Grimoire Imperio
The Book of Empire
◀ Chapter 4 · Chapter 5 · Chapter 6 ▶

¹And it came to pass that Mortivar slept in the wilderness, with but a stone for his pillow, and the stars above his head.
²And in the third watch of the night, the darkness was parted, and a voice like thunder spake unto him, saying,
³Arise, thou son of dust, and see what is to come, that thou mayest speak it in the hearing of all flesh.
⁴Then Mortivar was taken in spirit, and set upon a high place above the world.
⁵And he beheld a great and mighty beast, whose body was of iron and brass, and whose limbs were as pillars of marble.
⁶Upon its back were cities without number, and peoples like the sand of the shore.
⁷And it moved not swiftly, yet none could stand before it; and wheresoever it passed, it made a way.
⁸And the voice said unto him: Behold the Empire: it riseth from the dust and maketh itself a god.
⁹It shall lay foundations upon rock, and its buildings shall pierce the sky.
¹⁰Its name shall be feared in every tongue, and its laws shall be written upon tablets of stone and of clay and of silver.
¹¹Men shall journey from afar to behold its wonders, and to marvel at its order and its pride.
¹²For the Empire shall seem unto men as perfection, and unto the nations as destiny.
¹³And Mortivar beheld a river as of molten gold, flowing through its heart; and men did labour day and night to keep it full.
¹⁴Their sweat filled the river, and their blood stained the stones round about it.
¹⁵And yet they sang songs of joy, saying: We are the children of the Empire; it is our father and our god.
¹⁶And he saw temples tall as towers, where the people bowed before images of the eagle and the sword.
¹⁷And they offered incense, and poured out wine, and burned offerings of fine garments and beasts without blemish.
¹⁸And they said: The Empire giveth all things; without it, we are not.
¹⁹But Mortivar looked, and saw the poor in the streets, the slaves in chains, the prisoners beneath the Oærth.
²⁰And the voice said: Yea, the Empire shall know greatness, and also cruelty. For it hath a face of light and a face of shadow.
²¹The strong shall thrive, and the weak shall serve. The wise shall speak, and the simple shall be silenced.
²²And it shall be said: Peace is upon the Oærth; yet the peace shall be as a blade resting upon every neck.
²³And he saw men sent out in companies, bearing standards and banners, to conquer far-off lands.
²⁴And they returned with chains and gold, with spices and captives, and were hailed as sons of glory.
²⁵Then was Mortivar shown a mighty hall, filled with scribes and judges, who spake long words and wrote many decrees.
²⁶And the people obeyed the scribes, and feared the judges, for the law was as a snare, and none escaped it.
²⁷This, said the voice: is the fruit of knowledge without mercy, of order without truth, of power without love.
²⁸And Mortivar wept, for the Empire was a splendour and a snare, a wonder and a wound.
²⁹But the voice said unto him: Speak these things to the people, that they may choose where their souls shall dwell.
³⁰For they that serve the Empire shall receive its reward, and they that flee from it shall find a narrow path.
³¹Then Mortivar awoke, and his bones trembled, and the earth beneath him was still.


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