Grimoire Doloris
The Book of Contamination
◀ Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 ▶

¹The mighty shall bow before the weak, and the proud shall be brought low as the grass in the field.
²The cries of the mother shall be as thunder upon the hills, and the lamentations of the father shall shake the valleys.
³For the pestilence shall be as a wolf in the night, seeking whom it may devour; none shall escape its grasp.
⁴The waters shall turn to bitterness, and the bread shall fail from the tables of kings and peasants alike.
⁵Even the sacred places shall not be spared, and the voices of the priests shall fall silent in the temples.
⁶The Oærth shall open her mouth to swallow the dead, and the bones of the multitude shall be as dust upon the wind.
⁷Men shall flee from their brothers, and the bonds of kinship shall be sundered by fear and dread.
⁸The blackness of night shall come at midday, and the sun shall hide its face from the world.
⁹Cities shall be abandoned, and the roads shall be empty; the song of the lark shall cease to be heard.
¹⁰Yet amid the desolation, a remnant shall be preserved, that the seed of man may not be lost.
¹¹These shall walk with sorrow in their hearts, but with faith in their souls, and shall proclaim the coming dawn.
¹²They shall cleanse the land and tend the wounds of the Oærth, that it may bring forth fruit once again.
¹³For the plague is but a passing shadow, a scourge sent to test the hearts of men and measure their steadfastness.
¹⁴The skies shall weep for the sins of the Oærth, but mercy shall be as a balm upon the wounds of the faithful.
¹⁵Thou, Exanthis, shalt be the voice crying in the wilderness, the herald of the judgment to come.
¹⁶Let no man turn from thy words, though they be as a sword to his heart, for truth is sharp and must pierce.
¹⁷And though the nations rage and the peoples tremble, hold fast thy faith and speak boldly as the day.
¹⁸For the hour cometh when the light shall shine in the darkness, and the shadow shall flee before it.
¹⁹The travail of the Oærth shall birth a new day, and the children of men shall rise again with hope.
²⁰But until that hour, the shadow shall walk among men, and the sword shall be upon the land.
²¹Remember, O man, that thou art but dust, and to dust shalt thou return; but thy spirit is as a flame that burneth eternal.
²²Walk in the ways of wisdom, and keep the commandments of the Most High, that thy days may be long upon the Oærth.
²³This is the word which I command thee to proclaim, and let none silence thee.
²⁴Go forth, Exanthis, and declare the vision of the shadow, that all may prepare their hearts.
²⁵The time is at hand, and the scourge shall be as a flood upon the Oærth.
²⁶Yet in the midst of the flood, a rock shall stand, and upon that rock shall be built the hope of many.
²⁷The faithful shall know the path, and the wicked shall be as chaff before the wind.
²⁸Take courage, for the night is long, but the dawn is certain; and the seed shall grow in the barren soil.
²⁹Thus saith the voice from the shadow: the contagion shall pass like a tempest, but its scars shall endure.
³⁰Nations shall rise and fall as leaves in the storm, yet the soul of man shall remain unbroken.
³¹The wise shall gather the remnants, and from their hands shall spring forth new life and understanding.
³²Even as the pestilence ravages the land, the spirit of hope shall kindle like a flame in the darkness.
³³Remember well the lessons of affliction, and let mercy be thy guide in times of trial.
³⁴For the Oærth mourneth her children, yet she waiteth for the day when joy shall return.
³⁵The blight is but a shadow cast by the strife of the ages, a test of faith and endurance.
³⁶Look to the skies and see the signs, for the stars speak in silence of the times to come.
³⁷Thou art the bearer of this message, Exanthis; fear not the words that tremble upon thy tongue.


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