Forged Through The Years

Thirteen winters thin and raw
Hands too soft to grip the oar
Eyes still wide, no weight of steel
Did not know what men must feel

Ran through woods with empty hands
Tracked no beast, knew no land
But something stirred beneath the skin
Like a fire waiting within

A voice not heard, but always near
Push me forward year by year
Forged through years, through blood and bone
Not by fate, but what I've known
Every step, every scar
Made me what I truly are

Forged through years, through fire and breath
Through the edge and facing death
Not born strong, not born a man
I became what I now am
Sixteen winters bow in hand

Learn to read the silent land
Track the breath where none could see
Follow death until it breathed
First kill fell beneath my name
No more boy, no more the same

Hands shook once, then never again
Felt the shift begin within
In the cold I learned to see
What survives and what must bleed
Forged through years, through blood and bone
Not by gods, but what I've known

Every mark, every trial
Built the strength mile by mile
Twenty winters blade held tight
First true step into the fight
Shield met force and I stood still
Learned the cost and learned the will

Heard the crack of bone and steel
Felt what only war reveals
Not the glory, not the name
But the weight and all the pain
In the clash I found my ground
Not in noise, but in the sound

Forged through years, through fire and blade
Through the choices that I made
Not by luck, not by chance
But by taking every stance
Thirty winters quiet breath
No more fear, no fear of death

Seen it come, seen it take
Seen what every man must face
No God speaks, no hand remains
Only what runs through my veins

All I was, standing here
Every doubt, burned out by years
Forged through years, through blood and bone
I stand now, fully grown

Every scar, every fight
Led me to this final sight
Forged through years, through fire and breath
I walk on, into death

Not as one, not as one
But as all I have become
Forged through years, through years

Woah, woah, woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Manga Ma-Maya