[Intro]
[Three isolated bass notes sound beneath slow down-picked guitars.]

[Verse 1]
They took me near the bridge of alder wood,
Not with a clash, but gently, as they could.
A hood, a cart, a room beneath the keep,
A chair too warm, a table set too deep.
Haldren poured wine and placed a book between,
Its leather white, its silver corners clean.
My father’s name stood gilded on the page—
Restored by those who damned him, stage by stage.

[Chorus]
No crown deserves the truth if truth is just its tool,
A pardon bought with silence is the signature of fools.
No crown deserves the truth when every fact must kneel,
When ink becomes the sheath that hides the poisoned steel.
You cannot clear my father by repeating what you do—
No crown deserves the truth; each child deserves what’s true.

[Verse 2]
“Write Vaelgrim attacked the mountain first.
Write Keeper blood released an ancient curse.
Write Yrsa planned the burning of the grain.
Write Ivar saw the beast command the flame.
Your father’s crimes will vanish by decree;
A house, a title, schooling—all for free.”
He slid the pen as softly as a knife:
“One paragraph can give your father life.”

[Pre-Chorus]
“He has no life,” I said. “You saw to that.”
Haldren smiled and straightened his black hat.
“Then buy his name. The dead prefer renown.”
I heard the wolves breathe softly through the crown.

[Chorus]
No crown deserves the truth if truth is just its tool,
A pardon bought with silence is the signature of fools.
No crown deserves the truth when every fact must kneel,
When ink becomes the sheath that hides the poisoned steel.
You cannot clear my father by repeating what you do—
No crown deserves the truth; each child deserves what’s true.

[Break]
He left me with the book, the wine, the flame,
The royal pen beside my father’s name.
For one long hour, I wanted to believe
A noble lie could grant the dead reprieve.

[Bridge]
I wrote the first line: “Vaelgrim came in rage.”
The letters looked obedient on the page.
My father’s hidden sentence crossed my will;
“The truth is a fire no winter can kill.”

[Breakdown]
Let my father stand condemned another year.
Let my own name become a thing of fear.
Better an honest grave beneath the snow
Than golden letters purchased from the foe.

[Final Chorus]
No crown deserves the truth if truth is chained to rule,
A history sold for comfort is the shelter of the cruel.
No crown deserves the truth when every witness kneels,
When mercy is a contract and the wax conceals the seal.
You cannot save the murdered by becoming murder’s scribe—
No crown deserves the truth, but truth outlives the tribe.

[Outro]
I fed the final page into the flame;
The guards came running as I signed my name.