The Mend

Writers: Dorian Graeves & Douglas Gueydan Composer: Dorian Graeves Original Creation: 2012 Final Audio Generation: 2026 AI was used in some of the instrumentation of this album, but NOT in the composition, arrangement or final production. This is an original work. -Special thanks to Douglas Gueydan and Jade Sidhe Lyrics: I know this wall. Before the fire. Before the sirens. Before the world of man would fall Here I kneel before it all. I know this wall. I've seen it standing in a dead world, Broken beneath a poisoned sky. The summit hall long turned to dust, The nations gone,The oceans dry. Only one fragment still remained, A jagged wound of ancient stone. Four words survived the dying years, Four words I thought were mine alone. "Time betters us all." I cursed those words through endless winters. I thought they mocked what I'd become. I thought they meant that time defeats us, That every race is finally outrun. But standing here before the carving, Before the bombs, before the blame, I finally understand the message. The words were never quite the same. Not "time beats us all." Not victory. Not defeat. Time betters us all. If we allow it... I will allow time to better me I will allow truth to break my pride I crossed the ages searching for a villain Only to find him staring from inside I will allow time to better me Though shame has followed every step I've known If the future can be changed at all Then change must first begin with my own The delegates arrive in silence The accusations fill the room Each nation points toward another Each fearing war, each sensing doom The concert lies in shattered memory The trust between them wearing thin And every path I know before me Ends with mushroom clouds and wind Then I see the words upon the wall Untouched by history's cruel hand: "Let this wall stand not as a record of our accomplishments, But as a reminder of our impermanence. Time betters the monuments raised by victors. Stone survives longer than certainty. The future belongs to no nation, no empire, and no prophet. It belongs to us all. May those who inherit it prove wiser than those who built it." The future belongs to us all Not to me. Not to fear Not to the ghosts of what may come And suddenly I know what must be done I will allow time to better me I will not hide behind regret The future's not a prison sentence Not yet. Not yet. Not yet I will allow time to better me Though every consequence is mine If honesty is all that's left Then honesty will be my final line The chamber falls completely silent As I step forward from the crowd My name does not matter But I am the one who disrupted the concert The room erupts. The guards surround me The delegates rise from every seat. Yet still I speak I came from a future that no longer exists A future where this meeting fails A future where blame becomes hatred Hatred becomes war. And war becomes extinction The shouting slowly starts to fade I stopped the concert because I believed It would cause the war. I thought I was saving humanity Instead I became the reason this summit exists The reason suspicion grew The reason you're gathered here today The chamber waits. No one speaks. So I continue If punishment is necessary, Then let it be mine alone If someone must answer for what happened, Then let it be me But do not punish each other Do not punish nations. Do not punish strangers Punish the fool who believed He could command history A hundred flags stand motionless A hundred rival voices still And then an old delegate rises slowly His eyes reflecting something new Not victory. Not surrender. Understanding One by one the leaders follow Questions turn to quiet thought Enemies begin to see The fear each other carried wrought The tension loosens. The anger softens The certainty begins to crack And for the first time in my memory History does not follow its track A woman from a distant nation Walks across the chamber floor A man she'd spent the morning blaming Greets her like a friend once more The delegates dismiss the motions The accusations fade away The summit meant to stop a conflict Finally becomes that place today I will allow time to better me I hear the ancient words anew The future belongs to all who share it The future belongs to me and you I will allow time to better me No matter what tomorrow brings Because wisdom is not never failing Wisdom is learning. Wisdom is changing Wisdom is surrendering certainty The delegates depart together The wall remains. The words remain And somewhere far beyond tomorrow A broken fragment of old brick begins to disappear For the first time in all my travels, the future changes The poison skies unravel. The ashes lose their claim And where the ruined wall once stood The stone speaks one last time Time betters us all And now, At last, I understand