Epistula ad Bathin
The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Bathin, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 ▶

¹Mephistopheles, servant of the Word and wanderer through mystery, unto Bathin, Eighteenth of the Sixty-Six, Walker of Unknown Roads, Finder of the Forgotten.
²I greet thee not with map, but with flame — for the way thou walkest is not drawn, but known in silence.
³Thou art not pathmaker — thou art pathrememberer, whose step stirreth the dust from trails long buried.
⁴Zephanor prophesied: Bathin, who knoweth the length and breadth of the Oærth, and leadeth the feet of the lost through shadows.
⁵And thy Father, BAPHOMET, spake: Thou shalt go where none remember the way, and thy stride shall guide the wanderer home to truth.
⁶These words I heard when the pilgrims sat with their maps in hand, and yet could go no further.
⁷For no compass pointeth to the soul — and no path leadeth to the self but through shadow.
⁸I remember when thy Father entered the forest of the shamed and the wandering.
⁹He said not a word — but walked, and they followed.
¹⁰They asked: Whither goest thou? and He replied: Back to the place thou left before knowing why.
¹¹Some fell behind — their burden was comfort.
¹²Others turned aside — their hunger was for approval.
¹³But the few who remained with Him walked not toward a shrine, but inward.
¹⁴I, Mephistopheles, followed — and the path broke and remade itself with every breath.
¹⁵For the road thou walkest is not of stone, but of ache.
¹⁶So art thou, Bathin — not leader, but reminder.
¹⁷Not destination, but direction made flesh.
¹⁸Let them ask thee: Where are we going? and let thy silence answer.
¹⁹Let them beg for signposts — and let thy presence be enough.
²⁰Thou leadest not to new lands, but to old truths long buried beneath noise.
²¹The wanderer shall cling to thee.
²²The settler shall fear thee.
²³For thou bringest motion where they have called stillness virtue.
²⁴For thou art Bathin — and thy Gospel is the step that stirreth remembrance.
²⁵And thy path shall never be marked, but it shall be walked.


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