I ask for the hearing of all the kindred

greater and lesser sons of man

It is my wish to properly tell

the ancient tales of war and corruption

which are earliest remembered

I remember the days before the dark age

When the sons of Galrakh roamed the earth

The earth provided both soil and water

Life still grew both trees and man

No one saw the dark sky rise

First came the plague and festered the soil

And with it came the Balak

The rotten people both in flesh and mind

They cared not for life nor for honor

And only rot would be left on their path

Second came the fires from the north

Burning through the woods of Drakh Al-Züül

Rage of the ancient gods manifest

It cared not for life nor growth

And only ashes was left in... its path

Third came greed amongst men

Brothers and kinsmen turned to war

Not the soil nor water could quench their thirst

Not the death nor blood could dampen their flame

Only poverty death and hunger left in its path

The age of Galrakh was quick to end

Corruption and war soon followed

The remaining tribes and the ancient orders

was called to arms by the invading Balak

Led by Balak Gaahl the conquerer

Through the plague the Balak grew stronger

In the ashes of Drakh Al-Züül they claimed their kingdom

The ones great and mighty forest

Now wastelands and host of industry of war

The force of death outgrew the force of life

The wood of the trees exchanged for sharp metal

The song of birds exchanged for drums of war

The hope of man buried beneath the fear of darkness

Only through death there will be peace

As such was the song of the rotten ones

Thus came the dark age

The age of steel and fire

Not much was left of the sons of Galrakh

Through their own means and of darker power

Hope was scarce for the line of men

Yet all was not lost for man and his kin

For the bravery of man can not be matched

Faced with the hordes of Balak Gaahl

The sons of Galrakh took to arms

And brothers united at the threat of doom

No poems were written and no songs were sung

In the face of death they gathered their strength

The march began for the line of Galrakh

To the plains of Falroth at the foot of Drakh Al-Züül

There should be the final battle

Upon arrival there could be heard

Battle drums from the once mighty wasteland

And soon they came in massive hordes

The rotten flesh of the Balak

Led by Balak Gaahl

Many thousand festering evils

Armed with crude axes swords and fire

The stench of death turned stomachs miles away

The sound of their march heard twice as far

The army of the plagued as a sea of evil

At first the earth stood still

Not sound to be heard for miles away

The sons of Galrakh were vastly outnumbered

And fear lit up in their eyes

Yet they did not flee

With the sound of trumpets the charge began

Swords clashed and flesh was cut

Arrows flew and bodies fell

The plains of falroth colored red

The sons of Galrakh stood their ground

In the front of the Balak stood Balak Gaahl

At least a yard above the rest

He fought with the strength of a hundred men

His armor shining with mortal blood

He fell many men that day

He pushed forward with great strength

A sight had caught his eye

Amongst the troops stood Eirfir

The hero of Falroth and slayer of Balak

Around him his foes laid slain

Balak Gaahl yelled with a roaring voice

And Eirfir gripped his sword

They charged each other with hate in their eyes

Their metal clashed so sparks flew into the air

The duel of titans began

The battle kept on till sunrise

Many sons of Galrakh had fallen

Amongst the corpses the titans still fought

Both bloodied and tired

Hope was fading for the weary men

As the sun rose it cast light on the battle

And hit the eyes of Balak Gaahl

Eirfir seized his chance and raised his sword

The blade cut through both armor and flesh

And the warlord of the Balak fell

The Balak fled to the forest of ashes

No son of Galrakh followed

The losses were high on both sides

No songs were sung that day

Stricken with grief for their fallen brothers

Thus ends this ancient talemore

released April 6, 2017