The Heroes at the Gate

Before the banners crowned the walls of Alberesk so proud and tall,
Before the lanterns filled the streets and autumn answered harvest's call,
A shadow split the world in two, a wound no mortal hand could heal,
And from the dark the Hollow came with empty eyes and hearts of steel.

The rivers choked with ash and grief, the villages were left undone,
The Wraiths moved silent through the night and blotted out the morning sun.
And in the Void a goddess laughed as kingdoms trembled at their fate,
While all the people gathered fearfully behind the city's gate.

The mothers held their children close,
The fathers gripped their blades,
And every soul believed that dawn
Would be their final day.

But a handful stood where thousands fell,
And swore beneath the sky,
"The darkness ends here, the darkness ends here,
Before we let this city die."

They fought for homes and futures bright,
For every child who'd see the light,
Though their names are lost to time,
Their courage still survives.

So raise your lanterns high tonight,
Let every harvest fire burn bright,
For the heroes at the gate,
Who taught the dark to fear the light.

For five long days and six cold nights they held the line against the tide,
When swords were broken, steel was shattered, still they would not step aside.
They stood as one when shields were gone, shoulder to shoulder through the pain,
And where they bled upon the earth the ground was stained with crimson rain.

The Hollow clawed, the Wraiths screamed out, the shadows gathered ever near,
Yet every sunrise found them standing though each day there were fewer here.
Not seeking glory, gold, or songs, not chasing legends to be told,
But guarding all they loved behind them from the darkness harsh and cold.

For home was standing at their backs,
For hope was in their hands,
And though the night seemed endless still,
They made their final stand.

But a handful stood where thousands fell,
And swore beneath the sky,
"The darkness ends here, the darkness ends here,
Before we let this city die."

They fought for homes and futures bright,
For every child who'd see the light,
Though their names are lost to time,
Their courage still survives.

So raise your lanterns high tonight,
Let every harvest fire burn bright,
For the heroes at the gate,
Who taught the dark to fear the light.

Then Nyxareth descended down, the Void Queen wrapped in endless night,
The stars grew dim, the fires died, and hope itself fled from her sight.
She mocked the warriors where they stood, exhausted, wounded, near their end,
And wove a spell to cast their souls beyond the reach of death again.

They knew the doom that waited there, an endless dark beyond the grave,
Yet not a single hero fled, and not a single spirit gave.
Some say they joined their hands as one and faced oblivion unafraid,
Prepared to die together there for every life their stand had saved.

Then heaven split with golden flame,
And Aeternus answered their cry.
Light and shadow shook the world,
As gods themselves collided in the sky.

The Void Queen screamed, the darkness broke,
The endless night was cast away.
But when the battle finally ceased,
The heroes could no longer stay.

And Aeternus wept.

Golden flowers bloomed beneath his tears,
The battlefield fell still.
He laid the weary heroes down,
Beyond the reach of age and ill.

Sleeping beneath the ancient trees,
Waiting through the turning years,
Until the darkness rises once again,
And the world has need of them.

So raise your lanterns high tonight,
And sing their oath into the night:

"The darkness ends here, the darkness ends here,
As long as we remember why."

For every harvest gathered home,
For every child beneath these skies,
The light of Aeternus still remains,
Alive within our hearts and lives.

Leave an empty chair tonight,
And let the city fall silent near,
For the heroes at the gate still sleep,
And one day they'll return here.

In Alberesk when autumn comes,
And lanterns paint the fields with gold,
The people sing this ancient song...

So the heroes are never forgotten.