And Lo, When The Imperium Marches Against Gul-kothoth, Then Dark Sorceries Shall Enshroud The Citadel Of The Obsidian Crown Lyrics - Bal-sagoth

[Chapter 1: The Voyage of the Sorcerer] 

The war between the Imperium and the allied Vyrgothian Kingdoms had raged 

for years. Beginning as minor disputes over border territories, the conflict 

had swiftly escalated into a full-scale bloody war, a vast series of epic 

campaigns, fervently perpetua ted by the Emperor Koord and the Over-King of 

Vyrgothia, both eager to smite their traditional ancestral foes and to win 

great glory and the adulation of their people by seizing victory in battle. 

Recent months had seen the forces of the Imperium display a staggering degree 

of tactical mastery and battle prowess, contemptuously crushing the Vyrgothian 

armies in a series of great battles, 'til at last, following the slaughterous 

Rout of the Fields of Kai-Vorg, The Empire's finest fighting force, the fame 

d and far-feared Legion of the Ebon Tiger, stood unopposed not five day's 

march from mighty Gul-Kothoth, the greatest and most ancient fortress-city in 

all the Vyrgothian kingdoms. The Legion of the Ebon Tiger could not easily 

count their numerous and r esounding victories, and their commander, the 

legendary warlord Baalthus Vane, made it clear to the Emperor that he was 

eager to press on deep into the enemy's lands and seize the prize which 

awaited him; the siege and capture of ancient Gul-Kothoth! And yet the Emperor 

Koord did not order the Legion to march, for disturbing information had of 

late been relayed to him by his spies in the Vyrgothian Royal Court... Dire 

rumours abounded that the Vyrgothian mages had at last discovered the ancient 

arcane r ites which would unlock the aeons-fettered power of the dread 

Obsidian Crown, a fearsome mystical artefact countless thousands of years old, 

a black-jewelled circlet believed once to have been borne upon the immortal 

brow of the legendary Shadow-King him self! And it was written in legend, 

that should the ancient spells of might entwining the artefact be reawakened, 

then incredible near limitless ruinous power would thus be bestowed upon any 

army carrying the Crown into battle... Had the mages of Vyrgoth ia truly 

ascertained the time-lost conjurations required to empower the Obsidian Crown, 

hidden for centuries deep within the marble vaults of its ebon citadel? Eager 

to know the truth, the Emperor dispatched his most powerful sorcerer across 

the great In land Sea to the Court of the Over-King, under the pretence of 

offering the terms for the Vyrgothian surrender. He was bade use all his 

sorcerous skills to discover the truth... a truth soon made clear by the 

disdainful refusal of the Imperium's terms, an d the grimly fearsome message 

given the sorcerer by Vyrgothia's Master Wizard, with which to return to the 

Emperor: "And lo, when the Imperium marches against Gul-Kothoth, then dark 

sorceries shall enshroud the Citadel of the Obsidian Crown..." 

[The Wizards of Vyrgothia:] 

Darkly bejewelled circlet of night, 

Crown of the Elder King, 

Unfettered at last the Trinity of Might, 

The sceptre, the sword, and the ring. 

[The Sorcerer:] 

I stand upon the oaken planks of this great ship, (the splendid flagship of 

the Imperium's navies) 

Gazing at moon-gleam dancing on the vast, dark sea... 

(And in my mind I behold) black crystals gleaming... ensorcellment! 

I am enthralled by this nighted spell... 

For I know that the slumbering sorceries 

Of the Shadow-King's crown shall soon be reawakened... 

And as I return to my emperor (shackled to such woefully grim tidings), 

My spirit is borne upon the leathern wings of a great sorrow... 

[Chapter 2: The March of the Imperium] 

[The Emperor:] 

Call forth the Ogre-Mage of the Black Lake 

And the Swordmaster of Kyrman'ku, 

Let them speak the Words Which Unfetter... 

Enshrined for countless centuries, within its darksome citadel, 

Five score and ten against the Tiger, (curse) the black crown of the 

Shadow-King! 

By all the dark gods, I swear I'll not be dethroned! 

A seething forest of blackened blades, 

A churning sea of ebon war-chariots, 

A searing storm of flaming shafts, 

All this havoc and more shall I unleash against my foe... 

Into battle! The Legion shall march... the fall of Gul-Kothoth is nigh! 

The Legion of the Ebon Tiger... six thousand elite warriors of the 

Imperium, the pride of the Emperor's forces... Bolstered by heavy cavalry, and 

a squadron of deadly scythed chariots... further reinforced by the Imperial 

Frontier Army of one hundred tho usand highly trained spearmen and archers... 

and never has this force met its match in battle or siege... 

[Baalthus Vane:] 

Our banner flies ever glorious, undefeated we stand, steeped in victory. 

The Iron Phalanx, six thousand strong, our ever-honed blades, the Tiger's 

gleaming claws. 

Pride of the Empire, Scourge of the Vraii, 

Masters at Turonium, and Kai-Vorg. 

Smiters of the Southern Host, Routers of the Horde, Bane of the Over-King, we 

march to war! 

And so, the Emperor himself rides to rendezvous with Baalthus Vane, 

accompanied by his sorcerous aide. The Legion of the Ebon Tiger reaches 

Gul-Kothoth at dusk on the fifth day of their march from the fields of 

Kai-Vorg, halting upon the great arid plan which stretches before the city, 

the huge dust cloud sent up by their massed arrival obscuring the dying embers 

of the setting sun. As the vast army begins to make camp, arraying their 

splendid tents and banners, and assembling their gargantuan siege-wag ons, 

the Emperor stands gazing at the huge brooding walls and colossal cyclopean 

gates of the city-fortress before him, vowing that a torrent of red slaughter 

shall befall Gul-Kothoth, regardless of any sorcerous trinkets the Vyrgothians 

may possess, and that the Over-King shall pay dearly for his sublime 

arrogance. And twelve leagues distant, an army of five score and ten, bearing 

the Obsidian Crown, approaches the city... 

[To be continued in Chaper 3: The Wizards Do Battle] 

[Lyrics: Byron] 

[Music: Jonny and Chris Maudling]