of Uthgra Slashes out to
bite in deeply Through the
armour of the foeman Through the
neck to cleave the head off So it topples
down before him. Gently now he
reaches forwards Hauls it up and
looks upon it To his throne
he lurches backwards Hears ¯ |
One now flees into the Long-house Turns and stands to meet his foe Some honour returns as axe he weighs Corruption leaves and proud he stands Forward Jürvick comes to
meet him One on One in battle joined Sword of Law ‘gainst axe
of Uthgra Pierced to heart as axe blade falls.. So it was in all the village One of honour could be found Fenn
sits Uthgra on throne of honour His lieutenant’s head now placed in hand Saluting those bound for All the Crimson who had fallen Gathered he to longhouse now Laid them out to travel onwards All brave fallen, Vallhalla
bound Searching now throughout the village “Find the book” Fenn
Grimm’s Son calls Find we must the Book of Odin Our trust is Ragnarok
must come ¯ |
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Outside now the
bloody business Comes unto a
sad conclusion As the Crimson
Wolves go prowling Through the
bloody houses, looting. Here one finds
a child still living, Tougher than the
spear that stabbed him, Rowan is the
hardy youngling Carried now
from Old Gingaren With the loot
and spoils and riches As the Crimson
wolves steal homewards To the place
they beached their longships. |
Search they do but Idunn’s
eye now Sees a child that lives in blood Stays the hand that lifts to strike it “Take this one – he’s marked by Loki This one is born in Fire and Blood” ¯ |
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In the evening
of the slaughter Comes Selene and her few chosen Come they back
to old Gingaren To the burning and
the slaughter To the feeding
of the ravens Olaf sees his
wife and children Cries he out in
rage and grieving Never once has Modi touched him Now the God of
Strength is on him Raving, raging
runs he forwards Blind and
savage in his sorrow Calling out his
oath of vengeance On the slayers
of his family For Selene the shock unlocks her Falls she now
upon the fallen For her baby
daughter Kiera Premature will
issue from her New-born eyes
to see the bloodshed That was once
the fair Gingaren Sixteen years
ago this story Though the
grass that shines like copper Now has covered
all these ruins Still the fires
lit here burn brightly Burn they still
within the vengeance Of Selene and her survivors ¯ |
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So we tell the
bloody story Of the
slaughter of Gingaren So the Stormwolves shall remember So the fire
shall burn forever. ¯ |
So we tell the hero’s story Of the cleansing of Gingaren So all true Wolves shall remember How now Ragnarok will
come ¯ |
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