Connecting to the theories already presented, this is mine:

A man (let's call him Tony), probably a prince or king of some sort, has handpicked 11 orphans (or littermates, if you will) to become assassins (or knights, or something like that). Nine is the smartest, most talented of the bunch. He becomes so powerful, he leaves the "pack" and announces that he is going to kill Tony, and then the rest of the littermates, one by one.

Tony uses the littermates as obstacles for him ("I leave the baits, the night awaits/Snare well hidden for the littermate."). He manages to trick or get past all but one; not kill them but force them to retreat. The one he could not get past was the only girl in the group. She was in love with him. He couldn't bring himself to hurt or deceive her; love was his one weakness. He tells her, "Don't love me! Hate me, like all the others! Love...love is a hindrance! Besides, haven't you seen the horrible things I've done?!" ...well, something like that. But she doesn't listen. She insists. And she kisses him. "Kisses burn the paperthin wings away," symbolizes how her love sort of humbled him and he realizes he's not as strong as he thought. She was his Achilles' heel.

He spares her, and ends up running away from them, as opposed to killing Tony. He traveled far away to train his mind and soul. He ends up meeting an actual assassin, who agrees to take him under his wing. This assassin wore an eyepatch, leading 9 to assume that he was half-blind. The assassin confirmed this, and taught him how to do many things relying on hearing instead of sight. Then, sense of touch instead of hearing and sight. The assassin told 9 that he had become very good at it. 9 believed he was so good, he could easily kill the littermates and Tony if he were blind and deaf.

Just as the assassin had planned. The littermate had become cocky.

The assassin offered to tear out the littermate's eyes. He agreed to it. He was fine with it. "without my eyes, they failed me...I turned my weakness into a fine profession" talks about this. Then (i still can't figure out how), the assassin literally deafens him.

"more I hear, more I see" is irony. "I can feel the path I choose" refers to his only active sense being touch. "Faced the music, away from the light, alone...Without a view." supports this more.

"Someone thought to know me well Drowned me in a wishing well... Making mistakes, we all do, Worst of mine was trusting in a stranger."

I don't know about "drowned", but I believe the assassin threw 9 into a well to die. 9 realizes his mistake in trusting this stranger.

"For now I'm feeling fine Drank poison, like the sign Now touch the greatest fear Impaired, to look sincere."

I think at this part, 9 is kind of slowly dying. As for the "impaired to look sincere" part, I think it's either about 9, whose faded eyes (from being blind) make him seem innocent; or about the assassin, who looks more nice than he really is.

"One step behind you, turn around and I am gone with what I need. The essence of timely death, cold and dark, loveless heart" Here he reminisces about how he used to be. Clever, sneaky, hardy...this is all gone.

And then he dies.

Thoughts?

All right, might as well start things off.

I personally believe that the beginning of the song starts off in an orphanage or a foster home or something to that effect as Tony stated this song has nothing to do with wolves or animals. The second line of the song "Rotten apples, all the way" suggests that all 'eleven little littermates' are (if I can invoke another SA song) - raised from a broken seed.

The song sort of parallels a Japanese movie 'Azumi' that I remember hearing Tony liked. I never saw it, but I guess the premise is that there were 10 orphans raised to become assassins for the sake of keeping peace in the country, so him writing a song about this scenario isn't too far a reach. The song could also be about the mafia, as I've heard some interpretations that way.

So what happens here is that 'Number Nine' ends up being 'the best, the primus' and the tutor/father/whatever he is becomes afraid of how powerful Number Nine has become ("feeling almighty is after my throne") and the fact that #9 is potentially going to take over his ruling place (sort of like the wolf becoming the heir in 'It Won't Fade').

Then at 1:11 in the song, Number Nine becomes the narrator - as mentioned above. He "leaves the base" and goes on to find his own life, except that he can never live as a normal person because he was brought up to be evil. Sort of like an 'apple doesn't fall far from the tree' scenario.

I'm still trying to figure out the very end of the song, any other interpretations?

That is by far the best interpretation I have ever heard for the song, and I've been seeking one a long time.

That's my one question for Tony, should I manage to meet him this fall. What is this song really about?

this song's lyrics are amazing. Most of sonata's fans wonder what is it about...:S

Hehehe.. I always thought it was about some gargoyles. This is probably because of the lines about the paper thin wings and the cathedral etc...

I have to say SonataArctica (the poster here at the top) has the best interpretation i can think of.

my thoughts about the end are:

Number 9 drinks poison that the father figure gives. He knew the drink was poison, so he acted like he died or something.

9 survived. he starts a "new" life, instead of stealing lives, he becomes a theif/pickpocket.

Does that make any sort of sense?

I think it has a love element.

So, yeah, there are a bunch of kids who are being raised to be assassins or something "evil". But #9, the best and the brightest, falls in love with a girl from the outside world. The guy hates himself because he's being raised as a killer and is afraid of what he might become, and at last, he and the chick are discovered, she's killed, he freaks out and murders everyone, then runs off.

I think.

...yeah.

Am I the only person who thinks this song could possibly be about the fall of Lucifer?

These lyrics almost remind me of Blind Guardian lyrics in how they're obviously "about" something but they're vague enough no one can tell for sure what

After reading JadeVelcroon’s interpretation, I’ve come with a complementary idea:

From "Number nine out of eleven little littermates..." to "Is after my throne."

• It's clear the explanation that #9 became the most talented assassin of the group and crave for the "throne". It could be literally the throne, the role of ruler, the only one free in this place, as the next lines says:

> "Takes a look at the free world behind the gate Of a castle and escapes."

• It seems that they are not free. The 11 littlermates are servants and #9 escapes to the free world, as he "feels almighty" and wishes for more in his life.

>" I leave the baits, the night awaits"

• 9 went away, but will return to his home. He went to taste freedom, but eventually will return by the night, and the "king" sets a trap for #9, as this kind of quest puts his position at risk.

> "Evaded all but one, one by one."

• Here is where my ideas diverge from JadeVelcroon’s. In this case, the #9 didn't kill the other littlermates, he faced and passed through them, one by one, except for one, the last one.

> "Eleven little litter mates, Annihilate."

• This phrase seems to be the command, the 10 littlemates should kill #9, but he is hiding, evading the others, as it's said through "Only Number Nine's not in sight, Hiding, for the moonlight eats the day".

> "Kisses burn the paper thin wings away" It makes sense that the last one that #9 faced got his attention in a loving way. Her kisses confused his feelings and he realize a weakness.

> "Hate me, hate me, if they want you to break me"

• The last part shows that the last one is acting against the orders. Instead of killing him right away, she is showing him love.

> "Love ? is ? for the weak"

• Again, he reafirms the idea of a weakness.

> And the restless, relief in the end. >A broken lock and a twisted dream >For an early tomb, destiny's overruled >Trailed it back to the Pagan Cathedral."

• After fighting the feeling for a long time (restless), he embraces the feeling (relief), trusting in the last one and the possibility of love (a twisted dream), he was after freedom to begin with, so, trusting that life could be even more is very tempting. They go to a place to spend the night together (the broken lock of the Cathedral). However, something else will happen in this place, one of them will die (hence the early tomb).

>Don't love me, don't you dare! >I lie, I cheat and I don't care >Don't you go telling me tales about fidelity.

• Now she is beyond just kisses and the physical attraction. She's selling the idea that she is loyal to him (justifying why she went against the original order of killing him). But he stills unbelieving in such things (as we know from the beginning, #9 was the best assassin, he has a strong mind).

>In (sane), in (pain) >Ran into a needle >Eye (love), Eye (hate) >Don't need anyone >Lights (on), Lights (out)

• These shows his struggle. In his eyes there is love, but also hate. "don' need anyone" reinforces that he should not fall in love. He should be cold, a tool, as he was trained to be.

>Read it loud and clear >And hear the lion roar. -Here his instincts take over and the feelings win the struggle, he trusts her now.

>Without my eyes, they failed me,

• He doesn't see the things as before, now he believes in love

>Knots untied. >I turned my weakness into a > Fine profession

• They get undressed, he is totally seduced and falls for her charms. Now, as they make love through the night the weakness is turned into an activity.

>More I hear, more I see, I can feel >The path I choose

• The more he experiences the moments with her, more he tastes about this new life, free and with love.

>What I did was a must,

• The desire was too strong.

-In the next lines, #9 realizes what happened and regret his mistake.

>Someone thought to know me well >Drowned me in a wishing well

• He believed in her story about loyalty, love etc. and blinded him through desire and dreams (the twisted dream)

>Making mistakes, we all do, >Worst of mine was trusting in a stranger.

• Here #9 realizes she was a stranger. He didn't really know her, nor did she knew him. But she did convince him and in the end got the job done, as he says

>for now I'm feeling fine >Drank poison, liked the sign Even if he is poisoned and will die soon, he is fine for now ("an early tomb" - early because he won't die from aging)

I'm not sure about the next parts, but it could be that:

>Now touch the greatest fear >Impaired, to look sincere." He realizes the lost and the truth. Early she was swearing loyalty and love, she was willing to leave it all to be with him, so lose him would be "the greatest fear" But since it is all a lie, #9 realizes that she was trying to be convincing, "to look sincere". She was acting all this time and her plan was to fulfill the order and annihilate #9.

The final lines could be through the vision of the girl:

> One step behind you, turn around and I am gone with what I need. -One step behind not physically, but as opposed to "one step ahead". She let him think all along that he was controlling the situation, but it was all part of her plan. He believed, and she finished the job.

> The essence of timely death, cold and dark...

• Here she reaffirms her role as a mercenary, got his guard down and went away with a timely death. Cold and dark, as she used his feelings to get close enough.

>Love Less Hard. -He dreamed too much, and this was his doom.

Through the night I've come with another idea, since I can't edit my last proposal, here goes the differences for the last part:

Is not about #9 being killed, is about him coming back to the "castle" and delaying his freedom, as he plans revenge to retain his life and walk away with a love.

The changes begin here:

>A broken lock and a twisted dream

-The broken lock could be from the escape and the twisted dream is #9 dream for freedom.

>For an early tomb, destiny's overruled >Trailed it back to the Pagan Cathedral

• 9 would die, but the last one he faced (the girl) changed his fate, bringing him back to "the castle", that could be the Cathedral.

>Don't love me, don't you dare! From these lines we keep the idea of a love between #9 and another littlermate. She also keeps telling about fidelity, it could be from an oath they made to "the king", or between her and him. "Truth ain't safe..." he is different, want freedom, don't feel reliable.

>In (sane), in (pain) >Ran into a needle >Eye (love), Eye (hate) >Don't need anyone >Lights (on), Lights (out)

These shows his struggle. unsure of his wishes, #9 escaped that day and tasted freedom, now he founds love, described as a weekness, so "ran into a needle", he found a weakspot. In his eyes there's love (for her), but also hate (for the king). And he keeps on thinking that he doesn't need anyone.

>Read it loud and clear >And hear the lion roar.

• as #9 went back to the castle, he apologizes, takes a new oath and hear is scolded (the lion roar - the king yelling)

>Without my eyes, they failed me, >Knots untied.

• 9 no longer look to the world outside the castle, he might be a prisioner or is just part of the plan. The knots could be the bonds to the group, after all, they were his family so far.

>I turned my weakness into a Fine profession

• He tasted love and considered it a weekness, now he turn it to an occupation, something that keeps he going, secretly.

>More I hear, more I see, >I can feel The path I choose

• He can hear outside the castle, the "free world", and is painful to be stuck inside again.

>What I did was a must,

• He had to come back.

>Faced the music, away from the light, alone >Without a view.

• Maybe some kind of celebration in the outside world, but as he can't be part of it, though he can hear the songs alone in the dark, hidden or something.

• "The king" says at the beginning... "Litter mates, all with different fates". So, he gattered all these people, somehow convinced them that he knew them, gained their trust (someone thought to know me well) by selling lies of better life or something (Drowned me in a wishing well).

>Making mistakes, we all do, >Worst of mine was trusting in a stranger.

• Here #9 realizes that trusting "the king" (the stranger) was his worst mistake, and now he has no freedom, as stated next...

>for now I'm feeling fine

• He is ok for the time being, but planning some kind of revenge.

9 had to give up his freedom (Drank poison) and swear loyalty to the king (liked the sign). As a forever servant (Now touch the greatest fear), he has to fake his dissatisfaction (Impaired, to look sincere.)

• 9 plans revenge, and will stay close to the king (One step behind you) for the opportunity ("turn around and I am gone with what I need) to kill him, and walk away with his freedom(The essence of timely death, cold and dark) and a love (Love Less Hard).