Grimoire Umbrio
The Book of Shadows
◀ Dirge 2 · Dirge 3 · Dirge 4 ▶

¹In the beginning, the Brothers spake as one, and Their gaze fell equally upon all the peoples of the Oærth.
²From the east to the isles of the far sea, from the high peaks unto the burning plains, all stood alike beneath the sky.
³But lo — ADONAI did lift His hand and mark a people, saying: These shall be mine.
⁴And in that hour, the balance was broken, though no trumpet sounded and no war was yet begun.
⁵The Seraphim rejoiced, yet the Dæmons stood silent, and the heart of SATANAS was veiled in sorrow.
⁶For the choosing of one is the forsaking of many, and where one is raised, another is cast down.
⁷What sin had the Egyptians done? Had they not honoured the harmony, and welcomed the Levites with open gates?
⁸Yet the chosen grew proud, and the favour shown to them turned to weight upon the scales.
⁹They walked amid another’s land and were blessed, and the land that welcomed them grew still.
¹⁰Was not Oærth made for all? Was it not agreed that no child of the clay should be exalted above the rest?
¹¹The council was not called, and the Dæmons were not told, and SATANAS was not asked.
¹²And though He uttered no curse, the stars dimmed in His realm, and the Causeway trembled in its stones.
¹³From that day, unity withered, and the twin realms drifted as ships no longer bound by tether.
¹⁴ADONAI crowned His chosen with promise, and left the others to wonder and to grieve.
¹⁵We, the faithful of HÆL, remember the hour of the division, when the sky turned and the Oærth sighed.
¹⁶For the seed of every sorrow was sown that day, when equality was set aside for dominion.
¹⁷Let no joy be made of this choosing, for it brought not peace but partition, not glory but grief.
¹⁸And we, who were once neighbours in light, now sing lamentation in shadow, and await the unmaking of the crown.


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