I ask for the hearing of all the kindred
greater and lesser sons of man
It is my wish to properly tell
the ancient tales of war and corruption
which are earliest remembered

I remember the days before the dark age
When the sons of Galrakh roamed the earth
The earth provided both soil and water
Life still grew both trees and man
No one saw the dark sky rise

First came the plague and festered the soil
And with it came the Balak
The rotten people both in flesh and mind
They cared not for life nor for honor
And only rot would be left on their path

Second came the fires from the north
Burning through the woods of Drakh Al-Züül
Rage of the ancient gods manifest
It cared not for life nor growth
And only ashes was left in its path

Third came greed amongst men
Brothers and kinsmen turned to war
Not the soil nor water could quench their thirst
Not the death nor blood could dampen their flame
Only poverty death and hunger left in its path

The age of Galrakh was quick to end
Corruption and war soon followed
The remaining tribes and the ancient orders
was called to arms by the invading Balak
Led by Balak Gaahl the conquerer

Through the plague the Balak grew stronger
In the ashes of Drakh Al-Züül they claimed their kingdom
The ones great and mighty forest
Now wastelands and host of industry of war
The force of death outgrew the force of life

The wood of the trees exchanged for sharp metal
The song of birds exchanged for drums of war
The hope of man buried beneath the fear of darkness
Only through death there will be peace
As such was the song of the rotten ones

Thus came the dark age
The age of steel and fire
Not much was left of the sons of Galrakh
Through their own means and of darker power
Hope was scarce for the line of men

Yet all was not lost for man and his kin
For the bravery of man can not be matched
Faced with the hordes of Balak Gaahl
The sons of Galrakh took to arms
And brothers united at the threat of doom

No poems were written and no songs were sung
In the face of death they gathered their strength
The march began for the line of Galrakh
To the plains of Falroth at the foot of Drakh Al-Züül
There should be the final battle

Upon arrival there could be heard
Battle drums from the once mighty wasteland
And soon they came in massive hordes
The rotten flesh of the Balak
Led by Balak Gaahl

Many thousand festering evils
Armed with crude axes swords and fire
The stench of death turned stomachs miles away
The sound of their march heard twice as far
The army of the plagued as a sea of evil

At first the earth stood still
Not sound to be heard for miles away
The sons of Galrakh were vastly outnumbered
And fear lit up in their eyes
Yet they did not flee

With the sound of trumpets the charge began
Swords clashed and flesh was cut
Arrows flew and bodies fell
The plains of falroth colored red
The sons of Galrakh stood their ground

In the front of the Balak stood Balak Gaahl
At least a yard above the rest
He fought with the strength of a hundred men
His armor shining with mortal blood
He fell many men that day

He pushed forward with great strength
A sight had caught his eye
Amongst the troops stood Eirfir
The hero of Falroth and slayer of Balak
Around him his foes laid slain

Balak Gaahl yelled with a roaring voice
And Eirfir gripped his sword
They charged each other with hate in their eyes
Their metal clashed so sparks flew into the air
The duel of titans began

The battle kept on till sunrise
Many sons of Galrakh had fallen
Amongst the corpses the titans still fought
Both bloodied and tired
Hope was fading for the weary men

As the sun rose it cast light on the battle
And hit the eyes of Balak Gaahl
Eirfir seized his chance and raised his sword
The blade cut through both armor and flesh
And the warlord of the Balak fell

The Balak fled to the forest of ashes
No son of Galrakh followed
The losses were high on both sides
No songs were sung that day
Stricken with grief for their fallen brothers

Thus ends this ancient tale