Old Strongcastle Holds the Line

[Verse 1 – The Retreat]
Smoke in the valleys, fire in the plains,
The Gnar came crawling like a sickness in chains.
Towns fell silent, fields burned black,
And the free folk fled with no road back.
Past Smallwater’s bridges, past the broken farms,
Families climbing hills with children in their arms.
Behind them in the distance dark wings flew,
And the old man rode where the fighting grew.

[Chorus]
Old Strongcastle holds the line,
Steel in his hand and fire in his spine.
Ground keeps falling mile by mile,
But the free folk live a little while.

[Verse 2 – Old Splitclaw Hunts]
From the smoke it came with a thunderous cry,
Old Splitclaw, half bear, half bat, with the night in its eyes.
One claw cracked and jagged, a history of fights,
Hunting the fleeing folk through valleys and heights.
Children screamed as the monster came near,
Men raised muskets but the shot went wide with fear.
Then the old man stepped where the path ran tight,
Steel in his fist, ready to fight.

[Chorus]
Old Strongcastle holds the line,
Steel in his hand and fire in his spine.
Ground keeps falling mile by mile,
But the free folk live a little while.

[Verse 3 – The Dragon Slayer]
They called him dragon slayer long before this war,
A man who’d faced their fire and lived before.
Old Splitclaw roared with wings spread wide,
But Strongcastle met it stride for stride.
Claws came down like a falling tree,
His blade flashed once for all to see.
The monster fell in blood and stone,
And the hills rang out with a victory groan.

[Chorus]
Old Strongcastle holds the line,
Steel in his hand and fire in his spine.
Ground keeps falling mile by mile,
But the free folk live a little while.

[Verse 4 – The Climb into the Hills]
Higher they climbed where the cold winds blow,
To broken peaks and the mountain snow.
The roads behind them burned away,
Another valley lost that day.
But the people followed where he led,
Trusting the legend riding ahead.
For while he stood with sword in hand,
Hope still walked in the broken land.

[Final Chorus]
Old Strongcastle holds the line,
Steel in his hand and fire in his spine.
Ground keeps falling mile by mile,
But the free folk live a little while.

[Outro]
High in the hills where the cold winds call,
The dragon slayer refuses to fall.
And while he stands with sword in hand,
The West still breathes in that broken la

Epic outlaw-fantasy ballad, dragon slayer Strongcastle leads fleeing folk, battles Old Splitclaw, epic grit, heroic tone