The Cedar Kingdom was once an idyllic kingdom, but after the death of the Ashen Queen and the Cedar King, it was swallowed by the sea, and everyone in it. One of those who fell was Jingwei, who was reborn as a bird. For eternity Jingwei carries pebbles to throw them in the sea, to fill the sea with stones.
Far off in the future, the sea will be full of stones, and at its center will be built the Tower of Hope, and around it the Garden Yet To Be.
This is lyrically the most complex song I've ever written. Nearly every line is a reference to something else, and there is a complex structure of thematic links between stanzas.
The story of Jingwei comes from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The name "Jingwei" translates literally to "Sprite Guard".
Alesis Micron, Vocals
lyrics
One day this sea of sadness will become
A garden, like the one that was before
One day all of these things will be undone
A bird will carry pebbles to the shore
and throw them one by one into the sea
and turn and fly away to gather more
Each story's end begins another one
As mountains are eroded to restore
More ancient hills, where ancient rivers run
Past eaves and apple trees that line the banks
Of holy river Alph, where cormorants
Bring fish to fishermen, who give their thanks
And on the shore, children reach out their hands
And stretch their arms, and legs, and necks as if
In imitation of the cormorants
And on the other shore, arrayed in ranks
An army fit to fight, their idle hands
Have turned to pageantry and shooting blanks
No stone will stand atop another one
The depths will swallow all that came before
Beneath the sea, where deeper currents run
A girl, Jingwei, will fall with many more
And tumble and be swallowed by the sea
And be reborn: that bird upon the shore
A loss like this can never be undone
The very thing that she seeks to restore
Keeps Jingwei blind to what it will become
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