Grimoire Umbrio
The Book of Shadows
◀ Dirge 12 · Dirge 13 · Dirge 14 ▶

¹The Dæmons made no war, raised no horn, and drew no blood — yet they mourned as those who had lost a kingdom.
²Not by defeat, but by slow estrangement were they parted from the peace they helped to forge.
³Their hands helped build the world, stone by stone, and their voices rang in the songs of creation.
⁴Yet when the Levites were chosen and the pact was dimmed, none turned to the Dæmons and said: Shall this be?
⁵They who once shared the shaping of seas, the weaving of tongues, and the naming of the eagle, were set aside.
⁶They bore it not with wrath, but with the grave stillness of those who understand what has been lost.
⁷O Bezaliel, mighty and faithful, didst thou not feel the sorrow burn beneath thy oath, though thy tongue held firm?
⁸O ye Dæmons of council and craft, did not your hearts tremble as the Causeway emptied and the Seraphim turned away?
⁹Ye sought not dominion, nor vainglory, but only your share in what had been agreed — and were given silence.
¹⁰No trumpet was sounded, yet grief marched through the halls of HÆL, cloaked and slow.
¹¹Their joy in Oærth faded, though they served still; their flame grew low, though it never ceased to burn.
¹²And they looked to SATANAS, whose sorrow was their own, and grieved with Him, yet spake it not aloud.
¹³For what words suffice when a Brother is parted and a promise is left behind like ash?
¹⁴The Dæmons held no blame, and bore no guilt — yet they bore the pain as if it were a crown.
¹⁵In silence, they remembered the laughter that once filled the Council chambers and the peace that knew no shadow.
¹⁶Now they teach by fire what was once taught by hand; they whisper what once was sung.
¹⁷Let none say they turned away — it was the world that turned, and left them watching its back.
¹⁸Until the day comes when they are again called neighbour, we mourn — for the Dæmon’s grief is deep, and undeserved.


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