Thorns of the Cursed Coven — Snow-Bound Witches and the Fight for the Wood

The Song & the Story

Thorns of the Cursed Coven is the third track of Fangs of Valdoria. After Moonlit Howl and Wails in the Marsh — the forest, the marshes, the banshee who had forgotten her name — the five stand in the ruins of a hut in the snow. In the audiobook, the floor is overrun with thorny vines: not ordinary briar, but plants that pulse like a heartbeat, dark and rune-twined, oozing a thick red sap. The vines are a network — they share power. And the banshee, who has been drifting at the edge, begins to remember. Lyra plays the Song of Purification. As she plays, the spirit grows firmer. She was Zori — one of four. The Witch of the East, the Witch of the Dawn. Her sisters Noapte, Amiază, and Seară killed her because she refused to help with the curse; they drowned her. The three are still out there, corrupted. And they have heard the music.

What happens in the story: The three witches step out of the snowstorm into the ruin. They are nightmarish: torn robes, glowing runes, voices like nails on slate. Dorian and Kaeleen distract them — Kaeleen flits and stabs, Dorian blocks bolt after bolt — while Thargrima and Lyra do the real work. The thorns feed the witches. If the vines are destroyed, the sisters lose their power. Thargrima's holy light and Lyra's purifying music merge into a single golden ray. It strikes the heart of the thorn-network. The plants shriek, wither, crumble to dust. One by one the witches are unmade: Noapte becomes a small white ice-fox and flees; Amiază becomes a golden falcon and flies off; Seară, in panic, screams Zori! — and in that moment Zori's name returns to her. She is whole again. Seară too transforms, into a black crow, and is gone. The banshee Zori thanks them. Seek the truth. Love can heal everything. Then she fades, at peace. The five look out through the storm. In the distance: the Count's castle, shadow and stone. Thorns of the Cursed Coven is that fight in the ruins — the thorns, the three sisters, and the moment the mission cleanses what's overgrown and learns that darkness always wants to be understood before it can be broken.

How It Was Created

We made Thorns of the Cursed Coven with Suno. The goal was a track that moved from ritualistic dread to triumphant purge — shimmering arpeggios and metallic percussion in the verses, then ethereal female vocals and epic orchestral-synth crescendos in the chorus — and that could sit in a dark fantasy trailer or a D&D session.

We gave Suno a blend of genres and texture: nu metal with full orchestra, synth-pop, and ethereal female vocals — plus studio quality. The style field spelled out the contrast: punchy, driving beats and shimmering arpeggiated synths in the verses, and epic orchestral-synth crescendos in the chorus with vocals that soar. We added distant choir pads and subtle metallic percussion for a ritualistic atmosphere — the coven's chants, the cracking of deadened bark, the ice and thorns.

The lyrics told the arc: intro through outro, with section labels — but we tried something new. Instead of only [Intro] or [Verse 1 – shadowed] (as in Moonlit Howl), we put arrangement and production cues directly in the labels: e.g. [Intro: sparse synth arpeggio + distant wind FX], [Chorus: full orchestral strings + soaring synth pad + choir lift], [Bridge: half-time, tribal drums + warped synth textures]. That gives Suno a per-section production map: not just where the chorus is, but what should be happening there (strings, pad, choir). Suno isn't a DAW and won't follow every word literally, but it uses these as strong hints for density, rhythm, and which layers to bring in or drop — which increased our control over the arrangement.

How to Recreate It with Suno

In Moonlit Howl we covered style tags and mood tags. In Wails in the Marsh we covered verse–chorus contrast. Here we introduce production cues in section labels — a way to increase control over arrangement per section.

1. Style of Music

For Thorns of the Cursed Coven we used:

nu metal with full orchestra and some electronic pop and female vocals, studio quality,
Haunting nu-metal fused with synth-pop and electronic textures; punchy, driving beats and shimmering arpeggiated synths power the verses,
while ethereal female vocals soar over epic orchestral-synth crescendos in the chorus.
Layer in distant choir pads and subtle metallic percussion for ritualistic atmosphere.

Why this works: Similar to Wails in the Marsh, the style contrasts verses (punchy, driving, shimmering arpeggiated synths) with chorus (ethereal vocals soar, epic orchestral-synth crescendos). Distant choir pads and metallic percussion add the ritualistic atmosphere.

2. Lyrics and Structure

Production cues in labels — a new technique compared to plain [Chorus] or [Chorus – soaring]. You're telling Suno not only where the chorus is and what mood, but which instruments, textures, and rhythm to lean into for that section. Suno treats these as strong hints for density, layers, and feel per section — it increases control over the arrangement.

Principles:

• Clear structure: Section labels on their own lines.
• Production cues in labels: Add arrangement notes after the section name, e.g. [Intro: sparse synth arpeggio + distant wind FX], [Chorus: full orchestral strings + soaring synth pad + choir lift], [Bridge: half-time, tribal drums + warped synth textures], [Final Chorus: modulation up a half-step, full choir + brass-like synth swells]. Suno uses these as a per-section production map.
• Concrete imagery: frost-kissed earth, black sap, thorned rebirth, blood-red spines, frozen halls, bleeding briar — gives the model a scene to lock onto.

Full lyrics with production cues:

[Intro: sparse synth arpeggio + distant wind FX]
A single harp note rings out in snowbound hush…

[Verse 1: driving beat + chugging guitar + bright synth lead]
Footfalls crack the frost-kissed earth,
Black sap weeps from thorned rebirth.
Rhythmic whispers coil in air,
Blood-red spines declare their prayer.

[Pre-Chorus: build with rising pads + hand-drum pulse]
In frozen halls the shadows roam,
Our steel will cleanse what's overgrown…

[Chorus: full orchestral strings + soaring synth pad + choir lift]
Thorns of the coven, feel our cry!
Shatter your curse against the sky!
From bleeding briar to silent stone,
We strip your power—we stand alone!

[Verse 2: add syncopated synth stab + punchy kick drum]
Candles gutter in icy frames,
Chants of dread ignite the flames.
We surge like storms through shattered light,
Uproot the dark, restore the right.

[Pre-Chorus: vocal harmonies + rising electronic riser]
In frozen halls the shadows roam,
Our steel will cleanse what's overgrown…

[Chorus: repeat with extra synth counter-melody]
Thorns of the coven, feel our cry!
Shatter your curse against the sky!
From bleeding briar to silent stone,
We strip your power—we stand alone!

[Bridge: half-time, tribal drums + warped synth textures]
Beneath the ice the root runs deep,
We carve a path—no seed to keep.
Hear the cracking of the deadened bark,
Feel the fury pierce the dark.

[Final Chorus: modulation up a half-step, full choir + brass-like synth swells]
Thorns of the coven, bow to light!
Broken chains fall in our sight!
From bleeding briar to silent stone,
We claim this wood—we stand alone!

[Outro: echoing harp + fading synth pad]
Snow falls soft where curses stem—
New life stirs again…

Why this works: The production cues tell Suno how to arrange each section. [Intro: sparse synth arpeggio + distant wind FX] keeps it thin and atmospheric. [Chorus: full orchestral strings + soaring synth pad + choir lift] brings the right layers so the chorus sounds like the payoff. [Bridge: half-time, tribal drums + warped synth textures] shifts the groove and texture. [Final Chorus: modulation up a half-step, full choir + brass-like synth swells] asks for the biggest climax. Suno may not literally modulate a half-step, but it treats it as "go bigger and more triumphant here" — more control over the climax.

3. How Style and Lyrics Work Together

Style sets the sonic palette (verses: driving, shimmering arpeggiated synths; chorus: ethereal vocals, epic crescendos; ritualistic atmosphere). Lyrics provide structure, imagery, and — with production cues in the labels — a per-section production map that tells Suno which instruments, textures, and rhythm to lean into per section.

For Thorns of the Cursed Coven, the style described what it should sound like, the lyrics gave structure and imagery, and the production cues in the labels steered how each section was arranged — sparse intro, driving verses, building pre-chorus, full strings/pad/choir in the chorus, half-time tribal bridge, modulated choir/brass finale. Together they gave more control than labels and imagery alone.

Play the card above — it's wired to the same player as the album. For the full story: Fangs of Valdoria, Fänge von Valdoria (audiobook), and the D&D 5e campaign.

— Scarlet