In darkened woods, the Northerners plot their counter strike
Enemies scheme in shadows, unseen, to engineer my fall
To deter my foes, I must construct a citadel
Who will grind the stone and build the fortress’s walls?
My liege, my factory can serve your needs
But every villager must work as my slave
I lack the manpower to round them up
But with your legionnaires, I’ll make them obey
Yes, yes! Ha ha ha! A grand idea!
Together, we’ll build a marvelous estate
Let it initiate your thousand year reign
Strong walls, behind which pleasure beckons thence
Of your magnificence, let heaven proclaim
Round up the serfs
Every man, woman and child
My modern vision shall be realized
They’ll leave pathetic homes behind as they’re
Chained to the assembly line
By imperial writ, I now possess their lives
A pleasure palace
Full of earthly delights
Toil to exalt my name
The factory’s smog
Blocks out the sun
Das großartig landgut
Arbeit macht frei
Torn from our homes, some of us labor as slaves
To make the baubles, gauds and trinkets that the courtiers crave
Still others labor in the brickyard or travail at the mill
Under the whips of our oppressors is the citadel built
By the light of the moon, to the barracks we’re led
That’s where the rumours of our plans of opposition are spread
When the guards are distracted, when we’re just out of sight
Through subtle acts of sabotage we secretly strike
We throw wrenches into the gears
The mechanism shattered and stripped
Break the exploitative tools
Squelch the fires, lads, never submit
The factory grinds to a halt
Foiling the Count and his plans
Thwarting the Emperor’s will
Our liberation is at hand
Something is wrong
Our yields have decreased
Those odious thralls have vandalized all my machines
Those insolent knaves!
Bring the heads of their leaders to me!
The rebels will pay, they’ll be taught to obey my regime
Sire, perhaps the Bishop
Could be useful to us
His acolytes obey his every whim
To find the rebel leaders
No effort must be spared
Consider an alliance with him
That fanatic?
Could he really be persuaded?
With nothing to offer, he’s likely to scoff at our plea
He’ll listen to us, my liege
For his rituals are not complete
The souls of the brave, not of peasants or slaves, does he seek
His minions will interrogate
They’ll find the rebel scum
My factory will flourish once again
The rest he’ll likely sacrifice
To some silly Sumerian god
A small price to pay to root out all dissent
Very well then, so be it, summon the old wizard
As thunder
Cracks and lightning flashes
The emperor’s throne room doors admit their guest
The bishop
Flanked by hooded minions
His majesty shrinks in fear as he’s addressed
‘How dare you disturb me
My work is more important than you could ever comprehend’
With every word spoken
Those within the sound of his voice are overwhelmed with dread
His highness
Trembling in his terror,
‘Unholy one, hear our desperate cry,
We beg you
Aid us in our efforts
In exchange, their souls are yours to sacrifice’
‘An intriguing proposal
The final rites require a sacrifice of noble souls
The gods will consume them
The power that I’ve sought all these years shall finally be bestowed’
Minions go forth
Seek out the traitors
Show no remorse, bring their accomplices to
Me, cast them down, into the monastery’s
Dungeons, where all
Light falls to darkness
They will confess, and in their agonizing
Pain, they’ll fuel my rituals
Louder, and louder
A serenade of pain to please the gods
Louder, and louder
A serenade of pain to please the gods
Minions haunt the alleyways
Lurking in the dark
With unsuspecting victims they abscond
Deep inside the monastery’s
Labyrinth of doom
Their suffering has only just begun
Excruciating torture
They inflict at his command
Tormented screaming echoes through the halls
The bishop at his altar
Chants in long forgotten verse
To ancient cosmic deities he calls
Nowhere to hide now
Fear grips the land
Terror has stifled all remnants of defiance
All but a fraction are docile and compliant
The Count and the Emperor
Hail their success
The fact’ry, resurgent, the palace nearly done
In triumph, they revel in our brief rebellion’s
Defeat
The bishop cackles
His final ritual almost complete
Those sacrificed, their fate too
Terrible to describe
Spiraling through the cosmic void
Husbands cry for lost wives
Calling to the heavens
Desperate to hear their voice
Loved ones lost forever
Brothers, friends, companions
Never to be seen again
Our tears well up in hatred
Rage consumes our hearts we
Swear that we will have revenge