[ WP ] Magic is discovered and it 's channeled with music . Modern nations dissolve and new countries rise in their place divided by the preferred music . In the frozen north lie the Metal kingdoms . Far to the south are the countries of Soul etc .

“ But don ’ t tell my heart, my achy breaky heart - ” 
 
 And then silence. John watched in horror at his friend ’ s face. Tom had heard their music. He ’ d been shivering so bad that his left earplug fell out, and now he was exposed to enemy fire. Tom writhed and bucked for a moment before collapsing in a heap. 
 
 And now he was the last musician in the trenches. Armed with nothing but a harmonica and a dirty crumpled piece of paper with half the lyrics to Achey Breaky Heart on it. He crawled on his belly over to Tom, and lifted his head. Tom ’ s eyes were empty. Jon closed his eyes, then pulled the microphone out from under his friend ’ s corpse. He was no singer like Tom had been, but he was a patriot, and there was no one else to sing. He made sure the microphone was on, then lifted the crumpled paper and read from it. 
 
 “ Uh…I just don ’ t..don ’ t think he ’ d understand 
 And if you tell…my…my heart ” 
 
 And that was as far as he got before an invisible force threw him like a ragdoll through the air. He landed on his back, immediately winded and numb, and while he lay there he realized the microphone was gone, and the paper, too. He was perfectly unarmed. He tried to get up, but as the numbness retreated and pain radiated out from his back, he realized his ribs, legs, and one arm were broken. 
 
 And then, through his earplugs, he heard it. Just a normal human voice. “ Hey! Just give up already! I want to talk to you. ” 
 
 A man with a meticulously kept beard and reflective sunglasses was walking toward him. John looked around wildly for an instrument. Anything at all. But there wasn ’ t anything, just giant craters and gashes in what once had been cornfields. John closed his eyes, and said the Our Father in his head. 
 
 When he opened them again, he was looking up into the bearded man ’ s face. “ Hello there! ” John spit on the man ’ s boots, and mumbled, “ But don ’ t tell my heart… ” The man laughed, and reached down to pluck out John ’ s earplugs. 
 “ There. Now we can talk like normal people. I just want to talk. ” 
 
 John noticed the man ’ s ears were empty. “ Where are…where are your earplugs? ” The man burst out laughing. 
 
 “ I don ’ t need earplugs. Not for musicians like you, anyways. ” He saw John ’ s face and quickly added, “ No offense. It ’ s just kind of easy to tell that most of you weren ’ t musicians before the war. I think out of all of you here, that one, ” and he pointed at Tom, “ was the only musician. ” The man looked at Tom for a while, shook his head, and looked back to John. “ Anyways, I ’ m ready to accept your surrender. ” 
 
 “ Go…go to hell. ” 
 
 “ Come on now, don ’ t be like that. Half the world is already ours, we can ’ t be stopped. Your government ’ s going to surrender soon anyways. ” 
 
 “ America… ” 
 
 “ Yes, yes, the land of the free and the home of the brave. But not anymore. Look, it ’ s a new era. And there ’ s no glory in resisting it. ” 
 
 John shook his head. 
 
 “ Please just… ” The man cleared his throat. “ Make them bow to my will! To the skies, see Carolus rise! ” 
 
 Against his will, John felt an urge to open his mouth and surrender, to give up. He felt tired, and memories of his home came in a flood to him from out of nowhere. Apple pies cooling on the windowsill, barbecue scents flooding out from the grill to where he and his friends were playing baseball. 
 
 So he bit his tongue and clamped down. 
 
 The man growled in anger, then spoke in the same voice. Hear my orders, question me and die! What I say was said in heaven, and so it shall be done! I know I was destined to rule alone! All for myself I have claimed the throne! Born to rule! My time has come! 
 
 John ’ s body went limp, and his mouth opened of its own accord. “ I…surrender. ” 
 
 The man grinned. “ I ’ m so glad you can see reason now. But I need your formal surrender. Repeat after me. ” 
 
 And John repeated every word the man said, hating himself for it. Denouncing his allegiance to Country Music Incorporated, to the American flag, swearing allegiance to this foreigner ’ s country. He prayed fervently in his head to God, asking Him to close his mouth, or kill this man, or kill him. But the man kept speaking, and he kept repeating. 
 
 “ …to my new mother country, Sweden, ” the man was saying. And God must have heard John, because his facial muscles kicked back in, and he clamped his jaw firmly shut. 
 
 The man frowned. “ Again? I ’ m getting tired of this game. I don ’ t have time for this. ” He looked away from John, to the fallen musicians. “ Into battle facing the fire, Lord thy will be done. Into battle, walk in a line - ” 
 
 And John ’ s fallen comrades stood up in their hundreds, bones snapping back into place, clothes fixing themselves all at once. And then they spoke. “ - see the white of their eyes, Caroleans are marching on! ” 
 
 “ You see? ” The man looked back at John. “ There is no stopping us. So tell me, now. Where is home? Where is the motherland for you? ” 
 
 John just looked up at him. 
 
 “ Should I make you speak again? ” 
 
 “ No! I…I… ” 
 
 “ Yes? ” 
 
 John gulped, and his heart raced. “ Sweet home Alabama! ” 
 
 His comrades ’ eyes went unfocused, then focused again. They patted themselves, as if they were checking that they were awake, that everything was still there, before they heard John ’ s next line. 
 
 “ Where the skies are so blue! ” 
 
 Then they joined in. 
 
 “ SWEET HOME ALABAMA! LORD I ’ M COMING HOME TO YOU! ” 
 
 The man howled in pain, falling to a knee, and they pressed on, gathering around him. 
 
 “ *BIG WHEELS KEEP ON TURNING/ CARRY ME HOME TO SEE MY KIN/ SINGING SOUNGS ABOUT THE SOUTH-LAND/ I MISS OLE BAMY ONCE AGIN* ” 
 
 He was shrieking now, and clapped his hands to his ears in pain. John and Tom pulled hands away away, while the others sang. 
 
 “ *SWEET HOME ALA* - ” 
 
 ***KILLING GROUND*** 
 
 A blast ripped out, and John went flying. 
 
 ***EVEN THOUGH YOU SURRENDER*** 
 
 The sky went dark, storm clouds gathering above. 
 
 ***YOU WILL NEVER SURVIVE*** 
 
 Lightning coursed down from the clouds, killing one by one the resurrected soldiers. Thunder drowned out their music, and torrents of rain blinded them so that they scattered in all directions, looking for each other. 
 
 ***AS THE BATTLE OF FRAUSTADT TURNS*** 
 
 Giant streams of fire came crashing down from the heavens, igniting soldiers and trapping others in rings of fire. John turned to run, and crashed directly into another soldier, blacking out immediately. 
 
 
 When he came to, the skies had cleared, and everyone was gone. The landscape and his broken bones were the only thing that showed there had been a battle. 
 
 “ …See the Caroleans standing tall, conquer lands and slaughter all. Enemies fall at their feet, victory and great defeat…Ah, you ’ re awake! ” 
 
 John turned around. And there was the bearded man again, crouching with a grin on his face and blood on his shirt. 
 
 “ Do you know that song? No? Let me teach you the words that come next. ” Before John could move, the man ’ s thick forearm shot out and he clamped his hand over John ’ s mouth. 
 
 “ It goes like this: ‘ One by one the Saxons disband - ’ do you know what disband means? It means surrender. Though I guess if you could speak right now, you ’ d say there ’ s no such word in your language. That ’ s just as well, because the next line is my favorite line. ” 
 
 John tried to move his head away, but the man pushed his head down into the dirt. “ It goes like this: One by one, the Saxons disband, ***OR DIE WHERE THEY STAND*** 
 
 
 

