#antiva

The Blades of Queen Madrigal Old Rialto Cantori Variant

Chorus

First cut for the crown and what it cost Second for the blood of Antiva never repaid Third for promises forgotten in the dark Fourth for love given too late And Fifth for the son already lost The Maker knows well and so does Queen Madrigal The Crows always take their due

Verse 1 - The Queen Rides Out

In the great Forests of Seleny Past the olive groves and cypress trees On a Magnificent Steed Rode Queen Madrigal And on others her Attendants and Guards That rode escorting her to the hunt They fell into the trap Of Crow assassins most cruel

Verse 2 - The Crows Take Her Down

With blades gleaming and sharp They began to carve and slash The Heart of Antiva bled that day As it had bled for its Queen so many days before Hooves grinding the earth as it crossed the trail Her steed was killed in a flash of steel Payment taken in each piercing blow For deeds that no Crow could sell for gold

Verse 3 - The Queen's Promises Unfulfilled

(Is this a reference to the myth that the Queen consulted with a witch?)

It was said Madrigal had no choice but to rule For her birth a right and a cage destined The bars and gilding she did commission And built with her own hands and promises They found her with no repayment to make For their own blood the Witch's words Were worth less than the wind that carried them Crow blades made coin of her blood in the end

Verse 4 - And Her Lover Forgotten in Ambition

(Her lover supposedly stabs the final blade?)

Armor of silk and silver she had and in her hair gold But their blades of steel did not notice Their plumage the gift of one left in ambition And for this Crow the blade of Mercy Three others slashed to suffer and bleed Four to deliver the contract complete Queen Madrigal her plans the Maker only knew The Crows found her careless and unready

Verse 5 - Her Son, Doomed to Pay the Price

(The variation has the final blow from her son, Eladio, who disappeared soon after and never became king. Rumors say he was taken by the witch, others say that he became a part of House Cantori, and as long as his bloodline supports the House, they will continue to thrive.)

Queen Madrigal died that day under the blades In the Forests of Seleny near Lago di Novo The Crows were her death and mercy But the blades of four made five cuts that day For honor, payment, ambition and mercy And the love of a son doomed to die Eladio's blade the last given in love and sacrifice To give his Crows their due

Notes: The Blades of Queen Madrigal is loosely based on the stories in various Dragon Age media of the assassination of Queen Madrigal, which started the Steel Age in Thedas, as well as the Corrido, Rigoberto Campos, by Chalino Sánchez.

Originally written for Five Easy Targets: Española.

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