[Intro] The ice opened without breaking The dark below was clear A stair of blue descended And the stone was waiting near [Verse 1] I walked beneath the frozen water Fish like silver ghosts above My breath came slow in a cloudless silence Held by something colder than love There, where the black fjord deepened Where no anchor ever fell Stood the stone with its face turned upward Like a tongue that refused to tell [Pre-Chorus] Every mark began to burn Not with fire, not with light But with names the mouth forgets When it learns the shape of night [Chorus] Runes beneath the ice Do not wake for crown or blade Runes beneath the ice Keep the oldest debt unpaid If I read what the cold has written If I speak what the stone denies Will the fjord hold the world together Runes beneath the ice [Verse 2] I saw the kings who came to claim it Gold on wrist and wolf on shield I saw their banners freeze in silence I saw their sons refuse to yield I saw the women who hid it lower Not with chains, but oath and song They gave their breath to bind the doorway So the first dark could not come through strong [Pre-Chorus] Not a grave and not a throne Not a charm for human hands It was a lock beneath the water Made before the northern lands [Chorus] Runes beneath the ice Do not wake for crown or blade Runes beneath the ice Keep the oldest debt unpaid If I read what the cold has written If I speak what the stone denies Will the fjord hold the world together Runes beneath the ice [Instrumental Break] Haa Low horn calling Haa Deep drum falling [Bridge] Then the stone spoke through my fingers Not in words, but weight and pain Every village, every cradle Every roof in winter rain If the seal remains unspoken All the dead will dream in peace If the final rune is opened First winter will be released [Build-up] My blood rose warm in my left hand The rune burned black in my sight Above me, through the frozen sea The ravens crossed the light [Final Chorus] Runes beneath the ice Do not wake for crown or blade Runes beneath the ice Keep the oldest debt unpaid If I read what the cold has written If I speak what the stone denies Will the fjord hold the world together Runes beneath the ice Runes beneath the ice I will not trade the world for truth Runes beneath the ice Let the old seal take my youth [Outro] The stone grew quiet The water bowed But one last rune Still called aloud