Darkwoods My Betrothed Autumn Roars Thunder Autumn Roars Thunder Torchlight in utter darkness Starts licking wood with its deadly tongue In seconds its hunger grows Wood is eaten by flames twelve feet long Before the eyes of heathens The shrine of the cross lights up the glade On the ground lie six bodies That have met their fate by pagan blade Hear the autumn thunder in the sky Vanishing the mild summer breeze An autumn thunder roars down on the ground By its force the foreign god flees A flash of steel cuts flesh By doing so it cuts the cross The mossy ground drinks the blood Of a hundred men in white clothes The morning smells of death But still it feels like a fresh wind After so many years Where the forests returned to the pagan kings Hear the autumn thunder in the sky Vanishing the mild summer breeze An autumn thunder roars down on the ground By its force the foreign god flees Fullmoon turned to crescent and crescent to fullmoon Many times over the forests of Häme The old gods were respected And new houses rose on the ashes of the cross All was at peace When the summer began to turn to autumn But when the first leaves turned to yellow and brown People began to see signs...bad omens One day a hunter from the coast came And told he had heard rumours The ships of the foe had been seen in northwest And their numbers were great Morning mist chilly was floating up from the sea At a dawn when leaves were falling down from trees Gathered were the pagan kings to the circle of stones Out of silence rose a man known as wise and old "We've all seen the fires And heard the tale of the hunter Hear my words when I say This autumn roars thunder" Passed dusks and dawns two times ten Fires burning were not on their hills Again was blood flowing, now of heathen men The foe had returned to burn and kill Village by village they went Leaving only crosses and ashes behind Until pagans were beaten By their body, not their mind Poured water on their heads Mumbling words of a foreign tongue Built houses for their god Was the pride of these forests forever gone? Hear the autumn thunder fade away With its echo they lost their pride Freedom of centuries was lost in days The autumn thunder in their hearts had died (Music: Teemu, Pasi and Thomas Words: Teemu) Nightowl Two eyes in darkness like two burning fires Still cold as a wintery lake The moon is hidden behind dark clouds Fluttering wings...the silence breaks I was walking on the edge of the forest When the eyes began to approach A while I just stood there watching The eyes coming close The owl she came onto my arm Her eyes starring deep into me Soon a shroud covered my eyes I could hear but I couldn't see "The time is close, o men of Karelia Men of pride, the time is near Soon thou will see a new god coming When snow falls he will be here Centuries to come will see his dominion His dominion that makes thee slaves Have not fear, it won't last forever The new dawn will hail thy father' gods again" At the very moment the last word was gone Returned my sight I saw no owl only heard a silent flutter From Tapio's realm, from the fading night As I walked away I thought: "It can't be true that a northern man Would lose his honour and be a slave Of a god from an unknown land......." (Music: Joum Words: Teemu) When Ancient Spirits Battled The battle of the giants was raging The Earth tried to free from the Ice Who had taken her to his deadly embrace And shunned her from all light The Sun rose and set a million times In the southern horizon Before he felt pity for the Earth Decided to save his beloved one The warm rays of the Sun laid upon the Earth Ice began to melt - waters flow So withdrew the Ice northwards to a land Where aurora borealis glow In time were water dried Still was the Earth desolate No life, no growth but one tree Suffering of Ice's winds' hate Of the seeds of this lonely tree Grew a forest and another and another The landscape changed to blue and green Lakes and forests became brothers Although winters were cold The land survived and filled with life Wolves and bears wandered in woods Not threatened by spear or knife At a dawn on a hillside climbed a two-legged creature Wrapped in a hide and carrying a sharpened bone He watched the land and its beauty This was going to be his home....... (Music: Teemu Words: Teemu) The Conspiracy Of The Pagan Cult Strenghtened bravemen hearts Ride with the pale moon Reach for the source of wisdom In the glare of the guiding star Visions of a pure land As fires haunt The chains are unbound The visions shall be true A throne is risen For the bravehearted northmen Sprung out of the source of wisdom With pure pagan blood Ages of the elders return Fallen upon the traitor's hand The curs shall be slain Stain by the Hammer of pride (Music: Pasi Words: Vanargandr) Hymn Of The Darkwoods Up from the North we come From the land of a thousand lakes A heathen force from the once proud Northland Where pines are covered with snowflakes Pagan warriors, hear our battlehymn Help our words soar high Thou shall be greeted with our mighty hail Our star is on rise! Break the chains of enslavement Time will come for the enslavers to pay One winter solstice we shall gather together And it will be their doomsday! Pagan warriors, hear our battlehymn Help our words soar high Thou shall be greeted with our mighty hail Our star is on rise! Our star is now dim But getting brighter It will replace the enslaver sun Hear us, brothers and sisters A new day is dawning Upon us heirs of the Northstar Pagan warriors, hear our battlehymn Help our words soar high Thou shall be greeted with our mighty hail Our star is on rise! (Music: Teemu Words: Teemu) On The Top Of The Falconhill On the top of the Falconhill... I was standing surrounded by solitude Evening breeze as my only friend It was a beautiful dusk of November Darkness wrapping around the hills where paths end To my eyes reflected a distant fire A fire from far away A sign our enemy is approaching From the land beyond the bay Beyond the mist covered forest on the river I saw Three dozen ships with crosses on sails Soon everywhere burnt fires Mine among the others From the village a horde was marching Till death or fame! To my eyes reflected a distant fire A fire from far away A sign our enemy is approaching From the land beyond the bay By the time the sun was about to rise above the skyline The army of the cross and heathen hordes collided By the time the sun was lurking high behind a cloud Only the heathen swords were held against the sky They were slaughtered and vanished for now But they will return to spread their word and kill It was a god-against-god-battle I saw On the top of the Falconhill (Music: Joum Words: Teemu) King's Gray Shadow He wandered through landscapes painted Green by forests and blue by lakes All the way of leagues ten and five Until he arrived during the fall of twilight Gathered the villagers around him To hear the sad news he had to bring "Three dawns ago in the land towards sunrise Was thy king slain in a battle at night" A gray cloud shadowed the hearts of men And flowing tears wet women's eyes Their king had gone to Tuonela Had his spirit among them died? Had it gone away with the flames That burned his warship - his grave The nightwinds had called his name The gods got another man brave Weeks after the funeral was seen a shadow gray Roaming in the woods of the eastern land Hiding in daytime then returning at night Haunting in the minds of the mortals who killed a king (Music: Pasi Words: Teemu) I Burn At The Stake I wake up in shivers of cold On a chilly sunny morning of May My eyes try to catch up with what is going on They only recall the nights which in dungeons I laid Chanting in a tongue unknown fills my ears Odour of incenses...warmth of torchfires Men wearing black hooded robes are closing me Golden crosses glow as they light my pyre "In the name of the holy trinity We purify thy soul with these flames And baptize you..." "Never! You can burn me, bastards But you can never take my faith I spit on your cross and curse you In the name of the spirits of my fathers!" "We cursed you servants of the foreign god Despisable betrayers of your people I will never ever accept your faith Rather I burn at the stake!" (Music: Joum, Mika Rautiainen Words: Teemu) Red Sky Over The Land Of Fells In the midst of the dead earth up through the clouds they rise Feet sunk in moss heads covered in a veil of white Kings born and die but fells still watch up proud Like giants in their grandeur they stand and hold the sky Shadows grow tall covering the barren earth The earth that wears only lichen and moss The sun is setting and the sky dresses in red for the coming six fullmoons all light will be lost The daylight goes hiding into infinity The last shades of red turn slowly to gray ..and then to black On some nights will the northern lights appear And send their rays to reflect from the snow Colouring the lands of fells in all their shades When they disappear...only darkness remains (Music: Pasi & Teemu Words: Teemu