Description
Roses Have Thorns
From the high, windswept moors came Syr Bahlros, lord of a white-clad host. His command was mighty, his banners feared, and the White Rose upon his shield became a symbol of triumph across the realm. Few knights tasted such renown, and fewer carried it with such relentless ferocity.
Syr Bahlros was rarely merciful. He fought with a hard edge, caring little for the graces of chivalry. Rivals called him iron-fisted and cursed his severity, yet his people hailed him as a blunt, uncompromising lord whose only code was victory.
But pride turned to peril. Into the hall crept voices of false counsel, and the wardens who should have guarded its strength instead squandered it. Glory curdled to folly, riches were lost, and the House that had shaken the realm and beyond was brought low. In the darkest hour, Syr Bahlros closed his citadel upon itself — gates sealed shut, drawbridges raised. Towering might shrank to a hollow shell, undone from within. For a time, it seemed the White Rose would be remembered only as the emblem of a lost cause.
Yet Bahlros was no knight to fade into silence. Through long years of exile he kept his armour bright and his sword ready, gathering strength in the shadows until the gates could be thrown wide once more.
Now the sleeper has awoken, scarred but unbowed, at the head of a fervent army whose roar rolls over the moors like a storm. His vow is simple: the White Rose shall not be forgotten, nor remembered only for being brought low. It will stand again.
For Syr Bahlros is not merely survivor of a fall — he is herald of the return.
This artwork is part of the Knights of Football series. It is an independent creative work and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by Crystal Palace FC or the Premier League.
