Echoes of Sword and Blood

 

🎭 Echoes of Sword and Blood (A Poem of the Varangian Snorri and the English Princess Gytha) 

Rock Opera Plot

🎭 Characters:

Gytha — English princess, daughter of Harold II, the last Saxon king. Bearer of wisdom, nature’s connection, and ancient knowledge (Egyptian calendar, sacred cycles).

White Ear - wolf, friend of Gytha

Snorri Siversson — A Varangian from a lineage of merchants and warriors, once a member of the Byzantine Varangian Guard. Brutal, honest, loyal — capable of loving only once.

Harold II — Gytha’s father, killed in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. His death opens the way for Gytha’s journey.

Alexios Komnenos — Emperor of Constantinople, an ally or antagonist depending on the phase.

The Polyane Tribes — Pagan forces torn between ancient gods and new ambitions.

The People of Bar — Semi-legendary warriors from mountains and swamps, bearers of ancient blood, mysterious and strong.

The Hidden Spirit of Cold April — The bard of the tale, a voice from the depths of the Earth.

🕯️ Prologue (Voice of the spirit of time, a whisper)

When spring is silent, and swords do speak, When blood flows — and from it grows a tree... Where there is fire — there shall be ash. But from two flames — a path shall be born. Fac duo sicut unum. (Make two as one)

🏰 Scene I: The Fall of Harold and Gytha’s Escape (England, 1066) Battle of Hastings. A song of war. Harold dies from an arrow to the eye. Gytha escapes by ship into the North Sea.

The winds howled, the earth ran red, And the queenly daughter became an orphan. The sword spared her — for she lived through love, One not yet met... yet already begun.

🎻 🎵 Ballad of the Time Key 🎵2.0

[Verse 1 – The Omen and Betrayal] The nobles smiled with swords behind, A serpent curled in every mind. North he rode through icy rain, Not knowing home would burn again.

While Harold fought with valored hand, The traitors called another’s brand. And south the Norman sails were drawn, Beneath the red October dawn.

[Chorus] 🔔 Ring, O ring, you ghostly chime, The crown is lost, undone by time. One girl runs with fate in hand — The key, the wolf, the broken land.

[Verse 2 – The Arrow and the Blood Oath] At Hastings Hill, the banners flew, The air was thick with death and dew. The Norman’s bow let loose its lie — And struck the king full in the eye.

The world stood still, the time unmade, As blood ran cold across his blade. He whispered low, through crimson breath: “Let not this be England’s death.”

[Chorus] 🔔 Ring, O ring, you ghostly chime, The crown is lost, undone by time. One girl runs with fate in hand — The key, the wolf, the broken land.

[Verse 3 – The Flight] White-Ear howled through stone and tide, As Gytha fled the southern side. A tunnel carved in secret past, Where kings once walked when war was cast.

By moonlit shore, a ship set sail, With silent monks and ghostly veil. Behind her burned the Saxon shore, Ahead — a fate unknown in lore.

[Bridge – Arrival in Italy] In Pisa’s port, a cloaked one waits, A monk who speaks of turning fates. “The Time Key wakes,” he said with dread, “And dreams may rise from ancient dead.”

To Florence then, through art and flame, Where alchemists once cursed God’s name — She found the books, the stars, the line… And learned the clock obeys no time.

[Final Chorus – Legacy] 🔔 Ring, O ring, you ghostly chime, The blood lives on beyond the grime. The key is hidden, but the hand still guides, The child of kings whom fate provides.

🔔 Run, O time, through ash and sand, The last of Saxon line shall stand. Not with a sword, but with a flame, And write anew the kingdom’s name.

[Outro – Whisper] So if you hear a howl at night, When moon is pale and stars burn bright — Remember her, the wolf, the sea… The girl who kept the time-bound key.

🌊 Scene II: Constantinople Gytha flees to Byzantium. There she meets Snorri, a Varangian guarding the palace. They connect.

Duet — Gytha & Snorri: “Upon the White Wall”

Within strange walls, beneath rising light, I see in you — not sword, but flame. Fac duo sicut unum — whispers the water... We’re from distant worlds, but one bearded fate.

You are the rock that carries my soul, And I — the voice to heal your wound. If you're with me, I’ll move the spring. Fac duo sicut unum — make us as one.

Ось переклад пісні «The City That Dared My Soul» українською мовою, у форматі трьох стовпчиків для зручності читання (оригінал — англійською, поруч — український переклад):

Англійською (оригінал) Український переклад Примітки / контекст (за бажанням)

1. I came from windswept island shores, Я прибула з вітряних островів, Англія, де народилась Гіта With tales of kings and ancient wars. Де лунали казки про королів і давні війни. But when I reached this golden land, Та коли я дісталась цієї золотої землі, Константинополь, величезне місто The city's weight I could not stand. Мені здалась надто важкою вага міста.

| 2. The domes like suns, the marble tall, | Куполи, наче сонця, мармур – мов скеля, | Опис архітектури Візантії | | The echo of the muezzin's call. | І лине заклик муеззина у далечінь. | Ісламська присутність у торгових кварталах | | I felt so small, my name unknown — | Я відчула себе малою, невідомою — | | | A leaf inside a storm of stone. | Листком у бурі кам’яних стін. | |

| 3. The bazaar sang in colored threads, | Базар співав у кольорових нитках, | Опис яскравого ринку | | With spices thick and copper reds. | У пахощах спецій, в мідному блиску. | | | I learned to haggle, laugh, and trade, | Я вчилась торгуватись, сміятись, міняти, | | | And walk in light, unroyal-made. | Іти в світлі, не як принцеса, а як людина. | |

| 4. A girl in silk with hennaed hands | Дівчина в шовках, з руками в хні, | Дружба з місцевою дівчиною | | Taught me the names of foreign lands. | Мене навчила назв чужих земель. | | | A potter’s wife gave bread and tea, | Гончарева жінка пригощала хлібом і чаєм, | Гіта живе просто, як люди | | And in their eyes — they welcomed me. | І в їх очах — була я бажаною. | |

| 5. The guards were kind, though eyes were stern, | Вартові були стримані, та добрі, | Зустріч з охоронцем Сноррі | | They saw me watch, and let me learn. | Вони бачили — я вчуся, і не заважали. | | | And in the garden, near the wall, | А в саду, поблизу мурів, | Місце зустрічі з мудрецем | | A blind old man told tales of all. | Сліпий старець розповідав легенди. | |

| 6. I knew then peace was not just crown, | Тоді я зрозуміла: мир — не лише в короні, | Філософський висновок | | But woven deep in common ground. | А вплетений в просту, земну тканину. | | | Not in the sword, nor courtly grace, | Не в мечі, не в величі палацу, | | | But in the laughter of this place. | А в щирім сміху цих людей. | |

| 7. So when the city ceased to scare, | І коли місто перестало лякати, | Завершення внутрішнього шляху | | I kept its scent in braided hair. | Я вплела його аромат у своє волосся. | | | I was a guest, yet somehow known — | Я була гостею, та водночас своєю, | | | The city dared, and I had grown. | Місто кликало — і я дорослішала. | |

⚔️ Scene III: Journey to Kyiv Snorri and Gytha travel through the Black Sea, steppes, and rivers. Betrayal brews in Constantinople. Emperor Alexios hunts them — for Gytha carries the "Key to Time," knowledge of sacred cycles crucial to power.

🏛️ Scene IV: Cold April Kyiv, dawn of a millennium. Spring fails to arrive. Panic ensues. Priests make sacrifices, nobles quarrel, the people starve.

Gytha’s Solo — “Calendar of Sand”

I bring no screams — but a line of time. No offerings — but order and light. Fac duo sicut unum — this is my race. Do not fear knowledge — let the world bloom bright.

🔥 Scene V: The Tribes and the People of Bar Snorri fights tribal leaders and the People of Bar. They seek to preserve old rites but respect strength. One Bar warrior names Snorri "The Sword of the Earth."

We’re from the swamps, you — from the sea, but our sword is the same. If your oath is like iron in your bones, We shall follow you. But not your words — Only the fire that lives in your eyes.

⚖️ Scene VI: The Choice — Kyiv, Spring Gytha proposes unity, not power. A union, not a throne. The rite of “two as one” is performed. True spring finally begins.

Final Song: “When We Sow Together”

🌌 Scene VIII: The Call of Eldorado Київ. Ніч. Біля вікна палає свічка. Сноррі, в плащі й зі зброєю, тримає повіддя коня. Його обличчя — спокійне, але очі повні тіні дороги.

📜 Наратор (пошепки, англійською, з ехо):

"Gaily bedight, A gallant knight, In sunshine and in shadow, Had journeyed long, Singing a song, In search of Eldorado..."

🕯️ Сноррі (пошепки, в перекладі — звернення до себе, але й до Гіти):

Веселий лицар, сповнений сна, І в тінь, і в світло лине — Серед людей, де вічна війна, Шукає Ельдорадо.

І я, мов той, що марить шлях, Хоч серце вже втомилось — Але не смерть, і не святий страх Зупинять мрію — йти лиш...

🌒 Stage Direction: Сноррі ще раз поглядає на вікно. Свічка тріпоче, немов серце. Він вклоняється невидимо — і рушає.

📜 Наратор (продовжує):

"Over the Mountains Of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied— "If you seek for Eldorado!"

🧭 Фінал сцени: Кінь і вершник зникають у сріблястій ночі. Свічка гасне. На небі сходить зірка. З’являється силует невідомої землі — чи то джунглі, чи то мрія...

We sow not from hope, but from faith. We breathe not fear, but action. And in every heart drawn close — Fac duo sicut unum — strength is born.

🌅 Epilogue (Spirit's voice) In every age where blood and fire reign, There is love — a surge for truth. A shell may strike — yet a sprout will rise. For two that become as one, Take root — in millennia.

Characters:
• Gytha — Princess of England, daughter of Harold II. Bearer of ancient wisdom.
• Snorri Siversson — Varangian warrior, once of the Byzantine Guard.
• Harold II — Last Saxon king, dies at Hastings.
• Alexios Komnenos — Byzantine emperor, both ally and threat.
• Polyane Tribes — Pagan clans at the edge of belief.
• People of Bar — Mythic warriors of swamps and stone.
• Spirit of Cold April — Eternal bard, voice of fate.