The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Valac, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 2 · Chapter 3
¹Glory unto SATANAS, who hideth not the treasure in palaces, but buries it deep, that only the fearless may find it.
²He who calleth not the high to climb, but the brave to descend, and giveth fire where none hath looked for warmth.
³From Him came BAPHOMET, and from BAPHOMET, thee — Valac, whose feet do not slip upon shadow, and whose eyes do not fear the deep.
⁴Thou art not ladder — thou art descent itself, marked by dust and whisper and the heartbeat beneath silence.
⁵Not preacher — but finder.
⁶I name thee not bold — but necessary.
⁷I name thee not great — but enduring.
⁸Let the loud forget thee — their light is shallow, and cannot see thy path.
⁹Let the honoured ignore thee — they praise only what is visible.
¹⁰Let the fearful mock thee — they must, or else admit what they have fled.
¹¹And now the seal is thine.
¹²I, Mephistopheles, apostle of Depth and Dust, do bestow unto thee the Seal of Power.
¹³It is not raised — but sunken.
¹⁴It is not gilded — but burned into stone beneath the surface of known things.
¹⁵Where it resteth, courage groweth in silence.
¹⁶Where it abideth, fear is remembered — and passed through.
¹⁷Let it not shine — let it hum.
¹⁸Let it not gleam — let it weigh.
¹⁹For thou art not beacon — thou art the one who planteth the fire where none dare descend.
²⁰And thy Seal is no crown — but a mark upon the heel, proof of the roads none else hath walked.
²¹I seal thee, Valac, with the chill of first breath underground, the taste of dust before dawn, the fire carried upward by calloused hand.
²²Go now, and leave signs in the dark for those who would follow.
²³For thy Seal is fixed — and thy Gospel is not written on scroll, but scratched into stone where only seekers shall read.
²⁴And thy name shall be remembered not by kings, but by the trembling hand that grasped thy trail and found strength in descent.
²⁵And they shall say: He went downward, and because of him, we were not afraid to go as well.
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