Most of the digital music I try to generate is instrumental.
Way of the Gun (Gando) was an exception, and this is another.
The original concept was a character sketch I did for a previous D&D character.
Ciara Gitano Stirling is a woman of two worlds, and ended up with what is just short of a split personality.
Ciara is half-elven, and half-gypsy, resulting in a wandering player with demure façade and a bit of a chaotic streak.
Old blood and new blood calling my name
Half of the wood, half of the road
Now something wilder takes hold
And then there’s ‘Black Betty’ Stirling, a name hastily chosen as she was staring down the business end of the Wild Hunt after a calling at a crossroads got a little out of hand…
She not only survived the night, she walked away with just a touch of the Lord of the Hunt’s power. ‘Black Betty’ is less elven and more wild fey, and there is some question as to which court would claim her…
In D&D terms, she’s a Bard’lock with The Lord of the Hunt as her Archfey patron.
As a bard, she follows the College of Metal, and since the party she was in had two other College of Metal bards, their performances in or out of combat were rather less than subtle…
For the best musical rendition of the inside of her head as Ciara, listen to The Longing by Patty Gurdy.
Visually, as ‘Black Betty’ she is Simone Simons with pointy ears and the performance skills both her and Lindsey Stirling (or a pixy on espresso, which can be similar). Her primary instrument is a musical variation of the Hexblade that she summons at need, and generally alternates between violin and hurdy gurdy as the song and mood strikes her.
Regardless of which persona is dominate, she rides a black, unnamed desert stallion that she would, and has both killed and bled for.
She Doesn’t Run
[Verse 1]
Moon sliver high on the crossroads line
Sweat on my hands but my heart beats fine
Thunder rolling like a call in the night
I stand my ground, I won’t take flight
[Pre-Chorus]
Fiddle in my hands, fire in my veins
Old blood and new blood calling my name
Half of the wood, half of the road
Now something wilder takes hold
[Chorus]
I don’t run, I don’t hide
Let the storm break, let the wild ride
Power rising under my skin
This is where I truly begin
She doesn’t run — no, she doesn’t run
[Verse 2]
Hooves like thunder, eyes like green fire
Lord of the Hunt testing my desire
I danced where his lightning split the sky
Looked him dead in the eye and refused to die
[Bridge]
Black Betty Stirling woke with the dawn
New fiddle singing, old fears gone
Tattoo on my heart, hart’s blood on my tongue
The Hunt rides with me — my song’s just begun
[Chorus – Big, triumphant]
I don’t run, I don’t hide
Let the storm break, let the wild ride
Power rising under my skin
This is where I truly begin
She doesn’t run — no, she doesn’t run!
[Outro – extended fiddle solo over big anthemic repeat]
Ciara sleeps… my time has begun…
We do not run…
Let the thunder sing, let the wild one come…
The song is me and several AI’s in collaborative storytelling mode; my story, mixed lyrics, Suno audio, MJ, Grok, and Kling for images and animation.
I would never claim to be a visual artist, animator, or musician. I’m just a Writer and Collaborative Storyteller having some fun with the marvelous new genii we have let out of their bottles.
Listen and Enjoy.
