Here is the tale of the re-genesis and destruction of the sacred world of Vé; the transfiguration of the dragons and coming of men; and the arrival of the bolide heralding the great exodus and the end of the realm. An epic mythic fantasy-poem of dragons, men and worlds — free to read online.
91 When the preparations have concluded, Azarius leads Nephilim and man Down into the deepest cavern chambers, Where stone and darkness hides the buried gate.
91-1 ‘Here is where it is!’ exclaims the prophet. And there, the Nephilim begin to dig. Pounding, chiseling, cracking in their labors, By pick and hammer, vulcan walls give way.
91-2 Every child of Meä stares in wonder, And many query ‘Who has built this gate,’ ‘Buried deep within this cavern heat?’ ‘For its design is of an art unknown.’
91-3 Azarius rebukes the men who awe: ‘Wonder not what beings applied their magic!’ ‘This was built by men from ancient futures,’ ‘Before the Garden Vallis was reborn.’
91-4 Raptors clear the last of stone and rubble, Each worn and beaten by the trying toil. The Gate of Edä casts an alloy glow, Seal unbroken since the birth of Vallis.
91-5 Kandevular the Kaan is known by all, Greatest of the Nephilim commanders, The reptile that defeated Mosul’s host, And tore his heart out in the Raptor crypt.
91-6 Clad in jagged scales and horns that skewer, The mighty Kaan takes hold the crusted wheel. By this Raptor’s strength, great gears are levered, Pull by tireless pull, the gate is opened.
91-7 Each heave by Kaan turns but a single tooth. Three hundred sixty teeth comprise the gear. By his might, the cumbrous bolt is wrested, Thunder echoes through the cavern darkness.
91-8 Seven pulls and then the seals are broken. Furnace air escapes to warm the dungeon. A dozen heaves and ringing fills the din, And men will shield their ears to thwart the wail.
91-9 The mightiest of all yet still awake— Kandevular shall labor without rest. Twenty pulls, yet darkness fills the doorway, Thirty-three, and men might barely pass it.
91-10 Kandevular, the Keeper of the Gates… Now four times a mortal man in stature. The Raptor lord and slayer of man’s king. Bane of men, and now their benefactor.
91-11 When the Gate of Edä has been opened, Kandevular will sleep with open eyes. When the exodus has been completed, The Kaan remains as sentry guarding Hell.
91-12 Bafomet sends scouts ahead through darkness, And they return within an hour’s time. ‘We have seen the promised land of Edä!’ ‘And we have breathed the air that chills our flesh!’
91-13 Azarius gives orders to the troop, ‘Vary not, along the way through Hades.’ ‘Though paths may lure, they lead to your ruin,’ ‘They open into realms unfit for men.’
91-14 With that, the entourage of Mosul’s priests, Leads the Archon through the darkened doorway. Then Kethu brings the host of Aeon through. Nephilim then bear the sleeping dragons.
91-15 The trek brings them where many pathways verge, Branching from a hub encaged in alloys. Many doorways fill with their reflections, But they continue on the straightest path.
91-16 Tortured Aeon waits for death to claim him, Alone in darkness, taking final breaths. Eyes are blind and body broke and bleeding, Anodynes have eased his dying journey.
91-17 He hears footfalls in the darkened crypt. A visitor arrives to pay respect. ‘Who has come?’ The King will force in whisper. ‘The answer comes with voices in his mind.’
91-18 ‘Do you not know the footfalls of the beast?’ ‘I am Gronde, the last to rule the dragons.’ ‘Kings shall not make passage into Edä.’ ‘Together, here, we take our final breath.’
91-19 ‘Rue not, for you have saved both beast and man.’ ‘Death soon comes for us, but do not worry.’ ‘I have seen the vision of all futures.’ ‘We shall be reborn as we awaken.’
92 Last to cross beyond shall be the prophet, The kaan shall seal the alloy gate behind. Under azure skies of floating clouds, They take first breaths of biting Edä air.
92-1 Behind them stands the gate that leads to Hell, Guarded by Kandevular the Raptor. Beneath their feet, the melted glacial flows, Trickle onward, leading to a forest.
93 Kethu greets the prophet on the moraine, ‘Azarius, what shall become of us?’ He shall counsel Kethu as He promised: ‘Your clan will be consumed as winter’s feast.’
93-1 ‘Autumn is beyond the days of planting,’ ‘And Raptors are much weakened by the chill.’ ‘Edä is no place for them, nor dragons,’ ‘And winter brings the hunger unto men.’
93-2 ‘Kethu, you must not let fear disarm you.’ ‘Seize the moment, take the northbound pathways.’ ‘Find the passage through the jagged mountains,’ ‘Beyond the freezing wastes and desert steppe,’
93-3 You will know the way by seven spires, The pinnacles resembling Mount Meru. Through it, you will find the highland passage. ‘On the other side are men of mercy.’
93-4 ‘Teach the northern tribes your skills in fighting,’ ‘And give them your vast knowledge of your arts.’ ‘For this price they will protect your people,’ ‘And many sons be born into your tribe.’
93-5 ‘But do not let them march upon the south,’ ‘For their armies will be laid to ruin.’ ‘I shall find you when the moment ripens,’ ‘But it be not before your dying day.’
94 Upon the counsel of Azarius, Kethu’s clan takes flight beneath night’s cover. The guard of Bafomet gives desperate chase, While Azarius is bound and shackled.
95 Bafomet sends scouts to search the country For fertile soils and shelter for the beast. Dragons burden Nephilim who labor, Unknown before, the cold consumes their will.
95-1 Seven be the number of the searchers, Vital men of stealth and great endurance. Alone they venture into Edä’s wilds. Unknown to them, the trials that await.
95-2 Sol moved slowly in the Vallis heavens. On Edä, sunsets match the Meän turn. Luna brightens Edä’s night in cycles. On Vé, the night was lit by silver pyres.
95-3 Edä’s nights grow cold as days foreshorten. Elusive be her silent forest prey. Manna dripped from leaves in Vallis gardens, But Edä’s forest yields a meager fruit.
95-4 Seven were the number of the searchers, Of those, one shall be lost within ten eves. Hunted by the beasts who wail by moonlight, His aulos song[i] would not sedate their rush.
95-5 Another scales the mountains to the west, Reaching for the farthest planes of vision. Wind and cold shall numb his grasp and foothold, And down he falls to cold oblivion.
95-6 One shall ford the frigid water rapids, The currents steal his life with flooded lungs. One shall fail to make an autumn shelter, The cold will stop his heart from beating blood.
95-7 Of the searchers, only two still wander, Of these, one discovers Edä’s hostiles. By strange tongue and tone of flesh and features, The searcher is subdued and set alight.
95-8 The last of searchers is the one named Ün[ii]. Deep into the forest he shall venture. Following the hot springs and the steam-vents, He shall discover shelter for the beast.
95-9 Ün shall bring to Bafomet this knowledge, Then Mosul’s tribe prepares the Nephilim. Wary from the cold and constant hunger, The Raptors strain to lift the dragon arks.
95-10 Forward, man and Raptor march to Golgon[iii], Which bars the entrance to the gorge of fire. Wary Nephilim will bear nine coffers, Encased in gold, nine Nezulim within.
95-11 Men of Edä guard the Golgon passage— Her heated springs, her loins of paradise. Sight of Raptors fills their minds with terror, And Edä’s warriors man their rampart walls.
95-12 Ailing by the cold and near starvation, The Nephilim cannot be brought to fight. Bafomet must plot the rampart’s taking— For gates can be unlocked by many keys.
95-13 A parlay is arranged before the gate. There, the Sons of Mosul beg for mercy. Raptors bring a golden coffer forward, And lay it at the foot of Golgon’s wall.
95-14 Greed shall be the downfall of all races, For men will sell their kin for golden dreams. Meän’s leave the precious coffer offering, The gleaming devil tempts the souls of men.
95-10 For three cold days the coffer lures men. Murmurs of temptation turn to clamor. Men will beat their chests and shout their fury, And greed for gold will drown the reasoned voice.
95-11 The third dawn cometh with the winter snows. Men of Edä raise the golden treasure. By beast and man, they haul it to their keep Where the dungeon fire stirs the devil.
95-12 They carve thick shavings from the golden ark. Smelters come and melt those into ingots. Greed and lust shall be man’s curse and ruin. By these, the dragon wakens from its sleep.
95-13 The reik of Edä’s tribe is known as Yorn[iv]. He has brought the ark within their fortress— Driven by the lust of archon treasure, Emboldened by his faith in rampart walls.
95-14 Thirteen men will pry the golden cover And loosen it but slightly from its seat. Mists of Vé express into the chamber, And Edä’s men recoil from the scent.
95-15 Men of Edä gaze in fear and terror At what might burst forth from the opened ark. Yet no devil slithers from the casket. The mists subside, and minds are put at ease.
95-16 They draw near to gaze into the vessel, Expecting gleaming gems and glowing gold. But they find instead the least expected… A maiden of great beauty in repose.
95-17 Drunk with lust, Yorn summons fifty toilers To free the maiden from her gilded tomb. Heaving in the heated vulcan chamber, They push and pry with all their focused will.
95-18 With each wrench, the casement nudges further. By groan and sweat, the golden cover yields. Final thrusts release the bulwark casing, And what was locked away is then released.
95-19 Every man will gaze into the darkness, And every man will find the beast therein. Every man perceives a different dragon, And every man regrets when it is loosed.
95-20 The dark bursts forth from gold sarcophagus, Spaded black, the tail tip whips the foulness, Then next, the dagger claws like razor glass. Rise, arise you devil made of shadows!
95-21 Membrane wings unfurl like sails of sack cloth, Its armored rind ablaze in roiling flame. Eyes of blinding white slice through the darkness. In fear, the toilers drop their tools and flee.
95-22 Entranced, the chieftain reik shall not take flight, While chamber doors are bolted from beyond. Flames subside and all that’s left is darkness, And the echoed cries of surface terror.
95-23 Yorn shall meekly muster up his query: ‘Are you the devil that has been foretold?’ Dragon voices speak within man’s thinking… ‘I am but the object of your hunger.’
95-24 ‘Herein, ye shall remain until thine end,’ ‘And counsel Sons of Mosul in their quests.’ ‘Men of Edä shall be placed in bondage…’ ‘Chattel be the fate of Edä’s children.’
95-25 ‘Edä is not yet a world for dragons.’ ‘Her forests yield the meagerest of fare,’ ‘The chilling frosts consume our living drive,’ ‘Edä must be remade into Vallis.’
95-26 ‘Go now, and bid men open up the gates…’ ‘Welcome Sons of Mosul through your ramparts.’ ‘But if you do not follow my command,’ ‘I shall render all you see as cinders.’
95-27 Yorn laments the order he is given, And knows not how he might convince his tribe. ‘How shall I persuade the men of Edä,’ ‘For surely they must fear the dragon here.’
95-28 Within his mind and with his voice it speaks: ‘Tell your people they possess the dragon…’ ‘By beast, you’ll wield great power over men.’ ‘Servants of the wyrm will slay all rivals.’
95-29 Yorn resigns himself to be a traitor And gives the message from behind the door. The minds of men are easily beguiled. That which man once fears becomes his fervor.
95-30 The gates of Golgon open to man’s doom. Sons of Mosul march into the city. Edä’s sons and daughters hide foreboding, As giant reptiles bear the arks of Vé.
95-31 Bafomet is borne on a palanquin, Dazzling in refracted silver sunlight. No man of Edä shall behold its face, For devils are the masters of disguise.
95-32 Raptors take their refuge in the grottos, And tend their sleeping dragons in the warmth. Azarius shall be the last to come, Bound in chains, his body bruised and bloodied.
96 Bafomet ascends as Golgon’s steward. And men of Edä fill the legion ranks. Those who stand opposed are duly outed, And left to be devoured by the wolves.
96-1 By this means, the few shall rule the many, By pitting every soul against his kin. The family bonds are cut by power’s lust… Factions are the ruin of all people.
96-2 Golgon’s men are mustered to an army, With lizard giants bolstering their ranks. Wielding pike and blade and leaden cudgel, The men who stand opposed are brought to heel.
97 Before the journey generation ends, A keep is raised of massive granite stone. Deep within this hold are bored vast chambers, Where the vulcan fire warms the dragons.
98 Azarius is chained within this keep, Bound in darkness in the deepest chamber. For a hundred years He waits for judgement. While Bafomet consolidates its reign.
98-1Bafomet knows well the prophet’s nature: Spoiler, traitor, renegade, immortal. If death shall find Azarius too soon, He might arise to rally Edä’s men.
98-2 When dominion of the Sons of Mosul Scatters, slays, and shackles all resistance. Azarius is brought before the priest, And sentenced to be thrown into the fire.
98-3 Raptors will not carry out the sentence, And stand athwart the vulcan precipice. For the prophet spared them from the fire. His end in flame would be a blaspheme.
98-4 Bafomet must bind the prophet elsewhere, Where he cannot rise for many eons. They lead Him far into the frozen north, And cast Him down into the cracks of ice.
99 Aeon’s last survivors wander northward. For forty years they scavenge in the steppe. At last, they find the seven-pointed mount, Rising as their beacon of salvation.
99-1 Against the ice and frozen winds, they march, Hunted by the wolves that claim the weakened. They crest the ridge named Edäm-of-Meru… There, the winds are stilled, and clouds are parted.
99-2 Before them lies a fertile valley forest. Behind them, Sons of Mosul in pursuit. Few of Aeon’s tribe survive the journey. But plenty are the heirs of those that do.
100 And with the pox of Sol a fading dream, Aeon’s children flourish in abundance. Ancient Kethu gazes to the heavens, To watch the setting of the crescent Vé.
[i] Aulos Song: A mellifluous song played by men on a flute-like instrument that mimics the tones the Raptors use to confuse and sedate the predators of the Vallis jungle.
[ii] Ün: The last surviving searcher who brings back word to Bafomet of a habitat for the Nephilim.
[iii] Golgon: The mountain fortress city of Edä’s men that is built around heated vents and hot springs. Found by Ün the searcher, and deemed suitable by Bafomet as a home for the dragons and the Nephilim who are greatly weakened by the cold.
[iv] Yorn: The reik of Golgon whose greed leads him to allow the gilded dragon ark to be brought into the city.
81 The fallen king is beaten, bruised, and burned, Yet, he will not yield to call the prophet. Eyes are blinded and his bones are broken, Yet, Azarius will not be summoned.
82 In a final act of desperation, Bafomet shall bring King Aeon’s traitor. Lord Kethu is delivered to the keep, Where he is overcome by mortal grief.
83 ‘Great evil has been done to you, my King.’ ‘The price of my betrayal is my soul.’ ‘I am less than worthy of forgiveness.’ ‘For my sin, my blade will end my torment.’
84-1 Aeon, who had never known betrayal, Now heard the grief that filled his brother’s voice. Aeon, who had never known forgiveness, Now felt the virtue that remained in men.
84 ‘Stay your blade, beloved brother Kethu,’ ‘Your torments shall yet be absolved in life.’ ‘I shall give to you a sacred duty.’ ‘By Kethu, Meä’s Children shall be saved.’
85 Bafomet is summoned to the keep, Where Aeon makes capitulation known. In his throes, he calls out for the prophet, Azarius then comes within the hour.
86 Azarius greets Aeon in his grief, Even though the doom of king was fated. He had raised this king from boy to manhood, And to the prophet, Aeon was a son.
86-1 ‘I rue this hour every time it comes,’ ‘For I have known you since you were a child.’ ‘Know that we will meet again in daylight,’ ‘Though you won’t recall this night of trial.’
86-2 King Aeon speaks, ‘I make but two requests:’ ‘Light the Edä gateway now in shadow,’ ‘And also, that you guide my brother’s flight.’ ‘Swear to this and I forgive you, also.’
87 Azarius agrees to king’s requests, And Bafomet demands the gate be shown. But Azarius derides the Archon: ‘It shall be revealed when I decide it.’
88 ‘The terms of gate’s revealing shall be thus:’ ‘Bafomet and host shall cross to Edä,’ ‘Then Aeon’s clan and Raptors go unharmed.’ ‘I go last, preceded by nine dragons.’
89 Bafomet will protest this arrangement, But it knows there is no other recourse. Nine Nezulim sarcophagi are marked, And Nephilim will lift them from their crypt.
90 Azarius and Kethu speak alone, Unheard by the listening ears of villains. ‘Be wary of the priests of Bafomet…’ ‘Or too few of yours will see a harvest.’
71 Mosul’s priests entrench within Gronde’s caverns. The King of Men sends envoy to their hold, Offering a truce before the journey… But Bafomet refuses Aeon’s call.
71-1 Kethu leads the envoy back to Aeon. The cries of jungle terror wound his soul. Heavy is the heart that knows the future, If tainted by a mind that knows one path.
72 Aeon orders siege upon the caverns, And during this, the Archon comes of age. Aeon’s men lack will to force surrender, And King of Men must ponder storm by force.
72-1 A thousand men in bronze launch their assault, Marching two abreast upon the ridge way. Forward, onward, up the glass escarpment, Their spear points gleam like diamonds in the sun.
72-2 At the gate, they raise their shields to arrows, And tumbling stones that carom from the heights. Some are pierced, and others lose their footing, Their screams descend to silence as they fall.
72-3 Then up the narrow trail they bring the ram, Fashioned from the trunk of Vallis hardwood. Twenty men must labor to engage it, It’s head, a dragon skull with wedging horns.
72-4 Pull and swing, they crash it on the ingress. Stones and arrows crack and pierce their bodies. Each man that falls is drug back to the ledge… And thrown down off the face to clear the way.
72-5 Forty times the skull will smite the doorway. And yet, the wooden doors will not give in. Another forty thrusts, and wills are spent. Aeon’s weary men withdraw to safety.
72-6 The King of Men surveys his crippled host. A quarter of his force so far destroyed. Few are left to fill their empty places. Wise kings won’t waste life in futile ventures.
73 The king and archon meet on neutral ground, Bafomet’s position being greater, For Mosul’s priests secure the Edä path, Threatening to hold until destruction.
74 Aeon must concede to bear the dragons, And many of his host are much aggrieved. They hold great hatred for the Nezulim, And the blasphemy of evil Archon.
74-1 But Aeon comes from seed of daughter twin— Mazda, who took poison to release them. Good will never stray far from its mother, Vainglory shall not spur a noble king.
75 A coup foments within King Aeon’s court— Betrayal by a dear, beloved soul. Crystal blades are sharpened in the darkness. Ruin is the price of dueling sovereigns.
75-1 One king holds the key to Edä’s gateway And one king holds the way to Edä’s gate. One king leadeth man from dragon’s peril. And one king draweth power from the beast.
75-2 Bafomet is master of man’s nature: All men are plied by vanity and lust. Men will hear the songs sung to their ego, And men hear only words that make them just.
75-3 Aeon’s court bears hatred of the dragon, And manifest mistrust for King of Men, For he was raised in caves by serpent souls, Shielded by the blades of Raptor sentries.
75-4 Agents whisper in the ears of menfolk, ‘Beware, the king who comes by Nephilim,’ ‘For Raptors came to be by dragon’s will.’ ‘Serpents serve their master and no other.’
75-5 By this, King Aeon’s men are turned to fear. And thus conspire to supplant their king. Aeon’s closest captain shall betray him, Delivering the king to Mosul’s priests.
75-6 ‘Come with me, my brother, to Gronde’s cavern…’ ‘The Sons of Mosul have agreed to terms.’ Aeon knows that Kethu has betrayed him, But Aeon knows there is no other way.
75-7 Aeon was no ally of the Raptor. The King of Men was toppled by a lie. Men are led by fear unto their slaughter, By those who ply the terrors in their mind.
76 Courts without a king are feeding frenzies, Devouring themselves to sate their greed. Courts without a king cannot make headway, For oxen will not plow without a whip.
76-1 Many vie to be the Meän steward, And lead their kind to victory through the gate. But none shall rise in ranks to take the staff, And so, men turn to Bafomet in fear.
77 Bafomet ascends as luminary, While Aeon’s court is turned upon itself. Aeon’s men are made to swear their fealty. The ones who won’t are driven off the ledge.
78 Bafomet’s position is imperfect, It lacks the knowledge of the sacred path. For this reason, Aeon will stay living; The king must summon He who knows the way.
79 Bafomet consults the prisoner king, Imploring him to save all Meä’s kind. But the king is hardened by his hatred, Resolved to see them all consumed by flame.
79-1 Aeon had not felt betrayal’s toxin, For this, he was defenseless to its sting. Hatred was expression of his anguish. He wished for death to end his suffering.
80 Again, the searing fires of Sol rage. All the waters are evaporated. The soils bake to seas of crackling stone. The last of surface life is turned to ash.
80-1 Nestled in the shade of dying Vallis, Nurtured in the sweltry condensation, A bloom unfurls against the furnace flame— The garden’s final blossom splendors Vé.
61 Azarius escapes the snare of men Through strangling vines and stalking hunter beasts, Under cover of the Vallis darkness, Finding Raptors who will give Him shelter.
61-1 The prophet tells the Nephilim their fate: ‘Soon, The Waning brings the burning fires,’ ‘And nothing on the surface will survive.’ ‘Fording void to Edä is salvation.’
61-2 ‘The dragon Gronde will soon fall into sleep.’ ‘This will be the signal of the ending.’ ‘Each Nezulim will follow after Gronde.’ ‘Ye then shall make nine ready for the path.’
61-3 With this knowledge, Raptors tend the dragons, For they must bear them past the Edä gate. Nezulim are weakened by the bitter, And Edä is a realm of wind and ice.
61-4 Many kings have parlayed with the Raptors, To find their ventures crumbled in a heap. Wise men never place their trust in reptiles, For they will only serve the dragon beast.
62 On the apex of the day on Vallis, The blackening of Sol shall be relieved, The sun shall radiate its ancient light, Gronde, the Nezulim shall then fall silent.
63 One by one, the Nezulim are muted, Within a gold sarcophagus they’re laid. Weakened, they shall stay asleep for eons, Until their destinations have been warmed.
63-1 Hewn and carved from trees felled by the Raptors, And plated in the gold mined from the veins. Measuring each eighteen by six cubits, The nine sarcophagi entomb the beasts.
64 When the Nezulim are in their slumber, Meä’s Children quarrel over futures: Shall a slave obey a sleeping master, If his freedom lies just past a doorway?
65 The men shall cleave to factions once again: One shall favor flight from cruel masters, One still loyal to their benefactors, And men will take up arms against themselves.
66 The wary King of Men seeks compromise, For Azarius gave him forewarning: ‘Dragons watch our ways within their dreaming,’ ‘And Nezulim have ancient memories.’
67 The final generation ages on. With no offspring to replace their labor, Their impatience manifests in protest… Imploring King of Men to exodus.
67-1 ‘Future will not bloom for men on Vallis,’ ‘Our children soon will grow into adults.’ ‘You be king and yet we be forsaken!’ ‘Why do we remain the slave of devils?’
67-2 Aeon’s ears will hear their lamentations. He councils Kethu in his cavern keep. ‘Go and find Azarius the prophet,’ ‘And ask him when he’ll light the shaded path.’
67-3 Kethu finds the prophet in the wild— Alone, enveloped by the garden claw. ‘Why are ye unguarded by the Raptors?’ ‘If ye be slain, then who would bring the light?’
67-4 ‘Fear not the end of old Azarius,’ ‘Many times I’ve walked the jungle pathways.’ ‘All the Raptors left to tend their dragons,’ ‘And peril lurks within the serpents’ caves.’
67-5 ‘We must ready for the trek to Edä.’ ‘The moment of the exodus has come.’ ‘I will lead King Aeon to the passage,’ ‘But Sons of Mosul stand athwart the way.’
68 The priests of Mosul’s cult tend to the beasts Within the dragon labyrinths of Vé. And too, they shield the third heir of King Vyn[i], Sparing it from Aeon’s inquisitions.
69 Aeon comes at last to his decision, Resigning mankind unto curs-ed paths. The slaves shall take their flight from master dragons— King of Men decrees no wyrm will follow.
70 Bafomet’s disciples are enraged, But era of their archon has not come. They prepare the King of Men’s assassins, Shielded by the aura of the dragon.
[i] Third Heir of King Vyn: Bafomet, child of Meeda and essence of King Vyn.
51 The unmaking of the Garden Vallis… Resumes with cracking heat and rainless skies. A blight shall render Sol a blackened orb. Yet Sol rises, validating omens.
51-1 The prophet’s body lies a season’s turn, As garden’s tendrils infiltrate the corpse. Wounds are knitted, organs are replenished. Azarius awakens as He was.
52 The King of Men is born by blackened Sol, But Aeon will not pass from mother’s womb. King of Men is formed with Mazda’s essence, Raised by servant Raptors in their caverns.
52-1 Azarius is found by Nephilim, Living by the bounty of the jungle. ‘You have come to bring me to your caverns,’ ‘For King of Men has been reborn on Vé.’
53 Nephilim give Aeon to the prophet Shielding him from treachery of menfolk. He builds his mind with logic and the arts, And molds his body by the trial’s pains.
53-1 The boy sees nothing of the world of men, Thus, he grows unfettered with their curses. No fear, nor greed, nor hate consumes his soul. Man’s eternal banes, the prophet’s lessons.[i]
53-2 On their hunts they speak as son and father, While both strengthen by the jungle’s trial. They sleep within the hollows of great trees, And gaze upon the garden from their limbs.
53-3 The splendid garden harbors many truths. Their denial brings one certain ruin. The splendid garden harbors many lies. Scented blossoms lure one to snaring.
53-4 As they gaze upon the feral wood boar, Rooting on the scent of savory truffle, Aeon asks the man who’s been a father, ‘Prophet, will you tell me of my future?’
53-4 ‘Watch the boar as he unearths the scent-trail.’ ‘He moves in many paths to test the ground.’ ‘By this, he bides his time to sense the traps,’ ‘Leaping just in time from clenching pedals.’
53-5 ‘The wood boar is not native to this realm,’ ‘Brought by Meän to these jungle terrors.’ ‘It has learned to thrive among new perils.’ ‘By vigilance it dodges killing snares.’
53-6 ‘Many times I’ve raised you as my child,’ ‘And many times you’ve chosen different paths.’ ‘Many are the names by which they call you,’ ‘And varied are the lifespans you have lived.’
53-7 ‘One thing is for certain, my dear Aeon,’ ‘And that is that you are your mother’s son,’ ‘Blessed by her devotion to her people,’ ‘And cursed by her devotion to her tribe.’
53-8 ‘Every man and woman has their virtue.’ ‘Your gift is you will find it in their souls.’ ‘But every tribe behaves as if insane,’ ‘Earning nothing but the flames of torment.’
53-9 The annum turn, and Aeon comes of age. Azarius shall lead him to his throne. Nephilim will be their royal escort, As they enter through the fortress gates.
53-10 Meä’s Children gather to bear witness, With half unto the left and half the right. Hails from one side, curses from the other, The menfolk cleave into their faction mobs.
54 Many raise their blade opposed to Aeon, But they are stayed by Raptor’s warning glares. Not one soul may hide a violent treason. Azarius has known them all before.
54-1 King Aeon stands before the royal house, Doors unguarded by the gilded sentries. Aeon, King of Men shouts to the gathered, ‘Where have gone the Regian defenders?’
54-2 ‘They have fled to curse the king’s arrival,’ ‘The other men were slain on Gudoc’s wall.’ ‘Left are but the elders, young, and widowed,’ ‘Forsaken is this kingdom you now claim!’
54-3 King of Men shall seize upon their anguish, And Aeon shall not be denied his crown. ‘Fear not, for I fulfill the prophecy!’ ‘I will bring the lamp that lights the darkness!’
54-4 Half the mob will spit and spew loud curses, For they do not believe this man is king. ‘He who brings the Raptors to our fortress’ ‘Has brought the darkness to our fading light.’
54-5 A man in robes steps forward through the crowd. His eyes are bright like crystals in the sun. Though his beard is sparse and brow un-furrowed, Elders use their staffs to clear his pathway.
54-6 Kethu is the same age as King Aeon, A boy when men all died on Gudoc’s wall. Many elders raised him to be steward. His voice was made to give commands to all.
54-7 Kethu stands before the raging masses. Their curses calm as he prepares to speak. ‘Tell us, Kethu, shall we be the subject…’ ‘Of kings that come to rule with reptile guards?’
54-8 ‘Many’ve lost their fathers, sons, and husbands,’ ‘By Raptor blade and claw, they met their end.’ ‘You will never trust the killing serpents,’ ‘And you will never trust Azarius.’
54-9 ‘But ponder what has come to you this day—’ ‘A man commanding Raptors as his guard.’ ‘Many raised their blades to them in vengeance,’ ‘Yet, no man was slain by lizard rapier.’
54-10 ‘Now ponder, where have gone the Regians?’ ‘Are they not the ones we trust to guard us?’ ‘Paid for just one purpose: our protection.’ ‘Yet, they fled their posts when duty called them.’
54-11 ‘Some await another king like Mosul,’ ‘Yet, what did he deliver to our tribe?’ ‘War with Raptors was King Mosul’s folly,’ ‘And now your sons and brothers are no more.’
54-12 ‘This would-be king has come to us in peace,’ ‘Ascending to the dais without blood.’ ‘Let us hear the man who claims the kingship.’ ‘Let us hear the man who brings no dying.’
54-13 Kethu’s words will soothe the raging fury, And men of violence put away their blades. Aeon takes his place upon the dais, The King of Men assumes the Vallis throne.
55 Meä’s Children prosper under Aeon, And are rewarded for unending toil. Underneath the black Sol ringed in fire, They shall prepare for final exodus.
55-1 Azarius is counsel to the King, Warning him of ever-present danger. In this era, Aeon reaches manhood, And men will feast beneath the blackened Sol[ii].
55-2 But Regians remain of Mosul’s host, And gather those opposed to Aeon’s rule. In the long-abandoned caves and tunnels. Son of Antoc seeks revenge in twilight.
55-3 Son of Antoc curses Aeon’s naming. His mind, corrupted by his grief and guilt. No father nor a mother should survive The lifespan of the children whom they love.
55-4 As he plots the murder of King Aeon, The forest wilts and withers in the vale. His revenge becomes his desperation, As the day of exodus draws nearer.
55-5 Regians survive by jungle forage, Drinking manna from the dying branches. But while they gorge beneath the blackened Sol, Silent forest comes alive with Raptors.
55-6 The Regians are taken to the crypts, Where awaits their certain execution. Son of Antoc weeps for his lost purpose— Death will come before avenging Mosul.
55-7 In the pits, awaiting their destruction, A visitor emerges from the dark. Hooded face obscured, it moves by gliding, This specter fills the minds of men with dread.
55-8 ‘Show yourself and spare us of your haunting!’ ‘Or cut our throats and end our misery!’ ‘Yes, we plot the murder of your sovereign,’ ‘And I would rather die than see him king.’
55-9 Calmly, it pulls back the hood that covers, To show the face that they have known before. ‘Do you know the visage of your sovereign?’ ‘Father, do you see your son before you?
55-10 The Regians fall on their face in praise, Before them standing Mosul, who was slain. ‘I’ve returned to bring our final vengeance.’ ‘Come, embrace your King who has arisen.’
55-11 ‘Father, hear my words and do my bidding. ‘Make your peace with Raptors, whom you’ve hated,’ ‘They share survival as a common cause. ‘By them, our vengeance shall befall our foes.’
55-12 ‘Take this vial into your possession,’ ‘And guard it with your life against all threats.’ ‘Raptors will provide for unseen passage’ ‘Into the city of the catacombs[iii].’
55-13 In the night, the Regians pay visit To the Meän woman known as Meeda[iv]. Against her will, they place the seed of man— The essence of their sovereign lord, King Vyn.
56 Not one more child shall be born on Vé, As the black Sol renders mothers barren. The last-born child shall be Bafomet— Born as neither male nor female figured.
57 The Regians will steal the last-born child And deliver it to their high druids, To be raised as highest of the holy, The priest of man who shall preserve the beast.
58 While Bafomet is yet a nursing babe, A legion of disciples comes to be. They decry Azarius as heathen, Calling for His trial as a devil.
58-1 Priests shall gather dressed in robes of crimson, Guarded by lost Regians of Mosul. They make their accusations from the heights, Beneath the ring of fire in the sky.
58-2 ‘Hear my words, ye children of the Bolide!’ ‘Who is this man who rises from the dead?’ ‘Who is this man who led your king to death,’ ‘Guarded by the Raptors who’ve enslaved you?’
58-3 ‘Hear my words, ye Children of the Bolide!’ ‘Who is this man who says this world will end?’ ‘Who is this man who knows what future brings?’ ‘Yet, He led your brothers to their slaughter!’
58-4 Meä’s Children gather to bear witness, With half unto the left and half the right. Hails from one side, curses from the other, Again, the menfolk cleave to faction clans.
58-5 The mob demands Azarius be tried, Sending ultimatums to their king. Kethu stands between the mob and Aeon, Attempting to diffuse their violent rage.
58-6 Aeon will not heed their cries for justice, And Kethu must disperse the restless mob. Driven into madness by fanatics, One half of men refuse to hunt or reap.
59 By the law, a king must solely judge Him. Yet King Aeon lobbies for recusal. Azarius assures the troubled king That He will not abandon Aeon’s reign.
59-1 Aeon calls the steward to give counsel, The king holds Kethu in his highest trust. Kethu is to Aeon as a brother, And he will do the bidding of his king.
59-2 King Aeon warns a trial cannot be. ‘Either verdict would foment our ruin.’ ‘One would leave us blinded to the future,’ ‘And one would have me murdered by the mob.’
59-3 ‘Meet the prophet under darkness cover,’ ‘And be His escort to the Nephilim.’ ‘Return in haste so you are not suspected.’ ‘They will guard Him from the raging zealots.’
60 The end of Nezulim’s long age draws nigh. Passage through the ancient gateway loometh. Azarius the prophet knows the way To the sacred bridge that fords the chasm.
60-1 Raptors see in Aeon their salvation, For he alone can call Azarius. But dragons see their future in the stone, Nezulim will be saved by another.
[i] The instruction of Aeon, the boy king: Aeon was raised and tutored in the gardens by Azarius.
[ii] Blackened Sol or black sun: Sol turns black with a blinding, radiant corona. Rays of this ring of fire gradually destabilizes Vé’s ecology, eventually killing the life of Vallis. Early on, it renders women barren. This era was, otherwise, an era of plenty for humans for, as the garden receded, the forest bounty consolidated around them.
[iii] City of the catacombs: In the waning days of Vallis, the Meäns move their dwellings underground, into abandoned Raptor caverns, to escape the rays of the black sun.
[iv] Meeda: The mother of Bafomet, the third heir of King Vyn. She was involuntarily inseminated with Vyn’s essence by the Mosul’s Regians.
41 Nadir darkness comes to garden Vallis, With heaven’s crystals sparkling unobscured. Shadow calm subdues the ravaged valley. It comes at last: a falling diamond flame.
41-1 Its luminescence makes the night as day. Mountainsides of glass shall beam like silver. The Nezulim observe their ending bode, While the blue star Edä reaches apex.
41-2 The Bolide falls upon the realm of Vé. Flaming silver serpent from the heavens, Descending to the ledges of Meru[i]— Mountain of the seven sacred spires.
41-3 Nezulim send forth the Varangean. The slain one, Bazunan, not in their count. Led by heated glow and blotting billows, They reach the heights of sacred vulcan spurs.
41-4 Upon the ledge, a white coronal light, Radiating chimeras of crystal. Though half-submerged, its beaming heat immense. Varangean must remain at distance.
41-5 Nezulim shall speculate whilst idle, Their minds are filled with darkness and demise. That which comes forth from the Bolide crystal, Must be a curse on Vallis by The One.
41-6 Varangean bear their jagged rapiers, Preparing frenzied death for that which comes. A thousand stars descend from firmament[ii]. Amaranthine stains the pitch of heaven.
41-7 Crystal Bolide cools with Edä’s transit[iii]. Coronal light is dimmed with western dawn. Sol yet rises, hindered not by omens, As Varangean cower in the shade.
42 When cooled, the crystal hull reveals a door. Heaven’s ark then offers up her cargo. Emerging one by one from diamond holds— They are formed in image of the prophet.
43 Foretold, They come to Vé a race of men, Making journey from Their ruined homeland— Once bless-ed world endowed with shallow seas, A realm known to the Nezulim as Meä.
43-1 The realms of wicked beings shall be consumed By withholding of The One’s great blessing. But ending of a realm is less a curse Then it is the reaping of the sowing.
43-2 The realms of vanity shall end in ice, And hedonism bringeth end by flood. The worlds of apathy shall choke on dust, And envy be the cause of burning fall.
43-3 Five hundred generations make the trek From Meä to the spires of Meru. Their world, a ship that sails upon the void. Their ancient home, the wellspring of their lore.
43-4 Half a thousand kings have ruled Their journey, A dozen times They swept the shores of Vé. All these generations nearing Vallis Were curs-ed by Their passing of the port.
43-5 Blessed be the man who makes the journey, If known to him the end shall never come. Life spent in the service of his scions[iv], Is life that shall be born again in peace.
43-6 Fearful menfolk huddle on the mountain, To weep and wail out at Their final fate. They were promised landing in oasis, Instead, They have discovered desert glass.
43-7 Lifted through the door of buried crystal, The king of menfolk known to Them as Vyn[v]. Golden raiment cloaks his withered body. He clutches at his staff of dragon’s bone[vi].
43-8 His beard is long and gray, like cooling ash. His elder’s eyes are clouded like dawn’s mist. Tremors shake his hands and slow his footsteps. Yet, a royal air does not elude him.
43-9 He kneels upon the glass of Mount Meru, Offering his gratitude to heaven. ‘The One has blessed our tribe with journey’s end.’ ‘We honor You by bringing life to stone.’
43-10 The vanguard of the menfolk gathers round, Fellowship inoculates from worry. The King of Men fulfills the ancient oath. Then his tired heart shall cease its beating.
43-11 The others step forth from the crystal hull, Each to breathe the air and touch the mountain. In awe, They gaze upon the prongs of glass… Legend has foretold the seven spires.
43-12 They lay Their fallen king upon the stone, And build a cairn of quarried vulcan glass. No male heir was sown for king’s succession. Bondage chains the tribe without a sovereign.
43-13 Thousands are the number of Their people. Their skills well-honed along the journey age. Builders, farmers, hunters, millers, merchants, And guardians of these— the soldier class.
43-14 Amongst this tribe there are two royal daughters, Born together, Aramaz and Mazda. Their mother cradled them upon her breast. Yet no twin would suckle with the other.
43-15 The daughter-heirs of Vyn have never wed, Nor birthed a son to carry on the line. In their elder days, the twins are barren, Fading hopes for naming of a sovereign.
43-16 Gathered on the Mount Meru’s high ledges, Beneath the seven spires made of glass, Meä’s pilgrims greet Sol’s torpid rising, Dispelling dread of that which lurks in shade.
43-17 Awed, the Varangean hold in shadow, Biding time to make their slashing kill. Consensus be for slaying all these souls, Lest They deliver ruin unto Vé.
43-18 As the dragons form to usher murder, Their charge is stayed by visions of rebirth. Underneath the soles of Meä’s Children, A bursting verdure paints the stone with blooms.
43-19 The dragons sheath their razor rapier claws, And fall into the shadows beyond sight. Raptors shall be summoned as Their envoy. They will shepherd menfolk into Vallis.
43-20 Meä’s pilgrims wonder at these servants. Scaled in gray and standing thrice their stature, Their words, a woodwind melody of thoughts, A race of giants They call Nephilim[vii].
43-21 The Nephilim shall lead Them from Meru, Trekking forty leagues down from the highlands. Descending from the edge of desert waste, Before them spans a splendid garden vale.
43-22 Meä’s Children sing in joyful chorus, To the fronds that weep a sweetened nectar. They celebrate oasis in the waste, Unwary of the lurking dragon beast.
43-23 Nezulim may move beyond perception, Invisible to men with fettered eyes. Upwards, downwards, left, and right are limits; This narrowed range of view conceals the beast.
43-24 They rest within a grove of cascade fountains, And feast on manna frothing from the trees. Nephilim shall guard Them while They idle, For the splendid garden hides its hunters.
43-25 The menfolk wonder at the Vallis trees, Sprawling limbs bedecked in golden foliage. Reaching upwards to the mists of heaven, No tree had taken root in Meä’s soil.
43-26 Howls and calls and clatters haunt the garden. The scent of tea and flower lulls the mind. Quaking ferns conceal the shaded slithers. A silver blossom clenches on its prey.
43-27 Nephilim sit silent without moving, Their serpent eyes observe the lurking doom. Flicking tongues can taste a nearing danger. The garden will not welcome feeble men.
43-28 When the baking air becomes a burden, The Nephilim will press Them on the path. Severed heads of hunters line the trailway— The Raptor’s stealthy blade unseen by men.
43-29 The Meäns rest on banks of gentle streams, Fed by waters splashing down the stoneface. The Nephilim reveal the fruits and roots— Those that will not blind or cease Their heartbeats.
43-30 Journey’s end is marked by thinning jungle. Before Them climbs a wall of vulcan glass. Rumor spreads among the wary menfolk, That lofty fissures hide the serpent beast.
43-31 As Meäns are delivered from Meru, An agent is selected from Their tribe. Esthe[viii] is the dead king’s highest counsel. She shall be Their voice without a sovereign.
43-32 Nephilim lead Esthe up the mountain, And guide her to an entrance carved in stone. Passing through the vestibule to darkness, The master Nezulim awaits her call.
43-33 Esthe hears the pings of dripping water, And hears the blowing swells of heated air. Esthe feels the motion of the dragon, And hears the scrapes of undulating scales.
43-34 Esthe calls out in the strangling darkness, ‘If you be Gronde, present yourself to me!’ Chamber crystal veins then briefly brighten, Revealing glimpse of dragon silhouette.
43-35 Esthe feels the motion in the shadow, The Nezulim recedes beyond the dark. Before her sounds the whisper of a man, ‘I am the one who brought you to this crypt.’
43-36 Bewildered by the tenor, Esthe asks, ‘That cannot be the voice of Nezulim!’ ‘There be but one man who could precede us.’ ‘Tell me, are you the man Azarius?’
43-37 ‘I am not the man of whom you query,’ ‘Though He will not appear, He is yet near.’ ‘I am dragon, this you can be certain.’ ‘Your mind perceives me as my will intends.’
43-38 ‘Prove yourself the Nezulim by showing!’ ‘For legends say Azarius plays tricks.’ ‘I shall then bear witness of the dragon,’ ‘Bringing Meä’s Children to submission.’
43-39 ‘You cannot see Nezulim completely,’ ‘Its form transcends this thin dimension plane.’ ‘If I showed my form to you in fullness,’ ‘The sight within your mind would be deformed.’
43-40 Undaunted, Esthe furthers her demand: ‘I fear not the vision of the serpent!’ ‘Nor am I fearful of the loss of sight!’ ‘To be affected is my chosen path.’
43-41 Esthe hears a stirring in the shadow, As the haze is siphoned from perception. Her mind is opened by the dragon’s will, And shall not be restored to what it was.
43-42 Gronde the dragon slithers in the darkness. ‘As you wish,’ it speaks within her thinking. At first, a flicking tail, a prong, a claw, And then, the beast in whole, within her mind.
43-43 She perceives the dragon from each vantage, Eye and claw and scale and organ visage. And too, the form beyond the sight of men— With every facet visible at once.
43-44 Two hundred eyes, and yet each part of two. A hundred heads, but all the same with one. Scales in rippling, shapeless, edgeless surface. Endless rows of tooth that spring like fountains.
43-45 Nezulim transcend the plane of vision, Though they be tethered unto realms of men. They perceive the world with sight beyond it, And choose what facet of themselves is shown.
43-46 Esthe holds perception of the dragon, But for an instant, then the vision ends. Her eyes then turn as black as vulcan glass— Windows to a mind that has been opened.
43-47 Gronde speaks to her as facet of a man: ‘You have now perceived the dragon fully.’ ‘Wage of this, your eyes forever blinded.’ ‘But you shall see with vision by mind’s eye.’
43-48 Esthe shall be led back to her people, And They will know that she has seen the beast. Ten thousand years, the prophecy was known, ‘As was told to them by Meä’s dragon[ix].’
44 Nezulim shall congregate in counsel, Their minds consumed by wariness of men. ‘Let Them be culled by garden’s hungry beasts.’ ‘Bid Them death before they weave our ruin.’
44-1 Many of the Nezulim are angered. They decry, ‘The Children bring The Waning,’ ‘Thus, They must be destroyed before the night.’ ‘Withdraw the Nephilim so it be done!’
44-2 But Gronde commands, ‘They shall be given grace!’ ‘For They are gifts of mercy by The One.’ ‘Their progeny shall be Veandilim[x]. ‘By Their arrangements, we make exodus.’
44-3 Gronde shall stay their violent course of thinking, By showing visions of their future path: Men become the servants of the dragon, Delivering the serpent from the flame.
44-4 Gronde shall be Their advocate in Vallis, And men will prosper in the fruited vale. Laboring in sowing and the reaping, Desert lowlands shall be down by labor.
44-5 But as one tribe rises one shall falter, And this will be the curse of Nephilim. Though mightier and native unto Vé, Many shall be stricken by a sickness.
44-6 Sol shall burn with lessened fire fury. Cooling mists prevail to quench Their thirsting. Vallis is restored by Their hard labors. What was waste is brought back to abundance.
45 A Meän generation comes to pass, During respite from the cataclysm. Serving out Their bondage to the dragon, They bide their labors waiting for Their king.
45-1 By whip They shall be prompted in their work. By scythe They shall be punished for their crimes. Though They be the servants of the dragon, Raptors are Their masters in the garden.
45-2 And though They bring abundance to the wastes, And though Their bellies fatten with each feast, Meän chattel cry out in forlornness, Ruing journey bringing Them to Vallis.
45-3 Meäns cry Their prayers of lamentation: ‘Where is the prophet who forsakes our tribe?’ ‘For He was promised in the ancient texts—’ ‘He who frees mankind from serpent bondage!’
45-4 Men shall be the masters of their brethren, And men shall be defenders of their clan. And no man is born to serve the serpent, But men shall not be born to lord on Vé.
46 Azarius the prophet shall not come, For He shall counsel only with Their king. He remains alone within Gronde’s chamber, While the Bolide’s cohort has no sovereign.
46-1 As the Nephilim succumb to wasting, Their minds are twisted by a primal fear. Accusing men of bringing their disease, They shall wax in harshness by their torments.
46-2 As Bolide’s cohort reaches ag-ed end, Hope for saving withers with Their bodies. Azarius is curs-ed in Their songs, While first generation meets its ending.
46-3 Blind Esthe seeks an audience with Gronde, Asking aid in making of a sovereign. Brought into the crypt by wasting Raptors, Gronde speaks to her in tenor of a man.
46-4 ‘Bring to me the body of your ruler’ ‘And lay him on the altar of this crypt.’ ‘But do not let the Raptors see this done.’ ‘Spiteful Nephilim will halt his rising.’
46-5 Through thinning of their ranks by wasting pox, Many posts of Nephilim are idled. Under cover of the annum nightfall, The body of the heirless king’s exhumed.
46-6 The corpse of King of Men is thus exposed— Black and withered by the passing annum, Brittle, dusty form in gilded raiment, A golden mask preserves his royal air.
46-7 Six men are chosen for the bearer task[xi], To move the body past the garden’s eyes. Without escort of the guarding Raptors, Men are naked to the jungle’s terrors.
46-8 Down from Mount Meru they bring the body, And through the desert guided by the stars, In to the garden, watched by lurking doom, Bearer men are shielded by Gronde’s vision.
46-9 The heirless king is smuggled to the crypt, And laid upon an altar of black glass. Of the chosen six who bring the body, Each are culled upon their journey homeward.
46-10 The corpse of Vyn shall lie within the dark Until a light shall gleam amongst the stone. Rooted tendrils reaching from the fissures Penetrate the body of the sovereign.
46-11 Scions branch to tether nerve and vessel, And wasting body shall reanimate. For a moment, dead is brought to living, As consciousness is channeled through the flesh.
46-12 The King of Men shall see with dragon’s eye— Face, and aft, above, beneath, together. Within, without, the dragon is perceived, Its meager shadow all that mortals grasp.
46-13 The King of Men shall see the futures past: Meä’s dusty end and Children leaving. But though unmade, the realm of men remade— Ancient dynamo[xii] is re-ignited.
46-14 King Vyn shall gaze upon the shallow seas, And tranquil steppes of endless, golden grass, Plumes of ash as Tartarus[xiii] awakens, Vyn then knows his tribe will find salvation.
46-15 High knowledge bursts the vessel of man’s mind As if new wine poured into weathered skins. A fleeting glimpse of future for his tribe, Vyn’s body then returns to final rest.
46-16 Essence of the king shall be extracted By the finest filaments of tendril. The tentacles of rooted carnifern[xiv] Withdraw the seed of essence of the king.
46-17 The generation landing on Meru, Shall but pass away in Raptor’s bondage. Two of three survivors are twin sisters, The living son between them would be king.
47 A twin shall plot her sister’s final breath, So her son might be the one anointed. Yet unborn, her son will claim the title, And free the Children from the Raptor’s yoke.
47-1 Aramaz the twin seeks Esthe’s counsel, Deep within the garden’s twisted terrors. She finds the ancient skull of Bazunan[xv]— The doorway to the chamber of the witch.
47-2 She ventures down into the tangled bore, As if swallowed by an ancient devil. There she finds the blinded seer waiting. Seated by her side, her hated sister.
47-3 In a chamber lit by dancing fires, The sisters vent their loathing with cold stares. Esthe peers with blinded eyes like agates, And motions that she shall begin to speak.
47-4 ‘Both of you have come here at this moment,’ ‘Yet neither has consulted with thy twin.’ ‘Both of you have come to ask one question:’ ‘Shall I yet bear the issue of the king?’
47-5 ‘Yes! Oh, yes! Please answer us our question!’ ‘For each of us has passed our fertile age.’ ‘We are last survivors of the landing,’ ‘And soon our bodies wither in a cairn.’
47-6 ‘Fear not, for I have seen the King of Men!’ ‘He shall bleed the essence of your father.’ ‘But your sons cannot be born together,’ ‘For ruin is the price of dueling kings.’
47-7 ‘When we die, the royal line is ended.’ ‘What then, old seer, shall be Meän fate?’ ‘King of Men must lead us out of bondage,’ ‘Before the Garden Vallis turns to ash.’
47-8 Esthe lays before them Pome of Eitur[xvi], Picked from vines entangled in the garden. ‘The doom of men is tied to sister’s fate.’ ‘One bite of pome will save men from their end.’
47-9 Aramaz decries the witch’s offer. ‘We have come to heed your guiding vision,’ ‘Yet all you offer is this spoiled fruit—’ ‘One single bite, a poison bringing death!’
47-10 Mazda asks one question of the seer, For she, alone, regards the fate of men. ‘What shall be if neither takes the poison?’ ‘Will men remain in bondage to the beast?’
47-11 Esthe yields her vision of the future: ‘Garden’s end is looming on horizon.’ ‘A curse of ruin if two kings be born…’ ‘A curse of ruin if two twins remain.’
47-12 Mazda knows her sister will not offer. The fate of men resides with her alone. She takes the Pome of Eitur from the witch, Biting down into the deadly poison.
47-13 Within ten breaths, old Mazda passes on, Falling to the floor of Esthe’s chamber. Aramaz rejoices in her triumph, Then asks the ancient seer her command.
47-14 ‘I will take you to the house of Antoc[xvii],’ ‘His son will be the father of the heir.’ ‘Hide the boy from Nephilim discovery,’ ‘For naming of our king portends their doom.’
47-15 ‘When he has surpassed his thirteenth annum[xviii],’ ‘Deliver him into the crypt of Gronde.’ ‘Present him as the rightful heir of Vyn,’ ‘Then the prophet shall be stirred from silence.’
47-16 Aramaz departs the cave of Esthe, And Esthe weeps both tears of joy and pain. For Mazda gave her life to save her tribe— Poisoned pome unlocking chains of bondage.
47-17 Esthe presents Aramaz to Antoc, But is, at first, refused in her demand. For the twin is many annums elder, And never bore a son who would be king.
47-18 Antoc’s son has no wife in the household, The father has no heir to carry on. ‘If my son be wedded to the barren,’ ‘What dowry shall replace my ended line?’
47-19 ‘Lord, fear not the ending of your lineage,’ ‘For Aramaz will bear a noble son.’ ‘I have seen this with the eye of dragon.’ ‘Your dowry: you’ll be patron of the king.’
47-20 Son of Antoc protests the arrangement, For he has no desire for the twin. Thrice his age and past her rearing era, The aged maid does not provoke his want.
47-21 All men are plied by vanity and lust. And lust takes many forms within the soul. As men age, their legacy encumbers. Antoc can’t refuse the royal covenant.
47-22 Son of Antoc is convinced to marry. They hold the wedding in the annum night. All the Meäns celebrate their union. Maids then aid the bride in consummation.
47-23 And when the elder twin is shown with child, Esthe knows her purpose is completed. She strides into the Vallis night unbowed, Disappearing into garden terrors.
48 Son of Aramaz, the last surviving, Shall be called Mosul[xix] by the Meän tribe. At thirteen, he is brought into the crypt, Seeking counsel from the silent prophet.
48-1 The boy and mother slip past Nephilim, Down into the keep of Gronde, the dragon. The dim lit chamber reeks of sulfur rot. Dragon lurks in shadow near the prophet.
48-2 Azarius is held in His repose, While the dragon slithers in the darkness, Mother prods the boy to claim his birthright. Despite his youth, conviction fills his voice.
48-3 ‘Awake, old prophet! Greet the King of Men!’ Azarius sets eyes upon the boy, Then He straightens from His sleeping posture, As was foretold by Esthe’s prophecy.
48-4 The crystal veins of stone glow faintly green. Horn, and tooth, and wing are silhouetted As shadow drifting just beyond the darkness. ‘What boy has dared to journey to this crypt?’
48-5 ‘It is King Mosul, son of Aramaz,’ ‘Seed of Vyn, the heir to Meä’s kingdom.’ ‘Breaker of the chains of Vallis bondage.’ ‘The one foretold to lead man’s exodus.’
48-6 Azarius arises from the stone, A wraith of withered skin draped over bones, Eyes that beam white fire from deep craters, Standing, He looks down upon the sovereign.
48-7 ‘A king who must announce himself as king…’ ‘Suffers from the want of validation.’ ‘But if the heir of Vyn has come to be,’ ‘What would be commanded by this lord?’
48-8 ‘The teachers tell us Vallis days are short.’ ‘Soon, the desert comes to claim oasis.’ ‘The King of Men shall stay the Raptor’s whip.’ ‘You will then reveal the way to Edä.’
48-9 Azarius demures before the boy: ‘Yes, I know the way of liberation.’ ‘Trust in me, and I will show the pathway,’ ‘And I will open gates that are unseen.’
48-10 And thus, the seed of Vyn is named the King. The prophecy of Esthe is fulfilled. Mosul is adorned in gilded raiment. House of Antoc fills the court and council.’
48-11 As young Mosul ages into manhood, The prophet tutors him the ancient lore.[xx] Futures past and pasts that be the future, And kings that rise and kings that are destroyed.
48-12 Mosul sees the rise of Edä’s kingdom, Meä’s Children marching on the savage And binding restless natives as their slaves. Victorious, the banner of the beast!
48-13 Azarius shall show the boy his might. Mosul’s mind then fills with sovereign glory The boy becomes the legendary king, Savior to the children of the wasteland.
48-14 But glory of the king shall be delayed. Meän legend must be first accomplished: Gates of Edä shall not be thrown open, Until the last to journey passes on.
48-15 The King of Men grows restless in his youth, Yearning for the moment of his triumph. But generation of the journey lives, With the mother of the king surviving.
48-16 Mosul sends his Regian[xxi] defenders, Led by Mosul’s father, Son of Antoc, To bring his mother to the den of Gronde, For consultation with Azarius.
48-17 Mother goes with husband as requested, By pathways she regards as lesser known. Pondering while carried on her litter, ‘The day of exodus has come at last!’
48-18 Instead, they bring her to the dragon skull, The ancient head of Bazunan, the beast. There, they chain the mother to the dragon, Leaving her to beasts that prowl the jungle.
48-19 Amaraz cries out as she’s abandoned, ‘Why do you forsake me to the hunters?’ ‘I beg you, do not leave me to this death.’ ‘Have I not borne the son who is your king?’
48-20 But pity does not come to Antoc’s son. His heart was hardened by a power lust. Though his wife had borne the King of Meä, Antoc’s son regarded her with loathing.
48-21 Azarius is summoned to the King. There, He is reminded of the legend. The last to make the journey breathed her last, Gates of Edä must now be thrown open.
48-22 ‘Painfully, I’ve made the choice for kingdom,’ ‘And sacrificed the dowager to vale.’ ‘Though I weep for passing of my mother,’ ‘I’ve done what must be done to free my tribe.’
48-23 The prophet is unmoved by king’s demand. ‘You have taken life without a purpose—’ ‘Beg The One for mercy or be punished.’ ‘Your mother was not last of Those who live.’
48-24 The King is angered by the prophet’s words. Regians unsheathe their dragon ivory, Surrounding prophet, readying to strike, But the King of Men will stay the killing.
48-25 ‘Tell me, prophet, who yet lives among Them?’ ‘Twenty annum pass since others perished.’ ‘I come to think that you are but the beast,’ ‘A serpent telling lies in human form.’
48-26 ‘Hear me, Mosul, what I tell of Esthe:’ ‘The seer who has cleared your path to king,’ ‘Lives immortal in the Raptor caverns.’ ‘Her life, a guarantee for Nephilim.’
48-27 ‘Then we shall wait until the seer dies,’ ‘For she was elder long before my birth.’ ‘We will soon get word of Esthe’s passing,’ ‘Then you shall reveal the Edä gateway.’
48-28 ‘You do not understand the Raptor ways.’ ‘They can heal her from the curse of aging.’ ‘You have slain your mother without purpose.’ ‘Your vanity brings curse upon your house.’
48-29 Mosul sends the Regians as envoys Marching down into the Raptor caverns. Their tunnels light with luminescent quartz, As godlike reptiles glower down on men.
48-30 Kandevular[xxii] is hailed as Raptor kaan. Thrice the height of men, his presence towers. Serpent eyes burn deep into men’s spirit. He speaks no voice that ears of men can know.
48-31 The Regians of Mosul make their claim: ‘Give to us the seer we call Esthe!’ ‘Your race is weakened by the wasting pox.’ ‘Raptors are no match for Mosul’s army!’
48-32 Unbowed, the Raptor kaan will not relent. Instead, his serpent eyes alight with flame. With his gesture, Raptors grant men passage. Regians are turned away defeated.
48-33 Mosul holds a counsel of the elders, Sharing visions of the Meän glory. ‘The Age of Men demands the seer’s life.’ ‘Without it, we shall perish in the flame.’
48-34 ‘Take up your shields, unsheathe your rapier blades[xxiii]!’ ‘Glory has been shown to me by visions.’ ‘Meän’s bring their war of liberation!’ ‘No Raptor shall be spared our culling thrust.’
49 Mosul leads the march of men on Vallis, Emboldened by the triumph he foresaw. Forty-thousands be their fighting number, A force of men to cull the Raptor horde.
49-1 Forest pathways spill onto the meadows, And march of men is halted in the field. Gudoc[xxiv] rises from the plain before them, One thousand Raptors hold the vulcan wall.
49-2 Mosul’s host prepares to wage the battle. The men of Meä form into their ranks. When thund’rous wails of battle horns resound, Souls of men are lifted from their dread.
49-3 Ordered by the golden Son of Antoc, Man’s army charges up the Gudoc scarp. But kaan of Raptors holds the lizard line, Waves of men are broken on the mountain.
49-4 Charge and charge are ordered by King Mosul, But each is thwarted by the Nephilim. When but seven thousand stand unbroken, The Nephilim descend to slay the rest.
49-5 One hundred Raptors charge down from the heights, Slaying Meä’s soldiers in the chaos. Many are devoured while yet breathing, And only Mosul’s Regians survive.
49-6 King Mosul shall be brought before the kaan, Bloodied king is silent in his ruin. Lizard kaan shall mete a final justice, Ripping Mosul’s beating heart from body.
49-7 And as the King of Men dies on the stone, Raptors serve revenge for pox of wasting. But glory is a fleeting glimpse of God. Era of the garden nears its ending.
49-8 Six Regians remain of Mosul’s host, Bearing lifeless king upon their shoulders. Forty-thousand souls are lost in battle, Despair thus fills the hearts of those that live.
49-9 ‘The exodus demands a king to lead!’ ‘But now ruin comes to Meä’s Children!’ ‘The king is dead. The fate of man is sealed!’ ‘All mankind shall perish by the fire!’
49-10 Nephilim release the seer Esthe— The last survivor of the crystal star. Blind Esthe steals away by hidden paths, Venturing into the highland desert.
49-11 Guided by the force of dragon vision, Blind Esthe climbs the mountain of Meru. She casts herself into the vulcan pyre. By this, the prophecy shall be fulfilled.
49-12 Bondage finds the tribe without a sovereign, But Meä’s Children shall escape this fate. A king will take first breaths in dragon’s lair. Aeon, heir of Vyn, shall be arisen.
50 Azarius appears at Mosul’s cairn, Bringing word of Aeon, King of Meä. Regians shall slay the traitor prophet, And leave His body to the garden beasts.
[i] Mount Meru: The sacred mountain of seven volcanic spires. Landing place of the Bolide.
[ii] Firmament: The dome of the night sky that suspends the stars above.
[iii] Edä’s transit: The path of the archon (or star) Edä across the heavenly night.
[v] Vyn or King Vyn: The last king of Meäns while on their journey through the void.
[vi] Staff of dragon bone: King Vyn’s staff purported to be made of dragon bone, implying dragons, or at least the fossilized remnants of them, existed on Meä.
[vii] Nephilim: The race of giants that are conceived of the essence of wyvern and the ‘race ill-fated’ (a.k.a. humans).
[viii] Esthe: The most trusted counsel of King Vyn. She is chosen by the Raptors to speak for the Children of Meä on Vé upon their arrival and after she perceives the dragon in whole.
[ix] Meä’s dragon: The beast of legend that dwells within the depths of Meä and reveals the promise of the garden of Vallis before man was banished into the void.
[x] Veandilim: The pure-blooded descendants of the Meäns who arrive on Vé by the Bolide.
[xi] The chosen six who bring the body: The Meän host that disinters the deceased King of Men and brings the body to Gronde’s crypt. All are slain by the beasts of the jungle upon their return journey.
[xii] The dynamo of Meä: The ancient furnace deep beneath the surface that, once ignited, awakens heated springs, warms the air, and drives the clouds and storms and rain. When extinguished, the mountains fall asleep and the air cools and dries, turning Meä into a frozen desert. According to legend, it exists in a keep, deep within the mantle known as Tarturus (or Hell) and is guarded by the immortal Nephilim god-warrior Kandevular Kaan.
[xiii] Tartarus: Hell or Hades or within the underworld that exists beneath all the realms.
[xiv] Carnifern: A predatory plant that kills and consumes animals with motile tendrils and clasping pedals (or lobes).
[xv] The skull of Bazunan: The ancient, eroded skull of the doyen Bazunan. Beneath it worms a series of tunnels that house the blind seer Esthe.
[xvi] Pome of Eitur: The fruit of the eitur vine which contains a deadly poison.
[xvii] The House of Antoc: The noble house of the patriarch Antoc. His son would father Mosul, the heir to King Vyn.
[xviii] His thirteenth annum: Thirteen Edä years of age.
[xix] Mosul, the Heir to Vyn: First surviving male descendant of King Vyn. Mother is Aramaz, the daughter of Vyn, and the Son of Antoc.
[xx] The ancient lore of Meä: The tales of ancient Mean civilization, before man was cast out into the void.
[xxi] Regian defenders: The King of Men’s personal guard.
[xxii] Kandevular: The kaan or king of the Nephilim. The greatest Raptor. The keeper of the gates of Tartarus.
[xxiii] Rapier blades: Blades constructed of dragon bone, scales, or horn.
[xxiv]Gudoc: a steep escarpment of fractured vulcan glass that forms an un-flankable bastion on an edge of the garden valley. It is the place of the last stand of the Nephilim.
31 The Raptors fill their stores and stock their vaults In their preparations for The Waning. More meager are the hunts and harvest days, Yet each one exceeds the one that follows.
31-1 Each annum brings new harshness unto Vé. Bright’ning Sol draws forth the plague of desert. Seas of black shall rage within gray tempests, And nights of cold shall sap the living will.
31-2 The garden wilts and bounty is no more. Predators and prey must come together. The starving hunters feast upon their kind. Enmity in dragons grows ferocious.
31-3 Swarms of arthropods descend on Vallis, Imposing pestilence and teeming blight. Ravenous, their mandibles devour, Their thirst for blood and nectar nay be quenched.
31-4 Swarms of black shall turn the day to twilight. Their drone brings madness for high-minded beings. Merciless, they prey on thorn and flower, No remedy, save for a poison spore.
31-5 And when the poison festers in the pest, The murmuration turns upon itself. Emptied husks fall from the sky in deluge, And winds then sweep them into brittle dunes.
31-6 If purpose of The One is bringing life, What shall be the reason of this ruin? Why does The One send pestilence and death? Why has garden splendor been forsaken?’
31-7 Every Nezulim laments The Waning. ‘Why does The One bring vengeance unto me?’ This is asked but they deny the answer… Their ruin was the harvest of sown greed.
31-8 As Nezulim so wail and grate their flesh At the prospect of their final heartbeat, Their source of angst reveals a blinded soul. Every higher mind forgets recurrence.
31-9 Before a moth shall meet its end in flame, Death’s despair shall not consume its spirit. But those with higher minds do not recall: All that is unmade shall yet be remade.
31-10 How can there be rebirth without passing? And how can there be new without the old? How can there be harvest without reaping? And how can there be feast without the hunt?
31-11 If a fruited tree should be uprooted, Its felling brings rebirth by scattered seed. When a beast is felled by mortal wounding, Its remains will nourish many living.
31-12 And when the elder’s body yields its soul, It shall be to make way for the younger. Curs-ed be the world of vane immortals, Eternal life corrupts their stunted souls.
31-13 Nezulim are curs-ed in this manner: They be immortal if they are not slain. No future generation is foreseen, All their life an epilogue of envy.
31-14 The curse of swarms shall not yet be the end, For vale and shelf as well will shift and break. Plumes of steam shall vent from land in pillars, The finned and gilled will foul the black sand shores.
32 The skies of Vé are darkened by the soot, As the mountains rage with bursting fires. Deep fissures open, drinking up the seas. Vallis garden wilts within the shadow.
33 The rivers choke with lifeless flotsam mire. In the darkness, frond, and stalk doth wither. Ruminants succumb unto their hunger, While hunters fatten on the gathered prey.
33-1 Harshest of all seasons comes to Vallis, And all that yet survives will coalesce. Nine of ten of all the living perish. But four of seven Nezulim remain.
34 The Nezulim retreat into their crypts, Where blood shall cool, and minds are brought to peace. They resign to calm themselves for stasis, Not knowing if they ever shall awake.
35 Gronde awaits in silence for His answer, Azarius will not yet tell the day. He will lead the exodus from Vallis, Though kings shall not make passage when it comes.
36 Starless night shall span the length of seasons, But sunrise of the annum shall approach, And on that dawn, Sol rises in the west, But its semblance is like dying embers.
37 Remnants of the Nezulim shall gather, And take a counting of their buried stores. They find their ration shall not full provide, Thus, a further culling is required.
38 ‘Oh, when shall come the foretold Bolide star?’ Mourn the minds of wary and tormented. They drone the desperation of their souls— Prior lives entirely forgotten.
38-1 Gronde shall have a vision of past future, Upon a realm beneath a muted Sol. Beholding essence of the Nezulim, And the means by which it is extracted.
38-2 A vision of the last of Nezulim, Alive but frozen in sarcophagus. Tended to by men in silver raiments, Who draw the essence from the dragon’s nape.
38-3 By this dream, Gronde comes to know the future, And also, Gronde perceives an ancient past. That which has once come shall come tomorrow, And that which is unmade shall be remade.
38-4 The dragon wakes beside Azarius. Man perceives the dragon in his image. Gronde, at once, remembers all the future, And thus, the day of Nezulim is known.
38-5 There sits Azarius, the endless man, Across from Him, the fated dragon beast, Known to each, the fate that waits the other, Known to each, the fate that comes to Vallis.
39 Azarius shall end His long repose. To Gronde he speaks, ‘Indeed, the end is near.’ ‘Bolide cometh once the heavens scoured,’ ‘With it, a respite from The Waning curse.’
39-1 Gronde sends message to the other serpents. The stone is rolled away from dungeon door. Neither Gronde nor prophet deigns to venture, As neither wills to pass into the light.
39-2 Gronde intones a solitary order: ‘If one has slain another without cause,’ ‘Justice for this crime shall be commuted.’ ‘For culling of our kind was unfulfilled.’
40 The mountains cease their rage of frothing ash. Skies are cleansed from veil of soot and vapor. In the night of apogee of winter, A beaming star illuminates the dark.
40-1 When the Bolide comes down from the heavens, Men shall recount it as a fallen star… That hath broken from the heaven’s current, To land upon the heights of Mount Meru.
21 Azarius awaits the Nezulim. Quietly, He bides his time in darkness, In repose, in eons-lasting dream state. The dragon comes for Him a thousand times.
21-1 Submersed within an utter, senseless dark, Drowned within a din of total silence, Neither hot nor cold, and without movement, Oblivion enveloping the flesh.
21-2 Azarius awaits within this crypt, Sustained in life by manna of The One[i]. Eons pass as if but merely moments. Madness is annulled by dreaming journeys.
21-3 His memory is of the futures past, So too, He shall recall the pasts to come. Every moment of His countless lifetimes Is relived while in the state of dreaming.
21-4 He recalls the souls of each encountered, The kings, and paupers, mothers, soldiers, babes. Friend reborn a foe and foe re-friended, For no man lives their life the same way twice.
21-5 He does not recall embrace by mother, Nor does He recall a father’s lessons. No memory of childhood exists, Begotten by The One, and never young.
22 Warm blood doth pulse within His ageless veins. Wounds will bleed, and blows will bruise and break Him. Though He be slain by blade, or club, or knot, Rooted and unrooted life renews Him.
22-1 He has dreamt of cities built by menfolk. Its narrow alleys bustle with exchange. Labyrinths of stone, and flesh, and clamor, And odors, tastes, and the echoes in the air.
22-2 He has been here countless times in history. Each visit finds it more-or-less the same. Masons stack the stones in likewise patterns, The routes arranged familiar in design.
22-3 Every time He recognizes faces, And most replay the same roles as before. Brute gendarmes shall only change their masters, And beggars rarely stack the merchant’s coin.
22-4 The patrician class are clad in colors, The filthy proles will shout, and spit, and curse. Men with violent stares in breasted bronze-plates Are prodding Him with sharpened blades of steel.
22-5 Thirteen times He’s marched this raucous gauntlet, Which culminates within a dungeon keep. Scourging of the flesh is their cruel manner, Then meted death for crimes of heresy.
22-6 One cannot confront a mob with reason, Devotion to the mob, its only law. Ultimate of sin to all fanatics Is by the mockery of their righteous cause.
22-7 Every man shall bear religious fervor, Each worships god, or ghost, or king, or cause. Stand athwart the mob and ye be trampled. Defying divine law a heresy.
23 His emergence is the foretold omen, It shall concur with tumult throughout Vé. Though The Waning Era [ii]comes before Him, The prophecy of Him is thus fulfilled.
23-1 In the time before The Waning Era, Vé’s garden bounty sated every want. Margathon recalls the future vision. Banished devils should not be forgotten.
23-2 Margathon surrenders to the caverns. The serpent’s body withers in its crypt. Wasting lords oblige the hunt for devils, The Varangean set out on their hunt.
23-3 The wyvern hunt will span a hundred sols[iii], Yet not one eye of Vé will glimpse the wyrm. The Varangean search the highland plains Where the heat of Sol burns like a furnace.
23-4 The hunters reach the Highlands of Keveer[iv]— Lifeless rocks emblazoned by Sol’s fire. Naked under Sol, they seek shade’s refuge, And find His crypt within a deep crevasse.
23-5 The Varangean souls are filled with dread, For the prophet shall abet The Waning. Varangean huddle in the shadows, In fear of He who heralds in their doom.
23-6 Bazunan berates them all as cowards, And threatens to remove their head from spine. By claw and fang, the dragons pry the door. There within, Azarius is waiting.
23-7 Bazunan creeps forth to vet the prophet. Its forked black tongue flicks at the petty being. Slaying it would bring it exaltation, And glory would be given to the beast.
23-8 But He awakens just before the strike. Nezulim recoil in their terror. He speaks to them, ‘Before you cut me down…’ ‘Know that I can lead you to the wyvern.’
23-9 Bazunan’s first instinct is to slay Him, But Varangean halt the killing strike. Bazunan hurls curses at their thwarting, While dragons circle in defense of man.
23-10 They speak to Him with voices in his mind, Their intonements chanted in His whisper. But He has heard the dragon’s voice before, And their writhing tone cannot corrupt Him.
23-11 The Nezulim do not remember Him. Their eyes then narrow as He thwarts their spell. Poison odors burn into His airways… ‘Spare your suffering! Tell us of the wyvern!’
23-12 Forked tongues glazed with acid flick His body. Azarius replies with weakened voice: ‘You cannot find the wyvern by Vé’s sight.’ ‘This wyvern has eluded Vallis eyes.’
23-13 Dragons scrape His flesh with serpent armor. Azarius continues without fear: ‘The One withholds your higher dragon sight.’ ‘As Sol reddens, so your vision darkens.’
23-14 But still, they have no memory of this man. ‘Liar! Demon! You cannot deceive us!’ They try to break his mind with fear of pain. ‘Spare your suffering! Tell us of the wyvern!’
23-15 In His mind he sees His burning body, Then He feels the immolation fires… ‘There is no use in torturing my mind!’ ‘For all you might impose, I have endured.’
23-16 ‘Listen to my words for your salvation.’ ‘The wyvern’s lair lies just beyond your sight.’ ‘I shall give the wyvern on your promise,’ ‘That I may pick the manner of my death.’
23-17 Bazunan reacts with rage and fury. ‘A man shall never bargain with the beast!’ ‘I shall cast you down into the chasm,’ ‘Spare your suffering! Tell us of the wyvern!’
23-18 Azarius refuses to concede, And drives the fire from his ancient mind. ‘Living flesh can never be immortal,’ ‘All that is remade shall yet be unmade.’
23-19 ‘So many times, I’ve known you, Bazunan,’ ‘But you do not recall your prior lives.’ ‘Holy is the place of your life’s ending,’ ‘Where your mind is freed from body’s bondage.’
23-20 ‘The fool denies the coming of the night,’ ‘Thus his path is foiled by the darkness.’ ‘The wise prepare their lanterns in the day,’ ‘Thus the nightfall won’t impede their journey.’
23-21 ‘I can light the lantern of salvation’ ‘And give to you the wyrm who will be lord.’ ‘Squander this and ye shall face your ruin,’ ‘And left to gnaw upon each other’s bones.’
23-22 The Nezulim grow wary of His words, For they have learned The Waning prophecy: ‘He shall come and bring the flame of end times.’ ‘Nezulim shall suffer by this fire!’
23-23 They then turn their claws upon His body, And He is slashed, and bruised, and broken-boned. Then He’s carried off to Vallis garden, Where Margathon shall mete the prophet’s fate.
23-24 The prophet is brought down to dragon’s crypt, Where Azarius is forced to prostrate. Varangean gather round the prophet, And darkness fills with sounds of grinding scales.
23-25 Glow illuminates a human visage: A man upon a throne in gilded robes. A voice emerges from the grating din… ‘Tell me prophet, do you recognize me?’
23-26 He hears their black blood rushing through their veins, And their claws that scrape like stone on iron. He gathers himself up so He may speak. ‘You are the lord of dragons, Margathon.’
23-27 Varangean beasts then ooze and slither. The visage king responds in troubled tone. ‘Why do describe a man as dragon?’ ‘Am I not man as your eyes have perceived?’
23-28 ‘My eyes see that which dragons have revealed.’ ‘You project a man into my vision,’ ‘For you believe it will disarm my mind,’ ‘But you have forgotten past encounters.’
23-29 The visage king arises from his throne. ‘I have seen you in the future’s vision,’ ‘Where you precede destruction of this realm.’ ‘Bringeth you the fire or mere warning?’
23-30 ‘I bring nothing but word of the weather.’ ‘My death will not forestall the burning Sol.’ ‘Yes, this garden will be rendered cinders,’ ‘And few of Nezulim will carry on.’
23-31 The visage king lays hands upon His head, Thus Azarius receives the binding. Then Margathon demands the dragons leave. They withdraw by slithers into darkness.
23-32 Margathon enjoins the mind of prophet. ‘What will you tell me of The Waning time?’ Margathon awaits the prophet’s answer While veins of stone suffuse in emerald glow.
23-33 Silently, He tends his wounded body, His quiet, driving visage king to wrath. ‘You shall answer, specter of unholy!’ And only then Azarius responds.
23-34 ‘I’ll not yet share your waning destiny,’ ‘But, I will reveal to you the wyvern.’ ‘It nests upon the pinnacle of Yune[v].’ ‘Hasten and it can be brought to Vallis.’
23-35 ‘But also, you must know of this great wyrm,’ ‘It cannot be deceived by dragon’s drone[vi].’ ‘Varangean will be firmly tested;’ ‘Seven of them may not match its fury.’
23-36 ‘Know that if you lose a Varangean,’ ‘Fate is sealed by lack of quorum number.’ ‘Once this wyvern turns, your future ceases, ‘For this one is the last of wyvern-kind.’
23-37 ‘You must now fulfill what was agreed to.’ ‘For I have upheld my end of the pledge.’ ‘Your doyen brought me here upon its oath.’ ‘All betrayals bring the curse of justice.’
23-38 The visage king withdraws from prophet’s mind, For Margathon has learned the wyvern perch. ‘Tell me prophet, what shall be your preference?’ ‘What be the manner by which ye be slain?’
23-39 Smoldering engulfs its scales with aura. The fangs and claws reflect the ember glows. Azarius corrals His waning strength, As the visage king becomes the dragon.
23-40 ‘Margathon shall bear the dragon’s honor.’ ‘The manner of my slaying shall be thus:’ ‘Willingly, I sacrifice my body.’ ‘But only to the lord of Nezulim.’
23-41 Margathon appears in all its horror, The serpent swells within in the cavern keep. Azarius is swallowed by the beast, Dragon lord then calls the Varangean.
24 Future shall be past and past the future, And memory shall be a prophecy. Nezulim will quell the doomsday prophet, But harbingers are not the source of doom.
24-1 Varangean dispatch for the wyvern, Embarking for the pinnacle of Yune. Vulcan glass that spires from the highlands, It rises high above the eyes of Vé.
24-2 Varangean hunters reach the mountain, By hidden murmuration in the mist. Hiding in the shadows of Yune’s fractures, Setting ambush for their wyvern prey.
24-3 Restlessly, they vilify the prophet, Intoning curses in the silent dark, While time is lengthened by the spell of night, Under firmament of dancing pyres.
24-4 The wyvern comes, descending in the dark, Landing on its perch atop the spire. The hunters hold for Edä’s climbing star, Signaling the moment of their ambush.
24-5 The beryl cinder rises in the west, Marking moment of unleashing fury. The Varangean dispatch from their blinds, Rising to ensnare their serpent trophy.
24-6 The method of the capture is by swarm. For wyvern are a cunning, violent beast. Varangean come from every vantage, Slashing, clawing, flaying at the creature.
24-7 Their doyen, Bazunan, goes for the cull, But the cunning wyvern counter-slashes. Unseen by blinded eye, the razor tail Slices down above the doyen’s shoulder.
24-8 The dragon’s skull is severed from the spine, And serpent jaws cry out a silent shriek. Tumbling down and down into the garden, Doyen’s eye reveals a final terror.
24-9 The dragon’s headless body flails and writhes, Crashing down from heaven’s misty currents. The heart yet pumping fountains of black blood, Vulcan glass and dragon scales are splattered.
24-10 The body of the doyen comes to rest. Quickly, forest hunters come to gather. They tear the flesh from bone in frenzied feast. Bazunan the dragon sates their hunger.
24-11 The wyvern shall be finally subdued, By the force of Varangean numbers. The beast is lowered from the mountain’s peak, Borne by them unto their master’s cavern.
24-12 In deep’ning depths, the trial is imposed— Torture beyond human comprehension. The veins are ruptured and the blood is let, Until wyvern’s final heartbeat pulses.
24-13 The wyvern body’s lain on garden floor. Rooted and unrooted then beset it, The lesser beings transfigure lifeless corpse, By this, the wyrm is made into a god.
24-14 Sol rises over Vé each annum turn, But this dawn shall be marked by one rebirth. The last of Nezulim shall take a breath. All that lives shall herald: Gronde the dragon!
25 Margathon lies waiting in the darkness, Until the tomb is opened to the light. The Nezulim forsake their dragon lord, In the depths where Sol cannot envigor.
25-1 Gronde’s making does not fill the quorum count— Headless Bazunan, the missing number. Thus, mandate of the elder master ends. Nezulim must elevate another.
25-2 Gronde is nurtured in the ways and meanings, Evolving with the highest seeing eye. This high vision shall not be encumbered; The wise must shun devotion to all rites.
25-3 Future’s end is marked by wyvern’s passing, And Gronde’s arising in the Nezulim. Final ages shall be filled with tumult, As end time lords cast off their elder’s ways.
25-4 The Nezulim shall segregate in clans, And no voice of reason can repair this. For Nezulim regard themselves as gods— Blasphemy and envy, their undoing.
25-5 The tribe of Margathon defends their lord. Followers of Gronde condemn the elder. The elders promise Vallis can be saved. Margathon perpetuates this falsehood.
25-6 The highlands stir and groan, and crack, and burn. The firmament becomes a shroud of soot. Molten stone bursts forth from mountain fissures. Vé convulses in the war of dragons.
25-7 In desperation, Margathon will act. Slithering its way up to the surface, Calling out for Varangean servants, Weakened by the darkness of the caverns.
25-8 The Varangean come when they are called. Lord of dragons orders Gronde devoured. But Varangean shall betray their oath, Turning fang and claw upon their master.
25-9 Margathon is driven into daylight, Where Nezulim are gathered to exalt. Gronde shall be anointed as their master, And Nezulim await their first command.
25-9 One hundred thousand annum spanned the reign. O’er this era, Vallis reached full glory. Though Margathon’s ascendence was the cause, Nothing rising shall escape its falling.
25-10 What shall command the lord of Nezulim? Gronde decrees a sacrifice to Vallis. Forthright, old Margathon shall be destroyed, The body opened to the air of Vé.
25-11 Margathon is held upon the altar. The Varangean gather ‘round their lord. Gronde releases them upon the elder, To tear the organs loose from waning beast.
25-12 But terror fills the minds of gathered beings. Sectioned entrails writhe in oozing piles. The membrane is incised by tearing claws, Where a living man escapes the vellum.
25-13 Coated in the ooze of dragon’s cruor, Naked as an infant after birthing. ‘And who could be this man?’ the dragons ask. But Varangean know… Azarius!
26 Gronde shall lord from deep within the chasms. Its scales will harden into iron shields. Serpent’s body grows too large to surface, But though the eyes go blind, the sight is keen.
26-1 One millennium with Gronde brings respite. The molten vulcan furnace is subdued, As the feuding conflict is abated. The era of new lord delays their end.
26-2 But Nezulim will know the end yet comes, When their garden shall be turned to cinders. For, the wage of decadence is waning, And curse of envy shall be wrought by flame.
26-3 The minds of Nezulim are filled with angst. Vallis echoes with their lamentations: ‘What is the crime by which we shall be judged?’ ‘Have we not brought the gardens to the waste?’
26-4 Gronde answers them by voice inside their minds: ‘Though we have been given garden splendor,’ ‘We have murdered in our greed and envy.’ ‘For this, we are convicted by The One.’
26-5 But Gronde cannot repress their troubled souls— Nezulim persist in their denial. ‘Is not The One’s will for the sowing life?’ ‘Why this judgement if life comes by reaping?’
26-6 Gronde rebukes the Nezulim in voices. The droning in their minds brings them to heel. ‘Ye are bless-ed by The One’s divining,’ ‘But ye have brought the discord into Vé.’
26-7 ‘Living are the beings that share the reaping.’ ‘The reaper harvests for the rites of life.’ ‘Killers are the beings that slay by envy.’ ‘The killer murders for the cult of death.’
26-8 ‘That which Margathon withheld from knowing’ ‘Shall be the fate of dragon Nezulim.’ ‘By thy sin, we shall be cast from Vallis,’ ‘As splendid garden turneth into ash.’
26-9 They ask, ‘Has not The One made Vé its eye?’ So Gronde replies, ‘There is no doubt Vé is…’ ‘But, if thine eye brings the spirit discord,’ ‘Ye shall blind it by the flame of judgement.’
26-10 ‘When shall this doom befall us?’ They reply. Gronde says: ‘This perception is beyond me,’ ‘Though, there is one who knows the very hour—’ ‘This one also knows the path from ruin.’
26-11 ‘Who is this one?’ The Nezulim demand. ‘It is He who emerged from the entrails, ‘He who is immortal in his body.’ ‘The man who has eternal memory,’
26-12 The Nezulim demand to know time’s end. ‘Bring this man to us so we may sway Him.’ ‘We’ll slowly break His body and His mind.’ ‘We will make Him tell us of our end day.’
26-13 Gronde rebukes them for their wretched scheming: ‘One cannot reveal the truth by torture,’ ‘For men will lie to spare themselves from pain,’ ‘And they know the truth will bring no mercy.’
26-14 Gronde remains within the Vallis dungeon, As keeper of the prophet who yet sleeps. The dragon guards the man who knows the way. For He alone can save the Nezulim.
26-15 For one thousand annum they are bonded, Entombed within the darkness under Vé. High above, the dragons feast on bounty, Forgetting of the man who knows their doom.
27 When the time has come the prophet wakens. Azarius shall open long-closed eyes, Finding He is not alone in darkness. Gronde is there, in visage of ascetic.
27-1 The withered man is lit in emerald glow, Seated in the same pose as the prophet. His beard is long and drapes his hide-like skin. Gronde reveals himself as His reflection.
27-2 The prophet chides the dragon for his ploy: ‘You forget that men mature with wisdom.’ ‘You must know that my time is eternal,’ ‘And age inures men from implanted thoughts.’
27-3 The ascetic asks with lips unmoving, ‘Now that you have arisen from your dream,’ ‘Tell me of the hour of Vé’s ruin,’ ‘So that we might prepare for end of days.’
27-4 He replies, ‘Your schemes shall be made futile,’ ‘The One’s unmaking shall not be denied.’ ‘Many trials will beset the dragon,’ ‘Numbers must be culled before the journey.’
27-5 ‘Do not worry of the preparation,’ ‘For I must only show your kind the way.’ ‘Keep me here so that I stay forgotten,’ ‘And I’ll reveal the ruin on its eve.’
27-6 ‘But all of this you’ve seen with your own eyes.’ ‘Countless be the eves of your unmaking.’ ‘Fear not your end, for you shall live again.’ ‘Death is but the night before the morning.’
28 Gronde recalls unmaking through the spirit, The burning flame, the taste of smoke and ash. Yet, the memory evades the conscious, As it was not borne into transcendence.
28-1 ‘So, tell me this at least, Azarius,’ ‘What shall be omen of The Waning time?’ He replies, ‘It shall descend from heaven…’ ‘Falling star that ye shall call the Bolide.’
28-2 ‘And these shall be my final words to you’ ‘Until the era of the end of days.’ ‘Spare me from the beast lest ye be ruined.’ Prophet’s eyes then close and voice falls silent.
29 Azarius reposes in the crypt, Dragon Gronde defending silent prophet. Nezulim grow restless in unknowing, And turn upon each other out of fear.
29-1 The dragon kind shall manifest their dread, And place a stone upon the crypt of Gronde. Serpent and the man are sealed within it, Master of the Nezulim is silenced.
29-2 Without a lord, they turn their plots and foils. Of those who rise, the greatest be cast down, And of the ones who hide, a number flayed, For there shall be no sanctum found on Vé.
29-3 How ravenous the tribe that slays their villain. The Nezulim shall bare their vile fangs. Many with a voice are thusly silenced— Both the honored and the wretched ruined.
29-4 Vé’s new dawn brings glow to western darkness, And annum marks each day as done before. Flora still yet bloom, and fauna gather, While Nezulim must further cull their kind.
30 All with sight on Vé await the Bolide[vii] Which shall descend within a brilliant light. So, it has been foretold by the prophet… Alas, a star, the herald of the end.
[i] “Manna of The One”: The divine or spiritual power sustaining a living material being.
[ii] “The Waning Era” or “The Waning”: The period of decline of the Vallis garden marked by tumultuous periods of environmental catastrophe, and culminating in the destruction of habitable Vé leading up to the exodus.
[iv] The Highlands of Keveer: A rugged, rocky, high plateau that was thought once to be within the Vallis gardens but had been pushed upwards by geologic forces rendering it inhospitably hot and dry.
[v] Yune: A tall, narrow spire of volcanic glass reaching high above the mists of Vallis.
[vi] Dragon’s drone: A perceived musical pitch or tone projected by dragons to disorient, confuse, and drive their prey to hypnotic madness.
[vii] The Bolide: The falling star that signifies the end of days.
What are you, you cinder, you white light, you chaser of Sol? Pyre of twilight and bringer of dawn…
The legends of Edä name you ‘Evil Archon,’ and ‘Light Bearer.’ Why is this so? What have you done, you majestic, gleaming diamond of the sky? Why did men of Edä loathe you so? Why did they regard you the perpetrator of ruin?
But then, there are the myths of Meä— that cold and desert realm, her dynamo, within, a fading heartbeat. To their ancients, you are the beacon of their hope, the pyre that guides the way for the ship in shallow seas. ‘Come, follow me! I shall lead ye to bounty and salvation!’
There is one matter upon which these legends all agree. That this silent light, this symbol they call, ‘Vé,’ is birthplace of that glorious, and mighty, and foulest of all beasts— the dragon.
Oh, dragon. How men love and hate you so. How they hope to tame your fires and bend you to their will. Yet, never is it done, for thy will is thine and thine alone. You foul, filthy, oozing wyrm, you. You snake. You reptile, slithering in sultry darkness. Descending unseen and unheard, like a bolt of lightning from a cloudless sky. You hunter. You slayer. You contriver. Men are such fools to think they can contain you. Fools!
Only a dullard would deign to harness a thing so evil and soulless. Only a blind imbecile would deign to control a beast he cannot even perceive all at once. Dragon: ‘The root of all evil,’ they say. And yet, what would man be without the beast? Mindless, naked savages, clanging rocks together and breeding under the palm shade, I suppose. Perhaps that would be better for us, dare I say! But no, that is not man’s state. The dragon teased out our lusts! Power. Glory. Wealth. All these be desires beyond the carnal, and all can be obtained by paying the dragon’s price.
Oh, dragon. How men love and hate you so. How they beg and bid you do their will. ‘Save us! Save us, oh dragon!’ And so many times you’ve done it, by thy will, and thine alone. Glorious, winged, glinting majesty, terrifying all the hunters of men. But what would you be without men? I’ll tell you, oh dragon: A flying lizard, lording over the thoughtless beasts of the jungle, a god of nothing but your appetite, or worse, burned into molten oblivion, with no one to honor your memory. Such a waste that would be.
And so here we are, back to where we started. Vé transiting the firmament above, chasing Sol only to catch it beneath the earth and drag it up into the sky again at dawn.
Little has survived of these legends that has been scribed. Almost all of it endures by word of mouth. That which remains inscribed is chiseled into stone monuments and painted on cavern walls. Occasionally, written in velum or parchment that lies and rots in a forgotten section of an ancient library. Is the legend of Vé a story of hope? Or a cautionary tale? I have gathered and summarized all I could find, so that you can read and make up your own mind.
