Grimoire Destrudo
The Book of Ruination
Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 ▶

¹In the days of quiet and plenty, when the sky was without storm and the fields were full, Dolomir lay upon the hill of Ophath and slept.
²And in the deep watches of the night, a wind arose that was not of this world, and the stars trembled in their courses.
³And SATANAS, Lord of the Deep, came unto Dolomir in a vision, clothed in fire and thunder, and the earth gave way beneath His feet.
⁴And Dolomir fell upon his face as one dead, but the Lord touched his brow and he rose, though trembling.
⁵And SATANAS said: Lift up thine eyes, and behold the work of mortals and the end thereof.
⁶And he looked, and saw a golden city upon a hill, girded with walls of brass and gates of iron.
⁷The streets thereof were straight and vast, and columns lifted high their heads unto the sky.
⁸Men marched in glory, with banners of crimson and gold, and their spears glittered as stars.
⁹The sound of their trumpets shook the skies, and the ground beneath was beaten flat by a thousand chariots.
¹⁰Dolomir said: Lo, is this not the empire of which Mortivar prophesied, that should rule the Oærth in pomp and pride?
¹¹And SATANAS answered: Thou hast spoken truly: this is that same Empire, waxen great in its season.
¹²Its hand is long, and its heel is heavy, and many bow down unto it.
¹³But behold, the roots thereof are hollow, and its glory is smoke.
¹⁴And Dolomir saw the heart of the city, and lo, it was filled with revelry and gold, with idols of strange beasts and feasts without ceasing.
¹⁵The rulers laughed while the poor wept; the priests counted coin upon the altar, and the judges sold justice for silver.
¹⁶Maidens danced in the streets, clad not in modesty but in the delight of men, and the mighty drank from the bowls of the temples.
¹⁷And Dolomir wept, saying: Is there no truth among them? Is there no fear of their god?
¹⁸And SATANAS answered: They have forgotten the voice of the herald and the fire of the word.
¹⁹They say in their hearts: We shall never fall; and they build with clay and flatter with wax.
²⁰But I shall bring thee low, O city of gold, for thou hast multiplied thine iniquities beyond measure.
²¹The sword is already drawn; the fire is already kindled; and the angel of reckoning standeth at thy gate.
²²Thine own children shall rise against thee, and strangers shall laugh at thy ruin.
²³Thou shalt be broken not by strength but by pride; not by famine but by fullness.
²⁴And Dolomir saw a great eagle fall from the sky, and its feathers were plucked by wolves and foxes.
²⁵Its eyes dimmed, and its beak was buried in dust, and none came to lift it up.
²⁶And a voice cried from the skies: Great was the Empire, but it is no more.
²⁷Then Dolomir cried aloud, saying: Lord, what wouldst Thou have me do?
²⁸And SATANAS said: Go down from this hill, and speak all that thou hast seen. Let it be a warning and a witness.
²⁹For the days of the Empire are numbered, and the sun setteth even now upon its brow.


Copyright ©2025 Adam Alexander T. Croke. All rights reserved.