Songs of Power
How Finrod Felagund strove with the dark Maia Sauron in songs of power, and how, in the end, Sauron had the mastery, though the King's power was great, and his sacrifice not in vain.
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*Note: Bolded lines belong to Sauron, and unbolded to Finrod
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Flee light, enter night,
Speak wind with stinging bite.
Now thou wilt tell me all you know
And thine true colours to me show.
Orc-shapen is this current skin
Yet no foul Orcs ye are within!
For me no door nor lock is close,
Your every secret I'll expose,
In darkness bind you – hear my call:
To darkness ever the light fall!
.
From darkness there a light shall spring,
From silence hear our voices sing
In faith unbroken. Here I stand
And trust my soul by His fair hand
To be guided through the night.
My will is strong, and clear my sight.
Of words a fortress I will weave
That iron nor dark spell may cleave.
Now silence wind, darkness flee –
I answer not to thee.
.
By the power of the stone –
All shall bow before my throne;
By the power of my voice
Thy will is bound – you have no choice.
Who art ye that into my land
Set foot, yet as a thieving bad
In shadows sneak and do not come
Before mine eyes? Do not stand mum,
But tell me quick what I would know:
Wherefrom come ye, and wherefore go?
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I raise my voice to match your own
And do not bow before the throne.
Great though thou art, too low your lot
To order those that serve you not!
Untraced our secret footpaths run
Beneath the moon and under sun,
Our errand drives us in our haste
'Neath bough and over parching waste,
Thus must be swiftly on our way
and not thine welcome overstay.
.
Elven song like silver bell
Rings clear, but power does not quell.
Fear rusts the heart, corrodes the mind;
Fear with suffering intertwined
Will break the bonds of friendship sworn,
And brother on his own will turn.
No solace thou canst hope to gain,
No soothing words to ease the pain.
Thine lofty head and spirit bend
And my will carefully attend.
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Summer rains the land wash clean
And death chain up in shackles green.
Unmoved is stone by threat nor blow,
Where once was desert – forests grow.
Through fire I'll go on dancing feet,
Your poison drink, and call it sweet,
With music fill the empty hollow –
Where I go you cannot follow,
What's built with love you cannot break,
What I hold dear you will not take.
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For every tree there is an axe,
Stone seized by sudden pressure cracks,
The fire's wrath consumes the glade,
In pain are vows of trust unmade.
Summer leaves stoop and decay,
Their anguish you cannot delay.
From darkling webs the World was spun,
In darkness it will be undone.
Come peer into the shadows dim –
The Void shall sing your final hymn.
.
The burning feathers of the dawn
Stretch o'er leagues of Sea forlorn.
All sound is music, breath is bliss;
With sweeping sight and lips that kiss
The stars she guides me with her light –
My lady fair, oh Everwhite!
To thee I call in this dark hour
That my strength may endure the power.
Now sing the harp, untouched by years,
To heal the heart and dry my tears.
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Behold! The curséd jewels blaze
Now in the North, this world to raze.
Seek not the aid of distant star
That listless shines down from afar,
Thine craven Gods from shadows flee
And do not heed the Eldar's plea.
While under darkness ye endure
In far-off lands they dwell secure.
The night with nameless dread is rife,
And doomed already is your life.
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Hope rises, blinding-light,
To break the shackles of the night.
My soul lays bare, yet seeks no aid
In burnished shield nor naked blade.
Hope is stronger than your spite,
Hope is older than Sun's light,
Brighter than gems or gold her shine,
Fairer than moon, sweeter than wine.
I do not fear your passing dark;
On me the shadow leaves no mark.
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In the darkness seedlings sprout,
And from your sight is veiled the route
That winding runs beneath the tree,
O'er mountains, and across the Sea
Into the West. Now through the days
I travel on enchanted ways
to where the air is fresh and keen,
Where sunlight plays in meadows green
And swans ride proudly in the foam
On the bright shores of Elvenhome.
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Here, deathless fall the countless years.
Behold! The trembling twilight clears;
Like jewel glinting from afar
Maybe I shalt find Valimar!
Its towers in the distance gleam
Where memory crosses into dream.
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By your own words you are betrayed.
How quickly faithless memories fade!
Remember now: the flaming brand,
Hot blood upon the pearly strand,
The Trees of Light in death are darkened,
With blood the slayer's steel in hardened.
See how the white ships cry and choke
Swathed in billowing clouds of smoke,
Their might and prowess brought to naught –
Thus is the Noldor freedom bought!
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Where is the Hope you seek in vain?
In Alqualondë she was slain.
Consumed in Losgar's fiery hell
Beneath the ice she screaming fell.
Now shalt thou in thraldom's chain
Live out your grimly life in pain.
The prison is your final home –
Cold be heart and hand and bone.
Of every sorrow you will taste,
All thoughts of hope and love erased.
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Ice gnaws at the Western shore,
The East wind howls, an oath is swore,
The milk of kindness turns to gall,
And all to woeful silence fall.
Sleep – lost is the way,
Sleep – the Sun forgets the day.
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Bitter wind bites to the bone,
Now in the dark I stand alone.
My song I raise in face of death
But one to save with dying breath.
My bitter doom I cannot stay,
Not for my own sake I now pray
And ask but this: in places deep
Grant strength enough my oath to keep.
Farewell, my fair beloved land!
Farewell, my noble trusted friend!
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You die is cast, your will is spent,
Now thou art at my command.
My time you waste with foolish games
And wilfully conceal thine names.
Well you do this, at your loss –
Before the doors of death you cross
Each of your friends will taste its jaws,
With you the witness and the cause
Of every torment they endure.
Perhaps your silence this will cure!