The Exile's Anthem

[Verse]
She rode in with the sun at her back
A shadow long
Her armor cracked
The village square fell cold and still
Whispers rising like a chill
"She left us
She betrayed the crown
Now she dares return to this town."
[Prechorus]
The banners torn
The gates are barred
A hero's heart
Now battle-scarred
[Chorus]
They called her a traitor
A thief of the dawn
But her sword bore the weight
Of the wars they had won
She gave all she could
But they’d never understand
So she fled to the woods
With blood on her hands
[Verse 2]
The trees spoke in tongues she had fought to forget
Ghosts of the fallen
The names she’d regret
A campfire burned where the outcasts lay
The hunted
The scorned
The lost of the fray
Their eyes were sharp
Their faces worn
Yet she found in their midst what she’d long mourned
[Prechorus]
"Did you fight for the king? Did you fight for the gold?"
"No
" she said
"for the stories untold."
[Chorus]
They called her a traitor
A thief of the dawn
But her sword bore the weight
Of the wars they had won
She gave all she could
But they’d never understand
So she fled to the woods
With blood on her hands

folk, female vocals; melancholic fingerpicked guitar with subtle violin harmonies, a haunting melody that swells with raw emotion and dynamic intensity., acoustic, emo