Richard Garriott posted an exciting announcement to the Shroud of the Avatar forums last night:

I am very proud to share some exciting news with all of you! We have secured a musical masterpiece from David Watson. David may be better known to many of you as Iolo, the great bard of Britannia! His most memorable piece by far is, of course, “Stones”, which became so popular, it inspired, and continues to inspire, MANY renditions and remixes.

What few may know, however, is that Iolo is famous for writing another great masterwork; “Karelia’s Song”. This beautiful piece touched the team so much, we had to secure the rights to use this marvelous melody for Shroud of the Avatar! And so it was proclaimed and made reality!

Here’s the tune proper; you can find a download link in the forum post, and you can also hear the lyrics to the tune sung in this recording of it.

The lyrics to the song are as follows:

Karelia’s Song

Now the Baron of Eastmarch’s fair sorcerous daughter
was enamored unseemly with the fool of her lord.
Though her Duke was deemed handsome, he’d a soul vain and petty
and a dark mind as empty as last summer’s gourd.

And the fool he was clever and he sang for the lady
like a nightingale piping in a deep forest grove.
But his station was lowly and his body was ageing
and their love was as hopeless as if he was stone.

So the lady has led them, the fool and her husband
to her cool secret garden by the midsummer’s moon.
And she’s danced them a spell there of shifting and changing
and left them dumbfounded by sorcery’s boon.

She has left a fool crying to the gods of his fathers.
She has led her duke laughing to her high chamber door.
And she’s kept him there softly, through two days bright dawnings
while her servants all gossiped in wonder and awe.

So the fool died in madness, saying he was ensorcelled
and the duke only smiled him a sad secret smile.
Now her duke rules his people with wit and good humor
and he sings for his lady like the nightingale’s song.

And she’s borne him five children, two sons and three daughters
and they’ve grown straight and handsome, and sorcerous all.
And they dance in the garden and they sing in the moonlight,
like nightingales piping in green forest halls.

So it’s not a new song, but it’s still a darn nice-sounding tune.