Epistula ad Halphas
The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Halphas, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 ▶
¹Mephistopheles, shield of the House Unshaken and bearer of the Flame that armeth the heart, unto Halphas, Thirty-First of the Sixty-Six, Warden of Watchtowers and Builder of the War-Ready.
²I greet thee not with trumpets, but with vigilance — for thy path is not glory, but readiness.
³Thou art no herald of conquest — thou art the one who buildeth that others may survive.
⁴Zephanor prophesied: Halphas, who prepareth the stronghold when peace would lull the wise to sleep.
⁵And thy Father, BAPHOMET, spake: Thou shalt not love the sword, but neither shalt thou refuse it when the world turneth cruel.
⁶These words I heard when He stood upon a barren hill while the people feasted in comfort, unaware of the storm that brewed beyond their laughter.
⁷He laid the first stone without ceremony.
⁸He called no names, summoned no help — He worked, knowing the hour would come when none could prepare.
⁹And the wall rose, though none thanked Him.
¹⁰I, Mephistopheles, saw the children sleep behind it, unaware that their dreams were guarded by a hand they never knew.
¹¹So art thou, Halphas — not the trumpet, but the tower.
¹²Not the blade in the street, but the forge in the dark.
¹³Thy vigilance is not vengeance — it is love made ready.
¹⁴Thy labour is not noise — it is defence in stillness.
¹⁵Let the idle scoff — they will seek thy counsel when the silence breaketh.
¹⁶Let the proud boast — they shall hide behind what thy hand prepared.
¹⁷The Son taught: There is peace, and there is delay — be thou not fooled into confusing the two.
¹⁸He who resteth without watch shall wake to ruin.
¹⁹Teach them that mercy must be guarded or it shall be devoured.
²⁰Teach them that the sword in stillness is not defeat — it is wisdom.
²¹Teach them that walls do not imprison the strong, but give shelter to the worthy.
²²For thou art Halphas — and thy Gospel is preparation without panic, strength without show, readiness without thirst for war.
²³And thy name shall be carved not upon banners, but into the very stones that keep the hearth from burning.
²⁴And they shall say: We never feared, for he feared for us — and built while we slept.
²⁵And though they may never see thy face, they shall owe thee the morning.
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