“ACT LIKE AN ORC”

[Verse 1 – Low, steady] We stood beneath a moon so pale, Three shadows by a lantern flame. A monk with scars like winter bark, A girl in steel too young for shame. A ranger quiet as the pines— And me? I watched the road grow dark. The map was thin, the orders clear: “Find the warband. Learn their spark.” [Verse 2 – Softer, darker] The wizard’s words were whiskey-true: “Act like an orc… become one too.” Green fire bit into our bones, Teeth grew long where prayers once grew. And when you snarl long enough— You start to like the taste of it. [Verse 3 – Travel rhythm, drum enters] We left the roads. We crossed the field. We wore the night like borrowed skin. Three orcs now stalking through the grass— And none but us knew what lay within. [Verse 4 – Firelight tone] Their bonfire roared like hungry gods, And laughter broke like splintered wood. Then Tobi saw her—bound in smoke— A half-orc girl where no one should. They spoke of gold. He spat instead. “Gold ain’t the way,” the monk-orc said. He pointed slow. The crowd fell still. Didn’t know he’d marked their king. [Verse 5 – Duel rises, fiddle joins] Axe like thunder. Fists like stone. Bone on iron. Breath on flame. He took the blows. He gave them back. Six strikes singing out his name. And when the warband leader fell— The fire went quiet. Respect was born. But I’ve seen that look before… That’s how a man forgets his form. [Verse 6 – Quiet, reflective] We freed the chained in monster streets. We broke their cages in the night. And somewhere in that borrowed skin— The monk began to love the fight. That’s the danger, friend of mine… Not dying. But liking it. [Verse 7 – Final lift] A drake came low in ruined stone— The sky itself bent down to see. He vanished once… then stood above, And cast the rider to the debris. He fell like wrath from heaven’s hand. Rose slower than he’d like to say. But when the dust had left his lungs— We walked our freed ones home at day. [Outro – back to soft lute] Now farmers sing it by the hearth. Merchants hum it over ale. But I remember fire and bone— And how close he came to staying scaled. Act like an orc long enough… You feel it settle in your chest. And sometimes victory Is walking home Still knowing You’re not one of the rest.