The Battle/The Forest

[The Battle]

[Narration 1]
Having made a raft from wood taken from the giant mushroom forest with rigging consisting of a mast made of two staves lashed together, a yard made of a third, and a sail borrowed from their stock of rugs, they set sail from the harbour - Port Grauben, named after Axel's fiancee. With a north-westerly wind propelling them along at about three miles an hour, silvery beams of light reflected here and there by drops of spray, produced luminous points in the eddy created by the raft
Soon all land was lost to view. But five days out to sea, they witnessed a terrifying battle between two sea monsters. One having the snout of a porpoise, the head of a lizard, and teeth of a crocodile - an Ichthyosaurus. And the other, the mortal enemy of the first, a serpent with a turtle's shell - the Plesiosaurus

[Instrumental Break 01:07-02:14]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Verse 1]
Five days out on an infinite sea
They prayed for calm on an ocean free
But the surface of the water was indicating some disturbance
The raft was hurled by an unseen source
Two hundred feet, with a frightening force
And a dark mass rising showed to be a giant porpoise
Rising out of an angry sea, towered the creature's enemy
And so the two sea monsters closed for battle

[Refrain]
Crocodile teeth, lizard's head
Bloodshot eyes stained ocean red
Moving close to their raft's side
The two men prayed as one and cried:
"Save me, save me, save me, save me!"

[Instrumental Break 03:32-03:55]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Verse 2]
The serpent's fight went on for hours
Two monsters soaring up like towers
And diving down to the depths in a single motion
Suddenly the serpent's head
Shot out of the water bathed in red
And the serpentine form lay lifeless on the ocean

[Refrain]
Crocodile teeth, lizard's head
Bloodshot eyes stained ocean red
Battle won, a victor's pride
The three men thanked the Lord and cried:
"Praise God, praise God, praise God, praise God!"

[Instrumental Break 04:49-05:25]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Narration 2]
Cumulus clouds formed heavily in the south, like huge wool packs heaped up in picturesque disorder. Under the influence of the breezes, they merged together, growing darker, forming a single menacing mass. The raft lay motionless on the sluggish waveless sea and in silence they waited for the storm

[Instrumental Break 05:49-07:29]
[Keyboard Solo]

[The Forest]

[Narration 3]
For four days the storm had raged as they clung to the mast of their raft for safety. Finally, with their raft wrecked after being bashed against the reefs, they lay sheltered from the pouring rain beneath a few overhanging rocks where they ate and slept
The next day all trace of the storm had disappeared and what remained of their stock seemed intact. But checking the compass brought only heartbreak as it showed that a chance of wind during the storm had returned them to just a few miles north of Port Grauben
So, deciding to try and find the original route they advanced with difficulty over granite fragments mingled with flint, quartz and alluvial deposits, eventually reaching a plain covered with bones like a huge cemetery. A mile further on, they reached the edge of a huge forest made up of vegetation of the Tertiary period. Tall palms were linked by a network of inextricable creepers, a carpet of moss covering the ground and the leaves were colourless, everything having a brownish hue
Exploring the forest they discovered a heard of gigantic animals - mastodons, which were being marshalled by a primitive human being, a Proteus. He stood over twelve foot high and brandished an enormous bough, a crook worthy of this antediluvian shepherd

[Instrumental Break 08:46-09:21]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Verse 3]
Journey on through ages gone to the centre of the earth
Past rocks of quartz and granite which gave mother nature birth
Burial ground of ancient man, his life no more is seen
A journey through his time unknown I wonder where he's been
Wonder where he's been
Wonder where he's been
Wonder where he's been
Wonder where he's been

[Verse 4]
The shore now gone behind the hills the forest in our sight
Rocks and distant mountains bathed in waves of blinding light
Forests from a far gone time no living man has seen
A private prehistoric world for you and I, a dream

[Verse 5]
Brownish hue dictates my eye no colour hides their fear
Flowers faded, dull and cold, now bleached by atmosphere
Creatures twisting under trees, huge monsters soaked with rage
Hidden deep below our earth, a frightening, bygone age
Their shepherd came, now long extinct, a huge primeval man
The three men filled with disbelief, just turned as one and ran

[Narration 4]
Dumb with astonishment and amazement which bordered on stupefaction, they fled the forest. Instinctively, they made towards the Lidenbrook Sea. Discovering a rusty dagger on the beach, and the carved initials of the explorer before them on a slab of granite, they realised that thay were once again treading the route of Arne Saknussemm
Following a short sea journey around the cape, they came ashore where a dark tunnel plunged deep into rock. And venturing down, their progress was halted by a piece of rock blocking their way. After deciding to blow their way through, and setting the charge, they put out to sea for safety. With the explosion, the rocks before them opened like a curtain, and a bottomless pit appeared in the shore. The explosion had caused an earthquake, the abyss had opened up, and the sea was pouring into it. Down and down they plunged into the huge gallery, but on regaining their senses found their raft rising at tremendous speed
Trapped in the shaft of an active volcano they rose through the ages of man to be finally expelled out on a mountain-side riddled with tiny lava streams. Their journey was completed and they found themselves 3000 miles from their original starting point in Iceland. They had entered by one volcano and they had come out by another. With the blue mountains of Calabria in the east they walked away from the mountain that had returned them. The frightening Mount Etna

[Instrumental Outro]