Fire Made Shadow

Before the first dawn learned to burn, I was a flame with no command. No throne above, no chain below, Only the fire in my hands. I was a Maia, bright and vast, A living spark before the years. Then Morgoth spoke through iron dark And taught my light the shape of fear. He named my wrath, he fed my pride, He wrapped my will in smoke and war. I bowed once - and the heavens closed; I knew my own true flame no more. Power without purpose, Fire without a name, I traded song for orders And eternity for chains. I am fire made shadow, I am terror taught to kneel, Ancient strength in service To a master cold as steel. I burn, but give no morning; I rise, but serve below. Once I carried living light - Now only darkness knows. I broke the walls, I crushed the brave, I turned their final cries to ash. Yet every victory wore his mark, And every crown became a lash. The world remembered only dread, A crown of flame, a shape of night; No one could see the slave beneath, Who forged his chains and called them might. Power without freedom, Glory bent to shame, I became the thing he wanted And forgot from where I came. I am fire made shadow, I am terror taught to kneel, Ancient strength in service To a master cold as steel. I burn, but give no morning; I rise, but serve below. Once I carried living light - Now only darkness knows. Do not call this triumph. Do not call me free. Every scream that crowned me Drove the chain more deep. I was made for wonder, Not this endless night; He did not make my power - He only killed its light. I am fire made shadow, A fallen star beneath the stone, All the might of ages, Yet never truly my own. I burn where hope is buried, I wake where brave hearts go. Once I stood among the deathless - Now I am the fear below. No dawn within the furnace, No mercy in the glow. The flame remains eternal - But the soul is only shadow.