The Song of Balfour Demonsbane At the Demon-Battle of Broken Spire

I sing now the story     of bold Balfour Stonewrath,
Klangadin's Hammer,     Companion of Night.
A delver in dwarf-land,     the earth's dark caverns.
Long grows his beard,     his axe brightly shining.
Wise is his counsel,     strong is his arm,
Loud are his battle-cries,     great is his Wyrd.

Out of the ruins     of fallen Myth Drannor
Came Balfour and comrades     well-laden with gold.
Good were the spoils     of fallen Myth Drannor.
Good were the spoils     of battles there won.
Wroth were the demons     of fallen Myth Drannor.
Maddened the demons     which sought their revenge.

Warning there came     to the Dark Night Companions,
Warning came swiftly     to Balfour the Bold.
Warning there came     to the great Broken Castle,
Warning of Demon-kind     massing for war;
Tidings that monsters     would soon be appearing
Over the city     the heroes had founded.

These tiding troubled     the Dark Night Companions.
None such as this          were the armies they'd battled,
Not in such numbers     the demons they'd slain.
Troubled the hearts     of the Dark Night Companions
Thoughts of the townsfolk          which lay in their path,
Thoughts of the city     the demons would trample.

Counsel gave Balfour     to Dark Night Companions;
Long-bearded Balfour     spoke words bold and true.
"Remember the demons     our blades have drunk blood from.
Remember the dark one     which I killed alone!
Well I remember           the black blood flowing.
Well I remember          the dark fiend's death.

"This demon-army     is flesh and blood only.
No more their courage     than that in our livers,
No more their strength     than lies in our limbs,
No longer their lives     than this day's end.
They cannot conquer     the great Broken Castle.
They cannot capture     red gold from our hall."

So boasted Balfour,      mighty in spirit.
Then he prayed Klangadin          favour to show.
Klangadin Strong-Arm      showed favor to Balfour,
Hid and protected          those who could not fight;
In the dark forest          showed favour to Balfour,
In the black forest     turned townsfolk to trees.

Toward the stone castle     marched acid-tongued armies,
Slithering, sweeping     on black-barbed wings.
Riding on storm-clouds,     to battle-ground charging,
Long-taloned horrors     with slavering fangs,
Low-bellied monsters     came howling in madness,
Loud-shrieking devils     came slouching to war.

Forth to the fray     strode the Dark Night Companions,
Rallied to Balfour     in trust of his arm.
In trust of his axe-arm     they followed great Balfour.
Blue shone his axe     like a star on the snow.
They hailed him Demonsbane,     Klangadin's Hammer,
Demonsbane hailed him,     champion of dwarves.

Into the demon-ranks     fearless charged Balfour.
Wide swung his great axe,          blade trailing blue flame.
Silver and blue     was the axe of great Balfour.
Well-tooled the shaft     of sturdy oak fashioned,
Well-made the blade     of dwarf-tempered steel.
Black flew the blood     of the axe-slaughtered demons.

Sighting the warrior,     demons howled madly,
Knowing him Demonsbane,     slayer of fiends.
Surged toward the bearded one     two hundred devils,
Hoping to still     his great axe swinging,
Hoping to still     his great heart beating.
Crushed them did Balfour, like talc under iron.

Balfour killed hundreds     of night-spawned monsters,
Slaughtering twenty     with each mighty swing,
His eyes always set     at the back of the army,
Hidden in mountains     of hell-fire and steam.
There he knew waited     the Thane of the demons;
There waited triumph,     if Thane were to fall.

Wreathed in black smoke     the great fiend bided,
Brooding in darkness     and thirst for revenge.
Caused a great wall     to be built before Balfour,
Ten hundred dwarf-heights     of glittering ice.
Into the ice flew     the blue-flaming axe-blade;
White boulders tumbled;     the wall was no more.

Now the fiend trembled     upon his dark cloud-throne.
Redoubled in fury     was Balfour's assault.
He cleaved through the demons     like sharp steel through water.
His comrades behind him,          he plunged through the fray.
Stronger and stranger     the beasts which opposed him,
Brighter his twin flames     of valor and blade.

At last at the foot          of the fiend's seat arriving,
Dripping with dark blood     of demons he slew,
Beard stiffened thickly     with vitae of hell-spawn,
Balfour roared challenge     to Thane-beast before him.
"Cower no longer          behind your dark servants!
Think not to hide      beyond ice-wall or smoke!

Demonsbane calls you     to see him in battle!
Fight, or be gone with you!     The dark fiend stirred.
Deep in the smoke crouched     a thing beyond nightmares,
Horned, fanged, and scaled     like the oldest of wyrms,
Twisted and knotted     like mountainside brush-oak,
Smelling of forge-ash     and death-rot reeking.

Eyes like red forge-fire     opened in darkness.
Balfour's axe flared     with an answering flame.
Forth slouched the beast-Thane     to battle with Balfour.
Klangadin's hammer     stood ready to meet it.
Forth lunged the beast-Thane     to grapple the warrior.
Firm as a mountain     stood Balfour the bold.

Then spoke the demon-king     to his foe Balfour,
Words like new-forged iron     plunged into water;
Hissing and steaming     its hell-breath came forth.
"Greetings to Demonsbane,     great Balfour Stonewrath.
Long have I hoped     to meet thee in battle;
Long have I hungered     to feast on thy flesh."

Never gave Balfour     a greeting in answer,
Knowing the time     for boasting was past.
Grimly he hefted     keen-bladed Azuredge,
Readied his weapon,     preparing to strike.
Hard-eyed and grim-browed     was fierce-hearted Balfour,
Singing his battle-cry,     his great axe he swung.

Loud cried the beast-Thane     at Balfour's first striking;
To hide scaled and scored          flew Azuredge true.
Deep into demon-flesh     bit the blue axe-blade;
Bright-flaring Azuredge     set the beast bleeding.
Wounded and crippled,     the demon-prince howled;
First blood was to Balfour          in battle unmatched.

Long then raged the battle          of demon and hero,
Klangadin's hammer     and dark prince of beasts.
Echoed and thundered     shouts of pain and of triumph,
Forth billowed steam-clouds     and jets of dark blood.
Twice fifty houses     fell to their fury,
Stone building in rubble     lay in the pair's wake.

At last the great demon     felt its strength leaving it,
Its dark blood draining     from ten thousand wounds.
Hardly a hand's-breadth     of scales remained scarless,
So tireless and skilled     had been Balfour's assault.
Klangadin smiled          at the prowess of Balfour.
Triumph was in his grasp;          so his Wyrd willed it.

With a last mighty swing     the beast's horned head was severed,
Forked black tongue lolling     it rolled on the ground.
Back rolled the red eyes     under thick-scaled lids.
The creature's great mass     crashed down before Balfour,
Fell like a mountain,      limbs tumbling like boulders.
Loud then shouted Balfour,     a black roar of triumph.

The fell army fled     at the fall of their leader,
Panicked and fled          at the death of their Thane.
Fearful they flew          from the wrath of red Balfour,
Naming him Demonsbane          fled his great fury;
Demonsbane cursing     fled before the blue axe.
Defeated the beast-plague          to Abyss retreated.

The Dark Night Companions     hailed Balfour in triumph,
Demonsbane blood-bearded,     wielder of Azuredge,
Klangadin's hammer,     hero of dwarves.
Thanks gave to Demonsbane,      great Balfour Stonewrath;
Gone was the black swarm          of fell-handed demons.
Long would the hell-spawn     hold fear of that land.

Thus sing I the tale     of bold Balfour Stonewrath,
Klangadin's hammer,     Companion of Night.
A delver in dwarf-land,     the earth's dark caverns.
Long grows his beard,     his axe brightly shining.
Wise is his counsel,     strong is his arm,
Loud are his battle-cries,     great is his Wyrd.