A Call In The Night

Cold sharp hail is blown into my face by a storming wind
I take shelter in a small wooden church near the black woods
A choir sings some songs of praise and worship for their Lord
For a while it makes me forget the sorrow I am in

“In distress we call to Thee
We await Thy return, for the forces of evil are closing in upon us
But with Thy help we can live beyond our lives' end
O Lord, accept our gratitude for Thy sacrifice”

I hear a call in the distance
It startles me, for it seems like the call of a dying man
I ascend my horse as we leave our shelter to challenge the raging storms
I hear the shrieks of a falcon from within the fog ahead of us

Amazed to hear a falcon's shriek in this time of year,
I ride towards the branch on which the falcon sits
I feel a cold shiver as I enter the forest in search of this man
with the falcon as my guide and a bastard sword at my side
A strange feeling that makes me a bit sick tells me I am near
the source of that horrible scream which I heard a short while ago

The slain body of a warrior is what I find here
It looks a bit familiar, but I can’t seem to grasp it
Death takes even the best of us away from the world of the living
I wonder what the cause was for the death of this man
“Dost thou not see the war that plagues the land?
Our enemies gather before our beloved city”

His face carries a strange expression
He seems to have been content
I wonder if there's more to it
Is there a truth in the books of old?