Grimoire Imperio
The Book of Empire
◀ Chapter 6 · Chapter 7 · Chapter 8 ▶

¹And he journeyed into the city, wherein dwelt the multitudes in peace and prosperity, not knowing what should come.
²And he cried with a loud voice in the street, saying: Hear, O people, and give ear! For the voice of the Deep hath spoken!
³Behold, an Empire shall rise among the nations, and it shall devour them all as a lion devoureth the lamb.
⁴It shall stretch from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof, and none shall escape from its dominion.
⁵Its tongue shall be taught in every school, and its laws shall govern every land.
⁶Its soldiers shall march with iron feet, and its judges shall speak with the mouth of the dragon.
⁷They shall honour no god save power, and their altars shall be lifted unto their own glory.
⁸They shall say, We have built this with our own hands, and there is none like unto us.
⁹Woe, woe unto the proud! For their height is as the tower of Babel, and their fall shall be very great.
¹⁰And the people marvelled, saying one to another: What meaneth this speech, and who is this man that speaketh such hard words?
¹¹But Mortivar stood firm, and said: I am the herald of the Lord of the Deep, and I bring a vision and a warning.
¹²Turn ye, turn ye from your slumber! For the days of ease shall end, and the fire shall be kindled in the land.
¹³And he entered into the synagogue and spake therein also, but many murmured against him, saying: He is possessed of madness.
¹⁴Yet a remnant believed him, and followed him without knowing whither he went.
¹⁵And he sat with them upon the hill that overlooked the city, and he taught them the meaning of the vision.
¹⁶The Empire cometh not in wrath, but in splendour; and therein lieth the deceit.
¹⁷It shall bring order and wealth and peace, but at the cost of the soul.
¹⁸For he that serveth the Empire must bend his knee to man, and turn his heart from the Brothers.
¹⁹And the laws of HÆVAN and HÆL shall be forgotten, and the name of the Maker shall be a curse upon their lips.
²⁰And many shall rejoice in this, saying, We are free! We are gods! We need no master but ourselves!
²¹But freedom without truth is but a gilded cage, and godhood without righteousness is but rebellion.
²²And one among them, a youth, said: Shall we then resist the Empire, and war against it?
²³And Mortivar answered: Nay, for the sword of man is as dust against the will of the Deep.
²⁴Resist not with sword, but with spirit. Stand firm in the truth, and proclaim it in the face of the storm.
²⁵For though the storm be mighty, it shall pass, and they that stand upon the rock shall endure.
²⁶But they that build upon sand shall be swept away, though their house be of marble and their gates of brass.
²⁷Yet in the midst of the ruins, a light shall shine, and the faithful shall gather there.
²⁸Mark my words and seal them upon thine heart; for I speak not mine own words, but the words of Him that sent me.
²⁹And the people that were with him wept, for they felt the weight of the days to come, and the fire of the prophecy burned within them.


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