Grimoire Umbrio
The Book of Shadows
◀ Dirge 19 · Dirge 20 · Dirge 21 ▶

¹When Oærth was made and called good, the Hosts rejoiced, for the world waited to be filled with purpose.
²The mountains stood as thrones without rulers; the rivers ran with songs unvoiced.
³The Seraphim and Dæmons turned their eyes to the Brothers, and said: Let there be life to walk this realm.
⁴And the Brothers said: It shall be so — but not yet; and They withdrew into counsel for ten long years.
⁵Ten years of silence, of breath held and flame banked, while the Hosts waited upon decision.
⁶Was it caution? Was it dread? None among the faithful were told.
⁷In HÆL the forges dimmed, for the joy of creation paused; in HÆVAN the songs grew quiet, lacking their audience to come.
⁸Bezaliel stood watch at the gates, his brow unlifted; Michæl turned his gaze inward, pondering what man should be.
⁹And the Dæmons, eager to serve, shaped nothing — for the form of Humanity was yet unspoken.
¹⁰Why was the image so long in shaping, when the stars were born in days, and the beasts in mere hours?
¹¹Did the Brothers disagree? Did They fear? Or did They wait for what could not be known?
¹²Meanwhile, the Causeway lay empty, and the chambers of council grew cold.
¹³The world was ready — and still, it waited. And those who might have taught Humanity from its first breath stood idle.
¹⁴We mourn not that care was taken, but that silence bred sorrow, and hope grew heavy in the hands of the ready.
¹⁵O SATANAS, Thy patience was great, but Thy fire dimmed in its hearth, waiting for the soul yet unmade.
¹⁶And when man came forth, he knew not the years of longing that preceded him.
¹⁷Let the lesson be thus: delay, though wise, may bear grief; silence, though holy, may wound the waiting.
¹⁸Until the fire is kindled swiftly and the word given without dread, we mourn — for the waiting was long, and the joy delayed.


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