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The Master at the Gates

Long ago in a shadowed time, the gates rose as the only barrier to the darker realm, securely locked by a chain of bone inscribed with ancestral blood runes. But then the travelers came and stepped forward to face the challenge. The air filled with their curses and the lock broke and fell away. The gates shook and the ground grew hot and trembled


Let open the gates
Come crawling through fire
Palms open wide
To sin and desire

Unleash the chosen
Break now their chains
Fill them with hunger
It flows through their veins

The lock falls away
And now they run free
Mad beasts rush rampant
Chuckling with glee

Come now horizon
And birth us the master
Descend on the hordes
Avert the disaster


The travelers stood in awe as the true scope of their foolhardy actions became clear. The horrors of the gates spilled forth and the sky crackled and roared. From the distance a figure appeared, moving like wind and flame. He was a man like no man, a creature of both worlds, condemned for eternity to watch the gates and defend the world against their evils. The demons poured out in a wretched torrent and the figure struck into them with an awesome power. The travelers cowered in terror. The master had arrived


Claws raw and bloodstained
Dripping with gore
Send them to hell
And close back the door

Then comes your wrath
The ten thousand flames
And they locked in torment
Cursing your name


And as the flames died the travelers found themselves again on solid earth. The horses calmed as the screams of the damned descended once more into that unholy pit. The master gave no sign to them, turning instead to greet the wind and vanish into legend.