The Kolbrin Bible

for this place. Their like was known before, but were not set down for men to see. Now they are made known to the ears of every man. Your welfare and safety has ever been my first concern, but I am a man of battle and a commander of men, not a scribe and recorder”.

“My trusted ones, we are few and the barbarians about us are many. For a while they are well kept in hand, for Cladwigen wishes us well, and his sons are our friends. We have toiled to raise a city and men come and go freely among us. Many ships come in their season. Yet stout warriors who are not friendly press down from the Northeast and therefore vigilance can never be relaxed. We cannot sleep peacefully side by side with the barbarians and must ever be alert. Danger hangs over us like a boulder upon the mountainside, and our safety is like a playstone in the hands of a child. The barbarians do not forget that we are strangers in this land and only while we serve a purpose are we welcome”.

“Yet, my trusted ones, with all the dangers around us it is the dangers threatening within that I fear the most. We are few indeed against the numbers of barbarians, yet we weaken ourselves with foolish strife one with the other and people with people. Our city is a place for buying and selling, a place where things are exchanged. Outside it is a market place where men come and go as they please and they buy and sell without hindrance. We have laws for the city and laws for the marketplace. Amongst us are many craftsmen who exchange the things they make with the barbarians who bring things to eat. We have a good life here, but it is not a life I fully understand. We came from afar to set up a city dedicated to the light, to hold the light. Yet, is this such a city? Do men seek the light and worship it, or do they seek luxury and worship wealth and possessions?”

“When some of us came from the Harbour of Sorrow we were full of praise at our deliverance from death, but amid the forests of fruitfulness much of our gratitude and will was lost. Why must men always be better men in the face of disaster and in the midst of privation, than in the green fields of peace and plenty? Does this not answer the questions of many who ask why there is sorrow and suffering on Earth? Why is it the lot of men to struggle and suffer, if not to make better men?”

“My trusted ones, my eyes may be clouded to the things before them, but I am not blind to your ways. Already our women cast their eyes towards the barbarians, and when women seek men outside their own kind it is a sign of a people’s degeneracy. I read what is written and I fear for the future.”

“Many who are with us in the light will join us and then we shall be stronger in arms and strengthened in belief. (Annotation: How few came!). Yet our destiny lies among the barbarians. They are fine, upright men endowed with courage, do not belittle their ways, but bring them into the light.”

“Our city was not founded as a marketplace, a place for exchanging only the things of Earth. Neither did we come here as conquerors, but as men seeking refuge.”

“My trusted ones, remember that the road of life is not smooth, neither is the way of survival a path of grass. The most needful thing for any people who wish to survive is self-discipline. Think less of gold and more of the iron which protects the gold. Remember, too, these words from the Book of Mithram, The keenest sword is useless unless it be held in the hand of a resolute man. Also, the man who has gold keeps it in peace if he tends his bowstring.”

The remainder of Hoskiah’s words to the people has been lost.

CHAPTER TWELVE THE ROLLS OF RECORD - 6

(Incomplete and Fragmentary)

Before we left Droidesh they brought living sheep and goats and hung them upon a tree standing in the place of assembly. Birds of bright colours and things of worked gold and silver were hung upon the branches. Perfumes and oils with garments. They danced about the tree and hewn wood was brought and laid against it. Three maidens came and it was lit and burnt as an offering to success.

We went Northwards and came to a strand where many ships were drawn up and armed men such as we had not seen before were disputing among themselves with great noise.

We drew off, for they were foreign to us, but others came behind and we were taken in among them and brought before Albanik, the Leader of Armed Men. They pushed around about us and some cried out for blood. They wished to take our ships and possessions, but the leader said, “Leave the deed until the morning, for if blood flows now it will not cease with the foreigners”.

That night the wife of Albanik spoke to him and said, “It would be a foolish thing and an evil deed to slay these strangers, for they have wisdom and are men of learning. Why destroy something you may use to good end?” The leader listened to her advice, for he knew there were many wounded men and none more skilled than we to attend them. Because she was carrying a child our lives were spared and our goods restored to us.

The commander among the captains was a warrior who, while hunting, had slain his own father and so had to flee his own land. With him he had taken the queen captured by sly and subtle means, but we feared him not, for Albanik looked upon us with favourable eyes.

Of the warriors who came with us there were a score of score of men from Ilopinos. They wore helmets of bronze with plumes of scarlet and purple. Their shields were of bronze burnished, so that they shone like the sun and were edged with a band of hardened metal. In length they were two and a half cubits, and in width one and a half cubits. They had spears of unknotted wood six cubits in length, with blades of hard metal set in sockets. Their swords were of pure hard metal worked in a strange way, and in length one and half cubits and in width three fingers breadth. They were horn-handled and bound about with wire of copper and silver. Some among them were armed with war javelins and darts. They had a curious dart that turned over itself in flight, and another that struck in from the side.

In battle they stood three and three to withstand the rush of the enemy, but they were weak in attack, for they moved heavily. With them were slaves and six score attendants who were plunderers of the battlefield, pillagers of the land, the cooks, the baggage keepers and the carriers of burdens. The warriors were the battle craftsmen. In seven days all the ships sailed together and in seven days came upon some land by the sea. It was a place of the dead where all was desolation. In the centre of the land by the sea there stood a temple which had fallen into itself, for there were no people to keep it. The leaders and the chief among them went up to the temple and made sacrifices to their gods whose voices they wished to hear.

The daughter of Laben, the armourer, had hidden herself in the opening behind the flame and spoke to them in a strange tongue. They heard her voice and thought it came from a shadow god. She told them of the land of her mother, called Belharia, and bid them find their way there. She told them to take the Bethedan with them, for they brought good fortune and were beloved by the gods. The leaders went out from the temple believing they had been granted a vision.

We sailed with a large company towards the West and had nothing to fear, except the whirlpool, for the Red Men with us knew the way of the waters. For long days we saw only the sea, and the landsighting birds all came back.

We went out through the mouth of the sea into the sea of the Great River. Past the lands of white copper to the Place of Painted Men, where we drew up the ships and staked them.

Among the fighting men were some from Sparsia whose leader was Korin, called the axeman, but whom we named ‘the cunning one’. These went out into the forests to hunt and the king of that place sent men to take them, but they refused to go and there was a loud dispute.

The bodyguard with the leader of the Painted Men were bowmen and one shot an arrow at Korin. He slewed aside behind his shield and the arrow turned into the throat of a Painted Man who held a sword against him. This started a great fight between forest and sea, and though surrounded by many enemies Korin fought through them. The battle was his because he went forward through the forest and attacked the houses of the Painted Men.

The ships were divided and those who wished to set up the eagle and serpent went to the Harbour of Giants in Belharia. The same giants are builders of great temples and they are six cubits tall.

The ship with Korin stayed with us and he hunted them out of their caves and slew them all, save one giantess. She came to us, bound as a surety for the life of the wife of Albanik.

We came to a bay on one side of which was a forest and on the other a plain where herds grazed. For the men of that place it was the time of the feast of fires and they held games upon the shore and ran races in cleared land behind. At this time they would not fight, so we met them in peace. They wore garments woven in two parts and belted with hide. They had caps of skin or leather, and the tunic which hung about them was darkly coloured in blue, green and brown. They enclosed their legs and feet in dressed skins bound in front with throngs. They had many ornaments of copper, but little gold or silver, though their armbands and brooches shone like silver. They had the art of making copper like silver or gold.

These people hold a great feast before the beginning of the heat, when their god Mago appears. Inside the god were the spirits of men whom the god had eaten, and their voices could be heard calling for deliverance from darkness. Because of the feast these people demanded the giantess, and she was given over to them for the days of feasting.

We did not know the ways of these people and when we saw they wished us to drink blood, we drew apart from them. The headman sent a messenger to us and Korin and the giantess wrestled together, but the giantess was the stronger, so Korin lured her towards the cliff edge. Korin taunted her and laughed at her clumsiness, and then at the break of the cliff he tricked her, so that she rushed forward. As she passed beside him he turned behind her

and pushed, so that she fell over the cliff edge on to a large black rock below. Her back was broken. The same black rock was later split and taken up to be worshipped.

In the place to which we came the deathless stars ride high. The adze rests on the morning and the watchman at the gate of the sky sits at the eastern tiller in the evening. The falcon is rarely seen clearly. This is the Land of Dada.

We warned them, but they would not listen. They were fasting before the battle, the sacred fast before they ate the meat of the offerings. We buried salt beneath the floors of their houses, so that no man would live there again. When the horns sounded the alarm and danger threatened, these shrewd bargainers came running to us. Their faces were wet with the sweat of fear and their lips trembled. When the danger was past they came out with chests puffed up and tongues bragging about their deeds. They were the first to push forward for a share in the plunder.

Korin left to seek them. He took two ships but did not return to his children. The leader may be carried away, but the lowliest of those who followed him has a will which need never be broken. Now when men wish to say a thing is impossible they say, “Where is Korin?”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE ROLLS OF RECORD - 7

In the seven and twentieth year came Emos who was a learned man, and with him came Zadok who was one of us. Mosu, son of Shonthel, came also and others in four large ships. Keeta came in a ship apart. They were welcomed and Keeta set up a place of learning, and many came and sat before him. When Keeta died, those whom he had taught said, “Let us record the knowledge of our master, so that it may be added to the records and not lost.”

We who are the pupils of Keeta and have been blessed by him and purified by water, shall be one. From this day we will call ourselves by the name he gave us, which is ‘Bartha Hedsha Hethed’ The meaning of the words is lost.

God and goodness are one and alike. God is not a person, but The Supreme Spirit. He made the Earth so that it brought forth man and woman, and they lived together in a far away land where everything was pleasant, even the forests. Woman tempted man so that he ate something which was part of God, and man was punished, for he is responsible for woman.

Children were born in their generations and multiplied, until Earth was filled. They built cities of stone and cut channels for water to flow away, and made lakes. They were cunning workers in stone and in wood and in ivory. They made instruments from firestone and pottery in many colours. They raised up temples to the sunlight and worshipped inside many pillars, but within the temples were inner temples where greater things were known. In the Land of Copper, which was the Land of The Golden Light, one man in twelve was a priest. There were priestesses who took care of them and watched over the sacred elements within the temples. The headdresses of the priests were red and they wore feathers and cloaks of black. They had circlets of gold and beads of silver, and there was a spiral of blackstones at their waist.

There was war between those who lived within the city and those who lived beyond its limits. Those who lived within the city grew all kinds of things and clothed themselves with the labour of their hands. Those who lived outside the city were hairy hunters clad in the skin of wild animals.

Outside the grounds of the city there was a holy mountain and priests lived within it. The men of the city brought them herbs and fruit with bread and wine. The men who were not of the city brought them sheep and goats and beasts of the chase.

The men of the city loved wealth, like city dwellers, and were less generous than those who gained their food by strength and hunting. The men of the city held back portions of their dues and caused the priests to look upon them less kindly. When the great day of the sun came and the High Priest gave his blessing of fruitfulness, he withheld it from the city dwellers and gave it only to the hunters and herdsmen. That night, when those who had received the blessings were rejoicing beside the mountain, the city dwellers fell upon them and slew many. This was the cause of a great war in which many men died.

Men did to men what their natures inclined them to do, but they also ravaged women and children. The evil grew in greatness, until the land could no longer contain it and had to be purged clean. Therefore, the revenging dragon was called up out of the heavenly abyss and it lashed the land with fire and thunder. The whole land was filled with its smoky breath and men choked to death.

The land was split apart between the city and the mountain and the sea rolled in upon it, so that the city was

destroyed. The valleys of the mountain were filled with dead men and animals and with trees.

The High Priest survived with seven others who were priests. He brought these, together with one hundred and

ten men and their wives and children, into Labeth, which is a land among high cliffs at the edge of the Wide

Plain.

Here the priests sought to preserve their wisdom and knowledge and pass it on to the children, but it became distorted and misunderstood. They did not understand the radiating power from the bodies of the dead, which could guide the living. Even we do not understand these things clearly.

The priests who came from the Land of Copper could make their soul depart from the body at their command and return as they willed. When ignorant men saw seemingly dead bodies return to life when the soul came back into them, they thought the same could happen to a dead body if kept long enough. Even this superstition stays with us.

Later, when they had left Labern, men believed that if they kept a dead body so that it remained whole, the soul would not finally enter the Sphere of Accounting. Such was the knowledge of their wickedness and fear of their fate that they used every art to prevent the body falling apart and entering decay. They may have believed that until the soul entered the sphere above Earth it remained flexible and capable of acting to counter some of the ill-effects of a life of wickedness and ignorance.

Later still the light of Truth dimmed until it could scarce be seen, but always there were the few within the many and the many hid them. The light of the few was a precious thing safeguarded with diligence and care. The people knew the many, but the few remained unknown, their treasure safe. Gods multiplied, but those who sought Truth among them could always find it if they were sincere and diligent seekers. It was then as it is now. A nation was once made from the blood of kings and it became great and good. The light of Truth was revealed to this nation and it rejoiced in the light, but in a few generations it accepted the light as being something to which it was entitled by heritage. So the nation became careless in the preservation of the light, it was kept in a poorly built and neglected shrine. The winds of adversity came and the light was blown out. Another nation was made from the blood of sturdy herdsmen and the lamp of Truth was lit among them. They, too, rejoiced in the light for a few generations and cherished it in a house of gold. Then a powerful king coveted the house of gold and came with many armed men and drove out the guardians, together with their light. The guardians built a house of reeds for the light, but because the house was so humble they no longer bothered to guard it closely. Then some drunken men came by, staggering like ships with broken steering oars, and the house of reeds was knocked over. The light within burst into an all consuming flame, and not only the house of reeds but the house of gold was destroyed. Still another nation was made out of slaves and they lit a lamp from the Eternal Flame which belongs to all men. Because they had no veil over their light they were blinded and thought it the only light. They became arrogant and called themselves ‘The Chosen of God’. But it was they who made the choice not He. Though their god was a god above Earth and their god, he was not the God of Mankind, and though he serves The Supreme Spirit he is not The Supreme Spirit.

So it is that the Children of Light understand that the majority of men who seek the light are like children playing about a brazier. As a man long-confined in darkness is blinded by the sunlight, so are most men blinded when brought into the presence of the Light of Truth, even though it be heavily veiled. Only gradually can men be brought out of darkness into light.

Yet even the Children of Light have become divided among themselves and one institution became two. The institution of the East claims it is the true guardian of the written records, but now we have books written even before those copied by the scribes of Hoskiah. We are not the Children of the Lesser Light and we know the mysteries of the Hidden Light. Only we in the cold north will survive, for did not Amos write. “Our destiny lies in a much bleaker land where our seed will be planted in strange soil. It will lie within the bosom of an untamed land, until quickened to growth by the warmth of the desires of men”.

Keeta taught that this means we should not seek to spread or reveal the light until our day of destiny, which must lay ahead. Therefore, those who say we must multiply our strength or be lost like a bead among the wheat harvest, are mistaken. They talk against our destiny, which is written and unalterable.

We know nothing of our first leader in Light, except that he was a priest warrior skilled with the spear, and he lived in times of war. His name is not recorded, for he said, “True Masters are to be known by their works and not by their names. They who seek to stand forth from other men and raise themselves up to increase their stature before the generations, seek vain glory”. He said, “I am no more than the storehouse into which the harvest is gathered. The good grain within comes from many fields and is produced by the labours of many men. If I said all this is my own growing, I would lie. Therefore, so that men cannot attribute undeserved greatness to me I make myself faceless and men may see as they will.”

In those days the Children of Light were sought out and persecuted, and no man knew another by his name, for the tools of the tormentors awaited them. Many were hung by the riverbank, feet uppermost, for the governors said, “These people read their books upside down”. The women, they consigned to houses of pleasure, so that many died in their degradation.

We know that the first Leader of Light was among the highborn of Egypt and his name was struck on marble pillars. He was cast down because he carried the lamp of Truth and his name was removed from the records of Egypt. He raised an army, but it was like a goat attacking a wild bull and he was slain in the great marshlands lying near Ethiopia.

He wrote the book which is known to all and the Book of Rites and Ceremonies, which is known only to the elect. He did not write the three books in the Lion Urns, which we alone know, or the Book of The Secret Way. He may have written the Book of Instruction For The Children of The Written Word Within The Children of Light. The manner of keeping the book is taught from generation to generation. The books are our foundation, our shield and our sword. They are our promise and our hope, our guide and our defence. It is said now, as in the days of our fathers and their fathers in the generations before them, that men steal our words and light their lamps from our flame. This may be so, but we have gathered seeds from the flowers of wisdom wherever they grew and planted them within our own garden. Shall we then deny to others what we ourselves have taken? Is it not written that no man can make Truth, but many can find it if they seek? Therefore, is not Truth the property of all men, even though most spurn it? For Truth is not a pleasant draught. Nevertheless, it is true also that we may keep the Truth, as we find it, secured to ourselves. If a man seek for unwrought gold and find it, he has not made it, yet it is still his. Is it not also written, ‘Gold is the treasure of a lifetime, but Truth is the treasure of eternity. Gold can nourish the body, but it may poison the soul’. Which do men treasure most in this place, gold or wisdom? Is it not the earthly thing they can hold in their hands and not the treasure they can safeguard in their hearts? The things they hold in their hands and hearts are already being weighed on the Scales of Fate and our destiny decreed accordingly. Many in this place, who seek the light and have gone so far and no further, declare this is not what they sought and go back discarding what they have. Yet if a man seek gold and find silver, does he throw it away? Better half a loaf than no loaf at all. If gold were as plentiful as copper it would be valued less than silver. Only the things hard to obtain have value, and what is more difficult to discover than Eternal Truth, which must be sought beyond the boundaries of Earth? Only the beginning of the long road towards it is here and it is this beginning you must seek. Every journey has a beginning and an end, and you can make your way only in one direction. If you are dispirited, be comforted by the knowledge that you need only find the beginning of the road. Then, having found it, let every step you take be in the right direction. The journey is long and the road rough and stony, but do not turn back before you reach the first staging post, you will find new strength and encouragement there.

Our light was lit in the land of our beginnings. Many books were made and kept in four places, and we were in truth Children of The Written Word. There were scribes and readers, officials and guardians. There were servants and those who served in the courtyards.

Strangers came into the land of our beginnings and brought practices which were different but more acceptable. They promised an easier road, they displayed deceitful marvels, the usual baits thrown to the ignorant. Their hands were heavy against us, and what could we show except Truth arrayed in her earthly robes of simplicity? Even the princes turned against their own customs and the twin priesthoods of the undergods became earthlywise and corrupt. Few were ready to undergo the perils of initiation, no more were prepared to accept the austere life prescribed. As spiritual barrenness spread, evil practices crept in to fill the places vacated by the Sacred Mysteries. The candidates accepted into the body of light became fewer and fewer. As the name, The Children of Light’, is written in the old characters, it may also be read as The Children of The Written Word’ and this is a truth. We alone preserve our secrets in this manner. The Children of Light followed a destined course by abandoning their altars in the land of their beginnings, and went to dwell among strangers where many ate at one table. We do not know what befell of their books, for those we have are rewritten. We know the Children of The Written Word went Northward after the scattering, but we do not know what were their journeyings.

We know about Lothan and Kabel Kai, designer of houses, who sailed around the edge of the Earth. With them was Raileb, the scribe, who knew hidden mysteries. They gathered the records, which were in Kindia, and carried them the long sea journey, believing the records safer among the barbarians than among those who sought to destroy them. If the records are destroyed by barbarians it will be done in ignorance and not in the knowledge of wickedness. Many books were laid open to the eyes of ignorant men and destroyed.

They came to the Harbour of Sorrow, which lies by the Hazy Sea, away from the Land of Mists. There great trees grew and smaller trees upon them, and moss hung from them like door curtains. It lay near the great shallow waters South of the Isle of Hawhige and North of the Sea Pass. Green pearls are found there. Many died in the Harbour of Sorrow, for it was a place with a curse upon it, which caused an evil sickness. The Sons of Fire came with Hoskiah and saved them, and they came to this place and built a city. Labrun, the son of Koreb, was governor.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE ROLLS OF RECORD - 8

(This was originally transcribed in full, but many portions of the written pages are missing.)

The sister of Kabel Kai was born in the House of Sothus and her name was Amarahiti. There were four children

and one still remains among us. Amarahiti was said to be a lovely-faced woman.

In the days when the city was being built, the barbarians came and went freely among us Many came but stood off and watched from afar, for they did not understand our ways. Among those who came was Cluth, the son of Cladda and brother of Cladwigen, and he talked with Amarahiti in the days when she was still in her father’s household. In those days she sat at the Place of the Talking Stone, which still stands in its place, for she was among those who sought to know the speech of the barbarians.

In the season of fruitfulness the true wife of Cladda was overcome with a sickness which no one among her own people could cure, not even the wise men or priests who were able enough in such things. Therefore, Cluth came to Ramana, the mother of Amarahiti, who was known afar for her skill with herbs. Amarahiti came with Cluth, to speak for him. When Ramana understood his needs she and Amarahiti went with him, taking two armed men and men of the barbarians. The peace of Cladwigen went before them. They came to the place where the true wife of Cladda lay, on the evening of the second day. The wise men and priests went among the people, muttering against the women and dark looks were cast upon Ramana.

The mother of Amarahiti cleansed the sick woman with ashes and made a brew of herbs and bitter bark of the river ash. She sat by the true wife of Cladda and in the morning the sick body no longer burned, neither did it consume itself. When the priests of the barbarians heard about it they declared it was not a thing of goodness, but something brought about by evil arts. They told people a devil was loosed among them, whose trailing vapours they saw going among the huts. When darkness came that night there were loud cries among the barbarians, for many were seized with weakness and vomiting, but this was something brought about by the priests and not by the devil.

Among the barbarians the priests were held in high regard and so the true wife of Cladda sought to appease them. She called the highest of the priests to her and asked him what should be done to make the evil depart and leave the people in peace. The priest told her that if the two foreign women were sent away, their evil and the devil would depart with them. He asked her to let her own people treat her after their own manner. He told her that the things which cured sickness in another race would not cure sickness in theirs. The true wife of Cladda, seeking to avoid strife and being already half cured, said it would be done as he wished. So Amarahiti and her mother departed, together with their servants and the armed men who accompanied them. On the night after they left the true wife of Cladda died, with vomit stopping in her throat. Then the priests made their voices heard among the barbarians and told them to behold the work of the devil which remained among them. They said it had not departed, nor would it leave until it was appeased. They spoke in such a manner that men of the barbarians set out in haste and came upon the women and Cluth, who with armed men were preparing to leave their camping place. When Cluth heard the words of the priests spoken by those who came he was dismayed and knew not what to do. There was a man among those who came, who spoke many words to Cluth, so that he was stirred up against our women. For Cluth was a barbarian and their ways were his ways. (Here some three hundred and fifty words are missing).

It resumes: Amarahiti turned her face towards Cluth and told him that by strength alone he had brought her to this distant place and its stronghold. That through his stubbornness her people had died and her mother had been wounded. She said that though the priests called for the sacrifice of her modesty, after the customs of his people, she was already made sacred to a man of her own and would rather die than be degraded. She asked him what would be his pleasure, and would it not be even less than that given by a woman with a price, who would at any rate be willing to please. What a small pleasure that is set against the pleasure women can really give. (Indistinct, then several lines missing). Cluth stood apart with his arms (Part missing). The priests prepared the

cage and Amarahiti was fetched (some words missing) stood by with dignified modesty. Her mother sat apart before the image (large part lost here).

It begins again: Away Cluth lay against the bole of the tree and when they fetched her to him he raised himself up. He hardly stood, for he was bloodied and weak. Amarahiti told him that never had woman beheld a braver man, though a foolish one. Down at the water’s edge lay Kabel Kai and the men who had cut the lashings of the structure laved his wounds.

The old man who had read the omens and divided the people bade those nearby to carry Cluth to the riverbank. When they came nearby Kabel Kai had disappeared into the thickets of the forest. The men of Kelkilith remained on the other side.

They left the destroyed place and the buried dead behind them and Amarahiti stayed in the keeping of the priests of Cladwigen. In this manner they came to the place where Cladwigen and his warriors were assembled to meet the enemy. They were received joyfully, but there was sorrow for Kabel Kai whose cunning had carried the day. They feared for him, thinking he had been taken by the Wictas.

Cluth was slain in the battle with the Wictas and the Men of Broad Knives at the crossing of the river now called by the barbarians Cluthradrodwin. Kabel Kai was not taken, though he was sorely wounded. His face was torn from the blows of the spiked club, so that flesh hung loosely down. He was twisted, for his shoulder was broken when the logs fell upon him. So he remained hidden within the forest, the companion of beasts, for his appearance caused men to shudder.

When the leaves left the trees in the fall of the year he came close in to the city, near the boundary where Amarahiti was wont to sit, by the side of the flowing stream. In the winter he was clothed with skins and moved hardly.

At the time of the midwinter feast of the barbarians the people of the city met them on common ground beyond the city and before the forest. Fires were lit and there was feasting and revelry. Gifts were exchanged between the people of the city and the barbarians. There was an image (part missing).

Amarahiti was sorrowful because of this and withdrew into some bushes close by the stream. With her were the two hounds. The hounds smelled out Kabel Kai, for he had come close, being drawn by the warmth and cheerfulness at the place of feasting. They leaped upon him gladly, for they knew him. Kabel Kai sought to escape back into the forest, but Amarahiti caught him by the hand. She looked at him and fell on his neck with tears. She covered him with her cloak of coney fur and when her two attendants came they carried him to a sheltered place close by the stream. (Some five paragraphs are missing).

It goes on: The most skilful with herbs among them. In the spring of the year they returned as husband and wife and were welcomed with a great feast. They were remarried within the house of Kabel Kai. The fortress of Cluth was built up again by Kabel Kai according to his promise, and the sons of Cluth live there in these days. It stands on high ground rising out of the waters, surrounded by a high wall of logs. The city was built and finished with a wall which was two walls of wood with soil between. Men came in ships, with cloth and pottery, with things of metal and shells and beads. The barbarians gave much for cloth dyed scarlet, for their tree blue is not fast in cloth. Scarlet is made nowhere except in the land of The Sons of Fire, where a white fish turns scarlet under the warmth of the sun. Men say that those who bring the scarlet cloth declare it to have been found in this manner: A man was out hunting with his dog and while they walked along the strand the dog caught a fish which it carried to its master in its mouth. The man saw a scarlet stain on the dog’s mouth and wiped it away with a piece of linen. When the colour could not be withdrawn from the cloth it was taken to a dyer who sought out the thing that had made it.

The temple was built within the city and raised up on logs. Beside it was the Place of Instruction and just before it was the Place of Exchanging. It stands today as a sanctuary and a centre for those who seek the light. In its keeping are the records of the Children of Light who are the Children of the Written Word. But all is not well with the heart and spirit of the city, which is the people. A city lives not by the wood and stones with which it is built. Therefore, since the coming of Samon of the Barhedhoy and those who follow Ameth, we who are the heart of the Children of Light prepare our departure. (Some words missing). By the waters of Glaith not far distant where we may dwell by ourselves.

The first books we leave in the temple with those who guard them, but we have made other books which will go with us. In another place we will make them incorruptible, (piece missing). This we leave with you, as we also take it with us, so that it may not be lost. The names are written and the seals placed.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE BOOK OF KADMIS

By command of our master Lodas, son of Kadmis and Karla, by the hand of Orailuga, the writer born of the Hortheni. Set down in the seven and eightieth year of the temple, which is the fourth year in the cycle of Balgren and the nineth year of our oath.

As man moves in air, so does God move in goodness. As God is incomprehensible to man as mortal man but comprehensible to him as man in spirit, so is God not a Being with the mere attributes of men but The Supreme Spirit among spirits. As man stands at the apex of material creation, so is The Supreme Spirit the Ultimate Unity above the spiritual sphere.

From this day forward we shall be known as the Craftsmen of The Supreme Spirit, and this place, upon the waters of Glaith which we call the Valley of Reeds, known to those about us as Carsteflan, shall be called the Smithy of The Supreme Spirit.

The boundaries of the land pledged solely unto us are the waters below, upward of the markpost three thousand and two score set paces. Downward of the markpost one thousand and twelve set paces. In the water and its divisions you may fish and gather reeds and cut water herbage over to its further bank. Landward of the markpost, at four thousand four score and ten paces is the stone placed by Calraneh, set upright, and there is the boundary to the East. Out ward from this, two thousand and five hundred set paces on each side is placed a markstone set that all may recognise it. From these stones to the markposts on the waters edge are the boundaries North and South.

Within the boundaries the land shall be clear of trees and shall be pastured and sown, and therein we shall have our habitations. In the forest about us may be gathered wood, and swine may be fed there and we may hunt. The House of Men shall remain as before, but no longer shall we be divided into parts. Men shall be made men as they have been in the past. If any man be in years and without wife and children, or having a son who is a man placed in his stead, he may enter wholly into the House of Men.

No man shall absent himself from the House of Men at his times, unless by dispensation of the Houseruler, or if it be impossible for him to be there. But all time not served shall be served doubly later, unless, with the dispensation of the Houseruler, it is waived.

The Ruler outside the House of Men shall be a man chosen by the council, which shall be four men chosen in meeting together at noon, one day before midwinter’s eve. The Ruler and the council shall govern and judge in all things among us, but they shall not alter these decrees, which shall stand among us as a rock. We will govern our lives by them and abide by them and pass them on to those who follow. These, together with the words of the Holy Writ, are the candle stick and container for the mortal Light of Truth which is among us. They shall be honoured by all who walk in that light, now and henceforth.

They shall be written on copper made incorruptible and placed within the sacred urns, together with the records. Yet they shall remain with us and be among us written on tablets of wood.

We shall keep the decrees of Hoskiah and abide by them and their punishments. Though the punishments may be changed by the council, so that men are lashed with the whip and the women with leathern throngs or wands of wood. We now have with us the decrees of Amos and they alone shall stand before those of Hoskiah. All other laws shall stand according to the order of their numbering. Where laws are at variance one shall not be set against another, but that which is latest shall stand highest and the others be subordinate.

The decrees of the Old Law, which is not written, shall be kept only if their keeping be the custom in judgement. Let no man build a habitation of brick or stone upon these lands, for this is an unlawful thing unto the people within whom we dwell.

If any decree be set against another, the last written decree shall prevail, except between the decrees of Amos and Hoskiah. Let no man change to his benefit the brandmark upon the beast of another, for this is an unlawful thing. If done, the wrong shall be adjusted by restoring double the value and if done again by restoring treble. Let no man among us worship otherwise than in the manner of our brotherhood. To the rituals nothing shall be added and nothing taken away. Our beliefs shall be supported manfully, without shame and with all our strength. You shall not be faint-hearted when danger threatens, nor indifferent when hard-pressed. No man among us shall be voiceless when our beliefs are ridiculed, or remain passive before their enemies. If anyone become a coward or fail in this, he shall not be numbered among us.

The works of men are imperfect and no man has ever seen the Light of Truth in absolute purity. Therefore, though two things within the body of our written records may appear contradictory, if not capable of reconciliation through greater understanding, the thing written later, unless a manifest error, shall be more acceptable. Be men of good faith, goodwill and commonsense. Nothing passing through the hands of many men escapes contamination. Only sincerity and diligence will maintain its purity. Nevertheless, having established something, uphold it steadfastly. In this sphere of falsity, cling to every truth, as a man swept out to sea by the river torrents clings to a log.

All men held captive for anything they may have done, and not yet brought before the council or punished, shall be kept encaged at the waters edge. A man may be encaged as a punishment and the cage either covered or uncovered. If a man must die he may die either in clean or unclean waters, as is done by the people who surround us. No man shall draw blood to slay in judgement.

A man shall take his brother’s wife into his household, if his brother die and leave her unprotected. The unprotected of any man’s bloodkin or lawkin shall become his responsibility. Inasmuch as the Lord of Heaven mated with the Queen of Heaven, brother and sister are not forbidden to each other under the Old Law. A man shall not gaze upon the nakedness of any of his bloodkin or lawkin in lust, and no woman shall expose her nakedness to any man not her husband. Punishments may be executed either by burning or the cage. Every man shall learn to fight and defend himself with the axe, the bow, the spear, the sword, the javelin or the sling, and all weapons of the hand shall be sharpened.

Every man among us shall know the words of the Holy Writ by understanding of the writings or by memory. They shall be cut into his heart, as they are on copper and wood.

The records shall now be written in the Sacred Characters and not in letters of the Sons of Fire. Line for line the letters of the People of the Five Red Gods shall be used, the letters from the skysigns seen by the Master of Writing.

(Many following chapters are lost.) CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE RECONSTRUCTION BY KADAIRATH

The Master was seated at his table, and, about him in a half circle, were those he instructed, and he taught them in this manner:

“My brothers, these are the ordinances of living and the laws which are the ordinances of men. No law, whether it be of The Supreme Spirit or of man, wholly produces happiness and causes no sorrow. So, to be worthy and good an ordinance or law must produce more contentment and happiness than it prevents. It must also prevent more sorrow and confusion than it produces, or it would be a work of wickedness and a memorial to the follies of men”.

“Pleasure never comes unadulterated and no form of goodness which man seeks to promote is unencumbered with restriction. Nonetheless, there is no form of goodness which is unproductive of happiness in the hands of those governed with wisdom. Joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, success and failure are all moulding processes operating on the spirits and natures of men. Neither of the opposites is of less importance than the other.” These were the things taught:

‘The nature of every person is different and all tend to drift towards the circles which accord with their natures. Therefore, we set a standard, which not all will find acceptable, so that only those whose natures demand the best find our company congenial.”

“Unless the soul of each man and woman is developed and disciplined by the restraints of spiritual and material decrees, it cannot rise above its earthly elements. As the earthly body must be kept fit by discipline and self-control, and become gross and weak through overindulgence or indifference, so is the spirit controlling the body required to exercise restraint.”

“Every law, whether arising in the sphere of the spirit or the sphere of matter, suppresses something arising out of the nature of man and therefore calls for the exercise of restraint and forbearance. Yet is it not true that though every just law restrains something within men and women, it also restricts evil and things which are not good? The less a law imposes upon men and women and the more it imposes upon the things detrimental to their welfare, the better the law. All laws are paid for out of treasury of freedom, the lower the cost the better the law.” “The laws of earthly rulers are kept by force of arms, but the keeping of the higher spiritual laws can only be ensured through enlightenment and wisdom. The causes of misjudgments, sorrow and remorse stem more frequently from breaches in spiritual laws than in earthly ones.”

“Moral laws and restraints are essential to the progress and welfare of mankind. When passions are unrestricted and weaknesses unfenced by moral laws, various forms of vice and perversions become accepted and sap the stamina of nations. When the abnormal is given free access to intrude upon the normal, the nation degenerates, the race is contaminated and mankind suffers a reverse. The Great Law places an obligation upon mankind to improve itself. Every man and woman must safeguard their heritage and raise themselves above earthly sordidness. This is one of the reasons for living. The struggle of life is with man, the struggle of man is with himself.” “Wise leaders in every land and age have made laws restraining the weak and abnormal from satisfying their carnal appetites and immoral urges. If their own uncontrolled desires were allowed freedom to dictate their actions, then not only would the weak and abnormal destroy themselves, but they would be like a cancer in the living body of mankind.”

“The Sacred Books tell us that the nature of man contains a sense of shame. This is so, and it is there that he may also know the meaning of decency and be proud of himself as a man. It is there to make a better state known to him, a state of spiritual cleanliness and purity.”

“Such knowledge does not come naturally to man, any more than good pastures come naturally to the husbandman. The city over the hill was founded in goodness, and its founders were not men who found pleasure in wickedness. Nonetheless, as the years passed it became apparent that all was not well within its walls. Now, because of the inclination of its inhabitants, the city’s days are numbered.”

“Men come across the sea in ships from the South, bringing things much sought after by the people who surround us, who go into the city to exchange the things they have caught or grown, or which have been dug out of the ground. Things are exchanged in the marketplace of the city, but they are for the enjoyment of the body, not the satisfaction of the soul.”

“Nonetheless, men will always be driven, by their very natures, to seek for and obtain things which do not satisfy any earthly appetite. Such things are those which delight the hearts of men by their beauty, or bring inward joy and contentment. Also things which bring pleasure to loved ones and things which inspire men to noble deeds. With all the earthliness of man the things most sought and desired are those which stir the forces within the soul, and not the forces within the body. When it is otherwise mankind will slip backwards towards the beasts.”

This is rewritten in our tongue, through a rethinking of the text by Anewidowl.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

PART OF A MARRIAGE PLEDGE

My name is Farsis, from the house of Golaith and I am without wife. These are my pledges to Awerit of Glendargi:

“Here, in the light of day, before The Supreme Spirit and before all men, in the sight of my father Bealin and your mother Goronway, I establish you as my wife.”

“I shall not fail to consult you before I take another wife and you will never be other than headwife. You will never lack for food and clothing, though the food may be uncooked and the cloth unwoven. A roof shall always cover your head and a weapon be ever ready for your protection. I will always be considerate of your wants and always careful in things relating to your welfare. Whatever good fortune comes it will be shared with you and our children.”

“I will protect you through every year of my life and shelter you from every calamity to the best of my ability. An insult to you shall be an insult to me and every man of my blood. As from this day, my house is your house. What your father and your father’s house were to you before, now am I and my house.”

“Should greater duties call me from your side, I will take every precaution for your safety and welfare. Should I leave you, through any change of heart or darkening of thoughts, or should I slight the pledge given here and take to myself another woman in your stead, then, unless you have brought shame on me and my house by committing the great wickedness of women, I shall pay to your father’s house twice the bridal price. I shall also bestow upon you a half share of our property and possessions joined together since marriage. Each of our children shall be given its proper portion of all my property and possessions, and it shall be established in the hands of the king’s servants.” “Whatever comes to you as bridal gifts or is brought with you as your own shall be yours. I shall always safeguard and defend it. I will never take it to myself so that you are deprived of it, unless for the one wrong which defiles my house and mocks my name. Whatever your father gives shall be ours, after the custom of the great laws.”

“Your infirmities are accepted, to be shared with you, and the children you bear shall always be mine. No man shall ever mock you or abuse you without my hand being against him. No man shall ever wrongfully lay hands upon you, for you are mine, now and for always.”

“I will not neglect the upbringing of our children, but they shall be raised according to my own light. You may follow your own creed even as I follow mine, each being tolerant towards the other.” Those are my pledges, my hand and my token.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE MASIBA AMENDMENTS

These are the lawful changes witnessed before Masiba:

“No man or woman shall own a slave, and no maiden or woman shall enter the household of another except as a wife or maidservant. To possess a concubine is no longer lawful. A maidservant shall be under the protection of the master of the household wherein she serves, and he shall render her up in due time. If he lay hands on her in anger he shall make due payment for it, and if he seduce her he shall forfeit to her household a third part of his possessions and may be otherwise dealt with lawfully.”

“If anyone strike a half wit or injure one in any way he shall be severely dealt with lawfully. Courtfathers shall

be appointed, who will be protectors of widows, orphans, half wits, the afflicted by fate and those assigned to

them. The Courtfathers may be responsible themselves or they may appoint guardians. The property and

possessions of any person may be placed in their care. If the Courtfathers act without good faith, deceitfully or

carelessly in their trust they shall make restitution without stint and be punished otherwise.”

“If two men fight without weapons, using their hands, without wood or stone except that they may use staves or

sticks, and one be injured so that he keep to his bed upward of three days, the other shall pay for his loss of time

and full healing. If any man gain deceitfully by keeping to his bed declaring himself to be hurt sorely, he shall

not keep his gains and shall be punished otherwise. If a man fight with wood and stone in his hands, or

unlawfully with weapons, he shall be punished severely. If an armed man attack another who is unarmed he

shall pay heavy compensation and be punished severely.”

“If, when men fight, a woman with child is hurt so that she suffer, or if at any

time a man cause injury to a woman with child so that either die, he shall pay

with his own life. If it can be doubted whether a man caused an unborn child to

be stillborn he shall not die, but can be made to pay compensation to the

husband of the woman,”

“After her punishment the life of an adulteress shall be in the hands of her husband. If he redeem her he may deal with her as he wish. If he redeem her but do not wish to deal with her, she shall still be denied the status of wife.”

“If a woman use a substance so that she may not conceive, her husband may punish her by whipping or beating, providing he does not draw blood or maim.”

“If a woman make a substance which prevents conception, or give or convey this substance to a woman, she shall be whipped with wands, as before. From this time the whipping shall be done on three days following each other and she can be made to pay compensation. If a man make, give or convey this substance, he shall be severely dealt with.”

“If a woman cause her unborn child to be stillborn, she shall be secluded in a place of confinement for a month and whipped with ten strokes of the wand every third day. If anyone supply a potion to cause an unborn child to die, they shall be punished. If a woman, she shall suffer double the punishment of a mother who causes her child to be stillborn, and can be made to pay compensation. If a man, he shall be much more severly dealt with.” “If anyone poison an animal belonging to another, that person shall pay compensation to no less three times the value.”

“The flesh of horse, squirrel and rat shall not be eaten. The badger is a creature sacred to our fathers because it was their salvation, and it shall not be slain.”

“When a child stands on the threshold of manhood and his manly organs become active, he shall be made a man after the old custom. He shall be handed over the threshold stone and welcomed as in times past, but this shall be the new declaration: “I know without doubt what I am. I am the seed of divinity implanted within a body of flesh. I belong with those who walk the Great Path of the True Way and my place is beside them. I am a man knowing manly ways and I will do what is required of me as a man”.

“My duty is to always protect those who walk with me and never deny my beliefs. I shall be steadfast even under persecution. The tormentors’ instruments will not open my mouth. I undertake to bring at least one convert into the light”.

“My duty is to take a wife and beget children who will be raised in the light of the Great Path of the True Way. My duty is to provide for them in every way within my power and to instruct them in the paths of wisdom.” “My duty is to learn a skilled craft. I will be kind to animals, to vegetation and to the soil.

I will not wilfully harm a wild creature or a tree. My duty is to oppose all forms of disorder and lawlessness. It is to learn the purpose of life and to try to understand the design of The Supreme Spirit Who laid all things out in orderliness. I know I must always keep my thoughts clean, my words true and good and my deeds manly.” “I know there is a path of evil. It is the way of weakness and cowardice, which leads to self-destruction. I will fight all forms of wickedness and evil wherever I find them and I know I cannot go manfully through life without opposition and struggle”.

“I know that all men are born mortal and all must die in body, but I believe I am a soul with the potentiality of everlasting life. If, during the trials of life, I am assailed by doubt I will not remain passive before it”. “I promise to obey the code of manliness and to follow the paths of wisdom. My tongue will ever speak true and my hand do good. I know that just to do good is not sufficient, but I must attack evil. My duty is to oppose wicked men and their ways, and I will abide in peace with my brothers”.

“My duty is to learn and to understand the teachings of the Holy Writ, so that I may direct my children by its light. I will uphold and support the Brotherhood all the days of my life and expound its teachings to others. I acknowledge that only by example can I be a true and worthy exponent.

“I will never oppress any man for his belief, unless he first attack mine. Even then I will bear him with tolerance, until his oppression threatens to overwhelm me. I will never agree to the conversion of men by force, even for their own good, for this is an evil thing. My only arguments shall be example and commonsense”. ‘The faith I hold shall not be something imprisoned within my thoughts, but something lived and expressed in deeds. I give thanks for the knowledge that I am a living soul, but I know full well the grave responsibility I bear towards my future being. I will not be a disgrace to Earth when I pass to the greater realm beyond.” “When I become a father of children I. shall accept responsibility for their wrongdoing, even as credit is claimed for their goodness. I shall not seek to blame others for my own failures. I shall be ever mindful of the good things of life and grateful for them. I shall suffer adversity and affliction with fortitude, rising above them like a man and not cringing before them like a dog under the stick of his master. Doubts, fears, unnatural desires and unmanly urges may lurk along my path, like forest demons which waylay those who travel, but I shall overcome them.”

“I will not hide my contempt for the workers of wickedness and servants of evil, and though they may be in the seats of the mighty I will accord them no respect. I will never commend that which is wicked.” “I recognise that my soul and body compete for the satisfaction of their separate desires. I know that each day the body dies a little, that every day it draws nearer to the dark shore. Therefore, I will follow the precepts of prudence and each and every day will be a step forward in the awakening of my soul. I shall not punish my trueself for the sake of satisfying a decaying body”.

“I will live in the light as revealed in the Holy Writ, the Written Light as revealed to the Brothers of the Book. I will live as a man, acknowledging my duties and obligations as a man, and I will die as a man.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN THE LETTER OF MATA A SON OF AGNER

The barbarian asks, “Who and What is The Supreme Spirit?” Say unto him, “Conceive it as a Being even above your greatest god. If it helps in your understanding, see The Supreme Spirit as a God reflecting His image as yourself. It is He who fills Heaven and Earth with His might, and His powers are displayed in the elemental forces. He is now as in the beginning and will be no different after the end. He formed men by building an earthly structure around a heavenly seed and into this he infused the vapours of life. He maintains the order of the Heavens and stabilises the land in the waters. His breath is the breath of life and He causes water to fall and greenery to live”. Say to the barbarian, “Look about you and see God reflected as in a mirror. No mortal man has ever looked upon Him directly, but His reflection may be seen with immunity”.

The barbarian seeks a god he can see, but try and make him understand this is impossible, because of God’s very greatness and the littleness of man. Take the barbarian out next time the sun shines at its strength and ask him to gaze upon it. He will be forced to admit that it is beyond his powers to do so. Then say unto him, “See, it is beyond your power to look upon even the shield behind which Haula hides himself because of his brightness. Yet even this great god is no more than a faint, far off reflection embodying the ray carrying power from The Supreme Spirit. How then could you hope to look upon the source of power itself?”

The barbarians are still children and these things do not easily come within their understanding. Because of this it may be best if they were taught by simple tales, like children, and so brought into the hght gradually. A behef

in The Supreme Spirit is of no great importance. An inquiry into His nature by the ignorant is purposeless foolishness. It is of much more importance to men that they believe in their own souls. Belief in a god of any sort without belief in the immortality of man and his godlikeness serves no end. If a god existed without man deriving any benefit from his existence, it would be better for man to ignore him. This, however, is not the case. Man seeks unity and communion with The Supreme Spirit only for his own benefit. Man has a destiny founded in something greater than himself, and hence his need for that something.

The existence of a Supreme Being is not just something to accept, believe in and ignore. A belief, faith alone, cannot be ends in themselves, for nothing exists without purpose. Simple belief in a Supreme Being is not enough, we must know the purpose or intention of the Being. If we believe this Supreme Being created us, however this was brought about, we must seek to discover the purpose behind our creation. If we were created to serve some purpose, to do something we were intended to do, we must do it or earn our Creator’s displeasure. Does the potter keep the pot useless for its purpose, or the smith keep unwrought metal? Only things which serve the purpose for which they were intended are kept and cherished.

Therefore, we who are brothers, were taught not only to believe in a Supreme Being but also in our similarity to Him. The Supreme Spirit is not a stranger beyond our ken, the powers of The Supreme Spirit infuse every fibre of our bodies.

If we have difficulties among the barbarians, the difficulties here are no less. The Truth we have seems not only unpalatable but also indigestible. Men seek tastier food, even though it is less sustaining, and few replace the brothers who depart. Would we serve better if we presented Truth as a draught diluted with water and honey? The threat of the barbarian king is something upon which you shall be counselled. If you are threatened with the alternatives of death or transgressing our laws, you may transgress them within reason and the bounds of conscience. If, however, you are required to deny all that you hold to be good and true, to betray all that we hold sacred, then you must accept death for the sake of your soul. You will be informed about these things by Kuin of Abalon who comes later, so only the things you enquire about are answered.

For the sake of the barbarians it is perhaps best to call The Supreme Spirit, ‘God, The God without a Name.’ This will solve some difficulties, and if the barbarians think themselves superior because they contain Him within a name, let it be so and hold yourself in peace.

Say to the barbarians, “As the soul of man fills his body, so does God fill His domain. As the soul surrounds and contains the body, so is it with God and his creation. As the soul sees but cannot be seen, so does God see without being seen. As the soul feels, so does God. As the soul oversees the nourishment of the body, so does God revitalise the whole of His habitation. As the soul occupies an unfindable place within the body of man, so is the residence of God unfathomable. No man can know the seat of the soul and no man can know the seat of God.”

The barbarians make images of God to make Him more understandable. Are we much better who make images of Him in our likeness within our thoughts? Not perhaps because we believe Him so, but to make Him more understandable.

As man’s understanding of God increases, so does God recede; so that though through the ages man comes to understand God better, He ever keeps the same distance away. We who dwell in the light of The Supreme Spirit have come closer to understanding, not because we are better men but because we have devoted our lives to the search. If any man seek carefully and diligently enough he must find whatever it is he seeks. The rest of this letter is missing, but on a small recovered scrap dealing with buildings, it refers to Galheda. Elsewhere it is stated Galheda rewrote it.

CHAPTER TWENTY THE TEACHINGS OF SADEK

All men within the Brotherhood are to be taught to live by these ordinances, which provide for the discipline of the spirit:

Men shall be made to abstain from all manner of wickedness and hold fast to all that is good. They shall become speakers of Truth and followers of uprightness, and justice shall be upheld in their hands. The virtues are staffs which will aid man in his long journey through life to the gate of his soul’s unfolding.

There are guides upon the path, guideposts and places of rest and shelter for the weary. There is provender to be found by the wayside and there are many things to be discovered along the trackways. (About two paragraphs missing).

The Master shall admit into the Brotherhood all who have, by diligent study and rigid self-rule, established themselves. They shall become one with those who climb the steps, and find their appointed place. The Master shall instruct them in the School of Light and Life, revealing unto them all the secrets of their nature and the manner of the soul’s release. There shall be no unnecessary chastisements here and no particular rewards. Austerity for its own sake shall not be practised.

Every man who comes under the Master’s hand, led forth by his nominator into the presence of the acceptors, shall bring with him all his skill, knowledge and possessions. He shall have been properly observed, judged and questioned before coming before the acceptors, and shall not do so until he has been here for one year. The next symbols shown are those representing the Design and The Law, these are the great unchanging things, lasting forever, they were the same in the time of our first forefather, as they will be in the time of our last descendant. (Much missing.)

No man shall remain within the Brotherhood, who does not live by these our ordinances. The man who walks in filth befouls not only his own floor but also the thresholds of his neighbours. Unless a man walk in cleanliness of body and purity of mind he shall not be counted among us, and no one shall call him brother. The soul must be wrought with the hard smiting blows of adversity and sorrow. It must be gently moulded by the waters of humility and charity, it must be chased by understanding and patience. These are things which form a shape of harmonious beauty. But other things shape it in ugliness, these are: falsehood and greed, deceit and malice, cruelty and haughtiness, together with other evil qualities.

The just reward of those who follow the path of ease and indolence is condemnation in the recesses of disgrace and shame. There will be sorrowful groans and tear-shedding in the misery of soul loneliness. These our ordinances are not made to provide for the comfort and ease of man, not even for his bodily welfare, but for the benefit of his eternal soul. Here his soul is to be purged and quickened to life by the strong waters of wisdom infused with the greatest amount of Truth he can tolerate. Only by himself submitting his soul to our discipline can any man acquire benefit from our mode of life.

Man was raised out of the womb of Earth to rule its surface, but here the existing powers gather into two camps of everlasting hostility. Life opposes death, the champions of light challenge the champions of darkness, Truth confronts falsehood. There is a leader of light and a leader of darkness, a commander of life and a commander of death. The legions of wickedness oppose the legions of the upright.

At birth all are cast out upon the battlefield of life and join the legions arrayed on one side or the other. According to his rank in the legion of Truth, so does a man fight against falsehood. By his standing in the eyes of the commander of light, so is a man placed in opposition to his adversary in the legion of darkness. The wicked will be delivered to the sharp edge of the sword, but the good will be remembered. So it was in the first days, when our ancestors left Kaburi and followed the Master who guided them across the seas. They came over the pathless waters, forsaking soft living and delusions which amused the eye. The wicked are not only those who knowingly do wrong. An evil man is one who seeks to justify the wickedness and weaknesses of others. The fires kindled against them became a raging flame in which their legions were swallowed up.

Now that you are invested with new life, open your eyes and behold the works of The Supreme Spirit with understanding. Always follow the path you have been shown, so that your steps lead you towards perfection. Never incline towards degrading thoughts or look into the eyes of lust, for these things have led great men astray and brought down mighty ones. Be clean in all ways. Never profane the temple of man by lying with a woman whose flow is upon her. Be clean within and without, in body, thought, word and deed.

Such things were done by those from whom we were divided. They lit their temple lamps in vain and the smoke from their dark altars was blown aside. You shall not be as those who walk in darkness. Though we are oppressed on every side, this is the time of travail heralding the birth of the Great Master. You are not like those who shall be cut off from the tree of life, to fall to the ground and return to nothingness. You shall always attend to the welfare of your brother and not deceive your neighbour.

You are to live in dedicated communities, marrying and begetting children. Your sons will grow up like strong oak trees and your daughters modest like the violet. Your sons are to wear swords and your daughters a headdress with a veil which may be drawn across the face.

So, too, shall it be with those who are counted with us but are faint-hearted in the performance of their obligations. They are men who melt away in the furnace. Here we do not practise discipline and austerity for the futile mortification of the flesh. We do these things for the sake of our souls, even as a warrior exercises to keep his muscles supple for the fray and so preserve his life.

Ninety-two generations have to be born. Then gods and men intermingled will do battle, and there will be great carnage on that catastrophic day when war is waged in the red-hued darkness amid mighty blast. That is the time of which it is written, ‘fire shall leap forth from the heart of a stone’.

These things have been written about, so we concern ourselves only with the ordinances governing the Brotherhood. This is the place to which you belong and if you leave unsecured it will be upon your own head. Those who declare that beyond the gate of death there is a place of torment where demon torturers inflict unspeakable agonies upon the wicked, are led by a misguiding light. Certainly, there is a gloomy place of sorrow haunted by Dark Spirits, but they do not inflict torment by fire. They are there because they are evil and their companionship is awful enough to bear.

Do not come to us holding heathen gods in your heart, even though they are within a hidden and closed recess. Purge yourself of all false beliefs outside the gate.

Here all brothers are to practise the way to full soul realisation in common. Here Truth will bind one with the other. Humility, modesty and justice will govern our lives. There is to be no straying of heart and eye towards improper and unworthy things. Every man is to command or obey according to his rank. If anyone is found to have lied upon admittance, whether it be about the past, the tribal allegiances or possessions, amends are to be made by labour. No madman, no simpleton, no one who is blind, deaf or dumb is to be admitted.

If anyone strike someone of higher rank or refuse to obey instructions given, then if the striker have rank it is to be lowered and amends will be made by labour and restraint of food. If anyone strike another of equal rank, without just cause, the rank of the striker is to be lowered and amends made by labour. If two men fight, the ranks of both are to be lowered.

If anyone lie with intent to deceive, or if injury or sorrow be caused to another, amends will be made by labour. If anyone cause damage or loss to something belonging to another or to all, amends will be made by labour. If any man expose himself improperly and heedlessly before another he is to make amends by labour. If anyone defame another behind his back he is to make amends by labour, but anyone may accuse another to his face before witnesses. If anyone rebuke another in anger, amends will be made by labour. If anyone bear a grudge and make it known, an apology will be given with humility and accepted with good grace. If anyone speak filthily to the hearing of another, amends will be made by labour. If anyone wastes metal or cause the loss of metal, amends will be made by labour. If anyone bathe in water used by another or in unclean water, amends will be made by labour.

From the hour of darkness beginning the seventh day, until the hour of darkness beginning the first day, is a time of rest and meditation. It is to be a time of tranquillity for soul communion and sacred study. The only labour to be undertaken is the providing of provender for animals and their care and attention. Food may be eaten, but it is best if prepared the day before. Decorative trees and plants may be attended to; relaxing pastimes may be indulged in and all essential tasks undertaken. An essential task is one which cannot be done on any other day or is made absolutely necessary by circumstances. On the day of rest all are to wear clean raiment, and the chastisement of children is to be deferred until the morrow.

The first concern of a man should be his wife and children and anyone else under his care. He should not cause them to go unfed or underclothed to provide for the needs of another. If anything belonging to anyone or to all is lost or taken away and hidden so that it is not known who has it, the thing is to be made accursed in the hands of its possessor. If later it is found in the possession of anyone, that person is to be expelled from the Brotherhood, not for what has been done but for the curse.

When something is found which has no owner, it is to be taken to the sanctuary and remain there for one month. If it remain unclaimed it is to be restored to the finder. No one is to take anything from an outsider except for fair and full payment, and no one is to join an outsider in buying and selling.

We are ruled by a council and this is to be twelve men and a master. There will be a high council of five and a low council of seven within the full council. There will be a half council of four chosen by the full council, to be judges in disputes and overseers of chastisements.

The high council is to appoint headmen who will lead the brothers in groups of twelve. The low council will appoint beadles who will report to it. All are to obey the headmen and beadles and those of higher rank than themselves, but they may complain to the low council about any instruction given them. (The larger part of this and the next chapter are lost and it has been difficult to assign a proper place or order to anything. Perhaps no more than a tenth of the original remains.)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THE LAWS OF MALFIN

May your souls be enlightened by the Central Light. May all you who assemble between the great pillars at the appointed times be cared for by The Supreme Spirit, as you care for His earthly affairs. May He keep you, as you keep His laws. May you receive the grace of enlightenment from the centre of the Sacred Circle and may an eternal fountain open for you, from which your souls may drink and be refreshed. May you receive the gift of everlasting regeneration.

These are the laws of the outsiders, which you have to obey, and they can be justly added to those you have, for right recognises no origin. They are in two parts: those which are to be wholly yours and those which govern you among the outsiders.

If one whose position requires him to bear witness to a transaction give false evidence concerning it, so that an outsider is at a loss, he is to be bound and given over to the outsiders. If an outsider suffer loss the one causing it is to be deprived of his rights and made to labour in the place of captivity, until the loss is made good and twice the amount has been paid to the council. He must not be re-established in his rights.

Only a man of good repute having no interest in the things being judged, can witness to it with immunity. If he accept a payment his voice is not to be heard.

No one who gambles or lends money, or who buys to sell, or collects payments or taxes may sit in judgement. Neither may a man whose house is in turmoil or who has been condemned in judgement. No one may sit in judgement on a kinsman, a friend or an enemy, unless no other judge can be found. No one may attend upon a judge in the absence of those who oppose him, so that he may gain favour. The words of a lying witness are to be disregarded, unless otherwise proven.

If voices be raised in anger before the seat ofjudgement, or anyone behave unseemingly, the matter is to be left until the morrow. When sitting in judgement a judge must remember that it is more wicked for a rich man to steal than for a poor man. Or for the wellborn to act basely than for the lowly to act likewise. It is more wicked for the strong to strike unjustly than for the weak to do so.

If anyone by boisterous behaviour cause damage within the grounds of a man’s dwelling place, or injure anyone, he shall go to the place of captivity until the damage or injury is made good, and the same amount is to be paid to the council.

Every landowner must have his land hedged in and if it is not hedged, or the hedges are broken, he will have no claim for any damage caused there by strayed animals, but they must be driven out without hurt or harm. If anyone damage a hedge or fence he will be responsible for anything happening through the damage. If anyone damage any property or cause harm to an animal belonging to the outsiders, he will be handed over to them. If a man find a beast straying upon his land, he may secure it and demand a payment in compensation for loss or damage.

If anyone offend against the laws of the outsiders, he will be given over to them for judgement under the laws of the outsiders. No one is to be given over to the outsiders until he has been heard by his own judges. If anyone is to be judged by the outsiders a man from the council is to sit with him.

If a man draw a weapon in an assembly of people he shall surrender the weapon to anyone who ranks above him. If he refuse to do so he shall be seized and brought before the judges for punishment. He may not recover the weapon except by payment of its value. If anyone threaten another with a weapon, it is to be taken from him and may not be recovered without payment of its value to the council.

Men are entitled to the privacy of their wives, men to the privacy of men and women to the privacy of women. A family is entitled to the privacy of a family.

Anyone who commands another in his power to do a deed shall stand as though he did it himself. If in company with a man whom many come to take and slay or injure unlawfully, then draw your weapon in his defence. If anyone use the language of slaves in your presence, it is not sufficient to remain silent. If you do not rebuke him because he is powerful, then depart from his company. To do nothing is wrong, for men are told not to remain passive before the face of evil.

The scandalmonger and scaremonger may both be delivered to the place of captivity to requite the harm done. If no harm is done the liar is still a person without repute and his punishment is that he will not be believed even when he speaks truthfully.

Hypocrites are two-tongued loathsome creatures who, like grass snakes, cannot be grasped in the hands. If any establish themselves as hypocrites, drive them out and let them afflict the outsiders.

There are punishments prescribed for wrongdoing and much advice given to prevent it. Punishment is only acknowledgement of failure. Wrongdoing arises from failure to deal with weaknesses, failure in upbringing, failure in teaching, failure in establishing rules of conduct and failure in discipline, whether imposed by self or others. When a man comes before the judges for punishment they do more than half their duty when they condemn him. They should also enquire within themselves, “Wherein have the people failed with this man? Was he guided rightly or wrongly, and have we no responsibility towards him?” Punishing a wrongdoer without seeking out the cause of his deeds is hypocritical justice. If a man walk in darkness and stumble into a pit, is he to blame? If a light guide falsely or be too feeble to keep men from stumbling, it is of no value. Therefore, if a brother fall into a pit by the wayside the bearers of light cannot be guiltless.

These things are recorded unto you, so that in the day of freedom you may not be without law. That day will come as surely as the sunrise. Never fear because your numbers diminish. One wise man is better than a pack of fools, and a stave of solid oak better than a pillar of reeds.

The man who supplies weapons to another who uses them in a wrongful deed is not guiltless himself. If he knew their use he is no less guilty. Anyone possessing things wrongfully taken is not without guilt, and if taken knowingly is no less guilty. One who is not yet a man in age cannot be equally guilty in robbery or violence. Neither can a simpleton, a madman or a woman.

If anyone bind another unlawfully or cause anyone to lose his freedom, he shall requite the harm done and may be delivered to the place of captivity. Everyone has the right to solitude and privacy, and those who deny him it are not without guilt. If anyone destroy the hair of a woman he must requite the harm to the limit of fullness. If anyone come upon a thief in his deed, or upon someone about an unlawful deed and slay or injure him because of his resistance, no wrong is done. If he submit to capture and is slain or injured unlawfully, those who do the deed must bear the guilt. If a man come upon his wife in adultery and slay both he has done no wrong. If a man come upon another dealing wrongfully with his son or daughter or another child and he slay him, he has done no wrong. If a man slay a thief in the night or one who seeks to injure him, he does no wrong. If a man find another with his wife behind bolted doors and slay the man, he has done no wrong. If he come upon them in a secret place and slay the man, he has done no wrong. If a man commit a deed unlawfully, in lust, so that he may be lawfully slain, he may be castrated instead. If a man lay his hand in any way upon a virgin, without her consent, he is not guiltless.

If two men quarrel and one bear insult with forbearance, the other must requite him for the insult. A brother, a father or a son coming upon his kinswoman in adultery or behind bolted doors, is to stand as though he were her husband.

If a man slay another who provoked him in fair contest, he does so in self-defence. The guilt of a deed done while drunk is not lessened. If anyone become drunk so that he cannot stand upon a stool, he is not guiltless. If anyone destroy a tree belonging to the outsiders and not on common land he must requite the outsiders its value. If anyone destroy the tree of another he will stand as though he stole it.

The man who is betrothed to a woman, coming upon her in fornication or behind bolted doors, is to stand as though he were her husband. If he come upon her in a secret place he is to stand as her husband. If anyone, knowing a woman to be unchaste, permit a man to marry her beheving her to be chaste, he shall bear the guilt and may be called upon to requite the husband.

At the trothing a man must pledge the father of his betrothed, or the next of kin to her father, that he will maintain and protect her. The bride price is to be paid seven days before the marriage and it is to repay her father for bringing her up with all the womanly virtues.

Marriage by deceit or force is not valid. It does not bind the victim but binds the other in every way, as though married. If a man marry a woman by deceit he is not guiltless and must requite the wrong. If a man marry by force and she was a virgin, he is to stand as though there were no marriage, but the woman has all the rights of a wife against his possessions.

A husband may punish his wife for these things transgressing the law without being punished by the law: Talking freely with men while her husband is absent. Cursing her husband or his house. Cursing her own house. Talking loudly, so that her voice carries to the habitation of another. For slander and gossip. For lewdness or immodesty. For betraying him in her talk. For being slothful or neglecting his children. A wife is not wholly delivered into the hands of her husband and he must provide all things for her wellbeing and treat her with affection and consideration. He is to be tolerant of her shortcomings and overlook her frailty as a woman. A man has a duty to see that an adulterous wife is dealt with.

If a wife become mad or sick or injured she cannot be put aside, even though she cannot be a wife to her husband. These things are the dispensations of life and must be borne together.

No man may know the nakedness of his sister. No man may lie with his wife except in a place of privacy. No one is to permit a mad man or woman, a child or a simpleton to slay a beast, but a bird may be slain by a woman for food. The one who permits the deed is not guiltless.

If the head is unclean it will lead to blindness. If the garments worn are unclean it will lead to madness. If the body is unclean it will lead to sores and sickness.

Eat to fill a third part of the stomach. Drink to fill a third part and leave the rest empty. Eat only when hungry and drink only when thirsty. Always sit to eat, taking two meals each day and three on the seventh day. Do not overeat or oversleep, for body rust is not an unreal thing.

The threshing place is not to be less than fifty paces from a habitation. A grave is not to be within a hundred paces, a carcass yard within a hundred paces, or a tannery within two hundred paces. The midden is not be within fifty paces and hogs within thirty paces. The privy hole is to be within twenty paces and is to be screened and covered. No beast except the dog, the cat, the horse, the cow, the goat and the ass may come within the dwelling enclosure. The barn must not adjoin the dwelling. Corn for eating may be kept below ground, but corn for sowing must be kept above ground. Water should not be drunk under a roof without herbs. Roofs must not be thatched by bending the reeds under a lath, but by laying them straight over an underpinning. The middle and pillarpost should rise a third part above the crossbeam and either rest upon itself or lie on the cumber. The outer posts should be pegged and not bound. Inner walls should be caulked with moss and not with grass or bark. The roof should lie down over the outer wall an armslength and the openwork of the wall should not be left unplastered. The foundation should go down two cubits and rise one. The door is to turn upon itself, either to the side or upward and should not be hung. The wall hangings within should be of fibre or skin. Overlay outside with wands of bethom.

Stones should not be pressed without heat and their outer parts should be kept. The herb offerings must be burnt on each day when the sun does not show its face. Flour must not be used to purify sharpened metal. The offering log must be burnt at its hour.

A man must teach his sons to swim, to ride and to hunt. The stranger is not to be denied a sleeping place and food at nightfall, but he may not remain during the day without labour. Any man who deals with metal shall be as a brother. Anyone may come before the high council for justice.

In all assemblies, opinions will be given first by those of lower rank, so that their words are not influenced by those of more knowledgeable men. In the lands of the outsiders you will abide by their law, but you will keep your own law within theirs. Where laws conflict, let conscience, duty and the Holy Writ be your guide. (This is not the end, but the remaining writing on three plates cannot be read. It is transcribed in meaning and not in word.)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

SALVAGED FRAGMENTS RECONSTRUCTED - 1

If any who have joined in cause with you or become allies act treacherously, grant them no quarter. Deal with them in such a way that their fate will be an example restraining others from doing likewise. Never join cause with anyone proved treacherous or unreliable.

If any hold the same belief as you and have suffered for it, they are your brothers. Those who fight for the betterment of mankind or suffer for it, are your brothers. To surrender to the threats of those who demand you abandon your beliefs or ideals, is something which must not be done. Any man who has fought with you in battle is bound with you in the tie of blood and becomes even as your own kin.

Though you fight in the cause of Truth and justice, be reluctant to commence the bloodshed and never do so if any other means, except cowardice or capitulation, lie open to your hand. If, however, you truly believe the foe will launch an attack, you are justified in getting in the first blow. You are answerable to your own soul. When battle is joined, you may slay the foe wherever you find him. Never acknowledge defeat and never submit meekly to domination. If the battle goes against you, withdraw to fight again. The live dog eats the dead bear. Never fight among yourselves, for such quarrelling is worse than the bloodshed of battle. Differences and arguments among you are to be settled in an orderly and just manner, so that there is no severance or weakening among people. You are the People of the Light, the Law and the Book.

In the place of captivity men and women will be kept apart, for it is a place of requital and retribution. They will no longer be free, neither will they hold the rights of the free. They are to labour according to the judgement, but the labour of their hands is to be accounted to them. Each one must be used to get the greatest benefits from their ability, and no one must be kept even one day over their requital.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE SALVAGED FRAGMENTS RECONSTRUCTED - 2

These are the sayings of judges set down by the law scribes, and all that remains out of nearly eight hundred: We have learned that whatever a woman does she should not be cut off from her household, for this leads to other wrongs. If a wife be put aside for her wrongdoing it may be well to let her remain under the same roof without any rights of wifehood.

We have learned that not only are there women who are unworthy to be wives, but there are men unworthy to be husbands. If marriage remain open to such as these, those who sit in judgement are not unblameworthy for whatever follows. Therefore, man or woman may be forbidden marriage.

It is the law that adultery being a furtive deed done in deceit and betrayal, if man and woman are found in a position for adultery it would be as though they were caught committing it. This can lead to misjudgment. Therefore, when no certainty of adultery can be seen and the woman can only be found to be indiscreet, she is not be dealt with as an adulteress. It is better for men to believe in the natural goodness of woman than otherwise. Yet when a woman has placed herself in a position where there can be no doubt, the husband may decide to keep her or not, but he must declare himself. If he put her aside as a wife the judges will decree whether she go or stay. If she stay she may be bound to her husband, though no longer his wife. We have learned that though adultery is a loathsome deed done in deceit while displaying a hypocritical allegiance to love, it is often not without preventable cause. Therefore, an adulteress can suffer a lesser punishment by being bound into the care of her husband while ceasing to be a wife, for she is unworthy. Then she is to remain within his household and submit to his direction. He must maintain and protect her and not allow her to wander. If she wander he may restrain her as he will. If she commit fornication while bound, the man who was her husband is not blameworthy, for she is under his restraint. The three must suffer their own punishments.

We have learned that when men fear for their safety and the sanctity of their own wives, they are less inclined to act adulterously with the wife of another. Therefore, if a man be found in adultery and married he will forfeit half his possessions to the wronged husband, and bis wife will also pass into the house of the wronged husband, or if he have neither dwelling nor land, he shall be bound into the keeping of the wronged husband. We have learned that the minds of men are like a maze and therefore the rights of marriage are to stand against all others and prevail at all times. All children born within a marriage union are equal in rights. Their inheritance is not to be diminished, even though they be the offspring of adultery or incest, for the wrongdoing was not theirs. Such children should be received with mercy, for they are helpless and will repay in full with love and devotion.

We have learned that it is unwise to give a daughter in marriage to an outsider, for if her husband die she shall be given to his father or his brother. Therefore, no woman may be given in marriage to an outsider, unless the contract of marriage be heard by one of the council and given his approval. We have learned that these things should never be taken from a man or shared:

His wife, excepting he commit adultery; his children, his clothes, his nightcovering, his weapons and his tools of craft.

We have learned that it is no longer necessary to forbid the eating of swine’s flesh in this land and its eating is allowed, but the flesh of horse is not to beeaten except to prevent starvation.

We have learned that the soul departs with the last breath and whatever is done to the body does not affect the soul. Therefore, a body may be either buried or burned, but a high mound is not to be raised over the body or the ashes. Only husband and wife, parent and child, or brother and sister may be buried in the same grave within a graveyard. No one may be buried within his habitation.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

THE LAST OF THE METAL PLATES

In the containers I have gathered together all the books given into my care and I have done all the things I was instructed to do, and the work of my father is now complete. The metal will stand the test of age and the cutting is the finest workmanship.

The five great bookboxes contain one hundred and thirty-two scrolls and five ring-bound volumes. There are sixty-two thousand four hundred and eighty three words in The Greater Book of the Egyptians and eighty-one

thousand six hundred and twenty-six words in The Lesser Book of The Egyptians, of which eight thousand nine hundred and eleven are in The Book of The Trial of The Great God and six thousand one hundred and thirty-four are in The Sacred Register, and sixteen thousand and fifty-six are in The Book of Establishment. The Book of Magical Concoctions has six thousand eight hundred and ten words and this was the most difficult to remit, for it was a work of mystery and hidden things.

The Book of Songs and The Book of Creation and Destruction were not worked under my hand, but they are well constituted and will not perish. The Book of Tribulation was beaten under my eye and there are the books in The Great Book of The Sons of Fire which are not of my workmanship. I helped in part where the words were marked out and I struck them.

The Book of Secret Lore and The Book of Decrees are joined into The Great Book of The Sons of Fire and they, too, are enabled to last forever.

The metal is as our masters desired, made cunningly by the secret methods of our tribe and it will never perish. The marks are cut so that when seen to the right of the light they stand out clearly.

The bookboxes are of twinmetal founded with strength and turned with great heat, so that there is no joint where the ends come together. When closed and sealed water cannot enter.

When you read these things in times ahead, think of us who made the metal so imperishable and cut the words on it with such care and heavy labour, using such skill that in the years of rest they have not been eaten off. Observe its brightness and wonder, for it will never tarnish.

We are the sons of The Sons of Fire, men so called because fire was necessary to their metalworking. Today we name our sons over the fire and forge, as they did, and each one of us belongs to the same fire.

Read carefully the sacred words which are written and may they be a lodemark to a greater life. I, Efantiglan, and my father, attended to the making of these books and their covering containers. Those who mixed the metal and worked it by forging and those who cut upon it are members of our tribe, and it is well made and will last forever.

Malgwin recorded these books before they were consigned to the future and the name by which they were called is The Living Book For The Living’.

**** Ends at Chapter 7

THE BOOK OF MANUSCRIPTS incorporating

THE TREASURY OF LIFE

Compiled from writings preserved by Amos, an Egyptian; Claudius Linus, a Roman; and Vitico, a Gaul. Chapter 1 - THE SCROLL OF EMOD Chapter 2 - THE SCROLL OF KAMUSHAHRE

Chapter 3 - THE DESTROYER - PART 1 - FROM THE GREAT SCROLL Chapter 4 - THE DESTROYER - PART 2 - FROM THE GREAT SCROLL Chapter 5 - THE DESTROYER - PART 3 - FROM THE SCROLL OF ADEPHA Chapter 6 - THE DARK DAYS

Chapter 7 - THE THIRD OF THE EGYPTIAN SCROLLS

Chapter 8 - THE FOURTH OF THE EGYPTIAN SCROLLS

Chapter 9 - THE HALF SCROLL OF JASOP

Chapter 10 - THE SCROLL OF KULOK - FOURTH SECTION

Chapter 11 - THE SIXTY-FOURTH EGYPTIAN SCROLL

Chapter 12 - THE EIGHTY-SEVENTH SCROLL

Chapter 13 - THE NINETY-THIRD SCROLL

Chapter 14 - THE NINETY-SIXTH SCROLL

Chapter 15 - THE SCROLL OF KULOK - SECOND AND THIRD SECTION Chapter 16 -

THE THE ONE HUNDRED AND ONE SCROLL (SCROLL OF HOREMAKET) Chapter 17 - THE SCROLL OF NETERTAT Chapter 18 - THE PRAYER OF HAPU

Chapter 19 - THE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH SCROLL Chapter 20 -

THE COMMENTARY OF FRATER ASTORUS Chapter 21 - A SCROLL

MARKED ‘THE NIGHTFIGHT’ Chapter 22 - THE LADY’S SCROLL

(SCROLL OF NEFERMAKET) Chapter 23 - THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY

SECOND SCROLL Chapter 24 - AN EARLY EGYPTIAN SCROLL

Chapter 25 - THE SONG OF SACRIFICE - FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS (part only and confused with other writings) Chapter 26 - THE

SCROLL OF KABEL - FIRST SECTION

Chapter 27 - AN UNNAMED AND UNNUMBERED SCROLL

Chapter 28 - TWO COMBINED PORTIONS OF AN UNNAMED SCROLL

Chapter 29 - THE SECOND SCROLL OF KISON

Chapter 30 - THE SCROLL OF PANUBIS

Chapter 31 - THE SCROLL OF THOTIS

Chapter 32 - THE SCROLL OF HARMOTIF

Chapter 33 - THE ANNEXED SCROLL 1

Chapter 34 - THE ANNEXED SCROLL 2

CHAPTER 1

THE SCROLL OF EMOD

The writings from olden days tell of strange things and of great happenings in

the times of our fathers who lived in the beginning. All men can know of such times is declared in the Book of Ages, but the gods had their birth in events and things which were in the beginning. It is told, in the courtyards, that there was a time when Heaven and Earth were not apart. Truth echoes even there, for Heaven and Earth are yet joined in men. It is written that God once walked the earth with man and dwelt within a cave above a garden where man laboured. God encompasses all that is and cannot be contained in a cave. Look to the Sacred Writings for Truth. It is told that woman made God angry and He took Himself into the sky, removing Heaven from man because of his disgust for woman. It is also told that man offended God by imitating Him. These are tales made by man. This is not wisdom, for the Sacred Writings reveal the Plans of God and these things cannot be as told. It is the talk of the courtyard, it is the knowledge of the outerplace. Men talk of the land of Oben, from whence they came. Not from Oben towards the South came men, for the great land of Ramakui first felt his step. Out by the encircling waters, over at the rim it lay. There were mighty men in those days, and of their land the First Book speaks thus: Their dwelling places were set in the swamplands from whence no mountains rose, in the land of many waters slow-flowing to the sea. In the shallow lakelands, among the mud, out beyond the Great Plain of Reeds. At the place of many flowers bedecking plant and tree. Where trees grew beards and had branches like ropes, which bound them together, for the ground would not support them. There were butterflies like birds and spiders as large as the outstretched arms of a man. The birds of the air and fishes of the waters had hues which dazzled the eyes, they lured men to destruction. Even insects fed on the flesh of men. There were elephants in great numbers, with mighty curved tusks. The pillars of the Netherworld we unstable. In a great night of destruction the land fell into an abyss and was lost forever. When the Earth became light, next day, man saw man driven to madness. All was gone. Men clothed themselves with the skins of beasts and were eaten by wild beasts, things with clashing teeth used them for food. A great horde of rats devoured everything, so that man died of hunger. The Braineaters hunted men down and slew them.

Children wandered the plainland like wild beasts, for men and women became stricken with a sickness the passed over the children. An issue covered their bodies which swelled up and burst, while flame consumed their bellies. Every man who had an issue of seed within him and every woman who had a flow of blood died. The children grew up without instruction, and having no knowledge turned to strange ways and beliefs. They became divided according to their tongues. This was the land from whence man came, the Great One came from Ramakui and wisdom came from Zaidor.

The people who came with Nadhi were wise in the ways of the seasons and in the wisdom of the stars. They read the Book of Heaven with understanding. They covered their dead with potter’s clay and hardened it, for it was not their custom to place their dead in boxes.

Those who came with the Great One were cunning craftsmen in stone, they were carvers of wood and ivory. The High God was worshipped with strange light in places of great silences. They paid homage to the huge sleeping beast in the depths of the sea, believing it to bear the Earth on its back; they believed its stirrings plunged lands to destruction. Some said it burrowed beneath them. In Ramakui there was a great city with roads and waterways, and the fields were bounded with walls of stone and channels. In the centre of the land was the great flat-topped Mountain of God.

The city had walls of stone and was decorated with stones of red and black, white shells and feathers. There were heavy green stones in the land and stones patterned in green, black and brown. There were stones of saka, which men cut for ornaments, stones which became molten for cunning work. They built walls of black glass and bound them with glass by fire. They used strange fire from the Netherworld which was but slightly separated from them, and foul air from the breath of the damned rose in their midst. They made eye reflectors of glass stone, which cured the ills of men. They purified men with strange metal and purged them of evil spirits in flowing fire. We dwell in a land of three peoples, but those who came from Ramakui and Zaidor were fewer in numbers. It was the men of Zaidor who built the Great Guardian which ever watches, looking towards the awakening place of God. The day He comes not its voice will be heard.

In olden times, when men lived in the ground, there came the Great One whose name is hidden. Son of Hem, Son of the Sun, Chief of the Guardians of Mysteries, Master of Rites and Spoken Word. Judge of Disputes, Advocate of the Dead, Interpreter of the Gods and Father of Fishermen. From the West, from beyond Mandi, came the Great One arrayed in robes of black linen and wearing a headdress of red.

Who taught men the secret of writing and numbers, and measurement of the years? Who taught the ways of the days and months, who read the meaning of clouds and writing of the nightlights?

Who taught the preservation of the body? That the soul might commune with the living, and that it might be a

doorway to the Earth?

Who taught that light is Life?

Who taught the words of God, which spoke to men and hid things from them, which stood in the place of Truth for those with understanding? Which spoke to the priests, the scribes and the people differently according to their enlightenment.

Who taught that beyond the visible is the invisible, beyond the small the smaller and beyond the great the greater, and all things are linked together in one?

Who taught the song of the stars, which now no man knows, and the words of the waters, which are lost? Who taught men to grow corn and to spin, to make bricks and fashion stone after a cunning manner? Who taught men the rituals of sea shells, and the reading of their mysteries and the manner of their speech? Who taught men the nature and knowledge of God, but in the years left to him could not bring them to understanding? Who, then, veiled the great secrets in simple tales which they could remember and in signs which would not be lost to their children’s children?

Who brought the Sacred Eye from the distant land and the Stone of Light made of water, by which men see God, and the firestone which gathers the light of the sun before the Great Shrine?

He died in the manner of men, though his likeness is that of god. Then they cut him apart, that his body might make fertile the fields, and took away his head, that it might bring them wisdom. His bones they did no paint red, for they were not as those of others.

These are the words of the Scared Writings, recorded after the old custom. As they are, so let them be; for that which is recorded remains with you. The stone of Light and the firestone were stolen in the days of disaster and none now knows their resting place, therefore the land is empty.

CHAPTER 2

THE SCROLL OF KAMUSHAHRE

In this fertile black land there are those who worship the sun and they call it the greatest and the most bountiful among all gods, the Seer of Heaven, the of the squalid manner in which men dwelt before the Golden One led his people hence.

He came to this fertile land. Now it is a pleasant place with many great cities and contented villages; there is the great broad river of fresh water which rises and falls in its due seasons. Channels there are and waterways which

lead the fertilising waters unto the growing things, the herbage and the trees. There are flocks of sheep and herds of cattle on the green pastures.

It was not ever thus. In the days before Harekta came all was barren and desolate. Nought divided the wilderness from the swamplands filled with reeds. Then there were no cattle or sheep and the land knew not the hand of man, it lay untilled and unwatered.

No land was sown, for they who dwelt in it knew not the making of waterways, nor did they know how to command the water and make it flow at their behest. There were no cities and men dwelt in holes in the ground or in places where the rock was cleft. They walked in their nakedness or clothed themselves with leaves or bark, while at night they covered themselves with the skin of wild beasts. They fought with the jackal for food and snatched dead things from the lion. They pulled roots from out of the ground and sought for sustenance among things that grew in the mud. They had none to rule over them, nor had they leaders to guide. They knew not obligation or duty. None spoke to them about their manner of life and none knew the way of Truth. They were truly unenlightened in those days.

Then came the servant of the Sun and he it was who brought the people together and put rulers over them. He set Ramur up as king over the whole land. He showed them, man and woman, how to dwell together in contentment as husband and wife, and he divided their tasks between them.

He instructed men in the sowing of corn and the growing of herbs. He instructed them in the tilling of the ground and the manner of cutting the waterways and channels. He it was who showed men the ways of the beasts of the field. He instructed men in the working of gold and silver and the making of vessels from clay. He instructed men in the hewing and cutting of stone and the building of temples and cities. The making of linen and the dying of cloth that forms garments ever pleasing to the eyes, he did not teach. Neither did he instruct them in the making of bricks or the working of copper.

Then, when he departed he bade the people not to weep, for though he went to his father, the sun would adopt them as his children and all could become sons of the sun. Thus many became sons and servants of the sun and they believed what they had heard, that the sun was their father and the light of goodness overlooking the whole land. It is this light that sustains all living things, but within it is the greater light which sustains the spirit. It is the light that enlightens the hearts of men. There are lesser lights that guide men about their daily tasks and shield them from harm, there are unseen lights that influence men for good or ill, but it is the Great Light that banishes coldness and makes all men warm. The warmth it bestows ripens the harvests of man and makes his herds yield their increase.

It oversees the whole activity of men on Earth as it journeys the skies from one end to the other, thus it knows the needs of all men. Therefore, be like the sun, be far-seeing and foresighted, be regular in your comings and goings while about your daily tasks.

When their guide and leader left, the people knew themselves as children of the sun. They were warlike and subdued other people in its name, and brought them under its rule. Then great temples were raised up to it and for a time it displaced the greater gods which the people of this land had set up in their ignorance. The One True God it never displaced, for the True God was ever hidden from the eyes of the profane and ignorant. Then some priests among those who followed the rule of the sun stole its spirit and brought it down, so that it enlivened the statues and images of their gods. Thus the spirit which enlivens all the lesser gods is but the one spirit held in captivity, and not many as the people think.

Then came the Wise Ones from the East and they caused the people to have other thoughts. They were men who knew the ways of Heaven and asked of the people, “Is the sun spirit indeed supreme, is this not a thing requiring much thought? Consider its movements, are they not more like those of one who is directed in his comings and goings? Does it move about freely as it wills, or is it restricted and held to its appointed path, like a yoked ox, or as the ass treading out corn? Does it rise up from the Netherworld as it wills or go down into the cavern of darkness by its own decree? Is its path not more like that of a stone hurled forth by the hand of man? Is it not like a boat controlled by the will of a man, rather than a free-ranging god? Is it not more like a slave under the direction of a master?” These things disturbed the hearts of people, some pondered upon them, but others, in the manner of men, cried death to those who deny the truth of these things.

However, because of the things said the worship of the older gods grew in strength, for the people had never turned from Usira who was with them before the first water channel was cut. He was not the god of the high born but of the lowly people.

Thisis a land of two peoples, of two nations, two priesthoods, two streams of wisdom and two hierarchies of gods. It is a land where the light of Truth burns brightly, thought hidden away from the eyes of all but a few. It is the Land of Dawning on Earth.

CHAPTER 3

THE DESTROYER - PART 1 FROM THE GREAT SCROLL

Men forget the days of the Destroyer. Only the wise know where it went and that it will return in its appointed hour.

It raged across the Heavens in the days of wrath, and this was its likeness: It was as a billowing cloud of smoke enwrapped in a ruddy glow, not distinguishable in joint or limb. Its mouth was an abyss from which came flame, smoke and hot cinders.

When ages pass, certain laws operate upon the stars in the Heavens. Their ways change, there is movement and restlessness, they are no longer constant and a great light appears redly in the skies.

When blood drops upon the Earth, the Destroyer will appear and mountains will open up and belch forth fire and ashes. Trees will be destroyed and all living things engulfed. Waters will be swallowed up by the land and seas will boil. The Heavens will burn brightly and redly, there will be a copper hue over the face of the land, followed by a day of darkness. A new moon will appear and break up and fall.

The people will scatter in madness. They will hear the trumpet and battle cry of the Destroyer and will seek refuge in the den in the Earth. Terror will eat away their hearts and their courage will flow from them like water from a broken pitcher. They will be eaten up in the flames of wrath and consumed by the breath of the Destroyer.

Thus in the Days of Heavenly Wrath, which have gone, and thus it will be in the Days of Doom when it comes again. The times of its coming and going are known unto the wise. These are the signs and times which shall precede the Destroyer’s return: A hundred and ten generations shall pass into the West and nations will rise and fall. Men will fly in the air as birds and swim in the seas as fishes. Men will talk peace one with another, hypocrisy and deceit shall have their day.

Women will be as men and men as women, passion will be a plaything of man. A nation of soothsayers shall rise and fall and their tongue shall be the speech learned. A nation of law givers shall rule the Earth and pass away into nothingness. One worship will pass into the four quarters of the Earth, talking peace and bringing war. A nation of the seas will be greater than any other, but will be as an apple rotten at the core and will not endure. A nation of traders will destroy men with wonders and it shall have its day. Then shall the high strive with the low, the North with the South, the East with the West, and the light with the darkness. Men shall be divided by their races and the children will be born as strangers among them. Brother shall strive with brother and husband with wife. Fathers will no longer instruct their sons and their sons will be wayward. Women will become the common property of men and will no longer be held in regard and respect.

Then men will be ill at ease in their hearts, they will seek they know not what, and uncertainty and doubt will trouble them. They will possess great riches but be poor in spirit. Then will the Heavens tremble and the Earth move, men will quake in fear and while terror walks with them the Heralds of Doom will appear. They will come softly, as thieves to the tombs, men will no know them for what they are, men will be deceived, the hour of the Destroyer is at hand. In those days men will have the Great Book before them, wisdom will be revealed, the few will be gathered for the stand, it is the hour of trial. The dauntless ones will survive, the stouthearted will not go down to destruction. Great God of All Ages, alike to all, who sets the trials of man, be merciful to our children in the Days of Doom. Man must suffer to be great, but hasten not his progress unduly. In the great winnowing, be not too harsh on the lesser ones among men. Even the son of a thief has become Your scribe.

CHAPTER 4

THE DESTROYER - PART 2 FROM THE GREAT SCROLL

O Sentinels of the Universe who watch for the Destroyer, how long will your coming vigil last? O mortal men who wait without understanding, where will you hide yourselves in the Dread Days of Doom, when the Heavens shall be torn apart and the skies rent in twain, in the days when children will turn grey-headed? This is the thing which will be seen, this is the terror your eyes will behold, this is the form of destruction that will rush upon you: There will be the great body of fire, the glowing head with many mouths and eyes ever changing. Terrible teeth will be seen in formless mouths and a fearful dark belly will glow redly from fires inside. Even the most stouthearted man will tremble and his bowels be loosened, for this is not a thing understandable to men. It will be a vast sky-spanning form enwrapping Earth, burning with many hues within wide open mouths. These will

descend to sweep across the face of the land, engulfing all in the yawning jaws. The greatest warriors will charge against it in vain. The fangs will fall out, and lo, they are terror-inspiring things of cold hardened water. Great boulders will be hurled down upon men, crushing them into red powder.

As the great salt waters rise up in its train and roaring torrents pour towards the land, even the heroes among mortal men will be overcome with madness. As moths fly swiftly to their doom in the burning flame, so will these men rush to their own destruction. The flames going before will devour all the works of men, the waters following will sweep away whatever remains. The dew of death will fall softly, as grey carpet over the cleared land. Men will cry out in their madness, “O whatever Being there is, save us from this tall form of terror, save us from the grey dew of death.”

CHAPTER 5

THE DESTROYER - PART 3 FROM THE SCROLL OF ADEPHA

The Doomshape, called the Destroyer, in Egypt, was seen in all the lands whereabouts. In colour it was bright and fiery, in appearance changing and unstable. It twisted about itself like a coil, like water bubbling into a pool from an underground supply, and all men agree it was a most fearsome sight. It was not a great comet or a loosened star, being more like a fiery body of flame.

Its movements on high were slow, below it swirled in the manner of smoke and it remained close to the sun whose face it hid. There was a bloody redness about it, which changed as it passed along its course. It caused death and destruction in its rising and setting. It swept the Earth with grey cinder rain and caused many plagues, hunger and other evils. It bit the skin of men and beast until they became mottled with sores. The Earth was troubled and shook, the hills and mountains moved and rocked. The dark smoke-filled Heavens bowed over Earth and a great howl came to the ears of men, borne to them upon the wings of the wind. It was the cry of the Dark Lord, the Master of Dread. Thick clouds of fiery smoke passed before him and there was an awful hail of hot stones and coals of fire. The Doomshape thundered sharply in the Heavens and shot out bright lightings. The channels of water were turned back unto themselves when the land tilted, and great trees were tossed about and snapped like twigs. Then a voice like ten thousand trumpets was heard over the wilderness, and before its burning breath the flames parted. The whole of the land moved and mountains melted. The sky itself roared like ten thousand lions in agony, and bright arrows of blood sped back and forth across its face. Earth swelled up like bread upon the hearth.

This was the aspect of the Doomshape called the Destroyer, when it appeared in days long gone by, in olden times. It is thus described in the old records, few of which remain. It is said that when it appears in the Heavens above, Earth splits open from the heat, like a nut roasted before the fire. Then flames shoot up through the surface and leap about like fiery fiends upon black blood. The moisture inside the land is all dried up, the pastures and cultivated places are consumed in flames and they and all trees become white ashes. The Doomshape is like a circling ball of flame which scatters small fiery offspring in its train. It covers about a fifth part of the sky and sends writhing snakelike fingers down to Earth. Before it the sky appears frightened, and it breaks up and scatters away. Midday is no brighter than night. It spawns a host of terrible things. These are things said of the Destroyer in the old records, read them with a solemn heart, knowing that the Doomshape has its appointed time and will return. It would be foolish to let them go unheeded. Now men say, “Such things are not destined for our days”. May the Great God above grant that this be so. But come, the day surely will, and in accordance with his nature man will be unprepared.

CHAPTER 6 THE DARK DAYS

The dark days began with the last visitation of the Destroyer and they were foretold by strange omens in the skies. All men were silent and went about with pale faces.

The leaders of the slaves which had built a city to the glory of Thom stirred up unrest, and no man raised his arm against them. They foretold great events of which the people were ignorant and of which the temple seers were not informed.

These were days of ominous calm, when the people waited for they knew not what.

The presence of an unseen doom was felt, the hearts of men were stricken.

Laughter was heard no more and grief and wailing sounded throughout the land. Even the voices of children were stilled and they did not play together, but stood silent.

The slaves became bold and insolent and women were the possession of any man. Fear walked the land and women became barren with terror, they could not conceive, and those with child aborted. All men closed up within themselves.

The days of stillness were followed by a time when the noise of trumpeting and shrilling was heard in the Heavens, and the people became as frightened beasts without a herdsman, as asses when lions prowl without their fold.

The people spoke of the god of the slaves, and reckless men said. “If we knew where this god were to be found, we would sacrifice to him”. But the god of the slaves was not among them. He was not to be found within the swamplands or in the brickpits. His manifestation was in the Heavens for all men to see, but they did not see with understanding. Nor would any god listen, for all were dumb because of the hypocrisy of men. The dead were no longer sacred and were thrown into the waters. Those already entombed were neglected and many became exposed. They lay unprotected against the hands of thieves. He who once toiled long in the sun, bearing the yoke himself, now possessed oxen. He who grew no grain now owned a storehouse full. He who once dwelt at ease among his children now thirsted for water. He who once sat in the sun with crumbs and dregs was now bloated with food, he reclined in the shade, his bowls overflowing.

Cattle were left unattended to roam into strange pastures, and men ignored their marks and slew the beasts of their neighbours. No man owned anything.

The public records were cast forth and destroyed, and no man knew who were slaves and who were masters. The people cried out to the Pharaoh in their distress, but he stopped his ears and acted like a deaf man. There were those who spoke falsely before Pharaoh and had gods hostile towards the land, therefore the people cried out for their blood to appease it. But it was not these strange priests who put strife in the land instead of peace, for one was even of the household of Pharaoh and walked among the people unhampered. Dust and smoke clouds darkened the sky and coloured the waters upon which they fell with a bloody hue. Plague was throughout the land, the river was bloody and blood was everywhere. The water was vile and men’s stomachs shrank from drinking. Those who did drink from the river vomited it up, for it was polluted. The dust tore wounds in the skin of man and beast. In the glow of the Destroyer the Earth was filled with redness. Vermin bred and filled the air and face of the Earth with loathsomeness. Wild beascs, afflicted with torments under the lashing sand and ashes, came out of their lairs in the wastelands and caveplaces and stalked the abodes of men. All the tame beasts whimpered and the land was filled with the cries of sheep and moans of cattle.

Trees, throughout the land, were destroyed and no herb or fruit was to be found. The face of the land was battered and devastated by a hail of stones which smashed down all that stood in the path of the torrent. They swept down in hot showers, and strange flowing fire ran along the ground in their wake. The fish of the river died in the polluted waters; worms, insects and reptiles sprang up from the Earth in huge numbers. Great gusts of wind brought swarms of locusts which covered the sky. As the Destroyer flung itself through the Heavens, it blew great gusts of cinders across the face of the land. The gloom of a long night spread a dark mantle of blackness which extinguished every ray of light. None knew when it was day and when it was night, for the sun cast no shadow.

The darkness was not the clean blackness of night, but a thick darkness in which the breath of men was stopped in their throats. Men gasped in a hot cloud of vapour which enveloped all the land and snuffed out all lamps and fires. Men were benumbed and lay moaning in their beds. None spoke to another or took food, for they were overwhelmed with despair. Ships were sucked away from their moorings and destroyed in great whirlpools. It was a time of undoing.

The Earth turned over, as clay spun upon a potter’s wheel. The whole land was filled with uproar from the thunder of the Destroyer overhead and the cry of the people. There as the sound of moaning and lamentation on every side. The Earth spewed up its dead, corpses were cast up out of their resting places and the embalmed were revealed to the sight of all men. Pregnant women miscarried and the seed of men was stopped. The craftsman left his task undone, the potter abandoned his wheel and the carpenter his tools, and they departed to dwell in the marshes. All crafts were neglected and the slaves lured the craftsmen away. The dues of Pharaoh could not be collected, for there was neither wheat nor barley, goose nor fish. The rights of Pharaoh could not be enforced, for the fields of grain and the pastures were destroyed. The highborn and the lowly prayed together that life might come to an end and the turmoil and thundering cease to beat upon their

ears. Terror was the companion of men by day and horror their companion by night. Men lost their senses and became mad, they were distracted by frightfulness.

On the great night of the Destroyer’s wrath, when its terror was at its height, there was a hail of rocks and the Earth heaved as pain rent her bowels. Gates, columns and walls were consumed by fire and the statues of gods were overthrown and broken. People fled outside their dwellings in fear and were slain by the hail. Those who took shelter from the hail were swallowed when the Earth split open.

The habitations of men collapsed upon those inside and there was panic on every hand, but the slaves who lived in huts in the reedlands, at the place of pits, were spared. The land burnt like tinder, a man watched upon his rooftops and the Heavens hurled wrath upon him and he died.

The land writhed under the wrath of the Destroyer and groaned with the agony of Egypt. It shook itself and the temples and palaces of the nobles were thrown down from their foundations. The highborn ones perished in the midst of the ruins and all the strength of the land was stricken. Even the great one, the first born of Pharaoh, died with the highborn in the midst of the terror and falling stones. The children of princes were cast out into the streets and those who were not cast out died within their abodes.

There were nine days of darkness and upheaval, while a tempest raged such as never had been known before. When it passed away brother buried brother throughout the land. Men rose up against those in authority and fled from the cities to dwell in tents in the outlands.

Egypt lacked great men to deal with the times. The people were weak from fear and bestowed gold, silver, lapis lazuli, turquoise and copper upon the slaves, and to their priests they gave chalices, urns and ornaments. Pharaoh alone remained calm and strong in the midst of confusion. The people turned to wickedness in their weakness and despair. Harlots walked through the streets unashamed. Women paraded their limbs and flaunted their womanly charms. Highborn women were in rags and the virtuous were mocked.

The slaves spared by the Destroyer left the accursed land forthwith. Their multitude moved in the gloom of a half dawn, under a mantle of fine swirling grey ash, leaving the burnt fields and shattered cities behind them. Many Egyptians attached themselves to the host, for one who was great led them forth, a priest prince of the inner courtyard.

Fire mounted up on high and its burning left with the enemies of Egypt. It rose up from the ground as a fountain and hung as a curtain in the sky. In seven days, by Remwar the accursed ones journeyed to the waters. They crossed the heaving wilderness while the hills melted around them; above, the skies were torn with lightning. They were sped by terror, but their feet became entangled in the land and the wilderness shut them in. They knew not the way, for no sign was constant before them.

They turned before Noshari and stopped at Shokoth, the place of quarries. They passed the waters of Maha and came by the valley of Pikaroth, northward of Mara. They came up against the waters which blocked their way and their hearts were in despair. The night was a night of fear and dread, for there was a high moaning above and black winds from the underworld were loosed, and fire sprang up from the ground. The hearts of the slaves shrank within them, for they knew the wrath of Pharaoh followed them and that there was no way of escape. They hurled abuse on those who led them, strange rites were performed along the shore that night. The slaves disputed among themselves and there was violence.

Pharaoh had gathered his army and followed the slaves. After he departed there were riots and disorders behind him, for the cities were plundered. The laws were cast out of the judgement halls and trampled underfoot in the streets. The storehouses and granaries were burst open and robbed. Roads were flooded and none could pass along them. People lay dead on every side. The palace was split and the princes and officials fled, so that none was left with authority to command. The lists of numbers were destroyed, public places were overthrown and households became confused and unknown.

Pharaoh pressed on in sorrow, for behind him all was desolation and death. Before him were things he could not understand and he was afraid, but he carried himself well and stood before his host with courage. He sought to bring back the slaves, for the people said their magic was greater than the magic of Egypt. The host of Pharaoh came upon the slaves by the saltwater shores, but was held back from them by a breath of fire. A great cloud was spread over the hosts and darkened the sky. None could see, except for the fiery glow and the unceasing lightnings which rent the covering cloud overhead.

A whirlwind arose in the East and swept over the encamped hosts. A gale raged all night and in the red twilit dawn there was a movement of the Earth, the waters receded from the seashore and were rolled back on themselves. There was a strange silence and men, in the gloom, it was seen that the waters had parted, leaving a passage between. The land had risen, but it was disturbed and trembled, the way was not straight or clear. The waters about were as if spun within a bowl, the swampland alone remained undisturbed. From the horn of the Destroyer came a high shrilling noise which stopped the ears of men.

The slaves had been making sacrifices in despair, their lamentations were loud. Now, before the strange sight, there was hesitation and doubt; for the space of a breath they stood still and silent. Then all was confusion and shouting, some pressing forward into the waters against all who sought to flee back from the unstable ground. Then, in exaltation, their leader led them into the midst of the waters through the confusion. Yet many sought to turn back into the host behind them, while others fled along the empty shores.

All became still over the sea and upon the shore, but behind, the Earth shook and boulders split with a great

noise. The wrath of Heaven was removed to a distance and stood upwards of the two hosts.

Still the host of Pharaoh held its ranks, firm in resolve before the strange and awful happenings, and undaunted

by the fury which raged by their side. Stern faces were lit darkly by the fiery curtain.

Then the fury departed and there was silence, stillness spread over the land while the host of Pharaoh stood

without movement in the red glow. Then, with a shout, the captains went forward and the host rose up behind

them. The curtain of fire had rolled up into a dark billowing cloud which spread out as a canopy. There was a

stirring of the waters, but they followed the evildoers past the place of the great whirlpool. The passage was

confused in the midst of the waters and the ground beneath unstable. Here, in the midst of a tumult of waters,

Pharaoh fought against the hindmost of the slaves and prevailed over them, and there was a great slaughter amid

the sand, the swamp and the water. The slaves cried out in despair, but their cries were unheeded. Their

possessions were scattered behind them as they fled, so that the way was easier for them than for those who

followed.

Then the stillness was broken by a mighty roar and through the rolling pillars of cloud the wrath of the Destroyer descended upon the hosts. The Heavens roared as with a thousand thunders, the bowels of the Earth were sundered and Earth shrieked its agony. The cliffs were torn away and cast down. The dry ground fell beneath the waters and great waves broke upon the shore, sweeping in rocks from seaward. The great surge of rocks and waters overwhelmed the chariots of the Egyptians who went before the footmen. The chariot of the Pharaoh was hurled into the air as if by a mighty hand and was crushed in the midst of the rolling waters.

Tidings of the disaster came back by Rageb, son of Thomat, who hastened on ahead of the terrified survivors because of his burning. He brought reports unto the people that the host had been destroyed by blast and deluge. The captains had gone, the strong men hadfallen and none remained to command. Therefore, the people revolted because of the calamities which had befallen them. Cowards slunk from their lairs and came forth boldly to assume the high offices of the dead. Comely and noble women, their protectors gone, were their prey. Of the slaves the greater number had perished before the host of Pharaoh.

The broken land lay helpless and invaders came out of the gloom like carrion. A strange people came up against Egypt and none stood to fight, for strength and courage were gone.

The invaders, led by Alkenan, came up out of the Land of Gods, because of the wrath of Heaven which had laid their land waste. There, too, had been a plague of reptiles and ants, signs and omens and an earthquake. There, also, had been turmoil and disaster, disorder and famine, with the grey breath of the Destroyer sweeping the ground and stopping the breath of men.

Anturah gathered together the remnants of his fighting men and the fighting men who were left in Egypt, and set forth to meet the Children of Darkness who came out of the eastern mountains by way of the wilderness and by way of Yethnobis. They fell upon the stricken land from behind the grey cloud, before the lifting of the darkness and before the coming of the purifying winds.

Rageb went with Pharaoh and met the invaders at Herosher, but the hearts of the Egyptians were faint within them. Their spirits were no longer strong and they fell away before the battle was lost. Deserted by the gods above and below, their dwellings destroyed, their households scattered, they were as men already half dead. Their hearts were still filled with terror and with the memory of the wrath which had struck them from out of Heaven. They were still filled with the memory of the fearsome sight of the Destroyer and they knew not what they did.

Pharaoh did not return to his city. He lost his heritage and was seized by a demon for many days. His women were polluted and his estates plundered. The Children of Darkness defiled the temples with rams and ravished women who were crazed and did not resist. They enslaved all who were left, the old, young men and boys. They oppressed the people and their delight was in mutilation and torture.

Pharaoh abandoned his hopes and fled into the wilderness beyond the province of the lake, which is in the West towards the South. He lived a goodly lif e among the sand wanderers and wrote books.

Good times came again, even under the invaders, and ships sailed upstream. The air was purified, the breath of the Destroyer passed away and the land became filled again with growing things. Life was renewed throughout the whole land.

Kair taught these things to the Children of Light in the days of darkness, after the building of the Rambudeth, before the death of the Pharaoh Anked.

This is written in this land and in our tongue by Leweddar who, himself, chose it for saving. It was not seen until the latter days.

CHAPTER 7

THE THIRD OF THE EGYPTIAN SCROLLS

This is the manner whereby the Sacred Records shall be kept and their number is twelve books and four hundred and forty-two scrolls.