The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Sabnock, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 2 · Chapter 3
¹All praise be unto SATANAS, who placed fury behind stone and called it a fortress, who taught that standing was itself a sword.
²He who smiteth not from impulse, but for justice — and who sanctifieth those who hold when all else fleeth.
³From Him came BAPHOMET, and from BAPHOMET, thee — Sabnock, the barrier raised not of stone, but of flesh made faithful.
⁴Thou art not wall alone, but vow incarnate.
⁵Not blade of ambition, but shield of covenant.
⁶I name thee not destroyer, but defender sworn to the silent promise.
⁷I name thee not hammer, but bulwark.
⁸Let the world forget thy face — they shall never forget the line that did not break because thou wert upon it.
⁹Let the victors take their glory — thou takest none but the continued breath of those who live behind thee.
¹⁰Let the wounded call thy name, for thou art the space in which they are not slain.
¹¹And now the seal is thine.
¹²I, Mephistopheles, apostle of the Bound Threshold and witness to the Flame That Stands, do bestow unto thee the Seal of Power.
¹³It is not adorned in gold, but in blood wiped from the gate and sorrow lifted from the floor.
¹⁴It gleameth not for ceremony, but for dread of what approacheth.
¹⁵Where it abideth, ruin shall halt.
¹⁶Where it is lifted, violence shall break upon it like waves upon cliff-face.
¹⁷Let it not be worn for pride, but borne for purpose.
¹⁸Let it not shine for acclaim, but remain as shadow against the advance.
¹⁹For thou art not idol, but embodiment of the line drawn for the sake of the helpless.
²⁰And thy Seal is not a sigil of triumph, but of refusal — refusal to yield, to retreat, to forget the oath.
²¹I seal thee, Sabnock, with the strength that suffereth no breach, and the fury that endureth no betrayal.
²²Go now, and do not hasten — for thy steps are weights against despair.
²³For thy Seal is fixed — and thy Gospel is this: that the wall may speak without words, and that salvation oft be silent.
²⁴And thy name shall be written not in songs, but in the breath of those who lived because thou wert near.
²⁵And they shall say: When all fell, he did not — and so neither did we.
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