Mercedes Lackey - Oathbreaker

Children of the Hawk, now fly!

CH: Maiden, Warrior, Mother, Crone,

Help us keep this land our own.

Rover, Guardian, Hunter, Guide,

With us now forever ride.

Speed of deer, oh grant to these --

Swift to warn of enemies,

Fleeter far than any foe --

Deer-child, to the border go!

Cunning as the Wolf-pack now,

To no overlord we bow!

Lest some lord our freedom blight,

Brothers of the Wolves, we fight!

Brave, the great Cat guards his lair,

Teeth to rend and claws to tear.

Lead the battle, first to last,

Children of the Cat, hold fast!

Hawk and Cat, and Wolf and Deer,

Keep the plains now safe from fear,

Brothers, sisters, side by side,

To defend our home, we ride!

(Although Tarma seldom mentioned the fact, her people have a four-aspected male deity to compliment the female. This song gives Him equal time with Her.)

The East wind is calling, so come ride away,

Come follow the Rover into the new day,

Come follow the Maiden, the Dark Moon, with

me,

The new year's beginning, come ride out and see.

Come follow the Rover out onto the plains,

Come greet the new life under sweet, singing

rains,

Come follow the Maiden beneath vernal showers,

For where her feet passed you will find fra-grant flowers.

The South wind, oh hear it, we ride to the call We follow the Guardian, the Lord of us all, We follow the Warrior, the strong to defend, The New Moon to fighters is ever a friend.

With summer comes fighting, with summer, our

foes;

And how we must thwart them the Guardian

knows.

The Warrior will give them no path but retreat,

The Warrior and Guardian will bring their defeat.

Come follow the West wind, the wind of the

fall,

The Mother will cast her cloak over us all. Come follow the Hunter out onto the plain, Return to the Clan with the prey we have slain.

For now comes the autumn, the time of the

West,

The season of Full Moon, of harvest, then rest.

So take from Her hands all the fruits of the

fields,

And thank Him for all that the autumn-hunt

yields.

The North wind, the cold wind, the wind of the

snow,

Tells us, it is time winter pastures to go.

The Guide knows the path, and the Crone shows

us how --

The Old Moon, and time for returning is now.

And if, with the winter, should come the last

breath,

And riding, we ride out of life into death,

The Wise One, the Old Moon, will ease our last

load,

The Guide will be waiting to show the new road.

(Leslac)

Deep into the stony hills, miles from keep or

hold

A troupe of guards comes riding with a lady and

her gold --

Riding in the center shrouded in her cloak of fur,

Companioned by a maiden and a toothless, aged

cur.

Three things see no end, a flower blighted ere it

bloomed,

A message that was wasted, and a journey that is doomed.

One among the guardsmen has a shifting, rest --

less eye,

And as they ride he scans the hills that rise

against the sky.

He wears both sword and bracelet worth more

than he can afford,

And hidden in his baggage is a heavy, secret

hoard.

Of three things be wary, of a feather on a cat,

The shepherd eating mutton and the guardsman

that is fat.

From ambush, bandits screaming charge the

packtrain and its prize,

And all but four within the train are taken by

surprise,

And all but four are cut down as a woodsman

fells a log,

The guardsman, and the lady, and the maiden,

and the dog,

Three things know a secret-first, the lady in a

dream,

The dog that barks no warning and the maid who

does not scream.

Then off the lady pulls her cloak, in armor she

is clad,

Her sword is out and ready, and her eyes are fierce and glad.

The maiden gestures briefly and the dog's a cur no more --

A wolf, sword-maid and sorceress now face the bandit corps!

Three things never anger or you will not live for

long,

A wolf with cubs, a man with power and a wom-an's sense of wrong.

The bandits growl a challenge and the lady only

grins,

The sorceress bows mockingly, and then the fight

begins!

When it ends there are but four left standing

from that horde

The witch, the wolf, the traitor, and the woman

with the sword!

Three things never trust in, the maiden sworn

as "pure,"

The vows a king has given and the ambush that

is "sure.

They strip the traitor naked and they whip him

on his way

Into the barren hillsides like the folks he used

to slay.

They take a thorough vengeance for the women

he cut down

And then they mount their horses and they jour-ney back to town.

Three things trust and cherish well, the horse

on which you ride,

The beast that guards and watches and the sis-ter at your side!

For further information on these songs, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:

FIREBIRD ARTS AND MUSIC

(formerly Off-Centaur Publications)

PO Box 424

El Cerrito, CA 94550