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    Ravana, the Savior of the Gnaths.
    Ravana, the Savior of the Gnaths.
    "Unbending Steel"

    "Unbending Steel" (曲がらぬ刃 〜蛮神ラーヴァナ討滅戦〜, Magaranu Ha ~Banshin Rāvana Tōmetsusen~?, lit. Unbreakable Blade ~Savage God Ravana Showdown~) is a boss theme from Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward for the primal Ravana, Lord of the Hive.

    It was composed by Masayoshi Soken and arranged by Yoshitaka Suzuki and Soken. The lyrics were written by Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and the vocals were performed by Dan Inoue.

    Lyrics

    The official lyrics are taken from the Heavensward: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack.[1]

    During the first time Ravana uses his ability rotation after casting Bloody Fuller, his attacks are timed to go off at the same time as their respective lyrics: he casts The Rose of Conviction, The Rose of Hatred, and the Rose of Conquest. This is not a typo; the singer's voice is clearly saying "the rose of conquest", but the official lyric, confusingly, is "the rose of contest".

    English
    High, on high I stand
    Gazing down to see
    The endless garden
    Awaiting me
    Red bloometh the rose of conviction
    And red bloometh the rose of hate
    Yes red bloometh the rose of contest[note 1]
    Firmly bound to its fate
    And the war, it wageth on
    The storm, it rageth on
    The bold ever fight on
    Their lives echoed in song
    Fall, like snow they fall
    Petals plucked and strewn
    Yet from their seeds grow
    This war anew
    Blood trickling down from my fullers
    And blood trickling down from mine hands
    Yes, blood trickling down to Hydaelyn
    Until I alone stand
    The war, still wageth on
    The storm, still rageth on
    The bold blindly march on
    Their lives, lost in a song
    Japanese translation
    高みに立ち
    見下せば
    終わりなき園が
    我を待つ
    信念の薔薇は赤く咲く
    そして、憎悪の薔薇も赤く咲く
    そう、抗争の薔薇も赤く咲く
    運命に囚われ......
    そして、戦争は続く
    嵐は続く
    英雄は永遠に戦い続け
    彼らの偉業は、詩の中で鳴り響く
    雪のように舞い落ちる
    花びらは千切られ、散りゆく
    そう、彼らの種から育つのは
    新たな戦争
    我が剣の血溝より血が垂れ落ちる
    そして、我が手からも血が垂れ落ちる
    そう、ハイデリンに血が垂れ落ちる
    我独りが残るまで
    戦争はまだ続く
    嵐はまだ続く
    英雄は意味もなく行進を続け
    彼らの偉業は、詩の中で失われる

    Game appearances

    Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

    "Unbending Steel" is Ravana's second theme in Thok ast Thok. It starts playing after he uses his ultimate attack, Bloody Fuller. It is track 21 on the Heavensward: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack.

    Arrangement album appearances

    Final Fantasy XIV: Duality ~Arrangement Album~

    A band arrangement of "Unbending Steel" is performed by The Primals which appears on this album.

    The Primals

    An arrangement of "Unbending Steel" appears on The Primals' debut album.

    Live performances

    The Primals: Zepp Tour 2018 - Trial By Shadow

    "Unbending Steel" was performed by The Primals in a live concert.

    Compilation album appearances

    Square Enix Music Sampler CD Vol.11

    "Unbending Steel" from Final Fantasy XIV: Duality ~Arrangement Album~ is track 9 on the album.

    Untempered: Final Fantasy XIV Primal Battle Themes

    "Unbending Steel" is track 2 of disc 2 on the album.

    Behind the scenes

    During the development of Heavensward there were plans for "Unbending Steel" to have Gnathic or Dragonspeak lyrics before ultimately settling on English. Portions of these lyrics were shown during a panel at PAX Prime in 2015,[2] though they only corresponded to the first three verses of the song's English lyrics.

    English lyrics

    High, on high I stand
    Gazing down to see
    The endless garden
    Awaiting me
    Red bloometh the rose of conviction
    And red bloometh the rose of hate
    Yes red bloometh the rose of contest
    Firmly bound to its fate
    And the war, it wageth on
    The storm, it rageth on
    The bold ever fight on
    Their lives echoed in song

    Gnathic lyrics

    Dulin ast dulan ast doth
    Kalin ast Kalan ast Koth
    Thok anyx ast Ranish ast doth
    Thok vathik ast gnathik ast Koth
    Thoth oka thoth y sa kenne
    an in-a an in-a in-eth
    Thoth oka thoth dula kenne
    an in-a an in-a thon-eth
    Ast Ravana Gnath Ravana
    Gnath Ravana Ast Ravana
    Ast Ravana Gnath Ravana
    Gnath Ravana Gnath Ravana!

    Dragonspeak lyrics

    Tahn aih an aih an
    Hess loh hess ala
    Whei an gron afah
    Whei an afah
    Haff gron y shall loon rhe na-a
    A haff gron y eil loon rhe na
    Ess haff gron y whor loon rhe na
    Taih ong akh ah ala
    A kohl whor ala na
    A kohl stoh ala na
    A whor gahn ala na
    Ohsk ahm in akh in na (na)

    Notes

    Annotations

    1. The official lyrics say "the rose of contest", even though the attack name and vocalist both say "the rose of conquest".

    Citations

    1. se (2016). 'Heavensward: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack'. p. 7-8. Square Enix.
    2. Square Enix (n.d.) . FFXIV Koji & Soken's Wild Ride (PAX Prime 2015). YouTube. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021.
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