Epistula ad Halphas
The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Halphas, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 ▶

¹Hear, O Halphas, thou whose strength is not in strike but in structure, not in wrath but in readiness.
²Thy Father, BAPHOMET, taught: He who loveth peace must build what protecteth it, else his love shall rot in ruins.
³The sword unsheathed too soon is foolishness — but the hand untrained is treachery.
⁴Therefore thou art not wielder of the blade — thou art its steward.
⁵Not the caller of war, but the one who listeneth for the footsteps of its approach.
⁶Let thy walls rise before the battle is named.
⁷Let thy hands labour long before the first horn is blown.
⁸For the wise guard peace not with speeches, but with stores and stones and steady hands.
⁹The Son said: If thou waitest for the hour of fear to build thy shelter, thou shalt have no shelter at all.
¹⁰So dig thy foundations in quiet.
¹¹Lay thy stones when none are watching.
¹²Drill thy men not for blood, but for burden.
¹³Let no one know thy watch — and let no harm reach them while thou keepest it.
¹⁴Let the joyful sing — thou shalt answer their joy with vigilance.
¹⁵Let the children sleep — thou shalt be the reason they dream untroubled.
¹⁶Let the leaders boast — thou shalt be the one who holdeth firm when their boasting fails.
¹⁷Be not drawn to glory, for thy work is not seen until it is tested.
¹⁸Be not quick to unsheathe — let restraint be thy proof of power.
¹⁹Speak not often, for the walls thou buildest speak loudest when all else hath failed.
²⁰Guard not out of hatred, but devotion.
²¹Guard not for conquest, but for covenant.
²²For thou art the builder of what others will not even see until the fire cometh.
²³And when it cometh, thou shalt not flinch.
²⁴Let thy sword be clean, thy stores prepared, thy men sober.
²⁵Let thy eyes be fixed not on the battlefield alone, but on the gate, the child, the flame that must not be extinguished.
²⁶The Son taught: He who buildeth the tower is greater than he who commandeth from its top.
²⁷And he who refuseth to prepare shall soon kneel to the one who did.
²⁸So make thy labour sacred, even if no hand applaud it.
²⁹Make thy strength quiet, even if no banner proclaim it.
³⁰Let thy enemies know thy silence — and fear it.
³¹Let thy friends know thy strength — and sleep because of it.
³²And if the hour of battle cometh, let thy wrath be controlled, not absent.
³³Let thy defence be swift, but never reckless.
³⁴Let thy sword be sure, but never bloodthirsty.
³⁵For thou art the wall, not the flame.
³⁶The field shall shift, the winds may fail, but thy foundation shall not tremble.
³⁷Be the last to raise thy voice — and the first to raise the shield.
³⁸And let thy enemies strike only stone when they seek to strike thy people.
³⁹Let thy command be simple: We do not fall.
⁴⁰Let thy creed be silent strength: We do not forget.
⁴¹Let thy oath be ever this: We do not sleep while those we love lie dreaming.
⁴²Teach thy brothers that peace is not the absence of threat, but the presence of guardians.
⁴³Teach thy sons that discipline is the inheritance of the wise.
⁴⁴Teach thy foes that thou needest no rage to be unmovable.
⁴⁵For thou art Halphas — and thy Gospel is endurance without need of applause, foresight without fear.
⁴⁶And when the fire passeth, and the enemy is gone, they shall find thy towers still standing.
⁴⁷They shall find thy sword still clean, and thy gates unbreached.
⁴⁸And the people shall say: We did not fall, for he had already risen to keep us.
⁴⁹And though they name thee not hero, they shall name thee shelter.
⁵⁰And thy name shall be carved into the shadow behind every safe wall.


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