The Rise of the Gnar

[Verse 1]
The bells rang out in the morning light
Smoke rolled across the plain
Steel met steel on the battered walls
But victory never came
They fought like wolves through fire and ash
Where broken banners hung
Yet something moved behind men’s eyes
And turned the brave ones young

[Chorus]
Oh the Gnar is rising in the minds of men
Not by fang, not by claw, but the will within
We hold the line though the night grows far
But the war turns dark with the rise of the Gnar

[Verse 2]
The towns fell slow along the roads
Their watchfires burning low
For gates swung wide in the darkest hour
By hands they used to know
A captain turned, a brother fell
A blade struck from the rear
For worms had burrowed deep in minds
And twisted truth to fear

[Chorus]
Oh the Gnar is rising in the minds of men
Not by fang, not by claw, but the will within
We hold the line though the night grows far
But the war grows cold with the rise of the Gnar

[Verse 3]
They said the armies marched from the east
Across the desert sand
A thousand spears and banners bright
To save the dying land
So every night the watchfires burned
And every child would pray
For horns of hope on the morning wind
To drive the dark away

[Verse 4]
Then shapes appeared upon the ridge
At dawn through drifting char
But twisted forms came staggering down
Marked by the hand of Gnar
The eastern host was broken first
In some far desert scar
And what returned was not a host
But creatures of the Gnar

[Bridge]
The horns they heard were not for hope
But war cries split and torn
For every friend they waited for
Returned to them reborn
Yet on the deck of the Baywhar Babe
Three young hearts still stood tall
The blood of Strongcastle in their veins
Refusing still to fall

[Final Chorus]
Oh the Gnar is rising in the minds of men
Not by fang, not by claw, but the will within
Still we stand though the night grows far
And curse the dawn of the eastern Gnar

[Outro]
Hold the walls… hold the line…
Though the world now bears the scar
For hope must rise from the hearts of men
Against the rise of the Gnar

Dark cinematic fantasy folk, epic war ballad, haunting male vocal, fiddle, acoustic guitar, drums, tragic heroic tone