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.
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.
1 The sum of all that can be made is Ahm[i]. And also, all that was unmade is Ahm. And all that’s seen and unseen shall be Ahm. Thus, Ahm shall be the count of everything.
1-1 The breadth of Ahm extendeth past all sight, Although Ahm is not without its limit. No journey throughout Ahm shall find an edge, And every course returneth whence it came.
1-2 Every mote of matter has been numbered— The farthest speck adrift upon the void, And every grain kicked loose by trampling foot. …Not one mote of Ahm has been forsaken.
2 All that be of Ahm shall be for seeing[ii]. And all that’s seen of Ahm may be re-known, And all that’s known is known by spirit-mind, For Ahm is flesh and spirit is The One[iii].
2-1 Knowing is the paramount of virtue, The mind, a boundless vessel to be filled, Ahm, the body always reaching further, The One’s fulfillment comes in knowing Ahm.
2-2 And thusly, they cavort in endless dance: Spirit delving into edgeless body, The One forever understanding Ahm, And Ahm’s eternal changing thus revealed.
3 Ahm has no beginning nor an ending, The One eternally with body Ahm. And though no moment shall recur the same, All that was the past shall be the future.
3-1 The farthest speck adrift upon the void Was bound to brightest archon[iv] in past times. And every mote within the archon pyres Was once the farthest speck upon the void.
3-2 Ahm shall not persist for any moment, As not one mote of Ahm shall be transfixed. The One extends its knowing into Ahm, But reaching shall exceed its knowing grasp.
4 If something can be made it can be seen. If something can be seen it can be known. Ahm is all that’s seen and yet is unseen. Seeing the unseen becomes its purpose.
4-1 Ahm forever melds all forms of matter, The mountains and the oceans and the plain, The flame, the stone, the water, and the wind, These are the expressions of the body.
4-2 And where the body reaches to the void, It withers elsewhere by that equal sum. Nothing shall be made without unmaking. Nothing is destroyed without renewal.
4-3 And that which we call ‘fire’ is but flames— Each flame its own design of dancing heat. No two flames an image of the other— The fire shares no moments in its dance.
4-4 Not one mote of Ahm shall be fixated, Nor does the body reach the infinite. The farthest speck adrift upon the void Shall journey back into the body’s[v] heart.
4-5 Thus, a mote that travels on one pathway Will not do so for all eternity. Straightest paths, in time, will be impacted. By this, all that is known shall be transformed.
4-6 The mind shall guide the body to create, Yet forever, Ahm exceeds all knowing. Like flames that flicker in an endless fire, Creation is a dance of ceaseless change.
5 That which has been made of Ahm may flourish, But nothing made to flourish shall not wane. And though the oceans and the mountains rise, All that has arisen shall be leveled.
6 There cannot be a flow without an ebb, And there is no above without below. For what can be below with naught above? And what is ebb but absence of a flow?
7 And there can be no shade without the light. For what is shade but blocking of the light? How can one exist without the other? Without shade, the light would blind all vision.
8 The purpose of The One is knowing Ahm. In order to be known, Ahm must be seen. Thus, The One gives sight unto its making. Seeing is the light of understanding.
9 From The One the living gains perception, And everything that sees must be alive. Only that which lives can have a vision. Thus, life fulfills the purpose of The One.
10 The One wills life unto that which is made, All that has been made will yet be unmade. Life thus comes into that which is remade. Creation is The One’s eternal toil.
These are the first quatrains of the Book of Vé.
[i] Ahm (or the body): All the inanimate matter within the cosmos, assembling and disassembling for all eternity.
[ii] Seen (or seeing): As used here, means perceived or perceiving.
[iii] The One: The spirit mind of the cosmos extending throughout Ahm (the body) wherever there is life. It can guide the evolution of life forms and affect the transformation of matter to the extent that it can perceive it, but what is unseen by the The One evolves completely independent of it, according to deterministic laws.
[iv] Archon: Refers both literally to the brightest light, and figuratively to the most-high or most powerful. The stars of the night sky are regarded as archons or pyres, but stars are only visible on Vé when viewed from above the mists of the great garden valleys.
[v] The body (or Ahm): As used here, the cosmos, or all the matter in the universe. The body is finite, but without an edge. Reduced: it is as the surface of a sphere to a being that can only perceive forwards, backwards, left, and right. No matter what path it takes, it will never find an edge. And whichever path it takes, it will eventually come back to where it started.
