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Farning hymn of war, -0y. Translated by Adtne of Kwawha.
Black sky! They cry.
Black moon! They cry.
For we are the ones who wrestled the rings
And we are the ones who tackle the beast.
Gaze upon the walls of Farning and despair!
Cower under the fury of our arrows!
Those serpents cry in fear of our strength,
Cry out, like a woman in labor.
The flame burns bright into the night,
The songs sound long.
None can best the greatest of men,
None can sing our song.
The Maiden looks upon her city and smiles,
Like a mother looks upon her sleeping child.
She’ll let no harm come to him,
And any who try will face the burn of her javelin!
Interlude
Under her care we grow strong,
Shoot up fast like the crops of spring.
Grow nourished like the crops of summer,
To bring great pride upon the harvest.
Like the dew we’ll appear suddenly on our foes.
They shall be drenched in blood.
Her war mask shall shine red.
The harvested will harvest the world.
The might of the greatest of men
Will blow like a hurricane
Will flood like the Mandara
Will uproot like the quake.
Tremble, enemies. wail!
Every limb will be broken by the sword,
Or yoke,
Or plow!
We have been delivered,
but you cannot say the same!
Despite its popularity, great debate surrounds this song. Many Allanos hold it as unduly influenced by Rabanti notions, and view it as heretical and dangerous to their faith to view Oraq as ‘protecting’ any anchor of the mortal realm. The lyrics are set to the traditional Allano tune of Indina. For an attempted translation in the spirit rather than the letter, please see addendum 4.25.60.100d.
The thunder of the plains, so deep, so loud
Who could make such force that quakes the soul?
I look to the horizon that once seemed so far
And now there is only blackness underneath the heavy sky.
Pressures of the deep under the ocean I see above.
Who can conquer this open sky?
Who can best nature?
Many have tried, but man is just a vapor in the wind
And they only flatter themselves.
Only one is the master of the expanse and it serves him the same as all other things.
The heavens are all the same to him,
There is no difference between the sky and the stars to the infinite.
And the one who tames the constellations can tame the sky
And the one who tames the sky can tame any turbulence in any man.
Every storm will pass,
And there is beauty to be found in any storm,
For the storm echoes the might of the almighty,
Just as the breeze after does his gentle mercy.
I have no reason to fear any storm,
Clouds or not, thunder or not,
I know who calls down the rain or causes it to cease.
Poem or song, rambling or inspired,
The truth is in who we trust instead of any thunder.
Transcribed from a song performed by a traveler near Tharman, Avato.
I never thought I would live to see the day. It’s gone. Eda disappeared like all the others. Just like the others. One night it was a beacon for travelers and shipping to the whole world, the eye in the constellation of Menandas – and by next sunset there was only the night. Just a dark blemish where she once lie. The eye of Menandas gouged out, just like that. No fanfare, no nova, nothing. We wept, we all wept. The sailors most of all. Prices will rise on goods on top of everything else. Of course.
We prayed and prayed. We prayed… many say we need to pray harder still and there might yet be some hope. I doubt it. Why should the south star be any different than the others? They say the gods are punishing us for something. Well, I did nothing wrong. We’re just a footstool to the divine. The Gods must just hate us.
Well. I hate them too.