Doo-Wop Paladin

I closed my eyes when I was young and saw it pouring down
Light behind my eyelids — light that wasn't from the sun
Every other kid was sleeping — I was lying still and listening
Knowing something had begun

(Light — light — even in the dark)
(Light — light — even with my eyes closed)

I felt the angels lean down close — or whatever lives inside the light
Press a hand against my chest and hold it there
And I knew the way you know your own name — before I had the words
That the light had chosen me — and I was glad — and I was scared

(Called — called — I was always called)

Call to the light
(I hear it — I hear it — I've always heard it)
Call to the light
(It's been there — it's been there — since before I had the words)
Some people search their whole lives for the thing that makes them sure
I never had to search — I never had the choice
The light was always there — a hand against my chest — a voice

My friends would sit around the fire and talk about their futures
Someone's heading for the forge — someone's got a cousin on the coast
They'd ask me what I wanted and I'd smile and hold my cup
And the light would pulse behind my ribs like something I could almost touch

(Not yet — not yet — but soon)

And when the stories came through town — a graveyard emptied up the north road —
A merchant found in pieces on the bridge at dawn—
Demons dancing in the wheat fields south of town —
They'd go quiet and I'd feel the light lean forward on its own
Not yet — not yet — but that's the direction — that's where I'll be going
I could feel it in my bones

(Not yet — not yet — but you will)

Call to the light
(I hear it — I hear it)
Call to the light
The angels chose to fight their wars on earth and they need hands
They need a body standing where the darkness breaks the ground
And I can feel them at my back — I've always felt them at my back
Wings like thunder — light like trumpets — pouring down without a sound

(Light — light — the angels at my back)
(Light — light — I can feel them)

And wherever the darkness gathers — that's where I'll be standing
I've known it since the light first held me — I've known it all along
I'm not the sword — I'm not the angel — I'm just the one who answered
But the light is in me now and it has made me strong

(Call — call — calling to the light)
(Call — call — I'm coming)
(Light)

I started with copper — dug it out of the hill with my hands
Orange rock in the morning light — soft metal — barely worth the name
But I built a fire and I melted it down and I shaped it on the anvil
And every time the hammer fell I said the light's name

(Ring — ring — hammer on the anvil)
(Ring — ring — hammer and a prayer)

The copper wasn't much — too soft to stop a blade
But I wore it anyway — dented, thin, and bright
And every scratch it took was something that I learned
About the distance between what I am and what I need to be for the fight

(Dig — smelt — hammer — wear)
(Dig — smelt — hammer — prayer)

Hammer and prayer
(Ring — ring)
Hammer and prayer
(Ring — ring)
Every piece I make is something that I'm asking
Every strike's a conversation with the light
I'm not just building armor — I'm building what's inside it
I'm forging what I'll be when the darkness comes at night

Then deeper — past the iron — past the silver and the gold — into the quiet
Where the tunnels get so still you hear your own heart in the stone
Every step down was a kind of faith — trusting there was something worth the digging
And the light was in my lantern and my pickaxe and my bones

(Deeper — rarer — deeper — brighter)

I swung until my shoulders burned — I cracked the rock and hauled it out
And the mountain made my body into something I could trust
And then I hit a seam that blazed like sunlight trapped in stone
It sang against my palm — like it had been waiting — like it must

(Ring — ring — ring like something holy)
(Ring — ring — ring like something sure)

Hammer and prayer
(Ring — ring)
Hammer and prayer
(Ring — ring)
The mountain breaks my hands and I come back the next morning
The bellows burn my face and I keep pulling on the chain
The metal doesn't care if I'm tired or if I'm hurting
And the light says — good — now do it all again

(Again — again — the light says do it all again)

I carried it to the surface and it lit the tunnel as I climbed
I fired the forge so hot the whole hillside glowed
And when I poured it in it rang out like a hymn
And when I put it on it fit like it already knew the road

(Dig — smelt — hammer — wear)
(Dig — smelt — hammer — prayer)

I started with copper and I ended up in something that could stop the dark
I started with soft hands and I ended up with hands like stone
The hammer is the prayer — the prayer is the hammer
The forge is the chapel and the anvil is the altar
And I'm ready — I'm finally ready
And the light is in the metal and it's singing

(Ring — ring — hammer and a prayer)
(Ring — ring)
(Ring)

I saw it on the cliff above the valley — gold and sharp and still
Wings folded like a cathedral's roof against the sky
It turned one amber eye toward me — and I stood there — and I didn't try

(Don't move — don't move — just let it see you)

I came back the next morning and I sat below the cliff
Not close — not yet — just near enough to be a shape it recognized
I brought no rope — no bridle — nothing that could hold a beast like that
I just sat in the grass and watched the sunrise through its eyes

Windborn
(Wild thing — gold thing — windborn)
Windborn
(Won't be broken — won't be told)
You can't command a gryphon with a prayer or with a blade
You can't convince it with the light that fills your chest
You just come back — you just keep coming back
Until the wind decides to let you pass the test

(Come back — come back — just keep coming back)

Day after day I climbed that hill and sat a little closer
And the gryphon watched me like a question with no answer yet
I talked to it sometimes — not about anything important
Just the weather and the wildflowers and the color of the sunset

And one morning — maybe nothing changed at all
Maybe I'd just finally been there long enough to count
The gryphon walked — not flew — down the rocks to me
And pressed its beak against my shoulder — and I didn't mount

(Still — still — don't move — let it choose)
(Still — still — this isn't yours to take)

Windborn
(Wild thing — gold thing — windborn)
Windborn
(Won't be broken — won't be told)
You can't command a gryphon with a prayer or with a blade
You can't convince it with the light that fills your chest
You just come back — you just keep coming back
Until the wind decides to let you pass the test

Then it spread its wings — and I had never seen them open
Twice as wide as I am tall and golden at the edge
And it crouched and looked at me the way you look at someone asking
And I climbed on — shaking — all that armor on that living breathing ledge

And we rose
(Oh, woah, oh, oh)

(Higher — higher — windborn — higher)
(Gold and wild and free and mine — not mine — but mine)

(Windborn — windborn)
(Known — not chosen — known)
(Windborn)
You can't command a gryphon with a prayer or with a blade
But oh — when it decides to carry you — you'll never be the same
Every sky is yours — every wind is yours — every morning that it rises
You'll forget you ever had another name

The light is in my chest and the sky is in my lungs
And there's a heartbeat underneath me that is not my own
And for the first time since the call I don't feel chosen
I feel known

(Windborn — windborn — everywhere together)
(Windborn — windborn — we ride)
(Windborn)

It came out of the treeline wearing armor like a shadow
A blade that smoked with cold where mine was singing with the heat
And something in my chest — the light — it flickered when it saw this thing
Like it recognized the dark and what the dark had made of its defeat

(shinga linga clang)
(clanga langa chime)

I raised my sword and felt the light run down it like a hymn
And the first blow landed clean and bright and rang against the cold
And I don't aim — I've never aimed — the light has always guided
Every strike exactly where it needs to go — I just do what I'm told

(shinga linga clang)
(clanga langa chime)

Every strike is guided by the light
Falls exactly right
Like notes in a song that the angels are singing
And the melody is me

(The melody is me — the melody is me)

The death knight swung a blade that froze the air between us
And I felt the wrongness of it — faith turned inside out
Whatever this thing used to be — whatever light it carried
It was gone — and what was left was just the shape of holy doubt

(Cold — so cold — wrong — so wrong)

I blocked and the frost cracked up my arm — my armor screaming
And the light poured down to meet it — warm against the freeze
And we stood there — locked — two versions of the same bright promise
One still burning — one gone dark — like summer fighting winter for the trees

(shinga linga clang)
(clanga langa chime)

Every strike is guided by the light
Falls exactly right
Like notes in a song that the angels are singing
And the melody is me

(The melody is me — the melody is me)

The death knight fought like it remembered being something good
Every move was almost right — almost familiar — almost clean
Like watching someone play a song from memory with half the notes gone missing
The saddest fight I've ever fought — do you know what I mean

(shinga linga clang)
(clanga langa chime)

I put it down the way you put down something that was suffering
The final blow was gentle — not a strike — more like a key
And the dark armor cracked and something sighed inside it
And I swear I felt the light reach down and try to set it free

(Rest — rest — the light remembers you)

Every strike is guided by the light
Falls exactly right
Like notes in a song that the angels are singing
And the melody is me
But I'm standing in a field beside an empty suit of armor
And I'm wondering — just for a second — if that could have been me

(The melody is me — the melody is me)
(Could have been me — could have been me)

(Oooooooh oooooh ah ooooh ah)
(Oh oh oh ooooh ah)

The field is quiet now and someone isn't standing
I cross the mud — all iron — every step a bell
I kneel beside the wounded and lay my hands down
And ask for something I can't do myself

(Lay them down — lay my burden down)

Lay my hands
(Lay them down — lay them down)
Lay my hands
(Am I a fool — am I a fool to ask for this)
The armor's heavy and my hands are rough and holy
And I'm asking for a miracle with my fists

(Live — live — please)

The light moves through my palms like I'm not even here
Like I'm just the door it's walking through
I don't know if this is me or something bigger
But the breathing's changing — something's coming true

(Lay them down — lay my burden down)
(Miracle — miracle — is that what this is)

Lay my hands
(Lay them down — lay them down)
Lay my hands
(Am I a fool — am I a fool to ask for this)
Am I the healer or am I just the vessel
Is the miracle the light or is it my two shaking hands
I don't know — I don't know — I just know I'm kneeling
Whispering live — just live — it's all I have — it's my only plan

(Live — live — live)
(Lay them down — lay my burden down)

And the eyes open

(Lay my hands)
(Miracle)
(Lay my hands)

The sky went dark before it came — the birds went first — then the wind
And the sound — you'd know it if you heard it — you'd never unhear it again
A thousand bones all moving wrong — all grinding — all connected
A skeleton of skeletons — a dragon built from the dead

(Rattle-crack — clatter-clack — rack of bone)
(Rattle-crack — clatter-clack — here it comes)

And on its back — sitting like a king on a throne of ribs —
The necromancer — calm as water — smiling like a priest
And I felt something I had never felt before with the light inside me
Not fear — not doubt — just fury — like a holy beast

(Rattle-crack — clatter-clack — rack of bone)

Bone dragon rising
(Rising — rattle-crack — rising)
Bone dragon rising
(Clatter-clack — clatter-clack — here it comes)
Every bone in that thing used to be a person
Every wing beat sounds like graves being opened from inside
And the necromancer's laughing and the light inside me's screaming
And my sword is in my hand and I have never felt so alive

(Ring and crack — rattle-clack — ring and crack)

The rogue hit first — two blades against a rib the size of a doorway
The swordsman took the tail — the archer took the sky
I went for the neck — the light was burning white along my blade
And every strike rang out like a bell against a lie

(Rattle-crack — clatter-clack — sing and ring)

The dragon swung its head — a skull with nothing in it but the spell
And the healer dove and the archer rolled and the ground shook when it hit
And bones flew off and more bones grew to fill the gap
The necromancer waved a hand — like fixing it was nothing — barely lit

(Rattle-crack — bone on bone — clatter-clack — back it comes)

Bone dragon rising
(Rising — rattle-crack — rising)
Bone dragon rising
(Clatter-clack — clatter-clack — it won't stop)
We cut it down and it builds itself back up again
Every bone we break it just replaces from the ground
The graveyard's emptying beneath us — the dead are climbing upward
And the dragon's getting bigger with a horrible rattling sound

(Rattle-crack — bigger still — clatter-clack — bigger still)

The necromancer hasn't moved — hasn't had to — just sits and watches
Conducting the bones the way the light conducts my blade
And I see it now — we're mirrors — both of us instruments
Both of us played by something bigger — both of us obeying what we've made

(Ring and crack — rattle-clack — ring and crack)
(The melody is me — but what's the melody in him)

I put my shoulder through a wall of ribs and felt them shatter
The light blazed and the bones turned black and fell like rain
And for a moment — just a moment — I could see the necromancer's face
And there was nothing in it — nothing — not even pain

(Rattle-crack — clatter-clack — nothing there)
(Nothing — nothing — nothing in those eyes)

Bone dragon rising
(Rising — rattle-crack — rising)
Bone dragon rising
(Clatter-clack — clatter-clack — it won't stop)
We're fighting and the bones keep coming and my people keep on swinging
And the light is pouring out of me like I'm a torch against the night
And the necromancer sits above it all and watches
And the dragon screams with someone else's voice — and we fight — we fight — we fight

(Rattle-crack — clatter-clack — rack of bone)
(Fight — fight — fight)
(Rattle-crack)

The blow was coming and I saw it and I called out
The way I've always called — the way I was taught — the way I know
And the light came down around me — golden — warm — immediate
A shaft of holy brightness — and the blow never landed — and I was whole

(Golden glow — halo hold)

The light answered
(Golden glow)
The light answered
(The way it always does)
I called and it came — golden and complete and sure
And I'm standing inside everything I've ever believed
And they're dying on the other side of the door

(Golden whole — only me)

The rogue went down — I saw her face — she looked at me
Standing in my pillar — golden — glowing — whole
And I saw her understand that I wasn't coming
And something in the way she looked at me went cold

(Golden glow — only me)
(But only around me)

The swordsman held longer than anyone should hold
He kept glancing back like reinforcements were on the way
But I was the reinforcement — I was right there — shining
Wrapped in answered prayer with nothing I could do or say

(Halo hold — while they fell)
(Holy gold — I could not move)

The light answered
(Golden glow)
The light answered
(The way it always does)
The healer burned through everything he had — I watched his hands go dim
One by one the lights went out across the field
And I was the last light standing — not because I'm stronger
But because I called — and the light came — and it sealed

only me

(Golden glow — only me)
(Golden glow — only ever me)

The golden shaft pulled back when there was no one left to save
Like a prayer completing — like a hymn reaching its end
And I was standing in a field of everyone I'd loved
And the light was in my chest — still warm — still faithful — still my friend

And I have never hated anything the way I hated that warmth

(Golden glow)
(It always answered)
(It always answered)

What is a paladin without the light
What am I — what would be left of me — without
(Without, without the light)
Just a suit of armor and the certainty that I'm right
And I'm not even sure about the second one — and I'm afraid to find out how

little there might be

(What am I — what am I without)

Is that what they see — is that what I look like from the outside
Just iron and opinions and a voice that won't stop talking about the call
Does the rogue look at me and see a person — or a sermon
Does the swordsman hear a friend — or just a preacher in the hall

(What am I — what am I without)
(What do they see — what do they see)

What is a paladin without the light
What am I — what's left of me — without
(Without, without the light, light, light)
Is the sword still holy if the hand that holds it isn't sure
Is the armor sacred or is it just heavy
Is the prayer still a prayer if you don't know what you're praying for

(Holy, holy — what is holy — what is holy anyhow)

I was so certain — I was certain the way morning is certain
The light was in me and I never thought to ask what I'd be if it left
What is a fire without a flame — what is a bell without a sound
What is a paladin without the light — just a person — standing — just a chest

with nothing in it — (no shining light) — just a breath

(What am I — what am I without)

Will the light forsake me if I doubt
Will the light forsake me if I need to ask
I've never questioned — not once — not ever
And I don't know if faith survives the asking

(Will the light forsake me — will you forsake me)
(For asking — just for asking)

What is holy — is it the light or is it the wanting
Is it the answer or the call
Is it the power or the kneeling
Or is holy just the name I gave to the only thing I had
And if I lose it — was I ever holy at all

(Holy, holy — what is holy — what is holy anyhow)
(Was I ever — was I ever)

What is a paladin without the light
Just a suit of armor and the certainty that I'm right
And the certainty is cracking and the armor's feeling heavy
And I'm just sitting here — no sermon — no calling — no light
Just a person in a tin shell asking questions in the quiet
And the quiet doesn't answer
And I don't know if I want it to tonight

(What am I — what am I without)
(What am I)

What am I without the light?

(Look at you, oh look at you shine)
(shine, shine, shine)

There's a kid at the edge of the camp with light behind their eyes
I know that look — I know it better than I know my own face now
Standing like the whole world is a promise made specifically to you
Shining before you've even learned how

They walked up to me and said "I felt the call"
And their voice was so bright it hurt
And I wanted to say — I know what's coming and what it costs
And instead I said "tell me" — and I let them go first

(tell me, tell me)
(I remember)

Look at you shine
(Look at you shine)
Look at you shine
(Just like I did — just like I used to)
So sure the light is good — so sure the angels hear them
So certain that the call means they'll be strong enough for anything
And I can't tell them — I can't say a word
Because the truth is — they're not wrong — they're not wrong about a single thing

They told me about the night they felt the angels lean down close
And the hand against their chest — the warmth — the knowing
And I sat there and I listened and my throat closed up
Because I remember — I remember exactly how that felt — and it was holy — it was real — it was glowing

Look at you shine
(Look at you shine)
Look at you shine
(Just like I did — just like I used to)
They asked me what it's like — the battles and the healing
They asked me what it's like to fight beside the light
And I said — it's everything
I just left out the darkness of the nights

They held up their hands — copper armor — dented — bright
And grinned like the whole world was on their side
And I looked at those hands and I saw my own
From so long ago — before I'd bled — before I'd tried

to be enough — before I knew what the light would ask

(Copper bright — copper bright)
(Just starting — just beginning)

Look at you shine
(Look at you shine)
Look at you shine
(So bright — so sure — so new)
And I thought — if the call is a lie then why is it still calling
If the light is broken then why is it pouring through this kid like morning
If the angels are gone then who is lighting up this face
And I don't have my answers but I have this —
Someone standing in front of me full of grace

I put my hand on their shoulder — all that heavy armor on top of all that faith
And I said "you're going to be great"

(Look at you shine — look at you shine)

Look at you shine
(Look at you shine)
Look at you shine
(Shine, shine, shine)

The swordsman told me something while we rested by the fire
He said "I fight better when you're near — I don't know why"
The rogue said "yeah — me too — it's like something gets steadier"
And the healer laughed and said "I thought it was just me who felt that way inside"

(Aura — aura — come in closer)

And I didn't know what to say because the light's been feeling different
Not a shield — not a wall — not something sealed around my chest
But something spilling over — something reaching past the edges
Doing something I never asked it to — touching everyone who's left

(Aura — aura — not just me)

Stand a little closer
(Aura — aura — feel it now)
Stand a little closer
(Golden aura — all around)
Every shield gets stronger — every blade gets brighter
Every heart beats steadier when we're standing side by side
The light's not just inside me — it's around me — it's around us
And I finally understand what it was for — it was never meant to hide

(Not a wall — not a shield — all around)
(Reaching — reaching — reaching out)

The rogue moves faster — I can see it — like the shadows bend around her differently
The swordsman's blade falls heavier — like gravity chose a side
The healer's hands burn longer — like the well got deeper overnight
And all I'm doing — all I'm doing is standing here — just standing by their side

(Aura — aura — come in closer)
(Just be here — just be near)

Stand a little closer
(Aura — aura — feel it now)
Stand a little closer
(Golden aura — reaches everyone)
I spent so long thinking I was just the door the light walked through
Just the vessel — just the armor — just the prayer
But the light doesn't just walk through me — it stays — it pools — it radiates
And everyone who stands beside me breathes a little easier there

(Aura — aura — all around us)
(Never just mine — never just mine)

And the gryphon feels it too — I swear — the wingbeats come down stronger
Every mount around me flies like something lit them from below
The horses stamp and toss their heads — the war hawks scream a little brighter
And my gryphon turns one amber eye to me — like — yes — I know

(Higher — brighter — aura rising)
(Wings and light and wings and light)

Stand a little closer
(Aura — aura — everyone)
Stand a little closer
(Shine — shine — brighter here)
The light was never meant to save just one — I know that now
It fills the space between us — makes us more than we could be alone
And I'm not the sword — I'm not the angel — I'm not even the prayer
I'm the place where people come to feel a little more like home

(Stand a little closer — aura all around)
(Home — light — home)

And the darkness gathers and we stand together
And every single one of us is shining

(Aura — aura — here we are)
(Shine — shine — all of us)
(Shine)