A ravaged, shattered battleground
With fractured spears and dented shields
A helmet, blackened, rusted, torn
Rolls through the still-lying casualties

Thunder rolls loud in the dark deep
Two rapid strikes that will forever beat

Crimson rocks lay below choking mist
You can hear in the air sounds of creaks and a hiss
Any careless wanderer would soon fall
Victim to the dead lord’s call

Some places are red, some regions are black
With a pitch-colored sky - nay, even darker than that
Where monsters grotesque lurk and seek out their prey
Where someone would rest and wait for the day

Thunder pierces in the dark deep
Two booming thuds that will forever beat

Some paths are lined with noxious-fumed vents
Others with beings that walk yet are long-ago dead
Some paths lead to nothingness below
Where no one with sense would ever dare tread

This is no place for any faint heart
Though it is one all the same, to be sure
Roads that follow no pattern and change once it’s dark
Only hindering those whose intentions are pure

Thunder rings out in the dark deep
Two harsh claps that will forever beat

Those who have journeyed far into the dark
Away from their kin and their home
Have not once met their goal of surviving the heart
Of this land’s most dangerous storm

And yet...

And yet, in the darkness
Hope manages to light
The path of lone heroes
Who sought out this night

Thunder sounds in the dark deep
Two clashing bursts that will forever beat

The air may be vulgar and foul
The rain, acidic and harsh
But beyond the mountains of the East
Beyond the dreadful marsh…

Legend tells of a stronghold enduring
With raised white-and-gold standards to ward off the night
The defenses unbreached; the walls only stained
By the blood of evil creatures that were born in the blight

Thunder dins aloud in the dark deep
Two ringing salvos that will forever beat

A city of grandeur, a place of great wealth
With a splendid, rich culture and inspiring art
Survives in this wasteland, though I do not know how
This place, from the darkness, remains set apart

Thunder crashes in the dark deep
Two rending hits that will forever beat

With my armor stained, burnt, bent, slashed, punctured, and corroded
My sword now but a sliver of metal in hand
I slowly limp towards the gates, not seeking to be rewarded,
But to have some final peace after braving this dark land

Thunder rumbles in the dark deep
Two pealing echoes that will forever beat

My trial of fire is now almost to a close
Many an evil there was, with which I was forced to contend
I can now say, to my immensely great relief
The journey, though long, is at its due end.

Thunder rolls loud in the dark deep
Two rapid strikes that will forever
Beat.