Blood under glass

Verse

I stood at the gate where the frost line meets the stone

Watched the chieftain's son exchange a promise for a crown

Every step he took pulled the city closer to the edge

Fell off once and fell on his back with no escape

His father ruled by iron — said silence kept the peace

I built my own hall in the shadow of his release

Watched the blacksmith hammer every piece into place

Said a strong wall doesn't shout for anyone's sake

The war horns sounded east where the smoke turned grey and slow

He rode to save the land but he forgot how to hold it low

Left behind a son who'd trade his own birthright for gold

Learned that ambition is the only thing that grows old

I never held a sword — my blade was paper, ink, and stone

Wrote what no one wanted said — let the blood-feud heroes take their throne

Pre-Chorus

Every name they carved into steel was carved from what I knew

Chorus

The city's built on debt — that's all it understands

Every hand you raise to power is a debt you can't repay — not to gods, not to hands

Verse 2

Now the old chief's dead and his son's sitting alone

Same throne same wall but different kind of stone

He thinks the wealth's a gift — I say the ground beneath your feet is rent

Paid in blood three winters before he had enough debt

The skald writes what the king wants to hear not feel

I still watch from outside — that never changed, only how you build

Pre-Chorus

Every name they carved into steel was carved from what I knew

Chorus

The city's built on debt — that's all it understands

Every hand you raise to power is a debt you can't repay — not to gods, not to hands

Bridge

One day the whole thing breaks and nothing holds its place

Nothing in Midgard lasts if it's built for someone else's pace

I still stand — still watch — still remember every name they cut down

Not because I want the throne but because this debt won't be done

Chorus

The city's built on debt — that's all it understands

Every hand you raise to power is a debt you can't repay — not to gods, not to hands