He lived above the land in terraced tower
A prince by birth where most were but a pawn
He took his lessons at the school of power
And roamed the winding maze of Babylon
And they told him that the moon had turned to scarlet
And they said the sun had darkened at his birth
The favored firstborn to the age's harlot:
The Antichrist who must destroy the earth.
With his destined foe
The war must soon begin
And it must be so
No matter what he willed
That they both must fight
For only one could win
Black or white, kill or be killed --
For every prophecy must be fulfilled.
Long years he watched the skies for his arrival
A Healer King who would the world unite
And raised a force against his fated rival
A horde of black to slay the Lord of Light
Then on his dark horse riding out to slaughter
As silver trumpets echoed from on high
And stars rained down into the blazing water
He thundered out his challenge to the sky
But silent fell the fountain
And none came to oppose him
No echo from the mountain
And dark the stars that chose him
The combat raged around his rasping breath
And yet the only foe he saw -- was Death.
***
He threw his sword into the lake of fire
Dismissed the army, bade the battle cease
Fair flowers blossomed in the blackened mire
The mountain waste became a land of peace
He called the crowds in through the great gates streaming
Laid down his crown and left his gilded throne;
Green grew the vineyards round the cities gleaming
A realm where love and justice ruled alone.
The years passed and he couldn't help but ponder
On why his adversary never came
And to the Sybil's cave resolved to wander
To see his face and know the strange man's name
She led him in and to his story listened
Into the glassy waters bid him stare
He gazed in as the mystic fountain glistened
And saw his own reflection mirrored there.
With his destined foe
The war must soon begin
And it must be so
No matter what he willed
That they both must fight
For only one could win
Black or white, kill or be killed --
For every prophecy must be fulfilled.
A prince by birth where most were but a pawn
He took his lessons at the school of power
And roamed the winding maze of Babylon
And they told him that the moon had turned to scarlet
And they said the sun had darkened at his birth
The favored firstborn to the age's harlot:
The Antichrist who must destroy the earth.
With his destined foe
The war must soon begin
And it must be so
No matter what he willed
That they both must fight
For only one could win
Black or white, kill or be killed --
For every prophecy must be fulfilled.
Long years he watched the skies for his arrival
A Healer King who would the world unite
And raised a force against his fated rival
A horde of black to slay the Lord of Light
Then on his dark horse riding out to slaughter
As silver trumpets echoed from on high
And stars rained down into the blazing water
He thundered out his challenge to the sky
But silent fell the fountain
And none came to oppose him
No echo from the mountain
And dark the stars that chose him
The combat raged around his rasping breath
And yet the only foe he saw -- was Death.
***
He threw his sword into the lake of fire
Dismissed the army, bade the battle cease
Fair flowers blossomed in the blackened mire
The mountain waste became a land of peace
He called the crowds in through the great gates streaming
Laid down his crown and left his gilded throne;
Green grew the vineyards round the cities gleaming
A realm where love and justice ruled alone.
The years passed and he couldn't help but ponder
On why his adversary never came
And to the Sybil's cave resolved to wander
To see his face and know the strange man's name
She led him in and to his story listened
Into the glassy waters bid him stare
He gazed in as the mystic fountain glistened
And saw his own reflection mirrored there.
With his destined foe
The war must soon begin
And it must be so
No matter what he willed
That they both must fight
For only one could win
Black or white, kill or be killed --
For every prophecy must be fulfilled.
Such foreboding!
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