Rylanor’s Last Stand

By Stringstorm

On Songs from 2019 to 2020

Released on August 19, 2020

36K Views

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[Vistario]

Amidst the desolate soil

We heard the repeating cries of a fragment of metal

So true to Magnus' orders

I take my company's reins, onto the surface we settle

And as we branch out and explore the wreckage

We uncover a terminal's long-lost message

A visage of the past and of beautiful cities

So what has occurred here, what are we missing?

There is something wrong here, there is something hidden

With every second growing closer, I feel it near me!

My mind shudders, why does my heart race?

A psychic scream, like a crushing weight

Resounding in every corner of the world:

"The Ancient awaits!"

Enwrapped in grief and beset by pain

It bides its time, all it does is wait

We shoulder the hardship now and we endure

And to its source, we'll trace

The sight before my eyes is stark

A Dreadnought here, bearing the Emperor's Children's mark

Unexpectedly, it interjects with pointed thoughts

Awake once more, energy arcs

Across its words now, demanding to know

Are we standing here gathered as friend or foe?

Its shattered form yet still poses a threat to us all

It shall not be deceived, nor ignored

I speak in half-truths to not invite alarm


[Rylanor]

I see through your words, and I am not disarmed

We had learned from Him to hold to truth with every breath

[V] The wrong word here may mean death

[R] Even your words may be twisted and turned into weapons

[V] There is danger here, with every phrase now it beckons

[V] I would know the name of he who has me in his sights

[R] I am he who remembers, the Ancient of Rites!


[Vistario]

All at once, the pieces come together in my mind

This place was Istvaan III!

And we are here upon its corpse

On the grave that was left behind!


[Rylanor]

Would you convince yourself I am a remnant seeking saving?

This was not a cry for help!

This was a lure I laid to invite something in need of slaying


[Fulgrim]

Was this trap set for me, old one of mine?

You look terrible - a disgrace, even


[Rylanor]

At last, Fulgrim, you have come to me, abomination


[Fulgrim]

Words uttered by a shattered pile of metal, rust and stagnation?

You've had millennia to think of what to tell me, you've my attention


[Rylanor]

I need not glory nor for words to speak

When I have held

A Virus Bomb! (Fulgrim: No!)


[Vistario]

Reaching out, my Raptorae uses his mind to hold the pace, to silence time

I channel him all of the strength I have, his power desperately relying on mine

And from my peripheral sight, I can no longer see that frail shell, devoid of its might

But rather a righteous being of defiance

Who is not without the will to fight!

I watch the Dreadnought lash out in wrath

His blows deflected away from their path

Despite the years he has endured

It's clear that he will live and he will die by the sword

Fulgrim then returned a strike

His sword slitting through bravado and machine alike

His face a mix of contempt and glee

The eyes of one who can feed off misery!


[Rylanor]

You can never be forgiven for the things that you've done

And so it falls to my hands to end the prodigal son


[Fulgrim]

You cannot imagine the beautiful bounty of Chaos


[Rylanor]

Those things I'd never even wish to know!


[Fulgrim]

There is still your potential that shines through

Imagine the unfulfilled glories we'd see to


[Rylanor]

That you still think I seek any glory

Betrays the true blindness that has overcome you

I recall the virtues I stood for

I recall the struggles and the things that we have done!

I will not be deterred from my vengeance

I remember the lessons passed on to the Sons!

I am one of the Emperor's Children

I am Rylanor and I am the Ancient of Rites!

So I reject you for now and for always!

To strike you down I have waited for a million nights


[Vistario]

Inspired by the things I've heard

I raise my voice and shout clearly and out of turn

Rylanor deserves better than you, oh Primarch

Rylanor deserves better than all of us!

With but a single shot, the Raptorae is relieved of duty and released of his task

I feel the virus rend me apart, with my honour intact

As I'm enveloped by the encroaching flash


[Fulgrim]

Although this body of mine's still intact

A part of my pride, I fear, will never come back