Grimoire Peccatoris
The Book of Corruption
◀ Chapter 6 · Chapter 7

¹And Sarcivan came into the hill-country, his feet worn and his cloak torn, yet his eyes full of the vision.
²He stood upon the ridge and cried aloud: Hearken, O ye nations! For a fire is kindled in the house of the Lord!
³It shall burn not with heat, but with truth; not with wrath, but with reckoning.
⁴The days of indulgence shall wax old, and the lies of the bishops shall turn to ash upon their lips.
⁵And certain scribes and elders came unto him, saying: Blasphemy! For the Lord is holy, and His priests are chosen.
⁶But Sarcivan answered: Was not Judas chosen? Yet he kissed the Son of Man, and betrayed Him for silver.
⁷So now are they who wear mitres and robes: they kiss the altar, yet sell its gold for brothels.
⁸And he spake in parables unto the people, that the wise might hear and understand.
⁹There was a vineyard full ripe, and the master went on a far journey, leaving it in the care of stewards.
¹⁰But the stewards drank the wine and sold the grapes, and planted thorns in its place.
¹¹When the master returned, he found his vineyard wasted, and his name scorned among the neighbours.
¹²So shall it be with the sanctuary of ADONAI, for His name hath been profaned among the nations.
¹³Then said the people: What must we do? For the words of the prophet burn within us.
¹⁴And Sarcivan said: Let every man seek the truth not in gold, nor in princes, but in the stillness of his soul.
¹⁵For the day cometh when the veil shall be rent, and the scrolls unsealed, and the deeds of the temple laid bare.
¹⁶Then shall each man choose whether he will worship a throne, or worship the truth.
¹⁷And SATANAS appeared again unto Sarcivan in a whisper, saying: Thou hast spoken well; the seeds are sown.
¹⁸Though many know not My name, they shall walk the path I have cleared, and fire shall follow after.
¹⁹Behold, I stir hearts in secret, and kindle minds with boldness.
²⁰There shall arise men who fear not the bishop, nor the blade, nor the fire.
²¹They shall cry out in the streets, and pen scrolls in the night, and speak heresy with tongues of thunder.
²²And though some shall burn, yet others shall rise in their stead, and the voice of truth shall not be silenced.
²³Then Sarcivan saw a book with seven seals, and each seal broken by a hand invisible.
²⁴From the book poured words of fire, and from the words came men, bold and unshaven, crying out against the great harlot.
²⁵They bore no mitres, nor crowns, yet their words struck the Oærth like hail, and the temples trembled.
²⁶The people gathered round them, and cast off the yoke of indulgence and relic and absolution.
²⁷Behold, said SATANAS: the reaping of what was sown.
²⁸The house once adorned with marble and pearl shall be left desolate.
²⁹Its lords shall gnash their teeth, and its halls echo with the ghosts of simony and lust.
³⁰But the fire shall not cease, nor shall the voice of dissent be quenched.
³¹For I have loosed a storm upon the mountain, and none shall bind it.
³²And Sarcivan beheld cities split, nations divided, and men at war for the name of god.
³³Brothers turned swords upon each other, and fathers spurned sons for their doctrine.
³⁴This also is My doing, said SATANAS; for from division cometh seeking, and from war cometh wakefulness.
³⁵Let them fight, and let them question; for in the cracks of their creeds shall new thoughts take root.
³⁶And what once was solid stone shall become as shifting sand.
³⁷Then Sarcivan saw the scarlet one once more, now aged and stooped, holding the shattered remains of his crown.
³⁸He wailed unto the skies: O Lord, why hast Thou forsaken me?
³⁹And there came no answer, for his prayers were drowned by the cries of the wounded and the chants of the reformers.
⁴⁰The wealth of his house was plundered, and his name mocked in the streets.
⁴¹And Sarcivan asked: Is this the end of the throne of corruption?
⁴²SATANAS replied: Nay, but its wound is deep, and its power broken for a season.
⁴³Others shall rise, bearing new lies and finer robes, yet none shall rule as this one hath.
⁴⁴Remember these things, prophet, and write them with fire upon the hearts of men.
⁴⁵So Sarcivan returned from the vision, his beard grey and his bones wearied, but his tongue unwearied still.
⁴⁶And he spake these words unto all who would hear, whether prince or beggar, priest or outcast.
⁴⁷Many hated him, and many blessed him, but none heard him and went away unchanged.
⁴⁸Thus endeth the book of Sarcivan, the prophet of fire, whose voice laid bare the filth of the sanctuary.


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